Pattern-Seeking Animals (PS-A) share another musical glimpse of their upcoming album, Spooky Action at a Distance, out on InsideOutMusic on October 27.


With their new single “Somewhere North Of Nowhere”, the US-based group delivers yet another catchy track with an animated and AI generated music video.


"‘Somewhere North Of Nowhere’ is a cheery little story of a guy on a spiritual journey who soon realizes he’s being followed. Might be preternatural forces, might be aliens, but he soon discovers something very, very bad is happening right over the horizon. It’s too late to turn around as the dire situation is only getting worse. Or, he could be hallucinating all of this..."







Spooky Action At A Distance finds Pattern-Seeking Animals more confident than ever, approaching new soundscapes and topics, showcasing their evolution, and commitment to pushing their own creative boundaries.


John Boegehold explains, “Because this is our fourth release in less than five years, my intention was to shift gears and not go over ground that's already been covered. In addition to using different sounds, textures and musical styles, we approached the vocals, especially backing vocals from a fairly different angle. In addition, the album was recorded, mixed and mastered at a different studio with a different engineer than our previous three releases.”


The different approach is not only noticeable in production and sounds, but in the lyrics as well. “The subject matter of the lyrics include a Norse king contemplating life while being conquered, an aging seeker on the path toward enlightenment, aliens hunting down humans trying to evade capture, the life of a conflicted soldier before and after WW1, a pregnant teenager leaving a bad situation at home, a reluctant hero victorious in her final battle and a guy’s girlfriend who leaves him because of his conspiracy theories.”


Spooky Action at a Distance is available in the following formats:


• Limited 2CD Digipak*
• Digital album*
• 2LP Gatefold vinyl 180g**
*including 3 live bonus tracks from ProgStock 2022
**including 2 live bonus tracks from ProgStock 2022


Preorder here.





Tracklisting:


CD1
“The Man Made Of Stone”
“Window To The World”
“What Awaits Me”
“He Once Was”
“Underneath The Orphan Moon”
“Clouds That Never Rain”
“Bulletproof”
“Somewhere North Of Nowhere”
“Summoned From Afar”
“Love is Still The Light”


CD2
“There Goes My Baby”
“Orphans Of The Universe” (Live At ProgStock 2022)
“Elegant Vampires” (Live At ProgStock 2022)
“Time Has A Way” (Live At ProgStock 2022) *


*CD and digital album only


"Somewhere North Of Nowhere" video:





“Window To The World” video:

Vancouver’s pulse-pounding Rebel Priest wants to tap into that adrenaline that is at the end of a shitty day or a shitty situation with their new single “War Horse” coming off a yet-to-be-titled album set for release next year. It promises to be the wrecking ball to get you out of that funk and get those motors revving! Along with this deadly new tune, they are announcing an eight-stop tour in Japan this October. 


The band shares their enthusiasm for the truest vision of their signature Trash n’ Roll:


“It’s gonna be the best song to light some new fires in ‘on the fencers’ and the new generation of rock ‘n’ rollers. It’s a sing-along titan of a song full of teeth-gritting, fist-pounding primal aggression. It’s a statement without politics, it’s a feeling without emotions, it’s a way to move without moving. It’s the first taste of an amazing upcoming album.”







According to Rebel Priest, “War Horse” was originally just an idea they had for a video they will never be able to afford to feature our unnamed anti-hero on a space bike cruising through the universe. The track embodies the idea of trash n’ roll in the sense that most folks don’t see vagabonds as equal people but they keep rolling, always making time for trash n’ roll! It’s the band’s way of saying “f*ck 'em” to everyone that doesn’t respect you or your path. If it’s you against the world, here’s the warhorse you can ride into battle!


With two EPs and three raging albums already under their belts, this next one is just the tip of another high-octane iceberg. They have a load of tracks ready for the studio and this is just the first single - fans of Motörhead, ZZ Top, and Rose Tattoo are gonna want to keep their pants on and their eyes peeled for what Rebel Priest is bringing down the pipe.





Whiskey And Wings Japan Tour:


October
6 – Nakono, Tokyo – Moon Step
7 – Yokohama, Kanagawa – Bar Kurostuki
8 – Kashiwa, Chiba – DOMe
9 – Shinjuku, Tokyo – Kappunk
12 – Namba, Osaka – Mele
13 – Shinsaibashi, Osaka – King Cobra
14 – Nagoya, Aichi – Music Farm
15 – Minami-Aoyama, Tokyo – Red Shoes 

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


"A great Swedish '90s song, 'Highland', by One More Time. Filmed in the highlands of Scotland, 2023."


The song is taken from the album, Highland, released in 1992.










Johansson, who has become known for his weekly covers of '80s classics, has released a seven song compilation of fan favourites from his catalogue. It is now available on digital platforms. 





The tracklist is as follows: 


"Africa" (Toto)
"Headless Cross" (Black Sabbath)
"18 And Life" (Skid Row)
"You're The Voice" (John Farnham)
"The Price" (Twisted Sister)
"Alone" (Heart)
"I'm Still Standing" (Elton John) 

Unleashing their second studio album, Artificial Insanity - mixed and mastered by Michael Small (Winterhearth, Triskelyon, Artach) - on Moribund Records this past September 8th, Canadian new power thrash Triskelyon is unveiling their newest music video for the track "Is Hope Still Alive".


The song features vocals from Pete Healey and is about the continual destruction of the environment by humans. Guitarist Geoff Waye explains further:


"To address the question posed by the song's title - my answer would be: No, it isn't, to be honest. I lack faith in the capacity of humans, society, and corporations to make the necessary changes to put a stop to the continuous pollution of our planet. This topic intrigues me partly because it's an area of personal interest, but also because I've drawn inspiration from the classic thrash bands of the 1980s. Many of these bands, such as Testament, Kreator, Nuclear Assault, and Megadeth, had songs that focused on pollution and environmental issues, and these tracks left a lasting impact on me."




Watch and listen to "Is Still Hope Alive?" below.





Founded in 2021 by guitarist Geoff Waye, of the popular true metal band Category VI, Triskelyon released one self-titled EP and was promptly signed to Moribund Records for their radio chart-topping debut album, Downfall (2022).


With Artificial Insanity, Triskelyon returns with a varied yet blistering thrash/power metal classic, bringing back the 1980’s glory days, while maintaining a fresh and modern sound. To close the album Triskelyon surprises all with an incredible female-fronted power metal rendition of the hit song, "It Doesn't Really Matter", by Canadian rockers Platinum Blonde.


Guitarist and band leader Geoff Waye has enlisted the following talent from (mostly) the vast Canadian metal scene to realize his vision this time around:


Guest Vocalists:
Amanda Jackman (Category VI)
Armin Kamal (Infrared)
Cara McCutchen (Mortillery, Naitaka)
Dale Drew (Sea Dogs)
Des Mason
Ellim
Pete Healey
Raúl Álvarez (Dark Order)
Tim Tymo (Tymo).


Percussion:
Raul Marques (Burning Torment)
Alexander Raykov


Bass:
Dwayne Pike
Keith Jackman (Category VI)
Darrin Pope





Tracklist:


"Tektyranny"
"At War With Demons"
"Bringers of Chaos"
"Is Hope Still Alive?"
"Obsolescence"
"One Blood"
"Visionaries"
"Beyond The Past"
"Celtic Creatures"
"Why Burn?"
"It Doesn't Really Matter" (Platinum Blonde)


"Visionairies"





"Tektyranny"

UK-based black metallers Cradle Of Filth headlined the third day of the Milagre Metaleiro XIV Open Air 2023 on August 27th, in Pindelo Dos Milagres, Viseu, Portugal. They have shared a highlight reel from the show, which can be viewed below.





