In a new interview with Portugal's Look magazine, TRIVIUM's Paolo Gregoletto spoke about a possible follow-up to the band's 2021 album "In The Court Of The Dragon". The bassist, whose band is currently taking part in "The Poisoned Ascendancy" tour during which TRIVIUM and BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE are celebrating the 20th anniversary of "Ascendancy" and "The Poison" albums, respectively, by playing them in full, said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "New music, I think, [is] sort of the lifeblood of any band. It's, like, what are you doing next? And we're very excited because we have our hangar studio built. It's really cool. I would say it's probably a dream come true, I think, for any musician. To me, having a studio at our disposal like this, at this level, this quality is like — I guess maybe to go back to the VAN HALEN references, like 5150. They made that studio because they weren't fully happy with what they were doing in the studio at the time. They wanted full control, full control of the surroundings, the gear, everything. And that is what we've done with our hangar. It's, to a tee, made to our specs and our liking. And I think when people hear what we're doing there, they'll be happy, but we're just getting started. I think 2026 is the new music year. This is like the transition year. We're out here celebrating with BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE. We're playing two records that are very special for both our bands and for fans. But new music is on the horizon. We are thinking about it. We have been working on it. So don't think we're not thinking about the future while we're looking in the past at the moment."

Referencing the fact that TRIVIUM is performing the "Ascendancy" album in full on the current tour, Paolo said: "It's new for us, because we've never done this before. We've never done the full-album playthrough. And it's kind of nice, it's kind of freeing because I'm, like, we don't have to think about the setlist. It's, like, those are the songs; that's the order. And there's challenges to that because the last two songs of our album on 'Ascendancy', they're probably the least known, of course, 'cause they're at the end, but there's a lot more going on to it. 'Declaration' is like a really intense song. I know for BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE, I think their last song [on 'The Poison'] is kind of a ballady, longer song. So it's not what you would ever put at the end of your set. So we have to work around the limitations of a setlist and stuff. Now, of course, we play something after it. But we had some ways around it to where it wasn't gonna end on a song that's purely just, like, 'Okay, that's probably the least known song in the setlist.' But there's a lot of energy in 'Ascendancy', so I have no doubt that even if you didn't know every song well, you're gonna know what it's about and you're gonna have fun."

Earlier in the month, TRIVIUM's Corey Beaulieu told Jorge Botas of Portugal's Metal Global about a possible follow-up to "In The Court Of The Dragon": "We spent last year building our recording studio at our hangar. So we got that all up and running and stuff. And we're always working on some new stuff. And since it's been — 2021, I guess, was [when] the last record came out, or something like that, so it's definitely our longest gap in records and everything. So, definitely new music will be on the horizon. We've been working on some stuff."

He continued: "So, yeah, doing the 'Ascendancy' anniversary thing, and the next thing on our plate is preparing for a new record. And then, obviously, 2026 will be new record, touring, festivals and stuff like that. So, it'll be another busy year, just like this year, but it'll be kind of flipping the page to kind of the next chapter, new music and moving forward and go from nostalgia to new stuff. So, we're looking forward to it."

Corey added: "When we were on break rehearsing for the 'Ascendancy' stuff, we kind of used playing 'Ascendancy' as our mojo to kind of inspire us to write new music and stuff like that, kind of take that vibe and energy and kind of use it to make new stuff. So, we've got some stuff cooking, kind of marinating, and with the new studio, we can kind of go in and start tracking whenever we've got stuff ready to go. So, hopefully — I don't know — sometime mid-next year, I don't know exactly, we have no like timetable, but definitely at some some point next year there'll be a record announcement or something coming out. Yeah, we're looking forward to it. By that time, it'll be five or six years since we had a new record out. So it's definitely time."

Regarding the fact that TRIVIUM released two albums, 2020's "What The Dead Men Say" and 2021's "In The Court Of The Dragon", within a year and a half of each other, Corey said: "Yeah, we did basically put out two records in a year, which is a lot, I guess, nowadays. So, doing that, we felt like we needed a little bit more of a breather space to kind of let everyone get excited and anticipation built up for new music. Since we did two records so quick, it felt like when we put out 'In The Court Of The Dragon', it was so quick, it seemed like maybe there wasn't as much like hype or anticipation 'cause it was so soon after putting out a record. So it feels like having a little bit more space will get people a little more pumped up."

"The Poisoned Ascendancy" launched in the U.K. in late January 2025 for six shows, before the two bands, along with support act ORBIT CULTURE, head over to mainland Europe for 18 more concerts.

Released in March of 2005, TRIVIUM crafted a classic in the form of "Ascendancy". It concluded 2005 as Kerrang!'s "Album Of The Year," went gold in the U.K., and has since surpassed global sales of 500,000 copies. Opening the main stage of Download festival that year, the Floridian four piece — barely out of their teens — delivered a set that left all who witnessed it in no doubt that they were looking at future legends, with Kerrang! readers later voting it as the tenth best gig of all time.

"In The Court Of The Dragon" came out in October 2021 via TRIVIUM's longtime label Roadrunner Records. The record was produced and mixed by Josh Wilbur and recorded in the fall of 2020 at Full Sail University in Orlando. The album cover is an original oil painting by French artist Mathieu Nozieres.

TRIVIUM supported MEGADETH and LAMB OF GOD on the 2022 leg of "The Metal Tour Of The Year".

Last month, Beaulieu was asked by Jorge Fretes of Spain's GoetiaMedia if there are plans for TRIVIUM to celebrate the upcoming 20th anniversaries of any other albums, such as 2008's "Shogun". Corey said: "We've seen over the years that a lot of bands, doing anniversary tours has been kind of like, I guess, a popular thing to do. Some bands have done it 10 years after a record came out or whatever, and we always just kind of thought that, 'Hey, if people still care after 20 years, that'll be like the time to think about doing something' and whatever. So, especially 'Ascendancy' our first big thing that kind of people heard of us, so that kind of made a big impact, so we figured 'Ascendancy' was a good record to do it on. Some of our records probably we wouldn't."

He continued: "We did a little thing on our last U.K. tour. It was the 'Shogun' 15th anniversary and we played a couple of extra songs from it. But 'Shogun', I'm sure there'd be a lot of fans that would love for us to play that record from start to finish, but that record is so musically demanding that I don't know if I could manage wanting to do a whole tour of playing just that record. I'd probably just be mentally exhausted. But, no, it's cool to do this record 'cause it was so special of a record for us and the fans. We have a lot of records that'll be turning 20 — 'The Crusade' turns 20 the year after, and then 'Shogun' and stuff like that — but we'll be probably back into focusing on new music. But there'll be some cool stuff for anniversary stuff coming out that people can collect and buy, but probably spending a year of touring for another record is not gonna be something that's gonna be popping up anytime soon. So this is a kind of our one-time thing for now. I know BULLET, talking to them, I know they're in the same boat, like, once we get done doing this anniversary run together, they've been in the studio. [The plan is to get] some new tunes and stuff out and kind of moving on to the next record. But it's gonna be exciting. I think playing a record like 'Ascendancy' on tour and the energy of the crowd, we're definitely looking forward to kind of channeling that, playing those songs and getting that energy from the fans and kind of channeling that into new music and hopefully capture some of that intensity from the tour and project that back into a new record that people will be pumped on."

Last September, BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE and TRIVIUM announced the North American dates for "The Poisoned Ascendancy" tour. Support on the trek will come from AUGUST BURNS RED, with SYLOSIS and BLEED FROM WITHIN appearing on select shows.

Produced by Live Nation, the 26-city tour kicks off on March 30 at PNE Forum in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, making stops across North America in Las Vegas, Chicago, New York and more before wrapping up in Raleigh, North Carolina at Red Hat Amphitheater on May 18.

In a new interview with The Metal Voice, DREAM THEATER drummer Mike Portnoy was asked how he feels about performing the song "Barstool Warrior" during the band's 40th-anniversary tour even though the track was originally written and recorded with ex-DREAM THEATER drummer Mike Mangini. Portnoy, who rejoined DREAM THEATER in October 2023 after a 13-year absence, said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, it was important to me for that to be included, believe it or not. I'm the one that writes the setlist, and these guys gave me full-on freedom when it came to the Mangini-era material. I knew it had to be represented. You can't just brush away five albums from these guys' career because I'm back; it would have been pretty selfish and disrespectful. So, yeah, to me, it wasn't even considered to not be playing that material. And like I said, they gave me the freedom to pick and choose songs that I could relate to and be comfortable with. And, yeah, I think if you didn't know any differently when you come see the live show, it sits right in the middle of the set very comfortably with everything else that is part of my catalog. But I'm used to playing other drummers' material… I don't think [IRON MAIDEN singer] Bruce [Dickinson] ever does Blaze [Bayley-era MAIDEN] tunes, or very rarely. And I know [JUDAS PRIEST's] Rob Halford doesn't do Ripper [-era PRIEST] tunes. And I know David Lee Roth won't do Sammy Hagar[-era VAN HALEN] tunes. So, yeah, not all bands are as open to it."

Asked what he thinks are the main differences between his drumming style and that of Mangini, Portnoy said: "He is very methodical. He's very conscious of what all four limbs are doing and the way he utilizes his independence. I'm not that kind of a drummer. I've never been a guy that sits there and studies technique and the correct way to hold a stick, and all that kind of stuff. I go on feel, and to me, I try to make difficult music sound easy. I think he has the tendency to make something that could be easy sound difficult. And I'm not trying to insult him; I'm just merely observing the difference in styles. And he's the type that I think would play the same part exactly the same as it is on the album and do it consistently every night. I'm just not that kind of a drummer. I like to fly off the seat of my pants and be in the moment and do different things, just depending on how things are feeling."

