Fan-filmed video of MACHINE HEAD's June 3 performance at The Fillmore in Detroit, Michigan can be seen below (courtesy of Front Row Bobby). It marked the band's first full concert with new touring guitarist Ben Eller, a YouTuber and session musician who previously toured with MASTODON after the departure of Brent Hinds in early 2025.

In a video message shared on MACHINE HEAD's social media just hours before the Detroit show, the band's frontman Robb Flynn said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET):  "Hanging out in Detroit, opening night of the KILLSWITCH ENGAGE tour. And honestly, it's a pretty special night for us. We are going to be bringing out Ben Eller on the guitar to do the whole show with us. The other night [June 1] in Pittsburgh, we brought him out to do the last three songs, but tonight's gonna be the first full show that he does with the band. So, definitely excited to see how this goes. We've been throwing a lot of songs at him, and he's had a very short amount of time to learn it all. But, yeah, definitely looking forward to tonight. Can't wait to see the Michigan headcases out there raging. We'll see you in the pit."

In June 2025, guitarist Reece Alan Scruggs announced that he would sit out MACHINE HEAD's summer 2025 European tour in order to stay home with his father, who had been diagnosed with lung cancer. Playing guitar for MACHINE HEAD at various shows on the trek were MACHINE HEAD producer Zack Ohren and DECAPITATED's Wacław "Vogg" Kiełtyka.

Kiełtyka, who joined MACHINE HEAD's lineup prior to the launch of the band's "Burn My Eyes" 25th-anniversary tour in late 2019, left the Flynn-fronted act in February 2024 and was replaced by Scruggs, who has previously filled in for Vogg on a couple of tours.

Reece made his live debut with MACHINE HEAD in November 2022 at Strummer's in Fresno, California at the opening show of the "Electric Happy Hour (Live)" tour.

Vogg was back in MACHINE HEAD's lineup for most of the shows on the April/May 2026 "An Evening With…" European tour.

MACHINE HEAD's eleventh studio album, "Unatoned", came out in April 2025 via Nuclear Blast/Imperium Recordings.

In a new interview with "Reckless" Rexx Ruger of the Pod Scum podcast, CANDLEBOX frontman Kevin Martin was asked how he and his bandmates feel about the prospect of releasing full-length albums nowadays. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I think Pete [original CANDLEBOX guitarist Peter Klett] really wants to release [full-length] records. I don't believe in releasing records anymore. I think it's a waste of time. I think you just release a song when you've got it. Get in the studio and track a song and put it out, because nobody's selling records anymore. I don't even know the last PEARL JAM record, how many it sold. I don't know if it sold — it probably didn't go gold, for sure. I mean, what's the point? People just want music. They want new music from the bands they like, and my opinion is, release three songs and do another three the next year and another three after that."

Kevin continued: "We're in charge of our own career now. We're not signed to any label. We're completely independent. We've got a great agent, we have a great attorney and a great management, and that's really, for us, all we need. I mean, if a record company came in and said, 'We wanna give you half a million dollars to make a record,' I wouldn't shy away from it. But that's not gonna happen. I'm the realist where I'm, like, no one's giving us money to make albums, so let's just go in the studio, pay for the studio time ourselves. We're actually going to Matt Sorum's [ex-GUNS N' ROSES drummer] studio in Palm Springs in August to record three tracks — GoodNoise, which is an awesome studio, and I've been friends with Matt for years. He actually was producing demos for us for our third record back in '97, so I've known him since then. And he's always been, 'Man, come use the studio. It's yours. Don't worry about it.' So I'm looking forward to that, because for me, environment is everything when we're working. And I think [2021's] 'Wolves' was written — we wrote that record really fast, but [2023's] 'The Long Goodbye' was written between an East Coast session and a West Coast session. And what I like about that is you put yourself in an environment and it gives you different energy, and that's why I think 'The Long Goodbye' has such an eclectic style to it. Half those songs are East Coast, half those songs are West Coast."

Kevin added: "Guys our age, we still listen to records. I just downloaded this young artist. I listened to one song, and I went through her entire catalog. Her name is Emily Wolfe. And I just was, like, 'Hold on, man. This is killer.' … And I put the collection on shuffle and just got into it. But people don't do that anymore. They want what's on the radio, they want the single. It's kind of like we're thrown back into the '40s and '50s, or even early '60s when you had these kinda songwriters writing songs for everybody else, and you just got the single, and you didn't get a record. And I'm okay with that. I think that's fine."

Regarding what still keeps him going after more than three decades, Kevin said: "It's funny. [BUSH frontman] Gavin [Rossdale] said something interesting in a text when we finished that [CANDLEBOX] tour [with BUSH]. I texted him a couple of weeks later, and I was, like, 'Hey, man. How are you doing? Everything good?' And he's, like, 'yeah,' he goes, 'It's so strange to come home, there's no applause.' And it is intoxicating, but I don't think that's why any of us do it. I think for us it's you have this artistic talent, you have this gift that people love, and you give it to them, and they give you love back."