Cradle Of Filth will return to imbue Europe's stages in inescapable darkness, bringing their matchless live presence and musical onslaught to their enormous fanbase in 2024 with their “Necromantic Fantasies” tour. The tour will kick off in Tel Aviv, Isreal on February 10, visiting 21 cities in total, before ending in Košice, Slovakia on March 8.




After releasing their most successful record to date, Existence Is Futile, in 2021, followed by their first live album in 20 years, Trouble And Their Double Lives, in 2023, England’s finest extreme metal export with legendary frontman Dani Filth will conjure a hell of a show to remember without the shadow of a doubt!


On top of that, the tour features top-notch special guest and labelmate, The Duke of Spook himself, Wednesday 13, celebrating his former band, revered glam punk icons Murderdolls, plus alternative outfit Sick N’ Beautiful. Wednesday 13 and his current band will perform an intense set of Murderdolls songs, taken from the band’s celebrated 2002 debut album, Beyond The Valley Of The Murderdolls, and their 2010 sophomore album, Women And Children Last.


Dani Filth comments: “We are so looking forward to performing at all these extraordinary places on this tour - it will be our first time playing in Turkey, can you believe it? - that it actually hurts! In the company of two great bands - Wednesday 13 and Sick’N‘ Beautiful - the anticipation for some riotous performances is running very high across the Baltics, the Balkans and Eastern Europe. So prepare yourselves for a night never to be forgotten, one of maleficent spectacle and debauch!  You have been warned! See you early next year fellow Filthlings.”


Wednesday 13 adds: “We are extremely excited to be hitting the road with our friends in Cradle Of Filth. We will be performing in places in Europe that we’ve never been or haven’t been to in quite some time. We can’t wait to see you all on this tour!”





Dates:


February
10 - Tel Aviv, Israel - Reading 3*
12 - Gdansk, Poland - B90
13 - Vilnius, Lithuania - Loftas
14 - Riga, Latvia - Melna Piektdiena
16 - Tampere, Finland - Pakkahuone
17 - Seinäjoki, Finland - Rytmikorjaamo
18 - Helsinki, Finland - Tavastia
20 - Tallinn, Estonia - Helitehas
22 - Warsaw, Poland - Progresja
23 - Krakow, Poland - Studio
24 - Plzen, Czech Republic - Serikovka
25 - Brno, Czech Republic - Fleda
27 - Cluj, Romania - Form Space
28 - Bucharest, Romania - Quantic Club


March
1 - Istanbul, Turkey - IF Performance Hall Beşiktaş
2 - Thessaloniki, Greece - Principal Club Theater
3 - Athens, Greece - Fuzz Club
5 - Sofia, Bulgaria - Club Joy Station
6 - Budapest, Hungary - Durer Kert
7 - Bratislava, Slovakia - Majestic Music Club
8 - Košice, Slovakia - Collosseum Club


* no Wednesday 13 & Sick N’ Beautiful

Chad Kroeger says that he hopes NICKELBACK's official documentary "Hate To Love: Nickelback" will be the last word on the waves of backlash he and his bandmates faced amid their commercial success, and he has no plans to ever address the subject again.

Speaking to People magazine at the 2023 edition of the Toronto International Film Festival, where "Hate To Love: Nickelback" received its premiere, Kroeger admitted that he was at first hesitant to discuss the hatred toward NICKELBACK in the documentary, until bandmate Ryan Peake convinced him it needed to be done.

"We get to take the narrative," Peake said. "We get to actually tell our version. It's like you turn the cheek for as much as you can, and then at some point it's, like, 'Here's our take on it.'"

Asked by People why he was hesitant to discuss the negativity, Chad took the reporter's recorder and held it as if he were conducting the interview.

"If somebody stuck that thing in your face every single day and said, 'The whole world hates you like this, the whole world hates you. What do you have to say about that? Every single day. Every day. Would there be reluctance on your behalf to talk about it? Would you get pissed off? Would you be over it after a while?"

He continued: "I'm over it. We made a documentary. Everybody can watch it. And now from this day forward, if anybody asks that question in the press, it's like that's the end of the interview. So if you want to end an interview, that's all you have to say and that will be it."

Back in 2016, a student named Salli Anttonen at the University of Eastern Finland conducted a study to find out why there is so much hate directed towards NICKELBACK. Anttonen analyzed Finnish reviews of the band from 2000 through 2014 for her paper, which was titled "Hypocritical Bullshit Performed Through Gritted Teeth: Authenticity Discourses In Nickelback's Album Reviews In Finnish Media".

Anttonen found that critiques of the band became harsher as they became more popular, noting: "It became a phenomenon where the journalists were using the same (reasons) to bash them, and almost making an art out of ridiculing them."

Even though the study was based solely upon Finnish reviews of the band, the critics' animosity toward the group has been a global phenomenon.

Anttonen concluded: "NICKELBACK is too much of everything to be enough of something. They follow genre expectations too well, which is seen as empty imitation, but also not well enough, which is read as commercial tactics and as a lack of a stable and sincere identity."

This past May, Chad was asked in an interview with Robin Nash of Tucson, Arizona's KFMA-FM radio station why he thinks so many people love to hate NICKELBACK. He responded: "That kind of used to be a thing. I shouldn't say 'that kind of used to be' — that was definitely a thing for a long time. And I think there's been a softening — there really has, thankfully. I'm not sure if it's because we receive a ton of love on TikTok or whatever the hell it is, but for whatever reason the teeth have kind of been removed. It's really nice, it's really nice to not be Public Enemy Number One.

"I think that with the range of songs that we write — from rock to all the softer, melodic stuff, all the way down to… Well, I know that 'Far Away' got played on country stations even and I know that 'Rockstar' — the heavily redacted version — got played on CMT," he continued. "So when you're going that far and the scope is that wide, it makes it tough to get away from the band if you're not into the band. And if you're trying to switch the radio station three times, and it's just, like, 'Ah, there they are. There's their rock song on the rock station. There's their pop song on the pop station. And oh my God, I can't even go to the country station and get away from these guys.' That type of oversaturation could piss people off. But at the end of the day, we're just a band that makes music.

"I can't stand a couple of bands, but I don't go online and turn into a keyboard warrior and just start hating on them," Chad reasoned. "I just change the channel or I put on something that I wanna listen to."

Three months earlier, Chad told "Whiplash", the KLOS radio show hosted by Full Metal Jackie, that all the negative attention surrounding NICKELBACK had actually contributed to the band's longevity. "Well, I've been saying that for years," he said. "All the detractors, all the haters, all the keyboard heroes, they have no idea how much they keep us in the press loop. It's hilarious. Those people that would love to see us go away, if they really wanted to see us go away, they would just shut up. Because all those bands that came out with us at the same time are all gone, because nobody said anything about them. They all just sort of disappeared. But we've really kind of spun this whole negative thing into a positive thing. And here we are. [Laughs]"

Kroeger also talked about all the memes poking fun at NICKELBACK that regularly pop up on the Internet, explaining that "if it's music oriented and we think it's funny, we just leave it there, 'cause the band, collectively, has a great sense of humor. I mean, funny's funny. Just rude and ignorant, that's different. And yeah, obviously, there's tons of that too. But funny is funny. And as the Brits would say, we have no problem taking the piss out of ourselves."

Arguably the most disliked band in America, NICKELBACK has earned a type of hatred so potent it's hard to fathom what they did that was so terrible to the public consciousness. It's gotten to the point that people who enjoy NICKELBACK are denying their fandom and hiding their CDs like criminal contraband.

Asked by Jorge Botas of Portugal's "Metal Global" if he understands how NICKELBACK came to be so disliked by so many people, Chad said: "I think I've got a pretty good grasp of where things kind of went off the rails for us.