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

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

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

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

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

Portnoy attended DREAM THEATER's concert in March 2022 at Beacon Theatre in New York City. It was the first time he witnessed his then-former bandmates perform live since his exit from the iconic progressive metal outfit 12 years earlier.

Two months after the aforementioned Beacon Theatre concert, Portnoy told SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" about what it was like to see another drummer play his parts live with DREAM THEATER: "I've always been the type of drummer that just flies [by] the seat of my pants in the moment. Even with my own drum parts, I don't necessarily stick to them faithfully from show to show, whereas Mangini obviously really studied the drum parts and they had everything programmed out. They're all about the precision, and that's surely their thing. And yeah, he killed it. There's no doubt he's an amazing drummer and he plays my parts incredibly faithfully."

Portnoy continued: "I feel bad for him. He and I joked about it. He's in a horrible situation where he's damned if he does and he's damned if he doesn't. He expressed that frustration to me, and I feel for him; it's definitely a weird position to be put into. I kind of had it a little bit when I played with AVENGED SEVENFOLD and TWISTED SISTER, coming into the throne of two drummers that have passed away, and I tried to learn those parts as faithfully as I could. When I had a hired-gun gig like that, I spent a lot of attention trying to honor the drummer that came before me — it's important. I don't wanna go into a gig like either of those and try to force my style on to it."

In a new interview with Rock Of Ages radio, British heavy metal vocalist Blaze Bayley, who fronted IRON MAIDEN more than 25 years ago, was asked what advice he would give to younger musicians who are trying to make it in the scene today. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, it's a different shape now, the industry, from when I started. When I started, you had to get a record deal. You had to be with a company to do everything. Now, you can afford your own recording equipment. It doesn't take that much. And studios are a lot cheaper.

"I would say don't stop at learning your instrument," he continued. "That's the key. You've gotta be great on your instrument. The next thing is you have to have songs that really mean something, even if it's just for you, a song that makes sense. And then after that you must learn to record yourself well. You must learn that. So as much as you learn to be a virtuoso on guitar or play drums or whatever instrument you've chosen, you must learn to record yourself. That is possible now with practice and experience to make an album that as good as an album that someone has spent a million euros recording. That's possible. You can learn to do that. It's absolutely possible. So I would say to new bands, do that and take advantage of the social media. But the key thing is, and this is a horrible question that I believe you must ask yourself is, why would anybody want to listen to me instead of watch Netflix or go on the PlayStation? That's a tough question to answer, man. And I have to ask myself that all of the time. And if you can't think of a reason, you'd better come up with something. The reason should be that your songs are so great live and you mean it so much when you bring these great songs to life in front of five people, 50 people or 500, it has to really grab everybody. That's my opinion.

"What I do at every Blaze Bayley concert, at every WOLFSBANE concert, what I'm trying to do is reach into the heart of my wonderful fans and go, 'Right, come on, you're gonna feel better. Just come with me, sing along. You're gonna feel better. Get involved.' So that's what I would say to new bands.

"I think people do forget why they get into the artists that they like," Bayley added. "And it's almost always because of the songs, something about the songs that really appeals to you. So I think that's important. But it's tough, and you've really gotta consider if it's for you. Because in the end, if it's not life and death, it's really, really tough, man. If you're not prepared to sacrifice and work hard and work smart, it's tough."

Blaze will embark on a European tour this spring celebrating the 25th anniversary of his first post-MAIDEN release, "Silicon Messiah". On this tour, Blaze will play songs from "Silicon Messiah", previously unperformed songs from his most recent album "Circle Of Stone" and classic IRON MAIDEN songs from his era with the band. Blaze will give a free meet-and-greet at the merchandise stand before the show begins for all ticket holders. Support on the tour will come from WHITE RAVEN DOWN (U.K. dates) and PRYMA (continental European dates).

The 61-year-old Bayley fronted IRON MAIDEN from 1994 until 1999. The two MAIDEN albums he appeared on, "The X Factor" and "Virtual XI", sold considerably less than the band's prior releases and were their lowest-charting titles in the group's home country since 1981's "Killers".

Since leaving IRON MAIDEN in 1999, Bayley has released a number of albums, including several under the moniker BLAZE and more than a handful under his own name. He also appeared on 2012's "Wolfsbane Saves The World", the first album of new material by WOLFSBANE since the group's self-titled 1994 effort, and a follow-up LP, 2022's "Genius".

Nearly two years ago, Blaze underwent a quadruple bypass surgery following a heart attack.

Bayley's latest solo album, the aforementioned "Circle Of Stone", came out in February 2022.

SLIPKNOT's Eloy Casagrande has shared drum-cam video of him and his bandmates performing the song "Liberate" on December 21, 2024 at The O2 Arena in London, England. Check it out below.

In an interview for the cover story of the January 2025 issue of Modern Drummer magazine, Casagrande was asked for his opinion of his replacement in SEPULTURA, Greyson Nekrutman, who joined the latter band at around the same time in his life as Eloy did in 2011. The Brazilian musician responded: "Yes, and when I see him playing, I can remember myself in the same spot. When I joined SEPULTURA, I was his age. That's quite interesting. He's a very good drummer. I used to watch him playing videos he posted on social media when he was playing more jazz and drum solos. He's a brilliant player and I wish him and the rest of the band all the best. I have a lot of respect for him. I wish I could talk to him more one day. Maybe we could bring all the SEPULTURA drummers together.

"Greyson came to my studio in São Paulo when he joined the band to do some rehearsals, and we had a very good talk," Eloy added. "He had just two or three weeks to learn all the songs, so I gave him some advice like, 'We used to play that song faster. Be careful with this song because we used to play it slower.' I wasn't teaching him how to play the songs because he can play anything he wants to play. He's an incredible drummer."

Asked what it was like getting the call from SLIPKNOT and how he got the gig, Eloy said: "Everything happened at the end of 2023 when I got a call from SLIPKNOT's manager asking me if I was interested in doing an audition for SLIPKNOT. That year, SEPULTURA decided to stop playing, so it was a very natural decision for me to keep playing with someone else instead of just retiring. At the end of [2023] and the beginning of [2024], I wasn't supposed to talk to anyone about that. The audition was a big secret. Nobody could know about it. SEPULTURA didn't even know, it was just something between me and the guys from SLIPKNOT. It was my decision to do the audition. I said, 'Okay, I'm interested in doing an audition because SEPULTURA is going to stop. I have one and a half years left of working with them and I'm going to be done.'

"Through the years, I have played many times with SLIPKNOT," he continued. "We shared stages when I was playing SEPULTURA, and that was the place that I always wanted to be. I grew up listening to their music, so I wanted to have the experience playing live with SLIPKNOT with a mask on my face. In my first show with the band I was thinking, 'Oh, this is really happening. Oh my god. I can't believe it.'

"Going back a little bit, before I was invited to do the audition, I took my drums to a studio in São Paulo and did a proper sound and video recording," Eloy explained. "I played six songs, and I sent it to the guys. I chose three songs and then they asked me to play three specific songs. They were 'Eyeless', 'Purity' and 'Gematria'. My flight was booked to go to the audition, so at the end of January [of 2024], I flew to Palm Springs, California, and spent ten days with them there. The first five days, the whole band was rehearsing like it was a live show. Every day, the guys came with a different setlist, and we just played those songs."

In December 2024, Modern Drummer magazine's readers voted Casagrande as the No. 1 metal drummer in the publication's 2024 Readers' Poll.

After parting ways with Jay Weinberg in November 2023, SLIPKNOT teased fans with a hint about a new drummer 11 months ago, posting a photo of a single broken drumstick online with the caption "Rehearsal."

The band explained in a statement that the split with Weinberg was a creative decision. Jay followed up with a statement of his own, saying that he was "heartbroken and blindsided" by his dismissal.

Weinberg has since joined SUICIDAL TENDENCIES and INFECTIOUS GROOVES.

Casagrande abruptly quit SEPULTURA a year ago, shortly before he was supposed to begin rehearsals for the band's recently launched 40th-anniversary farewell tour.

"February 6th, a few days prior to the first rehearsal, drummer Eloy Casagrande informed the band that he was leaving SEPULTURA to pursue a career in another project," the band said in a statement.

Casagrande joined SEPULTURA more than 13 years ago as the replacement for Jean Dolabella.

SLIPKNOT's latest album "The End, So Far", arrived in August 2022. It marked the band's the last full-length LP before the departure of both keyboardist Craig Jones, who left the group in June 2023, and Weinberg.

SLIPKNOT recently completed the North American portion of the "Here Comes The Pain" tour. The band was celebrating the 25th anniversary of its seminal debut album, "Slipknot", which catapulted the band back in 1999.

In an interview with Tone-Talk, SLIPKNOT guitarist Jim Root spoke about how Casagrande came to join SLIPKNOT and his impact on the band's overall sound. He said: "We didn't even try anybody else. Eloy's name came up. He contacted us, actually, about wanting to be a part of it and started sending a bunch of videos in. I think him and our bass player [Alessandro 'Vman' Venturella] might've had a little bit of a relationship before. I think they knew each other. They had mutual friends. And Vman's really in tune with a lot of really great, proggy, heavy musicians that are passionate about their instruments. And it just seemed like a no-brainer. And he's really respectful of the legacy of [SLIPKNOT's original drummer, the late] Joey [Jordison], and Joey was a huge influence on him. And he's so humble. The dude has so much humility. And you could tell he just lives and breathes his craft, to the point where I see his passion and it ignites my passion for my instrument. And Brazilians, South Americans in general, are so passionate about what they do. Our manager told me, he was out to dinner with four or five promoters from South America, and they were all really stoked. They're all, like, 'It's so good you've got a Brazilian drummer in SLIPKNOT now. We kind of feel like we've won the World Cup.' It's a cool feeling. And God, he just fits in so well. I don't know, man. I mean, there's a lot of things I can say about it. I'm just glad it happened when it did. And we're lucky to have him — we are really lucky to have that dude."