Kevin continued: "We're all searching for some kind of semblance of self, and what is my life? And I'm 57. How much more time do I have? I was on the treadmill today. I was, like, 'God, I could drop dead right now.' That's always in the back of your mind. And I think that realizing that I'm mortal is a hard thing to swallow. So I don't go out and do it because I need the accolade, but I do love that accolade. I do love the applause. I do love the singing. We just did South America to 3,000 screaming fans, and an hour before we went on stage they started with the soccer chanting. And we played a two-hour set, and they never stopped singing the whole show. And I wish America still had that passion that Latin countries have, that South America has, that Mexico has. Everybody in America's become so jaded, and they've lost that love of the show. Now, that doesn't mean everybody, because, of course, you go see a SHINEDOWN show and it's, like, 15,000 people screaming at the top of their lungs, which is amazing. And I'm so proud of those guys for that. But then you go to Coachella, and Madonna hops up on stage with Sabrina Carpenter, and people are more interested in taking selfies of themselves than being in the moment. And that wouldn't happen in South America. That does not happen in South America. It doesn't happen in Central America or Mexico. These people are ridiculous for music, man. And even Europe. We've done European festivals that… Every time I go to Europe, people are always, like, 'Why don't you come over to Europe enough or more?' And I'm, like, 'It's so expensive, I lose money every time we go there,' but I love it because when we do go there, there's 20,000 people at that festival we're playing singing 'Far Behind'. And it's the greatest. And even when they don't know you… We played a show with SLAYER in Belgium, and the crowd had no idea who CANDLEBOX was until we played 'Far Behind'. But early on in the set, we started the set, and we watched thousands of people come in, stop and then come in further, and then they just kept coming. And we grabbed 'em, and they loved it. And that was a perfect moment for me. It was, like, okay, this is why I do this, is to turn people on to what this band is and what this band has meant to me for 35 years."

Two months ago, Kevin explained to Chile's Radio Futuro why he decided to back out of his plans to retire from touring, despite the fact that he and his CANDLEBOX bandmates announced their "farewell" tour, "The Long Goodbye", and released what was being billed as their "final" album of the same name three years ago. He said: "Well, it had a lot to do with the [2024] BUSH tour with Jerry Cantrell. I had kind of packed things up after the 3 DOORS DOWN tour. And then I got a call to go out with Gavin and Jerry and do that run. And then Pete came back [to the band]. And bringing Pete back into the picture really kind of reinvigorated me. I hadn't played with him since, really, 2015. So, 10 years of us kind of being a part and me continuing to make music — when old friends get back together and kind of chat about the times, it really just re-inspired me to keep going. And to be honest with you, I think my wife was really sick of me being at home so much. She was, like, 'You don't need to be around here [all the time].'"

CANDLEBOX released "A Little Longer Goodbye (Tour Edition)", the digital deluxe version of the album "The Long Goodbye", on all DSPs in July 2024 via Round Hill Records. The digital release featured the 12 tracks on the record plus two bonus live songs, "Elegante" and "Cellphone Jesus" (recorded at Club Amanda in Santiago, Chile on October 27, 2023),as well as the single "Washed Up".

In a new interview with Drummer's Review presenter Ollie Winiberg, KORN drummer Ray Luzier was asked what piece of advice he would give to aspiring drummers. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Aspiring drummers? Go to law school. No… Get a doctor degree, and then... No. You know, it's a wacky, wacky road, especially today. It's not like it was when I was getting my start back in the day.

"Everyone knows that the Internet rules everything — everybody's online doing everything, everybody's doing this — so it's a lot of figuring out the system of today," he explained. "But stop relying on... One thing that bums me out about today is a lot of drummers will play — they'll just get by, 'cause they know in the studio it can get fixed. That stuff drives me nuts. Play your instrument. Get in the garage and suck. I don't care if it's for five, 10 years — whatever you need to do — play with musicians all the time. Play with people. Don't rely on the studio, 'cause people are getting burnt out on the whole stale, stiff, soulless music… We're all humans, we're not perfect, but you can perfect or get close to what you want to achieve on your instrument by putting the time in. So put the time in on your instrument. Stop relying on the studio to help you fix everything."

Ray is best known for his work with the multi-Grammy-winning band KORN, which he joined in 2007. Before that, he recorded and toured with David Lee Roth (1997 - 2005),Jake E. Lee, Billy Sheehan, THE NIXONS, ARCADE, HIDEOUS SUN DEMONS and ARMY OF ANYONE. Ray released an instructional DVD based on his teaching years at Musicians Institute. He also realized a childhood dream by playing drums on a dozen albums for the famed Shrapnel Records label.

In 1998, Ray's determination and amazing ability to network landed him behind the drum kit for the David Lee Roth band, a gig he held down for over seven years.

When KORN was looking for a new drummer, Luzier reportedly flew to Seattle to audition on then-fill-in drummer Joey Jordison's last day with the group. When told to learn only five of KORN songs, Ray learned over thirty.

Luzier was raised just outside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania before moving to Los Angeles in 1988 to pursue a career in music.

A little over a decade ago, Ray relocated his family — wife Aspen Brandy Lea and their two sons, Hudson Ray and Beck Jagger — to Franklin, Tennessee.

Ray lived in Los Angeles for 16 years before moving to Nashville.

Photo credit: Tim Saccenti

"The Singularity" is the name of Emmy- and BAFTA Award-winning composer Bear McCreary's symphonic metal project. In 2024, McCreary released an ambitious hard rock concept album of the same name. The album featured guest appearances by an extraordinary lineup of rock talent, including Serj Tankian (SYSTEM OF A DOWN),Corey Taylor (SLIPKNOT),Rufus Wainwright and more.

