Fan-filmed video of the second show of the North American leg od METALLICA's "M72" world tour, which took place Sunday night (August 6) at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey can be seen below.

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

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

The setlist was as follows:

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

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

METALLICA's two-night stand at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas later this month will be livestreamed to movie theaters across the globe.

It will mark METALLICA's first appearance in Texas since November 2021, when the band played before, during and after a Triad Combat event at Globe Life Field.

METALLICA last played AT&T Stadium in June 2017.

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

Formed in 1981 by Hetfield and Ulrich, METALLICA has become one of the most influential and successful rock bands in history, selling nearly 120 million albums worldwide and generating more than 15 billion streams while playing to millions of fans on all seven continents. METALLICA's catalog of multi-platinum studio albums includes "Kill 'Em All", "Ride The Lightning", "Master Of Puppets", "… And Justice For All", "Metallica" (commonly referred to as The Black Album),"Load", "Reload", "St. Anger", "Death Magnetic", "Hardwired… To Self-Destruct" and "72 Seasons". METALLICA's awards and accolades include nine Grammy Awards, two American Music Awards, multiple MTV Video Music Awards, a 2009 induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, and Sweden's Polar Music Prize. In 2017, METALLICA established the All Within My Hands foundation to give back to communities that have supported the band. To date, All Within My Hands' collective efforts have raised nearly $12 million — providing $5.9 million in grants to career and technical education programs, over $2.5 million to combat food in security, and more than $3.3 million to disaster relief efforts.

Former MACHINE HEAD and current VIO-LENCE guitarist Phil Demmel has joined forced with ex-ADRENALINE MOB guitarist Mike Orlando, ARMORED SAINT/ex-ANTHRAX singer John Bush, OVERKILL/SHADOWS FALL drummer Jason Bittner and EXODUS bassist Jack Gibson in an as-yet-unnamed new project which is currently working on material for its debut album.

Demmel spoke about the new band in an interview with former EXHORDER and PHILIP H. ANSELMO & THE ILLEGALS guitarist Marzi Montazeri. Regarding how the musicians first came together, Demmel said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I [was] doing a one-off [show], [filling in as the guitar player for] OVERKILL, and this is just right after things are opening up. It's in Jersey, so we go up to Dingbatz, or what's… there's the bar and then there's the venue. So whatever the bar is, we go to the bar. And Orlando comes and meets us, and it's Corey Pierce from GOD FORBID. And so we're there all getting loaded. And at a certain point, it was just, like, 'Man, we got the band right here, man. Why don't we do something? Why don't we write music together?' And we're all, 'Yeah, let's do.' And then the next day, we're kind of hung over, going, 'Hey, man, did we mean it? Did we mean that? Yeah, let's see can happen.' And I came back [to the East Coast]. I forget what I was doing when I came back. And me and Orlando got together and we just got in the room and started throwing riffs at each other and came up with, like, a dozen or so riffs that he took back. And you know Mikey O — he's got his own studio, and he gets behind something. And he's got such a great ear. He's a phenomenal guitar player. And he's got a great ear for music and melody. So he starts putting the shit together. And we're, like, Damn, this is fucking cool.' … And then so we're thinking, it's, like, all right, well, bass player and vocalists. Vocalists, who would you guys want? Let's make our list. Start at the top.' And then bang, bang, bang. All at the top was 'John Bush', 'John Bush', 'John Bush'. We're, like, 'Hmm.' I said I know him from [playing together in] METAL ALLEGIANCE. We broed down a little bit — we talked sports and stuff — so I said, I know him enough to call him up and ask him. So I did. And he was super… We were in the friend zone for a while — you know, non-committal. And it's been bit by bit by bit."

According to Demmel, the new project has "written about 10 tunes" and John has laid down vocals "to seven of 'em. And it's is super exciting, man," he said.

Phil went on to describe the new band's musical direction as "heavier than the early VAN HALEN and the early PANTERA stuff that's on the — you know, the shuffle beat. It's on the upbeat; a lot of it's on the upbeat, not on the down. So it's the head-bobbing type of type of BPMs, you know? So it's different. Nobody's really doing that now."

Orlando was the guitarist/founding member of the hard rock group ADRENALINE MOB. As owner of his own recording studio, Sonic Stomp Studios, he handles everything from engineering, producing, mixing and mastering.

Demmel left MACHINE HEAD at the end of the band's fall 2018 North American tour. He was in MACHINE HEAD for nearly 16 years, during which time he played on five of the group's studio albums: "Through The Ashes Of Empires" (2003),"The Blackening" (2007),"Unto The Locust" (2011),"Bloodstone & Diamonds" (2014) and "Catharsis" (2018).

Widely known as the drummer from American metal band SHADOWS FALL, Bittner has won numerous awards, including Modern Drummer magazine's No. 1 Metal Drummer in 2005 and 2006, No. 1 Up-And-Coming Drummer in 2004 and 2005, and No. 2 Clinician for DRUM! magazine in 2011. In 2014, Bittner hooked up with the thrash metal band FLOTSAM AND JETSAM and has since joined OVERKILL.

Bush continues to record and tour with ARMORED SAINT, which he co-founded in 1982.

John fronted ANTHRAX between 1992 and 2005 but was sidelined when the group reunited with Joey Belladonna for a 20th-anniversary tour. When that collapsed, and relationships disintegrated with next frontman Dan Nelson, Bush returned for a time before Belladonna took the job back in 2010.

In 1996, eight albums into EXODUS's career, Gibson joined the band and has remained with the group ever since. In addition to his work EXODUS, he has fathered a bluegrass brainchild, COFFIN HUNTER, a band that combines Gibson's love for Nashville music and for playing banjo, giving off a vibe of true Americana like a mix of C.W. McCall, Jerry Reed and Sergio Leone.



The mighty John Bush tracking some absolutely KILLER new vocal tracks w/ Tara Novick at his studio!!!! OH HELL YEAH!!!!!!! Bring it on Captain!!! 🤘👍💥🔥

John Bush Phil Demmel Mike Orlando Music Jason Bittner Jack Gibson

#johnbush #anthrax #armoredsaint #legend

Posted by Mike Orlando on Thursday, March 2, 2023

Great time throwin down w/my bro's Phil Demmel & Jason Bittner in the studio the past few days up in Albany at the...

Posted by Mike Orlando Music on Thursday, October 13, 2022

Alice Cooper played his first show as the support act for MÖTLEY CRÜE and DEF LEPPARD on this summer's "The World Tour" last night (Saturday, August 5) at JMA Wireless Dome in Syracuse, New York.

Cooper kicked off show at 5:45 p.m. and performed a 16-song set that included such classics as "Eighteen", "Feed My Frankenstein", "Billion Dollar Babies" and "School's Out". The 75-year-old legendary rocker and his band even got a chance to play an encore, Alice's 1972 single "Elected".

The setlist was as follows, according to Setlist.fm:

01. Lock Me Up
02. No More Mr. Nice Guy
03. I'm Eighteen
04. Under My Wheels
05. Billion Dollar Babies
06. Fallen In Love
07. Snakebite
08. Feed My Frankenstein
09. Poison
10. Guitar Solo
11. Black Widow Jam
12. Ballad Of Dwight Fry
13. Killer
14. I Love The Dead
15. School's Out

Encore:

16. Elected

Cooper told MyRadioLink.com that he has no problem opening the MÖTLEY CRÜE and DEF LEPPARD shows. "That's fine. I don't care. I don't care when we go on," he said. "We're gonna do our show no matter what. I'm way past the ego thing of, 'Oh, we have to go on last,' that whole bit. We're gonna do our show. We don't care what slots we're in."

He continued: "[MÖTLEY CRÜE drummer] Tommy Lee recently said something that was really funny. He said, 'The worst thing you can ever do is have Alice open for you.' I thought that was a great, nice compliment."

Cooper will release a new album "Road", on August 25 via earMUSIC. Produced by longtime collaborator Bob Ezrin, the LP was written, composed and recorded with Alice's trusted, longtime bandmates — Ryan Roxie (guitar),Chuck Garric (bass),Tommy Henrikson (guitar),Glen Sobel (drums) and Nita Strauss (guitar).

