U.S. thrash/hardcore punk legends SUICIDAL TENDENCIES will celebrate their 40th anniversary on an Australian tour in November. The trek will include an appearance at Adelaide's Froth And Fury festival.

SUICIDAL TENDENCIES will perform its entire 1983 self-titled debut album during the "Still Cyco Punk After All These Years" tour in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide.

The 2023 lineup of SUICIDAL TENDENCIES includes founding member Mike Muir, alongside guitarists Ben Weinman (THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN, BETTER LOVERS) and Dean Pleasants, bassist Tye Trujillo (son of Robert Trujillo),as well as the band's latest addition, drummer Greyson Nekrutman.

The trek will kick off on Saturday, November 11 at The Triffid in Brisbane, before continuing at Sydney's Metro Theatre on Thursday, November 16, Melbourne's Croxton Bandroom on Friday, November 17, and Saturday, November 18 at Adelaide's Froth And Fury.

Tickets go on sale this Thursday, August 3 at 10 a.m. local time via the SUICIDAL TENDENCIES web site.

Joining SUICIDAL TENDENCIES at Froth And Fury will be THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT, SUNK LOTO (playing "Between Birth & Death" in its entirety),REDHOOK, ALIEN WEAPONRY, CALIGULA'S HORSE, LAGERSTEIN and MIRRORS, among others.

Nov. 11 - The Triffid, Brisbane
Nov. 16 - The Metro Theatre, Sydney
Nov. 17 - Croxton Bandroom, Melbourne
Nov. 18 - Froth And Fury Festival, Adelaide

The 21-year-old Nekrutman is one of the most explosive young players in the drumming world, having garnered a legion of fans since bursting on to the international music scene just a few short years ago.

Greyson is featured on ALICE IN CHAINS vocalist William Duvall's "11.12.21 Live-In-Studio Nashville" CD, which came out in June 2022. Nekrutman has also performed or recorded with Bakithi Kumalo, Darren Criss, Drumeo, Pearl Drums, Meinl Cymbals and has been featured in articles by Rolling Stone, Rhythm, Rhythm And Drum (Japan) and Sweetwater Music.

In celebration of EVANESCENCE's debut album, "Fallen", turning 20 years old, the band's founding guitarist Ben Moody has reimagined songs from the LP and is in the process of uploading the results to his YouTube channel. Check out the fourth reimagined track, "Everybody's Fool", below.

"Fallen" was recently certified diamond by the Recording Industry Association Of America (RIAA) commemorating sales and streams of ten million units in the United States.

Led by the smash single "Bring Me To Life", which also appeared on the soundtrack to the movie "Daredevil", "Fallen" yielded three more singles with "Going Under", "My Immortal" and "Everybody's Fool". EVANESCENCE also won Grammys in 2004 for "Best New Artist" and "Best Hard Rock Performance".

Asked in a 2022 interview with Rock Sound if there were any plans for EVANESCENCE to commemorate "Fallen"'s 20th anniversary in 2023, singer Amy Lee said: "I do have an idea. It's gonna take a little bit of work. But I think it probably won't be what everybody expects. I think everybody just is, 'Oh, why don't you do a show that's, like, [playing] the album front to back?' We've been playing so many shows, I would rather do something that, to me… I don't know. I don't wanna give it away, in case it doesn't work out. Maybe I'll do nothing. Expect nothing, and then if I do something, you'll be really, really grateful. [Laughs]"

Amy also talked about the fact that "Bring Me To Life" experienced a resurgence last summer, 19 years after its original release. The song, which initially reached No. 5 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and was EVANESCENCE's first U.K. No. 1 single, reached No. 1 on the U.S. iTunes chart in August 2022.

"It is satisfying," Lee said about the track's renewed popularity. "And it's cool now, because I remember a lot of the feeling in the beginning. It was so much about, like, 'What's next?' And, 'Are we gonna be able to make it?' And, 'Are we gonna be able to survive?' And, 'Are people gonna listen to our next song?' And, 'What about the next record?' And just getting to the next place always.

"There is an element to a song like 'Bring Me To Life' that didn't exist before, which is this nostalgia," she explained. "The song has grown live. It's something that we've added to. But part of how it's grown is with its history and with what it means to everybody in the room. It's not something new; it's just something that you already have known for so long that has a place in your heart. It's just able to be more than it would have been then. So I, in a lot of ways, love it more than I did."

The success of "Fallen" led to turmoil within the group, as Moody left in late 2003, leaving Lee as the only original member of the band.

In 2010, Moodygave a lengthy explanation for why he left EVANESCENCE while promoting his soundalike band called WE ARE THE FALLEN with other former EVANESCENCE members (John LeCompt on guitar and Rocky Gray on drums) along with "American Idol" powerhouse vocalist Carly Smithson and bassist Marty O'Brien.

Lee continued with new members, and EVANESCENCE issued "The Open Door" in 2006. While a hit, it did not equal the sales of "Fallen". Lee told The Pulse Of Radio at the time that she wasn't concerned about matching the previous album's success. "I just haven't ever looked at it that way," she said. "'Fallen' is a great record, but I don't think you can try to match the success of another body of work. I think that's only gonna frustrate you. And if, honestly if what you really care about is record sales and money, there's no way you're gonna make a great piece of art, because then you're just gonna get all confused and make something ingenuine."

In February 2022, EVANESCENCE's music video for "Bring Me To Life" — which featured guest vocals from Paul McCoy of 12 STONES — surpassed one billion views on YouTube. The Philipp Stölzl-directed clip, which was uploaded to YouTube in December of 2009, was filmed in Romania in January 2003. It features Lee in a night gown and barefoot, in her room, inside a tall building in the city at night. The rest of the band is playing on a higher floor of the building.

In March 2021, Lee told Alternative Press that EVANESCENCE's original record label Wind Up threatened not to release "Fallen" if she and her bandmates didn't add a male voice to lead single "Bring Me To Life" to make it more palatable for radio.

EVANESCENCE's latest album, "The Bitter Truth", arrived in March 2021 via BMG. It was EVANESCENCE's first album of original music in ten years.

In a new interview with Vikram Chandrasekar of Tales From The Road, DEATH ANGEL guitarist Ted Aguilar spoke about the progress of the songwriting sessions for the band's next studio album. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "[We're] slowly working on it. I'll, I'll say we have some [song] skeletons. They've still gotta be worked on. There's stuff there. We've just gotta work on 'em more and write more. But, of course, there's gonna be a new DEATH ANGEL album, but when? I don't wanna say it's gonna be next year 'cause you can't really predict the future. I could tell you, 'We're gonna record in April,' but something might come up where we go, 'Oh, that's a good tour. We might as well just hold off.' Until we're kind of definite and there's a date locked and we have no activity and we're going in at this time, then I could tell you a set date. But, yeah, there will be a new record. We just don't know when we're gonna start recording. And we do have some songs, but we wanna write some more. But they're all in the infancy stages."

He continued: "Ever since post-COVID, we did some touring and things have changed. So we have some stuff till the end of the year and we don't know what's going on for next year. Right now we wanna get as much touring, 'cause I don't think our latest album, 'Humanicide', didn't get enough touring behind it, and we wanna do more of it, write music and record. But we'll see what happens. Can't predict the future."

Ted also spoke in detail about the DEATH ANGEL songwriting process, saying: "Well, when it comes down to writing, it's all Rob [Cavestany, guitar]. It's all Rob. It starts with him. He comes up with a basic structure and him and Will [Carroll, drums] get together and they hash it all out and they record it. And when they get it to a point where, 'Oh, yeah, this is great,' then they send it off to everyone else. And Damien [Sisson, bass] does his parts and Mark [Osegueda, vocals] will listen to it and try to write lyrics and melodies. And I'll listen to it and I'll touch base with Rob: 'What do you want me to do here? Do you want me to play something here? Or do you want me to do something different?' 'Cause Rob has a vision and you kind of wanna see his vision. And as soon as the song comes together to where we play it quite a few times, then we could throw in our ideas, like, 'Hey, maybe that part should be a little longer,' or, 'Maybe cut that out,' or Will will go, 'I wanna do something different here instead.' So, you know, Rob has a vision, we listen, we play along with it. Then if we feel like there needs to be changes, we express our concern, and Rob is really good at, 'Yeah, let's give it a try.' So we try everything. And it comes down to, 'All right, this is what works.' So it starts with Rob. And with regarding the lyrics, every now and then Rob will pick out a song: 'I wanna write lyrics for this song.' And Mark goes, 'Go ahead.' But Mark writes all the lyrics, and what he does is with the music, he'll listen to it over and over by himself. I don't know where he goes. He goes into the far corners of the earth by himself, with the headphones and music, and he'll come up with so many types of different melodies and stuff, and then come up with the ones he's happy with and lay it down on the demo form. Then when we get into the real studio, then things start to evolve 'cause we've played it so many times or we listened to it so many times that when we get in there, [we go], 'All right, let's try this.' It's always evolving to the point where it's handing it in to get mastered. Some songs stay kind of the same from what it was, but we just put more energy into it. Some songs have been rewritten quite a few times, so it differs. Rob's the songwriter, and on the last album I wrote one song. Yeah, it's how it is. And right now I'm writing some stuff, and how it goes is I'll write some stuff, I'll send it to Rob. I always tell him, 'If it's good, use it. If not, if you find parts are good, use it. If it's not good, it's okay, dude.' I'm just throwing some stuff out there, 'cause he knows what the DEATH ANGEL sound should be. And if he likes it, he'll use it. If he doesn't, my feelings are not broken."

DEATH ANGEL released a new live album titled "The Bastard Tracks" in November 2021 via Nuclear Blast. Recorded live at The Great American Music Hall in their hometown of San Francisco on May 22, 2021, and streamed live soon after, "The Bastard Tracks" was described in a press release as "a deep-cuts collection of rarely and never performed songs from the band's catalog" that was released digitally and on CD, vinyl and Blu-ray.

In October 2020, DEATH ANGEL released a four-song EP, "Under Pressure". The effort included a cover of QUEEN + David Bowie's "Under Pressure", followed by a new track titled "Faded Remains", plus acoustic versions of "Act III"'s classic "A Room With A View" and "Humanicide"'s "Revelation Song". The EP was mixed by Max Norman (OZZY OSBOURNE, MEGADETH, BAD COMPANY) and mastered by Ted Jensen (LAMB OF GOD, MACHINE HEAD, HALESTORM).

Released in May 2019 via Nuclear Blast, "Humanicide" saw DEATH ANGEL returning to producer and friend Jason Suecof (DEICIDE, TRIVIUM) of Audiohammer studios for the recording and mixing, along with the mastering of the legendary Ted Jensen (SLIPKNOT, PANTERA) of Sterling Sound, who added the final touches and brought it all to life, with artist Brent Elliott White (LAMB OF GOD, MEGADETH) providing the ominous cover artwork.

In March 2020, Carroll spent almost two weeks on a ventilator in an intensive care unit at a Northern California hospital after being diagnosed with COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus. He first got sick when he and the rest of DEATH ANGEL spent more than a month on the road in Europe with TESTAMENT and EXODUS as part of "The Bay Strikes Back 2020" tour.

DEATH ANGEL was nominated for a Grammy Award for "Best Metal Performance" for the "Humanicide" title track. It was the group's first Grammy nomination.

Carroll joined DEATH ANGEL in 2009 as the replacement for the band's original drummer, Andy Galeon.

Will can be heard on the last four DEATH ANGEL studio albums: "Relentless Retribution" (2010),"The Dream Calls for Blood" (2013),"The Evil Divide" (2016) and the aforementioned "Humanicide".

COAL CHAMBER played its seventh show as the support act for MUDVAYNE last night (Saturday, July 29) at Freedom Mortgage Pavilion in Camden, New Jersey. Additional support on the 26-city "The Psychotherapy Sessions" tour, which is produced by Live Nation, is coming from GWAR, NONPOINT and BUTCHER BABIES.

COAL CHAMBER's setlist was as follows, according to Setlist.fm:

01. Loco
02. Fiend
03. Big Truck
04. I.O.U. Nothing
05. Rowboat (FLOOD cover)
06. Drove
07. Dark Days
08. Oddity
09. Another Nail In The Coffin
10. Something Told Me
11. Sway

Video of the Camden show can be seen below, courtesy of the Jim Powers YouTube channel.

The Camden concert marked COAL CHAMBER's ninth show in eight years, following appearances at the Sick New World festival in Las Vegas in May and at the Inkcarceration Music And Tattoo Festival in Mansfield, Ohio on July 14.