Due on July 31 via Sparks & Shadows Records and Mutant is the follow-up album, "The Singularity: Ekleipsis", which continues the metal saga of a damaged world in turmoil. Penned primarily by McCreary and his multi-talented brother, Brendan, "Ekleipsis" draws its name from the ancient Greek word meaning "abandonment" and explores themes of disillusionment and perseverance through struggle.

Another impressive collection of rock and metal luminaries are featured on the new album — it's truly a who's who of the hard rock world and the guest list includes: Joseph Duplantier (GOJIRA),Patrick Stump (FALL OUT BOY),Claudio Sanchez (COHEED AND CAMBRIA),Jens Kidman (MESHUGGAH),Alissa White-Gluz (ARCH ENEMY),Tim Henson (POLYPHIA),Steve Vai, Slash (GUNS N' ROSES),Duff McKagan (GUNS N' ROSES),Chad Smith (RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS),Stewart Copeland (THE POLICE),and more.

Today, McCreary shares "Cool Kids", featuring Slash, Duff McKagan, Chad Smith and Brendan McCreary.

Bear comments: "'Cool Kids' was born when [bassist] Duff McKagan sent me a voice memo of a riff he was messing around with. My ears perked up instantly — his riff was undeniable! So Duff and I went into the studio the next week along with my brother, vocalist Brendan McCreary, and [drummer] Chad Smith from RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS and wrote the song together. We went in with Duff's initial riff and our enthusiasm, and walked out with 'Cool Kids'. When Slash got back into town, he added his signature screaming guitar parts, and there it was.

"'Cool Kids' is a song about all of us being proudly who we are, but I wouldn't blame anybody for assuming the title was inspired by the fact that Brendan and I got to create this song with the coolest kids in rock and roll."

When "The Singularity: Ekleipsis" was first announced in late April, said in a statement: "I need more cinematic metal in my life! 'The Singularity: Ekleipsis' builds upon the musical and narrative themes of my 2024 album 'The Singularity', and this time around it rocks even harder. My brother, vocalist/producer Brendan McCreary, and I were once again thrilled to partner with a number of inspiring artists for this record, each of whom brought their unique musical personalities and perspectives to the project.

"'Black Box', our debut single, was written in collaboration with and features Joe Duplantier, of the iconic band GOJIRA. It blends my cinematic background with Joe's distinctive vocals, harmonized beautifully by the legendary women's choir the Mystery Of The Bulgarian Voices. Equally inspired by '90s alternative bands, Eastern European folk music, symphonic film scores, and progressive metal, 'Black Box' encapsulates the epic scope of 'Ekleipsis' while just cracking open the door to the rest of the album."

"The Singularity: Ekleipsis" track listing:

01. Overture II
02. Our Kingdom (feat. Alissa White-Gluz and Brendan McCreary)
03. The Chandelier (feat. Patrick Stump)
04. Black Box (Feat. Joe Duplantier and The Mystery Of The Bulgarian Voices)
05. Kill Us Anyway (feat. Brendan McCreary)
06. Sweet Misery (feat. Claudio Sanchez and Tim Henson)
07. Blueshift (feat. Steve Vai, Tim Henson, and Brendan McCreary)
08. Alexandria (feat. Raya Yarbrough and Guthrie Govan)
09. Pray For A Storm (feat. Stewart Copeland and Brendan McCreary)
10. Supernova (feat. N.T. Bullock)
11. Cool Kids (feat. Slash, Duff McKagan, Chad Smith, and Brendan McCreary)
12. Shades Of Gray (feat. Brendan McCreary)
13. The Elephant's Foot (feat. Jens Kidman)
14. One Fine Day (feat. Slash and Brendan McCreary)
15. I Forever (feat. Brendan McCreary)

McCreary has also announced an eight-date West Coast tour for September.

Award-winning composer and recording artist Bear McCreary began his career as a protégé of legendary film composer Elmer Bernstein, before bursting on to the scene scoring the revered series "Battlestar Galactica" in 2004. Since then, McCreary has won three Emmy Awards, including two for Disney's "Percy Jackson And The Olympians" and one for his theme for "Da Vinci's Demons", a musical palindrome, and has won twelve International Film Music Critics Association Awards, including the award for "Score Of The Year" in 2024, his second. Named the 23rd Most Definitive Bear In Popular Culture (The Ringer),he's also been the subject of a clue on "Jeopardy!" Project highlights include "The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power" (Amazon); "Foundation" (Apple TV); the beloved series "Outlander" (STARZ); "Godzilla: King Of The Monsters" (Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures); "The Walking Dead" (AMC); and Netflix's Academy Award-nominated documentary "Crip Camp" (produced by Barack and Michelle Obama). McCreary's celebrated scores for Sony PlayStation's blockbusters "God Of War" and "God Of War Ragnarök" have earned him two BAFTA Awards and two Grammy nominations. McCreary has collaborated with artists from across the musical spectrum, including Hozier, Fiona Apple, Shirley Manson (GARBAGE),Annie Lennox, and the late Sinéad O'Connor. In 2014, maestro Gustavo Dudamel conducted a suite of McCreary's music with the L.A. Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl.

ARISE FROM WORMS, the brainchild of guitarist Sonny Lombardozzi, will release its debut studio album, "A Bleeding Tree Hanging Self Destruction", on July 10 via Church Road Records.