Additionally, Cooper has announced the extension of his 2023 North America tour, adding shows through the month of October. The shows October 3-23 will be "An Evening With," and he closes out the month October 25, 26 and 28 with three co-headlining "Halloween Hootenanny" shows with Rob Zombie. This follows his six shows with MÖTLEY CRÜE and DEF LEPPARD, along with six of his own "Evening With" shows August 5-22, followed by a monthlong co-headline "Freaks On Parade" tour with Rob Zombie August 24-September 24.

METALLICA's shows at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey this weekend included pre-concert performances by PRONG (August 4) and OVERKILL (August 6) in the G section of the MetLife parking lot, at 3 p.m. each day. Attendees needed a ticket to see the pre-show parking lot performance.

Fan-filmed video of OVERKILL's set from today's event can be seen below.

PANTERA and MAMMOTH WVH provided support inside the stadium at Friday's gig, with music beginning at 6 p.m. FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH and ICE NINE KILLS opened the show on Sunday.

The shows are part of METALLICA's "M72" tour which feature a bold new in-the-round stage design that relocates the famed METALLICA Snake Pit to center stage at the 50-yard line.

The MetLife shows are kicking off the North American leg of METALLICA's "M72" tour, named after the group's new album, "72 Seasons".

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

OVERKILL has just completed the "Scorching The Earth" U.S. tour with EXHORDER and HEATHEN.

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

Time to Shred 🤘🏻🤘🏻 Overkill Live from the parking lot at Metlife Stadium

Posted by Martin Bosco White on Sunday, August 6, 2023

Great to see (and hear) the invincible Bobby Blitz of Overkill, one of the true godfathers of thrash!!! The Wrecking Crew was spot on this afternoon at MetLife Stadium!

Posted by Jason Teitler on Sunday, August 6, 2023

"Metalheads, we are absolutely speechless! Wacken Open Air 2024 is SOLD OUT," begins a statement from the organizers of the prestigious heavy metal festival held annually in Germany. Wacken Open Air 2024 will take place July 31 - August 3, 2024 and will be headlined by Scorpions and Amon Amarth. Currently, 33 bands have been announced for next year's festival; the promotional poster can be viewed below. 


"All tickets (Faster & Harder) for the W:O:A 2024 are completely sold out in record time of 4.5 hours!


We are more than grateful and humbled for your trust!




Especially after the difficult start of the festival this summer, where a part of our metal family couldn't celebrate with us, we really appreciate that the community stands by us and sticks together. The fact that all 85,000 tickets are gone is simply amazing! You are the best fans in the world! So we can't wait to celebrate another superlative metal party with you next year.


Since some payments are still unsuccessful at the moment, it may still be possible to purchase individual tickets in the coming hours - so feel free to try your luck on the ticket page.


Thanks for your incredible loyalty, support and the trust you give us!


Next year we will start the new season under the motto Warlocks & Witches, so stay tuned for what we will pull out of the hat for you!


Here are some organizational points:


- You will receive an email as soon as your tickets are in the ticket center. Please do not contact us proactively!
- As soon as you have the tickets in the ticket center, you can also start ordering the merchandising there.
- The shipping of the merchandising items will start on August 7th, 2023 and is expected to be finished mid-September!
- We ask you not to buy tickets from third parties. The exception: As always, our official travel partners still have quotas available.
- You got no ticket? Our waiting list is already available. As always, we will raffle all tickets from canceled orders. You can find the waiting list here.
- Individual tickets may still be available on the ticket page at any time. Try your luck!


Once again: THANX FOR YOUR SUPPORT - SEE YOU IN WACKEN - RAIN OR SHINE!


Yours,
W:O:A team"





For further details, visit Wacken.com.


 

Fan-filmed video of DISTURBED's August 5 performance at the MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre in Tampa, Florida can be seen below.

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

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

Asked if he and the rest of DISTURBED get together to conceptualize each tour of what they want to see, as far as the stage show is concerned, Draiman responded: "Oh, yeah. We're in the middle of it right now. We're putting together the elements of production as we speak. Dan [Donegan, guitar] and Mike [Wengren, drums] were just in L.A. helping assemble some additional musical textures for, like, segues and in-between moments for the set.

"We're doing currently our cost analysis of what we wanna spend more money on, as far as production, and my votes always go for as much pyro as possible," David said. "But we'll see what ends up happening.

"It's kind of a fun time when you're assembling what you're going to do for the cycle in general. The thing that at least doing a shed run, an amphitheater run, does is you have a predictable environment that you're dealing with night after night."

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

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

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

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

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

In a new interview with "The Classic Rock Podcast", legendary DEEP PURPLE vocalist/bassist Glenn Hughes confirmed that Eddie Van Halen nearly asked him to join VAN HALEN back when the Southern California rock act was looking for a new singer nearly four decades ago following the departure of David Lee Roth.

"Well, Eddie was newly sober at that time… And we spoke about it," Glenn said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). "I had no idea. Eddie had been a friend of mine from the beginning.

"Look… Wow… Would it have worked? I'm not sure," Hughes admitted. "Unless I was completely sober — and I've been sober now for 24 years. Yeah, it would have been interesting, wouldn't it? [Laughs] You never know."

Glenn previously mentioned the hypothetical VAN HALEN collaboration in a 1996 interview with Swedish journalist Mike Eriksson. Reflecting on some of the bands that had asked him to join in the past, Hughes said: "Eddie Van Halen told me last year… He said to me that, when they were auditioning Sammy Hagar, that if I would've been clean and sober I would've gotten the gig."

Eddie had repeatedly cited DEEP PURPLE as a musical influence, telling Billboard magazine in 2015 that "Burn" — which was written and recorded during Hughes's tenure with PURPLE — was one of his favorite guitar riffs of all time.

Hagar replaced Roth in VAN HALEN in 1985 and recorded four studio albums with the band — "5150", "OU812", "For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge" and "Balance" — all of which topped the U.S. chart. The highest-charting Roth-led VAN HALEN album was a No. 2, and it took until "1984" to achieve that. (2012's "A Different Kind Of Truth" also landed at No. 2.)

Eddie died in October 2020 at St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica, California. The iconic VAN HALEN axeman passed away from complications due to cancer, his son confirmed.

Later this month, Hughes will embark on a U.S. tour celebrating music from "Burn" and other classic hits from DEEP PURPLE's rich back catalog, a run of shows that will mostly see him co-headlining with guitar great Yngwie Malmsteen.

Billed as "Glenn Hughes Performs The 50th Anniversary Of Deep Purple's Burn Live", Hughes will perform classic hits from the legendary album, and the addition of DEEP PURPLE MKIII and MKIV songs.

Glenn's band will feature Søren Andersen (guitar),Ash Sheehan (drums) and Ed Roth (keyboards).

Bryan "Dexter" Holland has confirmed to The Orange County Register that THE OFFSPRING is well into the process of making a follow-up to 2021's "Let The Bad Times Roll" album. The singer and his bandmates are once again working with producer Bob Rock (MÖTLEY CRÜE, METALLICA),who previously helmed three THE OFFSPRING LPs, including "Let The Bad Times Roll".

"We're on a roll," Dexter said. "We figured let's do it. Let's keep on doing it now. Because we're in between tours all the time. We don't really block out eight weeks. We go in for like a week or 10 days and we tend to focus on one song at a time. So we did another song and that makes six, not completely done, but they're mostly done. So we're four-ish songs away (from an album). I think we'll get something out early next year."

As for the overall musical and lyrical direction of the new THE OFFSPRING material, Dexter said: "Sometimes you just start writing songs and you don't realize how an album is coming together until it's almost there. Like on 'Americana'. 'Americana' was one of the last songs I wrote because I didn't realize until then all the other songs like 'Why Don't You Get A Job?' and 'Pretty Fly', they were describing American society. I didn't really realize that's what the album was about until I got almost done and thought well, I'll call it 'Americana' because that's like 'Americana' means American culture. This was my vision of what I thought American culture was doing in the late '90s. We're kind of still in that phase with the songs, but we've always liked the energy of punk music and the rebelliousness. What I'm focusing right now on is just melody. I want the songs to be really good."

