Outspoken conservative rocker Ted Nugent claims that he has been "banished" from Facebook.

The 74-year-old musician, who has in the past used the Big Tech platforms to stoke conspiracy theories about the 2020 U.S. presidential election and the coronavirus pandemic, announced his Facebook ban in an Instagram video earlier today.

Ted told his 554,000 Instagram followers: "I've been censored, banished from Facebook. You know why? 'Cause the Nazis don't like my Schindler's list. Good over evil. Stand up for what you believe in. You are, I am the great white buffalo. We look for storms. Let's get it on."

A message accompanying the video read: "Ted has been kicked off Facebook!! We will continue on Instagram and X!"

Nugent, who has repeatedly railed against large social-media companies that block users from their platforms, is an ardent supporter of former U.S. president Donald Trump. Trump was famously suspended from his social accounts in January 2021 over public safety concerns in the wake of the Capitol riot.

The conservative rocker has repeatedly voiced his unsubstantiated accusations that tech companies are censoring his speech, including during a September 2022 edition of "The Nightly Nuge". Responding to co-host Keith Mark's claim that Meta chief product officer Chris Cox "on behalf of Facebook admitted" in a recent hearing "that there was collusion to thwart the First Amendment rights of a lot of Americans, but he justified it because it was for a greater good," Nugent said: "Well, that's right out of the communist playbook and straight out of rules for radicals by Saul Alinsky, where they can cripple truth, logic and common sense and freedom and life, liberty and pursuit of happiness by censoring people who fight for, exercise and preach truth, logic and common sense. When you censor a segment of society who is about God, family, country, Constitution, Bill Of Rights, being the best that you can be… But that's really not what the First Amendment protects; the First Amendment, it was proven in the Hustler magazine thing [Editor's note: The U.S. Supreme Court voted unanimously in 1988 to overturn a $200,000 judgment awarded to the Rev. Jerry Falwell for his emotional distress at having been parodied in Hustler, a pornographic magazine.], the court system, the First Amendment is about protecting the most offensive speech, the most unfriendly speech, the most uncommon speech."

"So, finally the truth came out that they're admitting they're censoring and denying First Amendment rights, which I think is against the law," Ted continued. "The U.S. Constitution is the foundation of our law.

"I'm telling you, this is a pivotal moment.

"When I first started out on Facebook years ago — I don't think they really knew enough about Ted Nugent yet — because during the late, late… well, I guess it was in the 2000s, I had between 25 million and 36 million reach on Facebook," Nugent added. "And then the Big Tech America haters finally figured out that I was a truth, logic and common sense guy. So I went from 36 million to 3.6 million overnight. And now even with 3.6 million on Facebook, they reduce it to 15 — not 15 million, not 15 hundred; 15. Sometimes I'll make a statement that is irrefutably true, and they'll censor it and suppress it down to a couple of dozen people.

"So Big Tech, here's a word from good families of America, Big Tech. You people suck. Your fact checkers are psychopathic liars. Your fact checking is dishonest and it's against the law and it's against the First Amendment and it trounces freedom of speech. Shame on you idiots at Facebook and Big Tech. You are bad, bad people, because when you suppress freedom of speech, you're anti-human, you're anti-American, you are a voice and a power of communism. 'For the greater good.' And Big Tech hates the Constitution. I think those that are involved in the power of Big Tech, I think they look at the Constitution as toilet paper. I think we should look at them as toilet paper."

In the past, social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook had suspended or removed the accounts of prominent conservatives who have violated their terms of service.

Trump was banned from Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat following the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot that he was accused of inciting, adding to claims that conservatives are being unfairly treated. Twitter, along with Facebook and Instagram, pointed to their terms of service, which prohibit inciting violence on their platforms.

Defenders of the technology industry have repeatedly said that private companies cannot be forced to host speech they don't agree with. They also argue that private owners should be able to do as they please with their own property. In addition, they note that social media companies can only decide what speech they host and present. Those unsatisfied with their choices can choose to read or contribute elsewhere.

Earlier last year, Trump launched Truth Social, the Twitter alternative. Trump has since used the platform to post, including spreading further misinformation, such as the ongoing false claim that Joe Biden's 2020 election win was fraudulent.

Trump had consistently attacked the media throughout his presidency and called the press the "enemy of the people." He also regularly accused reporters of spreading "fake news" — his term for stories he dislikes. In addition, he has assailed the news media at rallies and even at more formal presidential events, encouraging his audiences to chant "CNN sucks!"

In January 2022, Nugent once again repeated the baseless conspiracy theory that the riot at the U.S. Capitol was orchestrated by undercover FBI agents, Antifa and Black Lives Matter.

Nugent, who has refused to take the vaccine, has falsely claimed that public health measures taken during the COVID-19 pandemic violate the Nuremberg code, a set of medical experimentation guidelines set after World War Two, as the vaccine is "experimental."

In the past, Nugent, who battled COVID-19 in April 2021, had referred to the virus as a "leftist scam to destroy" Trump. He had also repeated a narrative pushed by conservative media and disputed by health experts that suggests the official death count from the coronavirus is inflated.

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Roger Waters has set October 6, 2023 as the release date for "The Dark Side Of The Moon Redux", an epically ambitious reinterpretation of one of the most famous and acclaimed albums in history, fifty years on from recording the original with PINK FLOYD.

The album's second single, Waters's reinterpretation of "Time", is out today with accompanying lyric video.

Recorded by PINK FLOYD when Waters was just 29, "The Dark Side Of The Moon" was an extraordinary multidimensional meditation on the human experience, the passage of time, descent into madness, and the abyss.

"The memories of a man in his old age - are the deeds of a man in his prime". As foretold by its opening line, "The Dark Side Of The Moon Redux" sees Waters transcend this half-century void to reinterpret and embellish his original creations with a new perspective gleaned from his own life experience, philosophy, and the wisdom of age, with added emphasis on the philosophical, social and political themes of the original.

Waters's extraordinary vocal performance adds fresh layers of profundity to his classic lyrics, and gravelly wisdom to his philosophical new creations. Waters and Gus Seyffert's production strips back PINK FLOYD's psychedelic orchestrations into something rawer and more delicate, but no less experimentally inventive, exquisitely textured, and rich in musical intertext.

In addition to reimagining each of "The Dark Side Of The Moon"'s original ten tracks — which, like the original, run seamlessly together to create one epic composition — "The Dark Side Of The Moon Redux" LP format will feature a bonus 13-minute original composition inspired by the re-recording as a final track.

Roger said: "The original 'Dark Side Of The Moon' feels in some ways like the lament of an elder being on the human condition. But Dave, Rick, Nick and I were so young when we made it, and when you look at the world around us, clearly the message hasn't stuck. That's why I started to consider what the wisdom of an 80-year-old could bring to a reimagined version.

"When I first mentioned the idea of re-recording 'The Dark Side Of The Moon' to Gus and Sean, we all thought I was mad, but the more we considered it, the more we thought 'isn't that the whole point?'

"I'm immensely proud of what we have created, a work that can sit proudly alongside the original, hand in hand across a half century of time."

Track listing:

CD / Digital

01. Speak To Me
02. Breathe
03. On The Run
04. Time
05. Great Gig In The Sky
06. Money
07. Us And Them
08. Any Colour You Like
09. Brain Damage
10. Eclipse

Vinyl

01. Side One
02. Speak To Me
03. Breathe
04. On The Run
05. Time

Side Two

01. Great Gig In The Sky
02. Money

Side Three

01. Us And Them
02. Any Colour You Like
03. Brain Damage
04. Eclipse

Side Four

01. Original Composition

Former DREAM THEATER and current THE WINERY DOGS drummer Mike Portnoy has weighed in on the fact that PANTERA's surviving members Philip Anselmo (vocals) and Rex Brown (bass) have united with guitarist Zakk Wylde (OZZY OSBOURNE, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY) and drummer Charlie Benante (ANTHRAX) for a world tour under the PANTERA banner.

Anselmo and Brown, along with Wylde and Benante, are headlining a number of major festivals across South America, Asia, North America and Europe and staging some of their own headline concerts. They are also supporting METALLICA on a massive North American stadium tour in 2023 and 2024.

According to Billboard, the new PANTERA lineup has been given a green light by the estates of the band's founders, drummer Vincent "Vinnie Paul" Abbott and guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott, as well as Brown, who in 2021 said Wylde wouldn't tour with PANTERA if a reunion were to happen. It's unclear what changed his mind.

Portnoy discussed the controversy surrounding PANTERA's comeback in a new interview with "THAT Rocks!", the weekly YouTube series hosted by Eddie Trunk, Jim Florentine and Don Jamieson. Asked if he has had a chance to catch a concert from the new PANTERA yet, the 56-year-old drummer said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I caught the show in Reading, Pennsylvania. It was fricking phenomenal. I loved it. Absolutely loved it… Charlie and Zakk are absolutely killing it, really. I couldn't be happier for them. I think all the naysayers that came in this skeptical at the beginning are now kind of eating their words and realizing how badass this is and how important it is, to keep that legacy alive."

He continued: "I know it was a tough pill for a lot of people to swallow, but I think the reality is if Dimebag hadn't been killed, I think they surely would've reunited at some point by now. And I understand Vinnie, once Dimebag was killed, I understand Vinnie never wanting to do it without him; it's his brother, so I get that. But now that Vinnie isn't with us either — it's Phil and Rex's band as well, and I think wanting to carry on the legacy for a whole new generation is a great, great thing. They're an important band and important to metal, and why shouldn't they be out there doing it, you know? And actually, they're doing it so tastefully and with so much honor and respect to Dime and Vinnie. They're there each and every show right there on Charlie's bass drum heads. So I think they're doing it right."

Back in July 2018, less than a month after Vinnie Paul's passing, Portnoy told Metal Wani: "Vinnie was a friend of mine for a long time. We became friends right around when [PANTERA] put out 'Cowboys From Hell' and [DREAM THEATER] put out 'Images And Words'. We were both signed to Atco at the same time, so we were dealing with a lot of the same people. And I became good friends with not only Vinnie, but all four of the guys in the band, and, to this day, remain good friends with all of 'em.

"When Vinnie came on the scene, in terms of his drumming, I think [PANTERA] were the perfect band that was needed in the metal world around '91, '92, because pretty much the 'Big Four' were kind of knocked out of style by grunge," he continued. "SLAYER, MEGADETH, ANTHRAX, METALLICA and then also TESTAMENT and EXODUS and OVERKILL, all those bands around the early '90s got killed by grunge. So PANTERA was the only band to really carry metal through the '90s. I'd say PANTERA, MACHINE HEAD and SEPULTURA — to me, those were the three that were carrying it through. But PANTERA were the top of those.

"And getting back to Vinnie specifically, when I heard 'Cowboys From Hell' and 'Vulgar Display [Of Power]', it was, like, 'Okay, this is fuckin' great metal drumming,'" Portnoy added. "I already was listening to Charlie Benante ], Dave Lombardo [SLAYER] and Lars Ulrich [METALLICA], but by the early '90s, Vinnie was kind of the next guy in line to carry the torch for the thrash or groove metal movement."

During an appearance on Eddie Trunk's SiriusXM show, Portnoy said that "Vinnie was a big part of the production" of the early PANTERA albums. "Him and Dime [PANTERA guitarist 'Dimebag' Darrell Abbott] co-produced with Terry [Date]. So he was very into that stuff — they were done at his studios. And he was very into that — it was another thing that he was really good at that you forget about. You just think about the drumming and the partying, but he was also really behind the PANTERA production."

