Peacock has released an official video of the February 14 performance of NIRVANA's surviving members — Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic and Pat Smear — along with Post Malone — during "Saturday Night Live"'s 50th-anniversary concert. Grohl, Novoselic, Smear and Malone played the NIRVANA classic "Smells Like Teen Spirit" after being introduced as "Post NIRVANA" by "Saturday Night Live" alum Adam Sandler.

Post Malone is a huge NIRVANA fan whose 2020 all-NIRVANA covers livestream (featuring BLINK-182 drummer Travis Barker) will make its vinyl debut in April for Record Store Day.

Five years ago, Grohl had praised Malone's passion for NIRVANA's music, calling his tribute "super cool."

The three-hour-plus "Saturday Night Live" 50th-anniversary concert, which was streamed live on Peacock, also featured PEARL JAM's Eddie Vedder and THE ROOTS covering the Tom Petty classic "The Waiting", David Byrne performing with both the ARCADE FIRE and Robyn, Miley Cyrus with ALABAMA SHAKES' Brittany Howard, Snoop Dogg and Jelly Roll, and a two-thirds FUGEES reunion with Lauryn Hill.

Grohl, Novoselic and Smear previously reunited onstage on January 30 during the FireAid benefit concert to perform several of NIRVANA's classic songs. Filling the lead vocal slot vacated by Kurt Cobain's death almost 31 years ago were guest singers St. Vincent, Joan Jett, Kim Gordon and Violet Grohl, Dave's 18-year-old daughter.

The unannounced performance at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles opened with St. Vincent singing the "Nevermind" classic "Breed", followed by Gordon on "School", a song from NIRVANA's debut album, "Bleach". Jett then took the stage to sing another "Nevermind" track, "Territorial Pissings", before Violet took over for "All Apologies" from NIRVANA's "In Utero" album.

St. Vincent, Jett and Gordon — along with Lorde — previously fronted a partial reunion of NIRVANA when the band was being inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2014.

Prior to FireAid, Grohl, Novoselic and Smear performed together in January 2020 at The Art Of Elysium charity's annual "Heaven" gala at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles. Grohl, Novoselic and Smear played a five-song set of NIRVANA's hits, with Beck, St. Vincent and Violet Grohl handling lead vocals. "Lithium" featured St. Vincent at the front, with Beck singing "In Bloom" and "Been A Son". Violet joined the group to perform "Heart-Shaped Box" before the set closed out with a performance of David Bowie's "The Man Who Sold The World".

In a new interview with Briad Haddad of Chicago's Q101 radio station, DISTURBED frontman David Draiman was asked about a possible collaboration with Kendrick Lamar following the rapper's performance at the Super Bowl earlier in the month. Draiman responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "You know what? It's something we've actually been thinking about pretty seriously. And Kendrick is way at the top of the list.

"We have this track. It's part of this new group of material, this new album that we have under our belt," Draiman revealed. "And it's basically like the modern-day 'Walk This Way' [RUN-DMC's collaboration with AEROSMITH] or 'Bring The Noise' [ANTHRAX's collaboration with hip-hop pioneers PUBLIC ENEMY]. It's very much like that. It's about unity. It's about all about bringing people together. And it needs a strong rapper, whomever that might be, and Kendrick would definitely be an amazing person to collaborate with. I would love to do that. We would love to do this.

"You heard it here first," David added. "Kendrick, if you're at all interested, let's go ahead and shock the world a little bit. Let's let everybody know that we have more in common than we do that separates us. And let's take our artistry to another level together. I would love to do that."

Haddad then mentioned that he saw Draiman first float the possibility of a DISTURBED-Kendrick Lamar collaboration in an Instagram post earlier in the month, and asked the singer if he has heard from Lamar since then. David replied: "Nah. Who knows if the guy even monitors his own Instagram account? With somebody that big with that many people following him, I'm sure he's got like a team of people that do all sorts of things for him. And I'm probably just a tiny little blip in a huge sea of noise. So I would imagine that didn't cut through. But now that we're talking about it, maybe it will.

"I would love for him to actually be aware of it and notice it," Draiman added. "And who knows? Maybe we can actually do something."

On Friday (February 21),DISTURBED released a new single "I Will Not Break", the band's first release on its own label, Mother Culture Records.

"I Will Not Break" was helmed by producer Drew Fulk, also known as WZRD BLD (MOTIONLESS IN WHITE, LIL PEEP, HIGHLY SUSPECT),who previously worked with DISTURBED on 2022's "Divisive" album.

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

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

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

DISTURBED's 34-date "The Sickness 25th Anniversary Tour" will kick off in Nampa, Idaho on February 25, 2025. Produced by Live Nation, the tour celebrates 25 years of DISTURBED's seminal debut album which launched the band into public consciousness and is one of the most important and influential heavy metal albums of all time. Each night will feature two sets of music, opening with DISTURBED playing the five times platinum "The Sickness" in full, followed by a full set of greatest hits. The first half of the tour will feature support from special guests THREE DAYS GRACE, featuring the return of original singer Adam Gontier, and opener SEVENDUST, and the second half will feature special guests DAUGHTRY with opener NOTHING MORE.

DISTURBED recently announced the 25th-anniversary edition release of "The Sickness". To commemorate the anniversary, the band will reissue the five-times-platinum-certified LP on March 7, exactly 25 years to the date of their original release.

DISTURBED has become one of the most celebrated and commercially successful metal acts of all time. To date, DISTURBED has seen record-breaking success with sales of over 17 million units and 14 billion streams.

The two-time Grammy Award-nominated quartet have notched five consecutive No. 1 debuts on the Billboard Top 200 for "Believe", "Ten Thousand Fists", "Indestructible" and "Asylum", occupying rarified air alongside METALLICA — the only other hard rock group to accomplish this feat.

"Divisive" featured DISTURBED's 17th No. 1 at Rock Radio, "Hey You", "Unstoppable" and more.

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THE ROCKETT MAFIA, the new band featuring POISON drummer Rikki Rockett alongside Brandon Gibbs (DEVIL CITY ANGELS) on vocals and guitar, Mick Sweda (BULLETBOYS) on guitar and backing vocals, and Bryan Kimes on bass and backing vocals, played its first official show last night (Friday, February 21) at the Whisky A Go Go in West Hollywood, California. Fan-filmed video of the concert can be seen below.

THE ROCKETT MAFIA has several other shows scheduled for this year, including at the Arcada Theater in St. Charles, Illinois on March 8, at Warner Vineyards in Paw Paw, Michigan on July 2 and at the Milwaukee Summerfest in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on July 2.

Earlier this week, THE ROCKETT MAFIA released its first single, a cover of "I Think I Love You", a 1970 song by Tony Romeo, written as the debut single for fictional musical TV family "The Partridge Family".

Regarding how THE ROCKETT MAFIA came together, Rikki stated during a February 19 appearance on SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk": "I always had Brandon Gibbs in the back of my mind for any project that I do, which hasn't been many. I mean, I did DEVIL CITY ANGELS [with him]. When I played The Distinguished Gentleman's Ride [motorcycle charity event], which I am one of the city co-hosts for — that's a worldwide ride that takes place in 300-some cities across the world — they didn't have entertainment. And I said, 'It's time to have entertainment at this thing.' And they said, 'Well, any suggestions? Can you play?' And I went, 'Well, I don't have a band.' [Laughs] 'So I'll have to put one together.' I had done a couple of shows with CHEVY METAL — me and Kenny Aronoff had done a couple shows with them — so I reached out to those guys, and I just basically had them come and play the show… So after that, I just said, 'I need my own band.' First person I met was Bryan who was working at a salon that I was in, and we started talking. And this guy is from Maryland, and we have the same circle of friends, but didn't know each other. He's played all that tri-state area back there, the same places we played, New Jersey, Maryland, Pennsylvania, all that. And so we got along great. And I said, 'Let's get together. I've gotta find a guitar player.' And he mentioned Mick Sweda. and I was like, 'Is he busy? Is he doing something? I mean, that guy's a monster. Is this something that would interest him?' And the first thing Mick said when I called him up, he said, 'Look, if you're just gonna have me for one or two gigs and then get rid of me, I'm not interested.' I said, 'Well, Mick, I don't know. I've never played with you, but I think we should at least get together and play.' And we did. And we were playing AEROSMITH songs, VAN HALEN, everything, and we're just sitting there going, 'Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. We're cut from the same cloth.' And I was amazed at how good of a player this guy is. And then, of course, I brought Brandon into the thing. And I said the whole idea is something that Taylor Hawkins [late FOO FIGHTERS drummer] told me that I should have been doing a long time ago. And I always got super serious with a band, like, 'I've gotta, right away, write a record and do all-original material.' And he's, like, 'No, just go play for a while. Get used to everybody. Make sure you wanna have a good time. POISON's your baby, just like FOO FIGHTERS are mine.' So I took his advice, God rest his soul, and several years later, I'm actually doing this thing. It's been so much fun, just in the rehearsal phase."

As for what fans can expect to hear at THE ROCKETT MAFIA's live shows, Rikki said: "They're getting our original versions of cover songs for right now. Meaning we're taking songs that most rock bands typically don't do — some of 'em we do, but a lot of 'em most hard rock bands don't do — and we're reimagining them. And you'll see [when you hear 'I Think I Love You'] what I mean by that. And it's something that Mick dubbed, I think he called it 'satanic pop.' [Laughs] You'll see what I mean. So we're reimagining some of these songs that had great choruses and really catchy hooks, but were never meant to be necessarily hard rock songs. They were just crafted so well. And we're doing some regular FACES stuff and things like that as well. But we have decided now, and we started to fool around with our own stuff. So that is definitely forthcoming. But for this first little run, you're gonna be hearing a bunch of stuff that you went, 'Oh my God! That's that song. I know that song. I know that song.' That's what we're going for. And we keep adding [new songs] every day. I swear to God, we keep changing the set. We're, like, 'Hey, have you ever thought about doing this song?' 'Yeah, but how would we do that, do it THE ROCKETT MAFIA way?' So we're having a blast with it. It's just been really, really fun."

On the topic of how "I Think I Love You" was chosen to be one of the songs for THE ROCKETT MAFIA to cover, Rikki said: "I think I [suggested that one]. I always thought it was a great song. I had a crush on [actress] Susan Dey growing up, so, of course. But I always thought it was such a well-written song. It was written by Tony Romeo, who I don't know, but he's written other things. He passed away now. And I think David Cassidy was trying so hard at that time to make people realize that he was a really good player and he was a really good writer, and he couldn't extend past that idea of 'The Partridge Family' publicly. And I met him many years ago at an award show — he was super cool — and I told him how much I appreciated all the stuff that he really did reach out and do that he did in a more serious way. And I feel bad for him because he was never taken seriously. I think it made him an alcoholic maybe; I don't know. But I just thought it was a cool song. It was, like, 'This song needs a second spin.' The chord structures, everything is very hard rock, but the way they did it, it wasn't. So you'll see how we did it."