"Let The Bad Times Roll" has been a huge global success, hitting career-high chart debuts with seven Top 5 and ten Top 10 international debuts and nine Top 10 debuts in the U.S. The album peaked at No. 3 on the U.K. chart and hit No. 1 on the Alternative Albums chart in the U.S.

THE OFFSPRING first achieved worldwide success in the 1990s with the release of their album "Smash", which sold over 11 million copies. Following "Smash", they continued to release hit after hit, popularizing rock at a mainstream level.

Throughout THE OFFSPRING's career, they've sold over a staggering 40 million albums, and toured arenas, and built a global fan base. "Let The Bad Times Roll" marked the band's tenth studio album and third album produced by Rock.

Originally formed under the name MANIC SUBSIDAL, THE OFFSPRING's lineup consists of Holland, guitarist Kevin "Noodles" Wasserman and bassist Todd Morse.

In a brand new interview with Jim Kerr of New York's Q104.3 radio station, METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich spoke about the band's longevity and multigenerational appeal. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It's pretty surreal, honestly. 42 years in, it's pretty crazy. And it's still, and I've said this a thousand times, and people that follow us probably roll their eyes every time the following comes out of my mouth, but it still feels like we're just getting started and it still feels like we are just trying to figure it all out and we keep threatening, at least to people around us, that we may actually turn professional at some point soon. But it's crazy, the dedication and the support from the fans over the years. And, obviously, it's not all the same fans. There's a whole revolving door, and especially in the wake of, say, a phenomena like 'Stranger Things' last summer [Editor's note: Lars is referring to one of the most viral moments of 'Stranger Things' season four, the scene where Eddie Munson, played by Joseph Quinn, played a guitar solo of METALLICA's 'Master Of Puppets' during the finale of the hit Netflix show], there's a whole new, young generation that are showing up at all the shows, and I'm getting recognized by 10-year-olds on the street. And so it's pretty crazy that 42 years into this ride that that's still happening and it's pretty crazy the shows we have here this weekend at MetLife are the biggest shows we've ever played in the greater New York, Jersey, tri-state area. So the fact that that keeps sort of continue to grow and certainly post-COVID, that there's this kind of excitement, admiration, appreciation for live music and that everybody's out celebrating life and togetherness and so on is a crazy thing."

Ulrich continued: "For a lot of years, in our twenties and thirties, we were full of piss and vinegar, as they say, and probably never slowed down long enough to take any of it in, as one doesn't when one just keeps cruising at that speed, but now in our advanced ages here, even though we still feel, we still feel [very young], it's amazing that there's still this love for heavy music and for what we do. The difference now, compared to, say, 20, 30 years ago, is that we slow down long enough to take it in and appreciate the love, appreciate the generosity of the fans and the interaction and how fortunate we all are sharing music and to be able to still feel that we're out here, and like I said before, we still connect with fans at the level that we're connecting and we still have a level of sort of music and a level of, I guess, intensity and can go up and feel that we're delivering the goods to the level that we still can share that and feel good about what we're doing."

Last month, METALLICAput out a casting call for "superfans" of the band to possibly appear in an upcoming documentary.

The filmmakers are looking for "big personalities, unique characters and unexpected stories from METALLICA fans who consider METALLICA to be their favorite band, real 'Fifth Member' types. All stories and walks of life are welcome and encouraged to reach out."

The documentary is reportedly being produced by METALLICA and Mercury Studios, powered by Universal Music Group.

Earlier this year, Ulrich credited the use of "Master Of Puppets" in "Stranger Things" with creating a whole new generation of METALLICA fans.

As a result of the song's appearance in the show, "Master Of Puppets" — the title track of METALLICA's 1986 album — went on to top of the iTunes Rock Chart and crack the Spotify Top 50.

Ulrich told Japan's TVK: "I'm just so happy that hard music and hard rock still has a place. To see so many young people connecting with music again. . . I can see it my kids; I can see it, in the last nine months, the 'Stranger Things' phenomenon of so many young kids discovering 'Master Of Puppets' and that being a gateway to maybe more METALLICA music or to more heavy music or heavy rock music."

Lars went on to say that the possibility for METALLICA's music to reach a new audience seems endless.

"I see that there's still so much, all over the world, a coming of age when kids are 12, 13, 14 years old, to get into music and for us to be part of that discovery is an incredible thing," he explained.

In 2016, Ulrich told Vice that he and his bandmates don't make a concerted effort to bring in new fans or win over naysayers whenever they release a new album. "I mean, we are all aware kind of aware of the fact of how wide the net is cast," he said. "And like I said, most things that I see in the world is in grays, so it's pretty easy with this stuff. So 40-year-olds, 50-year-olds, 30-year-olds, 20-year-olds, teens, it's fine. We don't go out of our way to do one thing more than the other. I think that there still there seems to be a rite of passage for 13 and 14-year-old boys and in lots of places around the world. There are still a lot of young kids. When I occasionally check our social media, I can tell that a lot of them are younger, which is cool. So I think we got a pretty good balance. There are certain places like in Scandinavia, they're really young and there is like 14-year-old girls down in the front row. Sometimes parents bring their kids, or kids bring their parents. It's fun."

During an appearance on the latest episode of Steve-O's "Wild Ride!" podcast, SLIPKNOT and STONE SOUR frontman Corey Taylor spoke about the fact that even the best live performers sometimes make mistakes here and there, and that's what makes people human.

"I've had songs where, like I'll start a song and then I'll just blank… [And then] I'll laugh and I restart the song," Corey admitted (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). "I'm, like, 'Fuck.' At that point, that's all you can do… And it lets people know that they're in a moment, man. So many fucking people either play to track or they're not playing it all, and it's just, like, it's just a fucking mechanical motion for them, and there's no vibe. There's no heart to it. Now the hip-hop community gets a pass because largely what they'll do is they'll throw the track on and then they rhyme over the top of it. But you can hear the double track on that, so you know they're doing it, but they're actually singing it live, singing along to themselves. However, there are people in my genre who not only have tons of Pro Tools going on, but they're not physically singing as well."

After poking fun at bands who rely heavily on backing tracks during their live performances, Corey said: "I shouldn't do that, because some friends I have use those and they use them for a reason that that's their peace, that's their truth. But I just — there's no way, dude. I couldn't do it.

"When we were doing STONE SOUR and we put out the two concept albums, 'House of Gold & Bones' albums, we used track as filler for some of the tunes that we played," he continued. "Obviously, all the guitars were real, the drums were real, vocals were real, bass was real, but we used track for some of the orchestral stuff and some of the connector pieces. 'Cause we were playing some of the stuff that would connect. And being a slave to that felt so stifling that I was like losing my… I was, like, 'We've gotta get off this fucking shit.'

"I hate being chained to a click," Taylor explained. "I hate being chained to something where I can't… Because part of the fun of live is the push and pull, man. Like, you can tell when somebody's feeling it because the song is way fucking faster than the original. They're just in it, or it's heavier, or they slow it way down. That, to me, is the epitome of live, man, because you're feeling it. They're in that fucking moment and there's no denying that it's them playing it. And that, to me, that's the beauty of playing live."

Corey will release his second solo album, "CMF2", on September 15. "CMF2" is Taylor's first album for BMG and the first on his own label imprint, Decibel Cooper Recordings.

Released in May, the first single from "CMF2", "Beyond", entered the Top 15 at Rock Radio in just six weeks and was the cover and No. 1 spot of the Rock Hard playlist on Spotify.

Taylor began tracking the follow-up to 2020's "CMFT" LP in early January at The Hideout Recording Studio in Las Vegas, Nevada with producer Jay Ruston, who has previously worked with STEEL PANTHER and ANTHRAX, among others. Joining Corey in the studio was the rest of his solo band — bassist Eliot Lorango, drummer Dustin Robert, along with guitarists Christian Martucci and Zach Throne.