In a recent interview with the Loaded Radio podcast, COAL CHAMBER frontman Dez Fafara was asked about the possibility of new music from him and his bandmates. He said: "We've been discussing it. [Sigh] I take a sigh right there, and the reason is because I don't wanna rush anything. I actually said to them… We booked [festival appearances at] Inkcarceration, Blue Ridge Rock Fest and Sick New World. That's all we were gonna do this year until MUDVAYNE hit us up [about supporting them on their summer tour]. And I actually said to them about the MUDVAYNE run, 'Let's not do it. I'd rather just stay friends. Let's do a few shows.' But the point is when we're all together, I realized that any problem we've ever had is gone. To think about it as any kind of continuing problem would be wrong. So, okay, cool. Let's go do MUDVAYNE. And now, of course, talking about new music is very exciting for us."

Dez continued: "I happen to feel like if [COAL CHAMBER's last album] 'Rivals', which was released 12 years ago — something like this; 10 [or] 12 years ago — if 'Rivals' would have been released now with where the genre is and where, I would say where nu metal is at this point, that record would be insane. We were 10, 12 years too early getting back together and releasing that record, in my opinion. But I guess it's always good to preempt what's coming down the line, and we surely did with 'Rivals'. So if you're a COAL CHAMBER fan, go check out 'Rivals', if you haven't."

Regarding what it was like returning to the live stage with COAL CHAMBER for the first time in eight years, Dez said: "[It was] unbelievable. We were all backstage. Of course there's a hundred people back there with their cameras on us as we're hugging. But it was amazing. We hit the stage… They were chanting 'COAL CHAMBER', so it was 55, 60 thousand people chanting 'COAL CHAMBER', which just absolute goosebumps on my arms. We came out. We killed it. The set was short — it was only 30, 35 minutes; something like that — so it was in and out. But it was at the height of the day. People were telling us that, 'Your stage was the most packed of the day.' Of course I'm not putting myself up against the bigger bands; I'm just saying that it is what it is. And then when I got off, I said to my wife, 'What's going on? What's going on out there?' And she was, like, 'They're all singing you 'Happy Birthday', dummy.' And I was, like, 'Wow.' So it was a pretty incredible weekend… It was an amazing time, man. And I'm grateful. I'm humbled by everybody who came. And the reception that we got was wonderful."

Four months ago, Fafara told Radioactive MikeZ, host of the 96.7 KCAL-FM program "Wired In The Empire", about how COAL CHAMBER's reunion came about: "Unbelievable turn of events. That actually happened… I was on my way out from COVID. And my wife called [the other members of COAL CHAMBER] and said, 'Hey, you guys may wanna text Dez or call Dez 'cause I don't know if he's gonna make it through the night. He's telling me where he wants to be buried and not to sell his '78 Cadillac.' So they started to call me, they started to text me, and over a period of six, seven, eight months, we didn't talk any business at all. And we realized that, you know, why are we not playing shows? Those guys are totally different people than when we broke up. I have always been the same — I've just been solid as a rock; and I told them, 'I'm solid as a rock. If I come out of this, I would love to do at least one show with you guys.' And that's how this all started — very organically."

Dez added: "COAL CHAMBER is a very unpredictable thing, all the way from its beginning, playing with PANTERA and BLACK SABBATH, to where we were when we put out 'Rivals' to where we are now… But we're gonna take it slow and we're gonna do what's appropriate for the brand and for the band and especially the fans that have been with us for so long."

COAL CHAMBER's tour with MUDVAYNE will make stops across the U.S. in Syracuse, Albuquerque, Phoenix, and more before wrapping up in Englewood, Colorado at Fiddler's Green Amphitheatre on August 26.

COAL CHAMBER existed for ten years before disbanding in 2003 to pursue other musical projects. They reunited in 2011 for touring purposes but it wasn't until 2014 that the band began work on a new studio album of original material, the aforementioned critically acclaimed "Rivals". Several months of touring activity followed before Dez returned to DEVILDRIVER to make a new record, 2016's "Trust No One".

DEVILDRIVER's 2019 co-headlining tour with STATIC-X saw the Fafara-fronted outfit performing material from COAL CHAMBER for the first time.

Fafara painted a bleak picture of COAL CHAMBER's future during a 2016 interview with Revolver magazine. He stated at the time: "I had a lot of fun doing that record and playing shows with them again. But there were some circumstances that were not ideal and that's why that thing is not continuing as of right now. If something comes up and I have time and want to make a record and the members have their shit together, I'll do it. But as of now, there's some deep-seated shit that certain dudes in the band still need to work out. And if they work it out and want to tour or make another record, they can come back and give me a call. But right now, everyone in DEVILDRIVER is stoked. No one's fighting. And I feel lucky to be where I am."

Dez had stated in previous interviews that COAL CHAMBER's original split happened because "I did not want to be around the band's hard drug use and I realized that going onstage every night that the money was feeding their habit, so I walked to save my friends." He added that his COAL CHAMBER bandmates were "clean" as of 2012, which made him realize that "it was the right thing to walk [away from the group back in 2003]."

FOO FIGHTERS and Alanis Morissette paid tribute to Sinéad O'Connor on Saturday (July 29) by performing a cover version of "Mandinka" during the Dave Grohl-fronted band's headlining performance at Japan's Fuji Rock Festival.

"We'd like to make tonight very special for you because it's nice to be back," Grohl told the audience before introducing Morissette. "So tonight, we're gonna do something that we've never done before, with someone that we love very much. We want an old friend to come up and sing with us tonight for a very special reason. Ladies and gentlemen, would you please welcome, to sing a song with us: Miss Alanis Morissette."

Morissette dedicated the performance to "a beautiful woman of high intelligence and deep empathy, way ahead of her time, who is no longer with us. This is for her."

"Mandinka" was the second single off O'Connor's breakthrough 1987 debut album "The Lion And The Cobra".

Police officers found O'Connor unresponsive in a London apartment on Wednesday, July 26 just weeks after she had moved to the city. Her death is not being treated as suspicious.

The Irish singer, who infamously became a polarizing figure when she tore up a photo of Pope John Paul II during a 1992 appearance on "Saturday Night Live", was 56.

O'Connor's breakthrough single came in 1990 with the aforementioned "Nothing Compares 2 U". In total, she had released 10 albums, most recently 2014's "I'm Not Bossy, I'm The Boss".

Sinéad reflected on her rise to fame in the documentary "Nothing Compares", which came out last year. In it, she explained why she was compelled to rip up a photo of Pope John Paul II on camera.

"I had come across an article about families who had been trying to lodge complaints against the church for sexual abuse and were being silenced," she said. "Basically, everything I had been raised to believe was a lie."

O'Connor tore up a photo of Pope John Paul II after performing an a cappella version of "War" by Bob Marley. She then told the audience to "Fight the real enemy."

Although Sinéad announced her retirement from music and touring, writing in 2021 that she'd "gotten older" and was "tired", she changed her mind within days, saying, "I love my job. Making music that is. I don't like the consequences of being a talented (and outspoken woman) being that I have to wade through walls of prejudice every day to make a living."

Members of DEF LEPPARD and MÖTLEY CRÜE recently sat down with Tara Brown of Australia's "60 Minutes" to discuss life in the fast lane and their current joint world tour. You can watch the 14-minute segment below.

Both DEF LEPPARD and MÖTLEY CRÜE said that there are no plans for them to slow down anytime soon.

"No, god. I'm not even legally at retirement age, so it's not even on the horizon for me," DEF LEPPARD frontman Joe Elliott said. "But no, [retirement's] never crossed my mind. Because we enjoy doing what we do. We always have. Long may it last."

The guys from MÖTLEY CRÜE are in firm agreement, still raising their middle fingers to the world.

"I feel like our [middle] finger is about to go higher," bassist Nikki Sixx said. "I think we're kind of in the 'we-don't-give-a-fuck' phase of our career."

MÖTLEY CRÜE's setlist for the 2023 "The World Tour" has remained very similar to the one from last year's "The Stadium Tour", with "Wild Side" opening the show before Sixx and his bandmates run through a 15-song set that includes other classics like "Shout At The Devil", "Home Sweet Home", "Dr. Feelgood" and the closing number "Kickstart My Heart".

Last month, MÖTLEY CRÜE singer Vince Neil confirmed to The Music Universe that the band will embark on another stadium tour in 2024. "We're not sure who's gonna be on it, but there'll be another tour," he said.

MÖTLEY CRÜE recently went into the studio with longtime producer Bob Rock and recorded three new songs, including "Dogs Of War" and a cover of BEASTIE BOYS' "(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party!)".

CRÜE and LEPPARD kicked off the European leg of their "The World Tour" on May 22 in Sheffield. The European trek concluded on July 6 in Glasgow.

LEPPARD and CRÜE will team up with Alice Cooper for a U.S. mini-tour this summer. The trek will kick off on August 5 in Syracuse, New York and include stops in the Midwest before concluding in El Paso, Texas on August 18. Shows in Japan and Australia will follow in the fall.

John 5 joined MÖTLEY CRÜE last fall as the replacement for the band's co-founding guitarist Mick Mars. Mick announced his retirement from touring with MÖTLEY CRÜE last October as a result of worsening health issues.

Mars suffers from Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS),a chronic and inflammatory form of arthritis that mainly affects the spine and pelvis. After years of performing through the pain, he informed the other members of MÖTLEY CRÜE last summer that he could no longer tour with them but would still be open to recording new music or performing at residencies that did not require much travel.

When Mars announced his retirement from touring with MÖTLEY CRÜE, he maintained that he would remain a member of the band, with John 5 taking his place on the road. However, in early April the 71-year-old musician filed a lawsuit against CRÜE in Los Angeles County's Superior Court claiming that, after his announcement, the rest of CRÜE tried to remove him as a significant stakeholder in the group's corporation and business holdings via a shareholders' meeting.

In a new interview with Shawn of "The Rockstar Radio Show" on 96.3 The Blaze, VOLBEAT frontman Michael Poulsen spoke about his new death metal band ASINHELL, which will release its debut album, "Impii Hora" (Latin for "Ungodly Hour"),on September 29 via Metal Blade. Regarding how the idea for ASINHELL came about, Michael said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "As you probably know, you know, I started out as a death metal musician. Back in the days, I had a band called DOMINUS and we managed to release four albums on a Danish little label back in the day. So, yeah, it goes way back to where I was tape trading in 1990s. So it's been a lot of inspiration since then. So, you know, it kind of goes like 33 years back to where I started. I was very early out playing death metal — yeah, I think I started playing death metal when I was 16, 17 or something, and I started listening to extreme metal when I was about 13. So that kind of music has been there from the very beginning as a young kid. And I knew that when I ended DOMINUS, it was because the journey I was going into was a style of a lot of different styles that I couldn't combine in the death metal music. So I formed VOLBEAT where there was not so much rules about what you could do or what you could not do. So, as you can hear in the VOLBEAT music, there's a lot of different styles, but in ASINHELL, it definitely takes you back to all the stuff that I was, and still [am] listening to, as a young boy discovering extreme metal."

He continued: "For a long time, people have been asking me when I'm gonna return to death metal, and I said, 'I have no idea,' because the time that I'm using on VOLBEAT, it's a lot of time touring. We are constantly on the road and we are writing and being in the studio. So it was very difficult for me to answer a question like that. But when the pandemic came and I wrote [the] 'Servant Of The Mind' [album] for VOLBEAT, there were other riffs that came up where I said, 'Those riffs I'll put aside and keep them for another project when there was time for doing that. And that became the ASINHELL project.

"When we did 'Servant Of The Mind', we recorded a song called 'Becoming', and that was kind of a tribute to ENTOMBED and my good friend L.G. Petrov [late ENTOMBED singer]. And we all know that story, that L.G. passed away 'cause of cancer. Some days before he passed away, he was trying to call me. And the first time he called, I couldn't pick up. I was somewhere in a supermarket at the register paying for my groceries. And then later on he called me, but that was during the night, so I never pick up my phone during the night. And next thing I hear that he passed away. And so I was really bummed about that. And we kind of just then dedicated the VOLBEAT song 'Becoming' to L.G. and we put on this amazing BOSS pedal that makes this ugly, beautiful Swedish death metal sound. And I just got really inspired by that. And I told my guitar tech if he could find that pedal and then order it on the net and then I would probably start maybe working on some riffs. And the same day we talked about that, I was about to take my morning run and my iPod, just by coincidence, starts on ENTOMBED and I'm hearing L.G. screaming [singing], 'I'm full of hell.' And for me, that was a call from L.G., and I said to myself, 'This time, you're fucking picking up, Michael.' You are starting now. This is the time. And, actually, I wanted to call the band FULL OF HELL, but I quickly find out there was another band by that name. So I said, 'Okay, well, what do I do now?' So I changed it to as ASINHELL."