San Francisco Bay Area metallers MACHINE HEAD will release their eleventh studio album, "Unatoned", on April 25, 2025 via Nuclear Blast/Imperium Recordings.

The official music video for the LP's second single, "Unbound", can be seen below.

According to a press release, "Unatoned" is "a testament to momentum, an album honed to its sharpest edge, forged on creative discipline and the hunger to push forward. It drips with melancholy melodies, and yet hammers with bludgeoning riffs, soars with anthemic sing-alongs of love lost and sadness, to bellowing power and undeniable confidence. Eleven albums deep, MACHINE HEAD remain as fierce, relevant, and unstoppable as ever."

"Unatoned" track listing:

01. Landscape Of Thorns
02. Atomic Revelations
03. Unbound
04. Outsider
05. Not Long For This World
06. These Scars Won't Define Us
07. Dustmaker
08. Bonescraper
09. Addicted To Pain
10. Bleeding Me Dry
11. Shards Of Shattered Dreams
12. Scorn

"Unatoned" was produced by MACHINE HEAD frontman Robb Flynn and Zack Ohren, and was mixed by Colin Richardson and Chris Clancy. The effort was mastered by Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound in Nashville, Tennessee.

Last November, MACHINE HEAD released "These Scars Won't Define Us" as the first single from "Unatoned". The official lyric video for the track, which features guest appearances by the other three bands which will accompany MACHINE HEAD on the Flynn-fronted outfit's spring 2025 North American tour — Swedish metal icons IN FLAMES, Italian alt-metallers LACUNA COIL and American metalcore maestros UNEARTH — can be seen below.

The five-week jaunt will begin on April 5, 2025 in Oakland, California at the legendary Fox Theater, then heads south for a stop at Sick New World festival, then east, and back across Canada, before concluding on May 10 in Kelowna, British Columbia.

MACHINE HEAD's current lineup includes former HAVOK guitarist Reece Alan Scruggs. Scruggs stepped in for MACHINE HEAD's previous guitarist Wacław "Vogg" Kiełtyka, who had been unable to make some of the group's dates due to his touring commitments with his longtime band DECAPITATED.

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 joined MACHINE HEAD's touring lineup prior to the launch of the band's "Burn My Eyes" 25th-anniversary tour in late 2019.

The rest of MACHINE HEAD's lineup consists of guitarist/vocalist Flynn, bassist Jared MacEachern and British drummer Matt Alston (DEVILMENT, EASTERN FRONT).

Earlier last year, MACHINE HEAD completed the "Slaughter The Martour" North American tour with support from L.A.'s FEAR FACTORY, Sweden's ORBIT CULTURE and Louisville, Kentucky's GATES TO HELL.

MACHINE HEAD has been touring in support of its latest album, "Of Kingdom And Crown", which came out in August 2022. The follow-up to 2018's "Catharsis" included the three songs that were featured on the 2021 "Arrows In Words From The Sky" single: "Become The Firestorm", "Rotten" and "Arrows In Words From The Sky". Much of "Of Kingdom And Crown" was recorded at Sharkbite Studios in Oakland, California with engineer/producer Zack Ohren.

In November 2020, MACHINE HEAD released a single, "My Hands Are Empty", via Nuclear Blast. The song marked the first musical collaboration between frontman Robb Flynn and original "Burn My Eyes" guitarist Logan Mader in 24 years.

"My Hands Are Empty" was just one in a line of singles to be released by MACHINE HEAD, which issued "Do Or Die" in October 2019, "Circle The Drain" in February 2020, and the two-song digital single "Civil Unrest", consisting of "Stop The Bleeding" and "Bulletproof", in June 2020. "Stop The Bleeding" featured guest vocals from KILLSWITCH ENGAGE frontman Jesse Leach, and was written and recorded just days after the murders of George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery.

In a new interview with Bill Zebub, TROUBLE singer Kyle Thomas spoke about his addition to the band in 2012 as the replacement for Kory Clarke (WARRIOR SOUL),who fronted TROUBLE for a four-year period following the exit of the group's original singer Eric Wagner. Kyle said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I first met Eric, I wanna say the night we all jammed at the big green warehouse in New Orleans after [TROUBLE] played with PANTERA. And I jammed with [TROUBLE] and we all jammed, and I met Eric that night and he was kind and cool. And, of course, when I'm around TROUBLE, Eric's not. So he's one of the last of the originals that I got to know. So when I finally got to sit down and hang out with Eric, it wasn't until maybe three or four years after I joined the band officially. But when I did join the band, the day it was announced, he sent me a message on Facebook and it said, 'Hey, buddy, just wanted to let you know that I'm happy for you and I know how much you care about the band. And just make sure you have a good time and just do us all proud, man. I'm rooting for you.' And for me, that was huge because here I am. I grew up listening to this band. [I got my TROUBLE tattoo] easily 10, 15 years before I ever joined the band. But he was encouraging towards me, and he lifted me up."

Referencing the fact that some TROUBLE fans have never fully embraced the version of the band with him on vocals, Kyle continued: "This is a band that people are either gonna accept that there's a new version or they're gonna be polarized in the opposite direction and go, 'No Eric, no TROUBLE.' I heard that so many times: 'No Eric, no TROUBLE. No Eric, no TROUBLE.' Man, you know what? Whatever. I get it. I get it. I fucking get it. I'm a fan, so I get it. So, I don't wanna fight with people over that. I just wanna go out and pay tribute to a band I grew up listening to, pay respect to their legacy and Eric's legacy. And for him to reach out to me, unannounced and uninvited, and say, 'I'm with you, bro,' that meant the world to me. And then when I hung out with him in person — I don't know — maybe two or three years after that, we literally… He invited me. First of all, he said, 'Let's get a picture together.' Took a picture. [CORROSION OF CONFORMITY's] Pepper Keenan took the picture. And then he's, like, 'Come on, let's go sit at the bar.' And we sat at the bar and talked about anything that was notTROUBLE. And that meant the world to me. He just wanted to meet me and hang out with me and — I don't know — just be humans together. And we share a lot of common interests: Edgar Allan Poe, THE BEATLES, PINK FLOYD, life in general, as we philosophized on it. And maybe the philosophies were not that important. Maybe just having a drink and being, 'What do you like? What do you not like? What do you like to eat?' It was that simple. It was not about TROUBLE. And for me, that was the greatest Eric experience I could have ever had."

TROUBLE returned to the live stage on January 25 at the Cobra Lounge in their hometown of Chicago, Illinois. It marked TROUBLE's first live appearance in nearly a year and a half. TROUBLE also played two shows on the 2025 edition of the 70000 Tons Of Metal cruise, which took place from January 30, 2025 to February 3, 2025, sailing from Miami, Florida to Ocho Rios, Jamaica and back.

In a recent interview with Scott Davidson of Chicago's Rebel Radio 92.5 FM, Thomas spoke about the progress of the songwriting and recording sessions for the long-awaited follow-up to TROUBLE's 2013 album "The Distortion Field". He said: "So, on and off for several years now — I mean, probably better than a decade — there's been pre-production very slowly just kind of creeping down the line here. So, I don't know — there's about eight to ten songs, maybe, on this thing. And they've been trickling the recorded music versions of them to me so that I can get myself in gear and started [on vocals]."

As for a possible release date for the new TROUBLE album, Kyle said: "I couldn't give you a timeline on it. I'm always scared to do that anyway, because it seems like every time you say something's gonna happen at a certain time, it doesn't. I think more importantly, we're busy, we're working on it, and that's something that really hasn't happened for a long time. But, yeah, we're ready to get this thing going and give everybody a quality TROUBLE record. It's been a long time."

Regarding where he gets the inspiration for his lyrics in TROUBLE, Kyle said: "Well, I think it's safe to say most of what I write comes off my sleeve. I like to write from my life experiences. That doesn't mean that everything that I write has something to do with my life in particular. It might be current events that I'm looking at, it might be something that happened to someone I know that's inspired me to jot something down. So, it's never really one thing, but I do try to at least have most of the lyrical content have some meat to it. But on another hand, there are times when I'll scat into a microphone when I'm listening to a new piece of music and whatever comes out, if it sounds cool, I'll try to find words that match what I scatted. But you try to keep it interesting, you try to not get into a pattern. I think more than anything, you don't wanna be in a pattern that's looping the same thing over and over again. I think that gets a little boring, perhaps.

"I used to work with a producer when I was younger, and he had a word that he used when we were experimenting, and he liked to call it 'blowing things up,'" Kyle continued. "Like, 'Let's blow this up. Let's blow that up.' And all that really meant was, 'Let's experiment with this idea and see if it sticks.'

"For me, my passion is a lot more aligned with songwriting and production and the magic that you make with your music in that regard, more so than trying to be a virtuoso at this or that," Thomas added. "That's less important to me than the quality of the craftsmanship of the material that you're working on. So, I don't know — maybe one day I'll figure out the songwriting enough to be able to live off of it. But that's definitely more important than just trying to be killer at something."

When Davidson noted that Kyle sings the classic TROUBLE songs the way they were originally sung, Thomas said: "I'm a TROUBLE fan. Before I was really even in bands, I was listening to TROUBLE. And I'm definitely a fan of [original TROUBLE singer] Eric [Wagner] and Eric's work, his legacy, the band and its legacy. So, for me, it was never an option of… I'm not gonna sit there and pretend to sing like Eric or pretend to be Eric. I think that is a disservice to Ericand to me, but to me, what Eric did in the song, the spirit of TROUBLE through him, through his voice, through his soul, is what I like to honor. I wouldn't dream of trying to put my own spin on it, per se. Now, again, like I said, I'm not trying to imitate him, but at the same time, there's a certain way the songs need to be sang.