Twenty-six songs were recorded for "CMF2", including the first two singles, "Beyond" and "Post Traumatic Blues".

"CMFT" featured the No. 1 Billboard mainstream rock single "Black Eyes Blue" and streaming sensation "CMFT Must Be Stopped" (feat. Tech N9ne and Kid Bookie). The LP hit No. 6 on Billboard's U.S. Top Rock Albums chart.

In support of his new album, Taylor has announced his 2023 tour featuring special guests WARGASM, OXYMORRONS and LUNA AURA on select dates. Produced by Live Nation, the 28-city tour kicks off on August 25 at Fillmore Auditorium in Denver, making stops across the U.S in Detroit, Orlando, Dallas and more before the final headline show in Los Angeles at The Wiltern on October 5.

In a recent interview with Business Jet Traveler, DEF LEPPARD drummer Rick Allen spoke about the changes in the music industry now that most fans are streaming music or downloading singles. The 59-year-old musician said: "The music industry has changed somewhat, but we're fortunate that we have a loyal following of people our age, and we're seeing a lot of young people come to our concerts as well. I think that's because we're very seasoned and serious about what we do. And I think people have a great experience because we always put on a fantastic show."

Allen also talked about the state of rock music today, saying: "There's some great music out there. But remember, back in the day, you would go out and buy a vinyl record or a single, you'd go home, play it, read everything there was to read on the album cover, and that was what you learned about the band. These days, people seem more comfortable streaming music, and they don't find out as much about the artists they're listening to as we did when we were young."

Allen famously lost his left arm to amputation following a near-fatal auto accident in England in 1984. The incident occurred after he was thrown through the sunroof of his car, and his left arm got caught in the seatbelt when it came undone during the crash. As a result, the arm was severed from his body. Initially, doctors reattached the arm but they would eventually have to amputate because of an infection.

After Rick's life-altering accident, he had to relearn how to play drums and drum manufacturer Simmons worked with him to build a kit. His DEF LEPPARD bandmates stuck with Allen through the difficult time and the drummer persevered through an accident that would have ended most people's careers.

DEF LEPPARD and MÖTLEY CRÜE's co-headline tour hit Latin America and made its way around Europe before it comes to the U.S. this month. Produced by Live Nation, the U.S. leg of the world tour kicks off on August 5 in Syracuse, New York.

DEF LEPPARD is continuing to tour in support of its latest album, "Diamond Star Halos", which sold 34,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in its first week of release in May 2022 to land at position No. 10 on the Billboard 200 chart. It marked the band's eighth top 10 LP.

In a new interview with Australia's Metal Mal, former AMARANTHE and current CYHRA singer Jake E spoke about the practice of venues taking a cut of an artist's merchandise revenue. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I'm actually, I'm actually participating in a fight against all that together with Lord Ahriman [from DARK FUNERAL]. Me and Ahriman have been fighting a lot about that or against that. It's so fucking fucked up that companies can come in, make deals with venues saying that 'we are the only one allowed to sell merchandise at this venue' and bands coming in have to pay a cut. You're not even allowed to sell the stuff yourself; you have to let someone else do that. And they take 30 percent plus tax, meaning that as a band you usually put… If something costs you 10 dollars to print, you would have to add three times the value, so you would sell it for 30. But if someone comes in with 30 percent plus tax, then you come home, you still have to pay taxes on the same amount of taxes when you get back home. So you're more or less getting a profit of 25, 30 percent of what you made, what it cost you, and you're losing money on the fucking thing. And I think that it's a fucking mafia method, and I think it's so fucking sick."

He continued: "I did a tour in Italy once and in Italy it's actually the mob that is doing these things. We were touring with HAMMERFALL. We refused to sell merchandise indoors. We went outside and we sold the merchandise from the truck. And there were vendors on the other side of the street selling bootlegs. And the police comes, and we tell the police, 'They're selling our shirts, bootleg shirts, on the other side of the street. Can you tell them to go the fuck away?' And the police comes to us and says, 'Can we see your permit for selling on the street?' And we did not have a permit, but the vendors on the other side, they had that. So we had to close our shop while the other ones could continue. So it's a fucked up world — abso-fucking-lutely."

Jake isn't the only metal musician who has spoken out about venues requiring bands to pay them a percentage of their merchandise sales. Last month, SEPULTURA frontman Derrick Green told Oran O'Beirne of Bloodstock TV: "The industry itself is consistently trying to take as much as they can from the artists because of the whole pandemic, as far as clubs really being extremely greedy and trying to make their money back through the artists, which is completely ridiculous, as far as having absurd percentages that they're taking from your merch. Which doesn't make any sense to me at all, being an artist where you're creating the merch, you're carrying the merch, you're paying the tax on the merch, you're doing everything to make it relevant and to have it out there, and then somebody comes along and they're, like, 'Oh, I'm gonna take 30 percent.' 'I'm gonna take 20 percent of whatever it is that you're selling in our venue.' And I think this is absolutely absurd and outrageous, that they are pushing this on artists."

He continued: "A lot of people don't realize, that's where you make your money as an artist, is with your merchandise. It can sometimes save a tour, if you're not getting that in gigs, the proper payment. So I think this is something that's happened a lot more, where the percentages are going up, which is absolutely disgusting, I think, and super greedy from these clubs doing this, especially in the U.S. I find it's very disrespectful for certain places where they're doing check-ins, checking your bags as an artist as you're rolling into a venue. I mean, it's completely absurd, and it's pissing me off here, the fact that they're putting us on the level as almost treating us like criminals. The fact that we're putting on a show, creating a show that's paying everyone in the venue, I figure that we're all working together, but in the sense that these clubs are treating us like we're gonna do something to damage our own show is absurd. So these things have been popping in my mind from being on this tour that really drive me up the wall. And it's forced bands to do other alternatives of selling their merchandise — either pre-selling it or doing pop-up stores in places where they're not taking so much of a percentage of your merch and maybe just a flat fee just to rent the space out and then you can sell your merch there the day before the show. Also some alternatives that artists are gonna look for so that they're not being ripped off by these venues."

Green added: "I think a lot of artists need to speak out because… I think a lot of artists might be afraid to speak out from [a fear of] being banned or whatever from certain shows, but I think it's important if every artist spoke out about this and really talked about it and really tried to find a change in this because I think it's unfair in so many ways. It's just disgusting, the fact that a lot of these people in the industry are always trying to take away from the artists when the artists already have less. We're the ones that hadn't played for two years as well too, so we're coming back struggling and fighting and trying to pay a lot of debt and things like that. But we continue onward. The music is still very strong, and the scene, and I think it's just important that musicians and artists fight for their rights."

Also last month, FEAR FACTORY guitarist Dino Cazares told The Razor's Edge that promoters are taking "larger and larger" cuts from the bands than they used to. "Of course there's always been a percentage that you have to give to venues. That's just how it is," he said. "Merch percentage — we're talking about merch percentage. But, of course, it's getting higher and higher. So, unfortunately, the fans are the ones who have to pay for that, because once the merch percentages get higher that the venue takes, then you're gonna have to raise your prices on a t-shirt. That's just inevitable and that's unfortunate, [but] that's what happens."

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

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

"That's a typical thing that venues will do," DREAM THEATER guitarist John Petrucci recently told "THAT Rocks!", the weekly YouTube series hosted by Eddie Trunk, Jim Florentine and Don Jamieson. "I think that if you're in the position, you should try to negotiate that as much as you can. I mean, 30 percent, that's way too high. I think it's more typical [for it to be in] the 15-to-20 [range]. And I think also it might be different for soft goods and physical things, like records and stuff like that. So there might be a difference there as well. But it's all reasons to be on top of your shit and your business and have people representing you that know what they're doing, because a young band might not know that they can negotiate that. They just kind of [go], 'Oh, I guess it is what it is.' And I guess in some circumstances, if you have no leverage, then it is what it is. But you can look at that and be conscious of that. Because it sucks. 'Cause then you're in that position — well, what are you gonna [do]? [Are you] gonna jack up the price of your shirt? Then somebody is paying 50, 60 dollars for a t-shirt? That's ridiculous. And you feel like you're gouging your fans, and that's not cool."