Up until his passing, Vinnie remained on non-speaking terms with Anselmo, whom the drummer indirectly blamed for Dimebag's death.

Vinnie Paul and Dimebag co-founded PANTERA. When PANTERA broke up in 2003, they formed DAMAGEPLAN. On December 8, 2004, while performing with DAMAGEPLAN at the Alrosa Villa in Columbus, Ohio, Dimebag was shot and killed onstage by a troubled schizophrenic who believed that the members of PANTERA were stealing his thoughts.

Vinnie passed away on June 22, 2018 at his other home in Las Vegas at the age of 54. He died of dilated cardiomyopathy, an enlarged heart, as well as severe coronary artery disease. His death was the result of chronic weakening of the heart muscle — basically meaning his heart couldn't pump blood as well as a healthy heart.

Mike Portnoy photo credit: Travis Shinn

In a new interview with The Rock Shop With Ralph, original FOREIGNER singer Lou Gramm addressed the fact that the band is not in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, and has not even been on the ballot for consideration yet. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It's not anything to do with our music or the amount of hits or notoriety or anything like that. It's a personal thing that we're not in there. It's a personal vendetta between the gentleman who owns Rolling Stone [magazine] and Mick [Jones, FOREIGNER guitarist]."

He continued: "It's very juvenile, the whole thing, and I don't think it's gonna get any better. I think it's gonna stay that way. I think we're being made an example of."

Asked if he feels FOREIGNER should be in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, Gramm said: "Of course I do. The original FOREIGNER [lineup]. I put an exclamation point at the end of that [and it's not something] we need to talk about."

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Thank you for listening."

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

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

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

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

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

Gramm and Jones's June 2013 performance of "I Want To Know What Love Is" and "Juke Box Hero" at the Songwriters Hall Of Fame in New York City marked the first time the pair performed together in a decade after Gramm left FOREIGNER for a second time. Hansen has fronted the group for the past 17 years.

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

In a new interview with Radioactive MikeZ, host of the 96.7 KCAL-FM program "Wired In The Empire", former GUNS N' ROSES guitarist Gilby Clarke reflected on the band's 1992 stadium tour with METALLICA. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Look, we had a lot of great times. Lars [Ulrich, METALLICA drummer] hung out with us every single day of that tour; he really was like one of us. Every day that we hung out together, we partied after the show. Before the show, [we] went and did — you know, whether it's going to museums during the day, he really was a part of us. We got along great."

He continued: "When [the tour] first started, I watched a lot of the [METALLICA] shows because they always went on first, and then we didn't go on for a long time. So after a little while, I kind of — it's not that I stopped watching them, but it would be such a long day for us. So I started coming a little bit later. I saw METALLICA in the very early days, and then I hadn't seen 'em until they blew up. So I really admired their professionalism, and I really loved the way that they were always a core unit. They ate dinner together; it's like they did things [together]. I really, really enjoyed that part of them. And as far as sound, I mean, they were huge. They're still huge. Their sound was so big and it was so tight and so METALLICA."

Asked to name his favorite METALLICA song, Gilby said: "It's such a standard thing, but 'Enter Sandman' is still my favorite song. I mean, look, I'm not really a metal guy — I grew up on THE CLASH and stuff like that — but I always loved that song because it had a little bit more melody to it and stuff, and that riff is just the greatest riff ever."

Clarke replaced Izzy Stradlin in the GUNS lineup in 1991, during the "Use Your Illusion" tour, and stayed with the band for three years. After exiting GUNS N' ROSES, Clarke continued as a producer and solo artist, while also playing in SLASH'S SNAKEPIT, ROCK STAR SUPERNOVA, HEART and other acts.

Clarke, along with fellow GUNS N' ROSES members Slash, Duff McKagan, Steven Adler and Matt Sorum, played three "Appetite For Destruction" songs with Myles Kennedy at the band's Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction ceremony in April 2012 in Cleveland, Ohio, although Gilby himself was not inducted as part of the group. Kennedy, who handles lead vocals in Slash's solo band and ALTER BRIDGE, sang "Mr. Brownstone", "Sweet Child O' Mine" and "Paradise City", with "Use Your Illusion"-era member Sorum sitting behind the drum kit on "Brownstone" and the man he replaced in GN'R, Adler, pounding the skins for the other two songs.

Clarke's latest solo album, "The Gospel Truth", was released in April 2021 via Golden Robot Records.

Gilby released his solo debut, "Pawnshop Guitars", in 1994.

In a new interview with "THAT Rocks!", the weekly YouTube series hosted by Eddie Trunk, Jim Florentine and Don Jamieson, OVERKILL frontman Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth spoke about his band's August 6 performance in the parking lot of the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey prior to METALLICA's appearance at the venue. Asked if he got a chance to say hello to any of the METALLICA guys, Blitz said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "No, I didn't. We'd just come off the road and we were trying to fight COVID. We were trying to keep people away from us. And simultaneously we were gonna go to Europe like a day and a half later. And it ended up being canceled because three more guys got it. And it wasn't just one of those little easy flu kind of things. It was bedridden and a couple of guys were, you know, they were just a mess. So we canceled the other stuff. So I didn't [see any of the METALLICA guys]. I just went home and [put my] head on the pillow and ice on the chest."

Elaborating on how much his latest bout with COVID put a strain on his health, Bobby said: "Well, it wasn't easy. I mean, I've had it in the past where it's nothing. You have a sniffle, you have a fever, you know what it is, you test yourself. You go, 'Ah, I just won't go give it to somebody,' you know? And I swear to God, I thought I had somewhere between pneumonia and a sinus infection, you know? And I'm, like, 'I've gotta get better for this METALLICA thing.' And then I think I got home [from OVERKILL's summer 2023 U.S. tour], and a day later Jason [Bittner, OVERKILL drummer] was, like, 'I got COVID.' I'm, like, 'Oh fuck. I never even thought of this.' And then, [it turned out that] there was, like, five guys in the band and crew [who contracted COVID], a ton of guests that we had seen in Long Island [at the final show of the U.S. tour on July 30] and prior to that. Obviously, nobody knew — nobody could figure out who patient one was, and who gives a rat's [ass]? But it wasn't pleasant. It was a little bit more than that sniffle and 'who cares' that I had six, eight months ago."

OVERKILL kicked off its "Scorching The Earth" U.S. tour with EXHORDER and HEATHEN on July 13 at the Great American Hall in San Francisco, California. The 16-date trek made stops in Dallas and Silver Springs, among other cities, before ending in Huntington, New York on July 30.

OVERKILL's twentieth studio album, "Scorched", was released in April via Nuclear Blast Records.

Photo by Frank White

In a recent interview with Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station, former QUEENSRŸCHE singer Geoff Tate looked back on his involvement with "Stars", the 1985 charity single for famine relief released under the HEAR 'N AID banner.

On May 20 and May 21, 1985, 40 artists from the metal community gathered at A&M Records Studios in Hollywood, California to participate in the making of a record called "Stars" as a part of a very special fundraising project spearheaded by Ronnie James Dio known as HEAR 'N AID. The "Stars" single and a video documentary on the making of the record was used to raise money for famine relief efforts in Africa and around the world. These 40 artists — including members of MÖTLEY CRÜE, JUDAS PRIEST, IRON MAIDEN, QUIET RIOT, TWISTED SISTER, BLUE ÖYSTER CULT and even SPINAL TAP — along with hundreds of other volunteers, donated their time and talent over four months to make HEAR 'N AID a reality. "Stars" was a plea for unity in the fight against world hunger.

Speaking about his experience recording "Stars", Tate told WRIF (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I had just finished a tour with Ronnie, opening for him. And he called me up on the phone and said, 'You wanna get involved with this project I'm doing?' And I dropped everything and said, 'Of course.' And he flew me down to A&M Records, into the studio there. I walked in at my appointed time and the place was just packed full of people. There was more people that were in that studio than I'd ever seen in any studio in my life. There must have been — I don't know — 50, 60 people hanging out there. And all of 'em were famous — people in the music scene. And I walked in to the microphone, put my headphones on. I looked through the glass into the control room and Ronnie's in there and Rob Halford's in there, Ted Nugent's in there, Eric Bloom is in there, Neil Schon is in there, and I was, like, freaking out. I'm a very young man — I think I'm 24 years old — and I'm performing in front of these famous people with a lot of accomplishments. And I was so petrified I couldn't take my sunglasses off. I had to wear 'em throughout the whole day, 'cause I couldn't look at anybody. I just had to look at myself and feel myself and get into the the song. But it was a wonderful experience and I'm so glad to be a part of it."

Tate went on to say that being "starstruck" in the presence of all the other great musicians made it that much harder for him to deliver the goods in the studio. "Because of the situation, where you're expected to perform something that maybe you haven't really spent a lot of time thinking about or doing, and then to do it in front of these amazing accomplished musicians is so unnerving, I tell ya," he explained.

According to Geoff, Dio assisted him through the process and ultimately helped him lay down his parts on what still stands as one of the biggest fundraising projects in hard rock and heavy metal history.

"I was petrified. Absolutely petrified," Geoff repeated. "And Ronnie was such a good sport about everything and he definitely understood my situation and coached me through, encouraged me to keep going and do what it was I was doing. And actually, he was an incredible mentor throughout my career. At various times we connected throughout the years, and he sang a lead part on the 'Operation: Mindcrime II' album. And we toured with him extensively. In fact, we did the last tour that he did with HEAVEN & HELL. QUEENSRŸCHE opened for him at the time. He was wonderful. What a wonderful man he was. May he rest in peace."

Due to contract differences with the labels, the "Stars" song and album weren't released until New Year's Day, 1986, and were only ever made available on vinyl and cassette. But Ronnie's wife and manager Wendy Dio has said in recent years that she is continuing her efforts to correct that.

Wendy previously revealed that one of the reasons the HEAR 'N AID reissue was taking so long to come out was the "legal stuff" that needed to be taken care of. "You can always get the bands to do something, but it's the legal licensing of talking with the record labels they're on and the management and so on, to get something off the ground," she said. "So we're hoping to do that."

Geoff previously discussed his involvement with "Stars" in a 2021 interview with Dr. Music. At the time, he said: "Ronnie was very special. And he actually gave QUEENSRŸCHE its first start touring in Europe — invited us as special guests on his tour. He was an incredibly giving individual — especially when he liked a person or a group or somebody's music, he was very supportive. And we had just finished our first European tour with them, and he called and asked if I'd be part of this project that he was doing. And I, of course, immediately said yes. I always said yes to Ronnie, whenever he wanted something. I had so much respect for him and his wonderful career; he was just a wonderful person.