"I think that because we write so many different kinds of music, I think that if you were listening to a radio station any time between 2000 and 2010, '11, '12 even, we were kind of tough to get away from," he explained. "'Cause if you didn't wanna hear it and you changed to a different radio station, you'd probably hear it on there, and then changed to a different radio station, you probably were gonna hear it in so many different places. And we were really tough to get away from. And that's not my fault. [Laughs] We just write the songs. And so with that comes backlash. And then what happens is then comedians start making jokes, and then it starts making it on to TV, and then it makes it into movies and stuff like that. And then it just turns into this wave of, it's fun to pick on and it's an easy joke. And I get it. I understand. There are bands that when I hear them on the radio, I… And they're very popular bands… I mean, we all have those. No one is exempt from that. There are certain bands where you just hear them and you just don't like 'em. And other people may — half the world may love them, and I'll just be, like, 'No. I just cannot hear this band one more [time].' And just like everyone else does, I just change the channel. But we became the whipping boy of the music industry for a while there. But whatever. It's just part of the history of the band."

According to Chad, NICKELBACK is not the first group to experience the kind of severe backlash that has earned him and his bandmates the title of "the most hated act in the world."

"It's funny because we were at the American Music Awards, and we were presenting, and we presented to DEF LEPPARD," Chad recalled to "Metal Global". "And when we walked backstage afterwards, Joe Elliott and Phil Collen turned to me, and they were just, like, 'Dude, thank you so much.' I'm, like, 'For what?' They were, like, 'For taking the trophy. We get to pass the baton to you for being the most hated band in the world now.' And I was just, like, 'Oh, yeah. 'Cause I want that.'

"And it's funny — we went for dinner with AC/DC in Chicago years and years and years ago," Chad added. "And this whole thing came up. And Brian Johnson said when they released 'Back In Black', they were the most hated band on the planet. So I feel like we're in good company. [Laughs]"

This past December, Chad's brother, NICKELBACK bassist Mike Kroeger was asked by Germany's Rock Antenne if he pays attention to all the online comments about his band. He responded: "I don't really do social media anymore. I have my own Instagram, but I got off Twitter. I never did Facebook, thank God, but I got off Twitter a couple of years ago — three years ago, I guess, now. I'm thinking about getting back on, just because since Elon Musk bought it, it looks like a hilarious, fun time. All these people are so scared, I love it. I might even rejoin, just to see what happens with that guy at the helm, so to speak.

"I'm not scared of comments 'cause I think sometimes even the ones that are assholes can be really funny," he continued. "To me, if something is truly funny, it's funny. Obviously, just to throw hate at something, like us, that's not kind of funny; that's just negative. But sometimes the haters can say some pretty funny things.

"There's a lot of times when you see people… And that's one thing that the Internet kind of has fostered with sites like Reddit, et cetera, is giving people a platform to try to be funny," Mike added. "And a lot of people try to be funny, and that's kind of the problem, because a lot of people aren't funny. So I have to kind of weed through the amateurs to get to the good ones, 'cause there are some good ones in there. There are people who make fun of our band and are funny about it — I'll have a great laugh when I see that — but there is also a contingent of people online who, they want to be funny, but they're just not. And that's just very sad to me."

NICKELBACK's latest album, "Get Rollin'", was released last November via BMG.

American black metal overlords, Wolves In The Throne Room, have released the official visualizer for "Twin Mouthed Spring", from their Crypt Of Ancestral Knowledge EP, out September 29.


Says the band: “Today we unveil another track titled 'Initiates Of The White Hart' and have created a psychedelic visualizer for the song. We wanted to take our-live set stalwart 'Spirit Of Lighting' into deeper dark psychedelic waters so we completely imagined the track as an Atmospheric Industrial journey.””







The EP features four new tracks spanning the scope of Wolves In The Throne Room's cinematic black metal and dark acoustic folk, as well as two atmospheric industrial tracks that take the band into darker sonic territories.


Crypt Of Ancestral Knowledge is out September 29 on Vinyl/CD/CS/Digital. Pre-order via Relapse.com here. Digital downloads / streaming (in US & Canada) here.


Crypt Of Ancestral Knowledge EP opens with “Beholden to Clan”, a blazing slab of symphonic black metal. Regarding the EP opener, Guitarist Kody Keyworth comments, “Journeying high atop a sacred mountain, the song recalls the importance of the sacrificed king's cycle of rebirth through ancestral hallucinogenic rights of passage. It’s a wild trip. Hail Othila!”


Elsewhere, “Twin Mouthed Spring” follows. This new track features vocals and acoustic guitar performed by founding Wolves In The Throne Room drummer Cedar Serpent who has recently returned to the live stage after a years long hiatus from live performance. He comments, “This song travels to a deep wellspring of passion and creativity. Themes from Celtic Mythology are pulled apart and remade.”


Side B of the EP features a different side of the enigmatic band; “Initiates Of The White Hart”, an Atmospheric Industrial interpretation of “Spirit of Lightning”, takes this live-set stalwart into deeper dark psychedelic waters while “Crown of Stone”, a ritual dark ambient piece, connects thematically to “Mountain Magic” the lead track on 2021’s Primordial Arcana.





Crypt Of Ancestral Knowledge tracklisting:


"Beholden To Clan"
"Twin Mouthed Spring"
"Initiates Of The White Hart"
"Crown Of Stone"


"Twin Mouthed Spring" video:





Additionally, Wolves In The Throne Room begin the Crypt Of Ancestral Knowledge North America headline tour this fall through late September & October. Support throughout the tour will be provided by Blackbraid, Gaerea and Hoaxed.





Dates:


September
29 - St. Louis, MO - Red Flag
30 - Chicago, IL - Metro


October
1 - St. Paul, MN - Amsterdam Bar & Hall
3 - Detroit, MI - El Club
4 - Toronto, ON - Lee’s Palace
5 - Montreal, QC - Theatre Fairmount
6 - Boston, MA - Big Night Live
7 - Hamden, CT - Space Ballroom
8 - Brooklyn, NY - Brooklyn Monarch
10 - Philadelphia, PA - Underground Arts
11 - Baltimore, MD - Baltimore Soundstage
12 - Richmond, VA - The Canal Club
13 - Greensboro, NC - Hangar 1819
14 - Atlanta, GA - The Loft
15 - Tampa, FL - Orpheum
17 - Dallas, TX - Echo Lounge & Music Hall
18 - Austin, TX - Come And Take It Live
20 - Albuquerque, NM - Sister
21 - Tucson, AZ - Encore
23 - Salt Lake City, UT - Metro Music Hall
24 - Denver, CO - The Oriental Theater


Wolves In The Throne Room Is:


Nathan Weaver - Lead Vocals/Guitar
Aaron Weaver - Drums/Synth/Voice
Kody Keyworth - Vocals/Guitar

In a brand new interview with Marko Syrjälä of Chaoszine, founding JUDAS PRIEST guitarist Kenneth "K.K." Downing was asked what it was like to reunite with his former band for a performance at last year's Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction ceremony. He responded: "Well, I was kind of debating whether to go, whether to go there and do it or not because of all the circumstances. Plus, it was a long way to go. [Laughs]"

Referencing former PRIEST drummer Les Binks, who also performed at the event, Downing continued: "[PRIEST's] manager told us that we were guests of the band — me and Les. I'm going, 'Fuck off.' If anything, I'm a guest of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, but I'm there to accept my own award in my own right. I'm not a guest of anybody. And then they were gonna dictate the songs and what was gonna [be] play[ed]. So I said, 'Oh, fuck. Should I bother doing this?' You know what I mean? 'Can I be really bothered?' And then people were saying, 'You've gotta go. It'll never happen again, obviously, in your lifetime. You deserve this.' And anyway, so I decided, 'Okay, I'll go.' But, obviously, we were kept separated and not allowed to walk the red carpet together, which is all very sad, but that's the way that they wanted it."

According to Downing, he had a pleasant exchange with his replacement in PRIEST, Richie Faulkner, who wasn't being inducted into the Rock Hall but took part in the PRIEST performance at the ceremony.