"There's people that probably never will love me in this band because I'm not Eric," Kyle acknowledged. "And I mean, I can't help that. So, the good news is those old records will never let you down. Listen to those old records and stay home. And the people that wanna come see the show, they'll come and enjoy it. I've met people on the road that are old, old friends of the band, old friends of Eric's. They came up to me after a show and they go, 'Man, we didn't want to like you, but you do such a good job, it's obvious that you care about the songs and the band.' And I'm, like, 'Yes.' That's priority number one."

When TROUBLE announced its co-operation with Hammerheart Records in January 2020, it was already planned to record a new LP in the summer of 2020. However, that did not happen due to several reasons, including the coronavirus pandemic. But recording finally started in July 2022, according to founding guitarist Rick Wartell.

Back in February 2019, Kyle, who joined TROUBLE in 2012, told "The Metal Magdalene With Jet" about the band's plans for a new album: "This time they've actually written songs with me in mind as the singer instead of, 'These songs were written when Kory Clarke was in the band, but that didn't work out, so let's give it to Kyle and have him back-cleanup, I guess.'"

TROUBLE's first studio album in six years, "The Distortion Field", landed at position No. 25 on the Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) chart, which lists the best-selling albums by new and developing artists, defined as those who have never appeared in the Top 100 of The Billboard 200. Released in Europe in August 2013 via FRW Records, the 12-song follow-up to 2007's "Simple Mind Condition" was helmed by veteran producer Bill Metoyer (SLAYER, W.A.S.P., ARMORED SAINT, DARK ANGEL, SACRED REICH, CRYPTIC SLAUGHTER, D.R.I.) and marked the recording debut with Thomas following the departure of Clarke.

TROUBLE played its first show with the band's new lineup in October 2013 at the Day Of Doom festival in Barcelona, Spain.

TROUBLE formed in 1979 and released several classic albums like "Trouble", "Manic Frustration" and "Plastic Green Head".

Wagner left TROUBLE in April 2008, citing his disdain for the touring life as the main reason for his departure.

Eric, who was TROUBLE's original singer, died in August 2021 after a battle with COVID pneumonia. He was 62 years old.

According to Wagner's TROUBLE and THE SKULL bandmate Ron Holzner, Eric was generally opposed to institutionalized medicine but he wouldn't make an exception for the COVID vaccine.

"We argued about it, and he stood his ground on the matter," Holzner told the Chicago Reader. "I always joked, 'The World According To Eric Wagner — you should write a book.' He lived his life his way."

Wagner, who smoked cigarettes and occasionally drank and vaped, had health issues, but had begun taking better care of himself and switching to a plant-based diet, Holzner said.

Photo credit: Erik Hernandez

During the latest episode of the "Beardo & Weirdo" podcast, hosted by FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH bassist Chris Kael and comedian Craig Gass, Kael spoke about his experience of being recognized while attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I used to have a problem going to those meetings in the very beginning. Because of my line of work, if I go into a 'normie' meeting, 'gen pop' with nobody that does the same thing I do for a living, normal people, they would come up and be excited to see me and wanted to get pictures and autographs, which in the very beginning, when I first started getting sober, going to those meetings, it rubbed me the wrong way. I hated it. 'I can't be going to all these meetings.' And then there was another musician. I was bitching to him about it… I said, 'Man, I go to these meetings and I'm afraid to share because' blah, blah, blah. 'I don't know who's listening, doing all this stuff. This is supposed to be anonymous, man. I can't be going to these meetings, then taking pictures and signing autographs after. It's supposed to be anonymous.' And he leaned in and he goes, 'Not for us. You waited your entire life for people to know your name and to be happy to see you. And now because it's in these meetings, oh, you can't do that?' I was, like, 'All right. Yeah, you're right.'"

Back in October 2022, Kael — who previously admitted that he relapsed with alcohol five years ago during the coronavirus pandemic — was asked in an interview with Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station if had managed to retain his sobriety in the months since he and his bandmates returned to the road. He said: "Still sober, yup. I had a little bit of a dip in 2020. [It was due to the] pandemic, and there was a breakup and all kinds of stuff. I realized I'm an emotional-trigger guy… I actually wrote a ton of songs over the break too. So I had the relapse in 2020, pulled myself together through the process of writing music. And one of those songs ended up on the new DEATH PUNCH record, actually."

Pressed about how he got sober this time around, Kael said: "It's a long process. I basically just had to… I don't even know what the turnaround was, honestly. Just finally realizing just, like, 'Ugh, why am I doing this?' You're tired of feeling like that. I did the work before I had the whole thing happen, to come back to it and be good. And, yeah, it's been nice. I feel definitely a whole lot stronger than I did before, because I think I've said it in press before, I would find myself, before that happened, being in meetings and people are, like, 'Oh, it took me a long time to get it. I kept on having to go back.' And I'm, like, 'Not me. I went to rehab once and I'm perfect now.' A few emotional triggers and a worldwide pandemic, and boom! — I was right back in. So I talk about it now because it's unfortunate, but if you can pull yourself back up, you can definitely build a ton of strength out of those cracks in the veneer."

For about a four-year period, Kael had touted having a sober lifestyle, saying that he was the "strongest" he had ever been after coming out of rehab. However, the now-50-year-old bassist told Jason Rockman of Canada's "The Rockman Power Hour" in March 2022 that he fell off the wagon as the coronavirus lockdown continued, saying that "it was not good."

"I got sober February 3rd, 2018," Chris told "The Rockman Power Hour" nearly five years ago. "Were it not for a mishap during the pandemic, which I haven't spoken publicly about until today, a mishap over the pandemic, it would have been four years [sober]. But right now I think I am… I have to go back and look at the date, honestly."

He continued: "I remember I went to a concert and I was trying to do… I was, like, 'All right. I fell off the wagon. I've been back on the wagon. I'm going in. I'm gonna try to control drinking this time. I'm gonna allow myself to have two. And if I do two, cool.' Nope. Did three. Haven't had a drink since. I said, 'I can't do it.' Even trying to limit myself to two, I couldn't do that."

When Rockman commented that if having three drinks one night was the extent of Chris's relapse, it wasn't so bad, Kael countered with: "No, no. It was much worse before that. August of 2020, post-breakup, post-being in a house by myself, it was not good. So as I turned to not wanting to feel for a little while… Now, [I'm] back to it again — I'm doing my meetings, doing all the stuff, working with my sponsor, working the steps and all that stuff now."

Kael said that he actually tried to get sober a couple of years before he went into rehab. "I was trying to do it on my own — and I'd been vocal about, 'Yup. I gave it up. I did this,'" he said. "I did an interview with [comedian] Dean Delray and I was talking about it. A short time thereafter, I was out on the road and I caught a case of the fuckits with whatever I was going through at that point — overdramatizing everything 'cause that's what I liked to do back in the day. Now I'm much more centered, much more focused. But I had just poured a drink and I was walking off the bus and a fan came running up to me: 'Kael, I wanna thank you. You going sober made me think about myself going sober.' And there I am standing with a fucking [drink] in my hand. 'Yeah, man. I'm just doing what I can to help out.' And I felt like such garbage.

"So it was important for me, for my own accountability, to be vocal about it," Kael explained. "'Cause I'm a people pleaser — I wanna make people happy; I don't want people to be disappointed in me — so, in the beginning, it was very important for me to be vocal about it so that others would know and I kind of have that babysitter collectively around the world watching. I'm much better at self-accountability and not needing other people to have their eye on me. I think I'm out from under that rock at this point. But collectively, we do the groups, we do our meetings — all kinds of stuff. So I still have that support system — even tighter support system. My God, [during] the pandemic, I did more meetings in Zoom than I ever did before the pandemic.

"Obviously, COVID was awful, but if you look for the silver lining to things, you can turn a negative into a positive if you just clear your mind, look around and take a full scope of what's going on and just really continue to do the right thing," he added.

Kael previously opened up about his battle with alcohol and drug addiction in a February 2021 interview with MACHINE HEAD frontman Robb Flynn's "No Fuckin' Regrets With Robb Flynn" podcast. At the time, he stated about his decision to get sober: "I was doing blow, but I realized when I went to rehab, I was always the key bump guy. So just keeping the levels up just enough to fight any sort of depression. And then also through that time, Ivan [Moody, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH singer] was very much the focus of the issues [with drugs and alcohol] that he was going through at that point. No surprise and no secrets there — we've all seen the stuff that happened back then. But he was the focal point for everybody. So I was kind of able to hide in the background while he was dealing with his stuff. So I got to slide under the radar most of the time.

"The real decline for me started maybe two months before I cleaned up," he continued. "Just life situations — I was going through a divorce at the time… We got divorced after I got out of rehab, but the process had kind of been started before. And honestly, my goal going into rehab was — I wrote [my then-wife] a note; she may still have it; I'm sure she probably does. It was basically, like, 'Hey, I'm going to get help' and become the guy that she married in the first place and not this person I had become. So I very much wanted to get back and get out of rehab and go back to being married and whatnot. But it changed. And it was real bad probably the last three weeks of it. I didn't get too out of control. [There were] a couple of times here and there where I would really let go and there were indications that things were getting worse for me. But I basically ended up in just like a real depressed period, and I decided, 'Fuck, man. I can't do this anymore.' I called my buddy Greg, and he took me to rehab that day. And it was the weakest I've ever felt in my life, walking into that rehab. But then once I got out of rehab, I was, like, that's the fucking strongest I've ever been, is admitting that I can't deal with this and I need to figure something else out."