"Anyway, I flew down to L.A. and walked into A&M Studios, and it was just a zoo — a madhouse," he continued. "It was the most people I'd ever seen crammed in one building — hundreds and hundreds of people in the lobby and outside. It was pandemonium, actually. I got in somehow; I had the credentials — I picked them up at the front desk at the hotel. I got in there, and Ronnie met me at the door. He gave me a big hug and ushered me in. He said, 'Okay, I'm glad you're here. You're just on time. We're ready to have you do your vocal tracks. Are you ready? Or do you wanna warm up? Do you want something to drink?' I walked into the recording studio part, and he showed me the microphone. And there was a chair and a table, and some water glasses. And the lyrics to the song were up there and headphones. And he goes, 'Okay, sit here. We'll do a couple of playbacks so you kind of get used to it and get your headphone volumes.' He goes, 'I'll just be on the other side of the glass.' I look over, and in the control room are all those people [that are featured in the photo on the cover]. I mean, Ted Nugent's in there, and Rob Halford's in there, and Neal Schon is in there, Jonathan Cain… The list goes on and on. Everybody that's basically on the record is standing there. And I am just, like, petrified. This is my third time I've been in the studio in my life. I'm 25 years old, and it was really early on in my career. And I was so scared. And now I have to perform in front of these amazing, accomplished musicians who've done more in their life than I could ever dream of doing. Oh, God. I couldn't even take off my sunglasses. You see every photo of me on that day, and I had my sunglasses on. I couldn't live without 'em. I was hiding in my own scene, inside my own head. And then I hear Ronnie coming over the headphones: 'Geoff, are you there? Are you there?' [Laughs] I really wanted to take those headphones off and run away; I was so nervous. But he talked me through it and got me calmed down. He was the kind of guy that could always sense what was going on around him; he was pretty intuitive. And I think he was probably hip to the fact that I was scared shitless, as they say. But that's the way I felt — just scared shitless.

"But it turned out okay, and everybody was cool," Tate added. "We had a good time. And the record was great. So different and weird and strange, with all those guitar solos. What a way to make a song. But it was cool and different. And I was really proud to be a part of it. And I was really proud that [Ronnie] asked me to do it.

"And honestly, even though it was a monumental experience for me at the time, I didn't really completely appreciate it till much later, and looking back on it and realizing, oh, this was a pretty incredible record. And what it did — it raised so much money and so much awareness from a whole different segment of society, which was really important."

In an interview with Pod Scum, new TESTAMENT drummer Chris Dovas was asked if it was "unnerving" to step into a group whose list of previous drummers includes such heavyweights as Dave Lombardo and Gene Hoglan. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It was, especially at first because I knew that a lot of eyes were on me, and also I looked up to the band since I was a kid. Especially Lombardo and Gene — those are two of my favorite drummers right there. So to be put in that situation of taking over for them, I felt like I had a lot of responsibility and a lot of… I felt like I had something to prove a little bit, and I'm still practicing a lot and I just wanna do the best that I can do. Right now I'm not really nervous anymore because I've done two full tours with them now and we're working on the [new TESTAMENT] album and the friendship has been developing now and we all get along super well. They've welcomed me with open arms and it's been great and the fans have been great. I've been putting hours and hours of practice into it to make sure that I can do the best that I could do. And I look up to Dave and I look up to Gene as well, so, yeah, I just wanna play the songs well live and keep making the band sound good."

Asked what his role has been so far in the creative process for TESTAMENT's next album, Chris said: "I don't know exactly what I'm allowed and what I'm not allowed to share yet, but what you've seen publicly, though, right now is that Eric [Peterson, TESTAMENT guitarist] and I have been working on a lot of stuff together. And so it's been really cool to get into their brains, in a way, and how they write stuff. I'm used to people sending me tracks with scratch MIDI drums or programmed drums or something, and I've gotta put my drums to them and then hop on a Zoom call and we can edit things and move stuff around. But with them, Eric and I, he set a timer at one point for, like, 20 minutes and we would just jam random ideas. And then sometimes we'd make mistakes and stuff and that would be cool, and we could take that… It's very organic, though, and it's very involved, I guess. It's a different way of writing and I'm super excited to be a part of that method of writing. And I could see why they're so successful for all these years, now finally being a part of this current writing cycle, I guess."

Last month, Peterson revealed that he and Dovas spent a few days working on material for TESTAMENT's next studio album. Eric shared a few photos on his Instagram and wrote in an accompanying message: "Had a very productive week with the kid! Mr. @chrisdovas and I worked up new 7 jam ideas ranging from thrash to nwobhm mixed in w/ black thrash to dark heavy hard rock blues…let's see what happens! super stoked so far!"

Dovas shared the same pictures on his social media and he added: "New TESTAMENT material in the works! Eric and I have been working hard all week on new ideas. Stoked so far!"

In June, TESTAMENT guitarist Alex Skolnick told Chaoszine about the progress of the songwriting sessions for the band's next LP: "There are a few songs, a few ideas. We haven't gotten to the vocals yet, but I would say there's close to half an album's worth of music that is pretty close to having vocals. We still need to write the other half and then get into that process. But it's coming together. We can never rush it. It always takes time."

As for when TESTAMENT fans can expect to see the new LP released, Alex said: "We don't a lot of shows after this tour until September. We're gonna go to Asia, where we haven't been in a long time. And then in between now and then, we're just gonna try to complete the writing, at least as far as the music goes. And then I think by next year, we should be able to go in the studio early in the year and have the record recorded and have it come out next year."

Alex's latest comments were similar to those made by Peterson, who told Loud TV about the group's plans for a new album: "There was a big gap because of COVID. But now we're getting ready — probably after this [European] tour to go start working on new material. So, yeah, I'm looking forward to that. We have about five, six songs written already, and [I'll] probably try to finish it up when I get home. And then hopefully record right after we go on tour to Japan. So '24 should look like a release for TESTAMENT."

Peterson went on to say that the new TESTAMENT material is shaping up to be "fucking killer." He added: "I'm a fan. For me, I wouldn't release anything unless I'm a fan of what I'm doing. I have to get goosebumps. When I hear it, I'm, like, 'Yeah.' And then, of course, I play it for friends. A few of them go, 'Ehh.' But most of them go, 'Fuuuck!' Except Chuck [Billy, TESTAMENT singer] — Chuck goes, 'Eh.' And then four years later, [he goes], 'That's the best song ever. Write more shit like that.' I'm, like, 'Yeah, but four years ago you said that sucked.'"

As for when TESTAMENT will record the new album, Eric said: "Hopefully maybe October, November. If not, probably January, February. But we're shooting for this year — at the end of the year. I think I'll be done writing in September. So we just have to wait for vocals. Which can take a while. But we'll see what happens."

Peterson was also full of praise for Dovas, who officially joined the band earlier this year as the replacement for Lombardo.

Lombardo, who was the guest drummer on TESTAMENT's 1999 studio album "The Gathering", formally joined the long-running San Francisco Bay Area act last year. The former SLAYER drummer is currently a member of the MISFITS, MR. BUNGLE, EMPIRE STATE BASTARD and SATANIC PLANET, among others. He also played with SUICIDAL TENDENCIES from 2016 up until 2020.

Prior to joining TESTAMENT as a full-time member, Dovas previously filled in for Lombardo on the first six dates of TESTAMENT's summer/fall 2022 leg of "The Bay Strikes Back Tour". Lombardo was unable to make those gigs due to a scheduling conflict with the MISFITS.

Peterson told Loud TV about Dovas: "When we were auditioning for new drummers, his video tape was the number one for me. And then, of course, Dave Lombardo called us, so we just kind of pushed everything aside; we said, 'Okay, we'll try Dave.' And when Dave was, like, 'Oh, I've got this show coming up. I've got this show coming up,' I went back to my [videos], [and I said], 'Oh, yeah, this guy.' I remember the other guys going, 'Let's call Paul Bostaph.' 'Let's call John Tempesta.' And, of course, they would probably do it, but with the stipulation of, like, 'I can only do this date,' 'I can only do this date.' I called Chris. He was, like, 'I'm in. I'll do everything.' And so we tried him, and were just, like, 'What?!' Perfect tempo. Everything correct — bam, bam. Very polite. Really nice guy. I can't say enough good things about him. He's just a really good drummer. He's 24; he's my son's age. Young blood back in TESTAMENT. For me, too, he loves black metal, so he was, like, [into] blast beats. But he also graduated from a school called Berklee. So jazz… He's very fluent. He's not, like, 'Oh, I only know blast beats.' He knows blues… TESTAMENT's really diverse — we have ballads, we have rock songs, we have blast beats. That's just it — when he came to visit me before this tour, we were rehearsing for the tour but we would go back to my house at night, do some Jager really late at night and just start jamming at my house. And the next morning we were, like, 'Woah!' Really cool shit. So I'm excited for the next record. It's gonna be killer."

In a new interview with Robert Miguel of Uvalde Radio Rocks, STRYPER frontman Michael Sweet was asked how he and his bandmates have been able to has been able to adapt to the access-over-ownership business model of streaming music. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, I think STRYPER is one of the few bands that's been able to kind of figure it out in a really profitable way. We're somehow able to continue on when sometimes other bands aren't. And that's regarding touring, releasing new music. We do have labels that wanna work with this. Frontiers [Music Srl] is one of 'em. As a solo artist, I've got other labels that wanna work with me that I'm working with. And we've got people that invest in the band and support the band. So it's really incredible to see the level of support that we have that helps us to continue touring and making music."

Sweet went on to say that hitting the road for many bands nowadays is simply "not affordable. The cost of touring is absurd," he explained. "A lot of fans can't afford a bus. These venues take and take and take. They're now taking more of your merchandise. They want a piece of every pie — your meet-and-greets. They want a piece of everything, and it's causing an issue with bands and basically crippling bands and making it unaffordable to tour. And the same goes with records. To do it right and not compromise, you need a decent budget, and a lot of these labels will offer you 10 or 15 thousand dollars to go make an album. And that barely gets the demos done. It's really an interesting world. Back in the day we used to get two, three, four hundred thousand dollar budgets. Now you're fortunate if you can get a forty thousand dollar budget. But STRYPER is one of those few bands that we get good budgets. We're able to go in and afford making albums and doing it the way we wanna do them without compromise, and put a little money in the account to be able to have some money for a rainy day and pay some bills and whatnot. So we're able to continue on and release new music, and that's exactly what we're gonna keep doing."

Three years ago, Sweet told Metal Express Radio that he was "not a fan" of music streaming services like Spotify. I don't know anyone at Spotify, anyone on the board," he said. "It's not to be disrespectful to them or to say something nasty about their business, but I'm just not a fan. And for many reasons. And I'm not a fan of [individual song] downloads.

"The thing I hate about it is it's disheartening when you go and spend three months of your life working so hard on an album, and you release it, and then it goes up on iTunes and people download three songs," Michael explained. "And you can literally see which songs have been downloaded more and which songs have been downloaded less.

"The album is the artwork and the piece of art — not the songs individually or on their own. So we want people to listen to the whole album. It's like reading a book — you just take two chapters and you leave the other 49. Or watching a movie — you just watch 15 minutes of it, the best scenes, and then you leave the rest. That's what's happened with albums, and it breaks my heart. It's unfortunate. And the same thing happens on Spotify — people will only take particular songs and put those in there on their playlist. And then you add the other side of the coin to that, that the artists, the bands, the people that write the songs and make it happen don't get paid properly from the streaming format."

In August 2020, Sweet took issue with Spotify CEO Daniel Ek's suggestion that artists need to be more prolific in the streaming age, telling Sonic Perspectives that he couldn't wait "until the day when Spotify is no more." He added: "I'd love to see that day. I'd love to see streaming music be done away with, and for it to get back to some sort of hard copy, whether it's vinyl or CDs again. Because that's the fair way to do things. That's when the artist who is working so hard to create the music is compensated properly."

A year ago, STRYPER postponed a number of shows in the U.S. for "economic" and "other reasons."