"Richie was great," K.K. said. "Richie came into our dressing room. Richie was really — he was fine. Obviously, I am the real thing, aren't I? [Laughs] What can I say? [Laughs] What can I say? But, no, Richie's great; we get on well. And [PRIEST's current touring guitarist and producer] Andy Sneap's great; he's an old friend. As for the other guys, I don't care less about them. If they couldn't have just, like, at our age, just one time, just — you know what I mean? It was, just forget about it… But [it was] not to be, so [I] can't help that.

"But anyway, I went there and, yeah, I thoroughly enjoyed it, really," Downing added. "I rented some equipment, and luckily I had a couple of brand new guitars over there that I'd never seen or played. So, yeah, it was easy and fun. It was an experience, to be honest."

According to K.K., the whole event was a bit surreal, seeing as none of the other artists being inducted into the Rock Hall were even remotely close to metal.

"Even right up until the performance, I wasn't sure," Downing admitted. "I kept saying to myself, 'Am I doing the right thing here? Is this really heavy metal? I'm with a bunch of guys that fucking hate me.' I'm looking at Ed Sheeran. I'm looking at Dolly Parton. I'm thinking, 'Fuck it. Am I in the right place? Is it all a dream?' [Laughs] I'm thinking, 'Oh, what the hell? Just grab the guitar and do it and get to the pub.' And that's what I did. I came off stage, put my clothes on, went straight back to the hotel bar and I had some beers and it was great."

K.K. also confirmed that he did have a brief chat with PRIEST singer Rob Halford at the Rock Hall. "Rob came over to me, and I [initially] didn't wanna speak to him, because he left the band for 14 years and I was instrumental in reinstating him back in the band, having him back in," Downing said. "And then he tells me that I can't rejoin the band. How does that work? I don't know how that works."

According to K.K., "it's [PRIEST guitarist] Glenn [Tipton] and [PRIEST's longtime manager] Jayne [Andrews] who make all the decisions [for the band], and, I hate to say it, but Rob is just… I really think that… The only reason I spoke to Rob [at the Rock Hall] is because I think he's being controlled. That's the only reason. I don't believe that Rob voted not to have me [back] in [PRIEST]. I think he was forced to. I think Rob would have voted me in. But it was their choice. And now Richie's off doing his own thing with [his side project] ELEGANT WEAPONS and everything. So it's not looking great for him, really, is it?"

Asked if he has heard the debut ELEGANT WEAPONS LP, which came out in May, Downing said: "Yes. It's good, but it's not my style of metal. It's not my thing. But he said he [wanted to do] something different [with his side project], to be different to JUDAS PRIEST; he didn't wanna be like them. Well, I guess, I do wanna be like… that is my type of metal. You know — I like JUDAS PRIEST, SCORPIONS, UFO, SAXON. I'm the old-school boy. I love all of that shit."

PRIEST received the Musical Excellence Award at last year's Rock Hall, which honored Eminem, Dolly Parton, DURAN DURAN, Lionel Richie, Pat Benatar, EURYTHMICS and Carly Simon in the Performers category.

The JUDAS PRIEST members who got inducted include current members Halford, Ian Hill (bass),Tipton and Scott Travis (drums),along with former members Downing, Binks and late drummer Dave Holland.

Halford, Hill, Tipton and Travis were joined by Binks, Downing and Faulkner for a three-song medley consisting of "You've Got Another Thing Comin'", "Breaking The Law" and "Living After Midnight".

In November 2022, Halford was asked in an interview with the San Antonio Current if performing with Downing at the Rock Hall ceremony helped put aside some of the acrimony that K.K. has shown about not being in band for these last few tours. Halford responded: "I think we should let the music speak for itself, really, because as you'll see from the performance, you'll see that all of that other stuff is irrelevant. All the things that have been said and suggested just float off into the air. What matters is what's going down on that stage at that time you're performing together. And there he is on my right-hand side. It just felt like he was always there. Look behind me and there's [Les], and the memories just are overwhelming. But, more than that, you're focusing on the moment that you're back together again and playing live. It was really a whirlwind. We were in each other's company for a very, very short space of time. We had very little time to communicate. But for the purpose of the induction of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame together, it was absolutely crucial that K.K. and Les were there. They were inducted, they needed to be in the room. And more than that, we were thrilled that they took the opportunity to say, 'Yeah, we'll come and jam on stage again with you guys.'"

In a separate interview with Lauren "Lern" Elwell of the KSHE radio station, Halford said it was "good" performing with Downing and Binks at the Rock Hall. He added: "We hadn't seen [Downing] forever. And I've still yet to watch footage of that. All I remember is my brief interactions with K.K., because I'm always running around the stage like a mad drag queen. My interactions with Ken and with Les, it was great. It felt wonderful to have that moment together after such a long time. And that just shows you the power, the weight, the vibe that the Rock Hall suggests you try to attempt. Try and recapture something of the essence that it really part of why you're here, why you're being inducted. I was just so happy that Ken and Les showed up, because they needed to be there. It was entirely their choice, but I said it makes absolute sense if you're in the room and we're playing together. And we did, and it was magical."

Downing left PRIEST in 2011 amid claims of band conflict, shoddy management and declining quality of performance.

In 2019, Downing said that he reached out to JUDAS PRIEST about taking part in the band's 50th-anniversary tour but that their response was that they were not interested in including him in the celebrations.

In 2018, Downing revealed that he sent two resignation letters to his bandmates when he decided to quit JUDAS PRIEST. The first was described as "a graceful exit note, implying a smooth retirement from music," while the second was "angrier, laying out all of his frustrations with specific parties."

Downing later said that he believed the second letter was "a key reason" he wasn't invited to rejoin PRIEST after Tipton's decision to retire from touring.

In his 2018 autobiography "Heavy Duty: Days And Nights In Judas Priest", Downing wrote that he told Tipton and Andrews that he had "hated" them both "since 1985." In 2021, he explained his outburst to Classic Rock magazine: "I was angry. Glenn had formed a relationship with Jayne from day one, and it felt a bit like a John-and-Yoko situation. I didn't like that."

JUDAS PRIEST was on the ballot for Rock Hall induction in 2020, but failed to receive enough votes to make that year's class.

Having been eligible for induction since 1999, PRIEST was also on the ballot for the 2018 class of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, but was ultimately left out of the inductee list.

Photo credit: Mind Art Visual

In a new interview with "Chaz & AJ In The Morning" show, which is heard on Connecticut's 99.1 PLR radio station, former QUEENSRŸCHE singer Geoff Tate spoke about the touching ballad "Silent Lucidity" which originally appeared on the band's triple-platinum-certified 1990 album "Empire". Asked if he and his bandmates knew the song was "special" at the time when they were recording it, Tate said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It was no more special than any of the other songs that we were working on at the time. And the funny thing about that song was it almost didn't make the album. Our producer at the time said, 'I don't think it's as strong as the rest of the songs on the album. I think you should work on it some more or replace it with something else.' And at the time it didn't have all the orchestration in it; it was just acoustic guitar and vocal. And I think he was right — it needed to have something else done to it. And Chris DeGarmo, our guitar player, he sent it off to Michael Kamen, who did orchestration on it and had worked with us before on other albums and done movie soundtracks and everything. And Michael sent us back the orchestration and we put it up in the studio and we listened to it with the track. And Peter Collins, our producer, says, 'Okay, it's ready for the album now.' And he was right. It wasn't finished; it needed to have that finishing touch done to it. And we never thought that it would do what it did."

Geoff added: "It was a great time for that album and our record company and everything just clicked. Years later, I ran into the president of our record company at the time at an event. And I said, 'What was the magic formula that you guys had? What made that album take off the way it did? What'd you guys do?' And he goes, 'I don't know. We just, you know, threw it up against the wall and it started sticking, so we just threw more money at it.'"