ARISE FROM WORMS is not just a musical project, but an outlet for Lombardozzi to push the envelope of extreme music, challenging the listener to leave behind preconceptions of genre limitations and to approach the music with an open mind. In his exploration of the musical outer limits, he is joined by fellow seasoned pros Steve Tucker (MORBID ANGEL) on vocals, Flo Mounier (CRYPTOPSY) on drums and Derek Sherinian (DREAM THEATER, Steve Vai, Yngwie Malmsteen) on keyboards.

The project began while Sonny was on tour with MORBID ANGEL. Sonny explained the concept of the band to Tucker, who was intrigued and fully committed to getting involved. Sonny wasted no time and began handwriting transcripts for what would become the earliest ARISE FROM WORMS material, while on tour.

Once off the road, plans for the band were fully cemented with Flo and Derek joining the fold. As a taste of things to come, they released their 2022 self-titled EP which quickly sold out of its first vinyl pressing. This EP featured the track "Axes Of The Void II" with guest vocalist Dallas Toler-Wade (ex-NILE).

Having laid the foundations, the band is now ready to release its defining statement with "A Bleeding Tree Hanging Self Destruction".

Fans of all the musicians involved will be satisfied by this release, but not due to knowing what to expect, but by hearing something completely new and ground breaking. Sonny has made it his mission to tap deep into some of the world's forgotten music, and lesser-known theories, scales and harmonies. For people with musical theory understanding, Sonny has incorporated the double harmonic major, F#Lydian #2 #6 and the lonian Aug#2 into his compositions. Combining jazz fusion with classical music theory has given the band its own sound of unique harmonies and odd time signatures.

The LP's lead single, "Forgotten Kings", can be heard below.

ARISE FROM WORMS is:

Steve Tucker (vocals)
Sonny Lombardozzi (guitars, bass and violins)
Flo Mounier (drums)
Derek Sherinian (keyboards)

"A Bleeding Tree Hanging Self Destruction" track listing:

01. Forgotten Kings
02. Power Obsessed
03. Raize Demons Breath
04. Psionic Being
05. Nine Walls
06. Laolongtou
07. Axes Of The Viovode 1
08. Axes Of The Viovode 2
09. Persepolis (available on physical release only)

Photo credit: Tina Korhonen (courtesy of Church Road Records)

In a new interview with Australia's Today show, WARRANT guitarist Erik Turner spoke about the fact that the band's hit song "Cherry Pie" is reaching a whole new generation thanks to the hit Prime Video series "Off Campus". A college soap based on Elle Kennedy's bestselling book series, "Off Campus" follows an elite ice hockey team, and the women in their lives, as they grapple with love, heartbreak, and self-discovery — forging deep friendships and enduring bonds while navigating the complexities that come with transitioning into adulthood. The first season, which follows the sexy and fun "opposites attract" romance between quiet songwriter Hannah Wells and Briar University's all-star hockey athlete Garrett Graham, is reportedly now the third most-watched debut series of all time on Prime Video, with a combined 36 million viewers in its first two weeks. In the show's episode three, Hannah's karaoke performance of "Cherry Pie" becomes one of the show's most talked-about moments.

Asked if he knew "Cherry Pie" was going to be used in "Off Campus" before the episode aired, Erik said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I did not know they were gonna use it. My wife's phone started blowing up. All her friends were texting her. They're, like, 'Oh, we just heard 'Cherry Pie' on this TV show 'Off Campus' and all that, so we started watching it. It's a good show, and, of course, when we got to episode three, that's where she sings 'Cherry Pie' karaoke style, and it's great… But it's great. I'm glad that the producers and the actors and writers are having fun with it. It's awesome that they're not scared to get a little edgy, push the boundaries, and it's working. It's great entertainment. Everybody's having fun with it. We're having fun with it, and we're so stoked."

Asked if WARRANT is seeing a huge spike in streams and downloads due to the song's appearance in "Off Campus", Erik said: "I think so. We normally put out a video or something, maybe it gets 20, 40,000 streams. These streams we're putting out are, like, two million streams. So, yeah, that's really a big difference. And our Apple, our Spotify, everything's blowing up. So we're really grateful and we're really excited, and it's so cool that a younger generation is hearing our music. It's cool."

Erik was also asked if he sees "Cherry Pie"'s inclusion in "Off Campus" as "part of a resurgence in hair metal" now. He responded: "I don't know if it's a resurgence. We play, like, 50 shows a year. That's still happening. Definitely, with the Internet stuff, online stuff, there's definitely more interest in the band and the song, which is great. We had something similar happen with 'Guitar Hero II'. It's a video game, and all of a sudden all these kids are coming out with their parents asking us to sign their controllers. So this whole new generation, in 2000 — whatever it was, '07 or '04; I'm not sure — we saw a similar thing, but not nearly as big as this."

Back in 2018, Turner told Green Bay, Wisconsin radio station 94.3 Jack FM that he never gets tired of performing some of WARRANT's biggest hits, like "Cherry Pie" and "Heaven". "We always play it in a different place, [in front of] different people," he said. "If there's a lot of people there having a good time and you're having a couple of beers, it never, ever gets old watching people sing your songs and lyrics and scream and shout when you're done playing that song ['Cherry Pie']. Now, that said, if we rehearsed a lot, it would not be fun to play those songs in the room by ourselves — no, absolutely not. But you put yourself in that atmosphere and you get a response to, say, 'Down Boys' or 'Uncle Tom's Cabin', 'Sometimes She Cries'… we've got a bunch of songs… 'I Saw Red' and 'Cherry Pie' and stuff like that. So it never gets old, no."