Rockett and Gibbs played their first show as THE ROCKETT MAFIA in May 2024 at the end of the aforementioned The Distinguished Gentleman's Ride motorcycle charity event in Santa Monica, California. They were joined at the gig by guitarist Brent Woods (SEBASTIAN BACH, CHEVY METAL) and bassist Wiley Hodgden.

Rockett and Gibbs previously played together in a band called DEVIL CITY ANGELS, also featuring guitarist Tracii Guns (L.A. GUNS) and bassist Eric Brittingham (CINDERELLA). The band released its self-titled debut album in September 2015. Following the recording of "Devil City Angels", Brittingham decided not to continue with the project and his spot was taken by Rudy Sarzo (QUIET RIOT, OZZY OSBOURNE, WHITESNAKE). Around a year later, Rockett, Gibbs and Brittingham joined forces with guitarist Joel Kosche (ex-COLLECTIVE SOUL) to form the LORDS OF DEVIL CITY. Within a few months, Rockett, Gibbs and Brittingham relaunched DEVIL CITY ANGELS, only for Eric to exit the project in the summer of 2017 and be replaced by Topher Nelson. In July 2020, DEVIL CITY ANGELS released a new single, "Testify".

In early 2019, Gibbs and Rockett were embroiled in a public war of words after Gibbs indicated he was no longer involved with DEVIL CITY ANGELS due to the fact that the band was "inactive." Rikki responded that DEVIL CITY ANGELS "went inactive" because he was diagnosed with cancer and suggested possibly moving on without Brandon. This prompted Gibbs to fire back that he had "never seen someone complain about money, perception and 1st class tickets" as much as Rockett allegedly did, "to the point where it gets in the way of doing anything." The two have since resolved their differences.

Back in 2015, Rockett told Sleaze Roxx about Gibbs: "The thing about Brandon is that he's a young guy but he sounds like he's from the '70s. That's what is so appealing for guys like us. That's the reason that I really wanted Brandon involved with us. Brandon doesn't have any baggage, which is good and he has a lot of experience. He's got a great pedigree."

In 2015, Rockett and Gibbs joined forces with Rikki's POISON bandmates Bobby Dall (bass) and C.C. DeVille (guitar) to play several shows as THE SPECIAL GUESTS in what was widely perceived as a not-so-subtle message to POISON singer Bret Michaels that they weren't willing to remain completely inactive while he pursued a solo career.



RockettMafia at Whiskey a go go

Posted by Kent Dodson on Friday, February 21, 2025



RockettMafia at Whiskey a go go 2

Posted by Kent Dodson on Saturday, February 22, 2025



The Rockett Mafia featuring Rikki Rockett of Poison, American Jetset, Circle the Earth, Kryolith, Dario Spark, Ghost of You, Later Daze Soldout Whisky A Go-Go Thank You Rikki Rockett Mick Sweda Brandon Gibbs Badass 100%

Posted by Ricky Gordon on Friday, February 21, 2025



The Rockett Mafia featuring Rikki Rockett of Poison, American Jetset, Circle the Earth, Kryolith, Dario Spark, Ghost of You, Later Daze Thank You Rikki Rockett Mick Sweda Brandon Gibbs Smooth Up In Yea It Was Badass Nothing But A Good Time Soldout Whisky A Go-Go ✌️💛🙏🏻 I Am Ricky Hollywood Acknowledge Me 🤙👍🤘🏻

Posted by Ricky Gordon on Saturday, February 22, 2025

Rikki Rockett great show and group!!! Thank you for keeping rock alive!! Thanks for the stix!!

Posted by Kent Dodson on Saturday, February 22, 2025

https://whiskyagogo.com/calendar/events/13926683/the-rockett-mafia-featuring-rikki-rockett-of-poison-american-jetset-kry...

Posted by Poison on Tuesday, February 4, 2025

During an appearance on the latest episode of the Basement Talk podcast, Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu was asked what his relationship was like with his longtime bandmates in KORN. He responded: "I haven't talked to those guys since 2019. So it's like we're just kind of both…. They're truckin'. They're a machine. They're going. It's insane. It's dope that they can keep on going like that."

When one of the interviewers asked Fieldy if "it's all love between everybody", the bassist replied: "Yeah. It's cool to see them keep on going. I'm, like, I need to chill. I'm just kickin' it."

Despite Fieldy's claim that he hasn't spoken to the other members of KORN since 2019, he did join his bandmates for their global streaming event, "Korn: Monumental", in April 2021. Just two months later, in June 2021, Fieldy announced that he would sit out KORN's touring activities in order to "heal" after "falling back" on some of his "bad habits."

In October 2022, Fieldy posted a video on his social media accounts offering clarity on the "bad habits" that led to him taking leave from KORN more than a year earlier. He explained: "When I made the statement about my 'bad habits,' they weren't drugs. It's just, at the end of the day — I don't condone this — but when I'm done with all my responsibilities, I have a Bud Light, or as many as I want, to tell you the truth. I'm a grown man. But I know that I have to get up at five in the morning, because I'm responsible, and I got a job to do. And I've got people that love me and people that depend on me, so I'm gonna be there for them no matter what."

He added: "To clarify the habits, I've never tried cocaine, I've never tried heroin. I drink Bud Light, man."

Fieldy also stressed that he remained on good terms with his KORN bandmates, saying: "I love the guys in KORN. I've known them since seventh grade. We have no beef. I've got no problem with those guys. You guys should support them. They're ripping right now. They're killing it.

"I'm always gonna be Fieldy from KORN for the rest of my life, because that's part of my legacy. Those are my homies, those are my brothers. We're just in different places right now. We're not even mad at each other. We're all cool."

The bassist also wanted fans to know that he was in a good place, saying: "Things are great. I'm having a blast. I'm the happiest I've ever been in my entire life."

For most of the last four years, Fieldy has been replaced on KORN's tours by former SUICIDAL TENDENCIES bassist Roberto "Ra" Díaz. However, Fieldy did manage to lay down his bass tracks on the band's most recent album, "Requiem", which was released in February 2022.

Back in June 2022, KORN guitarist Brian "Head" Welch told Kerrang! Radio about Fieldy: "We've been in contact with him. I just e-mailed him the other day. So we're gonna get together and talk to him, see how he's doing, see where his head is at, after this tour. Me and Munk [KORN guitarist James 'Munky' Shaffer] were just talking about it. We love him, we've been in communication with him, and we'll see."

Earlier that same month month, KORN drummer Ray Luzier told Germany's MoreCore that Fieldy is "doing good. He's our brother. We love him. We support him 110 percent," he said. "Bands are like marriages. Sometimes you need to step away a little bit to look at the picture and see what's going on with your individual life, and I think that's where we're all at now with Reggie. He's such a great dude and he's one of my best buds, so we support him in everything he does. No one has a crystal ball — I don't know what's gonna happen in the future — but we definitely miss him out here."

Luzier went on to say that Díaz is "doing a great job. He's doing a hell of a job. But there's a sound about Fieldy that isKORN," he said. "There's that signature thing that not many bass players can say that. Just that sound — you pop a KORN album on, and you're, like, 'Woah.' That bass, you take that out and it wouldn't sound normal, because Munky and Head don't sound normal, and neither does Jon [singer Jonathan Davis]. But that bass, man, it's just leading a lot of those older records."

In February 2022, Welch told Spotlight Report that Fieldy was "just taking a little time to be with his family. He is a great dad," Welch said. "He has so many kids. He has adult kids, teenagers and young kids. He is just taking time, and we are giving him the time. We want everyone to be healthy and happy.

"I guess we will go and tour this record," Head continued, referencing "Requiem". "I don't know a lot more other than that. We love him very much and we hope to communicate with him during the year at some stage, to see where everyone is at."

Welch previously addressed Fieldy's position in KORN during a November 2021 interview with U.K.'s Kerrang! magazine. At the time, he stated: "The best thing to do is stay at home, be with your family, and start processing. He's got to find that healing. I still struggle with it. I had a few slip-ups with my 'bad habits' three to four years ago, so I understand it, but I dealt with it by hitting it head-on and stopping it from becoming a problem. I'm not concerned because I know he's going to be okay."

Davis expressed a more worried outlook on Fieldy's predicament, saying: "I love him; he's my brother. But I watched somebody I care about die and I'm not going to fucking do that again. I refuse to. I will feel guilt for the rest of my fucking life because of that. I tried my hardest but perhaps if I'd been a little bit tougher there'd have been a different outcome. I pray that he can figure it out and get better and come back and be a huge part of this band again."

Also in November 2021, Shaffer told "Loudwire Nights" host Toni Gonzalez about Fieldy: "Right now he's just taking some time to kinda figure out what makes him happy and figure out his happiness and what he wants to do with his life, I guess is the best way to put it. And make sure his mental health is at its best, because if your mental health isn't good, or you're not clear, you're gonna make bad choices.

"I make an example," he continued. "I had my own challenges through the years, and once you get clarity, your life becomes a lot easier to manage. We're just giving him time to, like, no pressure, just figure out what you want to do because we can still work and we can still go out and tour. But we miss him. We love the guy, and we want him to just be healthy."

Regarding how KORN ended up recruiting Díaz to fill in for Fieldy, Welch told 97.9 GRD: "Well, there's COVID and everything, so when we started talking about it, it was a thing where we wanted to be careful still and whatnot. So we just started brainstorming and hitting up friends and whatnot. We need the slap — we need the slap bass, we need the finger playing, we need someone, 'cause Fieldy is unique — very unique. So it just kind of happened that way, man, where Ra, he was open because SUICIDAL [was] not going out [on tour] until [the following] year. So it just worked out, man. He came down, we jammed. He's a really humble guy, and just very talented. He can play anything — from jazz to slap to anything. He played all the songs with, like, three mistakes out of 10 songs or something — little mistakes. I mean, not even mistakes — it was just, like, 'I thought I heard it that way.' They weren't even mistakes. So we were, like, 'Okay. You got it down.'"

Less than four years, Fieldy broke the news of his absence from KORN's summer trek, writing in a social media update: "To all KORN fans worldwide. The past 6 years I've been dealing with some personal issues that at times have caused me to fall back on some of my bad habits and has caused some tension with the people around me. It's been suggested to me to take some time off to heal. I'm going to respect what was asked of me and take that time. Unfortunately you will not see me on stage with my band. I will be working towards getting the bad habits out of my system. In the meantime I will be staying creative to keep my mind & soul in a good place.