Tate previously talked about "Silent Lucidity" this past January in an interview with the Igor Miranda YouTube channel. At the time, he said: "Well, it was a very popular song, and still is. I hear it all the time in everyday life. It just floats in and out on radio stations and TV stations and pumping gas at the gas stations; it pops on the speaker. [Laughs] It's just weird. I hear it in films and TV shows. It's a song that is with us at all times. And that's a great thing. I love that it's surprising that I hear it.

"I get asked to play that song a lot," he continued. "People tell me stories about the first time they heard it or what that song means to them. And it seems to have had quite an emotional impact on people. I think people have been married to the song and buried to the song. [Laughs] Children have been born, children have been made to that song. It's been played a lot."

After building a devoted fan base with album and EP releases throughout the 1980s, including 1988's critically acclaimed "Operation: Mindcrime", QUEENSRŸCHE broke into the mainstream across North America and abroad with the 1990 release of "Empire". In the U.S., the album peaked at No. 7 on The Billboard 200 chart and "Silent Lucidity" quickly became a heavy rotation staple at rock radio and on MTV, topping Billboard's Modern Rock singles chart and earning QUEENSRŸCHE the coveted MTV "Viewers Choice Award" for the song's music video. "Empire" also made the U.K.'s Top 10, and the album's international success led to QUEENSRŸCHE's 18-month headlining "Building Empires" world tour, the band's longest trek to date.

During a February 2017 appearance on SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", Tate was asked if he ever imagined when "Silent Lucidity" was first written that it would become such a cross-genre hit. He responded: "No. And I doubt anybody does that ever writes a song that becomes very popular. There's no way to predict that; you just write what it is you write."

He continued: "That song almost didn't make the record. It wasn't completed until the very end, and it didn't have any of the orchestra; it was just vocals and guitar. And the producer that we worked with at the time, Peter Collins, didn't think that it was a very completed idea, and he thought it should be saved for another record [so] we could get more time to complete it. But we pursued it and made it happen and put it on the record, and I'm glad we did, 'cause it definitely has made an impact."

Asked who in the band really pushed for "Silent Lucidity" to be included on "Empire", Tate said: "Oh, Chris and I. We were very into the song, and we wanted it on the record. The problem is we presented it too early to the producer; we didn't have all the parts in place. Very few people can imagine something out of thin air, before it's actually there. So it's asking a lot for us to say, 'Well, just imagine it with this orchestral accompaniment.' [Laughs] 'Cause that could be anything. So until Michael Kamen finished the orchestra parts, it was really an unknown. But then once we had those in place and we played it back for Peter, he was all thumbs up. He [said], 'Oh, it's a beautiful song here. You should definitely put it on the record.'"

Tate also talked about "Silent Lucidity"'s lasting influence, saying that "People have been married to that song, children have been born to that song, people have been buried to that song, and children have been made to that song. It's really had quite an impact on the population, you know."

According to Geoff, he has been approached "many, many times" to perform "Silent Lucidity" at various family gatherings and other functions. "I've actually declined every time but once," he said. "And the reason why I declined after that was because of this one time. I did it for some people that I knew that I was pretty good friends with, and they wanted me to sing it at their wedding. And they had a karaoke guy come in, and they had the music all together, and I said, 'Okay, I'll do it for you.' So I sang the song, and everybody loved it. And after my performance, I'm standing there, having a glass of wine and talking with some people, and several people came up and they commented and said how much I sounded like that guy that sings that song. They said I did a really great job and I should be really proud and maybe I should think about doing this professionally. [Laughs]"

"Silent Lucidity" was written about a person having a lucid dream. A lucid dream happens when you are aware that you are dreaming, and can control parts of it. DeGarmo got the idea from a book called "Creative Dreaming". "The song is about the ability to realize that you're dreaming, recognize it, and actually participate in the dream, shape it, change it," the guitarist said in a 1990 interview. "I had never had the opportunity to present it in song form, to talk about it. It happened nicely on this particular project."

The Pics from the pit YouTube channel has uploaded 4K video of Rob Zombie's September 3 performance at the Rocklahoma festival in Pryor, Oklahoma. Check out the clips below.

Rob kicked off his "Freaks On Parade" 2023 tour with Alice Cooper on August 24 at Dos Equis Pavilion in Dallas, Texas.

This past May, Rob told "Howie Mandel Does Stuff" that he had started work on his next studio album. "It's been a while since I've made a record," he said. "I was [working on the music for the LP] till about a week ago. And it's going good. It's a long process.

"I like making records over a long period of time, so that I can live with it," he explained. "Sometimes you write something and it's new and you're all excited 'cause it's new and the time goes by, [and you're, like] 'Eh, it's just exciting 'cause it's new. It's not really that good.' But if you live with stuff for a while, you kind of [get a better sense of how strong it is]."

Elaborating on how he goes about making albums, Rob said: "Usually it starts with just me and the producer coming up with ideas, mapping out rough ideas. And then the band will start, 'I've got this idea. And this idea…' I haven't stood in a room with a band and jammed on ideas since the early '90s. 'Cause I just always found that to be really draining… I like working with one guy behind the board and we formulate ideas and you piece it together — kind of like you would a movie; it's kind of similar. As opposed to a bunch of guys jamming all day long. You're, like, 'Anyone got any ideas?' 'Not really.'"

Asked how close he is to completing the next album, Rob said: "Not close at all. We just have a ton of ideas and I've gotta take those ideas, whittle them down, start writing lyrics, see if that makes sense… Hopefully by next summer [it will be ready]."

Rob's seventh studio album, "The Lunar Injection Kool Aid Eclipse Conspiracy", was released in March 2021 via Nuclear Blast. The LP marked Rob's first new album in nearly five years. The follow-up to 2016's "The Electric Warlock Acid Witch Satanic Orgy Celebration Dispenser" was produced by Chris "Zeuss" Harris.

"The Lunar Injection Kool Aid Eclipse Conspiracy" was the third consecutive effort to feature Zombie and guitarist John 5 alongside bassist Piggy D. and drummer Ginger Fish.

Last fall, John 5 exited Rob's band to join MÖTLEY CRÜE as the replacement for that group's founding guitarist Mick Mars. John 5 has since been replaced in Zombie's band by returning guitarist Mike Riggs.

Riggs had previously spent six years as a member of ROB ZOMBIE. Riggs joined forces with Rob in the '90s and stayed with him into the early 2000s, eventually leaving in 2004 (when Rob Zombie was largely focusing on films rather than music) to start a project of his own. Riggs songwriting and crunching guitars can be heard on Rob Zombie's "Hellbilly Deluxe", "American Made Music To Strip By", "The Sinister Urge" and "The Past, Present & Future" records.

More recently, Riggs had kept busy with his band SCUM OF THE EARTH, named after a song from "Sinister Urge". SCUM OF THE EARTH favors the sort of rhythmic, industrial-influenced, mildly funky, hip-hop-minded alternative metal that Riggs honed during his initial Rob Zombie days.

John 5 had worked with Zombie for 16 years, co-writing on all studio albums since "Educated Horses", and composing the score for Zombie's 2013 movie "The Lords Of Salem".

U.S. doom and heavy metal veterans THE OBSESSED will release their fifth studio album, "Gilded Sorrow", on February 16, 2024 via Ripple Music.

Expanded to a four-piece with the addition of Jason Taylor on guitar, the music on the follow-up to 2017's "Sacred" is more aggressive, straightforward and downright mean than ever before.

"Gilded Sorrow" will be available in various limited vinyl editions, classic vinyl, CD and digital, with U.S. preorders already available at this location.

THE OBSESSED frontman Scott "Wino" Weinrich spoke to TotalRock's "Hobo On The Radio" show about "Gilded Sorrow". He said in part: "I think it's the heaviest thing I've ever done. I mean, heavy in a sense as not just sludge heavy, but I think it's well-rounded. I would say I think it's the best thing I've done. I like to be able to say that it's the best thing I've ever done because I want everything that I do to be as good or better. Every time I do a record, I set the bar. 'The Church Within' set the bar for 'Sacred'. 'Sacred' set the bar for 'Gilded Sorrow'. We did it with Frank Marchand [at Waterford Digital] in Maryland.