STRYPER is the first overtly Christian metal band to go mainstream. The group's name comes from Isaiah 53:5, which states: "But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed."

STRYPER's albums include "To Hell With The Devil", "Second Coming", "No More Hell To Pay", "Fallen", "Even The Devil Believes" and the band's latest effort, "The Final Battle".

Michael is joined in STRYPER by his brother Robert Sweet (drums),Oz Fox (guitars) and Perry Richardson (bass).

IN THIS MOMENT has shared the official visualizer for "Godmode", the title track of the band's upcoming eighth studio album, which will be released on October 27 via BMG. Check it out below.

IN THIS MOMENT guitarist Chris Howorth recently told Meltdown of the Detroit radio station WRIF about "Godmode": "It's different from all of our other albums in a lot of ways. One way is the fact that instead of getting off of a tour and having, like, three months to get it together, go into the studio and make a new one, we had several years to do it. And we used a different producer — we used Kane Churko instead of his father, Kevin. Kevin has done all of our records except for one. So he's done six IN THIS MOMENT albums; Kane's done this newest one. And honestly, working with him brought a whole new level of intensity to the project and the change and the time we had to make it kind of made us a little bit more — I don't know — powerful and aggressive, and the whole thing has an intensity to it that's, that's different for us. Because it was a whole fresh new vibe— the whole thing."

Regarding the musical direction of the new IN THIS MOMENT material, singer Maria Brink said: "It's very visceral. I mean, we came out of the pandemic and just the three years and all these building up things in us, so it's a little darker than we normally maybe tend to be. I like to always kind of have some inspirational moments and things like that, and there's some of that in there, but it is a lot of purging, kind of a lot of built up, like, things that have… I guess we felt trapped for three years, and just so many, so many things going on and everybody at each other's throat. So there is a lot of kind of visceral releasing in there, let's say. It's heavier. There's different time signatures than we've ever done and a lot new experimental things. And I'm excited for it. I really am. I think people are gonna like it."

On the topic of the more progressive nature of some of the new IN THIS MOMENT songs, Maria said: "I love all that off-time signature stuff. I'm obsessed with how people take two parts, and the one part's going one way and then this other part comes in, but it really doesn't go with this part, and then, all of a sudden, they all start going together. And so I kept telling [Chris] I really wanted to start bringing in a lot of this. He loves all that. He's, like, 'Hell yeah.' And we just started creating. It was a really natural flow for us."

She added: "We've bumped heads before in the past. And IN THIS MOMENT really does wind up always having its sound because of us two collaborating. If it was just me, it'd be very one way. If it was just Chris, it'd be very one way. IN THIS MOMENTisIN THIS MOMENT because of like how we collide. But we were just flowing on this one. I was so impressed with every single thing he was bringing to the table. He was loving what I was bringing to the table. There was no fighting. It was just like — 'flow like a river,' we were calling it, 'cause it was beautiful."

Asked to clarify if "Godmode" is "more proggy" than some of IN THIS MOMENT's previous records, Chris said: "It definitely is. And heavier and there's more riffs, kind of, but in a way that works with the song. I think the time that we had to make it, the unintentional time with the pandemic and everything, made it so that it's just better, because the pressure of having to just come up with a bunch of new stuff on the spot, it made me check out a lot on some of the previous albums on — you know, the feeling of creativity — whereas this one, it all felt more flowy, like she said."

Last month, IN THIS MOMENT released the first single from "Godmode", a song called "The Purge", along with an official music video directed by Jensen Noen (ICE NINE KILLS, FALLING IN REVERSE, HOLLYWOOD UNDEAD).

When the track was first released, Maria said in a statement: "We are thrilled to unveil 'The Purge' to everyone. I am so grateful for how everything flowed to bring this song to life, both sonically and visually. Kane Churko and Jensen Noen helped to create this musical and cinematic experience with us and we could not have done it without them. The underlying message of the song is to not fall too deeply into the rabbit hole, everything is about finding balance. I had a lot of emotions building within me when I approached the song for the first time and after years of holding it all in I finally got to let it out!"

Howorth added: "This song came from our time in lockdown. We all had our own personal experiences during the pandemic, and we all saw the social unrest unfolding daily tearing us apart. It was such a crazy time. Our band, like everything else, was stopped in its tracks. During the lockdown I was sending Maria musical ideas I was working on, and this one really resonated with her. She even said, 'This is gonna be our first single.' Fast forward a couple years and all the pent-up frustration and angst came pouring out in Maria's lyrics and performance, creating this crazy visceral song."

"Godmode" was recorded at Hideout Recording Studio in Las Vegas, Nevada with producers Kane Churko (OZZY OSBOURNE, PAPA ROACH, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH) and Tyler Bates ("John Wick" movies, Jerry Cantrell, BUSH).

"Godmode" track listing:

01. Godmode
02. The Purge
03. Army Of Me
04. Sacrifice
05. Skyburner
06. Sanctify Me
07. Everything Starts And Ends With You
08. Damaged (feat. Spencer Charnas)
09. Fate Bringer
10. I Would Die For You

IN THIS MOMENT debuted "Sacrifice" and "The Purge" at the opening concert of "The Dark Horizon Tour" on July 8 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.

"I Would Die For You" previously appeared on the soundtrack for "John Wick: Chapter 4".

IN THIS MOMENT was joined on "The Dark Horizon Tour" by co-headliners MOTIONLESS IN WHITE, along with special guests FIT FOR A KING and FROM ASHES TO NEW. The trek, which sees IN THIS MOMENT and MOTIONLESS IN WHITE alternating closing sets each night, wrapped with n August 19 performance at MVP Arena in Albany, New York.

In support of the new album, IN THIS MOMENT will embark on a 2023 co-headline "Kiss Of Death" tour with ICE NINE KILLS. The 20-date tour kicks off on November 3 at Hard Rock Live in Gary, Indiana making stops across the U.S. in Cincinnati, Atlanta, Orlando and more before the final show in Washington, D.C. at The Anthem on November 28.

Last October, IN THIS MOMENT released an EP called "Blood 1983". The effort commemorated the tenth anniversary of IN THIS MOMENT's gold-certified album "Blood" (2012) and was made available digitally across all digital service providers as well as CD via BMG.

"Blood 1983" was co-produced by Tyler Bates and Dan Haigh, and mixed by Zakk Cervini.

IN THIS MOMENT is Brink, Howorth, Travis Johnson (bass),Randy Weitzel (rhythm guitar),Kent Dimmel (drums).

Photo credit: Jeremy Saffer

In a new interview with the "In Search Of Excellence" podcast, FOREIGNER singer Kelly Hansen was asked for his opinion on the current state of the music business and where it is going. Kelly responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I wish I wasn't as cynical as I am, especially with AI now.

"I was sitting in a restaurant next to a very famous rapper, and I didn't know who he was, but we started up a conversation. We were right next to each other at the sushi bar. I bought him a sake and we started talking, and I was very curious about what the current artists are doing. And I said, 'Where do your revenue streams come from?' And he said, 'Live.' And I'm like, 'What?' I'm like, 'That's the only place we make money.' He goes, 'I use social media to direct to live,' and we use, you know, years of people knowing the music and continuing to put on a great show to drive people to live.

"Live is the only place you're making any money," Hansen explained. "If you have a giant catalog of hits, I would've suggested you sold it 10 years ago, because I can't see a scenario where your catalog's gonna make more. It's not gonna have a a growth life to it unless something happens. But what I see now is everybody's stealing everything and no one's paying anybody anything. And if I can steal Frank Sinatra's voice in AI to make a TikTok clip that gets me a hundred thousand followers or likes or listens, and it makes me add money, what the hell? What's going on? What does Frank Sinatra's estate say about that? I've done so many interviews and sung so many songs, I could be AIed tomorrow and no one would need me anymore.

"So I feel that I'm making a wise choice [by retiring from touring]. I have a cynical view of what's going forward for the music business.

"I read a story, and I verified it with a playlist, that there is a certain music platform out there that's creating songs by computer," Kelly added. "And the same song is by 40 different bands and 40 different arrangements, 40 different titles, and it's the same song. And because they know that if you have 15 songs an hour in a playlist, they have to pay out their minuscule royalties to 15 songwriting entities. But if a third of that, or 20% of that, is computer-created content. They don't have to pay anybody anything. So now they have a 20 or 30% saving on the royalties they have to pay out when they're already making billions of dollars on subscriptions, and the artist is getting absolutely nothing anymore. So how can I have a positive view of that?"

FOREIGNER's farewell tour kicked off on July 6 at Atlanta's Ameris Bank Amphitheatre,

For the first leg of the U.S. Live Nation-produced trek, FOREIGNER is being joined by LOVERBOY.

The only remaining original member of FOREIGNER, guitarist Mick Jones suffered from some health issues beginning in 2011, eventually resulting in heart surgery in 2012. Ever since, it is never announced whether he will be appearing with the band for specific shows — it just depends how he is feeling.

After singer Lou Gramm left FOREIGNER in 2003, Jones took some time off before regrouping a couple years later with an entirely new lineup, featuring Hansen and bassist Jeff Pilson, among others.

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

Legendary Swedish guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen hosted a special "master class" performance on Sunday, August 20 at Jergel's Rhythm Grille in Warrendale, Pennsylvania. Fan-filmed video of the event, which included Yngwie discussing his songwriting technique and answering questions from the audience, can be seen below.

During an appearance on last Wednesday's (August 16) episode of SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", Malmsteen was asked if he has thought about working on a follow-up to his 2021 album "Parabellum". He responded: "Yeah. I'm in the studio all the time, so I've got a whole crapload of things that I've been working on. But I'm very, very pleased with that record. It's one of these albums that I feel it really came together. So I'm not rushing to put something out right this second. But, yeah, for sure. I've already talked to the label and I've already been in the studio. I probably have like 40, 50 things already recorded. But, as I said, I'm not rushing to put anything out yet. And plus my whole year now is booked with touring."

Last Friday, Yngwie and Glenn Hughes kicked off a co-headlining tour of the U.S. Malmsteen is performing his "greatest hits" while Hughes is playing a set of classic DEEP PURPLE songs celebrating the 50th anniversary of the "Burn" album.

"Parabellum" was released in July 2021 via Music Theories Recordings/Mascot Label Group. Only four of the songs on the LP feature vocals. The album title is Latin, translating as "Prepare For War".

After working with some of the top hard singers of the past four decades, Yngwie now handles much of the lead vocals himself in his own band, backed by a lineup that includes keyboardist Nick Marino, bassist Emilio Martinez and drummer Brian Wilson.

Back in 2021, Yngwie joked to the Beaver County Times about the mountainous wall of Marshall amplifiers and loudspeakers that he uses during his live performances: "They're the biggest Marshall stacks on earth. If you're at the International Space Station you can see two manmade objects — The Great Wall of China and my Marshall stacks."

Official Yngwie Malmsteen makes his first stop to Jergel's this evening for a special master class performance. Showtime at 7p, doors at 6p, early entry at 5p. Tickets still available.

Posted by Jergels on Sunday, August 20, 2023

In an interview with Ore Bihovsky of TotalRock's "Louder" radio show, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz spoke about the progress of the songwriting sessions for the band's follow-up to 2019's "Atonement" album. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We've been demoing, writing. We're still actually writing. We've been kind of busy with other side hustles and whatnot. But, yeah, [we've] just been taking our time and wanting to get Jesse [Leach, vocals] in the right head space and get him comfortable. But we're pretty much ready to record now. We've just gotta wedge some time in between shows and tours and things going on within everybody's lives."