Kael went on to say that things got so bad for him at one point that he didn't always enjoy performing live. "When you're on stage at Wembley, sold-out show, and you're on stage going, 'Ah. Can we just get the fuck off here?', something's fucking wrong with your endorphin levels," he laughed. "My body was just so beat up. I never played fucked up on stage, but I definitely played tired from the night before many times. And that was one of those nights. My body was beat up from the night before. We probably had a day off in London. Me and my bass tech used to daydrink all day long."

Back in April 2018, Kael told the KLAQ radio station that he was "going through about an eight-ball of cocaine a week" at the height of his addiction. "That got to be the biggest problem for me," he revealed. "That and depression, the two things, were not good. I didn't realize it until I got into rehab that I was self-medicating with cocaine to get my dopamine levels up to fight the depression. I never even thought about that. And then when you come off it, you crash hard."

Kael first revealed his battle with addiction in a series of tweets, saying that his then-wife played a "major role" in helping him get clean. "Had she not busted me trying to restock after burning through $1300 in blow in two days in late January [2018], I truly believe that I would not be here today," he wrote.

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH released its latest album, "AfterLife", in August 2022.

In a new interview with Mark Strigl, GREAT WHITE guitarist Mark Kendall opened up about last year's passing of the band's original singer, Jack Russell. Mark said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Jack and I were connected at the hip for our whole career. There was no hatred or anything. It was just addictions and things like that that just happened. And I don't even take that personally. It was just we wanted him to get better. And I did a dedication to him live at a [GREAT WHITE] show [a few days after he died]. I just wanted people to know that we were brothers. He had the greatest voice, man — the guy [had] max talent. And I had an opportunity to go on Eddie Trunk['s SiriusXM radio show], when we did this [The Mountain Music Festival] gig [in Tennessee last August] or whatever. And we got to be on his show for an hour and speak about Jack. I wanted to share stories 'cause we had so much time together."

Reflecting on his earliest memories of Jack, Mark said: 'Literally, I met him when I was 20 years old. He was only 17. So, we had all that history, all those records, all those tours. And it was a shame to lose him so early. But this was never personal, why we were not [playing] together [at the end of his life], because I always hear the fans [say], because, I guess, they don't understand. Why don't we patch it up?, they would say. We've never even argued. I mean, literally maybe had two arguments our whole career. This had everything to do with — and I'm personally an alcoholic also. I mean, I got sober in 2008. He kind of couldn't overcome his demons, but he's not here to defend himself, so I don't like to get negative when I speak about him."

Kendall added: "[Jack] was playing in Hollywood when he was 16 years old in some like band that played like YES, progressive, out there just singing. Man, he could sing anything. He could sound like a chick singing a beautiful ballad or rock super hard. And really, we had so many special moments, because we used to pretend like we had made it [when GREAT WHITE was just starting out]. We were kids pretending — this is like the law of attraction stuff. Like, pretending to do interviews on cassette players. Like, how long has the band been together? We didn't even have a bass player yet, and we used to pretend like we were playing the Forum at his parents' house in the living room. And all these things happened. That's what makes it so surreal and a blessing and all that. It was just a lot of special times. And his parents were amazing — he had the greatest mom and dad."

Kendall paid tribute to Russell during GREAT WHITE's August 16, 2024 concert at The Devon Lakeshore Amphitheater in Decatur, Illinois, Kendall addressed the crowd, saying: "I'm sure you've heard that our brother Jack Russell passed away. He was the greatest singer ever and we're grateful for everything he contributed to GREAT WHITE. And I know he's up in heaven and he's jamming right now with his band. So, we love Jack and tonight we'd like you to love him too."

Russell died on August 7, 2024 at the age of 63 but his death was not announced until more than a week later, on August 15, 2024. At the time, GREAT WHITE released a statement via social media in which the band said: "Our deepest condolences to the family of Jack Russell. We hope they take comfort in knowing Jack's incredible voice will live on forever. His love for the fans and his sons went unmatched, as was his own love for rock music.

"What do you say about someone that was there by your side on such an amazing journey, the good and the bad? We prefer to let the music fill in the blanks. All those wonderful years together will be held close to our hearts. It was a privilege and joy to share the stage with him -many shows, many miles, and maximum rock. In the studio, Jack was amazing. He always came ready to work. And work hard, he did. Jack stayed until he got the best performance for each song. He brought the same excellence to every show. The consistency of his live performances were always beyond comparison.

"Rest In Peace, to one of rock's biggest champions."

Russell's death was announced by his family in a social media statement. The statement read: "With tremendous sadness, we announce the loss of our beloved Jack Patrick Russell — father, husband, cousin, uncle, and friend.

"Jack passed peacefully in the presence of his wife Heather Ann Russell, son Matthew Hucko, cousin Naomi Breshears Barbor, and dear friends Billy and Cheryl Pawelcik.

"Jack is loved and remembered for his sense of humor, exceptional zest for life, and unshakeable contribution to rock and roll where his legacy will forever thrive.

"His family asks for privacy at this time."

The news of Jack's passing came less than a month after he announced that he was retiring from touring following a diagnosis of Lewy body dementia.

"To my fans and friends, it is with the heaviest of hearts that I must announce my retirement from the road," Russell said in a statement on July 17, 2024. "After a recent diagnosis of Lewy body dementia (LBD) and multiple system atrophy (MSA) in May 2024, I am unable to perform at the level I desire and at the level you deserve. Words cannot express my gratitude for the many years of memories, love and support. Thank you for letting me live my dreams. You have made my life a wonder."

Lewy body dementia is the second most common cause of neurodegenerative dementia after Alzheimer's disease.

Lewy body dementia impacts memory, decision-making and ability to solve problems. It has led to motor and muscle weakness and rigidity. It also can cause sleep disorders and hallucinations.

Lewy body dementia is often misdiagnosed as Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease due to its early similarity to those other neurodegenerative diseases.

After actor and comedian Robin Williams took his own life in August 2014, autopsy results revealed he was suffering from LBD.

In July 2024, Kendall reflected on Russell's departure from GREAT WHITE in an interview with Brazil's Alma Hard. "It was awful," Mark said. "We basically just said we wanted him to get well and be better, because he wasn't able to perform up to his potential because of addiction. And I myself have been sober for almost 16 years and I work with a lot of people that suffer and are struggling. I only work with people who need help. But some people, it's harder than others; the addiction just overwhelms them and they really have a hard time stopping. And I never take anyone's addiction personal."

Mark continued: "Jack Russell has never done anything to hurt me. He just had an addiction. He's still a brother. It's unfortunate because he's such a talent. He had one of the best rock voices ever. He could sing anything — beautiful ballads, anything hard, heavy-hitting. He had the range, good-quality voice — just the greatest ever. So it was a little tough because we made a band together, just me and him. When he first met me, he auditioned for my band and then he said, 'Why don't you and me get away from this deal and go make our own thing?' And so the brotherhood was just amazing from the get-go. And we created everything from nothing, just him and I, getting this bass player and that drummer and just plugging away and making music. So you hate for something to happen to where someone can't perform to their potential anymore. It's unfortunate. But we're just moving down the road. We, of course, wish him the best. I know he's really in a bad spot. So you've just gotta pray for people."

Russell was performing with his version of GREAT WHITE when a pyrotechnics display sparked a nightclub fire that killed 100 people at a 2003 concert in Rhode Island. At the time of the fire, the group that was on the road was called JACK RUSSELL'S GREAT WHITE. Mark Kendall, who founded GREAT WHITE with Russell in 1982, later said he was asked to join Russell and his solo band on the tour to help boost attendance. Guitarist Ty Longley died in the blaze.

Russell exited GREAT WHITE in December 2011 after he was unable to tour with the group due a series of injuries, including a perforated bowel and a shattered pelvis. Jack largely blamed these injuries on his alcohol and painkiller addictions as well as the prednisone drug he was prescribed.

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 most recently performing as JACK RUSSELL'S GREAT WHITE while the others are continuing as GREAT WHITE.

In October 2022, GREAT WHITE officially named Brett Carlisle as its new lead singer. Carlisle joined 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.

Russell's autobiography, titled "The True Tale Of Mista Bone: A Rock + Roll Narrative", was released last year via Gatekeeper Press. Penned by author Katelyn Louise "K.L." Doty, it features a sentimental foreword by Lita Ford, with additional commentary from Eric Singer, Eddie Trunk, John Kalodner, Kip Winger and others. The book, with a cover photo by legendary rock photographer Mark Weiss, is available in paperback, hardcover and e-book form.

For more information, visit www.jackrussellbook.com.

During an appearance on Billy Corgan's new podcast "The Magnificent Others", Gene Simmons reflected on the musical chemistry of the original KISS lineup, including drummer Peter Criss and guitarist Ace Frehley, both of whom originally split with KISS in the early 1980s, rejoined briefly in the mid-1990s, and hadn't played with the band in more than 20 years before the conclusion of KISS's farewell tour. Regarding Peter, Gene said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "He's a throwback to when drummers had swing. So he was never a rock drummer. That certainly helped that sound, yes. If the kick was too heavy — [John] Bonham later; and Bonham got his thing from Carmine [Appice]. Look, everybody listens to everybody else, and you like this, you take a piece and your DNA then becomes your own, but it's a pastiche."

On the topic of what it was like to play with Peter, Gene said: "We loved the feeling of it. It made the music seamless. But I have to tell you that Peter… We were all untrained musicians. Peter played by feel and didn't play by verse-bridge-chorus ideas and didn't quite understand that because he was not a songwriter. He didn't play a musical instrument; drums are percussive, not musical. So literally, you can hear 'Strutter' or one of those songs and the pattern on the drums is different in the bridge, then it'll go to a verse pattern, in the verse pattern he had in the middle of the chorus, or in the riff, and switch to a chorus pattern. And there's some strange thing that worked at it, but not logically. I mean, when Keith Moon — he's not Keith Moon; he couldn't touch Keith Moon — but when Keith Moon played with THE WHO, you can't quite figure out what the patterns are.