As for how he recruited his ASINHELL bandmates, ex-MORGOTH singer Marc Grewe (also of INSIDIOUS DISEASE) and RAUNCHY drummer Morten Toft Hansen, Poulsen said: "I was so inspired, and I live 10 minutes away from my drummer Morten, who has a daughter that's six years old, as my daughter [is], and they are hanging out together and having a good time. And Morten, now and then, he's active in his own band called RAUNCHY. They do not play live shows that much, but he still has his drums in the garage. And I kindly asked him if he wants to put some drums on a death metal project I had in mind. And he was totally up for it when I said, 'It's gonna be in the vein of DEATH, BOLT THROWER, AUTOPSY, GRAVE, ENTOMBED.' And that was totally his alley. So, he said, 'Where are we gonna rehearse?' And I said, 'Right here where we are standing.' And he said, 'In my garage?' 'Yeah, why not? Let's imagine that we're kind of 16, 17 years old again.' We didn't have money for expensive rehearsal rooms or anything that we have now. So I said, 'Let me just bring an amp and I'll turn it all to 11. No P.A. system, nothing. Just your drums. Don't mic it up. It's just an amp, and let's just do some riffing. I've got songs at home.' And it turned out that every Friday me and Morten would be jamming for two hours, and every Friday I came with a new song, and suddenly we were just looking at each other, like, 'Okay, we actually have songs for a whole album here.' And I ended up calling my good friend up, Marc Grewe, which was the former singer of legendary German [band] MORGOTH. I always thought that Marc had the best death metal voice in the scene, together with Chuck Schuldiner from DEATH. And for many years we talked about doing something together when the time was right. And I called him up and I said, 'You know what? I actually have our whole album. Are you ready?' [And he said], 'Hell yeah, I'm ready. Let's get to it.' I did some demo vocals on some of the recordings. And I asked Marc, 'How do you want me to record?' [And he said], 'Ah, just put your phone in the garage and press 'record' and then send it to me on your phone.' I said, 'Okay, it's gonna sound like a fucking mess.' [And he said], 'Yeah. That's how it should be like.' [Laughs] He said, 'That's how we did it back in the day with MORGOTH. We just put a ghetto blaster, a tape recorder in the rehearsal room and just pushed 'record' when we did rehearsal recordings.' [And I said], 'Yeah. Okay. Then that's how we're gonna do it.' So me and Morten made a lot of noise in that garage and I was putting down some demo vocals [for] Marc to get some inspiration. So I was just screaming and yelling down in my phone. And he said, 'Yeah, it's perfect. We could even release it like that.' [And I was, like], 'Yeah. Wait a minute.'"

According to Michael, two other guest musicians appear on the "Impii Hora", both of whom will be familiar to fans of VOLBEAT.

"We ended up using Jacob Hansen, our producer, as the bass player on the record, because he was there in the studio anyway. And I said, 'I'm not gonna play the bass. Let's do it different.' And so we just asked Jacob if he was into it, and he said, 'Yeah, I would love to.' So very quickly Jacob put down the bass. And I've been knowing Jacob since the INVOCATOR days, where he was active in INVOCATOR. So suddenly, having a great lineup with Marc from MORGOTH and Jacob from INVOCATOR, Morten from RAUNCHY — it was great. And then Morten said, 'Since we have this huge inspiration from DEATH, you should hear how Flemming [C. Lund], my good friend from THE ARCANE ORDER, is playing guitar. He can do those kind of DEATH solos. I knew Flemming from back in the days when I had that DOMINUS band. So I checked Flemming out and his solos in THE ARCANE ORDER, and I was blown away. And I gave Flemming a call and I asked him kindly if he was into it. And he totally understood where we were going with this, so he was very excited about it. So, yeah, he put down those solos and, as I said before, now we have a record coming out very soon."

Michael was equally excited to get ASINHELL's debut LP released via Metal Blade, a label which has consistently been at the forefront of the metal scene, from releasing the earliest material from METALLICA and SLAYER on the classic "Metal Massacre" compilations through to seminal releases from CANNIBAL CORPSE, GWAR, THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, AMON AMARTH and many more.

"Brian Slagel from Metal Blade, he heard the songs and he was very, very, very into it, and he said, 'I would love to actually release this.' And for me, that was a dream come true," Michael said. "The legendary Brian Slagel from Metal Blade — we all know the story. So that was a dream come true. I remember being a young kid, tape trading and trying to get a record deal, but then so many years after, actually then ending up on Metal Blade with a new project called ASINHELL, that's beautiful. So I'm very excited about it and very proud of the record."

"Impii Hora" track listing:

01. Fall Of The Loyal Warrior
02. Inner Sancticide
03. Island Of Dead Men
04. Trophies
05. The Ultimate Sin
06. Wolfpack Laws
07. Desert Of Doom
08. Pyromantic Scryer
09. Impii Hora
10. Foj For Helvede

ASINHELL is:

Michael Poulsen - Guitar
Marc Grewe - Vocals
Morten Toft Hansen - Drums

Photo credit: Brittany Bowman

The JD's Live Music YouTube channel has uploaded video of JACK RUSSELL'S GREAT WHITE's July 29 performance at the Rock The Dam festival in Beaver Dam, Kentucky. Check out the clips below.

In an interview with T Stone of the radio show "Sonic Boom"on Real Rock 100.3 The Fox in Rapid City, South Dakota, former GREAT WHITE and current JACK RUSSELL'S GREAT WHITE singer Jack Russell was asked how he feels about the fact that there are now effectively two versions of GREAT WHITE touring and making new music. He responded: "It's weird, man. I mean, it doesn't bother me — except when Mark [Kendall, GREAT WHITE guitarist] goes out there and starts talking shit about me. Every time he gives an interview, he goes out there and starts talking some kind of shit about me. It's, like, dude, it's been 12 years. Get over it.

"It is too bad," Russell added. "We were best friends, we were brothers for years. And now it's like the guy won't even pick up the phone and speak to me. It's horrible. It makes you feel really bad. And every time I pick up a paper or [I see] something on the Internet [where] Mark's [giving] an interview, he's always talking shit about me. It's, like, dude, talk about yourself. Talk about how great your album is or how great your band is. Leave me the fuck alone. I'm not bagging on you."

Asked by T Stone why he thinks it's that way for Kendall, Russell replied: "I don't know. Maybe he's just pissed off that I'm still doing it. I mean, the first article they did after I left the band was, 'Oh, he'll never pull it off.' And it's been, what? 12 years now?

"The way I look at it is you do what you do," he continued. "Have a good time. Be happy that you're able to do this. Be happy that you're lucky enough to be able to do this — especially when there's two versions of the band."

When T Stone noted that "it's gotta be especially tough" for GREAT WHITE "trying to do it without the actual voice of the band," Jack said: "That's the one thing, I think, that separates the cover bands from the original bands — is the voice. 'Cause that's the one thing that you need. You take Steven Tyler out of AEROSMITH, I don't care who you put in there, it ain't gonna be AEROSMITH… The only time I've ever seen it work was with Sammy Hagar — and just 'cause Sammy is a better singer [than David Lee Roth]. And they wrote some really great songs. But give me a fucking choice, I'd go see David Lee Roth [before] I would [see] Sammy. And I love Sammy; he's a great guy. Dave's a great guy too."

In June 2022, shortly after GREAT WHITE announced that it had parted ways with singer Mitch Malloy, Kendall dismissed the idea of reuniting with Russell, telling Dr. Music in an interview: "[People say,] 'Why don't you patch things up with Jack?' What people don't understand is we never even got in fights [with Jack]. In 25 years together, we might have gotten in two arguments. The thing that took him out is the horrible demons of addiction, and it's really affected his health. I just saw a video the other day where he's not even standing — he's using wheelchairs and he's sitting in a stool. So for us to go back to that, it just feels dark. I'd rather remember him… 'Cause I'm very proud of our career — I'm very proud of the past. I'm so lucky to be a part of it. And I wanna remember it like that, where he's flying around on stage and getting the crowds pumped and singing his heart out — not a sick person. So going to that…"

In November 2022, Russell ruled out the possibility of him reuniting with his former bandmates, telling All Access Live! With Kevin Rankin: "As far as the fans are concerned, for the most part they've been really cool about [there being two versions of the band]. It is what it is. Of course most of them would rather see us back together. There are a few people that, for whatever reason, like a new guy better, which I don't understand. That'd be like me saying I like somebody better than Steven Tyler in AEROSMITH. Or, 'Get rid of that Robert Plant schmuck [in LED ZEPPELIN]. Let me hear somebody else.' I don't know. To each his own. Some things just defy explanation or logic. But for the most part, I think, people would like things, to see them back to where they were, which will never happen. Those days are gone, and anybody out there that's hoping and wishing and praying, it's not gonna happen; I'll tell you right now. Both camps agree [on that]."

Russell went on to say that he chooses to stay away from speaking disparagingly about his former bandmates. "I don't jump on the drama train," he said. "Unfortunately, there are still people that do, in my other band, that still choose to pass along negativity. And I'm not gonna say anything bad about anybody. It's, like, why? We were all huge friends for years. We accomplished one of the hugest things you can ever accomplish together — something that's almost impossible we pulled off. We were on five major labels, so we did it five times. Usually you lose one and you're blackballed. And we were on five different major labels. So there's something to say for that. I never was gonna let up until I was done."

Malloy had been in GREAT WHITE for nearly four years, having joined the group in 2018 following the departure of Terry Ilous.

Ilous, frontman of '80s L.A. hard rockers XYZ, joined GREAT WHITE in 2010 after stepping in for touring vocalist Jani Lane (WARRANT).

The Ilous-led GREAT WHITE released two albums, 2012's "Elation" and 2017's "Full Circle", before Terry was dismissed from the group.

Russell sued his onetime bandmates in 2012 over their continued use of the GREAT WHITE name after Jack had taken a leave of absence from the band for medical reasons. A short time later, Russell was countersued by Kendall, rhythm guitarist/keyboardist Michael Lardie and drummer Audie Desbrow, claiming the vocalist's self-destructive behavior was damaging the GREAT WHITE name (they also alleged he was charging promoters less for his own touring version of GREAT WHITE). The parties settled in July 2013 without going to trial, with Russell now performing as JACK RUSSELL'S GREAT WHITE while the others are continuing as GREAT WHITE.

In 2018, Desbrow told ListenIowa that there was never any discussion about possibly bringing Jack back after Terry's exit from GREAT WHITE. "Not at all," he said. "We've already moved on from that. We've gone through a lot of stuff with that over the years, and the fact that he sued us in federal court for the name, and we spent a lot of time and money, you just don't return from that. People tell me that they've seen his latest shows, and it's just hard to look at because his health isn't as good as it could be. We've got a really grueling schedule, and it's hard enough for me, and I'm semi-healthy. [Laughs] I couldn't imagine someone in his condition doing what we're doing. We did shows with him toward the end, and he was in and out of a wheelchair and crutches, had to be carried up stairs, was falling asleep onstage. It just got old. It's a business, and we have families to support and mortgages to pay. You can't go to work messed up 24/7 and still be able to work there."

In October 2022, GREAT WHITE officially named Brett Carlisle as its new lead singer. Carlisle joins the band as the replacement for Andrew Freeman, who sang for GREAT WHITE for only five months.

Carlisle made his live debut with GREAT WHITE on September 24, 2022 at the Cannery Casino Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Well DAM!

Posted by ARM Entertainment on Monday, July 24, 2023

Heavy metal titans KREATOR have announced the "Klash Of The Ruhrpott" festival, set to take place July 20, 2024 at Amphitheater Gelsenkirchen in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. The concert will feature the long-awaited union of Germany's legendary "Teutonic Big Four", completed by SODOM, DESTRUCTION and TANKARD.

The one-day thrash extravaganza is a celebration of German metal, expected to welcome domestic and international fans for this once-in-a-lifetime event.

Mille Petrozza (KREATOR) commented: "I'm so happy we have an opportunity to present this package in the best way possible! It's going to be a really special day, full of love and respect…and the most extensive KREATOR set ever…prepare for some DEEP CUTS!"

Thomas "Angelripper" Such (SODOM) commented: "I am very happy to finally be able to share the stage with my old companions and friends again. A meeting with these four fantastic bands cannot be surpassed in terms of cult status. It will be a very special event for us and our fans. Until then, please stay healthy and confident. See ya soon… Cheers, Tom."

Schmier (DESTRUCTION) commented: "Oh YES — we all have been waiting for this to happen, I am excited that it finally worked out! Hopefully this is the beginning of some more to come! We are super thrilled to be a part of this. Thanks for the invitation, Mille!"

Andreas "Gerre" Geremia (TANKARD) commented: "Good things take time! Finally the four big will clash and thrash together. We feel very proud to be a part of this historical event!"

Tickets go on sale on Wednesday, August 2 at 10 a.m. CEST.

Last fall, Angelripper spoke to BLABBERMOUTH.NET about SODOM being part of the "German Big Four". He said at the time: "I love DESTRUCTION. Schmier is a good friend of mine. They have a different style of music. DESTRUCTION is more thrash metal than SODOM; we have more black metal or heavy metal influences. I'm so proud of them. They did it. They created their own style. They have the perfect singer in the band. We always talk about the [German] 'Big Four' and touring together, but it's hard to do. I think Mille is not interested in doing it. We played the Mexico Metal Fest [in September 2022], the 'Big Four', with HELLHAMMER and GRAVE DIGGER and I talked to Schmier, we had a beer with Gerre, but I didn't see Mille. He came on stage and went back to the hotel. He doesn't want to spend any time with us. I don't know why. Maybe he's living on a different planet. I don't think this tour will ever happen."