"I'm thankful for all of your support, patience & understanding as we all have something that we deal with.

"Jonathan, Munky, Ray and Head, I love you and I don't want to bring any tension or bad vibes to the circle."

A short time later, KORN's official social media shared Fieldy's statement, along with the following message: "We love and support our brother, Fieldy. Health and family always comes first."

Back in 2017, METALLICA bassist Robert Trujillo's then-12-year-old son Tye Trujillo filled in on bass for KORN's South American tour after Fieldy was unable to make the shows due to "unforeseen circumstances."

Fieldy's 2009 memoir, "Got The Life: My Journey Of Addiction, Faith, Recovery And Korn", detailed his struggles with drug and alcohol addiction during KORN's early years and how he became a born-again Christian to help get his life together and get sober.

Fieldy's STILLWELL side project released its fourth album, "Rock The House", in September 2022.

During an appearance on bestselling author Mark Manson's The Subtle Art Of Not Giving A F*ck podcast, LAMB OF GOD frontman Randy Blythe was asked if being in a band can be compared to a marriage where instead of having one significant other to keep happy, you're usually fully committed professionally, financially and personally to a whole group of passionate, creative and often strong-minded individuals. Randy responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Is it the hardest relationship possible? … I think that the intensity of probably people who serve in combat together is much more intense than our relationship. And they form these lifelong bonds because they've been through these horrific experiences together. But hopefully in most places that sort of relationship has its time and its place and its intensities. Ours is long-term.

"It's strange to me because there's very few bands that last as long as ours [has]," Randy continued. "And it's strange for me to say that. We're kind of moving into the legacy sort of era. It's very strange for me to say that, but most bands just don't last as long as ours do — because of the personality differences and so forth.

"I think with us, it's because, in so many ways, we have become better friends that we're still here," Blythe explained. "I mean, we've gotten in fistfights together. Me and my guitar player Mark [Morton] famously got in a drunken brawl in Scotland. I had adopted a Scottish accent. I was wearing a kilt. It was a nightmare. And we videoed it and put it out. And we do signings and people are, like, 'I can't believe you two are sitting next to each other after this fight,' 'cause it's this frozen-in-time moment. It happens in all bands. We were just stupid enough to put it out. We got a platinum DVD out of it. But Mark and I are extremely close friends — extremely. And we text and talk to each other very often, not just about band stuff, but about life. And I think we're very fortunate in that."

When Manson noted that it sounds like being in a band can be compared to being in "a synthetic family" that Blythe and his bandmates put together, and that "it comes with all the trappings of a family relationship," Randy concurred. "You're talking about this idealistic version you had of being in a band when you were younger," Blythe said. "People seem to think, to this day… I've been in this band almost 30 years. When I'm at home and I'll go to the grocery store or something, someone will be, like, 'Where's Mark? Where's Willie [Adler, LAMB OF GOD guitarist]?' I'm, like, 'At home with their wife. We aren't attached at the hip.' Even in Richmond, where I'm from, people are, like, at the grocery store, 'What are you doing here?' 'Buying produce, man. I'm a normal human being.' 'Shouldn't you be on tour?' 'No, I'm allowed to be at home.'

"Somehow we have learned how to function better now than we ever did when we were younger," Randy added. "[We were] very combative each other. And I think the only reason why we didn't break up is because nobody wanted to be the guy that broke the band up because that would be defeat. 'I quit.' It's, like, 'I hate you.' And you do spend so much time around these guys. You're, like, 'I hate the way this guy ties his shoes.' But you don't wanna be the guy to crack and, like, 'Well, the band could have done great, but it went down the tubes 'cause you wimped out.'"

Blythe's second book, "Just Beyond The Light: Making Peace With The Wars Inside Our Head", came out on February 18 via Grand Central Publishing (GCP).

"Just Beyond The Light" was described by Blythe as a "tight, concise roadmap of how I have attempted to maintain what I believe to be a proper perspective in life, even during difficult times."

In December, Blythe announced more spoken-word and question-and-answer events to promote "Just Beyond The Light". The special "evening with" event includes a spoken-word performance, an audience question-and-answer session, a copy of "Just Beyond The Light" and an opportunity to have the book signed.

In 2012, Blythe was arrested in the Czech Republic and charged with manslaughter for allegedly pushing a 19-year-old fan offstage at a show two year prior and causing injuries that led to the fan's death. Blythe spent 37 days in a Prague prison before ultimately being found not guilty in 2013.

Blythe's prison experience inspired two songs on LAMB OF GOD's 2015 album "VII: Sturm Und Drang": "512", one of his three prison cell numbers, and "Still Echoes", written while he was in Pankrac Prison, a dilapidated facility built in the 1880s that had been used for executions by the Nazis during World War II. It also led him to write his first book, "Dark Days", in which he shared his whole side of the story publicly for the first time.

In a new interview with Iron Madness, guitarist Chris Caffery and bassist Johnny Lee Middleton of reactivated American progressive metallers SAVATAGE spoke about the band's long-in-the-works new studio album. Regarding the progress of the LP songwriting and recording sessions, Johnny said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Yeah, well, we got a record that's pretty much — I got it here on my hard drive. There's a lot of great songs on it. Jon [Oliva, SAVATAGE mastermind] did a lot of his vocals awhile back. We do have a lot of music. The problem is Jon keeps writing more. So, we don't know when an album will be released, but we know one will be released. It's just a matter of when the timing is right. And that's pretty much where we're sitting on it right now."

He continued: "We're just getting this band back out on tour. We're gonna see how this works. And then we'll make a decision on when we'll finish the record. Luckily, we own a recording studio, because right now you're basically t-shirt salesmen. We used to sell records. Now we sell t-shirts. And that's just the way the business went. If we had to basically pay two to three hundred thousand dollars to record a record, probably it wouldn't happen because times have changed. And as soon as your record's released, it's on Spotify and you get 0.0006 of one penny per spin. So, business-wise, it doesn't make sense. We do have a lot of great songs. Jon has come up with some incredible stuff. And he wants it to be the last record. So, when it is released, it will be the last one."

Chris chimed in: "But then I talked to [Jon], and he laughs, and he goes, 'Well, if we don't get everything on it, maybe we'll put something out later on.' [Laughs] So it's one of those things where it's the last — maybe. You never really know. We were sitting here a couple of years ago and not even knowing exactly what we would be doing now. If you were to ask me two years ago today if I would be sitting on my computer doing a Zoom interview with Johnny Lee about SAVATAGE shows coming up in Europe and South America, I probably would not have an answer of yes. So I always look at it that way.

"I know that the music is there, and I just think that the only thing that may change from what's going on right now is the title," he continued. "It might not wind up [the previously announced working title] 'Curtain Call'. We have so much recorded that it needs to be more than one release. And it might be like 'Curtain Call A'."

Regarding the musical direction of the new SAVATAGE material, Johnny said: "It's the classic SAVATAGE stuff, classic SAVA sound. And Jon wrote some really good stuff for [vocalist] Zak [Stevens] and then the stuff Jon has for himself is real strong. So it's not like we don't have material. It's just a matter of when we're gonna put it out."

Added Chris: "Yeah, we're not gonna have anything that's not going to sound like SAVATAGE. There's not gonna be, I think, anything that's gonna be shocking to people. The thing about SAVATAGE records, if you listen to a record like 'Dead Winter Dead' or a record like 'Streets' or 'The Wake Of Magellan', there was so many different kinds of metal and so many different kinds of music in there. So we were already pushing different elements and levels with that, whether it was bringing in the piano and the orchestrations or the extra background vocals. So, it's kind of like just right there for us to even go do what it was that we did is a lot of different things. And I think that's what people can expect. And if something happens that's new and cool, then it'll just be something we've added into SAVATAGE.

"We never listened to anything and really tried to go, 'We need to do a song like this or that,'" Caffery explained. "We'd make a record and be, like, 'Okay, well, we don't have a fast song and we've got too many…' So we would try to fill spaces on the record with songs that you thought made a really complete record for people to listen to, but we never sat there and said, 'We need a song like somebody else's.' We were more or less trying to say, 'Oh, we don't have a song like 'Chance' on this record, so we would try to make sure we put what people expected out of SAVATAGE."

After more than two decades without a proper tour, SAVATAGE is preparing to return to the stage. The American metal band, known for its fusion of heavy, progressive, and power metal, has been largely inactive in the live scene since 2002, with their last full performance taking place at Wacken Open Air 2015. Now they are set for a series of concerts across South America in April and Europe in June. The return begins in Brazil, where SAVATAGE will perform at the Monsters Of Rock festival on April 19 at Allianz Parque, São Paulo. The event will also feature SCORPIONS, JUDAS PRIEST, EUROPE, OPETH, QUEENSRŸCHE and STRATOVARIUS. However, one key member will be missing: the aforementioned Jon Oliva, SAVATAGE's founding vocalist and keyboardist. In 2023, Oliva suffered a T7 vertebra fracture in three places, a severe injury that has left him relying on a wheelchair. Additionally, he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and Ménière's disease, conditions that have further complicated his health.

SAVATAGE's lineup for the 2025 dates will consist of Middleton, Caffery, Al Pitrelli on guitar, Jeff Plate on drums and Stevens on lead vocals.

Zak joined SAVATAGE in 1992 as the replacement for Jon Oliva. Zak sang on four albums with the band — "Edge Of Thorns" (1993),"Handful Of Rain" (1994),"Dead Winter Dead" (1995) and "The Wake Of Magellan" (1997) — before departing in 2000, allowing Jon to return. Both Jon and Zak took part in SAVATAGE's 2015 performance at Wacken Open Air, which marked the band's first, and only so far, appearance on stage since they went on hiatus back in 2002.

SAVATAGE's last album release, "Poets And Madmen", in 2001 was highlighted by Jon's return as lead vocalist, replacing Zak, who left the band citing family reasons, and the departure of guitarist Al Pitrelli, who accepted an offer to join MEGADETH in 2000. Pitrelli did record solos for some songs prior to his departure. Another very limited U.S. tour followed, supported by FATES WARNING in the early shows, and then NEVERMORE for the remainder. Around this time, Jon chose Zak's replacement in the form of Damond Jiniya (DIET OF WORMS). Damond performed Zak's parts on tour, with Jon having an increased vocal role in proceedings.