DREAM THEATER keyboardist Jordan Rudess added: "And it's also sad, because a lot of these younger bands, they're working so hard to get out there and play, they finally show up at a venue and they stand a chance of making a little money maybe at the merch booth, and then you've got these venues — clubs, theaters, whatever — that wanna take money out of their pockets, basically. You see it all the time. It sucks."

In larger venues, it is often mandatory for a merchandise staff to be employed directly by the venue, meaning a percentage cut can be standard.

In recent months, some venues have said that they will do away with merch fees. Ineffable Live, which runs 10 venues, including the Golden State Theater in Monterey, California; the Fremont Theater in San Luis Obispo, California; and the Chicken Box in Nantucket, Massachusetts, got rid of their 20% merch fee in response to the testimony of Clyde Lawrence of the independent soul-pop band LAWRENCE, who spoke in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee this past January about the "lopsided deal mechanics in certain aspects of the live music industry." During his appearance at the hearing, Lawrence explained why venues taking a cut of merch sales is unfair, saying: Another pain point for artists is the significant loss of revenues due to promoter merchandise cuts. Typically, the promoter takes a sizable percentage (roughly 20%) of an artist's merch sales, and once we factor in our costs of creating and transporting the merch, it can be an even larger percentage (40%) of an artist's bottom line. The argument is that the venue is providing us the retail space for us to sell our merch. Sure. But we're providing all of the customers, and yet receive no cut from their many ancillary revenue streams. Live Nation getting around 20% of our gross merch sales while we get nothing on ticketing fees, bar tabs, coat checks and parking passes doesn’t make a lot of sense to me."

According to Billboard, Ineffable Music Group CEO Thomas Cussins said that on a good night, an independent touring band with a loyal fanbase can sell $5,000 to $10,000 in merchandise at a 500-capacity show. Eliminating the venue fee can save some groups $1,000 to $2,000 per night, he added.

"We are on the ground and hearing from artists every day," Cussins said. "We are seeing how much the costs of everything have gone up — from buses to hotels to flights. So even though the club business is a marginal business, any action we can take to help to insure a healthy, vibrant concert ecosystem is important. This industry only works if artists of all levels are able to afford to tour. When artists are able to tour sustainably and fans can afford to buy a t-shirt because the all-in ticket price is reasonable, everyone wins."

Ineffable head talent buyer Casey Smith added: "We've been able to make our live business work even with increased expenses by having a number of venues and being able to create routes for artists, offering them a number of shows in secondary and college markets between their big city plays. Since we've made it work for ourselves, we want it to work for the artists as well. This move is fully aligned with Ineffable's independent spirit, and in hearing the needs of independent artists, we believe it's important to put them first."

CYHRA, which was founded by Jake and ex-IN FLAMES guitarist Jesper Strömblad, will release its third album, "The Vertigo Trigger", on August 18 via Nuclear Blast Records.

Joining Jake and Jesper in the group are lead guitarist Euge Valovirta (ex-SHINING) and drummer Alex Landenburg (KAMELOT).

Photo credit: Linda Florin (courtesy of Nuclear Blast Records)

In a new interview with "THAT Rocks!", the weekly YouTube series hosted by Eddie Trunk, Jim Florentine and Don Jamieson, legendary vocalist/bassist Glenn Hughes (DEEP PURPLE, BLACK SABBATH) spoke about the status of BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION, his supergroup with guitarist Joe Bonamassa, drummer Jason Bonham (LED ZEPPELIN) and keyboardist Derek Sherinian (DREAM THEATER, ALICE COOPER, BILLY IDOL). Asked for an update on the progress of the recording sessions for the band's fifth album, Glenn said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, I sang five songs the other day, and Joe came down and helped me finish the last one… I'm gonna finish it tomorrow… The album's gonna be pretty much done in the next… I'm finishing tomorrow. Then we've gotta mix it, and blah, blah, blah."

Regarding the possibility of BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION touring in support of the upcoming LP, Glenn said: "Look, guys, I think we all love BCC. It's a recording band. Let's cut to the chase: it's a great recording band. We all want BCC to tour. I think we all want to tour, but it's difficult with all these windows not opening. So I can't say there's gonna be a show here or a show there. Joe talked about a few shows in Europe and a few shows in the USA. Do we want that to happen? I believe we do, and I hope that will happen."

He continued: "Look, I've known Joe for so long and we are on the same page… So, look, guys, I stutter when I say this to you: we all want that band to tour, but we've gotta really nail it down and make it happen. So hopefully this is the album that will make it happen."

This past Tuesday (August 1),Bonamassa told SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" that the new BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION album was "not done… And I've gotta sing a little bit on it and redo one guitar part for [the record]…. So we're, I would say, 90% done, but the music's done."

He continued: "The thing about BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION, whether you like the way we sound or not, when we all get together, it has a very specific thing that it does. Everybody brings a very specific thing to the table, and it's a special band."

According to Joe, he brought the BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION members back together to make the follow-up to "BCCIV", which was released in September 2017 and marked BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION's first studio effort since 2013's "Afterglow". "I was the one that kind of initiated the text, be, like, 'Hey, is there anybody interested in doing a fifth one?'" he said. "And Derek got back to me. Jason got back to me pretty quickly. And Glenn called me and said, 'I can't do anything until this DEAD DAISIES situation goes one way or the next.' And I said, 'Fair enough.' So when Glenn left THE DEAD DAISIES last year, that was kind of the green light for us to get back together."

Regarding the songwriting process for BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION's fifth album and how it compared to that on the band's previous efforts, Joe said: "This was the same. I went over to Glenn's house about six times and we hashed out some ideas — pretty rough, loose ideas. Nothing in stone. And so I had a playlist on my phone, voice memos, BCC 1 through 10. And that was it. So, so day one, we just [said], 'Okay, let's start with BCC 1.' And we sat in the courtyard at Sunset Sound — they have this really nice courtyard with a bunch of chairs — and we sat out there with an acoustic guitar and a couple of things and we just bashed out the arrangement. We were, like, 'Okay, that's cool.' We went in, played it three or four times and that was it. Nobody charted anything; we just kind of memorized it and did it. And we would go into the control room, listen a little bit, maybe tweak something, but once it fired up and after the second day, we really hit our stride, going, 'Okay, the band's back.' 'Cause we hadn't played together in six years."

As for the recording process for the new BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION disc, Joe said: "There's not a lot of overdubs. I rarely double the guitars, 'cause Glenn's bass sound is so big and distorted, you know what I mean? It's, like, why do I need to double the guitar? Same thing with Derek. It's almost like playing in the band FREE. All of the sound comes from the four of us. And Jason takes up a huge amount of bandwidth; he's such a big drummer."

Bonamassa went on to say that he is looking forward to performing with BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION again. "I'd like to do some live shows with 'em next year," he said. "I think it would be really fun… Scheduling is the hardest thing, because of what everybody's got [coming up]… [My solo band is] booked almost two years out. But next year, I really wanna at least set aside a week, maybe two weeks, where we can go out and do selected shows, do a couple here in the U.S., go to Europe, do a couple there. 'Cause it is fun."

The news of BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION's recording activity came less than three months after it was announced that the band will perform on next year's Keeping The Blues Alive At Sea IX cruise, sailing from Miami, Florida to Cozumel, Mexico on March 18-22, 2024.

BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION's most recent performance took place in February 2018 at the fourth edition of the Keeping The Blues Alive At Sea, which benefits the Keeping The Blues Alive Foundation, Bonamassa's non-profit organization dedicated to providing students, teachers, and musicians with the resources and tools needed to further their music education.