"We added two members. We added Chris Angleberger on bass. He started out in Maryland in a band called TRANQUILIZER, eventually ended up in Florida, and he plays in some tribute bands and stuff like that; he did some original stuff along the way. And then Jason Taylor on second guitar. I think the adding the second guitar to THE OBSESSED was one of the best decisions I've made, because he's a virtuoso guitar player, first of all. Second of all, he really understands my music and me. He came to the table pretty much knowing all my songs. He sent me a really nice letter. We did some touring with SIERRA when we first met — his band SIERRA; he's Canadian. And he sent me a really nice letter saying, 'I see my future playing original music with you. Your music would be the vehicle.' And I must say he contributed quite a bit of good stuff to this record 'Gilded Sorrow'. He co-wrote some stuff with me [and] he made a bunch of great suggestions. The record runs together sort of as one piece. There are a few stops here and there where it needs to stop, but as a rule, it runs together as one piece. And that was Frank Marchand's idea. He wanted to do something a little bit different with the production, but it really works. But Jason did all the segue stuff with his guitar, with some equipment that he has. So no synthesizers were used on this record. It doesn't sound all keyboarded out — don't get me wrong. But for lack of a better word, if people were wondering, this is all guitar stuff. I think he rounded it out really, really well."

Asked if "Gilded Sorrow" has a "much more expansive sound" than previous THE OBSESSED efforts, Wino said: "I think it sounds fantastic. Everything I do with Frank gets better and better. Frank Marchand in Maryland, he's an amazing live sound guy, but he also has an amazing command of the recording studio, because he's got an amazing command of his digital realm. But then he is got all kinds of analog stuff. It's like Les Paul orgy. He knows his gear. And he can use it. He cut his teeth doing live sound, so he understands hard rock. He knows what the fuck he's doing."

This past April, Wino told the "Heavy Galaxy" show that "Gilded Sorrow" will contain eight songs with a running time of "about 36 [or] 37 minutes."

One of the songs on the follow-up to 2017's "Sacred" is called "Stoned Back To The Bomb Age", a play on words based on when then-U.S. president George W. Bush's deputy secretary of state Richard Armitage threatened to bomb Pakistan "back to the Stone Age" immediately after 9/11.

"I always listened to the radio, so I was listening to a defense department briefing," Weinrich said. "And Armitage said, 'If Pakistan gets involved in this conflict, we're gonna bomb them back to the stone age.' So I was, like, 'Wow.' So, 'Stoned Back To The Bomb Age' — it's kind of a little bit of a comment on modern stuff."

Weinrich went on to say that he is "not really pulling any punches" on "Gilded Sorrow". "But at the same time, I'm not trying to shoot myself in the foot either," he explained. "The music has gotta talk. The reason I even have an audience at all is from the music. I appreciate the fact that I've been able to have a long and fruitful career. I really do."

THE OBSESSED was formed in the late 1970s in Potomac, Maryland by legendary Weinrich (SAINT VITUS, SPIRIT CARAVAN). The band spawned in the realm of musicians/artists such as BLACK SABBATH, Frank Zappa, THE DICTATORS and THE STOOGES. The earliest lineup consisted of Wino, bassist Mark Laue, guitarist John Reese, and drummer Dave Flood. In 1983, Wino took over vocal duties and the band became a three-piece to record the "Sodden Jackal" EP.

The band broke up in the late '80s after Wino moved to California to join SAINT VITUS. At that time, a German label, Hellhound Records, and the booking agency that had signed SAINT VITUS, released "The Obsessed", originally recorded in 1985, prompting Wino to reform THE OBSESSED. After multiple lineup changes, the band signed to Columbia Records in 1994 and released its third album, "The Church Within". Despite receiving highly acclaimed reviews, THE OBSESSED would break up following the release, after which Wino formed SPIRIT CARAVAN (then SHINE) and other projects.

In September 2011, THE OBSESSED returned to the stage at Roadburn festival with "The Church Within"'s legendary lineup (featuring Wino, Greg Rogers and Guy Pinhas). The band played a few more reunion shows over the next couple years at Hellfest 2012 and Maryland Deathfest XI in May 2013 with bassist Reid Raley.

Wino announced the full-time return of THE OBSESSED in March 2016 and the band's official signing to Relapse Records to record the follow-up to "The Church Within". The new lineup originally consisted of SPIRIT CARAVAN bassist Dave Sherman and Wino's longtime friend and former road crew member Brian Costantino (drums). On October 31, 2016, Wino announced another new lineup change for THE OBSESSED, including Bruce Falkinburg (bass) and Seraphim (guitar),making that the first time the band had been a four-piece in over thirty-five years.

In 2017, THE OBSESSED unleashed "Sacred", the band's first studio album in over twenty years, further pushing the band into the annals of heavy metal history. After a few years on the road, the lineup stabilized around Brian Costantino on drums, Chris Angleberger on bass, Jason Taylor on guitar, and, of course, Wino at the helm.

THE OBSESSED 2023 is:

Chris Angleberger - bass
Jason Taylor - guitar
Brian Costantino - drums
Scott "Wino" Weinrich - guitar and vocals

L7 has released a brand new single, "Cooler Than Mars", alongside an official video. The track, available both digitally and as a limited-edition 1000-run flexi disc, features the legendary rockers' singular brand of socio-political commentary and humor. It tackles the seemingly never-ending disastrous weather events throughout the world and calls for leadership, focus and action.

L7's Donita Sparks shares: "The song was inspired by the ongoing catastrophic news of climate change, and the strange passions of billionaire space cowboys to explore and exploit the outer limits of our stratosphere. Seems to me such obsessions and resources should be totally focused on healing The Big Blue Marble. I feel like there is nothing 'out there' that is as mind-blowing as the biodiversity of what we have here on Earth. Because we're cooler than Mars, damnit."

L7 will kick off the "In Your Space" U.S. tour on September 14, which includes stops at Louder Than Life and Aftershock festivals. Following their blistering performance at Punk Rock Bowling in Las Vegas and their highly successful 2022 "Bricks Are Heavy" 30th-anniversary tour, the band is excited to tear it up at some intimate stages for a rib-rattling, in-your-face night of rock and roll. The "Cooler Than Mars" four-pack flexi disc single will also be included as part of a 15-capacity/show L7 Experience VIP tour package, which also includes the fan club subscription, VIP access to soundcheck for one full song, photo op, early re-entry and early access to merch.

"The energy and vibe that smaller venues allow is something that we always want to stay connected to," Sparks said, "and with a new single coming soon, we can't wait to see our crowd up close and in the flesh."

North American tour dates:

Sep. 14 - Asbury Park, NJ @ The Wonder Bar
Sep. 16 - Boston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall
Sep. 17 - New York, NY @ Gramercy Hall
Sep. 18 - Washington, DC @ Black Cat
Sep. 21 - Louisville, KY @ Louder Than Life Festival
Oct. 02 - Los Angeles, CA @ Venice West
Oct. 03 - San Diego, CA @ House of Blues
Oct. 05 - Sacramento, CA @ Aftershock Festival
Oct. 07 - Pioneertown, CA @ Pappy & Harriet's

Formed in 1985, L7 went on indefinite hiatus in 2001. A 2015 reunion tour was followed by the documentary "L7: Pretend We're Dead" in 2016.

L7's first album in 20 years, "Scatter The Rats", was released in May 2019 via Joan Jett's Blackheart Records. At the time, Sparks told the Asbury Park Press that new music was never part of the reunion strategy. "New music was not in the plan at all," she said. "We just got together to do reunion shows, and that just really kind of took off and we wanted to keep playing shows, we really enjoyed connecting with our fans again.