In September 2021, Jon Oliva was arrested on the west central coast of Florida for driving under the influence as well as possession of a controlled substance. Police charged Oliva with possession of cocaine, which is a felony, and DUI, which is a misdemeanor. Oliva was reportedly arrested again in July 2023 on another cocaine possession charge.

In addition to his work with SAVATAGE, Oliva is well known for co-creating the classical music-meets-prog rock and pyro act TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA alongside the project's founder Paul O'Neill. Oliva has reportedly remained involved in TSO's activities even after O'Neill's April 2017 death of an accidental drug overdose.

Jon's brother Criss, who was one of the founding members of SAVATAGE, was killed in October 1993 by a drunk driver when he and his wife Dawn were en route to the Livestock festival in Zephyrhills, Florida. The driver of the other car was found to have a drunk driving record of seven prior DUIs and having a blood alcohol content of .294 percent.

Photo credit: Josh Ruzansky

In a new interview with Shawn Ratches of Laughingmonkeymusic, EXODUS guitarist and main songwriter Gary Holt spoke about the various guitar-related injuries he has sustained over the course of playing the instrument for more than four decades. The 60-year-old San Francisco Bay Area-based musician said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET):  "You get 60 years old, you're dealing with arthritis and your fingers hurt. And I had to go through personal therapy for my elbows. I had chronic tennis elbow in both arms. I had so many cortisone injections I can't count and I basically fried and shredded my tendons and I couldn't even play at all."

Asked when this happened, Holt said: "Well, it was during [my years of touring with] SLAYER, before the end. I just started developing some right-elbow pain, and then shortly after, the left elbow decided it wanted to join the party. And I got a cortisone injection. That was great for six months. And then, fast forward a couple of years of that, every six months getting a needle stuck in each elbow to keep it going, and then finally, it got so bad by the time I finished [recording EXODUS's latest album, 2021's] 'Persona Non Grata' and after tracking [the song] 'The Beatings Will Continue', that's when I kind of blew out the right one. And then I'd play and my elbows would lock up, like they'd almost get stuck. And I went and got MRIs. And I have a friend who's a San Francisco Giants team hand surgeon, and he looked at my MRIs and said I look like someone who's been throwing 99-miles-an-hour fastballs for fucking their whole life, like shredding. And it looked initially like I needed Tommy John surgery [which involves replacing the torn ligament with a tendon from elsewhere in the body or from the cadaver], where they fucking replace the cadaverous things in there. But then he sent them to their elbow guy, and he said, 'No, he can avoid surgery, but he needs never again cortisone shots and just physical therapy.' So I did a lot of work with one-pound weights and stuff. And I got back. Occasionally I'll get a little tender, but you put a bag of ice on it. Don't put a needle in it… I keep stretching. You've gotta do all this shit to stretch that fascia that runs through everything. And my fingers, my left knuckles sometimes really hurt. It's getting old. We've been repetitive motion injuries our whole lives, basically."

Holt went on to say that even guitarists who are considered the masters of downpicking — like METALLICA frontman James Hetfield — "cheat" at those parts. "We all cheat," he said. "We're fucking 60 years old. I also say James is the undisputed GOAT, he's the greatest of all time, and even he cheats live."

He explained: "James is still the best ever, but you watch that middle downpick section in '[Welcome Home] (Sanitarium)', which is just brutal, and they add some chunks in there, and those chunks give you all the break you need to keep going. It's a cheat. It doesn't mean he's not the best."

Holt previously discussed his picking-hand technique, in particular the downpicking technique that helped define thrash metal as a genre, during a July 2023 question-and-answer session at Diablo Guitars in Seattle. He said at the time: "Right-hand picking, it's an art form. It's more important to me than anything else, [more important than] soloing shit. If someone said, 'You can play rhythm for the rest of your life or leads and be really good at one and terrible at the other' — get rid of the solos. I don't care. It's all about the riffs."

He continued: "It's all about learning how to apply maximum velocity with technique still. And as I get older, things are harder for me to do. I've suffered through really horrific tennis elbow on both arms, like countless cortisone injections and arthritis and all that. So certain things are slow, but you learn to cheat."

Holt added: "Everybody cheats — even Hetfield cheats, and he's the best of all time. When you see a guy in the middle of a downpick, baddest riff ever, and he throws in one of these [slides down the fretboard], sometimes that's the reset. That's all you need. We all cheat. And he's the best that ever lived to do it. And he sings at the same time, which is fucking ridiculous. I can't sing and play at all. Not at all. I mean, I'd lose it. One of 'em's gotta go."

Circling back to his own "cheating" with downpicking, Holt said, "But my cheat is like a down-up-down-down… And that little up and down, also live, allows me to rock really hard when I do it. If I wanna really just all downpick a part, sometimes I've gotta, like, kind of not move too much. And I'd rather move."

Last month it was announced that EXODUS had parted ways with singer Steve "Zetro" Souza and had been rejoined by Rob Dukes.

Souza joined EXODUS in 1986 after previously fronting the band LEGACY (which later became TESTAMENT). He remained in the band until their hiatus in 1993, but rejoined them for two years from 2002 to 2004. Dukes had joined EXODUS in 2005 (following Souza's departure) and remained until 2014, when Souza rejoined.

Dukes joined EXODUS in January 2005 and appeared on four of the band's studio albums — "Shovel Headed Kill Machine" (2005),"The Atrocity Exhibition... Exhibit A" (2007),"Let There Be Blood" (2008, a re-recording of EXODUS's classic 1985 LP, "Bonded By Blood") and "Exhibit B: The Human Condition" (2010).

EXODUS recently announced two very special "Bonded By Blood" 40th-anniversary shows, falling upon late original vocalist Paul Baloff's birthday weekend (April 25). Taking place in Berkeley, California on Friday, April 25 at UC Theatre and Anaheim, California on Saturday, April 26 at House of Blues, the shows will feature EXODUS performing "Bonded By Blood" in its entirety, plus more hits, and each show will feature direct support from DEATH ANGEL. BLIND ILLUSION and NUKEM will open the Berkeley date, and HIRAX and NUKEM will open the Anaheim date. Special-edition "Bonded By Blood" merchandise will also be available.

Although EXODUS rarely gets mentioned alongside the so-called "Big Four" of 1980s thrash metal — METALLICA, MEGADETH, SLAYER and ANTHRAX — the aforementioned "Bonded By Blood" LP inspired the likes of TESTAMENT, DEATH ANGEL, VIO-LENCE and many others to launch their careers and is considered one of the most influential thrash metal albums of all time.

Hachette Books has set an April 1, 2025 release date for Holt's upcoming memoir, "A Fabulous Disaster: From The Garage To Madison Square Garden, The Hard Way". The foreword for the book was written by former EXODUS and current METALLICA guitarist Kirk Hammett.

Holt joined EXODUS in 1981, shortly after the band's formation, and has been the group's main songwriter ever since. Holt has performed on every EXODUS album, and is considered highly influential in the world of thrash metal.

Holt began filling in for SLAYER guitarist Jeff Hanneman at live shows in 2011, and became the band's full-time co-guitarist as of 2013, while remaining a member of EXODUS. Holt played on SLAYER's final album, "Repentless", which came out in 2015.

In a new interview with Primordial Radio, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE singer Jesse Leach spoke about how he and his bandmates find a balance between pleasing their fans but also challenging themselves to achieve something that they've never done before. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I think it's important to be satisfied within yourself. I think bands can fall into the trap of pleasing the audience too much. I think what makes a band great is when they hone their creativity and you lead your fans in a direction. I think it's dangerous — you can run the risk of becoming a nostalgia act if you play too much to the audience, 'cause sometimes the audience doesn't know what they want until they hear something different. And then they're, like, 'Oh, that's unexpected. That's pretty cool. I didn't see that coming. And I actually really like that.' So for me, bands that I'm a fan of, when they turn a bit of a corner and go into another direction, I'm, like, 'That's all right. Let's sit with this.' Oftentimes the different things become my favorite, because I'm so used to a certain sound."

Referencing a press release accompanying KILLSWITCH ENGAGE's new album, "This Consequence", in which guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz declared that "the goal is to make the fans happy", Jesse said: "I know what Adam says in that sentiment, 'cause we do care very much about our fanbase, and they do sort of, especially live, lead us. If they're in a good place and the audience is great, naturally the show is gonna be really good. But I think with records and your style and your sound, you need to be careful with pleasing somebody and then sort of internally being satisfied artistically to know that you're doing something that feels genuine. It doesn't feel forced into a corner because, 'Oh, this is the KILLSWITCH sound.' For me, it's exciting to push that. And we're not going too far outside of the confines [on 'This Consequence'] — it's not like we wrote a black metal song straight up or a death metal song straight up — you're still getting the elements that you've gotten used to where you're gonna have a message, you're gonna have some melody here. I think it all sort of still is in a comfortable place for most fans."

"This Consequence" came out on February 21 via Metal Blade. It is KILLSWITCH ENGAGE's ninth LP overall, and sixth with Leach, who rejoined the band in 2012.

"This Consequence" is the follow-up to "Atonement", which 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.

Leach previously stated about "This Consequence": "Making this record lit a fire under my ass and made me rethink everything. It had to be next level. It had to be different enough for people to really recognize we're putting forth an effort — or what's the point of doing this? There was no repeating ourselves. It was very carefully planned out and passionately written. It sounds like KILLSWITCH yet there's also a fresh spirit to it."

In 2002, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE's "Alive Or Just Breathing" album sent shockwaves through the culture, claiming a spot on Decibel's "The Top 100 Greatest Metal Albums Of All Time." They generated north of three billion streams and picked up gold and platinum plaques for "The End Of Heartache" and "As Day Light Dies", respectively. They notably received three Grammy Award nominations for "Best Metal Performance" and cracked the Top 10 on the Billboard 200 with a trio of consecutive releases: "Killswitch Engage" (2009),"Disarm The Descent" (2013) and "Incarnate" (2016). Meanwhile, 2019's "Atonement" represented a critical high watermark with praise from Forbes, Revolver and NME, who christened it "one of the most engaged and exciting records that KILLSWITCH has ever made." The guys have not only packed houses on repeated successful headline tours across the globe, but they have consistently held their own sharing bills with acts from IRON MAIDEN, SLIPKNOT and SLAYER to MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE, RISE AGAINST and COHEED AND CAMBRIA.

KILLSWITCH ENGAGE will embark on a headline tour in March 2025. It's their first tour of North America since late 2022. The trek will feature support from KUBLAI KHAN TX, FIT FOR A KING and FROZEN SOUL, and will kick off on March 5 in Nashville and runs through April 12 in Portland, Maine.