In a September 2022 interview with Andy Hall of the Des Moines, Iowa radio station Lazer 103.3, Bonamassa stated about what it is about a "band situation" that appeals to him, considering he has spent most of his career as a solo artist: "I like nothing more than to be a member of a band and playing guitar. I don't have to front it; I don't have to sing all the time. And it's a lot less pressure than being the front person. Being the person in front is a special skillset. You have to be an entertainer. You can't just sit up there and stare at your guitar and go, 'Wow. Look, I can play guitar pretty good.' That's not gonna fill the theater. You have to put on a show. And to put on a show requires being an entertainer. So being in a band, the sum of the parts is greater than the single entity. So this thing where Glenn co-fronts BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION, I can just sit back and play rhythm guitar and watch him do his thing. He's a legend. And then conversely, Glenn doesn't have to sing all night; I'll sing three or four [songs]. So we kind of spread out the whole workload a little bit."

Just like its four predecessors, BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION's new album is being overseen by producer Kevin Shirley, who originally had the idea of putting Hughes and Bonamassa in a band after seeing them jamming together onstage in Los Angeles back in November 2009.

BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION's inception took place when Hughes and Bonamassa fused their styles on stage in Los Angeles for an explosive performance at Guitar Center's King Of The Blues event. With the help and guidance of Shirley, they further added to their rock lineage by recruiting Bonham and Sherinian.

In a 2017 interview, Hughes talked about the chemistry between the BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION members, especially since all the musicians have had successful careers prior to launching the group.

"This band was meant to be," Glenn said. "It was formed out of a friendship with Joe and I. We got the [other] guys to come in, and it's always been a strong brotherhood. And we're just very lucky and fortunate to have met. I've known Jason since he was [a kid]. I just think that these four guys in this band are the right guys to play in the band."

In a new interview with Dave Lawrence, legendary BLACK SABBATH bassist Geezer Butler spoke about how he became vegan virtually overnight more than six decades ago. The 74-year-old British-born musician said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, I've always loved animals, and we always had animals in the house. We always had a dog around the house and various cats. I found a tortoise one day, so I had a tortoise. There was goldfish and all kinds of stuff in the house. And this one day… I never really liked eating meat, but my mom used to always put it on my plate; it was always, like, the last piece… She to feed seven kids and my dad, so I always got the smallest piece of meat. And this one day I cut it up and then blood came out of it. And I didn't know what meat was. And I said to my mom, 'There's blood coming out of this thing that you've given me.' 'Yeah, it's meat from a cow.' And I went, 'What? From an animal?' And that was it. I was about eight years old at the time. And that was it. I've never eaten meat since."

Butler went on to say that he was "lucky" that his mother "didn't pressurize" him into eating meat. "She understood where I was coming from, so she always gave me vegetables," he explained.

Back in 2009, Butler teamed up with peta2 — the world's largest youth animal rights organization — to shoot a pro-vegetarian ad featuring Geezer as he picked at his bass next to the tagline "I'm Geezer Butler, and I'm a vegan." At the time, he told peta2 that he enjoyed having friends over for dinner, serving them faux meat, and waiting for the compliments to start rolling in before telling his guests that they just ate a delicious vegan meal. And his compassion for animals goes beyond the dinner table. Butler and his wife are very involved in the battle against puppy mills and the cat and dog overpopulation crisis.

"There are so many dogs and cats and all kinds of animals [who] need homes," he said. "You know, there's no reason to go out and buy them from a pet shop when you can just get them from your local shelter."

In 2016, Butler told Devils Gate Media about his involvement with peta2: "I've grown up with animals in the house, I have three brothers and three sisters, and all of us had cats, dogs, mice, chickens, frogs, tortoises, so they've always been a big part of my life. My dog, Scamp, was my best friend when I was growing up, and he was just as much a brother to me as my human brothers. Someone threw acid on him, and he almost died, but my parents spent their life savings having him treated. It appalled me that people could be so cruel, and ever since I have stuck up for animals. It is something I can be active in, unlike trying to figure out the appalling things humans do to each other."

Butler is promoting his autobiography, "Into The Void: From Birth To Black Sabbath – And Beyond", which was released on June 6 in North America via HarperCollins imprint Dey Street Books and on June 8 in the United Kingdom.

NICKELBACK's Chad Kroeger halted the band's concert in Missouri this past Thursday (August 3) mid-song after struggling with vocal problems.

During the fourth song of NICKELBACK's set at Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre in Maryland Heights, "Animals", Chad asked his bandmates to stop playing while he addressed the crowd. "I can't do this," he said. "I cannot sit here with a fucking absolutely destroyed throat and try to make it through this show and pretend like there's nothing fucking wrong and take your fucking money, 'cause that is wrong. I'm having a hard time hittin' fuckin' notes. The doctor just jabbed me in the hip with some prednisone, and we all crossed our fingers backstage hoping this was gonna work. But I cannot, in good conscience, stand up here and sing these fuckin' songs and have my voice crack and everything sound like shit. It's driving me fucking nuts. So, I'll tell you what. I could give it my best. I could keep just trying and we could just pull the fuck around if you want to."

After guitarist Ryan Peake jokingly offered to sing the rest of the night, Chad laughed and continued: "Fuck it. Let's start this one over again. I'm just gonna give it all I've got."

NICKELBACK went on to play an abbreviated set in Maryland Heights, performing total of 15 songs, which is a couple of tracks less than Chad and his bandmates have been playing on most of their current North American headlining tour.

NICKELBACK continued its tour with a show last night (Saturday, August 5) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, apparently without any problems.

Chad underwent a surgery in 2015 to remove a cyst on his vocal cords. Two years later, he admitted to FaceCulture that he was concerned about possible permanent damage to his voice. "Sure, I was a little worried, but I was in really good hands," he said. "You never know how you're going to sound or what's going to happen or if you're never going to be able to sing again, but when I woke up, I sounded just like the loser from NICKELBACK. [Laughs] It was good. I was very happy when I first started speaking. Once I went through rehabilitation and was seeing this vocal coach, I remember the very first time he warmed me up really, really well. He had me singing for a long time, but at no point in time did I push it and get that grind going like the vocal distortion, the overdriven vocal sound sort of thing. I got in my car and I turned, I can't remember what song it was, but I turned it up a little bit and I was like 'I want to see what this sounds like.' My heart would be broken if I did that much warming up, like three and a half, four months after my surgery and I can't sing. That's a pretty good indicator, I should at least be able to see and have a glimpse. I went for one and it was all there. I was, like, 'Whoa!' I went for another one and I went really high, like really, really high. I had goosebumps. I almost had tears in my eyes. I started calling Mike [Kroeger, bass] and I called Ryan and I was, like, 'Listen to this!' It was so high. I can't sing that high now because it's come back down; now it's back where it was. It was like I had a cape on; I felt like Superman. It was pretty cool."

NICKELBACK kicked off its "Get Rollin'" North American tour on June 12 with an 18-song performance in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada at Centre Vidéotron. Produced by Live Nation, the massive run is hitting 53 cities this summer across North America.

Released last November, NICKELBACK's first album in five years, "Get Rollin'" debuted at No. 2 across the Current Rock, Alternative, Hard Music and Digital Album charts. The record also landed on the ARIA album chart at No. 3 and in the Top 10 in the U.K., Canada, Germany, Australia and Austria. Additionally, "Get Rollin'" debuted at No. 1 in Switzerland, a career first for the band.

In a new interview with Houston Press, FOREIGNER singer Kelly Hansen addressed the fact that the band is not in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, and has not even been on the ballot for consideration yet.

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Thank you for listening."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

GUNS N' ROSES is expected to officially release the shelved "Chinese Democracy"-era song "Perhaps" on Friday, August 11.

A link to pre-save the track on Spotify and Apple Music was shared via the Universal Music web site, although there has been no official announcement from the band yet regarding the song's imminent arrival.

GUNS N' ROSES reportedly soundchecked "Perhaps" ahead of the band's concert in Tel Aviv, Israel on June 5 but ended up not performing it at the gig. However, astute fans who stood outside the venue during soundcheck were quick to bust out their phones and record the rehearsal, with low-quality clips surfacing online immediately thereafter.