When he asked if he has always been friendly with Mille, Angelripper said: "We're friends, but I'm good friends with Schmier. But Mille…it's different. He's not more in the scene. I never see him when we go into any metal bar here in Essen. It's completely different. We'll need to talk about the 'Big Three' touring. It doesn't have to be a tour. All the bands have a packed schedule touring, but we can do a big show. This package is good for three, four or five thousand people."

KILL DEVIL HILL's lyric video for the band's fourth single in nearly a decade, "Playing With Fire", can be seen below. The song is taken from the band's upcoming third album, which will be made available later in the year via the Ohio-based Legend Recordings. The label, which was founded by artist manager Chris Bianchi, has partnered with Ingrooves/Universal to release the LP worldwide.

"Playing With Fire" follows the release of "Blood In The Water", which arrived in February, "You Can't Kill Me California", which came out in April, and "Before The Devil Knows", which was made available in June.

KILL DEVIL HILL was established in 2011 by former BLACK SABBATH and DIO drummer Vinny Appice and PANTERA bassist Rex Brown. After going through a few member changes, KILL DEVIL HILL's present lineup consists of Johnny Kelly (TYPE O NEGATIVE) on drums, Mark Zavon on guitar, Dewey Bragg on vocals and Matt Snell (ex-FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH) on bass.

Zavon commented: "It's been a while since our last release, but we've been working hard writing and recording songs for this third record for a long time behind the scenes, and are really looking forward to sharing the finished product with our fans. We are proud to have partnered with Chris Bianchi and Legend Recordings for this release and are looking forward to working with them and Ingrooves to bring these songs to our fans worldwide. It's definitely some of our strongest material, and I can't wait to get out in front of an audience and play it live."

2023 will see KILL DEVIL HILL hit the road for select festival appearances and additional tour dates.

Shortly after he left KILL DEVIL HILL in early 2014, Vinny said that the band's inability to gain significant traction with its music was a major factor in his decision. However, more recently, Vinny has suggested that he exited the group because he "couldn't deal with" the fact that some of his bandmates were consistently tardy for KILL DEVIL HILL activities by an hour and a half or even longer.

Asked to respond to Appice's comments and address the fact that the drummer's explanation for why he left the band appears to have evolved over time, Mark told "J-Bunny's Music Hub": "Well, both [of his stated reasons] are true. And he's right. And there was [tardiness]. Dewey, our singer, at the time, was kind of going through some hard times and some personal difficulties, and he did have a hard time showing up sometimes. And even when we were on tour, he was — I don't know, man — just having a little bit of trouble. He's a totally changed man now, and now he's the first guy, anywhere we go, he's the one telling us, 'Hey, man, we're gonna be late for soundcheck.' But in those days, yeah, it was a little harder to wrangle him. So Vinny was right. And Vinny, he doesn't really put up with that. He's a name guy — he's got a history and a reputation. He's a pro. He's a star. So you can't blame the guy for that. I certainly didn't. I was the first one there [for rehearsals and live shows], 'cause I was stoked to play with those guys. Are you kidding me? Vinny Appice and Rex Brown in a room, and I get to play guitar?"

He continued: "So, anyway, I wish it could have kept going, but sometimes things don't work out, and everything happens for a reason. So I try not to question it. We've got great guys in the band now, and everything happens for a reason. So I'm looking forward to putting out this new record and people hearing what we can do without those guys in the band."

Vinny, who had previously played with BLACK SABBATH, DIO and HEAVEN & HELL, left KILL DEVIL HILL in March 2014.

KILL DEVIL HILL released its sophomore album, "Revolution Rise", in October 2013 via Century Media Records.

NIGHTWISH has completed recording demos for its tenth studio album. The band will enter the studio soon to begin properly tracking the effort for a 2024 release.

Earlier today, the NIGHTWISH social media was updated with a photo of Tuomas Holopainen (keyboards),Emppu Vuorinen (guitar),Kai Hahto (drums) and Jukka Koskinen (bass) at an undisclosed location in Finland, along with the following message: "Demos for album no. 10 are now complete! We are happy, and guess what? Recording is next!"

Last December, Holopainen said the band's upcoming follow-up to 2020's "Human. :II: Nature." will be the third part of a trilogy that began with 2015's "Endless Forms Most Beautiful" album. He told Metal Hammer: "I immediately knew after getting that album ['Endless Forms Most Beautiful'] done that, 'Okay, we have to do more songs about this, because there's so much more to explore and tell the world. We're not done with this.' And the same thing happened after 'Human. :II: Nature.'; we're still not done. So let's do one more. At least one more.

"In a way, [the next album] is the third part of a trilogy, which started with 'Endless Forms…' and then 'Human. :II: Nature.' There are some major surprises there again, but it feels like a natural continuation to 'Human. :II: Nature.'"

According to Tuomas, NIGHTWISH's next LP will cover previously uncharted ground while continuing in the more cinematic style that has characterized some of the band's recent efforts..

"The wonderful thing is that we have had the demo [of the album] done since last spring. So it's been done for six months now. We really have all the time in the world to go through it all, and we have had a such great time with the band, just listening to the demo in our hotel rooms — me singing the lyrics and the melodies to Floor [Jansen, vocals]. She's recording them and then she's seeing them and throwing ideas to each other."

Last September, Tuomas was asked if NIGHTWISH's upcoming LP will once again be an exploration of evolutionary science, as was the case with the previous two releases. Tuomas said: "Yes and no. It sails on the same waters, but there's some new surprises there as well."

Holopainen went on to say that NIGHTWISH fans will have to wait a while before hearing new music from the band. "We'll enter the studio next year and the album is gonna come out maybe early 2024," he said.

In August 2022, Tuomas told Rock Sverige that he spent "about a year" working on the music and lyrics for the next NIGHTWISH album.

Asked if he got any kind of inspiration from the pandemic, Tuomas said: "Yeah, lyrically there's a couple of things that reflects the pandemic, but not in the way you would expect."

"Human. :II: Nature." was released in April 2020. The follow-up to 2015's "Endless Forms Most Beautiful" was a double album containing nine tracks on the main CD and one long track, divided into eight chapters, on CD 2.

In August 2022, NIGHTWISH announced the addition of Koskinen (WINTERSUN) as an official member of the band. Koskinen, who made his live debut with NIGHTWISH in May 2021 at the band's two interactive experiences, had spent the last year touring with NIGHTWISH as a session musician.

In November 2022, singer Floor Jansen revealed that she was "cancer free" after recently undergoing surgery to have a tumor removed following a breast cancer diagnosis.

This past March, Floor and SABATON drummer Hannes Van Dahl announced that they were expecting their second child. Jansen and Van Dahl already have a six-year-old daughter named Freja, who was born on March 15, 2017.

In April, NIGHTWISH announced plans to take a break from touring and will not hit the road in support of the band's next studio album. The group added, "The reasons for this decision are personal, but, we all agree, vital to the wellbeing and future of the band. Be assured that we still love working together, and this decision has nothing to do with Floor's pregnancy or our other individual projects. However, an album of 12 new songs will see bright daylight in 2024, as will 3 music videos! The band is positively hyped beyond words over this new upcoming musical adventure."

Demos for album no. 10 are now complete! ✅ We are happy, and guess what? Recording is next! 🔥

Posted by Nightwish on Saturday, July 29, 2023

Nuno Bettencourt, who has performed with pop superstar Rihanna for more than a decade, has apologized for his recent comments in which he seemingly took a swipe at one of his colleagues, GUNS N' ROSES guitarist Slash.

In a recent interview with Planet Rock, the EXTREME guitarist opined that many of the guitar players he looks up to, including Slash, would not be able handle the musical diversity of a Rihanna concert.

"When somebody like Rihanna reaches out to you to perform everybody thinks 'oh, that's cute. It's a pop artist, whatever,'" Bettencourt said. "Let me tell you something, what I had to do night after night… put on a reggae hat [for one song] with a reggae feel, and go into R&B, then go into some punk rock and pop rock that she did, and then club tracks. All sorts of [things], all those different feels.

"I'm sorry, most of the guitar players who I admire could not in their lifetime play that gig," he added. "I mean that in the most complimentary way possible.

"Slash is one of the greatest rock guitar players of all time but I guarantee — and he'd be the first to tell you — that if he jumps up and he's got to play a clean intro to 'Rude Boy' from Rihanna, it ain't happening."

Bettencourt continued: "I believe that if I wasn't that diverse musically and accept everything I grew up on, there's no way that I would have been in these rooms. And also being open, being an open musician in the sense of 'up for anything.'"

A couple of days after Nuno's comments made the rounds in music media, Slash's GUNS N' ROSES bandmate Richard Fortus took to Instagram to share a headline from a Guitar.com article reporting on Bettencourt's words, and he included the following message: "I have to respectfully disagree. @nunobettencourtofficial is one of the greats, for sure. However, there is very little @slash couldn't do on guitar (if he wanted to). I toured with Rihanna prior to Nuno and I've spent a lot of time playing with Slash. This gig wouldn't be a struggle for him."

Last Saturday (July 22),Nuno took to his social media to clarify his original comments as well as to respond to Richard, who played with Rihanna on her "Good Girl Gone Bad Tour" in 2008 and 2009. Bettencourt wrote: "Welp… I new this was eventually coming.

"You can't be blessed and be on multiple guitar magazine covers at a shocking 56 years old, get this much attention for your playing and new album as a rock guitarist without another guitarist stirring up some shit.

"Im responding to this not cause I give a shit about what this guitarist thinks about me but, instead, because I'd hate to think my few words offended a hero of mine, @slash and possibly fuck up my relationship with him.

"@4tus I've 'respectively' never heard you play one note in my 56 years of being alive and only know your name from the Rihanna camp and as a replacement player in GUNS.

"I'm sure you're a decent player, but did you really need to repost a headline that made me look like I am badmouthing a fellow player, Slash.

"As if I'd ever think Slash isn't capable of playing any Rihanna song in his sleep.

"Let's get something fucking straight. To me, Slash is one of the greatest rock guitarists of my generation and of all time. PERIOD. And @4tus if you knew me at all and where my heart is you'd know that what I meant in this statement was not about Slash or his capability, It was about Rock guitarists like myself or Slash switching genres and the awkwardness of playing these feels.

"No SHIT Slash can play these songs, thank you so much for pointing that out as if we didn't already know that. But for me as a predominant ROCK guitarist, Im obviously not as talented as you and found it a challenge to nail all the different pockets and guitar tones of genres like Reggae, R&B, Electronic Dance, Trap and pop.

"As far as you shining a light on my ridiculous statement that Slash would 'struggle', yes a poor word choice on my part, I personally would hope that Slash who is a peer and influence would be more mature enough to understand what I truly meant as a guitarist by that comment.

"In mentioning Slash as an iconic Rock example, I meant in general a rock guitarist would find it, NOT A STRUGGLE, but feel like a fish out of water as a player. THATS ALL I MEANT.

"I've had NOTHING but respect and admiration for @gunsnroses and @slash.

"Apologies if I've unintentionally offended anyone."

In his nearly five-minute video apology, Bettencourt described the whole ordeal as "ridiculous" and took "full responsibility" for the "stupid shit" he said that launched the entire debate.

Nuno said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It's Nuno here. Just a quick, quick message. Listen, this little what people are saying there was a spat between Richard Fortus and I and comments that I made and the post that he made and the shit that I said about playing Rihanna, it's ridiculous. I'm not that guy. I don't want to be that guy. I'm not interested in this shit. It actually makes me sick. Last straw, I just got home and I see fuckin [Justin] Hawkins [of THE DARKNESS] is fuckin doing a whole post on it, an episode [on his YouTube channel] and deciphering who said what. This is ridiculous. Bottom line is this is on me. I need to keep my fucking mouth shut.

"I got asked a question about Rihanna, and my answer was ridiculous — absolutely ridiculous. I'll take full responsibility for it about playing it and how hard it was and how difficult it is for people to play different feels. I tried to make a point, and it kind of backfired on me.