During an interview that aired in May 2006 as part of VH1's "Heavy: The Story of Metal" four-part documentary tracing the evolution of heavy metal music and culture, original WARRANT singer Jani Lane stated about "Cherry Pie", "I hate that song. I had no intention of writing that song. The record was done. The record was called 'Uncle Tom's Cabin'. And Donny Inner [president of Columbia Records] called up and said, 'I don't hear the single. You gotta give me a fucking single like 'Love in an Elevator'. I need something like that.' So that night I wrote 'Cherry Pie'. Sent it to him. He lived with it over the weekend. Then all of a sudden the album's called 'Cherry Pie'. The record's called 'Cherry Pie'. I'm doing cherry-pie-eating contests. The single's 'Cherry Pie'. Right? If I'm lying, I'm dying. And my legacy's 'Cherry Pie'. Everything about me is 'Cherry Pie'. I'm the 'Cherry Pie' guy. I could shoot myself in the fucking head for writing that song."

Speaking to the "Taz at Night" show on Kalamazoo's 92.5 WZUU radio station in November 2007, Lani dismissed his "Heavy: The Story of Metal" comments, claiming, "They [VH1 producers] just caught me on a bad day. It was a bad moment — I was going through a divorce, my mom had just passed away, all this stuff was going on — and they sit me down in a chair and wanna start grilling me with questions, and I didn't wanna be there, so… You know, push that interview to the side, I'm happy as a clam to have written a song that is still being played and still dug by so many people. It's hard enough to write a song, let alone one that sticks around."

Lane recorded several albums with WARRANT in late 1980s and early 1990s but left the group several times. The band's seventh studio LP, "Born Again", was released in 2006 and featured Jaime St. James as the lead singer. In 2008, Lane returned to WARRANT temporarily and toured with the group. In September that year, WARRANT announced that Jani had left again. The band replaced him with Robert Mason.

Lane died in August 2011 at age 47. Paramedics found his body in a Comfort Inn motel room in Woodland Hills, California, which is near Los Angeles. Lane had battled alcohol abuse for years.

During a June 2 appearance on SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", DEF LEPPARD guitarist Phil Collen spoke about the possibility of him and his bandmates staging a run of shows at the Sphere in Las Vegas, Nevada. Asked if he has seen any shows at the Sphere yet, Phil said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I have. Well, I only saw 'The Wizard Of Oz' [immersive experience] in there, but I've seen lots of stuff [online about it]. And this isn't a diss or anything, but it seems that it's the Sphere featuring whatever band it is. It could be anyone. And that's what we'd be a bit scared of. I mean, I'd love to play there — it'd be awesome, it's incredible, and it'd be a great experience — but I think that people focus on just the production as opposed to the band. So we'll see. I don't know. I mean, I could be wrong. But, yeah, I'd love to play there, absolutely. We definitely would. So we'll see."

Reflecting on his own experience at the Sphere, Phil said: "We were there, obviously, [for] 'The Wizard Of Oz', and [my son] Jackson caught one of those apples that come out of the sky, which was kind of cool. But it's fascinating. It's amazing. I just wondered [what it would be like to see a band there], 'cause I wasn't quite sure. I haven't seen a band in there, and that's always a concern that you'd come out there and it'd be, like, 'Yeah, the Sphere was great. Oh yeah, and I saw U2 or THE EAGLES there as well,' type of thing. Or it doesn't matter, whether the whole experience kind of overshadows one or the other. It depends. But, yeah, I guess we'll find out."

The Las Vegas Sphere is a 17,600-capacity venue which has transformed live entertainment since opening in September 2023.

Known for its immersive entertainment experiences, including concerts and films, featuring a state-of-the-art 16K resolution wraparound screen and a powerful sound system, the Las Vegas Sphere is nestled near the Venetian Resort and Wynn Las Vegas just off the Las Vegas Strip.

The Sphere has already hosted residencies from a number of legendary rockers, including U2, PHISH, DEAD & COMPANY and THE EAGLES.

U2 opened the building with 160,000-square-foot LED screens and 4D features, playing to more 700,000 fans across 40 sold-out dates from September 2023 through March 2024. The shows commemorated one of U2's most successful albums, the chart-topping 1991 release "Achtung Baby", played in its entirety, along with select tracks from other U2 LPs.

Sphere's next-generation technologies include the world's highest-resolution LED display that wraps up, over and around the audience, creating a fully immersive visual environment. The venue also features the world's most advanced concert-grade audio system, Sphere Immersive Sound, powered by HOLOPLOT, which delivers audio with unmatched clarity and precision to every guest.

During a question-and-answer session at last year's "KISS Kruise: Landlocked In Vegas", KISS frontman Paul Stanley said the prospect of performing at the Sphere in Las Vegas didn't appeal to him because he felt the technology that is used overshadowed the music.

"From the time the Sphere opened, people would say to us, 'You guys are a natural for the Sphere,'" Stanley said at the time. "I'm not really so sold on the idea because KISS has always been about being larger than life, and at the Sphere, the band is on a postage stamp. For my money, I think you don't even need a live band there. People are watching the screens, which are amazing — what's being programmed, the content, is incredible, but I want the band to matter. You forget that there's a band on that little stage, so I'm not really sure how we would do it."

This past March, METALLICA added 16 dates to its Sphere residency, tripling the number of shows for the engagement, which begins in early October and now extends into 2027. All 24 "Life Burns Faster" shows will continue the "No Repeat Weekend" tradition that began with the 2023 kick-off of the band's "M72" world tour, with no songs repeated on each Thursday and Saturday.