In a new interview with Belgian Jasper, DREAM THEATER singer James LaBrie spoke about his band's status as one of the leaders of the so-called "progressive metal" genre. Asked what, in his opinion, it means to be a "progressive metal" band, James said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "When you're a progressive band, you have the freedom of going anywhere you wanna go musically. There's no constraints. You can bust open whatever the hell you want that will support what you feel is exactly your goal or where you wanna go musically at that particular moment. So there's no barriers when you're a progressive band. And you're able to also show this virtuosity that encompasses most progressive bands because there's a little bit more musicianship going on. And you're able to be a storyteller in a deeper, more profound sense. So that's it. And the 'metal' [part of it] is something… We've always been — each and every one of us… If you listen to a band like RUSH and all the earlier albums, they had that edge, they had that aggressiveness, but they could still be progressive and amazing storytellers. Or growing up, listening to bands like LED ZEPPELIN and DEEP PURPLE and IRON MAIDEN and METALLICA, well, that's gonna bring in all these things that are a more aggressive stance and hitting you over the head with something that just really gives you that adrenaline rush, and it's aggressive and heavy and dark. So we encompass all. And that's who we are. So that's why we were given this title, the 'progressive metal giants like DREAM THEATER'. And it's, like, 'Okay.' So it is true because we do incorporate all of those elements. And it's a beautiful, I think, marriage because it just allows you to even be that much more expressive musically. You don't just have to be all this progressive band, period, that, oh, if you get a little too heavy, it's, like, 'Whoa, man, that's not like them.' That's always been who and what we are, which is a beautiful thing because, once again, it's just absolute freedom of being able to push the envelope as far as we want."

LaBrie was also asked about other progressive metal bands who sometimes paint themselves into a corner by trying to sound too much like DREAM THEATER or other groups with a similar style. He said: "I think, first of all, it's flattering when you're hearing these bands do this, but I think what a lot of bands fall prey to is they overthink it. And it's really that simple. So they're going, 'Well, if we're gonna be somewhat like that, then, oh, hear what they did here, and this is exactly what we should be doing right now,' instead of just letting themselves go, 'Wait a minute. Why do we have to be so specific as to thinking that this is the way that the song has to be in order for us to be looked upon the same way that DREAM THEATER or anybody else, for that matter, is looked upon that has been given some credit?' But in the way that you can give it even more credence of who and what you are, it's just listen to yourself and don't worry about where it goes. And if you do have those elements that encompass both progressive and metal, but it's done sincerely and genuinely, then you know what? It's gonna resonate that much more or more deeper with the listener because it's true. There's no pretentious air to it or there's no phonyism. And then it just makes you more disingenuous, when you start to try, because now you're being scientific. You're not being just somebody that has — you're this conduit that's taking out of yourself something that you felt, something that you heard or whatever, and you're trying to put it down so that it's something that will ultimately bring you closer to your fans or listeners, whoever happens to come by it. And I think that's what it is, is they're overthinking or overanalyzing where they have to go and they've forgotten to listen to themselves as a musician."

DREAM THEATER kicked off the North American leg of its 40th-anniversary tour on February 7 at The Met in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The trek is "An Evening With Dream Theater" and is the first tour of North America since drummer Mike Portnoy's return to the lineup, joining LaBrie, bassist John Myung, guitarist John Petrucci and keyboardist Jordan Rudess. The tour will conclude on March 22 in New York City.

DREAM THEATER's sixteenth studio album, "Parasomnia", came out on February 7, 2025 via InsideOut Music. The LP marks DREAM THEATER's first release with Portnoy since 2009's "Black Clouds & Silver Linings".

"Parasomnia" was produced by Petrucci, engineered by James "Jimmy T" Meslin, and mixed by Andy Sneap. Hugh Syme returns once again to lend his creative vision to the cover art.

Portnoy co-founded DREAM THEATER in 1985 with Petrucci and Myung. Mike played on 10 DREAM THEATER albums over a 20-year period, from 1989's "When Dream And Day Unite" through 2009's "Black Clouds & Silver Linings", before exiting the group in 2010.

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

Image credit: DeadMike.com

In a new interview with Ralph Rasmussen of Radio Bypass, TESLA bassist Brian Wheat spoke about the possibility of him and his bandmates releasing a full-length album as a follow-up to 2019's "Shock". He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I don't think so. And the reason I say 'no' is it takes so much time. And TESLA works a certain way. TESLA works by us all being in the room together. We're scattered all over the world, for one. We do 60 to 75 shows a year. There's that. We've been doing it for 40 years. There's that. It's hard to find the time to get together and say, 'Okay, we need to dedicate…' Like 'Shock', the last record we did, that took a year of our lives. We were doing it on the road. And we also had Phil Collen [of DEF LEPPARD] kind of spearheading it and keeping it organized. We have a hard time keeping organized within ourselves, because it's a different thing. So, I don't wanna spend a year of TESLA's life with a band that's on their 40th year when TESLA could be out playing to people."

Wheat went on to say that there is a practical reason TESLA's touring days may be numbered.

"When Jeff [Keith, TESLA singer] can't sing to the level he does now, there won't be TESLA," Brian explained. "I'm not up for getting an Arnel [Pineda-style soundalike] character or you know somebody else to sing with TESLA. Jeff's voice is TESLA. I'm not diminishing Frank [Hannon, TESLA guitarist], I'm not diminishing myself or former TESLA drummer] Troy [Luccketta] or [former TESLA guitarist] Tommy [Skeoch] or [TESLA guitarist] Dave [Rude], but that voice is the sound of TESLA, even though some people might disagree.

"I mean, listen, [TESLA] could have another bass player tomorrow," Wheat added. "It wouldn't fucking matter. You can't have another singer — not that singer. Not at that point — not 40 years down the line, you don't bring in somebody else because [Jeff] can't sing. I think when he can't sing anymore, we owe it to ourselves and to the fans to call it a day. And then at that point, you can go into the studio, if you wanna make a record, like THE BEATLES did, where you can do things and still make a record that sounds great.

"We pride ourselves in TESLA being able to play very well live," Brian said. "When people [tell us], 'You guys sound better than your records,' we wear like a proud badge. If we can't do that, there's no point in doing it. So, that's part of the reason why TESLA won't make a brand new record. We're older, people have families, there's lots of things. And we made — what? — 14 albums? And so with that you'll see maybe two or three singles a year. And we can do that. That's doable for us. Me and Jeff were just together last week — he was here in Florida and we were working on a couple of things that are gonna be for the next TESLA project to come out. And I don't wanna talk about it 'cause I don't wanna give it away. So I'm not gonna say what it is or whatever. But there's some more new TESLA stuff coming out this year. Plus TESLA tour dates. So TESLA is still doing everything TESLA's always done, just not making a whole brand new record."

When Rasmussen noted that 2026 will mark the 40th anniversary of TESLA's debut album, "Mechanical Resonance", and that it would be "cool" for the band to commemorate the occasion in some way, Wheat concurred. "Yes, there's talk of a 40th-anniversary tour of that album, and I can't really say what that is, but it would be a big tour that we'd be a part of," he said. "Just think there's some other bands that have 40th anniversaries of their big, huge records same time. So there's talk maybe of something like that with a particular band, both celebrating a 40-year anniversary together. And there's a few bands. But we're just talking a little bit about it. That's all. These things on paper always look good, and then when you try to put all the moving parts together, nine out of ten times they fall through. So, will we do something special on the 40th anniversary of 'Mechanical Resonance'? Yes. Don't know what, but there will be something. To do another album, full-length album? Again, it's 2025, you're asking me to spend all 2026 making a record. And the other thing is, the band can't afford to be off the road for a year. I know people think, 'Oh, you're in a rock band. You sold millions of records. You must be filthy rich.' Not the case. TESLA earns their living by going out and playing."

Earlier this month, TESLA released the official music video for the electric version of "All About Love", the title track of the band's latest six-song EP, "All About Love".

Released last November, "All About Love" includes four versions of "All About Love" (acoustic, electric, hybrid, live); a live version of "Walk Away", a concert favorite from "Reel To Real, Vol. 1"; and another new song, "From The Heart", an instrumental track by guitarist Frank Hannon.

Some fans criticized TESLA for adopting a 1980s-style polished production for "Shock". The follow-up to June 2014's "Simplicity" was helmed by DEF LEPPARD guitarist Phil Collen, whose own group is no stranger to slicked-up, glossy-sounding recordings.

In September 2023, TESLA released the official music video for its cover of AEROSMITH's "S.O.S. (Too Bad)". The song is a bonus track on TESLA's live album, "Full Throttle Live!", which arrived in May 2023. The LP includes the band's "Time To Rock!" single, plus other songs, all recorded in August 2022 at Full Throttle Saloon in Sturgis, South Dakota.

In September 2021, original TESLA drummer Troy Luccketta announced that he would "take a little time from the road" to spend with family and friends. He has since been replaced at TESLA's gigs and in the recording studio by Steve Brown, the younger brother of former DOKKEN drummer Mick Brown.

TESLA's debut album, 1986's "Mechanical Resonance", went platinum on the strength of the hits "Modern Day Cowboy" and "Little Suzi". The 1989 follow-up album, "The Great Radio Controversy", produced five hits, including "Heaven's Trail (No Way Out)" and "Love Song", which hit the pop Top Ten.

Last November, Canadian rockers THREE DAYS GRACE released "Mayday", their first single since the return of original frontman Adam Gontier. The 46-year-old musician, who left THREE DAYS GRACE in 2013, is sharing lead vocals in the band's new lineup with singer Matt Walst, who has fronted THREE DAYS GRACE for the past decade.

In a new interview with Nik Nocturnal, Adam was asked how it feels to be back in THREE DAYS GRACE after such a long absence. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, I think more excitement than anything, man. 'Cause it's just been so long. And it just felt like the right time — it felt like the right time for everybody. So, yeah, just excitement and kind of ready to go."

He continued: "It took a little while to connect with the guys and do a couple shows together, a couple things, but, yeah — just more excitement than anything, and definitely some nostalgia, obviously. But, yeah, I think everybody's really, really excited about this next chapter. It's gonna be quite the year, I think."

Regarding the prospect of sharing lead vocals with Matt in THREE DAYS GRACE's new lineup, Adam said: "Yeah, I was just talking with somebody about that. We got sort of — not lucky, but our voices do blend really well together. And we've noticed it obviously way more now with making the record and recording and all this stuff that, yeah, our voices really blend well. Yeah, so we're fortunate for that, that it's working out the way we had hoped."