"I do a lot of press, and every once in a while you say stupid shit. You get asked a stupid question. So now I'm gonna stick to EXTREME, stick to what I know, stick to what I do on guitar and what I do for EXTREME. That way nobody can fuck with me and be offended and [make] comments. Don't ask me about anybody else. Don't ask me about fucking Rihanna. Don't ask me about Slash or GUNS or Richard Fortus, who I owe an apology to,

"Richard, sorry, brother. This is ridiculous. You had a complete right to defend your bro. And even if it was in the lightest way or whatever it was, you are correct. I don't like hurting people. I don't like talking bad about anybody. And this is all coming from me, from a ridiculous Planet Rock interview, which is when somebody asked me about Rihanna, like I said, I need to shut the fuck up — you know, talking about how difficult it was. I have my own reasons of why I said what I said in the sense of what it meant to me with playing all the different feels, but obviously it came across very arrogant, it came across very offensive. People love this shit and they're feeding off of it and all it does is create bad vibes for everybody in our community, in the guitarist community, when at the end of the day, really, I have much respect for everybody. Everybody's got a lane and everybody's got a place to do what they do. Whether I had heard Richard play before, which I hadn't, it doesn't give me the right to make that comment that I hadn't heard a note he played in my lifetime, even though it was true. But it was [me] being pissed off and I think it was just me pissed off in general that I even started this bullshit. So, apologies again to Richard. He's obviously a great guitar player. He's playing with GUNS. He's gotta be amazing. And, anybody else out there that loves this kind of juicy shit, go fuck yourselves and mind your own fucking business and I'll mind my own fucking business and keep that shit to myself, whatever it is that I feel about how difficult anything is. But, like I said, man, anybody who knows me in the guitar community, all I do is have much respect for everybody that I play with and I stepped out of my lane on this one, for real. And this isn't no ridiculous apology in the sense that I'm backtracking for anything. I actually went back and read what I actually answered, and it was pretty fucking stupid, and I made it way too self-important for that gig. It was really dumb of me to even mention that stuff or especially Slash. I mean, I don't even know why even Slash came out of my mouth during that other than I was just using it as an example of us rock guitar players playing some different feels.

"Other than that, love y'all, fuck y'all, if you know what I mean. And honestly, man, it's ridiculous. Let's stop this bullshit. I hope to have a beer with Richard sometime soon and just have a laugh about it because this is just stupid. It's just ridiculous. We're all great players and there's no need for anybody to be fucking arguing about anything stupid like this. I reacted kind of hot because I probably realized how much of a dumbass I was by saying what I said about Slash and playing with Rihanna.

"That's it. Before I ramble and keep saying something else I don't wanna say, man, I'm going to check out here. But I'm excited to see you all on the road. God bless everyone. Peace. See ya."

Nuno most recently shared the stage with Rihanna when the Grammy Award-winning R&B artist took the stage in Phoenix on February 12 for her 2023 Super Bowl halftime performance.

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In a recent interview with BBC Radio 4's "Saturday Live", MEGADETH frontman Dave Mustaine spoke about what makes a song a good song. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "For me, what I'd like to leave for future generations is to know that melody is so critical to songs. Quincy Jones is a very famous producer here in America. We were making the 'Rust In Peace' record at the time and had gone to this party, and Quincy was there. And he had said to our engineer/producer that the key to successful songs was beat, melody and 10 simple words."

He continued: "So I guess the most important thing I would like to leave to future generations is to echo what Quincy had said, but to make it my own, I would say in order to be successful in thrash, you need to have a heavy beat, melody and I'd say probably 20 simple words because we sing so much faster."

MEGADETH kicked off the summer 2023 European leg of its "Crush The World" tour on July 23 at the Triple Thrash Triumph festival at Spodek in Katowice, Poland.

MEGADETH's current lineup includes guitarist/vocalist Dave Mustaine, Belgian-born-and-now-Los-Angeles-based drummer Dirk Verbeuren, who had played with SOILWORK for more than a decade before joining MEGADETH, Brazilian guitarist Kiko Loureiro, who was previously best known for his work with ANGRA, and bassist James LoMenzo. James was MEGADETH's bass player in the mid-2000s and stepped back in as a touring member for the 2021 leg of "The Metal Tour Of The Year". In May 2022, it was announced that Lomenzo was officially rejoining the MEGADETH family.

Last September, MEGADETH's latest album, "The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!", debuted at the top of the charts during its first week of sales, taking the No. 3 spot on the Billboard 200 as well as number ones on Top Album Sales, Top Current Albums Sales, Top Rock & Alternative Albums, Top Rock Albums and Top Hard Rock Albums. "The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!" was the highest-charting MEGADETH album of all time around the world, notching No. 1 In Finland, No. 2 in australia, poland, Switzerland, and Scotland, No. 3 in the U.K., and more.

MEGADETH's previous top 10 entries on the Billboard 200 were "Countdown to Extinction" (No. 2, 1992),"Youthanasia" (No. 4, 1994),"Cryptic Writings" (No. 10, 1997),"United Abominations" (No. 8, 2007),"Endgame" (No. 9, 2009),"Super Collider" (No. 6, 2013) and "Dystopia" (No. 3, 2016).

MEGADETH recently received its thirteenth Grammy nomination for "Best Metal Performance" for the song "We'll Be Back" from "The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!".

MEGADETH won the 2017 Grammy Award for "Best Metal Performance" for the title track of the band's 2016 album "Dystopia". This marked the group's twelfth Grammy nomination in this category (including nominations in the discontinued "Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance" category).

In a new interview with Jeff Gaudiosi of MisplacedStraws.com, legendary hard rock singer Jeff Scott Soto (YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, TALISMAN, JOURNEY, SONS OF APOLLO, TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA) was asked about projects that he has in the works for the coming months. He responded: "Unfortunately, this interview is too soon to speak about it. There is something in the pipeline that I can't talk about. The only thing I can say is in September you're gonna know exactly what I'm talking about. Like I said, it's unfortunate I can't talk about it. I can't even hint about it now, but it's really, really cool. It's something I'm really proud of. I can't wait for the world to hear it and see it. It's not SONS OF APOLLO. It's something totally new for me. From what I hear, we're gonna be blasting throughout the world next year. So it's one of those things that we put a lot of commitment behind and I'm already turning a lot of things down for next year to make room for this… By September, when this drops, the announcement of what it is, it's gonna drop the same day that the music and the video drops. So it's all gonna happen in one day. Nobody knows about this. I'm already saying too much, let's put it that way."

This past March, Jeff heavily implied that he was the singer of the new band formed by ex-VAN HALEN bassist Michael Anthony, BON JOVI guitarist Phil X and current AEROSMITH touring drummer John Douglas.

Anthony, who is currently the bassist for Sammy Hagar's THE CIRCLE, revealed the existence of the project during an appearance on SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk". When asked if he had any plans to form a new project or band once Hagar has finally retired from performing with THE CIRCLE, Michael said: "Well, I wasn't going to mention anything about it, but there is a little side project thing that I've kind of been speaking to some people, and might be doing a couple of things with. I don't wanna get ahead of myself and mention too much, but it might involve Phil X and John Douglas, who you know as [the touring drummer] for AEROSMITH right now."

Anthony continued: "I've known J.D. for many years, since he's worked with VAN HALEN… What a great guy. And we do have a singer. I don't wanna mention any names, but a really, really cool singer. And we're recording just for fun right now, some stuff. That's all I can say."

A couple of days later, Soto took to his Instagram to share a screenshot of BLABBERMOUTH.NET's original coverage of the project, and he included the following cryptic message: "Hmmm....ummm...no comment =)" When one person asked Jeff, "Who's singer?", he responded: "Read between the lines my friend".

Jeff Scott Soto has more than 60 albums under his belt along with numerous collaborations and recordings. He has established himself as a consummate professional who manages to expertly deliver with his vocal performances across multiple musical genres, from metal to hard rock to progressive rock and even funk. His career spans nearly 30 years, beginning as the vocalist for guitar virtuoso Yngwie Malmsteen before coming the frontman for bands such as TALISMAN, SOUL SIRKUS, SONS OF APOLLO (featuring Billy Sheehan, Mike Portnoy, Derek Sherinian and Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal),as well as an ongoing membership in TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA and a stint as the lead singer for the legendary classic rock band JOURNEY.

In 1994, Soto released his first solo album, "Love Parade", followed years later by the acclaimed "Prism" (2002),then "Lost In The Translation" (2005),"Beautiful Mess" (2009),"Damage Control" (2012),"Retribution" (2017),"Wide Awake (In My Dreamland)" (2020),"The Duets Collection, Vol. 1" (2021) and "Complicated" (2022).

GODSMACK frontman Sully Erna has publicly shared the identity of his new love, Kelly Fedoni. Fedoni is the ex-wife of Deadmau5, a Canadian singer and DJ whose real name is Joel Thomas Zimmerman.

Earlier today, Sully took to his social media to post several photos of him with Fedoni, and he included the following message: "I thought it was time for you all to meet my person.

"As you all know I like to remain fairly private, but I'm always happy to show off the people in my life I love the most. So please know that any rude or mean comments will be deleted and blocked. As I am trusting you, “my dearest fans” to be the loving people that I know you to be.

"Finding someone you Love, Trust, Respect and is your best friend isn't always easy. It takes time, (in my case 55 years) patience, lessons and ALOT of self growth to be ready for it when it arrives. So when you find it ' and you will '… never take it for granted. Be fearless, be vulnerable, and be true to yourself.

"When you're a good person, it's inevitable YOU WILL manifest the best people to compliment your life! She is as solid of a human as they come. And she is mine. So say hello to the other half of me."

Fedoni and Zimmerman reportedly became a couple in 2014 and got married in 2017, one year after a romantic proposal in the Maldives. Among those who attended their wedding was MÖTLEY CRÜE drummer Tommy Lee. They split in 2021 after four years of marriage.

Sully has a daughter, Skylar Brook, who was born in December 2001.

I thought it was time for you all to meet my person. 🥰
As you all know I like to remain fairly private, but I'm always...

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DEF LEPPARD has shared the eleventh behind-the-scenes video from the band's "The World Tour", featuring footage from concerts in Dublin, Ireland (July 4) and Glasgow, Scotland (July 6). This episode features an unlikely dressing room, a look back at the Bellville House where drummer Rick Allen, guitarist Phil Collen and guitarist Steve Clark lived and made music in and where Rick re-learned to play drums after he famously lost his left arm to amputation following a near-fatal auto accident in England in 1984. Check out the eight-minute clip below.

Less than two years ago, Allen, who has been expressing himself in recent years through his art, spoke to Joe Rock about one of the main themes of his artwork, which is actually his right arm.

"Not too many people know this, but I broke my right arm really badly [in the 1984 accident], and during the healing process, the hospital, they said, 'There's a chance that you may lose your right arm as well,'" Rick recalled. "So when I was able to get through that horrible period in time and get all the infection out of there and then actually fix the bone and the arm, you can imagine I was so grateful. And I think that's something that speaks to that. The handprint is really, for me, a sign of gratitude, that I can still do what I do. And I put my hand through a lot — from drumming to the artwork and, obviously, everything that I do. So it's pretty symbolic. It's the only one I've got, but I'm really blessed to have it. [Laughs]"

Allen lost his arm 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.

Allen spoke about his accident during an interview with Modern Drummer. He said: "I remember coming around in the hospital and then realizing what had happened to me after the accident, and honestly, I wanted to disappear. I didn't wanna do this anymore. And then I started getting these letters from all over the world… I got encouragement from everywhere — from my family, from the guys [in the band], from people all over the world. And I don't know what happened, but I discovered the power of the human spirit and just said, 'You know what? I can do this.' It was really a collective thing. It was all this encouragement I was getting from other people, and then it just manifested in wanting to succeed. And that's exactly where it came from."

Rick also talked about the support he received from his bandmates in DEF LEPPARD who stuck by him through his recovery and waited patiently for his return.

"They left the decision to me, whether I wanted to go on or not, and they gave me time to grow and develop, really, a whole new style [of playing]," Allen said. "And that's all I needed — I just needed the time. I needed the time to build my confidence and realize that I could do it. Nobody ever said, 'Well, you have to make a decision now.' I think that was the most important thing — just that time that they gave me just to find myself."

After visiting the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in 2006, Allen dedicated himself to helping war veterans who suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) as a result of sustaining injuries similar to his own.

Allen told ABC News in 2012: "I didn't know what my life would be like after that terrible day. It was the darkest time in my life… My desire is to encourage a support system for warriors, de-stigmatize PTSD, share their stories and offers alternative ways to pave the road to resiliency and health."

In a new interview with Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station, MUDVAYNE frontman Chad Gray reflected on how he first discovered METALLICA's music nearly four decades ago when he was in his early teens. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET):  "I'm always gonna have a special kinship with [METALLICA's second album] 'Ride The Lightning', because I was fortunate enough to have older friends in high school or in whatever fucking grade I was in. I had a friend that was, like, two years older, and he comes up to me and he's got the fucking cassette for fucking 'Ride The Lighting', and he's, like, 'Dude, take this shit home and listen to it. Bring it back to me tomorrow. And if anything happens to this, I will fucking kill you.' I'm, like, okay. I took that fucking album home and listened to it and I'm, like, 'Holy shit.' The next day I bought 'Ride The Lightning'. And then, dude, I was so fucking into it. And then I like start asking around. I'm, like, 'Man, METALLICA rule.' 'Well, they got another album.' 'What?' 'They got an album called 'Kill 'Em All'. 'Oh, fuck, yeah.' … And when I got 'Ride The Lightning', it must have been closer to the end of the cycle [for that album]. So I got 'Ride The Lightning', I got 'Kill 'Em All', and then not long after that, 'Master [Of Puppets]' was released. So it was a fucking pretty small fucking window of time I had three fucking METALLICA records and I was, like, the happiest motherfucker on the planet. So I always will have a connection with 'Ride The Lightning' over the other ones, even though maybe I technically like 'Master Of Puppets' better or '…[And] Justice [For All]'. But 'Ride The Lightning' was my first one."