METALLICA originally announced eight dates at the venue between October 1 and 31 October, but later added shows in November (November 5 and 7),January (January 28 and 30),February (February 4, 6, 18, 20, 25, and 27),and March (March 4, 6, 11, and 13).

In a new interview with Donny Fandango of the St. Louis radio station 105.7 The Point, SHINEDOWN singer Brent Smith and guitarist Zach Myers addressed the fact that the band's upcoming album, "Ei8ht", contains 18 songs, which is almost enough for a double LP. Brent said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I think overall, the idea was that we just kept writing, and when we felt like we were in a place that it felt complete... What's the saying about songwriting and putting a record out? It's, like, you don't ever finish it; you just run out of time."

Added Zach: "Yeah, yeah. That's basically what happens. That was what happened the last three records, for sure. I think that we just kind of knew that these songs were supposed to be on this record, and, again, we kept writing. And that was kind of the main thing for us."

Brent continued: "The biggest thing, too, was the fact that, like, last year, we have to look at... So we're always taking a step back to look at the peripheral. We have a lot of people in our crew that are on retainers, because they're the best in the business. But also, too, as we're developing certain things, you have these timeframes that go by where you're off the road, but you need to facilitate, what's the next visual aspect, the next sonic aspect of things. So we knew that we weren't gonna be able to get a record completely finished before we actually started to release music and/or put a completely different stage together, which Zach did.

"Coming off of 'Planet Zero', we decided that we were gonna release these singles. We knew of the four," Smith explained. "'Searchlight' was actually a surprise, releasing that last year. And then, obviously, with the announce of the album this year, 'Safe And Sound', which is out currently, we just decided to release singles last year, but it was always gonna be a part of this album. But also, Zach built a show from the ground up, which was not an easy feat. We all work with him on it, but a lot of times he has to put it in motion… But on top of that also, I will tell you this. Of the years we've been doing this, it doesn't really have to do with the fact that this is the most current body of work. Me personally, I'm the most proud of this album, of any of them. There's a difference in writing songs or putting singles out, and then artists that still understand that the album is king, or queen, however you wanna look at it. And we still make albums, man. There's a lot of work that went into this. This is a record that took a year and a half to make."

After Fandango noted that the members of SHINEDOWN have always been so supportive of radio in the U.S., Zach said: "[Brent] has a great statement that he kind of said on a whim last year, which was, like, 'If you wanna get your music heard, it's fine streaming, but if you wanna have a career, go to radio.' And that's really the truth. And honestly, when we came out, we weren't these MTV darlings. We weren't on the cover of Rolling Stone. We weren't on the cover of these magazines. We pushed radio, and radio helped us, and we drove around in cars and went to every radio station at 6:00 a.m. and played all of 'em. And I think from that moment on, radio was with us and we were with radio. And also, man, it's like getting in your car and listening to the radio, there's something so spiritual to me about that. It's such a moment that, like... And I think, I feel like it's coming back with vinyl and all these things. People just don't wanna listen to a playlist anymore. They wanna hear someone talk to them and tell them about a song. And for us, man, everything we have was built on radio and playing live. That's it. We weren't on VH1. We weren't on MTV. We were a little bit later, but at the beginning, our live shows and radio is how we built this thing. So how can you not support and love something that made you who you are? And I just think it's just who we've always been."

Added Brent: "And honestly, to the newer artists that are out there, don't disrespect radio, especially in North America and Canada. And radio's a little different in the U.K. and Europe and some of the other parts of the world, and Australia and what have you. But the fact of the matter is, from day one, radio has always been very, very upfront with us. Like, 'Hey, we like what you're doing, but it's a mutual relationship.' And at the end of the day, you guys and girls are what bring the music to the people, and then the people will decide whether you stay or whether you go. But we wanna build those relationships. We're the only band or artist that I know of — we've been with Atlantic Records for over two decades, but we're the only artist that I know of on the label that's on six different formats. And why am I bringing that up? Radio, from all the formats, have always embraced us if we had the songs. It always came down to the songs. You either have it or you don't. And that's all about, we see it firsthand… And I do understand what streaming is in the modern day, but yeah, that gets your music played, but radio will give you a career if you're respectful to radio. Because you're going into these towns and into these cities and into these different countries and what have you, and it's very specific to what those legacies are, what those towns are about, how they represent themselves. There's a culture there. So yeah, it's a lot of work, but the fact of the matter is, is we've always just wanted to grow our audience, and then radio has allowed us to do that. So for all those young ones that are out there in any kind of genre of music, I'm telling you right now, if you want a career, make sure that you're respectful to radio because they're a deciding factor in that."

"Ei8ht" will arrive on May 29 via Atlantic Records. The LP was produced by SHINEDOWN bassist and songwriter Eric Bass at his Big Animal Studio in Charleston, South Carolina.

SHINEDOWN recently announced a massive "Dance, Kid, Dance Act II" world tour, taking the band to 11 countries across 54 dates, including stops throughout North America and Europe at some of the world's biggest venues.

Joining SHINEDOWN on the massive worldwide tour are COHEED AND CAMBRIA, BLACK STONE CHERRY, FROM ASHES TO NEW, DJ Rock Feed and THOSE DAMN CROWS on various dates.