Like GUNS N' ROSES' 2021 single "Hard Skool", "Perhaps" was originally written and recorded during the sessions for "Chinese Democracy", and a rough demo version of the song had previously been leaked and uploaded to YouTube.

Last month, GUNS N' ROSES' longtime production manager Tom Mayhue confirmed that a new single from the band was coming soon.

Mayhue discussed the Axl Rose-fronted outfit's future plans while speaking to the media ahead of GUNS N' ROSES' July 13 concert in Paris, France. Noting that GN'R will finish the North American leg of its tour in mid-October, he added: "And I know that the band's gonna start working on new music. They've got a bunch of stuff recorded already. So there will be new GUNS N' ROSES music very soon. In fact, I think they're trying to get a single out any day now, so you may hear something very, very soon."

Regarding what the new GUNS N' ROSES material sounds like, Mayhue said: "It sounds great. It's a lot more kind of 'Appetite [For Destruction]'-orientated. They had a lot of songs. When the band went in originally and recorded 'Appetite For Destruction', I think they recorded, like, 29 songs. So there's a bunch of other music that was left over that didn't make the first record. I think there's only 11 songs on the first record."

This past June, Oslo's Urban Sound Studios shared a new photo of Rose and GUNS N' ROSES guitarist Slash, apparently taken the day after the band's performance at the Tons Of Rock festival in Norway's capital city. The picture was posted on the Urban Sound Studios Instagram account along with the following message: "We got to hang out with these 2 rock legends in the studio today. Really cool guys! (The two in the middle...). The band wanted a nice studio with a variety of speakers and headphones to listen to new mixes before they head for Glastonbury. It sounds awesome!"

During an October 2022 appearance on SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" show, Slash was asked about GUNS N' ROSES' plans for new music in the coming months. He said: "I wanna go in and cut a whole brand new record at some point, probably sooner than later. But other than that, we have stuff that we've still got to come out. So that's gonna be coming out piecemeal over the next — I don't know — over the next few months or something like that. So that's basically it. We have one more tour left to do next summer, and then that'll free us up to be able to go in and work on a new record."

GUNS N' ROSES' most recent release was a four-song EP, "Hard Skool", which came out in February 2022. The effort, which was exclusive to the GUNS N' ROSES' official store, contained the two new songs the band released in 2021 — the title track and "Absurd" (stylized as "ABSUЯD") — as well as live versions of "Don't Cry" and "You're Crazy".

In September 2021, the guitarist and his bandmates dropped "Hard Skool", which came more than a month after their performance and subsequent official release of "Absurd", a reworking of GUNS N' ROSES previously unreleased "Silkworms".

According to Slash, several other older GUNS N' ROSES tracks have also been reworked during the pandemic. "There's a handful of those songs that we actually fixed up and did when we were in lockdown," he explained to "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk". "So those have yet to be released. So those are gonna come out. They're really good, too. So I'm excited for those. We're just gonna put out like one or two songs, and another one or two songs. And I think that's gonna be pretty much all of 'em. I'm not sure exactly how many we did in total."

When host Eddie Trunk noted that "Hard Skool" in particular was a strong cut, Slash said: "These other ones, they don't have the same kind of amount of history, 'cause I know 'Hard Skool' seriously has… [it] goes way back. But there's a couple of epic ones coming out, so I'm excited about that."

If and when it happens, the new GUNS N' ROSES studio album will be the first under the GUNS banner since "Chinese Democracy" and the first to feature Slash, singer Axl Rose and bassist Duff McKagan since 1993.

Slash previously spoke about "Hard Skool", one of the first two songs he recorded with GUNS N' ROSES in more than 25 years, this past February in an interview with Rolling Stone. At the time he said: "'Hard Skool', in essence, was a completed song when I was first introduced to it. And Duff and I went in and redid the bass and the guitars. It's a simple song, so it didn't take a hell of a lot of thought and analysis. I think it was a lot of fun just because it was part and parcel of a bunch of stuff that we were working on that was all sort of new — at least to Duff and I — so we had a good time."

In October 2021, Slash told Audacy Check In host Remy Maxwell that GUNS N' ROSES had yet to begin writing new material after releasing the two reworked songs from the "Chinese Democracy"-era sessions.

"As far as new GUNS is concerned, we haven't even gotten to that point of really in earnest sitting down and writing," Slash said. "We've been doing a lot of material that's been sort of sitting around for a while. So that will be a whole focused endeavor unto itself."

As for how "Hard Skool" and "Absurd" came about, Slash said: "They both have a lot of history. What happened was Axl has all these songs that he recorded at some point along the way. And so Duff and I went in and re-did them, basically… Like, I wrote my own kind of parts to what else is going on, and [we] just sort of took the drums and re-did everything else."

Written by Rose and co-produced by Rose and Caram Costanzo, "Hard Skool", which had the working title "Jackie Chan", was originally recorded during GN'R's "Chinese Democracy" era but was eventually omitted from that album. Short clips of the song were later posted online and a full version was leaked in August 2019.

On "Hard Skool", Axl sings: "But you had to play it cool, had to do it your way/Had to be a fool, had to throw it all away/Too hard school and you thought you were here to stay/ If that were true, it wouldn't matter anyway."

"Absurd" came out on August 6, 2021, three days after GUNS N' ROSES performed the tune live for the first time during its concert at Boston's Fenway Park.

GUNS N' ROSES last performed "Silkworms", which was also reportedly written during the "Chinese Democracy" sessions, in 2001.

Photo credit: Katarina Benzova
Des fans ont enquêté et ont fini par trouver la réponse: "Perhaps", le nouveau single de Guns n' Roses que certains ont pu entendre lors de soundcheck sur la tournée en Europe sortirait enfin vendredi prochain le 11/08/2023! Lien pour pre-save: https://t.co/THBPh1EY4Q#GunsNRosespic.twitter.com/F5ZRyBncNh

— Guns N' Roses France (@gnrfrance) August 5, 2023

Former LOSTPROPHETS singer Ian Watkins was reportedly stabbed while serving a 29-year sentence for child sex offences at a British maximum security prison.

According to Mirror, the now-46-year-old is in a "life-threatening condition" following the incident at HMP Wakefield in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England.

The newspaper reports he was taken hostage by three other inmates on Saturday morning (August 5) and was freed by prison officers six hours later.

A source told The Sun: "Watkins was attacked today by three pretty heavy-duty cons. They got hold of him on B-wing and dragged him into a cell where they roughed him up and barricaded themselves in. He was screaming and was obviously terrified and in fear of his life. They put the whole wing on lockdown and then sent in riot teams. Other prisoners heard three loud flash bangs which was when the officers got into the cell and threw grenades to stun the attackers and take them by surprise. It seems like the prison officers might have saved his life.

"Watkins is obviously unpopular because of who he is — and has been walking around with a huge target on his back.

"They got him on a Saturday, which is generally quieter with less staff on and it seems to have been planned.

"People heard that he was in a bad way when he came out but will probably survive.

"He was taken to Leeds and was still in hospital."

A Prison Service spokesperson said: "Police are investigating an incident which took place on Saturday at HMP Wakefield.

"We are unable to comment further while the police investigate."

In 2013, Watkins was convicted of 13 child sex offenses. These crimes only came to light following a drug investigation.

After Watkins was arrested in 2012 for drug charges, which included possession of methamphetamines and cocaine, police searched his property and computer, where they found "overwhelming evidence that he was a pedophile," according to the Guardian. At least 90 photos were found in his possession displaying indecent photos of children ages ranging from 2 to 14 years old.

Six people came forward to make allegations against Watkins before he was finally arrested and jailed for 35 years, the report from the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) found.

Watkins admitted the attempted rape and sexual assault of a child under 13 but pleaded not guilty to rape. He also admitted conspiring to rape a child, three counts of sexual assault involving children, seven involving taking, making or possessing indecent images of children and one of possessing an extreme pornographic image involving a sex act on an animal.