Gontier added: "It's been great, man. It's cool. Matt grew up with the band. He's Brad's [Walst, THREE DAYS GRACE bassist] little brother, and I knew Matt from when he was just a little guy. So I think for them it was a natural fit to get him to take my spot there. And, yeah, now [we're just, like] — let's do it together."

Asked how he and Matt delegate the vocal responsibilities on THREE DAYS GRACE's new material, including "Mayday", Adam said: "Yeah, that's what we've been doing. I mean, we're all sort of writing the new stuff together, so we've been sitting in a room together, coming up with all this material and stuff… We're in a room together and coming up with all that stuff… But yeah, I think the recording of vocals, who's gonna sing what and where, it's come pretty natural. There's certain parts that we both now know, like, 'It might make more sense for me to sing this part or you to sing this part.' And at the same time, working with a couple of different producers on stuff, we did get some guys that would have some good input and just a good idea of what to do with two singers, 'cause it hasn't really been done before — not in this world. So we wanna make sure we're doing it right. So getting an outside point of view from a producer or something to put his two cents on where the guys should go and that sort of thing, that's helped out a lot too. But, yeah, in general, it's been pretty seamless. The whole thing has been really easy to navigate through."

"Mayday" was produced by Zakk Cervini and Dan Lancaster with vocal production by Howard Benson. In addition, the band released an epic CiRCUS HEaD-directed visual to accompany the track which can be found below.

In a December 2024 interview with "Whiplash", the KLOS radio show hosted by Full Metal Jackie, Adam was asked if "Mayday" is a good representation of the material that will eventually appear on THREE DAYS GRACE's next studio album. He responded: "I think it's pretty close. Yeah, we've been doing a lot of writing and we've got lots of songs done and we're pretty close to finishing an album.

"I think it was pretty important for us to sort of get some elements in these songs that were super classic THREE DAYS GRACE with some newer elements as well," he explained. "So I think 'Mayday' is a good representation of that. It's a pretty heavy song, but it's got everything else that we wanted to have in there. So, yeah, I think it's pretty close."

Asked if there was ever any doubt "Mayday" would be the first song to introduce this iteration of the band, Matt said: "We found with 'Mayday' — we listened to, obviously, our ideas and our songs a lot, and with 'Mayday', we kind of all found we never got sick of it. Personally, too, I listened to it over and over again, and I didn't get sick of it. And it takes you on this kind of journey throughout it, and it's not super predictable. And, yeah, [we] just found it was fresh."

Matt also talked about how the idea for having two singers in THREE DAYS GRACE came about. He said: "I think one day I just talked to my brother Brad about it and was, like, 'It'd be sick if Adam came back. And we could both sing, and I can sing the songs of the past 10 years and Adam can even sing a few of those too.' And yeah, it just seems like a new life to breathe into THREE DAYS GRACE and to make it exciting, like the early days or just to freshen it up and, yeah, make it exciting."

In November, THREE DAYS GRACE drummer Neil Sanderson told 100.3 The X Rocks about the progress of the recording sessions for the band's next LP:  "We're feeling pretty good because the [new THREE DAYS GRACE full-length] record's almost done. We've got stuff that we still need to record, but we're kind of in a position where if a new song comes along and it beats out one of the songs that we have, then cool. So, that's relieved a bit of pressure. It's not like we're sitting here with a single coming out and we don't have a record ready. It's pretty well ready to go. But waking it up every day, and, 'Okay, what's the task at hand?' If you look at it, like, 'Oh my God. We're going on a world tour next year. We've gotta finish the record right now. We need to figure out everything for what's going to happen live and rehearsals, then it kind of gets a little freaky, but we wake up and go, 'Okay, what can we do today? Let's do something,' whether that's… We're working on some video components for the show and we've got some new songs that we're excited about and just picking away at everything. We don't take weekends off and we might have to skip Christmas. But other than that… [Laughs]"

Asked if he and his THREE DAYS GRACE bandmates knew instantly that "Mayday" would be the first single from the new LP, Neil said: "I think the biggest question mark for us was just how it was gonna work with where each singer was gonna go and who was gonna sound sing what. We weren't really sure how that was gonna play out. But once we started just doing it and we were in a studio and we could just, like, 'Hey, try this. Try that,' and they started singing together and then they started working as two vocalists to map out how things make sense and are meaningful with who sings what where, once we realized that that was gonna be organic in nature and just it made sense and it created a new depth for this band, especially after 22 years of being out, that was when we kind of let go of the wheel in a way. In a way, we just kind of, 'Let's let it happen.' And so most of the songs were like that, where the guys kind of had a plan on where everything, how the puzzle pieces were gonna fit together."

Regarding what was different about the recording process this time around, Sanderson said: "Well, I definitely will say that we've kind of really leaned into being able to record and to collaborate remotely. And I think we got trained on that during COVID. And there's a lot of new studio technologies that it literally feels like you're in the same room together and you're recording together even though you're thousands of miles apart. So that was a big one.

"We put out a record called 'Explosions' just after COVID," he continued. "So that record was pretty well, almost exclusively done remotely. So we had that tool on our belt. And then I think when it was the notion that, just leaning into the fact that Matt and Adam just have really unique voices in their own right. And let's kind of hone in on those strengths and they don't need to sound like each other. I make the PINK FLOYD reference. Sometimes Roger Waters kind of has that frantic energy when he sings, and [David] Gilmour kind of has a bit more of a crooner kind of [delivery]. A lot of the time Gilmour would sing about stuff, like, 'Hey, everything's gonna be okay,' and then Waters would come in and be, like, 'Ah, no, it's not. And so that realization, that we can do that, and that creates the new level instead of trying to sound like each other or make it one thing, that was really freeing. It was really freeing in the studio to be able to know that we could do that."

In a separate interview with Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station, Neil stated about Adam's return to THREE DAYS GRACE: "We had been talking and we've kept in touch. And the band was just talking about, like, how great would this be for us and for the fans and for the nostalgia of THREE DAYS GRACE. And then he got up on stage with us [for a guest appearance], and then we just thought, 'Let's make something new. Let's sit down and write a song.' And once we kind of got into that songwriting process, it just felt really natural and it felt right. And I think for the fans, we're giving them something that we haven't done before and hasn't really been done much in the past."

He continued: "At the end of the day, THREE DAYS GRACE, we're family. In fact, as you may know, Matt, one of our singers, is Brad's brother. And he kind of grew up around THREE DAYS GRACE and then slipped into the position. But we're really guitar heavy — we've got a lot of guitars going on and stuff — and those guys [Adam and Matt] both play guitar. So it's gonna be great to have another guitar on stage, too, as well as two singers. So it opens up the door for us to do a lot of things that we might not have been able to do before."

On the topic of the "Mayday" video, Neil said: "It was a really fun video to make. It was kind of especially cool for me because very rarely as a drummer do you get to make a video where you don't have to fake playing drums all day. [Laughs] And so, yeah, complete melee goes on on the plane. And it's kind of an analogy to just feeling like we're hurling through life at warp speed, and sometimes it doesn't feel like there is a pilot that's in control of things. But it's also a bit of a celebration, like, 'Hey, if we're going down, we're all going down together.'"

THREE DAYS GRACE teased a reunion with Gontier less than five months ago by posting a voicemail message in which Adam told Matt that he would "be at the studio soon, if you can just let everybody know."

Gontier said about his return to THREE DAYS GRACE: "I feel like it's been seamless, better than we were expecting. It's like we got back in a room together and picked up where we left off. We have been friends for so long, it's kind of natural to get back in the room together."

Walst added: "It's been so much fun and inspiring making this record. Combining over 20 years of THREE DAYS GRACE and doing something that no band has ever done. I'm excited for the fans to hear it!"

In April 2023, Gontier reunited with THREE DAYS GRACE onstage during the band's concert in Huntsville, Alabama. Gontier rejoined his former bandmates when they opened for SHINEDOWN at the Probst Arena At The Von Braun Center to perform two classic songs from THREE DAYS GRACE's 2006 album "One-X": "Never Too Late" and "Riot".

THREE DAYS GRACE later shared a post-performance photo with Gontier on social media and wrote in an accompanying message: "Soooo we did a thing."

In July 2022, Gontier said that a reunion with his former bandmates was "likely" to happen "down the road at some point." The Canadian-born musician made his comments just a couple of weeks after he, Brad and Matt were inducted into the Norwood District High School Hall Of Honor in Norwood, Ontario.

Asked in an interview with Rock Feed if he would be open to working with THREE DAYS GRACE again now that he appears to be on good terms with his former bandmates, Gontier said: "You know what? Yeah. I mean, for sure. We've all grown up. It's been a while. There's no hard feelings or anything like that. We're all in touch now and we talk and text and stuff. We haven't really talked about doing anything — not yet anyway — but I feel like something like that is most likely down the road at some point," he added.

When interviewer Brian Storm noted that Adam's reunion with THREE DAYS GRACE would be a "big" deal, Gontier said, "And it would be a lot of fun." Storm then reiterated that the reunion would be "very big," to which Adam said: "Probably would be. You never know, man. We haven't really talked about it. But, yeah, I guess we'll see."

Earlier in July 2022, Brad Walst spoke about reconnecting with Gontier at the Norwood District High School event in an interview with Tommy Carroll of the 97.9 WGRD radio station. He said: "It's funny 'cause the high school's been calling us for years. And, obviously, we've all had kind of different schedules, and Adam's been doing his thing and we've been doing our thing. And until recently, to be honest, we hadn't really spoken that much — we'd text and stuff. But Adam's moved back to the area, and he's got a great family and a great wife. And we've all kind of been chatting and hanging out. Yeah, I called him and just said, 'They want the three of us' — they want Matt, Adam and myself. And everyone agreed, and it was, like, 'Okay, let's do this.' So it was pretty cool to see [our] high school, where you grew up… It's nice to be acknowledged."

He continued: "It's funny, 'cause I texted Adam, 'You made the Hall Of Fame.' He's, like, 'Yup. Straight-B student.' [Laughs] But I think just having us together in that room was way more powerful, for sure. So it was a pretty cool feeling."

In 1992, Gontier, Brad Walst, Phil Crowe, Neil Sanderson and Joe Grant formed GROUNDSWELL while most of the members were still in high school. That band broke up in 1995, but two years later Gontier, Sanderson and Walst reformed as THREE DAYS GRACE. Gontier left the band in 2013 and was replaced by Matt, the vocalist from another Norwood band, MY DARKEST DAYS.

In a 2007 interview with The Oklahoman, Gontier said that he met some of his first bandmates while they were freshmen at Norwood District High School.

"I ended up hooking up with Brad because we had the same love of music," Gontier said. "He didn't play anything at the time. I suggested him getting a bass, and he did."