"Playing rock is fun and we hadn't done it in a long time and we realized, 'Wow, this is really fun again,' so we thought, 'If we want to keep doing this, we should put out new music.' And we felt we still had stuff to say and still wanted to express ourselves with new stuff."

Photo credit: Robert Fagan

In a new interview with Consequence, SLIPKNOT singer Corey Taylor spoke about battling alcoholism for many years before getting sober in 2010. "[I was] dealing with my own various addictions and fighting the depression that I had to deal with for years — the trauma that kind of came from when I was growing up," he said.

Taylor went on to say that being sexually abused as a child and the absence of a father figure while growing up negatively impacted him.

"Over the years, music was my only form of solace," he said. "It was the only thing that really ever made me feel like there was hope in the world. There was always a form of music or a song that was waiting for me to discover it."

Corey singled out METALLICA's James Hefield and ALICE IN CHAINS' Jerry Cantrell as inspirations when it came to getting sober.

"I think one of the people who helped me kind of figure it out was James Hetfield," he said. "When he first started his journey, getting sober and getting healthy and whatnot, I looked at that, and I was, like, 'Well, shit, if he's strong enough to do it, maybe I can try it.' [Sobriety] had a big enough effect on me that, over the years, I've really tried to stick with it. In figuring that out, I also realized that there were so many people who were going down that path, as well. Jerry Cantrell had just gotten sober around that time, and he was starting to kind of put his steps together."

Taylor said that it's not easy for addicts to give up something that’s been a key part of their identity for an extended period of time.

"It takes time; it takes effort, takes work," he said. "I really have to give [Hetfield] a lot of credit for the inspiration for that… It definitely helped to know that I wasn't alone in it. And it certainly helped me clear my head and focus more. And really get down to writing again — really, truly writing."

Last November, Taylor was asked by the "The Moon Under Water" podcast how he navigates going to pubs and bars now that he no longer drinks alcohol. He responded: "The first few years is weird, because you realize quickly how much a part of your personality booze has become, and you kind of have to sort out who you are, what you're comfortable with and largely just the habit of it.

"I was never a big beer drinker, so non-alcoholic brew, that wasn't the key," he explained. "So I started with sodas and then just kind of went to water. And now that's just what I do.

"To me, going out and hanging out in a pub or a bar or whatever is more about the company you keep. And you realize at some point the golden moment is going to go away. So you try to time your departure right around that time where you're just, like, 'Okay, we've got about 10 minutes before he becomes a super mess. So I'm gonna split, and I'll talk to you guys later.'"

Taylor added: "I try not to 'Irish goodbye' everybody, where you just split. I only did that, really, when I was drinking. [Laughs] But I make sure that everybody's good; I make sure that everybody's… Okay, if anybody needs a ride home, I'm the first one to do it. 'Cause it's usually just me and my wife. My wife still drinks, but she's very social. She's way better at it than I was. Usually right about the time she's starting to kind of… She's just, like, 'I'm tired. We need to split.' I'm, like, 'Ah. You had me at 'I'm ready to go.'' So we're out the door and heading for home."

Corey previously discussed his long history of drug use and eventual recovery in a January 2020 interview with BBC Radio 6 Music presenter Mary Anne Hobbs. At the time, he said: "You get to the point where you realize that what you do means so much to you that you wanna do it at the absolute top of your game. And you know me — I'm a nut, so if I'm going all the way, I'm gonna go all the way and above and beyond.

"I've struggled with drinking for a long time, especially with having that kind of addictive personality side to me," he continued. "But at the same time, I've also had this weird switch where when I decide to quit something, that's it. And this year is ten years for me. And then I quit smoking, which I never thought I would do. And that was just as difficult, if not worse. But then you get to the point where you start going, 'Okay, we're done quitting things. What can we do to improve ourselves?' So I started really looking at the way I eat and the way I take care of myself. I started training again and really trying to get physically fit to the point where if I went on stage, I knew that I could do the best show that I've done in twenty years. And that became part of just keeping this thing alive."

Five years ago, Taylor, who tried to commit suicide in 2003 by attempting to jump off a hotel balcony while struggling with alcoholism, was honored with the "Icon" award at Rock To Recovery's second annual awareness event and benefit. In his acceptance speech, the singer said: "I had my first drink when I was five years old, did my first drug when I was eleven, and it was just all fucked up from there. I lost a lot of friends."

During a 2016 appearance on the "Meet Your Heroes" SiriusXM radio show, Taylor said that his personality turned "vicious" and he had a "dark attitude" while drunk. He added: "To this day, there are still a lot of friends of mine who are, like, 'If you ever fall off the wagon, don't call me.' So I know it's in me, and I think that's the difference between me and a lot of other people is the fact that I can at least admit it."

He continued: "I just let booze get in the way for a while and then I kind of pulled myself out of it. I feel like I'm doing my best work now, to be honest."

Corey's sophomore solo album, "CMF2", will be released on September 15.

Corey Taylor photo credit: Marina Hunter

In a new interview with Heavy Debriefings, FEAR FACTORY guitarist Dino Cazares once again opened up about the realities of post-pandemic touring, including increased travel expenses — gas, tour buses, hotels and flight costs. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Now that we're out there touring, we've been victims of what it's like touring at this day and age and how much it costs out there. And the lack of availability of a few things — like no buses; buses are scarce right now. Just traveling accommodations are difficult and the prices of a lot of things are just through the roof. And all the percentages that the club is taking and things like that, it just adds up. And it's really difficult out there right now."

Dino also addressed the fact that many venues require bands to pay them a percentage of their merchandise sales. Commonly that split is 20/80, meaning for every dollar a band makes selling a t-shirt, the venue gets 20 cents. It's an accepted industry standard that understandably riles touring bands, especially those acts for whom merch income is still crucial for ensuring that a tour is profitable.

"Well, the venue owners are, like, 'Look, if you're going to sell merch in my house, you're gonna have to give me a cut,'" Dino explained. "It's basically how they look at it. It's just ways of making more money for them. In other words, let's hypothetically say, let's just throw a number out there, let's hypothetically say they're paying you five thousand dollars to play the show; let's say you're getting paid five thousand dollars. And let's say you sell fifteen thousand dollars' worth of merch. And then you take 30 percent of that. How much is that? I don't have the calculator in front of me, but let's say you have to pay them back two or three thousand dollars from your merch cut. That means they only paid you two thousand dollars in guarantee. So you're basically paying to play."

Cazares added that the bands have little choice but to go along with the scheme. "That's the way the cookie crumbles, man," he said. "You've just got to deal with it, unfortunately. The unfortunate part is that ticket prices are going up, merch prices are going up and gas prices are insane out there right now. And just paying for gas for a tour bus or any kind of travel, whether it's an RV or a van, it's expensive — it's very expensive. I think a lot of people don't realize that. And I don't understand why they shouldn't realize it because they're also paying a lot of money for gas when they're just going to work. So, imagine that, when you're doing a big bus and you're spending 500 a night on gas."

Dino previously talked about venues' insistence on collecting cuts from artist merch sales this past July in an interview with The Razor's Edge. Asked if the merchandise cuts that the promoters are taking from artists are getting larger than they were in the past, Dino said: "Yes. That's been the whole debate, that it's been getting larger and larger. Of course there's always been a percentage that you have to give to venues. That's just how it is. Merch percentage — we're talking about merch percentage. But, of course, it's getting higher and higher. So, unfortunately, the fans are the ones who have to pay for that, because once the merch percentages get higher that the venue takes, then you're gonna have to raise your prices on a t-shirt. That's just inevitable and that's unfortunate, [but] that's what happens."