Photo credit: Ryan Camp

VICIOUS RUMORS' longtime drummer Larry Howe has blamed "cancel culture" for his exit from the band.

Two months ago, the veteran U.S. power metallers announced that Howe would be departing VICIOUS RUMORS due to his "personal political ambitions" and "extreme views", which had caused various promoters to cancel VICIOUS RUMORS gigs. At the time, VICIOUS RUMORS said that Larry would "honor the band's commitment to the U.S. leg of 'The Devil's Asylum' tour", which launched in late February and ran through March 28.

On April 7, VICIOUS RUMORS released a follow-up statement saying that they had, "as a band, risen above today's toxic political environment that has destroyed relationships, businesses, and bands", insisting that "Larry Howe has chosen the music over everything else", and vowing to hit the road in Europe this spring, "with Larry on drums and vocals", focusing on VICIOUS RUMORS' "47-year history and leaving political division behind."

On April 16, after more concert cancelations followed, Howe officially announced his departure from VICIOUS RUMORS, writing on his Facebook page: "CANCEL CULTURE WINS AGAIN. I WILL NO LONGER BE DRUMMING FOR VICIOUS RUMORS (for the foreseeable future). THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER."

He added: "It's not the other band guys who are brainwashed… please don't accuse them!! my heart goes out to them and I'm sorry this is affecting them. It's just the music industry is saturated with leftist ideologues who capitulate to globalism and I can't be a part of that! The cat is out of the bag for me!"

In a separate statement on VICIOUS RUMORS' Facebook page, the band wrote: "Larry Howe has announced he's stepping down from VICIOUS RUMORS. We tried to save our musical bond but all we got in return was canceled shows, lost tours and a fight we had nothing to do with. After paying such a high price over one individual person's views we accept his resignation. Although we made some timeless albums, it's time to get back to the music. The European 'Asylum' tour, May 9th - June 20, is 100% confirmed. We welcome a new chapter, a new drummer starting tomorrow!"

Howe, who joined VICIOUS RUMORS in 1985, previously referred to himself as a "rock 'n' roll patriot" in his Instagram bio and added: "God bless America, the best country ever.!"

When VICIOUS RUMORS first announced two weeks ago that Howe would still be part of the band's spring 2026 European tour, they explained: "The band is performing at the highest level after the five-week U.S. tour, and Larry is a big part of that. Our fans deserve to see this lineup — they are what matter most to VR, bottom line.

"Everyone has the right to express an opinion. Unfortunately, in today's environment, entertainers expressing political opinions can divide the audience and hurt the band in the long run. Please remember, it's called 'the music business' for a reason.

"We don't choose sides when it comes to VR, because our music is for everyone — and all are welcome. Our purpose is to entertain everyone who attends, period. That's exactly what we're going to do.

"Thank you to all the fans who made the U.S. run such a fantastic experience. We can't wait to get started again across the pond. So let's get back to having fun and celebrating heavy metal!"

VICIOUS RUMORS' latest album, "The Devil's Asylum", was released in August 2025 worldwide (except Japan) through SPV/Steamhammer as a CD digipak, LP version, download and stream.

VICIOUS RUMORS guitarist and leader Geoff Thorpe formed the band in 1979. He told The Press Democrat in a 2023 interview that there have been more than 40 different members in the band since its inception.

"One good thing about all of the members is that we have a very good relationship with almost all of them," Thorpe said. "When I need someone to fill in, I've got a lot of people I can call on."

VICIOUS RUMORS has released more than a dozen albums, including three LPs recorded for Atlantic Records in 1990 and 1991, which were reissued as a box set titled "Vicious Rumors: The Atlantic Years" in September 2022.

CANCEL CULTURE WINS AGAIN . I WILL NO LONGER BE DRUMMING FOR VICIOUS RUMORS (for the foreseeable future ) THANK YOU FOR...

Posted by Larry Howe on Thursday, April 16, 2026

Larry Howe has announced he's stepping down from Vicious Rumors. We tried to save our musical bond but all we got in...

Posted by Vicious Rumors on Monday, April 20, 2026

Sweden Rock Festival has shared video of IRON MAIDEN singer Bruce Dickinson cruising around in a tank before the band's headlining performance later tonight (Thursday, June 4) at the four-day event, which is being held in Sölvesborg, Sweden. Check it out below.

During his February 2022 spoken-word show at Uptown Theater in Kansas City, Missouri, Dickinson recalled how he personally flew Royal Air Force pilots home from Afghanistan to RAF Wittering in 2008, taking control of a Boeing 747 chartered by the Ministry of Defence to transport RAF pilots back to the U.K. He said: "One of the jobs that we had at the airline I worked for, we had an airplane permanently allocated to the military to go and take people places — not to wars, but we'd take them to bases. And sometimes we flew people back. And sometimes we flew people back who had been in Afghanistan, for example, been in a war. They would go somewhere for two or three weeks to try and readjust and then we'd take them back. And one particular flight, we were the flying the Royal Air Force Regiment, which is RAF boots on the ground, soldiers. And they'd been to Afghanistan. It was an unusual flight 'cause we were returning them to their actual home base — not to a military airfield and then they get on a coach and they go back to their barracks. Where they were based had a runway, and we were told to go direct there. They had taken some casualties and they had lost some people. But they were all really cheerful; the best passengers you could ever have in the military — I mean, seriously… And we flew them into a place called the RAF Wittering, which is where they invented the Harrier Jump Jet. So, as we were coming in to land, we stopped and we blew the reverse thrust. And I had a female co-pilot, first officer. And we were looking out, and all really close to the runway were families, kids, all the families and wives and everybody of all the soldiers, and they were all [holding signs saying], 'You're my hero, daddy' and everything else. I mean, it was very emotional. And we actually had to stop the airplane 'cause my co-pilot was welling up and so was I. We were both trying not to [cry]. I went, 'Okay, we're gonna stop. We're gonna blow our noses, make sure we can fucking see where we're going and then do the job. 'Cause this is really exceptional.' The last thing you wanna do is go, 'It was so emotional, we ended up in a fucking ditch.' So, we dropped them off and that was it. So that was one of the more memorable flights — the sort of thing we used to do."