Gontier said that Canadian bands, including THE TRAGICALLY HIP and OUR LADY PEACE were early influences, along with the Seattle rock scene, particularly the group SUNNY DAY REAL ESTATE.

Gontier initially went into rehab in 2005 in Toronto after admitting an addiction to Oxycontin. The rehab stint influenced some material which would appear on THREE DAYS GRACE's "One-X" album, including the songs "Pain" and "Over And Over".

Gontier left THREE DAYS GRACE in the spring of 2013. At the time, the Canadian rockers cited unspecified "health issues" when his departure was announced. Adam later released a statement explaining he exited THREE DAYS GRACE to pursue new projects, and not to deal with addiction.

Gontier is currently a member of SAINT ASONIA, which also features STAIND guitarist/founding member Mike Mushok. The quartet is rounded out by Cale Gontier (bass) and Cody Watkins (drums).

THREE DAYS GRACE's latest album, "Explosions", was released in May 2022 via RCA Records.

In a new interview with Andrew McKaysmith of the Scars And Guitars podcast, Udo Dirkschneider and his son Sven Dirkschneider spoke about the upcoming reimagining of ACCEPT's iconic album "Balls To The Wall" to celebrate the LP's 40th anniversary. The band's founding member and former frontman has reinterpreted this classic with a fresh and star-studded twist. Far from a simple remake, this project was born out of countless conversations with prominent artists across the global rock and metal scene, who frequently asked: "Are you planning anything special for the 40th anniversary of 'Balls To The Wall'?" These discussions sparked the idea to re-record the album's legendary tracks alongside a stellar lineup of guest musicians, transforming the project into a heartfelt tribute.

Asked if there were any "complications" with ACCEPT guitarist Wolf Hoffmann and ACCEPT's management about releasing a reimagined version of "Balls To The Wall", Udo said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "No… Everybody can record [their own version of] the 'Balls' album, if they don't change arrangements or stuff like that. You can do that, my brother can do it, my sister, whatever — you don't have to ask."

He continued: "No, about this, there was no communication [with Wolf]. In a way, with Peter [Baltes, former ACCEPT bassist and current member of U.D.O. and DIRKSCHNEIDER] and with me singing and playing on this album, and, of course, a third member of ACCEPT, [former ACCEPT drummer] Stefan Kaufmann, was behind the scenes. He was very much involved in recording the drums and showed Sven how he had to play ACCEPT songs right. [Stefan] was [also] very much involved in guitar stuff — he was sitting together with the guitar players and told them, okay, how they had to play the rhythm guitars exactly, that it's getting nearly perfect. Stefan, he was a member of U.D.O. — I don't know — for a long time. And I know he's a really brilliant rhythm guitar player. He's a machine. And also Stefan is definitely a guy, he's really critical."

Added Sven, who plays drums in both U.D.O. and DIRKSCHNEIDER: "Stefan will always tell you if he doesn't like something. He will tell you right away. And he's very straightforward. So if he doesn't like something, when we record, he's very straightforward as well. So, that makes it more productive because you don't have to see what the guy's actually meaning, and is he telling me the truth? Is he just saying this is good, but he thinks it's bad or whatever? So it makes it easier in the studio, but also you have to face facts. If he doesn't like something, then you have to keep up with it and say, 'Okay, I will have to do it better.' So it was very productive working with Stefan. I was nervous when I recorded the drums because I had the original [ACCEPT drummer] sitting there on the mixing desk recording my tracks. But, yeah, it was really cool to have him and to hear his feedback on what he thinks and put my touches on it. He let me do that, which I really appreciate, and it's a big honor."

The reimagined "Balls To The Wall", which is due on February 28, 2025 via Reigning Phoenix Music, features an impressive roster of talent, breathing new life into each track.

"Balls To The Wall - Reloaded" track listing:

01. Balls To The Wall (feat. Joakim Brodén of SABATON)
02. London Leatherboys (feat. Biff Byford of SAXON)
03. Fight It Back (feat. Mille Petrozza of KREATOR)
04. Head Over Heels (feat. Nils Molin of DYNAZTY/AMARANTHE)
05. Losing More Than You've Ever Had (feat. Michael Kiske of HELLOWEEN)
06. Love Child (feat. Ylva Eriksson of BROTHERS OF METAL)
07. Turn Me On (feat. Danko Jones)
08. Losers And Winners (feat. Dee Snider of TWISTED SISTER)
09. Guardian Of The Night (feat. Tim "Ripper" Owens of KK's PRIEST, formerly of JUDAS PRIEST)
10. Winter Dreams (feat. Doro Pesch)

In a recent interview with Jorge Botas of Portugal's Metal Global, Udo and Peter spoke about the new version of "Balls To The Wall". Asked what led to the decision to release a reimagined version of the LP, Udo said: "Normally it was not planned to do an album; it was only planned to do a tour about the 40-years anniversary of 'Balls'. And so on some festivals, a lot of singers [from other bands] came up [and asked], 'Oh, you do something special for the 40th anniversary.' And then we said, 'Yeah, touring, definitely.' And then they said, 'Oh, I would love to sing a song of the 'Balls' album.' And then the idea came up very slowly. We said, 'Yeah, it can be interesting.'"

Udo continued: "To re-record the 'Balls' album, it's like, 'Don't touch the holy cow.' But with the guest-singer thing now, what we did, I think it worked out very well. The reactions are very good so far. And so I think I'm happy with the result of everything."

Asked if he enjoyed the process of hearing different guests singing with Udo, Peter said: "I enjoyed it tremendously. I also was nervous touching the album again. But after we started recording, I felt really into it. And I played it the way I play live today, the songs. I decided not to copy the original, on my bass playing specifically, because these songs evolved over so many years to what I'm playing today. And that was one of the reasons. The other as much as the holy cow and iconic it is, it also sits on the shelf somewhere and everybody's behind you and it hasn't been moved in 20 years. So it is an honor for us to be able to reintroduce the album to a younger generation, to a whole new world today. And I think it gives the album a great honor that it deserves, where it stands."

Udo added: "I was quite nervous when I started recording the album, with vocals. I mean, I was not quite sure that I'd hit all the notes [laughs], the high notes and all that. But in the end, I think it works. So I'm lucky. And I think especially the whole atmosphere between the guest singers and my vocals, I think it gives the whole thing a new dimension, a new atmosphere. And yeah, I like it very much."

In a separate interview with The Brutally Delicious Podcast, Udo stated about "Balls To The Wall - Reloaded": "Let's say in the beginning it was just planned to do a tour [celebrating] the 40 years of 'Balls To The Wall'. But then on festivals, some musicians came up and said, 'Oh, you do something special for this 40-years anniversary of 'Balls'. And I said, 'Yeah, touring.' 'Yeah. You know I love this song. I would love to sing on this,' and blah, blah, blah, blah. And then I think it developed."

Sven added: "The idea came together. We had so many great vocalists that wanted to participate on this album. So we sat down and had a thought if we can — because it's very tough in managing all this. I mean, everyone is busy, everyone is doing their own records and whatnot. So it was quite challenging, but in the end it worked out. I think we got the last vocals in last minute to get this done. But yeah, we have really good people on this album and we appreciate that they wanted to do it. And I think they're great new versions of the legendary album."

Asked if they had certain vocalists in mind for certain songs, Sven said: "We had a very long list. And stuff like [SAXON's] Biff Byford on 'London Leatherboys' was kind of obvious, that we wanted to have him for this. And, yeah, we're going on tour with SAXON as well in November this year. So, it all makes perfect sense. And, yeah, [there are some] very, very good collaborations."

Udo continued: "All the singers, they did a great job on it. For example, Joakim [Brodén] from SABATON, 'Balls To The Wall', he did a great job. And also [TWISTED SISTER's] Dee Snider on 'Losers And Winners'. And also Biff on 'London Leatherboys'.

"The thing was we did not tell them, 'Okay, you have to sing this line and this line and this line and this line.' [We told them to] sing the whole song and then we can see which parts fit together with my vocals," Udo explained. "And then, when you listen, for example, to the vocals of Biff for 'London Leatherboys', it can be a SAXON song… I mean, Doro [Pesch] did a great job on 'Winter Dreams'. And also Mille [Petrozza] of KREATOR, 'Fight It Back'. And also Michael Kiske, from HELLOWEEN, he was singing 'Losing More Than You've Ever Had'. He did a great job. Also for me, especially, it was interesting to hear this. 'Wow, okay. Good.' Yeah, I think we are happy and I think also the guest singers, I think they really enjoyed to do this. And that was the most important thing. And also that they put their own character on each song, not trying to be Udo. That makes no sense."

Referencing the new version of "Balls To The Wall" featuring Brodén, Sven said: "We called [Joakim] up because we have a long relationship with SABATON. We played their festival multiple times and we've always had a good time with them. So that was kind of natural, and he was totally up for it. But it was also very interesting. He, for example, did the speaking part. And then he came back to us and said, 'No, use Udo's, because he does it better.' But it was super cool that, yeah, everyone put his character and his style of singing on to the songs. So that was great."

Sven also talked about the overall approach when it came to the production of "Balls To The Wall - Reloaded", saying: "'Especially with the drum sound, we tried to get as close as possible from this old-school vibe, but still, I mean, now we have modern technology recording stuff, so it definitely sounds up to date, but it's still with the old-school vibes. It's natural. I mean, when Peter [Baltes, former ACCEPT and current DIRKSCHNEIDER and U.D.O. bassist] plays bass, it's Peter playing bass. So it is that sound. And as soon as Udo's kicking in… And our guitar players, they're doing it for such a long time that they also are totally into the vibe of this kind of music. So it came along naturally, I would say, the sound of this album. But still, it's modern quality, which I think is awesome."

The second single from the album, a re-recording of "Winter Dreams", reveals a softer side of the LP while preserving a meaningful lyrical depth, making it an emotional anthem of freedom. The single stands out not only for its significance but also for featuring the legendary German metal queen Doro Pesch, alongside Udo Dirkschneider. This collaboration highlights the album's unique approach, underlining the long-running inspiration for the whole scene and renowned metal figureheads and companions alike.

Udo commented: "It was a very special experience for me to re-record 'Winter Dreams' with Doro Pesch. Doro and I have spent so many years together in the scene and there is a deep, almost familial connection between us. Her voice gives this song an incredible magic and emotionality that takes it to a whole new level. It was like a reunion with an old friend for me and together we made 'Winter Dreams' even more intense and personal. It just feels right to share this moment together!”