Asked if the challenges of staying productive during the coronavirus lockdown contributed to it taking this long for KILLSWITCH ENGAGE to come up with enough material for a new LP, Adam said: "Not necessarily. I've got a bunch of stuff going on. I've been writing a ton. But it was just more so pushing Jesse to get a little more, I guess just to vary it up a little bit more and maybe try to pull from other places for inspiration and just try to get some different lyrical content."

Earlier in the month, Leach told The Razor's Edge that KILLSWITCH ENGAGE had 14 or 15 demos ready for the next LP. But he added: "We're gonna be tossing out, like, four or five of them already to redo some stuff and to rethink some stuff just to make sure that everybody in the band feels like we're doing the best we can, and it does sound fresh yet familiar. So it's a challenge… You wanna please your fans, but you also wanna please yourself as an artist and as a band. So we're focusing on us first. And then my hope is that the fans will in turn be pleased with what we're doing because we are putting the effort in to ensure that it's something that isn't just a remake of something we've done before."

Asked if Dutkiewicz will once again be in charge of the production of the band's new LP, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE drummer Justin Foley told Forever Loud: "Yeah. We're pretty sure that we're gonna do it with Adam and Adam's gonna be the producer. I mean, it just makes sense. He knows what we're doing. We know how to work with him. We all know how to work with each other real well, and he obviously gets the band and what we're trying to go for. So it just makes too much sense not to do."

Last month, Leach told Oran O'Beirne of Bloodstock TV about the band's next album: "I think we made some headway. Definitely some good ideas, some good demos. I'm revisiting some ideas. We had a great little meeting where all of us got together and listened and talked, which, to me, has been a great process. And I think it's gonna make this album a lot different than what we've done in the past, 'cause everyone sort of has their voice. We're taking more time with it. So, yeah, it is taking a bit longer but it gives me hope that the end result will be that much better because it is taking a little bit more time to do it. But I'm stoked, for sure. There's some bangers on there already."

During the same chat, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE bassist Mike D'Antonio revealed that he wasn't feeling very inspired in the early days of the coronavirus downtime. "During the pandemic, for me, I kind of wasn't able to do much at all," he said. "You'd think that that would be the best writing process, to be nervous about your future and not sure what's gonna happen next. But I was just locked in some sort of a mode where I couldn't even do graphic design; for about six to eight months, I didn't do anything. But I think after that, it definitely seemed to start flowing. Especially when we did the live gig at the Palladium [in Worcester, Massachusetts], the livestream that we did [in August 2021], that kind of helped make the juices work a little bit more. We learned a lot of songs from 'Atonement' that we actually never played live together before, so that was an experience. And I think that's what kind of jarred us into, 'Okay, let's get this thing moving again.'"

In June, Leach told Pete Bailey of Primordial Radio that the new KILLSWITCH ENGAGE album was "taking a lot longer than, I think, any of us anticipated, because there's a lot of quality control going on. And making sure that it's fresh; we're not repeating ourselves," he explained. "So that process has been a little arduous but I think necessary because we don't wanna put out something that people are gonna go, 'Oh, yeah. Another KILLSWITCH record. Whatever.'"

Regarding where he and his KILLSWITCH ENGAGE are right now with respect to the writing process, Jesse said: "We're solidifying a lot, but there's still some back-and-forth and looking at parts and rewriting the music. And then I'm revisiting a lot of the lyrics. I've actually rewritten a bunch of stuff. 'Cause we all got together and had a meeting, and all of us just kind of gave our input on everything, and I took notes. It's the first time, really, I think we've done that. But, again, I do believe that it's necessary at our stage in our career to really just kind of get all of our heads together to make sure that this record is gonna be what we all feel is a good representation of who we are right now."

On the topic of the lyrical inspiration for the new KILLSWITCH ENGAGE material, Jesse said: "Initially, for me, I really wanted to put out something that was healing, something that could help people cope. But it's kind of turned into anger, it's kind of turned into frustration, it's kind of turned into seeing the greater deceptions of everything that's going on, the struggles of humanity. So I've kind of taken a turn for a little bit more of a darker topic than I initially had hoped for, but I think it's necessary. I think once I really sort of dug into myself, I realized that there was a lot that I was not tapping in to. And when I got honest with myself, I [said], 'You know what? There is a lot to be pissed off about.' And maybe that's the route; maybe that's the good therapeutic way to deal with it. You don't always have to sugarcoat things and let people know there's gonna be hope. Maybe it's just time to get your hands dirty and talk about some of the harder-to-deal-with topics, and that's kind of what I've been doing lately."

"Atonement" was released in August 2019 via Metal Blade Records in the U.S. and Sony Music Entertainment in the rest of the world. The disc featured guest appearances by former KILLSWITCH ENGAGE singer Howard Jones and TESTAMENT frontman Chuck Billy. It marked the band's third full-length release since the return of Leach, who rejoined the group in 2012.

In July 2021, Leach and Dutkiewicz released the second album from their TIMES OF GRACE project, "Songs Of Loss And Separation", via the band's own imprint label, Wicked Good Records, distributed by ADA Worldwide.

The official visualizer for the song "Moi?" from EMPIRE STATE BASTARD, the extreme metal band founded by Simon Neil (BIFFY CLYRO) and Mike Vennart (BIFFY CLYRO live guitarist and solo artist, ex-OCEANSIZE),can be seen below. The track is taken from EMPIRE STATE BASTARD's debut album, "Rivers Of Heresy", which will arrive on September 1 via Roadrunner.

EMPIRE STATE BASTARD also features the legendary Dave Lombardo (SLAYER, TESTAMENT, MR. BUNGLE) on drums, with Naomi Macleod (BITCH FALCON) rounding out the live lineup on bass.

As Mike candidly admits, "I set about making the most fucking poisonous vile music I possibly could, just unabridged hatred in musical form."

Simon adds, "Lyrically, it's as misanthropic and nihilistic as I've ever written."

In addition to its digital release, "Rivers Of Heresy" will be made available on the following limited-edition physical formats: CD with an exclusive 24-page fanzine; poison green vinyl and red / black marble vinyl; and cassette. The deluxe vinyl bundle adds a seven-inch single featuring "Harvest" and a non-album B-side to either album vinyl.

The concept for EMPIRE STATE BASTARD emerged when Neil and Vennart would spend downtime on tour sitting at the back of their bus sharing the heaviest, most avant-garde and confrontational music they could find. Now, a decade on from its conception, the project is finally coming to fruition, with Vennart writing the songs and recording all the guitars, and Neil focusing on vocals and lyrics.

The two have emerged with a collection of songs which adventurously probes slamming hardcore in the vein of SIEGE; the frenetic, visceral thrash of SLAYER; the claustrophobic sludge of MELVINS; the freeform vocal dexterity of Mike Patton; and the gargantuan stoner riffs of SLEEP. It's a band that's rooted in the tradition of metal's forefathers but informed by more recent waves of leftfield aggression.

"Rivers Of Heresy" track listing:

01. Harvest
02. Blusher
03. Moi?
04. Tired, Aye?
05. Sons And Daughters
06. Stutter
07. Palms Of Hands
08. Dusty
09. Sold!
10. The Looming

EMPIRE STATE BASTARD will play its first-ever U.S. headline show on September 23 at Brooklyn, New York's Saint Vitus Bar.

During an appearance on "The Jasta Show", Lombardo spoke about his involvement with EMPIRE STATE BASTARD. Dave said: "Simon Neil and Mike Vennart [are] from a very popular band in the U.K. called BIFFY CLYRO. [A lot of people in the U.S.] don't know who BIFFY CLYRO is, but they're massive in the U.K. They headline Download and Glastonbury [festivals]; they headline Download the next day after IRON MAIDEN. So there guys are massive. But Simon Neil, the vocalist for that band, and Mike Vennart have a love and an affinity for hardcore music. And for the past 10 years they've been talking about this. And they hit me up during the pandemic and took a shot in the dark and said, 'Well, why not? Let's ask him. He might not wanna do it.' But they asked. At first, I fell in love with the music. I was, like, 'Wow. This is pretty fucking cool.' Odd time changes. It's a little thrashy. It has a little bit of grindcore in it. It's hard to describe. It's its own entity and it has a personality of its own. So to give it a description is really difficult. But it is in the hard music vein. And when I heard the music, I was blown away. And I agreed. And they sent me the files [for the album]. And I recorded the drums in my home studio, and I sent it back. And they were pleased."

Simon told Kerrang! magazine that he has been "needing to make a record like this for a long time. This is where I'm almost trying to be provocative," he explained. "I said to Mike that I don't want to sing any melodies — although there are a few melodies on the record, which is me following the service of the song — but my intention was no melody at all. Just fucking mayhem. We wanted people to feel that they'd almost struggle to get to the end of the first song. Thankfully, it became something more sophisticated than that, more musical, but at this point I needed to do this project. I haven't sat down with my guitar and written a song for BIFFY in a long time, and I think post-pandemic I've struggled a little bit with inspiration. This will help me [going forward], I think."

Lombardo, who has spent most of the recent years between crossover pioneers SUICIDAL TENDENCIES, horror-punk icons MISFITS, hardcore supergroup DEAD CROSS and MR. BUNGLE, was effectively fired from SLAYER after sitting out the group's Australian tour in February/March 2013 due to a contract dispute with the other bandmembers. He was later replaced by Paul Bostaph, who was previously SLAYER's drummer from 1992 until 2001.

Lombardo rejoined TESTAMENT last year but has since stopped touring with that band.

Photo credit: Gavin Smart

In a new interview with AXS TV, JUDAS PRIEST singer Rob Halford reveals which albums he'd be willing to listen to in perpetuity if he found himself stranded and alone on an island. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "My number one choices of albums… I would have to go with BLACK SABBATH, the original 'Black Sabbath' album that I think is the motivator for all great things in heavy metal. Some Jimi Hendrix — definitely a Jimi Hendrix album, because I'm a frustrated guitar player and I love what electric guitars can do. So 'Electric Ladyland' from Jimi Hendrix, most definitely. THE ROLLING STONES' 'Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out!', I think from Madison Square Garden, a live record, which really shows the energy and power of that band. One of the greatest rock and roll bands that that ever lived. Let's bump up into more recent times. Let's go really fierce and aggressive with something from SLAYER and really burn things off on the island; that palm tree's gonna fall over. And so I would go with 'Reign In Blood' by SLAYER because of its fierceness, its relentless intensity. For number five, I'm gonna jump out a little bit into something a little bit more cerebral, if that's the right word to call Maynard's [James Keenan] band TOOL. But TOOL, for me, has always been a great adventure, because they go to some remarkable places and it really, really is great music to put your headphones on, which I have here on this island to get lost in some TOOL."

Back in 2020, Halford broke down his top 10 favorite albums in an interview with Rolling Stone and explained how they helped make him who he is. Among the records included on the list are LED ZEPPELIN's debut LP (1969),QUEEN's "Queen II" (1974),THE BEATLES' "A Hard Day's Night" (1964),THE ROLLING STONES' "Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out!" (1970),DEEP PURPLE's "Machine Head" (1971),THE JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE's "Axis: Bold As Love" (1967),David Bowie's "The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars" (1972) and CREAM's "Disraeli Gears" (1967).