Six years ago, Dickinson was officially attested into the Royal Air Force, the United Kingdom's aerial warfare force. The British singer was awarded the role of Honorary Group Captain.

Bruce has held a commercial pilot's license for more than 25 years.

Dickinson had other connections with the RAF, having completed an emergency landing at RAF Halton in 2015. He was flying his Fokker triplane when it began to run low on fuel.

In a recent interview with Hakos Pervanidis of the Metal Hammer Greece TV program TV War, QUEENSRŸCHE vocalist Todd La Torre defended his right to speak out on political issues, explaining that he has "every right" to share his views publicly. After Pervanidis noted that he always thought of QUEENSRŸCHE as a "political band", Todd said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I think that if you go back and you listen to the classic stuff, the beginnings, there is a lot of political messaging, or there are things that are very geopolitical, social — they're very socially aware. 'Operation: Mindcrime', in that record there's a lyric that says, 'Educate the masses. Burn the White House down.' If I wrote that lyric today in America, in the United States, where it is extremely divided — it is pure chaos, okay? — everything turns political. It doesn't matter what I say or what I post — [even if it's] not political, somebody will come on there and call me a socialist, communist libtard."

Asked if he has ever faced any backlash from the QUEENSRŸCHE fans for voicing his opinions, Todd said: "Of course. I don't care. Some people will say, 'Shut up and sing. We don't wanna hear your political view.' My reply to that is, first and foremost, I am an American. Never mind the singer. I'm an American. I have every right. For someone to tell me to shut up is very anti-American, because we have the First Amendment, which is freedom of speech. You can say things I may disagree with. I can say things you disagree with. The problem is we have these echo chambers, and we have these people that are stuck in the algorithm of what they like… And also, there's always somewhere where you can find someone to agree with you, and that validates your bias."

La Torre continued: "I only care about what's true. If somebody that I like does something I disagree with, I have no problem saying that. I don't think the same thing can be said usually for the people that support this current administration. And you have a lot of buyer's remorse. You have a lot of people saying, 'This is not what I voted for. Now we're in a war with Iran, now we're this, now we're that. What happened to 'America first'?' And look, we should be able to have a civil discourse, but I live in a country with 330 million people and 400 million guns. You don't have school shootings here [in Greece] like we [do]... You don't have the gun violence."

Todd clarified: "I own guns. I have guns. But I don't talk about 'em online, and I don't brag about having a Second Amendment right to own a gun. So when I voice things — keep in mind, when I voice things, I am voicing things as Todd. I am not speaking on behalf of the band, and I'm not speaking on behalf of anyone in the band. The problem lies, I am the singer of the band, and those things are often tied together… [And] I write a lot of lyrics [for the band]. And I write political things. But I don't tell someone what to think. I try to push you to think, not what to think… I don't wanna tell you how to think. I want to encourage you to scratch your head and maybe think about something deeply on your own and really think about it."

Todd added: "Look, I try to be educated and current on world affairs, not just what's happening where I live, but things that are happening in different parts of the world. Plus I know a lot of people, mostly in Europe, but I know people in different parts of the world, and I ask them, 'What is it like here? What is it really like? What's going on here? What are things that you really like? What are things that you dislike?' And it's interesting to see how other parts of the world live, how they think. And right now, a lot of people are watching what's happening. And there are some very scary implications, but I'm hopeful that humanity will do the right thing."

Todd, who lives in St. Petersburg, Florida, has made no secret of his disdain for U.S. president Donald Trump and has often used his social media to deride Republican positions on various issues.

More than five years ago, La Torre blasted America's deep political divides, distrust of centralized authority and even skepticism of science as it relates to the coronavirus pandemic, saying in an interview: "Science is important. Skepticism is important. But in America, people, they don't believe what's happened over the last several years. People have gone from skepticism to just complete disbelief of anything and everything they hear or see. So you can have an epidemiologist that spent their life as an expert in this field, and then you have other people that just think it's B.S. — they don't believe it. So you have this weird thing where, as a matter of public safety, [some people say] 'You are infringing on my rights. This is America,' and that kind of mentality. And you say, 'Wait a minute. Your rights stop when you are in a public place, and now public health and safety is the concern.'"

La Torre was the lead singer for CRIMSON GLORY from late 2010 until resigned from the band in early 2013. In 2012, Todd became a household name in the metal world when he officially joined QUEENSRŸCHE as the group's new vocalist. The band immediately began touring globally and started writing new material for the self-titled 2013 album "Queensrÿche". To date, QUEENSRŸCHE has released four studio albums with La Torre: "Queensrÿche", "Condition Hüman" (2015),"The Verdict" (2019) and "Digital Noise Alliance" (2022).