When the interviewer pointed out to Dino that artists do not get a cut of any of the alcohol that is sold in the venues where they are performing, Cazares said: "It's not just the promoters and the club venues; it's also the ticket agencies. It's all a big thing. It's not one thing — it's all of it. And you're right — we do not get a percentage of the alcohol at all whatsoever. But I did hear that there was one artist that did that, and that was Axl Rose. Axl Rose was putting GUNS N' ROSES in stadiums — in soccer stadiums and baseball stadiums — selling out 40, 50 thousand people, but he was, like, 'If you want GUNS N' ROSES in your stadium, you're gonna have to give me a piece of the alcohol,' And I heard a rumor that he got a piece of that alcohol percentage, which is really good. Which probably evened out to what [the promoters] were getting from the merch percentage. But not a lot of artists in my genre have that kind of power, if at all."

Last month, Dino told ADK Metal News, Reviews, Reactions & Interviews that FEAR FACTORY will tour the U.S. and Europe this fall and then embark on a "killer package" U.S. two-month tour in late January. "And then we've got some festivals — April, May, June and probably August [of 2024]," he said. "Then, in the summer, I need to take the summer off to finish the new record, get it out and then get back on the road probably by October, November next year again."

He continued: "It's a lot of planning. We're getting asked to do a lot of things and right now I've been saying yes, just to try to get the band back out there, try to get the band to rebuild our large live credibility. We want the fans to come back. And then you hit 'em with a new song and then you hit 'em with a new album. And you just get back out there and do it again."

An early instrumental version of a new FEAR FACTORY song called "Roboticist" was made available in March to promote Toneforge Disruptor, a virtual guitar rig plugin and standalone app.

Cazares told BLABBERMOUTH.NET about "Roboticist", which was mixed by longtime FEAR FACTORY collaborator Damien Rainaud: "Initially it was just going to be a instrumental for the plugin, but it came out so good that I decided to make it a song for the new album. Maybe the album will be called the 'Roboticist'. It fits so well with our concept."

FEAR FACTORY's next LP will be the band's first with the Italian-born vocalist Milo Silvestro, whose addition to FEAR FACTORY was officially announced in late February.

FEAR FACTORY played its first headlining concert with Silvestro and touring drummer Pete Webber on May 5 at the Whisky A Go Go in West Hollywood, California.

FEAR FACTORY's recently completed "Rise Of The Machine" U.S. tour as the support act for STATIC-X marked the Cazares-led outfit's first run of shows with Silvestro and Webber.

Webber has been filling in for FEAR FACTORY's longtime drummer Mike Heller who is unable to play with the band due to "scheduling conflicts."

FEAR FACTORY will play a one-off show on September 17 at the Metal Injection Festival where the band will perform a very special "Demanufacture" and "Obsolete" set. FEAR FACTORY will then launch a five-date headlining "DisrupTour" with special guests LIONS AT THE GATE, which will kick off on October 7. This will be followed by the band heading out on the "October Dawn 2023" tour with headliners LACUNA COIL and openers LIONS AT THE GATE. The 10-date trek will begin on October 13 in Atlanta and make stops in Louisville, Oklahoma City, and Houston before concluding in St. Petersburg on October 29.

FEAR FACTORY will embark on a European tour this fall. The 44-date trek will mark the band's first European shows since 2016. Joining them on this run are BUTCHER BABIES from the USA and IGNEA from Ukraine.

FEAR FACTORY's latest album, "Aggression Continuum", was released in June 2021 via Nuclear Blast Records. The LP, which was recorded primarily in 2017, features Cazares and former singer Burton C. Bell alongside Heller.

In a new interview with Rock Feed, Corey Taylor once again spoke about how long he thinks SLIPKNOT can go on, given the intense physical demands of the band's live performances. The SLIPKNOT singer, who will turn 50 in December, said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I've already said that physically I maybe have five years left, but at the same time I go out of my way to really try to take care of myself. Now I have a lot of fucking miles on me. It's hard for me. People don't realize this, but when I walk, I'm almost in constant pain. It's the knees, it's my feet. I have a broken toe on this foot. I have gout across my feet. It gets up into my joints and shit. Yeah, it's tough. I'm not as nimble as I used to be. I'm not 35 anymore. It's hard. But there are ways to do shows that don't require being that crazy now."

Corey continued: "The travel doesn't lend itself to being healthy, because, at that point, it's not like being home. You've got all your stuff. You're kind of at the mercy of what's there for you. So you're gonna eat like shit, you're gonna sleep like shit, you're gonna feel like shit, and nine times out of 10, you're gonna play like shit. We don't want that. So it's tough. Even a guy at my level, it's not always laid-out catering and the best food and the best people. Sometimes it's a soggy sandwich at 12:30 in the morning, and you're looking at it, going, 'If I put this in my body, I'm gonna throw up.' People don't fucking get that. You know why they think that? It's because that's all they see on Instagram, on TikTok, on this and that, and you're seeing the commercials. There have been times we've gotten off stage, we've gone right to the airport, flown out. We don't sleep until seven the next day. And now we're just all [exhausted]. Our crew gets it even worse, 'cause they have to fucking go in, make sure everything's good, and then they can go fucking take a nap. So it's not gravy all the time, man. It's tough. It's hard fucking work. Even at our level, it's hard work."

Taylor previously talked about the possibility of retirement this past June in an interview with Germany's Rock Antenne. At the time, he said: "As long as I can physically do it, and as long as there are people there to see it, man, I'll continue to do it. Now, if the quality starts to fail, then I'll know it's time to hand it in. And I've already thought about it — I've already thought about, maybe I've got another five years left of physically touring like this. I try to take care of myself. I work out when I can. The travel out here [in Europe] is exhausting; the food [on the road] is horrible; so it makes it hard to do that. But as long as I can keep at it, that's at least what I wanna do. So, yeah, it is what it is."

Asked if his bandmates feel the same way about the end of SLIPKNOT as he does, Corey said: "If they wanted to continue and I wanted to retire, I would help them find somebody, to be honest. This band has always been bigger than the sum of its own parts. And it was hard moving on without Paul [Gray, late SLIPKNOT bassist]. It was hard moving on when we had to part ways with Joe [late SLIPKNOT drummer Joey Jordison]. It's always been hard when the original nine ceases to be the original nine, but at the same time, the ones who are here are here because we love it, and we've always gotten something out of it.

"I've said it since day one — if I didn't want to do SLIPKNOT, I wouldn't do it," he continued. "And I think I've proved that. The reason I stick around is because I want to do it. There's still something in my heart and my soul that needs it. I don't know if that's good or bad. Obviously, psychotherapy will help me out with that shit. But at the same time, it's… it's once in a lifetime, man."

Asked if he feels a responsibility to the SLIPKNOT fans to be there with his bandmates, Corey said: "I do. But at the same time, I don't expect them to be there. I mean, there are songs that they love; there are songs they don't love. There are times I love this band; there are times I don't love this band. But I still wanna be here. And when I physically can't do it anymore, that's when I'll hang it up. I might not retire from performing period; maybe that's when I go and I do my acoustic thing. But when I can't go out there and give it at least my one hundred percent, that's when I'll hang it up. And me and Clown [SLIPKNOT percussionist and visual mastermind Shawn Crahan] have talked about this, man. He's older than all of us, and he's broken just as much crap as I have. I mean, Christ, he hit the keg with a baseball [bat] and ripped his bicep clean off the bone, and then went, got surgery and came back.

"We're psychos, dude," Taylor added. "I went out three weeks after my fucking spinal surgery — 'cause I'm a psycho. It's just we don't know our limitations until they catch up with us. So that's what I say. I mean, yes, there's a responsibility to the fans, but there's also a responsibility to me and my family. And I don't wanna be the one trying to pick up my grandkids and my legs don't work. I just don't wanna do that — I refuse to. I want my quality of life to be better than that — at the end."

SLIPKNOT is continuing to tour in support of its latest album, "The End, So Far", which was released in September 2022 via Roadrunner Records. The follow-up to "We Are Not Your Kind", it is the band's final record with Roadrunner after first signing with the rock and metal label in 1998.