Speaking about BLACK SABBATH's classic 1970 self-titled debut album, Halford said: "They were local guys from the same neighborhood, the same neck of the woods as PRIEST. We literally grew up together, inventing this great music that we love and cherish so much called heavy-metal music.

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

Regarding PANTERA's 1990 effort "Cowboys From Hell", Rob said: "PANTERA came about around the early nineties. They were together before then, but they suddenly started to crush with the impact of 'Cowboys From Hell'. If you know your music and your rock and roll, great things happen at the start of every decade. So when I got an earful of 'Cowboys From Hell', I knew that this was going to be a shifter. This actual display of the style of music that these guys were playing was literally going to shake up the world, which it did. We all know so many beautiful things about the band, especially Dimebag [Darrell, guitar], who I think was the driving force behind that band. What everybody was doing was just a full-on assault and attack, which got even stronger and more potent as they moved on to 'Far Beyond Driven', 'Great Southern Trendkill', and all of those other great records later on. But this one, this first one, really does the business for me."

Halford's autobiography, "Confess", arrived in September 2020 via Hachette Books. The book was described by the U.K.'s The Telegraph as "one of the most candid and surprising memoirs" of that year.

Last year, Halford released his second book, "Biblical: Rob Halford's Heavy Metal Scriptures". In the follow-up to "Confess", Halford ran his lively eye over all facets of the hard rock history and the heavy metal world via bite-sized reflections, opinions, and memories in scores and scores of areas, all linked by a biblical theme.

In a new interview with Liselotte "Lilo" Hegt of HeadBangers LifeStyle, SEPULTURA guitarist Andreas Kisser was asked if he and his bandmates have commenced work on the follow-up to 2020's "Quadra" album. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Not at all. We're working on a live album. We're gonna celebrate 40 years next year, and we wanna do something really special. We are already recording all the shows on this tour. We're gonna record all the shows and when we feel we have the material, we're gonna put out something really special for the fans."

He continued: "I think this lineup is the lineup that he has to be registered on stage like that. And we are enjoying ourselves so much with the crowd. [We're having] smiles on our faces, having a good time. You know, why not? We're metal, but we smile too. [Laughs]"

SEPULTURA's previous live albums include 2002's "Under A Pale Grey Sky", 2005's "Live In São Paulo" and 2014's "Metal Veins - Alive In Rock In Rio".

Last year, SEPULTURA frontman Derrick Green was asked by the "Pollution Nocturne" radio show when fans can expect to see the follow-up to "Quadra". He responded: "It's really difficult to say what we'll do for the next album because we're just starting to tour for this album. So there's quite a bit of touring we need to do this year, till the end of the year, and then next year as well before we even start to think about going in the studio again. So I think our focus is really based on touring right now for 'Quadra'."

SEPULTURA comprises Green, Kisser, bassist Paulo Xisto Pinto Jr. and drummer Eloy Casagrande.

After relentless touring for its previous opus, 2017's "Machine Messiah", SEPULTURA returned to Sweden's Fascination Street Studios to once again work with producer Jens Bogren. "Quadra" saw the bandmembers pushing their own mental and physical boundaries and was one of the group's hardest albums to complete.

"Machine Messiah" was SEPULTURA's fourteenth studio album and the eighth since Green joined the ranks. Lyrically, the disc tackled the metaphorical robotization of society and the need to follow and worship someone.

SEPULTURA was formed in 1984 in Belo Horizonte, the capital city of Minas Gerais. Guitarist Jairo Guedz joined the group the following year and played on the band's first two releases, 1985's "Bestial Devastation" EP and their 1986 full-length debut, "Morbid Visions". He also participated in the early songwriting sessions for 1987's "Schizophrenia".

In early 1987, Jairo quit SEPULTURA and was replaced by São Paulo-based guitarist Kisser.

In 1996, Max exited SEPULTURA after the rest of the band split with Max's wife Gloria as their manager.

Igor left SEPULTURA in June 2006 due to "artistic differences." His departure from the band came five months after he announced that he was taking a break from SEPULTURA's touring activities to spend time with his second wife and their new son (who was born in January 2006).

As part of Jonathan Montenegro's "My 3 Questions To" series, former MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson was asked what else is left for him to conquer. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "You know, I let things come as they come. I don't try to plan everything out, and I've kind of done most of the big significant things. But just when you think you've done it all or seen it all, something else comes along. My band DIETH, we're doing some great stuff right now, playing some cool festivals. And we're based up in Gdańsk, Poland, so just when I thought I'd been everywhere, I get invited to Gdańsk, Poland. So there's a good example. So, every day is a good day — good day to get up and play and have fun with your friends."

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

Shortly before Ellefson was dismissed from MEGADETH, he released a statement on Instagram denying all social media chatter that he "groomed" an underage fan. He also filed a report with the police department in Scottsdale, Arizona alleging unlawful distribution of sexually explicit images of him by unknown offenders.

Dave Mustaine — who formed MEGADETH with Ellefson in 1983 — released a statement on May 24, 2021 announcing the bassist's departure from the band. In the statement, Dave said: "We do not take this decision lightly. While we do not know every detail of what occurred, with an already strained relationship, what has already been revealed now is enough to make working together impossible moving forward."

In 2004, Ellefson filed an $18.5-million lawsuit against Mustaine, alleging the frontman 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.

DIETH, which features Ellefson alongside Swedish guitarist/vocalist Guilherme Miranda (formerly of ENTOMBED A.D.) and drummer Michał Łysejko (ex-DECAPITATED), released its debut album, "To Hell And Back", on June 2 via Napalm Records. The LP includes the song "Walk With Me Forever", featuring the first-ever solo lead vocal performance of Ellefson's career. The track's haunting accompanying music video shows Ellefson narrating a story of love and loss, directed by Oskar Szramka and starring notable Polish actors Jan Napieralski and Agnieszka Goździewicz.

PANTERA celebrated what would have been late guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott's 57th birthday last night (Sunday, August 20) during the band's headlining concert at the Germania Insurance Amphitheater in Austin, Texas.

Joining the four members of PANTERA on stage for a round of Dimebag's favorite drink — a "black-tooth grin": whisky with only "a splash of Coke" — and a "Happy Birthday" crowd sing-along were musicians from support act LAMB OF GOD and Dimebag's longtime girlfriend Rita Haney.

Video of the celebration can be seen below.

Dimebag and his brother, drummer Vinnie Paul Abbott, formed PANTERA in the mid-eighties in Texas. The band recorded four independent albums before their 1990 major label debut, "Cowboys From Hell", introduced a heavier sound and made them a favorite with metal fans. 1994's "Far Beyond Driven" debuted at No. 1 on The Billboard 200 without benefit of a commercial hit single.

The group splintered In 2002 following the departure of volatile lead singer Philip Anselmo. Dime and Vinnie regrouped with DAMAGEPLAN, releasing the band's debut album, "New Found Power", in February of 2004.

Dimebag, one of the most beloved and respected musicians in hard rock, was shot onstage during a DAMAGEPLAN concert on December 8, 2004 at the Alrosa Villa club in Columbus, Ohio by a 25-year-old ex-Marine named Nathan Gale. Gale murdered a total of four people and wounded three others before being killed himself by police officer James D. Niggemeyer, who arrived on the scene minutes after Gale began his rampage.

DAMAGEPLAN was touring in support of "New Found Power" at the time of the shootings.

Dimebag was posthumously inducted into the Hollywood RockWalk in May 2007 in a ceremony attended by Vinnie Paul, their father Jerry Abbott and Haney, along with members of ALICE IN CHAINS, ANTHRAX, KISS, SLAYER and Ozzy Osbourne's band.

The reformed PANTERA kicked off its U.S. headlining tour with LAMB OF GOD on July 28 at The Pavilion at Star Lake in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania.

PANTERA's 2023 lineup includes two surviving members from the band's classic formation, Anselmo and Rex Brown (bass),along with guitarist Zakk Wylde (OZZY OSBOURNE, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY) and drummer Charlie Benante (ANTHRAX).

Anselmo and Brown, along with Wylde and Benante, are headlining a number of major festivals across South America, Asia, North America and Europe and staging some of their own headline concerts. They are also supporting METALLICA on a massive North American stadium tour in 2023 and 2024.

According to Billboard, the lineup has been given a green light by Dimebag and Vinnie Paul's estates.

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The Attitude YouTube channel has uploaded video of Ted Nugent's August 20 concert at the Heart Of Oklahoma Expo Center in Shawnee, Oklahoma. Check out the clips below.

The 74-year-old rocker played in in Shawnee as part of his "Adios Mofo '23" farewell tour, which sees him backed by his current solo band consisting of drummer Jason Hartless and bassist Johnny Schoen.

In a recent interview with "THAT Rocks!", the weekly YouTube series hosted by Eddie Trunk, Jim Florentine and Don Jamieson, Ted spoke about his decision to embark on what is being billed as his last-ever tour. Regarding why he doesn't want to spend time on the road anymore, Ted said in part: "Hotels are jail. I hate jail… I will always play music. The music still has fire. I still crave it. I've got new songs. I'm gonna go in the studio with these killer musicians that are always at my side. But traveling, I tell you… A hotel room is jail… The travel and the hotels… And I don't even have to go to TSA [Transportation Security Administration]; I mean, I gave the finger to them in 2009. If somebody doesn't send a jet, I don't go anywhere. My friends are better than your friends, 'cause my friends have jets. So, I'm not TSA and I'm not gonna let somebody fondle my Glock [gun] and ask me questions about gun laws. And hotels are so painful for me… So this tour, like the last 10, I will hub out of our Texas home to play gigs around there. I'll first start in Florida. So I'll hub out of our condo — [my wife] Shemane's got a condo down there, so I can go to all those Florida dates. And then I come back to Michigan and go to Ohio and Indiana and Wisconsin and Illinois and Pennsylvania and Kentucky. And I'm able to hub, so I's still able to spend a lot of time with my kids and my grandkids and my dogs."

Ted went on to clarify that he is not retiring from playing live. "The fire, the music, it will always go on," he said. "I play my guitar every day… And I get to collaborate with the best musicians in the world. So it's always a challenge, it's always intriguing, it's always stimulating. I'm an old man — I'm 75 this year — but the stimuli factor… I hope that somebody else in this world is as stimulated by the music as I am, because it's still very much alive and well."

Asked if he will miss the audience and the live interaction on stage, Ted said: "Yes. Of course I will. But again, I won't miss it because I'll still do it… I'm not going out for months or even weeks. I'll do the occasional special events. I do a lot of corporate stuff… Yeah, I'm an energized son of a bitch, but I am 75, and I'm not swinging from ropes and I'm not wearing a loincloth and I'm not jumping off the amplifiers with my new knees. So I will miss it, but, again, I've got 12 grandkids and I don't wanna go away someday and not make an imprint on them, teach them about the important things in life. In a world that's really gone really stupid, I think my grandparenting responsibilities are more important now than ever."

Ted's concert in Birmingham, Alabama was recently canceled due to a backlash surrounding his controversial political views. The legendary rocker's July 18 performance at Avondale Brewing Co. was scrapped one day before tickets were to go on sale via Ticketmaster. The decision to call off the gig was apparently made in response to about 1,000 comments which were posted on Avondale Brewing's Facebook page after the show was announced, as well as more than 150 comments on the venue's Instagram page.