"I'll never forget [at one of the early KISS gigs], however good, bad or otherwise, Paul's [Stanley, KISS frontman] out there putting on his Southern accent. 'All right, y'all, we're gonna do a song now,' blah, blah, blah. 'It's called 'Strutter'.' And he's talking about a girl walking down the street and he's doing that thing, and I'm hearing, 'Psst, psst, psst.' And I turn around, because I'm a little bit in the dark. Paul's got the spotlight, and Peter wants to say — and my hand to God — Peter goes, 'Which one's that one?' And this is after we rehearsed it for a hundred times.

"He was a feel guy," Simmons explained. "You see the template and you're about to play a song. You know where the bridge and the chorus are gonna be. Eight bars of this, then you do the riff. You know where you're gonna go. Peter was just along for the ride."

As for his impressions of Frehley when the guitarist first auditioned for KISS, Simmons said: "He immediately tore open the doors of what could be, what should be, because we were in a rat-infested loft, maybe twice as big as this room, with egg crates that we stuck on the wall that still had some cracked eggs. And, of course, at night huge dinosaur cockroaches would come out. Oh, it was horrible. There were no windows and everything. But we didn't care. We were doing this thing and, 'Wow,' we're hearing that sound. And we auditioned players, and this guy comes in who plugs in… And Ace plugs in and starts playing while we're talking to another guy, and I walked up to him and said, 'Buddy, you better sit down before I knock you out. What are you doing? We're talking.' He was oblivious that there was another meeting going on, that he had to sit there civilly and wait for his turn. And when he got up, we said, 'Okay, listen, pal, we're gonna do a song called 'Deuce'. Here's the riff. We'll do two verses, bridge. When the riff starts, I'll point to you. You've heard it enough, and you do a solo based on the riff.' He said, 'Ah, okay.' And he talked like that. And we're going, 'Boy, he's a weird guy. He's got one orange sneaker, one red sneaker. Just pigeon toed and all. Oh, boy, this guy is gonna be…' And then he dug in. And his head, like he's on stage, just that rubbery thing. And Paul and I looked at each other, 'Wow!' And you don't know what you're looking for, but you certainly know when you hear it and see it. And… it just kind of happened."

Gene added: "I'll tell you a big bit of info is, Ace was so serious about his guitar playing, the solos, he would go home and learn and he would work out the guitar solos so that when he would play live or in the studio, they were parts just like [the rest of the songs]… He would play note for note with the right vibrato and everything. That's when he was committed to it, and that's one of the things live fans kept pointing to. 'Wow, it sounds just like…' You bet it is, 'cause he cared enough to learn his own solos… His influences spoke loudly: [Jimmy] Page and [Jeff] Beck."

Last June, Simmons was asked by Backstage Pass if there are any things that have happened over the past 50 years that he would handle differently if he could go back in time. He responded in part: "Well, I'm sad in retrospect — you know, hindsight's 20/20 — I'm sad that I wasn't more hard on Ace and Peter, the two original guys who played guitar and drums in the band."

Apparently referencing Ace's and Peter's troubles with drugs and alcohol, Gene continued: "I'd never been high or drunk and never smoked cigarettes, so I've always been an outcast in that way. The rest of the world seemed to be drug-fueled.

"Ace and Peter… have as much credit for the beginning of the band as Paul and I do. There's no question it was that chemistry. And they both had unique voices, unique personalities and all that. And they should have been here with us 50 or 55 years later and enjoying the fruits of their labor. But sadly, they're not. And it's their own doing. They were in and out of the band three different times. They were let go three different times because of the same old thing. It's not even unique. Go to almost every band [and] you'll find people ingesting stuff more than the bum on the street corner, except they're richer and they can afford to ingest more. It's sad."

Asked how he managed to not get sucked into the drug-fueled lifestyle of being a global rock star, Gene said: "Well, the word 'no' is in the dictionary. Just by observation, I've never seen anybody drunk be witty or intelligent. Have you? And people who are high sound like aliens. And people who smoke stink like ashtrays.

"Look, I can understand if smoking or drinking or getting high would make you smarter, richer, made your shmeckel bigger, made you more attractive — all those things that we all wish we had. 'I wish this. I wish that.' But nothing happens, really. In fact, you'll probably throw up on the shoes your girlfriend just bought. You won't be witty. The next day your head will hurt, and if you drink enough, your shmeckel is not gonna work. So I don't get it. Chances are pretty good you're gonna get into a fight.

"I remember when I was 13, 14, I used to go to these teenage parties where 16-year-olds would gather because I was always bigger, so they'd invite me," Simmons recalled. "They'd think I was older. And like a vulture on the side, I'd just wait for the guys to get drunk and then just swoop in and take any girl I wanted."

KISS played the final concert of its "End Of The Road" farewell tour on December 2, 2023 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

KISS's most recent touring lineup consisted of original members Simmons and Stanley, alongside later band additions, guitarist Tommy Thayer (since 2002) and drummer Eric Singer (on and off since 1991).

GUNS N' ROSES, TOOL and RIVAL SONS have been added to Ozzy Osbourne's farewell concert in Birmingham, United Kingdon.

Taking place on July 5 at Villa Park, the all-star event — billed as "Back To The Beginning" — sold out in less than 10 minutes last week.

The concert will mark the first time that the original lineup of BLACK SABBATH — Osbourne, guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward — have played together in 20 years.

Also set to appear at the event are METALLICA, SLAYER, PANTERA, GOJIRA, ALICE IN CHAINS, HALESTORM, LAMB OF GOD, ANTHRAX and MASTODON.

In addition, there will be a performance by a "supergroup of musicians" including Duff McKagan and Slash (GUNS 'N' ROSES),Billy Corgan (THE SMASHING PUMPKINS),Fred Durst (LIMP BIZKIT),K.K. Downing (JUDAS PRIEST),Jake E. Lee (OZZY OSBOURNE),Wolfgang Van Halen (VAN HALEN, MAMMOTH WVH),Tom Morello (RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE),Andrew Watt, Chad Smith (RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS),David Ellefson (MEGADETH),Vernon Reid (LIVING COLOUR),Whitfield Crane (UGLY KID JOE),David Draiman (DISTURBED),Frank Bello (ANTHRAX),Jonathan Davis (KORN),Lzzy Hale (HALESTORM),Mike Bordin (FAITH NO MORE),Rudy Sarzo (OZZY OSBOURNE, QUIET RIOT),Sammy Hagar, Scott Ian (ANTHRAX),Sleep Token II (SLEEP TOKEN) and Papa V Perpetua (GHOST).

Ozzy — who hasn't played a full show since late 2018 — announced his last-ever performance on February 5.

Proceeds from the "Back To The Beginning" show will support Cure Parkinson's, the Birmingham Children's Hospital and Acorn Children's Hospice, a Children's Hospice supported by Aston Villa.

The original lineup of BLACK SABBATH last performed in 2005. Since then, SABBATH has played in partial reunions but never in its original lineup.

The legendary BLACK SABBATH frontman was diagnosed in 2003 with Parkin 2 — a very rare genetic form of Parkinson's. During a TV appearance in January 2020, the singer disclosed that he was 'stricken" with the disease which occurs when the nerve cells of the body degenerate and levels of dopamine are reduced. Dopamine is an essential chemical that is produced by these nerve cells which send signals to different parts of the brain to control movements of the body.

Ozzy's health issues, including suffering a nasty fall and dislodging metal rods placed in his spine following a quad-bike accident in 2003, as well as catching COVID-19 three years ago, forced him to cancel some of his previously announced tours.

While Osbourne's health issues forced him to scrap most of his live appearances, the musician said he would return if his condition improved.

Despite his health problems, Osbourne has performed a couple of times in the last three years, including at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in August 2022 and at the NFL halftime show at the season opener Los Angeles Rams and Buffalo Bills game in September 2022.

In a new interview with Popdust, SHINEDOWN singer Brent Smith weighed in on a debate about people using an A.I. (artificial intelligence) music generator as a tool to create melodies, harmonies and rhymes based on artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms and machine learning (ML) models. Brent said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "The interesting thing about A.I. is you have to look at exactly what it stands for: artificial intelligence. One of the things about A.I. is that it's learning off of servers from inundated information that ultimately was created by a living human being. So every bit of knowledge it has, it's pulling from what somebody already documented. So that's an interesting thought process.

"When it comes to the health care community and it comes to A.I. being used to figure out how to cure diseases or how to fundamentally create treatments for the betterment of human beings and their physical health, that's a different animal. So, when you're looking at that, and it's hard because people have a process of going, 'Okay, well, when is the line when you're creating art and a machine is creating art or a computer is creating art and you're giving that computer….' Who owns the rights to that? And that's where people get a little nervous to talk about this, but the reality, how I look at A.I. as far as for the arts, and when I take a step back and look at it with a very wide lens, I think that human beings are connected to each other."

Smith continued: "Music is a very powerful part of our existence. There's a great quote by a philosopher in the 1800s, and the quote was, 'Without music, life would be a mistake.' It was actually said by Friedrich Nietzsche, which is probably one of the most profound quotes ever, 'cause we are connected to sound, we are connected to hearing a human voice or the pattern of a chord progression and how it lifts and how it like makes the hair on your arm stand up. There's a very real thing that's happening there. I haven't heard a song created by A.I. that's made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

"When you think about books like '1984' and you think about 'Ender's Game' and you think about 'Terminator' — we made movies about artificial intelligence, 'I, Robot', and it did not turn out very well. So it is weird to kind of see like this ideology of these robots actually becoming a real thing. And I will tell people, 'Go watch 'Terminator' and tell me how you feel afterwards.'"