Gray went on to say that he had a chance to meet the members of METALLICA when MUDVAYNE opened for the James Hetfield-fronted outfit in 2003 as part of the "Summer Sanitarium" tour.

"METALLICA is literally — they're the sweetest fucking people," Chad said. "Dude, for being fucking a hundred-millionaires — like I'm sure they are — they are the most fucking down-to-earth dudes. James Hetfield, the king of fucking everything, is the nicest fucking guy. I remember one time I was in the hallway and he comes walking out of his dressing room. I just stand there, and we just start shooting the shit — you know, very small talk. I think it was the first time I talked to him. Next thing we're talking vocals and shit like that. I'm talking fucking singing with James Hetfield — one of my biggest vocal influences, by the way."

Chad continued: "What James did that I have — what a lot of us have that are under him — is what I call 'yellody'. That's what James did. He was a yellody guy. [Singing lyrics from METALLICA's 'Master Of Puppets' song] 'End of passion play, crumbling away' — that's fucking full voice. He's literally yelling those lyrics. I do that in a lot of my music or whatever. So that's how he influenced me.

"But yeah, I'm sitting there talking shop with him, man, I'm talking vocals with James fucking Hetfield. Are you kidding me? And he gives me, he's, like, 'You know, man, I use these little things, these little Pastilles. You put 'em in your mouth and you suck on 'em and they stick to the back of your teeth.' I'm, like, 'Oh, wow, I've never heard of that.' He's, like, 'Hold on a second.' He goes in his room and he comes back out and he hands me a box of 'em. He's like, 'Yeah, just put 'em in your mouth. You just slide 'em up on the side of your teeth. They stick and it creates saliva for you while you're singing.'

"He's just a fucking great guy, man," Gray added. "He's a really cool dude. And not only just being insanely fucking loaded, he is like the godfather of metal — he really is. His fucking picking hand — all the great fucking guitar players have modeled their right hand from his right hand. He is the fastest down-picking motherfucker on the planet. Scott Ian [ANTHRAX], Dimebag [Darrell Abbott of PANTERA] — fucking, you name it. People literally [focused] on his right hand. And lyrics? Lyrically, he's a fucking beast. He told stories about the fucking plague, about this, about that. And he's the songwriter, man. I guarantee you all those riffs are his riffs. Lars [Ulrich, METALLICA drummer] is, like, even with him because Lars kicks a beat to what he writes, but at the end of the day, Lars is a drummer and James Hetfield's James fucking Hetfield, and you can't touch that shit. [Laughs]"

MUDVAYNE kicked off its first headlining tour in over 14 years, "The Psychotherapy Sessions", on July 20 at iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre in West Palm Beach, Florida. Support on the 26-city trek, which is produced by Live Nation, is coming from COAL CHAMBER, along with GWAR, NONPOINT and BUTCHER BABIES.

Previously, MUDVAYNE made waves in 2022 when they embarked on the "Freaks On Parade" tour co-headlined with ROB ZOMBIE. This 2023 tour, however, marks MUDVAYNE's first headlining endeavor since 2009.

MUDVAYNE formed in 1996 and has sold over six million records worldwide, earning gold certification for three albums ("L.D. 50", "The End Of All Things To Come", "Lost And Found"). The band is known for its sonic experimentation, innovative album art, face and body paint, masks and uniforms. MUDVAYNE is Gray (vocals),Greg Tribbett (guitar, backing vocals),Matthew McDonough (drums, synthesizer) and Ryan Martinie (bass).

Gray has spent the past 17 years fronting HELLYEAH, which released its sixth studio album, "Welcome Home", in September 2019 via Eleven Seven Music. The disc marked the group's final effort with drummer Vinnie Paul Abbott, who passed away more than five years ago.

In a new interview with Greg Prato of Consequence, Dave Mustaine spoke about his current relationship with his former bandmates in METALLICA. He said: "It took a while for James [Hetfield, METALLICA frontman] and Lars [Ulrich, METALLICA drummer] and I to kind of come around and become friends again. But I would say we're probably better off now than we've been for a long time. And it comes and goes."

He continued: "I think the emotions between all of us, it's probably understandable for a lot of people who break up with someone, it's like a marriage and you part ways and sometimes you try and justify in your head the decision that you make. And sometimes the facts are all you need, and other times you feel compelled to kinda tell the story and you don't really need to. And then there are people who tell the story and then add little salacious facts — like a tape recorder that has a feature to add stuff that never happened. So, I just look at that whole period with METALLICA as something that was really great for me. And I wish them the best."

Mustaine also commented on the criticism his replacement in METALLICA, Kirk Hammett, received over the solo on the band's recent single "Lux Æterna", saying: "I heard that people are taking the piss out of Kirk. But Kirk's a really good guitar player and I think that people forget real quickly he was winning every single guitar contest there was for 30 or 40 years … I have not heard their new album, but I'm sure it's great."

Just last month, Mustaine, who was a member of METALLICA for less than two years, from 1981 to 1983, before being dismissed and replaced by Hammett, was asked by Guitar World magazine if he has heard METALLICA's latest album, "72 Seasons". He responded: "No, I have not heard METALLICA's latest record. But there was a time around 20 years ago when we were not being friendly toward each other when I couldn't listen to their music when it came on the radio. But none of that bothers me anymore, and it's not why I haven't heard the record, especially after the Big Four thing that we did. I really think we should do that again."

Asked if he feels the recent flak that Kirk has taken for his solos is fair, Mustaine replied: "It depends on which solos you're talking about. [Laughs] Jokes aside, I've always kind of poked fun at Kirk. And unfairly so, as he never did anything to me. Whenever I felt singled out, picked on, or antagonized by James [Hetfield] or Lars [Ulrich], it was really easy to pick on Kirk. But the truth is Kirk did me an honor by trying to play my solos on those early songs the way he did… Well, I think that some people would have just started over again. So, I thought it was honorable that Kirk took my solos and did his best to play them as I did. That couldn't have been easy. But as far as his new solos on the new METALLICA album, I haven't heard them, so I can't comment. But I will say that I think it's sad how quickly some people can turn on people.

"There was a time when Kirk won every guitar contest in the world, and I don't think he's gotten any better or worse as a player. He's always been really good. Kirk was a good player when he was in EXODUS. And he's been steady the entire time he's been in METALLICA. But does that mean Kirk Hammett is Dave Mustaine? No. And is Dave MustaineKirk Hammett? Also, no."

Last August, Mustaine reflected on his 1983 dismissal from METALLICA and the formation of MEGADETH in an interview with podcaster Joe Rogan of "The Joe Rogan Experience". When asked if went "right into" MEGADETH after his exit from METALLICA or if it took him some time to plot his next move, Dave said: "I think in my mind I went right into MEGADETH, but at the time I was still kind of trying to digest everything that took place.

"The thing that bothered me the most was I had all my music, and I left it behind and I said, 'Don't use my music.' And of course they did. They used it on the first record [1983's 'Kill 'Em All'], on the second record [1984's 'Ride The Lightning']. There's parts of my music on a song on the third record [1986's 'Master Of Puppets']. All the solos on the first record are mine, except that they're just performed by Kirk. And [they're] close but not the same. And he's not a bad guitar player."

When asked if he got royalties for that, Mustaine said: "Well, most of 'em, yeah, but Kirk got my royalties for [the song] 'Metal Militia' [from 'Kill 'Em All'] for many, many years. And he has to see the check, so I know somebody saw that I wasn't getting paid.

After Rogan noted that Mustaine feels both "sadness and bitterness" over his departure from METALLICA, Dave said: "Not bitterness — I'm over it. It's just money. At the end of the day, my happiness and my family and my wife and my children are more important to me than anything in this world. I love our fans. I have so many things in this life that I'm happy about. But, man, it's my family. And obviously my relationship with God. I take that very, very personal. And I don't talk to people about it; I don't push it on 'em at all. It's my thing. And I just look at it like where I'm at right now… Yeah, [I was] 20 [years old] in METALLICA, and now, look at me, I'm 60 [years old] in MEGADETH. And I'm a Grammy winner. I'm a New York Times best-selling author — all these things."

In a 2009 interview with Norway's Lydverket, Mustaine said that he was "so hurt" by getting kicked out of METALLICA for allegedly drinking too much. "I said, 'What?! No second chance, no warning? C'mon, we all drink. C'mon.'" he recalled. "And [they were like], 'No, that's it. You're gone.' And I was like, 'All right.'"

Mustaine also went on to claim that an altercation with Hetfield led to his being fired from the band.

"I was selling pot," Dave said. "When I would go play in concert, people knew that my pot was sitting in my apartment just saying, 'Go ahead and keep me company.' So I was broken in on. People stole everything that I had; all my stash. And I figured, screw this. I'm gonna get some dogs to stay in the apartment when I leave. So I got two dogs and I took one of them up to a rehearsal one time and she put her paws up on Ron's [McGovney, METALLICA's then-bassist] car. And James kicked it right in the side. And I was like, 'What did you do?' [And I was like] 'It's a dog, it's what they do. You don't kick animals.' So we went into the house, and we started arguing some more. And I ended up punching him in the face and I think that was the root of why I lost my job."

In a 2009 interview with the Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas radio station 97.1 The Eagle Rocks, Hetfield said that it was "so odd" to hear Mustaine still talking about his exit from METALLICA. "It is very Dave, and that's him," James said. "And no matter what band he was in or whatever... I mean, Dave is not in this band for a reason, and this is the reason. It's super-simple. He was in the band for 11 months and it goes on and on and on and on and on. I don't know any other band on this planet that there was a member in the band for a short amount of time and they've still got this big chip on his shoulder. It's insane.... You know what?! He's in love, and that's fine, 'cause we love him back."

Back in 2016, Hammett told the "Word Of Wheeler" podcast that he understood Dave's continued resentment toward his former bandmates over the way he was dismissed from the group. "I've always seen Dave as someone who was just really, really sad, really angry, really frustrated about his situation with METALLICA, and he never could let that go," he said. "And, you know, I've always shown a lot of empathy for him, understanding that he was just pissed off. It's the equivalent of the woman of your life leaving you. I mean, really. When your band kicks you out… I've never been kicked out, but I can imagine it's a horrible experience, especially if it's a band that you feel really passionately about. So I can understand Dave's plight over all these years. But I will also say that when we did these 30th-anniversary shows at the Fillmore [in San Francisco], and we invited Dave to play on all those 'Kill 'Em All' songs, man, it felt so good to have him playing on stage. It felt perfectly fine for me to, while Dave was playing the guitar solos, for me to go over to James and play the rhythm parts with James, and it wasn't a big deal at all. And I could see from the look on Dave's face and just from his whole attitude that it was super-cathartic for him. And I could see how it was helping him. And so I just took it all in stride. And it's interesting, because since then, I think, Dave's relationship with us is a little bit better now. I'd like to think that that whole thing just kind of healed some scars that needed to be healed."

After Hammett's comments about Mustaine were reported by BLABBERMOUTH.NET and other music sites, Dave took to his Twitter to respond. He wrote: "I have tremendous respect for @KirkHammett and I appreciate his take on this. he is almost 100% accurate...almost. I wish him the best."

In a September 2011 interview with Artisan News, Mustaine appeared to concur that his onstage reunion with METALLICA went a long way toward healing the wounds from the way his tenure in the band ended. Dave said: "When we [played a cover of DIAMOND HEAD's] 'Helpless' [as part of a 'Big Four' jam] one night, I walked over to say hello to Kirk on the stage and he said, 'Do you wanna take the solo?" and I said, 'Yeah.' [Laughs] But we forgot to tell anybody on the stage or [running] the sound out front that I was gonna do the solo, so the song's playing along and Kirk's playing rhythm full blast, and I'm sitting there going you can't hear what I'm doing. At least we knew what had happened. It was kind of a symbolic passing of the torch back to me and it was a nice gesture. I think that that helped Kirk and my relationship improve a bit."

In a September 2004 interview, Mustaine famously stated, "I really don't care about Kirk — he stole my job, but at least I got to bang his girlfriend before he took my job. How do I taste, Kirk?"

Mustaine did not play on any METALLICA albums and did not attend their induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2009.

MACHINE HEAD's Robb Flynn and Jared MacEachern paid tribute to Sinéad O'Connor by performing her version of Prince's song "Nothing Compares 2 U" during their latest "Electric Happy Hour" on Friday, July 28.