Nugent's self-titled debut album in 1975 was certified double platinum in the United States, while "Free-for-All", "Cat Scratch Fever", "Weekend Warriors" and "State Of Shock" all reached the Top 30 on the Billboard 200 chart.

Nugent has reportedly sold over 40 million albums and was named Detroit's greatest guitar player of all time by readers of MLive.

The conservative rocker, who been eligible for the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame as a solo artist since 2000, has enjoyed a remarkably successful and eventful musical career over the past five decades, but his music is increasingly overshadowed by his political outbursts.

Nugent's latest album, "Detroit Muscle", was released in April 2022 via Pavement Music. The follow-up to 2018's "The Music Made Me Do It" was recorded with Ted's most recent touring band, which included bassist Greg Smith and drummer Jason Hartless.

This past May, Smith, who had played bass for Ted for the past 16 years, announced his departure from the legendary rocker's touring band. He explained in a statement: "It was a difficult decision but one that I really had no choice in. With Ted no longer touring I had to accept an offer from a tour that will continue for the next several years. I tried to get someone to cover for me for the 2nd half, so I'd be able to do Ted's tour, but I was unfortunately unable to."

In a recent interview with Drumtalk, the video podcast by German drummer and videographer Philipp Koch, ARCH ENEMY drummer Daniel Erlandsson was asked if he ever had any doubts about his playing ability, and if so, how he overcame those doubts. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I think that's an ongoing thing. That just doesn't go away. Like, we're on a tour right now. It's about 30 shows, and most of those shows have been fine, but every now and then you have a night where you just cannot seem to do anything right. At least that's the way it feels in your head. But to the audience, they probably don't even notice that you're having a rough night. But in your own mind, you're like already thinking about a different career choice; you get off stage and you just wanna be alone in a corner and forget about it. And then the next night you play a show and then it's fine again. So it goes up and down. It just moves with the flow. And in the studio is another monster. When you put your drumming under like the microscope, that creates a lot of doubt as well. But at this point, I've played on a bunch of albums, played drums for many years, and you just have to realize that if it doesn't sound like shit, it's probably good, you know?"

He added later in the interview: "Those nights when you really get into the flow, when you're just one with the drumming and one with the song, then your mind can wander and you can start thinking about something completely different. But it's fine, 'cause you're in the zone and it's just flowing out of you. The nights when it's different and you feel like you're fucking up or you're making a lot of mistakes, it's almost like — I told somebody else about this — like if you're playing any sport, like for example tennis, if you're playing a tennis match, which I did when I was a kid, if you start fucking up in the beginning, it's very important that you get over it. Otherwise, you're gonna beat yourself up and your game is gonna continuously go [down]. It's the same with a show. If you don't get over it, you might just end up in that negative space and keep fucking up. Easier said than done, though."

Daniel also talked about the importance of playing what's right for the song musically while occasionally throwing in some tasty licks to make his approach unique. "I think that defines my playing style; that's what I'm trying to do, basically," he said. "I wanna exist somewhere in the very traditional and throwing in, every now and then, something that's more unique, something that I come up with. And I think a lot about the little spices that I throw in just to make it interesting. That is a challenge. That's a challenge for anyone. Sometimes the song doesn't even require that you throw in something spicy. It just requires a steady beat and that's it. And then you have to accept that. And that's part of evolving as a drummer as well, to realize that you sometimes your extravaganza is not really needed.

"Every band is different, and every song is different too," he added. "It's all about your approach to drumming and basically how you hear the song. That's the key. That's the biggest part. If you hear yourself going crazy, then you've gotta record that."

Nearly a decade ago, Daniel told Roland about how he first became interested in drumming: "Well, my brother [AT THE GATES drummer Adrian Erlandsson] is actually six years older than me, and when he started playing drums he was in his early teens, maybe twelve of thirteen, so I was six, a little kid. But that meant he convinced our dad to buy a drum kit, and we got a drum kit in the house, in the basement. So when I got a bit older, around twelve, I got an interest in playing myself, and that's how it started. Then when I was in the seventh grade, I met some people who were also into metal and we decided to form a band, and that was when I really started playing. We just met at rehearsals — nobody knew anything, how to play, how to get a sound from their instruments, nobody knew a thing. But, you know, eventually — I guess that's how a lot of musicians start out. It was really at the grass roots level."

ARCH ENEMY released its latest record, "Deceivers", last year to critical acclaim.

In a recent interview with Czech Republic's Backstage TV, SABATON vocalist Joakim Brodén was asked about his band's plans for the coming months. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I'm looking forward to have a little bit of a slower summer. We have some shows, but we don't do very many shows this summer, because then we are gearing up to make more music."

He continued: "This is weird. It doesn't feel like work. I'm looking forward to having an easy summer, but then I'm looking forward to starting writing more music for the future. We don't have a release date yet. We don't work that hard on it, but it's gonna be good. Without any pressure, I'll drive over, and me and Chris [Rörland, guitar] will sit down, we'll have a few beers and collect all our ideas and write some music. It's a nice thing to do, actually."

Last September, SABATON announced a new EP trilogy titled "Echoes Of The Great War". The trilogy features new songs specifically about World War I, coupled with topically related catalog music.

The last EP in the "Echoes Of The Great War" EP trilogy, "Stories From The Western Front", was made available in April on all platforms. It features a never-heard-before cover of MOTÖRHEAD's well-known track "1916".

SABATON climbed the international charts with its tenth studio album, "The War To End All Wars", securing No. 1 positions in Germany, Austria, Sweden, Poland, Hungary and Finland. Having achieved the top position for the second time in Germany, Sweden and Finland, the album peaked at No. 1 in Poland, Hungary and Austria for the first time in the band’s career. This and additional outstanding results in other territories have made "The War To End All Wars" SABATON's most successful album so far.

Professionally filmed video of METALLICA performing the song "Too Far Gone?" for the first time ever at the second show of the North American leg of the band's "M72" world tour, which took place on August 6 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey can be seen below.

The trek, which launched in late April in Amsterdam, sees the band playing two nights in every city it visits — with each "No Repeat Weekend" featuring two completely different setlists and support lineups. The "M72" tour features a bold new in-the-round stage design that relocates the famed METALLICA Snake Pit to center stage, as well as the "I Disappear" full-tour pass and the debut of discounted tickets for fans under 16 years of age.

METALLICA launched the second East Rutherford show with "Whiplash" from the band's debut album, "Kill 'Em All", which came out in 1983. The group's 16-song set also included three new songs from METALLICA's latest LP, "72 Seasons": "Lux Æterna", "You Must Burn!" and the aforementioned "Too Far Gone?".

The setlist was as follows:

01. Whiplash
02. For Whom The Bell Tolls
03. Ride The Lightning
04. The Memory Remains
05. Lux Æterna
06. Too Far Gone? (live debut)
07. Welcome Home (Sanitarium)
08. You Must Burn!
09. The Call Of Ktulu
10. The Unforgiven
11. Wherever I May Roam
12. Moth Into Flame
13. Blackened
14. Whiskey In The Jar
15. One
16. Enter Sandman

"M72", named after "72 Seasons", sees METALLICA playing two-night stands in cities around the world this year and through 2024, with "takeover" events taking place during weekends in the New York City area, Montreal, Dallas, Los Angeles, Phoenix, St. Louis and Detroit. Those events include film fests, pop-up stores, Ross Halfin book signings, tribute bands, special performances by friends and family, and more.

METALLICA's two-night stand at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas this past weekend was livestreamed to movie theaters across the globe. It marked METALLICA's first appearance in Texas since November 2021, when the band played before, during and after a Triad Combat event at Globe Life Field. Prior to this past weekend, METALLICA last played AT&T Stadium in June 2017.

Hailed as "some of the deepest, hardest-hitting music of their career" (Rolling Stone),METALLICA's "72 Seasons" was released April 14 via the band's own Blackened Recordings. Produced by Greg Fidelman with frontman James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and clocking in at over 77 minutes, the 12-track "72 Seasons" is METALLICA's first full length collection of new material since 2016's "Hardwired… To Self-Destruct".

Formed in 1981 by Hetfield and Ulrich, METALLICA has become one of the most influential and successful rock bands in history, selling nearly 120 million albums worldwide and generating more than 15 billion streams while playing to millions of fans on all seven continents. METALLICA's catalog of multi-platinum studio albums includes "Kill 'Em All", "Ride The Lightning", "Master Of Puppets", "… And Justice For All", "Metallica" (commonly referred to as The Black Album),"Load", "Reload", "St. Anger", "Death Magnetic", "Hardwired… To Self-Destruct" and "72 Seasons". METALLICA's awards and accolades include nine Grammy Awards, two American Music Awards, multiple MTV Video Music Awards, a 2009 induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, and Sweden's Polar Music Prize. In 2017, METALLICA established the All Within My Hands foundation to give back to communities that have supported the band.

Swedish/American metallers IN FLAMES have released "The Journey Home", a 34-minute documentary chronicling the band's last European tour and the making of their fourteenth studio album, "Foregone", which arrived in February via Nuclear Blast. Check it out below.

When "Foregone" was first announced last fall, IN FLAMES frontman Anders Fridén said in a statement: "Going into the 'Foregone' sessions, we wanted to make a record that was heavily guitar-driven, and that had a strong foundation between the bass and drums. We still approached our songwriting the same way, as we always have, as a juxtaposition between melody and aggression. That's the DNA of our music. From the lyrical end of things, there was no shortage of inspiration to draw from, especially the concept of time."

He continued: "Humanity as a whole was forced to slow down and take breather. In that break, many of us spent time evaluating and reprioritizing. Time is a constant, but what do we do with it and how we perceive it varies. Especially now looking at where the world seems to be headed faster than ever before."

Fridén concluded: "It's crazy that after everything we are still here and on our fourteenth album. I feel that we've found a great balance between the past, the present and the future with 'Foregone'. This is a new era of IN FLAMES!"

This past June, IN FLAMES parted ways with bassist Bryce Paul and has replaced him with Liam Wilson (THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN).

Wilson made his live debut with IN FLAMES on June 7 at the Release Athens 2023 festival in Athens, Greece.

Bryce joined IN FLAMES following the departure of longtime bassist Peter Iwers.

Iwers quit IN FLAMES in November 2016, saying that he was leaving the band "to pursue other endeavors."

In a recent interview with Oran O'Beirne of Bloodstock TV, Anders was asked if there are plans for him and his bandmates to commemorate in any way the upcoming 30th anniversary of their debut album, "Lunar Strain", in 2024. He responded: "I think that's more in the business area, those people. In the band, we don't really think about those things. Honestly, when I'm out touring, we have fans coming up to us and saying, 'Oh, today this album turned this amount of years' and 'Today 'The Jester Race' celebrated its what[ever] birthday.' And we're, like, 'Oh, shit. I didn't think about that.' So I don't think about that at all. But 30 years — that's crazy.

"If you asked me early in our career if we would do this for 30 years, I'd be, like, 'No way, man.' [Laughs] So it's insane," he continued. "I'm so, so grateful that we can do what we do. I work with my passion, my hobby, which is insane, when you think about it. I'm grateful for all the fans that carry us around the world and come to our shows and listen to our music."

CANDLEBOX has shared an official performance video for the song "Punks" from the band's July 14 concert at The Troubadour in West Hollywood, California. Check out the clip, which was filmed and edited by Matt Akana, below.

"Punks" is the first single from CANDLEBOX's final studio album, "The Long Goodbye", which will arrive August 25 via Round Hill Records. The track is said to be a cautionary message to young bands that they won't be the hot new thing forever.