SHINEDOWN released two singles, "Three Six Five" and "Dance, Kid, Dance", on January 24 via Atlantic Records.

Last month, Brent addressed the fact that "Three Six Five" and "Dance, Kid, Dance" are musically completely different from each other, telling Audacy Check In: "I think it definitely had a bit more tempo than maybe the last song that people were familiar with on maybe the more mainstream-leaning, pop-leaning-type songs. So we kind of bumped up the BPMs a little bit on that. And 'Dance, Kid, Dance', we just went to the wall with that."

He continued: "It's interesting. I had a friend of mine the other day say to me, 'Are you a rock band? Are you a metal band? Are you an alternative band? Are you a pop [band]? What are you?' And I'm, like, 'We're just SHINEDOWN.' We play in a big sandbox.

"We've always been a genre-bending band because we're inspired by a lot of different styles and we're constantly evolving," Brent said. "So we felt like the right move, with the first new material that people would hear from us, that we gave them kind of two sides of us."

Elaborating on SHINEDOWN's need to explore a variety of different styles on each album, Brent said: "I think along the way, people started to get pigeonholed or they started using boxes or 'stay in your lane' or 'you're only this genre'.

"When you expand your palette sonically or what have you, you're just trying to reach as much of the audience as you can. Some days you feel like you wanna throw down and rock, some days you're a little bit more emotional. But that's the beauty of music, man. It constantly evolves. And the only thing that we've ever done in this band is anybody from anywhere at any time, we wanted them to be able to know that SHINEDOWN has a lot of peaks and valleys, kind of like a rollercoaster ride. But there's something for everyone."

The two new singles embody the many multifaceted talents of the SHINEDOWN: One part rock 'n' roll dynamism and one part incredible songwriting and passion. "Dance, Kid, Dance" hits hard right out of the gate with incredibly heavy guitars and a tempo that just doesn't quit. It's part social commentary and part "don't overthink it, let's just rock out and LET'S DANCE!" The song pushes boundaries and is a reminder of why SHINEDOWN hold the record for the most No. 1 songs at Active Rock Radio of all time with "Dance, Kid, Dance".

"Three Six Five" is an example of the band's ability to tackle the tough subjects through impeccable songwriting. Anyone who has ever experienced loss knows that every day we draw breath is an opportunity to live out loud — to live for those we have lost. At its core, "Three Six Five" is a reminder to stop wasting time and focus on the moments we have right now and treasure time with the ones you love the most. The song honors the people in our lives who aren't with us anymore. It reminds us to stop taking time for granted, because it's not promised. Take chances, be bold, and don't sweat the small stuff, because as the song says: a lot can happen in a year. "Even though I said all the things that mattered most, while I held on tight to the end of the rope, I could keep you close, but I couldn't keep you here, a lot can happen in a year."

Smith and SHINEDOWN bassist and producer Bass co-wrote "Three Six Five", and "Dance, Kid, Dance" was co-written by Smith, Bass and Dave Bassett. The songs were produced by Bass at his own Big Animal Studio in Charleston, South Carolina.

When "Three Six Five" and "Dance, Kid, Dance" were first released, Smith said: "We needed to approach everything different this time… The last two albums were both conceptual so it was important for us to really ask ourselves creatively where do we want to go. The answer to that was we want to go everywhere so there was no specific direction. We just started writing, and let the new songs guide us. I also think we stopped saying 'why?' and started saying 'why not?'"

In celebration of the new songs for 2025, the "Dance, Kid, Dance" tour kicks off on April 25 in Des Moines, Iowa and will be one of the band's largest U.S. tours ever. The 35-date run will hit some of the country's most iconic venues, including New York's Madison Square Garden (July 20),Boston's TD Garden (July 19) and Nashville's Bridgestone Arena (May 10) and more! Joining them on the tour are BEARTOOTH and BUSH (on select dates),as well as Morgan Wade on all shows.

For the tour SHINEDOWN has teamed up with Musicians On Call (MOC) and will be donating $1 for every ticket sold for the tour. As the nation's leading provider of live music in hospitals, Musicians On Call has delivered the healing power of music to patients, families and caregivers in healthcare environments for 25 years. More than one million people across all 50 states have experienced the joys of live music in the hospital setting through MOC's bedside, virtual and streaming programs. MOC Volunteers perform live for children and adults facing any health challenge, including Veterans recovering in VA facilities, family members supporting loved ones in need and healthcare workers caring for patients. The collaboration is just one of the many charities SHINEDOWN supports as they frequently give back to organizations in need.

SHINEDOWN continues to demonstrate that they are one of the most forward-thinking powerhouses in music, forever pushing the boundaries of what it means to be a modern-day rock band. The tour and new music not only kick off a new era for SHINEDOWN but continues to celebrate the momentous acclaim the band received from their juggernaut song "A Symptom Of Being Human" off their seventh studio album "Planet Zero" (Atlantic Records). The song, which has reached over 100 million streams and counting, crossed over not only to Alternative but Top 40 radio and resonated with fans across the globe for the unifying message of its lyrics: that it is our human connections that matter the most.

In a new interview with Mexico's Summa Inferno, TOOL bassist Justin Chancellor was asked about a possible follow-up to the band's 2019 album "Fear Inoculum". He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): " When we get back from [our] trip [to Mexico and South America in March] — I think it's only three weeks we're gonna be [there] — but we have already shared with each other a lot of these new ideas, but when we get back, we're actually gonna dedicate the next three months after that in the studio to organizing our ideas.

"There's a lot of stages in the process," Justin explained. "And much of it is just every day — we all have ideas and when they're good, when we like them, we kind of save them or memorize them. But then the really difficult process is when you actually get together and make decisions about how it's going to end up. And that becomes a little more mathematical, a little more like in the classroom — there's a blackboard and there's numbers and you have to make decisions. So that's the stage we haven't completely pulled off yet, but we're committed to do that when we get back. Before the summer, we're gonna spend those few months really organizing our ideas. We already know what we like. We've all shared our individual ideas with each other, and we have a really good pile of stuff. You have to make those decisions, and you have to kind of wrestle with each other a bit to get to that next stage. And then you have to record it, which is a whole another thing as well. You go into the studio, and you have to — it's like a pregnancy almost. When you go to the studio, you have to make this final decision of how it's gonna sound and how you're gonna play it, and it's gonna live like that forever. So it's a real delicate thing to be able to pull off. And I don't think it's unreasonable that we take a long time at all. I think that's only natural, and that's why I'm proud of it, because it was worked on really hard."

Asked if it is fair to say that there will be new TOOL music in the next two years, Justin said: "Yeah, well, the other thing is the climate of releasing music has completely changed, especially when you take a long time to make new music. It's always a bit different when it comes out. So, we've talked about releasing a single, just one song— we could do that. We could also release an EP. And I think because we have such a dedicated fan base, everyone's gonna be up for it. They'll all be interested, whatever the way it comes out. So we might not necessarily have to really wrestle out a whole album. We talked about the option of just maybe doing it a little differently and doing a song at a time. Or you could release a single and then another single, another single, and then after a year of releasing singles, you could put them all together on a record and make that an album.

"I'm not really answering your question fully, but it doesn't really have any rules when you're making music," he explained. "We're just kind of making it up. But I can tell you that we absolutely have to write new music to continue doing what we're doing. We wouldn't be happy just to just sit on our laurels and play the same stuff over and over again. We really want to create new music to be able to continue doing what we love. So it's coming. Trust me."

Asked if he and his TOOL bandmates feel any kind of pressure to satisfy their fans when it comes to releasing new music, Justin said: "Um, not really. It's more of a pressure on ourselves to be proud of what we allow to go out into the world. And part of that is really working hard on it and creating something that you're proud of, not kind of being flippant about it, really taking it seriously as an art form. So the pressure really is on ourselves, I would say. And as far as everyone else, you can't really please everyone. So, there's always going to be people that don't like it, and there's gonna be people that do like it. There's songs that I don't like that Adam [Jones, TOOL guitarist] likes. And then sometimes that changes over time. There'll be a song that I don't like playing, but then, all of a sudden or over time, I start to be fond of it and see the beauty in it.

"It's art," Justin added. "Each to their own. And if you try to please everybody, it's not gonna work. So you really just have to be true to yourself."

A year ago, Justin told Metal Hammer that fans won't have to wait another 13 years to hear a new studio album from him and his TOOL bandmates, referencing the gap between 2006's "10,000 Days" and "Fear Inoculum".

"Danny [Carey, TOOL drummer] is [63] now, so there's no thought of taking 13 years if we're gonna do it," he explained. "We're gonna have to be more efficient, and we've been talking of ways that we can do that. Maybe taking a leaf out of how me and Peter [Mohamed, Justin's bandmate in side project MTVOID] work with MTVOID — instead of staring at each other going 'Come on! Get it out of ya!' maybe we could do a bit more at home. We'll see!"

In a separate interview with Revolver magazine, Chancellor and Carey talked about a possible follow-up to "Fear Inoculum". Addressing the fact that "Fear Inoculum" marked the band's first full-length effort in 13 years, due to creative, personal, and legal issues bandmembers encountered since the release of "10,000 Days", Justin said: "It'll be different this time. Everyone's life is different, and everyone's expectations are different. Time is precious now, so you try and look for ways to be more efficient with the process. We've had a lot of discussion about that and how we can bring a new record to fruition in a slightly different way."

Speaking about the TOOL songwriting process, Danny said: "Our filter system is pretty intense. If it gets by the four of us in the band, then we figure it's going to work. It's a really painstaking process that we go through to finish [an album], and get it where we are all completely convinced. It pays off in the long run because we never really get tired of performing our songs. It gives rise to a vehicle that we can all believe in."