In introducing the song, Flynn told the viewing audience via Facebook Live and YouTube: "As some of you know, Sinéad O'Connor passed away. I'm not gonna sit here and say that I was the biggest Sinéad O'Connor fan, although I did think that she was pretty rad… But I gotta say I fucking absolutely adore this song. I listened to the original version from Prince, and I definitely think it blows the original Prince version away. So we're gonna do the Sinéad O'Connor version of the Prince song which is called 'Nothing Compares 2 U'."

Police officers found O'Connor unresponsive in a London apartment on Wednesday, July 26 just weeks after she had moved to the city. Her death is not being treated as suspicious.

The Irish singer, who infamously became a polarizing figure when she tore up a photo of Pope John Paul II during a 1992 appearance on "Saturday Night Live", was 56.

O'Connor's breakthrough single came in 1990 with the aforementioned "Nothing Compares 2 U". In total, she had released 10 albums, most recently 2014's "I'm Not Bossy, I'm The Boss".

Sinéad reflected on her rise to fame in the documentary "Nothing Compares", which came out last year. In it, she explained why she was compelled to rip up a photo of Pope John Paul II on camera.

"I had come across an article about families who had been trying to lodge complaints against the church for sexual abuse and were being silenced," she said. "Basically, everything I had been raised to believe was a lie."

O'Connor tore up a photo of Pope John Paul II after performing an a cappella version of "War" by Bob Marley. She then told the audience to "Fight the real enemy."

Although Sinéad announced her retirement from music and touring, writing in 2021 that she'd "gotten older" and was "tired", she changed her mind within days, saying, "I love my job. Making music that is. I don't like the consequences of being a talented (and outspoken woman) being that I have to wade through walls of prejudice every day to make a living."

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

PANTERA's setlist for the Burgettstown show included one song which hadn't been performed live since the band's comeback last year: "Slaughtered", from PANTERA's 1994 album "Far Beyond Driven", widely considered the heaviest metal record to ever reach No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart.

Fan-filmed video of the performance can be seen below.

Prior to PANTERA's latest comeback, "Slaughtered" was last performed by the band's classic lineup on August 1, 2001 at Winnipeg Arena in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

PANTERA's setlist for the Burgettstown concert was as follows:

01. A New Level
02. Mouth For War
03. Strength Beyond Strength
04. Becoming
05. I'm Broken
06. Suicide Note Pt. II
07. 5 Minutes Alone
08. This Love
09. Fucking Hostile
10. Planet Caravan (BLACK SABBATH cover)
11. Happy Birthday (for Rex Brown)
12. Walk
13. Domination / Hollow
14. Cowboys From Hell

Encore:

15. Slaughtered (first half only)
16. Revolution Is My Name

Nearly a decade ago, PANTERA singer Philip Anselmo told Loudwire about the inspiration for "Slaughtered": "I've always had a distorted view of organized religion and I was never more confused than when I was in my 20s and whatnot. And still I like to use a fusion, if you will, of religions and fuck with them, so to speak. And then tear them down and piss all over them or build them up only to tip over."

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

Anselmo and Brown, along with Wylde and Benante, are headlining a number of major festivals across South America, Asia, North America and Europe and staging some of their own headline concerts. They will also support 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.

This past March, PANTERA headlined the 2023 "comeback" edition of Japan's Loud Park festival. The two-day "limited" event took place on March 25 at Intex Osaka in Osaka and March 26 at Makuhari Messe in Chiba City near Tokyo.

In December, PANTERA played seven shows in Mexico and South America.

Brown was forced to leave PANTERA's Latin American tour after testing positive for COVID-19. Filling in for him at some of the shows was CATTLE DECAPITATION bassist Derek Engemann, who also plays with Anselmo in both PHILIP H. ANSELMO & THE ILLEGALS and SCOUR.

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.

FOREIGNER lead singer Kelly Hansen spoke to Mike Hsu of 100 FM The Pike about the legendary rockers' recently launched farewell tour. For the first leg of the U.S. Live Nation-produced trek, which kicked off on July 6 at Atlanta's Ameris Bank Amphitheatre, FOREIGNER is being joined by LOVERBOY.

Asked if he and his FOREIGNER bandmates already know where and when the final show of the farewell tour will take place, Hansen said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We're just starting to kind of wrap our brains around what that might be. And listen, there's a lot of pressure from a lot of different areas to get me to continue to do this. And I can't see that I'm gonna continue to do this. So we're now looking… 'Cause when you're a band like FOREIGNER, you're already booking a year in advance. So we're already deeply into 2024. But we haven't decided yet where the last show's gonna be."

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

Hansen told 100 FM The Pike about Jones: "He's with us whenever he's able to be with us. And he is still the architect of this band. And he and I have worked closely for many years. And the great thing about it is that we've always been very simpatico about our ideas and about how we think things should be done. So, yeah, whenever he can be with us, he is."

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

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

Last month, Hansen told Peachtree TV's "Monica Pearson One On One" that he hasn't yet decided what he plans to do after FOREIGNER completes what is being billed as the band's last-ever run of shows. "Well, I have a lot to do before I get to that place; I have a lot of shows I've gotta perform, I have a lot of things I have to do," he said. "But I do want to, with my wife and my family, figure out what our next chapter is and come up with those answers. Because I've been on the road doing this for almost 20 years, nine months out of the year away from home, so it doesn't give you a lot of chance to plan out the next place. But I wanna spend more time living my life.

"There are different types of people on the road," he continued. "There are people who are road people, who are, like, that's what makes them happen, is they have to be on the road doing it; it makes their world complete. And I have other passions, other things I like to do. And I want to live life and I wanna make sure that I do it wisely and give myself time and not wait too long to where things are too difficult."

Regarding what other things he likes to do, besides cooking, Hansen said: "I'm a motorcyclist, and I like to work on those and old cars and things like that. And I like — the pride of home ownership; I like to actually fix things around the house and do things. So I enjoy doing that. And I always don't have enough time to do it. And I really hate having to pay someone else to do it. [Laughs]"

Hansen previously discussed FOREIGNER's decision to call it quits this past February in an interview with the 96.1 KLPX radio station. He said: "One of my things that was important to me is that I not be out there doing these songs that I shouldn't really be doing anymore 'cause I can't do them anymore. I wanna do these songs justice and deliver them strong and vibrant and then quit while we're ahead like that. I've seen far too many people who are — for probably many different reasons — still out there when maybe they shouldn't be. And I guess everyone has their own view of their vanity, whether it's visually or instrumentally or vocally, and I think that we're really at a peak right now. It's getting harder and harder to do this really difficult, challenging but wonderful catalog of songs every year, and I just wanna do them right. And I don't wanna start having to do less of them right."

This past January, Hansen was asked in an interview with Rob Rush Radio if this is indeed FOREIGNER's last-ever trek. Kelly said: "Our plan is to do this into 2024. I've been asked many times by many different people to continue doing this. And, really, for me, it's a matter of being able to perform these songs at the level they deserve and that the fans deserve, and I cannot allow myself to do less than that, just as a human being.

"It's gotten tougher and tougher every year to sing this great catalog of songs," he admitted. "And it maybe sounds like I'm whining. I'm not trying to whine; I'm really fortunate to be able to have done this and do this with the band. It's just I don't wanna sacrifice the quality of these songs and the performance of these songs. So I think it's better to say, 'You know what? I'm gonna leave here strong and let the memory of this live thing be strong as well."

Asked what he will miss the most about touring with FOREIGNER, Kelly said: "Amazing crowds and amazing band. I mean, what a great band with people that we all enjoy being around each other. We enjoy each other's company, and playing a catalog of songs that you couldn't dream of, you couldn't buy. And as a singer, to sing so many hits songs — from the start of the show to the end of the show, there's no fluff or filler — and that's just a dream to have happen. And so I'm gonna miss all that. And it's been a hard decision to make, but I think you have to get on to these things early and make sure you're doing the right thing. I've seen far too many other live entities happen that I really feel shouldn't be out there anymore."

In celebration of Rhino's 45th anniversary this year, the label is launching Rhino Reds, a new series of limited-edition reissues pressed on custom "Rhino Red" vinyl.

The Rhino Reds series debuts with a reissue of "Golden Album", a 1968 compilation by THE DOORS that was released exclusively in Japan. This reissue was mastered by Bruce Botnick with lacquers cut by Bernie Grundman Mastering. Limited to 5,000 copies worldwide, the "Rhino Red" version of "Golden Album" is now available for $34.98 exclusively at THE DOORS and Rhinowebstores. This album will not be available in stores.

The album is a compilation of 12 songs from the Rock And Roll Hall Of Famers' first three studio albums: "The Doors", "Strange Days" and "Waiting For The Sun". Many of THE DOORS' biggest hits include the No. 1 smashes "Light My Fire" and "Hello, I Love You". Five songs from the compilation appear on the bonus seven-inch single, including the Top 40 hits "People Are Strange" and "Unknown Soldier".

"Golden Album" comes in a deluxe gatefold jacket with a tipped-in multi-page insert including lyrics to all 12 songs plus a picture sleeve for the bonus 7". There's also a vintage Elektra Records listing promoting THE DOORS albums available at that time.

The Rhino Reds series pays tribute to Rhino's rich legacy of artists and is a hallmark of the last 45 years. Each vinyl will be pressed at Third Man's state-of-the-art pressing plant in Detroit to ensure the highest audio fidelity. Likewise, Rhino's close attention to detail will bring the replica packaging to life, with gatefold jackets and tipped-in inserts for a vintage feel.

"Golden Album" LP track listing:

Side One

01. Hello, I Love You
02. Strange Days
03. The Unknown Soldier
04. Love Me Two Times
05. Back Door Man
06. The End

Side Two

01. Light My Fire
02. People Are Strange
03. Break On Through (To The Other Side)
04. Love Street
05. The Crystal Ship
06. When The Music's Over

"Golden Album" 7" (33 1/3 rpm) track listing:

Side One

01. Hello, I Love You
02. Strange Days
03. The Unknown Soldier

Side Two

01. Light My Fire
02. People Are Strange

CHEAP TRICK guitarist Rick Nielsen has weighed in on bands who rely heavily on pre-recorded tracks during their live performances.

In recent years, more and more artists have been given a pass for relying on pre-recorded tracks, drum triggers and other assorted technology that makes concerts more synthetic but also more consistent. For better or worse, pre-recorded tracks are becoming increasingly common for touring artists of all levels and genres and they're not just used in pop music — many rock artists utilize playback tracks to varying degrees.

Speaking to the Syncin' Stanley YouTube channel about KISS's and W.A.S.P.'s reliance on pre-recorded tracks, Rick said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I think they have songs that they wanna get across and maybe it's the only way that they can get 'em across, 'cause maybe they fall short with the live versions. This is just a guess. I don't know. CHEAP TRICK doesn't use backing tracks."

He continued: "I don't know. It's too bad they have to, but maybe, like I said, there's tracks that they wanna get across that they don't do so well on their own, so they use the backing tracks. And lip syncing is tough to do.

"For everyone that complains about it… What's the percentage of people that don't complain about it?" Nielsen added. "I don't really know. So it's a pretty good question. We don't personally do it. So that's what my own thoughts are. It's no different than having more people on stage with you. Sometimes you do that; sometimes you don't."

KISS frontman Paul Stanley, who has been struggling to hit the high notes in many of the band's classic songs for a number of years, has been accused of singing to a backing tape on KISS's ongoing "End Of The Road" tour.

Back in 2015, KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons slammed bands who used backing tapes for not being honest enough to include that fact on their concert tickets.

"I have a problem when you charge $100 to see a live show and the artist uses backing tracks," Simmons said. "It's like the ingredients in food. If the first ingredient on the label is sugar, that's at least honest. It should be on every ticket — you're paying $100, 30 to 50 percent of the show is [on] backing tracks and they'll sing sometimes, sometimes they'll lip sync. At least be honest. It's not about backing tracks, it's about dishonesty.

"There's nobody with a synthesizer on our stage, there's no samples on the drums, there's nothing," Gene continued. "There's very few bands who do that now — AC/DC, METALLICA, us. I can't even say that about U2 or THE [ROLLING] STONES. There's very few bands who don't use [backing] tracks."

This past March, KISS's longtime manager Doc McGhee defended Stanley's vocal performance on "End Of The Road", explaining that the "Star Child" "fully sings to every song" at every concert. He explained: It's enhanced. It's just part of the process to make sure that everybody hears the songs the way they should be sang to begin with. Nobody wants to hear people do stuff that's not real, that's not what they came to hear."

When McGhee was asked to clarify if he was "actually saying there are backing tracks that [Paul is] singing to," Doc said: "He'll sing to tracks. It's all part of a process. Because everybody wants to hear everybody sing. But he fully sings to every song."