In addition to "Punks", the 10-track collection, which was produced by Don Miggs, includes the sneering statement of independence "What Do You Need", co-written by Nick Brown of the alt-rock band MONA, who also appears on the track, and the moody, atmospheric "Elegante", where CANDLEBOX frontman Kevin Martin dives headlong into creative wordplay as Miggs and the band mimic a synth-pop vibe with guitars and drums. Elsewhere is the acoustic "Maze" and "Cellphone Jesus", where Kevin allows some of his worldview to seep in as he searches for a sign from above for a damaged society.

During an appearance on the July 13 episode of SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", Martin spoke about his decision to retire after the 30th anniversary of the release of CANDLEBOX's debut album in 2023.

"During COVID, I had a great awakening, being home with my wife and my son and realizing that maybe I had put far too much emphasis on the wrong syllable," he said, referencing a classic line from the 2003 Mike Myers/Gwyneth Paltrow movie "View From The Top". "My music career had become so encompassing of my time and my emotion and my energy and all this stuff that I realized that I had not given my family what they actually needed from me, which was me. And being home and being a dad and a teacher and a husband, and learning how to bake bread and realizing, 'God, man, I've missed a lot of things in my life that I enjoy,' I said, 'I need to figure out when I can wrap this up.'"

He continued: "I love music and it is a part of my life and I love playing live and I love performing and I love the fans. And that is something that I never take for granted. But I knew that I didn't love it the way I did when I started. And so I said to my wife, I said, 'I think I wanna make one last record and I wanna do it in 2023 when the 30th anniversary of the debut comes out, and then I wanna just put a nice little bow on this thing and wrap it up at the end of the year. And how do you feel about that?' And she said, 'I would love that, but only if you're ready.' And it took me from 2020 to 2022 to realize that I was."

Kevin added: "I don't ever wanna be a performer that phones it in on stage. I've been to those shows, I've seen those shows. I don't wanna do that. And I would hate to become that person. If this is my top, where I'm at, and I'm going out on it, and I'm in the best shape ever and my voice is in the best shape ever, and the music that I'm making, the shows that we're playing are fantastic, and we're having an absolute blast, then what better way to go?"

Martin also talked about how he and his CANDLEBOX bandmates handled their early multi-platinum success three decades ago, saying: "We didn't do well. We got caught up in the whole, 'We've gotta get in the studio, make the next record. Let's make the record different.' You get pushed and pulled in all sorts of directions. Whatever little drug habits you had that you could barely afford before, now you can afford as much cocaine as you want, which is ridiculous. And the alcohol intake is more, and you start buying dumb cars and stupid houses and all sorts of dumb shit. You fall into that trap. But we had a good manager; we were managed by Lindy Goetz, who managed the RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS at the time as well. And as good as he was and tried his best to keep us focused as a band — I think he actually convinced my guitar player to go to rehab — we were not prepared at all. It was a very strange thing. I remember waking up one morning to go out to get my paper in Seattle and there were people sitting outside my gate, waiting for me to come out. And I'd never experienced anything like that. I thought that was the strangest thing in the world. 'Cause it's not something I would ever do. So I just was taken aback by that. I was, like, 'Why are you here?' And they're, like, 'Oh, can you sign this stuff?' And I said, 'This is my house. Get outta my house.' It was a strange thing— a very strange thing."

CANDLEBOX — Kevin Martin (lead vocals),Adam Kury (bass),Brian Quinn (guitar),Island Styles (guitar),BJ Kerwin (drums) — is currently on the road on their farewell tour, crossing the country until early fall with fellow rockers 3 DOORS DOWN as direct support on their massive "Away From The Sun" amphitheater tour in addition to various headlining shows.

Emerging from Seattle's burgeoning mid-1990s grunge scene, CANDLEBOX quickly found mainstream success with their deep, lyrically driven melodies and big radio hooks, as evidenced by their massive hits "Far Behind", "You" and "Cover Me" that propelled their self-titled debut album, a defining record of the decade, to sell more than four million copies worldwide. Their follow-up album, "Lucy", earned a platinum certification and solidified CANDLEBOX as a tour de force in the thriving alt-rock scene. While the commercial success of the first album played a pivotal role in the band's trajectory to the top, it was their raw and unapologetically honest live performances that ultimately solidified their place among Seattle's elite. In 1998, CANDLEBOX released "Happy Pills", which would be their last album before going on hiatus from 2000 to 2006. In 2008, the band reformed and released their fourth album, "Into The Sun", and hit the road for the first time in 10 years, touring extensively and releasing "Alive In Seattle", a live album that included tracks from every era of their career. 2016 marked the triumphant return of CANDLEBOX with the release of "Disappearing In Airports", a more classic rock-tinged album hailed by many critics and fans as their best work in years. Singles "Vexatious" and "Supernova" drove the album to debut at No. 9 on the Billboard chart and spurred multiple U.S. and international tours, including major festival appearances at Carolina Rebellion, Welcome To Rockville and Lollapalooza Chile. These iconic rockers have been blazing full steam since, releasing their album "Wolves" in 2021, and recently issuing a live, acoustic album, "Live At The Neptune".

Posted by Troubadour on Monday, March 27, 2023

Canadian rockers, Sierra Pilot, have just released “Kerosene”, a hard-hitting hyper-sexual track about pure, animalistic instinct that more than lives up to its volatile title. Those carnal desires are reflected in every explosive moment of the track, driven by a pulsating, relentless beat that anchors the song to the infectious, buzzsaw guitar that crashes its opening notes. Watch a lyric video for “Kerosene” below:





The new single comes just ahead of the release of Sierra Pilot’s debut full-length album, Phantom Pains, out on September 22, and followed by an 11-date Western Canadian tour with rock legends Skid Row and Buckcherry in October.







Sierra Pilot’s career has been on an upward trajectory since early 2022 when band leader Taylor Leith decided it was time to invest every moment of his time in recording, releasing, and promoting his music. “There was a definite turning point after I started writing songs for Phantom Pains,” says Leith. “Everything started to fall into place, and I knew it was time to strike while the iron was hot. That came with a big commitment, which also gave me an opportunity for huge personal growth”.


As Sierra Pilot started racking up one small win after another, they were invited to share the stage with acclaimed acts including Big Wreck, Monster Truck, Buckcherry, and Crown Lands, just to name a few. Their anthemic, guitar-driven music and high-energy live performances have been quickly embraced by new audiences, and the band credits much of their success to those fans.


“We feel very fortunate for opportunities to perform to new and bigger audiences and to tangibly build our fanbase,” says Leith. “There is nothing more thrilling than to see an audience singing along to your songs”.


Before heading out on tour with Skid Row and Buckcherry, Sierra Pilot will celebrate the release of Phantom Pains at Maxwell’s Concerts & Event in Waterloo, Ontario on Friday, September 29. Tickets are $10 in advance, $15 at the door. Doors open at 7 PM and the show starts at 7:30 PM. Excuses Excuses, The Lad Classic, and Alyssa DVM will open the show.


For a complete list of tour dates and info, head here.





Tour dates for the Skid Row/Buckcherry tour with Sierra Pilot are as follows:


October
10 - Penticton Trade and Convention Centre - Penticton, BC
12 - The Venue at River Cree Casino - Enoch, AB
13 - Ovintiv Event Centre - Dawson Creek, BC
16 - Enmax Centre - Lethbridge, AB
17 - TCU Place - Saskatoon, SK
19 - Grey Eagle Event Centre - Calgary, AB
20 - Moosejaw Event Centre - Moosejaw, SK
21 - Westoba Place - Brandon, MB
23 - Burton Cummings Theatre - Winnipeg, MB
24 - Thunder Bay Community Auditorium - Thunder Bay, ON





(Photo - Andy Wright)

Multi-platinum hard rock icons Extreme - Gary Cherone (vocals), Nuno Bettencourt (guitar), Pat Badger (bass), and Kevin Figueiredo (drums) - performed at the Santander Performing Arts Center in Reading, PA on August 8th. Fan-filmed video of the entire show can be viewed below.


The setlist was as follows:


"#Rebel"
"Decadence Dance"
"It ('s a Monster)"
"Rest in Peace"
"Hip Today"
"Teacher's Pet / Flesh 'n' Blood / Wind Me Up / Kid Ego"
"Play With Me"
"Tragic Comic / Hole Hearted"
"Other Side Of The Rainbow" 
"Cupid's Dead"
"Am I Ever Gonna Change"
"Midnight Express"
"More Than Words"
"Banshee"
"Take Us Alive / That's All Right"
"Flight of the Wounded Bumblebee / Get the Funk Out"




Encore:
"Small Town Beautiful / Song for Love"
"Rise"





Extreme have released a static video for "Save Me", a track from their new album, SIX, out now via earMusic. Check it out below:





SIX was recorded at Nuno Bettencourt’s home studio in Los Angeles. The album swings between unapologetic fits of fret-burning hard rock and intimately introspective balladry. Order SIX here.





SIX tracklisting:


"Rise"
"#Rebel"
"Banshee"
"Other Side Of The Rainbow"
"Small Town Beautiful"
"The Mask"
"Thicker Than Blood"
"Save Me"
"Hurricane"
"X Out"
"Beautiful Girls"
"Here's To The Losers"


"The Mask:





"Small Town Beautiful":





“Other Side Of The Rainbow” video:





"Banshee" video:





"#Rebel" video:





"Rise" video:





Extreme's headlining “Thicker Than Blood” world tour is underway. It will be followed by stops in Australia and Japan in September and has already sold-out dates in cities including Detroit, Hampton Beach, Tokyo and Yokohama. The band also announced an additional jaunt beginning November 27 in Newcastle, UK and wrapping December 16 in Milan, IT.


Special guests Living Colour (who will also be supporting Extreme on their US and Australian shows) will appear on the UK leg and The Last Internationale will appear across Europe. Tickets  at extreme-band.com.





Tour dates:


August
22 - Albuquerque, NM - Revel Entertainment Center #
24 - Anaheim, CA - House of Blues #
26 - San Francisco, CA - The Regency #
28 - Portland, OR - TBD #
29 - Seattle, WA - The Showbox #


September
6 - Perth, AU - Regal Theatre #
8 - Adelaide, AU - Hindley Street Music Hall #
10 - Melbourne, AU - Forum #
12 - Sydney, AU - Enmore Theatre #
13 - Brisbane, AU - Fortitude Music Hall #
17 - Sendai, JP - Sendai Gigs
19 - Yokohama, JP - KT Zepp Yokohama
21 - Tokyo, JP - Hitomi Memorial Hall
25 - Nagoya, JP - Shimin Kaikan Hall
26 - Osaka, JP - Zepp Namba





November
27 - Newcastle, UK - O2 City Hall #
28 - Glasgow, UK - O2 Academy #
30 - Manchester, UK - O2 Academy #


December
1 - Wolverhampton, UK - Civic Hall #
3 - Bristol, UK - O2 Academy #
4 - London, UK - O2 Forum #
8 - Pratteln, Switzerland - Z7 Konzertfabrik *
10 - Berlin, Germany - Huxleys *
11 - Cologne, Germany - Live Music Hall *
12 - Amsterdam, Netherlands - Melkweg Max *
14 - Antwerp, Belgium - Trix *
16 - Milan, Italy - Alcatraz *


# with Living Colour
* with The Last Internationale