Ian initially claimed he was the "victim of a malicious campaign" against him, telling police during interviews he was being stalked by "a crazed fan" and other people had access to his computers.

Watkins's disgusted LOSTPROPHETS bandmates called it quits in 2013, just before the frontman pleaded guilty to his crimes. They subsequently formed a new group, named NO DEVOTION.

LOSTPROPHETS formed in 1997 and sold 3.5 million albums in their 16-year career. They scored a No. 1 hit at Modern Rock radio in 2004 with the track "Last Train Home".

In August 2019, Watkins was found guilty of possessing a mobile phone while in prison. He was found with the phone in his cell at HMP Wakefield.

Watkins allegedly used the phone between March 4, 2018 and March 10, 2018 to contact a woman he previously had a relationship with and later hid the phone inside his anus while serving time at the prison.

Watkins was removed from his cell after officers received intelligence he was illegally storing a phone.

The singer told jurors that he hid the phone in prison because he was threatened by two fellow inmates, but he refused to name the men who allegedly ordered him to look after the device.

Watkins said his fellow inmates at HMP Wakefield were "murderers and handy," adding, "You would not want to mess with them."

METALLICA kicked off the North American leg of its "M72" world tour on Friday (August 4) at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The band's 16-song set kicked off with "Creeping Death" and included three cuts from METALLICA's latest album, "72 Seasons": the title track, "If Darkness Had A Son" and "Shadows Follow", which was performed live for the first time.

METALLICA's setlist was as follows:

01. Creeping Death
02. Harvester Of Sorrow
03. Holier Than Thou
04. King Nothing
05. 72 Seasons
06. If Darkness Had A Son
07. Fade To Black
08. Shadows Follow (live debut)
09. Orion
10. Nothing Else Matters
11. Sad But True
12. The Day That Never Comes
13. Battery
14. Fuel
15. Seek & Destroy
16. Master Of Puppets

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

METALLICA's "M72" world tour launched in late April in Amsterdam. Each "No Repeat Weekend" features two completely different setlists and support lineups. The "M72" tour boasts a bold new in-the-round stage design that relocates the famed METALLICA Snake Pit to center stage, as well as the "I Disappear" full-tour pass and the debut of discounted tickets for fans under 16 years of age.

METALLICA's two-night stand at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas later this month will be livestreamed to movie theaters across the globe.

It will mark METALLICA's first appearance in Texas since November 2021, when the band played before, during and after a Triad Combat event at Globe Life Field.

METALLICA last played AT&T Stadium in June 2017.

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

Formed in 1981 by Hetfield and Ulrich, METALLICA has become one of the most influential and successful rock bands in history, selling nearly 120 million albums worldwide and generating more than 15 billion streams while playing to millions of fans on all seven continents. METALLICA's catalog of multi-platinum studio albums includes "Kill 'Em All", "Ride The Lightning", "Master Of Puppets", "… And Justice For All", "Metallica" (commonly referred to as The Black Album),"Load", "Reload", "St. Anger", "Death Magnetic", "Hardwired… To Self-Destruct" and "72 Seasons". METALLICA's awards and accolades include nine Grammy Awards, two American Music Awards, multiple MTV Video Music Awards, a 2009 induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, and Sweden's Polar Music Prize. In 2017, METALLICA established the All Within My Hands foundation to give back to communities that have supported the band. To date, All Within My Hands' collective efforts have raised nearly $12 million — providing $5.9 million in grants to career and technical education programs, over $2.5 million to combat food in security, and more than $3.3 million to disaster relief efforts.

METALLICA's shows at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey this weekend include pre-concert performances by PRONG (August 4) and OVERKILL (August 6) in the G section of the MetLife parking lot, at 3 p.m. each day. Attendees need a ticket to see the pre-show parking lot performance.

Fan-filmed video of PRONG's set from yesterday's event can be seen below.

PANTERA and MAMMOTH WVH provided support inside the stadium at yesterday's gig, with music beginning at 6 p.m. FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH and ICE NINE KILLS will open the show on August 6.

The shows are part of METALLICA's "M72" tour which feature a bold new in-the-round stage design that relocates the famed METALLICA Snake Pit to center stage at the 50-yard line.

The MetLife shows are kicking off the North American leg of METALLICA's "M72" tour, named after the group's new album, "72 Seasons".

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

On Saturday, August 5, the Metallica Film Fest will take place at Gramercy Theatre starting at noon, while OTTTO (featuring Tye Trujillo, son of METALLICA bassist Robert Trujillo) and BASTARDANE (featuring Castor Hetfield, son of METALLICA frontman James Hetfield) play Gramercy that night.

PRONG's thirteenth studio album, "State Of Emergency", will arrive on October 6 via Steamhammer/SPV. The LP was produced by Steve Evetts (SEPULTURA, THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN) and features the recently released single "Non-Existence" as well as "Breaking Point", originally made available as a standalone single in early 2023.



Prong at met life stadium

Posted by Roger Mount on Friday, August 4, 2023

PANTERA played its first show as the support act for METALLICA on the "M72" tour Friday night (August 4) at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Fan-filmed video of PANTERA's performance can be seen below. Additional support at the gig came from MAMMOTH WVH.

PANTERA's setlist was as follows:

01. A New Level
02. Mouth For War
03. Strength Beyond Strength
04. Becoming
05. I'm Broken
06. 5 Minutes Alone
07. This Love
08. Fucking Hostile
09. Walk
10. Domination / Hollow
11. Cowboys From Hell

"M72", which launched in late April in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, sees METALLICA playing two nights in every city it visits — with each "No Repeat Weekend" featuring two completely different setlists and support lineups. The "M72" tour features a bold new in-the-round stage design that relocates the famed METALLICA Snake Pit to center stage.

This past March, METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich weighed in on the fact that PANTERA's surviving members Philip Anselmo (vocals) and Rex Brown (bass) have united with guitarist Zakk Wylde (OZZY OSBOURNE, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY) and drummer Charlie Benante (ANTHRAX) for a world tour under the PANTERA banner.

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

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

Ulrich discussed his views on the PANTERA comeback in an interview with Revolver. He said: "I think that the idea that they're out celebrating the music and the magic of PANTERA is ... I know there's been a lot of talk in the community about whether people support that or not. But I'm the type of person, if Glenn Hughes wants to go out and play a DEEP PURPLE set, I'd support that.

"I'm always in favor of people following their musical and creative ambitions; so this PANTERA reunion, I think, is good," he added. "And obviously having Charlie up there is great. I saw a video from one of the Mexico shows that felt like they were in the pocket. It'll be fun to have them out."

Speaking about METALLICA's relationship with PANTERA, which dates back to before Anselmo had even joined the band, Ulrich said: "We met the brothers on the 'Ride The Lightning' tour and became friends with them. This was in Dallas in — what — 1622 or something? It was about 400 years ago. We obviously loved both of them, and they had a posse down there, and we would see them whenever we came through Texas. We watched the band evolve over the years from more rock vibes into that creative, unique force that they became. So, we've had a relationship with them for decades and decades."

After Dimebag was murdered in December 2004, Ulrich released a statement in which he said that he was "fortunate enough to meet both Darrell and his brother in Dallas on tour" in 1985. He went on to say: "The first thing me and my friend did as soon as that tour was over was to head straight back to Dallas and hang out with Darrell and Vinnie for a long time, 'cause they were the coolest mutherfuckers that we had met after criss-crossing the states for three months. That was the beginning of a friendship that was anchored in love, respect, fun, outrageousness, music, booze, sweat, late nights, early mornings, hangovers, headaches, pounding eardrums, sore bodies... the list goes on."

He added: "Darrell and his brother were the cornerstone of musical adventures that were always groundbreaking, pushing boundaries, challenging to themselves and to their fans, respected by their peers and always true musicians' musicians."

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

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

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

Just a little Pantera before Metallica at MetLife in NJ.

Posted by Allen Buster Ryckman on Friday, August 4, 2023