In March 2020, SHINEDOWN guitarist Zach Myers said that "90 percent" of rock artists use at least some pre-recorded tracks during their live performances. He told Rock Feed: "It bothers me that it bothers people. I'm, like, 'Why does this bother you?' It's the way it is. People have been doing this since the '80s. And we want the sound to be the best it can be. Could we go up there, just the four of us, and put on the best rock show ever? Of course. But that's not how we wanna do it."

Former SKID ROW singer Sebastian Bach has previously said that he is "one of the last people" who are still not using pre-recorded tracks at their live shows. "I don't know how much longer I can say to you that I don't use tapes onstage, because I don't, and I never have," he told Consequence Of Sound. "And I still don't. When I have opening bands, and they're using tapes, and then I come out and I don't use tapes… sometimes, it makes me feel stupid, because I'm like, 'What am I doing, when all these kids half my age can come onstage and do all of my moves, but they don't have to warm up for an hour before the show, or weeks, before the first show?' Sometimes, I'm like, 'Why do I even bother, if the public is so used to this other way?' It's becoming very rare to come see a good band that's actually a real band — that's not miming or doing silly moves while a tape is running. It just becomes more rare as the years go on."

In 2019, IRON MAIDEN guitarist Adrian Smith said that he doesn't "agree" with certain rock artists relying on pre-recorded tracks during their live performances. "I tell you what, I see it with a lot of younger bands, and I don't think it's a good thing at all," he told the New York Post. "I mean, the music is getting too technical now. You have computerized recording systems, which we use, but I think we use them more for convenience than because we need to. We've toured with a couple bands that use tapes — it's not real. You're supposed to play live; it should be live. I don't agree with using tapes … I think it's a real shame."

One musician who has been open about his band's use of taped vocals during live performances is MÖTLEY CRÜE bassist Nikki Sixx, who said: "We've used technology since '87." He added the group employed "sequencers, sub tones, background vox tracks, plus background singers and us. [MÖTLEY CRÜE also taped] stuff we can't tour with, like cello parts in ballads, etc.... We love it and don't hide it. It's a great tool to fill out the sound."

In a 2014 interview, MÖTLEY CRÜE guitarist Mick Mars admitted that he wasn't comfortable with the fact that his band used pre-recorded backing vocals in its live shows, claiming that he preferred to watch groups whose performances are delivered entirely live. "I don't like it," he said. "I think a band like ours… I have to say '60s bands were my favorite — '60s and '70s bands — because they were real, like, three-piece bands or four-piece bands, and they just got up there and kicked it up. Made a mistake? So what? Sounded a little bit empty here or there? So what? It's the bigness and the rawness and the people that developed and wrote the songs and made them and presented them. To me, that's what I really like. I mean, I could put on a MÖTLEY CD and play with it all day long. I don't wanna do that."

The MANOWAR YouTube channel has uploaded bassist Joey DeMaio's playthrough video of "Call To Arms" recorded in his new studio, Asgard Studios New York. The track is featured on the band's 2002 album "Warriors Of The World".

This past January, new MANOWAR guitarist Michael Angelo Batio responded to the controversy about DeMaio's bass playing technique, as seen in his solo during MANOWAR's show in Mexico. Michael Angelo addressed comments arguing that Joey is playing guitar, not bass, talking about Joey's piccolo bass and explaining how Joey's and Michael Angelo's style differs from that of many other performers, and what that means for their brutal and lightning-fast performances.

DeMaio will take to the stage this November with his "Words Of Power" spoken-word tour 2023. Ten shows have been confirmed for Germany, with stops in other countries to be added. Each event will be an intimate and interactive experience, with DeMaio taking questions from the audience and engaging them with lively storytelling.

This past February, MANOWAR released a new song called "Laut Und Hart Stark Und Schnell" dedicated to the band's loyal German fans.

"Laut Und Hart Stark Und Schnell", which translates into "Loud And Hard Strong And Fast", is an anthemic mid-tempo hymn in the vein of MANOWAR's classic "Warriors Of The World United" that invites fans to sing along and raise their hands in celebration of their favorite genre and band.

"Laut Und Hart Stark Und Schnell" was first released digitally on February 10 on all major platforms and was made available during MANOWAR's German tour.

Ten months ago, MANOWAR announced that it had recruited Michael Angelo Batio, a veteran both in the studio and on stage, to play guitar for the band on its 2023 "Crushing The Enemies Of Metal" tour. The news came in the wake of guitarist Evandro "EV" Martel's announcement that he was taking a break from touring for a while for "personal reasons".

Although MANOWAR has released a couple of EPs in recent years — including "The Revenge Of Odysseus (Highlights)", which came out in June — the group hasn't issued a full-length effort since 2012's "The Lord Of Steel".

MANOWAR's two "secret" warm-up shows in June 2022 at Jovel Music Hall in Münster, Germany marked the band's debut live appearances with new drummer Dave Chedrick, who has previously played with RAVEN and KILL RITUAL, among others.

Chedrick joined MANOWAR as the replacement for Anders Johannson who announced that same month that he would be unable to join MANOWAR on the band's "Crushing The Enemies Of Metal Anniversary Tour '22/'23" due to "family commitments."

Earlier this year, Canadian rock legends THE GUESS WHO shared their brand new LP, "Plein D'Amour", via Deko Entertainment. They now continue their album rollout with the release of a brand new video for the single "People Around Me".

On "Plein D'Amour", bandmembers Derek Sharp, Michael Staertow, Leonard Shaw, Michael Devin and founding member Garry Peterson have crafted a collection of songs that raises the bar and continues to take it up a notch both musically and sonically. The album was recorded at Villa Sound in Singhampton, Ontario, Canada, with Adam Fair. It features other standout tracks such as "Headline" and "Across The Line". Artwork for the release was provided by world-renowned graphic designer Ioannis (DEEP PURPLE, ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND, LED ZEPPELIN, etc.).

In February, THE GUESS WHO shared the first single off their new album, "The King". Upon its release, the track immediately landed on multiple editorial Spotify playlists. With follow-up singles "Plein D'Amour" and "Headline", the three tracks racked up over 250,000 streams collectively and making this record the highest new release in the band's history.

In celebration of their new release, THE GUESS WHO has already embarked on a full North American tour that will take them through the end of 2023.

THE GUESS WHO is a legendary band which enjoyed chart-topping hits in the late 1960s and early 1970s with an impressive catalogue of songs including "American Woman", "These Eyes" and "No Time". During the course of its career, the band has released 11 studio albums, and charted 14 Top 40 hit singles, 2 of which went to number one in the United States. THE GUESS WHO is best known internationally for its 1970 album "American Woman", which hit number one in Canada and number nine in the United States, with five other albums also hitting the top ten in Canada. Their fan base spans multiple generations. Very few bands have survived numerous member changes — let alone having smash hits with each lineup — but THE GUESS WHO's motto is "the music is the message."

The most recent and up-to-date version of the band has mastered a wildly entertaining romp through the early hits mixed in with their current creations, while managing to take the whole experience to a new level. Their live show is a celebration of life, being alive, and thriving in these uncertain times.

Last November, Peterson told TribLive that he has never entertained thoughts of leaving THE GUESS WHO. "The reason why is because I spent from 1962 to today devoting my entire adolescence and adult life to this band and to the creation of music in this band and the promotion of music created by this band," he said. "So, I think when you're that heavily invested, unless you're looking for something that you’re not getting out of this band, you would stay in it."

Former THE GUESS WHO members Burton Cummings and Randy Bachman have been highly critical of the latest iteration of THE GUESS WHO, calling it a cover band and "the fake GUESS WHO." Peterson, for his part, doesn't let the criticism bother him.

"They decided to go on to their own careers, which I respect and I support,” Peterson told TribLive. "You have to, in life, do what you feel you're called to do. My calling is to be in THE GUESS WHO."

Photo courtesy of Tell All Your Friends PR

It is impossible to talk about experimental or avant-garde metal without mentioning long-running metal icons MESHUGGAH. Since forming in 1987 in Umeå, Sweden, MESHUGGAH has developed into one of the most technically complex and virtuosic groups of players the metal realm has ever encountered, their distinctly unique brand of progressive, groove‐infused extreme metal inadvertently launching an entirely new subgenre. Crowned "one of the ten most important hard and heavy bands," by Rolling Stone, MESHUGGAH has earned the respect and admiration from fans and musicians alike.

2023 now marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of one of the band's earliest milestones: "Chaosphere". Originally released on November 9, 1998, MESHUGGAH's third full-length studio album shows the band toning down some of the thrashier sounds of previous releases in favor of the more technical, polyrhythmic, groove-oriented sound they would go to explore on subsequent albums. The record contains the songs "New Millennium Cyanide Christ", "Corridor Of Chameleons" and "Neurotica", some of the band's most streamed tracks, among other highlights.

Wrote Revolver of the ground-breaking offering, "From the concrete-crushing opener 'Concatenation' to the barbed, apocalyptic 'Elastic', which ends with almost twenty-minutes of feedback and noise, MESHUGGAH presents a relentless mechanical barrage of synapse-frying rhythms and trudging, off-kilter riffs." Pitchfork concurred, "Paced more evenly than 'Destroy Erase Improve', the hard-thrashing 'Chaosphere' offers a snapshot of MESHUGGAH at their most fluid, as an unrelenting procession of uptempo riffs swirls in a rhythmic vortex." Added Sputnik Music, "'Chaosphere' stands as the band's most robust statement; a progressive, complex beast that hints at both old and new yet stands out as MESHUGGAH's most primal, raw and perhaps pure representation of their sound. It may seem contradictory to say this but through all of its contradictions, it becomes all things to all the qualities of good music. Highly recommended."

To commemorate the album's quarter-century anniversary, Atomic Fire will unleash a sonically updated version of the album on November 10. The re-release of this masterpiece comes in hi-def audio remastered by Thomas Eberger and Sofia Von Hage at Stockholm Mastering on all streaming platforms, as well as a jewel case CD edition (including an eight-page booklet),and stunning new vinyl colors (most are limited worldwide to under 1500 of each color, 180 grams, 2cLP in 5 mm Sleeve incl. 2-page insert),to complete every collector's dream.

Preorder yours today at this location.

MESHUGGAH will return to U.S. and Canadian stages for a nineteen-date tour this fall with support provided by special guests IN FLAMES and WHITECHAPEL. Produced by Live Nation, the journey begins on November 21 in San Diego, California and runs through December 16 in Laval, Quebec. The tour marks the first time in five years MESHUGGAH has played on Canadian soil. The final show will also include the addition of VOIVOD.

Coal Chamber, featuring DevilDriver frontman Dez Fafara, performesd at iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre in West Palm Beach, FL ono July 20th. Front row fan-filmed video of the  entire show can be viewed below.


The setlist was as follows:


"Loco"
"Fiend"
"Big Truck"
"I.O.U. Nothing"
"Rowboat" (Flood cover)
"Drove"
"El Cu Cuy"
"Dark Days"
"Oddity"
"Another Nail in the Coffin"
"Something Told Me"
"Sway"







Rare Bird Books has set September 15 as the release date for DevilDriver/Coal Chamber frontman Des Farara's autobiography, Loco: Chaos, Calamity, And Coal Chamber.


Description: Loco is the first volume of autobiography from Dez Fafara. The California-born and raised everyman is now the singer and leader of the band DevilDriver, artist manager, multiple brand owner, and motivational guru. In the period of time covered in Loco, though, Dez was just Bradley Fafara, a Hollywood club kid who escaped a lifetime wasted (in both senses) on the beach to become one of the 1990's most vivid rock stars.


With his band Coal Chamber, Dez pioneered a whole new sound and visual, touring the world, battling innumerable obstacles and ultimately breaking free to go solo with DevilDriver, the focus of Volume Two of Fafara's two-book autobiography plan.


Titled after Coal Chamber’s 1997 hit, Loco describes the arc of a man who was ripped off, let down, and beaten up, but who never quit—and who ultimately achieved his own form of redemption. Includes 50+ black-and-white and full-color images.


Further details to follow.

Speaking with Classic Rock for the publication's tribute issue to AC/DC's 50th anniversary, Saxon frontman Biff Byford revealed how how Angus & Co.'s 1976 debut, High Voltage, changed his life.


Byford: “Someone gave me a cassette of High Voltage, and the second I heard 'It’s A Long Way To The Top (If You Wanna Rock’N’Roll)', I immediately ran to the boys (in Saxon) to show it them. I played it in our van for about five months straight!”


Byford adds that High Voltage altered the DNA of his own band, who were a few years from releasing their debut album and still trying to perfect their sound. 




"We liked the energy of punk, because it was fast and furious, but we needed AC/DC for that groove. Put the two together and you get Saxon."





To read the full piece, including Byford on the time Saxon went on to play with AC/DC after the release of Back In Black and his memories of the first time he saw AC/DC live, plus stars including Paul Stanley, Rick Nielsen, Joe Elliott and more on their favourite AC/DC albums, get the latest issue of Classic Rock here.