As for a possible musical direction for TOOL's next LP, Carey said: "Who knows? It could flip-flop and we could just go back to doing an 'Undertow' [type of] record" of shorter songs. "That's kind of appealing to me. I always like change, whatever direction it goes."

Another possibility is a new EP rather a full-length release.

"We're free agents now," Carey said. "We aren't signed to a label anymore. We are free to do whatever we want."

Quite possibly the era's most highly anticipated album, "Fear Inoculum" arrived in August of 2019. Debuting at No. 1 on Billboard's Top 200, the album earned heaps of critical praise with NPR saying, "'Fear Inoculum' was worth the 13-year wait," Revolver proclaiming the album "a masterpiece to be dissected for years to come" and Consequence saying the release finds "TOOL in peak performance."

In 2022, TOOL released "Opiate2", a re-imagined and extended version of the 1992 EP's title track and an accompanying short film, marking the band's first new video in 15 years. The band also unveiled the first incarnation of "Fear Inoculum" vinyl, dubbed the Ultra Deluxe edition, the limited offering included five 180-gram vinyl discs emblazoned with a unique etching and accompanied by an elaborate pictorial booklet including never-before-seen artwork.

TOOL formed in 1990, releasing five studio albums: "Undertow" (1993),"Ænima" (1996),"Lateralus" (2001),"10,000 Days" (2006) and "Fear Inoculum" (2019); two EPs: "72826" (1991) and "Opiate" (1992),and the limited-edition boxset "Salival" (2000). The band has won four Grammy Awards: "Best Metal Performance" (1998, "Ænima"),"Best Metal Performance" (2002, "Schism"),"Best Recording Package" (2007, "10,000 Days") and "Best Metal Performance" (2020, "7empest").

TOOL is Danny Carey (drums),Justin Chancellor (bass),Adam Jones (guitar) and Maynard James Keenan (vocals).

Kevin Cronin, the iconic voice and writer behind REO SPEEDWAGON's greatest hits, spoke to the "Let There Be Talk" podcast with rock and roll comedian Dean Delray about his upcoming "Brotherhood Of Rock" tour with STYX during which he will perform REO SPEEDWAGON's 1980 album "Hi Infidelity" in its entirety, while STYX will play 1977's "The Grand Illusion" from front to back. Kevin said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): " Yeah, we're both doing the whole albums. Both REO and STYX have done several residencies at the Venetian theater in Vegas. And we did the 'Hi Infidelity' show three times, and we put together a whole new presentation for the residency, as did STYX for their 'Grand Illusion' residency. And so this summer we just thought, 'You know what? Those shows did so well and people reacted so well to them…' 'Cause you play the whole album and then you also do all the hits that people wanna do too. So it's a cool thing and it's unique because we've never done it — neither band has ever done it — anywhere else except in Vegas. And so we did it as REO SPEEDWAGON three times over the past year and a half, but that same band is gonna be touring this year as the KEVIN CRONIN BAND, because I'm not able to tour as REO SPEEDWAGON anymore."

Asked why is unable to tour as REO SPEEDWAGON anymore, Kevin said: "Well [laughs], that's a good question. And it's a complicated question. God, it's a tough one because our bass player, Bruce Hall, who, he and I worked together for almost 50 years. I was instrumental in getting him in the band. Any side project I ever did, Bruce was part of it. But over the past several years, things became a little bit of a struggle for us, just musically, personally and physically. And Bruce's had back problems for a long time and it finally just gave out on him. And we had a week before the first Las Vegas residency. So he had to go home and take care of his health. And we could have either canceled the residency and the gigs to follow, but I put so much of my heart and soul into that residency show. People plan their vacations. People come to Vegas from Europe and stuff. And I just was, like, 'If I can pull this off, I've gotta try to do it without Bruce.' We just got lucky that Elton John had retired, and our buddy Matt Bissonette, who had been with Elton for 12 years, was available. He came in with charts for every song, and within two days the charts were gone. He had the bass parts. Then he goes, 'Teach me the harmony, the vocal harmonies.' I'm, like, 'Okay.' I gave him all the harmony parts. And he's just an amazing bass player, great singer, good dude, and the chemistry between Dave [Amato, guitar] and Bryan [Hitt, drums], who have been with me in REO SPEEDWAGON for 35-plus years, and Derek Hilland, who took over when Neal Doughty retired in late 2022, the five of us just — something happened, something magical happened. But Matt was subbing for Bruce, and Bruce was… His doctors told him he'd be ready on March 1st of 2024. And he wasn't; he wasn't there. And then it got pushed back to June 1st. And meanwhile, I'm thinking by this time, I'm not sure what's gonna happen. Bruce, he had major back surgery and there were some other issues, musical issues, that popped up. He was supposed to be there March 1st — didn't do it. And I'm, like, 'I don't know what's gonna happen here.' So my thought was, let's keep Matt in the band so when Bruce joins, it'll just be a six-piece group. I was working on a setlist where Bruce and Matt could kind of switch off between bass and acoustic guitar. And it was gonna be a little awkward, but at least that we would have the insurance and Bruce would have the security that if, for whatever reason… Because the show is one thing — getting on and off the bus, packing your bags, getting out of hotel rooms, when you have major back surgery at 70 years old, that's tough. So I needed Matt as an insurance policy. And then, out of nowhere, I understand, through an attorney, that Bruce has decided to sit out the 2024 tour as long as he gets paid in full as if he were touring. And so we didn't have much choice. That's what we did, and that's what he accepted. And we went ahead and finished the 2024 tour with Matt Bissonette on bass, five-piece band. It was the most successful tour we've had in 35 years. The band was just on fire, the crowds were crazy and it became this just-good-vibes thing.

"My thing — I'm a lead singer of the band," Kevin added. "I didn't run for office, but I became the leader of the band. I'm the guy who pulls it together. And so I just felt that band lifting me up in a way that I hadn't felt in a long time. And it really felt good. And I felt like I was lifting them up and there was just this positive vibe going on."

Cronin went on to say that "Bruce was never fired. I don't have the right to fire him," he explained. "And it's funny because there was kind of a narrative, an inaccurate narrative that was kind of circulating online that put it in terms of that I somehow quit REO SPEEDWAGON to pursue a solo career. And that's bullshit. And then there was another narrative that I somehow prevented Bruce from touring with the group in 2024 when the truth is I was trying to find a way that he could tour with the band in 2024. And he — what I understood is that he decided to sit the tour out. So, I don't know exactly why. I can't tell you 'cause he never called and talked to me about it. But he did make some demands. He said that he'd be ready to come back in 2025. But he put these demands in place that — there were a number of demands, but two in particular.

"I've kind of stayed above the weeds here on this thing, 'cause I don't really feel like the fans care to know or need to know," Kevin continued. "If you've been in bands, you know — shit goes on, and it's a brotherly thing. And a lot of relationships are love-hate, and things get weird for awhile and then things get worked out. But there was a couple of demands that one of them it would have been irresponsible for me to go along with, and the other one, it was impossible for me to go along with. And so we just hit a stalemate. And the way our band is set up, Neal, Bruce and I are the three kind of heritage members. Even though Dave and Bryan have been with us for 35 years, they weren't there when the records were recorded. So it was a special relationship between the three of us. And there was a kind of a retirement situation that was built in so that if anyone left the band for whatever reason, they were well taken care of, as long as the band continues touring. So, it was a sweet deal, but Bruce, he just feels like if he's not in the band, then the band, it can't be REO SPEEDWAGON. And to me, it's, like, if there's two guys in a band who can't work together anymore and one of them has the ability to keep the band going and keep the legacy going and keep playing the songs for the fans who we've nurtured over a 50-year period and the other guy can't do that, well, then it's incumbent on the other guy to go, 'All right, maybe my time's up. Go ahead.' I mean, that's what [original CHEAP TRICK drummer] Bun E. Carlos did. When Bun E. and Robin [Zander, CHEAP TRICK singer] couldn't work together anymore, one or the other of them was gonna leave the band, Bun E. stepped down gracefully. Yeah, 'cause if Robin steps down, what are they gonna do? Robin is the face and the voice of the band. And for whatever reason, Bruce was listening to people that were giving him advice, I guess, to, like, 'If you're not in the band, then burn the whole thing down.'

"And at any rate, I'm not gonna stop," Cronin added. "Nobody can stop me from singing these songs, playing these songs and giving the fans what they want. And if you want the REO SPEEDWAGON experience, there's only one place you're gonna get it, and that's the KEVIN CRONIN BAND. It's the same band. I'm not going out there and singing a solo album worth of songs. I'm singing the songs that I wrote for REO SPEEDWAGON and the songs that Gary [Richrath] and I worked on together with REO SPEEDWAGON."

Last December, Kevin told Billboard that he "never quit" REO SPEEDWAGON. He added: "I never will quit the band. I just got outvoted and…have to stop calling it REO SPEEDWAGON." The vote Cronin referred to was a 2-1 decision with Doughty and Hall regarding the use of the REO SPEEDWAGON name.

The "Brotherhood Of Rock" tour, along with special guest Don Felder (a former lead guitarist of THE EAGLES),will kick off May 28 in Greenville, South Carolina at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena.

STYX and Kevin Cronin (as part of REO SPEEDWAGON) first toured together in 2000 and in 2001 after the 9/11 attacks, they came together to form the Rock To The Rescue 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, which still collects donations for local charities at every stop on STYX's ongoing tour.

General tickets for the trek, produced by Live Nation, are on sale now on LiveNation.com. STYX and the KEVIN CRONIN BAND are also offering VIP packages via their own StyxWorld.com and KevinCronin.com web sites, as well as on LiveNation.com. Citi is the official card of the "Brotherhood Of Rock" tour.