Doro added: "'Balls To The Wall' has always been one of my absolute favorite albums. I was really happy to sing the wonderful 'Winter Dreams' as a duet with Udo Dirkschneider and to shoot a great video for it. We have a long friendship and it is always special to work with him."

Taking fans to the vaults of Castle Reifenstein (Freienfeld, Italy),located in a beautifully wintry mountain landscape, the "Winter Dreams" music video, starring both vocalists Udo Dirkschneider and Doro Pesch, can be watched below.

Regarding the task of reimagining the entire "Balls To The Wall" album, Udo previously stated: "Re-recording 'Balls To The Wall' was a big challenge for me. The album is a milestone of my career, of course. That's why it was even more important to me to make the original songs shine in a new light without losing their initial essence. All guests have put their individual stamps on these classic tracks, and collaborating with such outstanding vocalists has moved them into a fresh and exciting dimension. The result is a powerful homage to all fans but also an invitation to the next generation to experience the songs not minorly passionate than I was when I recorded them back in the day. It's a never-ending personal journey for me — 'Balls To The Wall' will always be a part of me."

DIRKSCHNEIDER, the band featuring former ACCEPT members Udo (vocals) and Peter (bass),along with drummer Sven Dirkschneider and the talented guitar duo of Andrey Smirnov and Fabian "Dee" Dammers, celebrated the 40th anniversary of "Balls To The Wall", which was originally released in late 1983 and is the most commercially successful and best-known album by ACCEPT, by performing the LP in its entirety on a recent tour of South America.

Ten years ago — in 2015 — Udo announced that he would embark on a special tour during which he would perform ACCEPT songs one last time under the DIRKSCHNEIDER banner before closing that chapter for good. Since then, the former ACCEPT frontman has continued to play ACCEPT material at select shows, including at the September 18, 2020 U.D.O. concert in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, which was released on DVD and Blu-ray.

When he first announced the original DIRKSCHNEIDER tour in 2015, Udo said that had "to make a clear break for myself — close the book and this is it. And I have the problem that people come to me and ask me to play more ACCEPT songs," he explained. "Other people ask me why I play ACCEPT songs at all, because there are [more than] fifteen U.D.O. records. I want to avoid such things and avoid the repeating questions concerning ACCEPT. I just can't stand that anymore. There is nothing more to be said. U.D.O. exists longer than ACCEPT. We have more records than ACCEPT."

While acknowledging that some ACCEPT fans want to hear the band's classic songs performed by the group's original singer, Dirkschneider explained that "you always have these comparisons [between how these songs are played by ACCEPT and U.D.O.]. I don't want this anymore either. [The current lineup of ACCEPT] also play 'Metal Heart', they play 'Balls To The Wall' and 'Princess Of The Dawn'. And then some people tell me, 'Oh, [current ACCEPT singer Mark Tornillo] is doing it better than you.' And I go, 'That's fine. Enjoy yourself.' But I don't want this anymore. And to avoid all of this in the future, I said, 'We are doing this one more time.'"

Dirkschneider said that his vow to never play ACCEPT material again came with one caveat. "If the band ACCEPT dissolves one day in the near future and I am still around with U.D.O., then there is a chance that I put ACCEPT songs back in the setlist," he said. "But currently there is ACCEPT, so go see them [if you want to see those songs performed live]. They are playing these songs."

Udo previously said the original plan was for DIRKSCHNEIDER to only "a few shows," and "then [the tour] got bigger and bigger [due to demand]." But, he added, "I don't want to complain about that."

In a recent interview with Metal Talks, ACCEPT guitarist Wolf Hoffmann spoke about the fact that the band will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2025-2026. To mark this mammoth milestone, ACCEPT will ring in the band's golden birthday with a very unique anniversary tour at the end of 2025. An anniversary album will be released early 2026. Wolf said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Yeah, it's a funny thing. I joined this band when I was 16 and just never left. And here I am all these all these years later, coming on a 50th anniversary, which is crazy. But yeah, it's definitely something that we're very proud of. And not every band is lucky enough to be around for this long and to still be in the business and to still be touring to still have fans.

"I think ACCEPT, we're very fortunate in the way that we achieved the impossible," he continued. "We had a change of lead singers 15 years ago with Mark Tornillo, and things are better than they've ever been for us. I mean, the last few albums have been phenomenal, the touring is going great, we have sold-out shows everywhere. So, I mean, we are really, really fortunate, and I'm fully aware of that. And yeah, to mark the occasion, we're gonna have a special tour. We're gonna release a new album with — we're gonna re-record some of the old classics and some of the deeper-cut songs from back then with guest people, guest singers, guest guitar players, and we're gonna bring this out on the road in '26. So we're working on that for the next year or so.

"This is a milestone that needs to be celebrated properly, and what better [way to do it]?" Hoffmann added. "I mean, we only have one chance for a 50th anniversary. I don't think I'll get another one. With all optimism, I don't think I'll be around 50 years from now, or the fans will be, so we might as well have this opportunity and make use of it. And it's gonna be fantastic. I know it. We're gonna play some songs we've never played before, and it's gonna be great."

Last November, Wolf told The Adamantium Podcast about ACCEPT's upcoming 50th-anniversary album and tour: "Well, I can't tell you too much yet, because it's too early and right now we're featuring this tour [promoting ACCEPT's latest album, 'Humanoid'], so let's focus on that. But I can tell you it's gonna be a huge thing because turning 50 is a big deal."

Wolf continued: "We have always shied away from all these, I would call them little anniversaries, because, really, we could have done a [celebration of] 20 years of this album, 20 years of that album, 30 years [of some other album]. Every year is something to celebrate. I mean, when you have 15 albums or 16 or 17, something always happened 20, 30, 40 years ago. It's always a round number of years. So we could have done that for a long time. There's people who do it all the time. We always said, 'Nah, we'd much rather feature the current album and then make a new one after that and stay current.' But, man, with 50, that's where I gotta say this is the one — this is the big one. There won't be another one… And also, quite honestly, we're getting up there in age a little bit, and I'm not quite ready to retire, but you never really know. Honestly, at some point, we could all say this might be our last tour. You never really know. Somebody might get sick.

"50 is a big deal, and we're gonna really celebrate it properly," Hoffmann added. "It's gonna be a completely different show with a lot of surprises. That's all I know. So we've got a year of planning to do and then executing and stuff."

Last summer, Wolf was asked by Metal Journal why he and his bandmates decided to announce that they will embark on a 50th-anniversary tour in late 2025 when they still had plenty of touring to do last year in support of their latest album, "Humanoid". He said: "Things like that take time. People have asked me for the last two years: 'Are you gonna do an anniversary thing?' Everybody wants to know. So I finally said, 'Okay, we're gonna do it.' And it's gonna be massive, man. It's gonna be a huge surprise with all the guests that we're gonna have. And I think it's gonna be completely different from anything we've ever done before. So I think it's gonna blow people away. But that doesn't take away from this tour that we have coming up, because, first of all, it's gonna be another year or more before we even go on this next tour. So if you like the new album, 'Humanoid', and if you love ACCEPT, you've gotta see this tour, no matter what. It's gonna be definitely a highlight anyhow."

On the topic of whether there was any talk about possibly announcing a farewell tour to coincide with ACCEPT's 50th anniversary, Wolf said: "We've been doing it for a long, long time. And I honestly don't know how long I can do this. I mean, nobody knows what the future will bring, and it has crossed our mind, absolutely. So, it might be that we go off with a highlight like this and then just really say, 'Okay, this was it.' I don't know yet, to be honest."

Regarding whether former ACCEPT members Udo Dirkschneider (vocals) and Peter Baltes (bass) will be invited to take part in the 50th-anniversary tour, perhaps just in the form of a guest appearance at select shows, Wolf said: "Yeah, of course, of course. That doesn't mean they're gonna [show up]. We have to wait and see. Of course, everybody [is invited]. The door is always open for anybody to join us on this, because it's gonna be a retrospective of all the 50 years of ACCEPT, and whoever wants to participate is more than welcome. Yes, sure."

Asked if he will call Udo and Peter directly to ask them to participate in the tour or if he will wait for their call, a visibly irritated Wolf said: "Can you shut up already? You're not gonna get me to talk about it. I'm sorry, man. I know it's a nice try. Everybody wants to know these things."

Wolf also talked about ACCEPT's plan to release a special album in early 2026 that will cover the band's entire musical history. The anniversary LP will contain a carefully curated selection of the best ACCEPT songs from the last five decades, re-recorded — partly with well-known surprise musical guests and colleagues — as well as with some rare tracks that have not been played so often before. He said: "I can't tell you anything yet, because it's way too early. I can just tell you it's gonna be a massive thing. And I don't really wanna get into it yet because I'm not really here to talk specifics about it. It's still in the planning stages. It's gonna be amazing. I think it's gonna be some really big names that are gonna be participating in that. And you'll have to wait. Sorry. It's just too early."

As for whether ACCEPT has already "selected" the guest musicians who will appear on the album, Wolf said: "Yes, we have selected a lot of it. Not all of it, but we have selected a lot."

Over the past five decades, ACCEPT has sold millions of albums and inspired countless musicians. Their energetic live performances and iconic albums such as "Balls To The Wall", "Restless And Wild" and "Metal Heart" have left a lasting mark on the heavy metal genre. Hoffmann's guitar style and musical vision have made the band one of the most respected on the heavy metal scene.

After a hiatus in the band's career, Wolf was introduced to New Jersey singer Mark Tornillo in 2009. The chemistry and fit between them was so remarkable, ACCEPT reformed and almost immediately rose to global success with chart-topping albums. ACCEPT continues to be celebrated for each of their new records with Mark, who is now the longest-reigning frontman of ACCEPT, placing the Hoffmann-Tornillo partnership firmly in the Metal Hall Of Fame.

For decades, ACCEPT has been recognized as a guarantee of high quality and each of their albums has reached the top of the charts, delivering energy, melodies, killer riffs and an impressively powerful stage presence for 50 years.

ACCEPT and KK'S PRIEST recently joined forces for a summer/fall 2024 North American tour. The run began on August 31, 2024 in Los Angeles, California, visiting a slew of major cities in the USA and Canada — such as Toronto, Montreal, New York and Nashville — before coming to an end in San Francisco, California on October 7, 2024.

Tornillo joined ACCEPT in 2009 as the replacement for Dirkschneider, who was the band's original lead singer. Mark can be heard on ACCEPT's last six studio albums, "Blood Of The Nations" (2010),"Stalingrad" (2012),"Blind Rage" (2014),"The Rise Of Chaos" (2017),2021's "Too Mean To Die" and 2024's "Humanoid".