Professionally filmed video of METALLICA performing the song "Fuel" on June 16 at the first of two concerts at Ullevi stadium in Gothenburg, Sweden can be seen below.

According to Nyheter24, the West Coast of Sweden had experienced mostly dry weather in June before it started raining a short time prior to METALLICA taking the stage around 9 p.m. on June 16.

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

METALLICA launched the first Gothenburg show with "Creeping Death" from the band's second album, "Ride The Lightning", which came out in 1984. The group's 16-song set also included three new songs from METALLICA's latest LP, "72 Seasons": the title track, "If Darkness Had A Son" and "Sleepwalk My Life Away".

The band's setlist was as follows:

01. Creeping Death
02. Harvester Of Sorrow
03. Holier Than Thou
04. Until It Sleeps
05. 72 Seasons
06. If Darkness Had A Son
07. Fade To Black
08. Sleepwalk My Life Away
09. Orion
10. Nothing Else Matters
11. Sad But True
12. The Day That Never Comes
13. Battery
14. Fuel
15. Seek & Destroy
16. Master Of Puppets

Opening acts on the tour include Floor Jansen, EPICA, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH, ICE NINE KILLS, MAMMOTH WVH, PANTERA, ARCHITECTS, GRETA VAN FLEET and VOLBEAT.

METALLICA promises fans who purchase a two-day ticket that they won't see the same song twice for a total of over 30 songs spanning the band's 40-plus-year career.

Each weekend offers a variety of "Enhanced Experiences", ranging from access to a meet-and-greet, production and stage tour, food and beverage in the "Black Box" lounge to early entry into the venue and the Snake Pit. The very popular "Black Laminate" is back, now known as the "I Disappear Ticket", and is the ultimate pass for the fan who wants to run away with METALLICA for multiple weekends.

A single "I Disappear" ticket purchase gives you access to as many of METALLICA's 46 headlining tour dates across Europe and North America in 2023 and 2024 as you choose. You decide how many shows you'd like to attend around the world, and for how long, and METALLICA will make it as easy as possible.

According to Billboard, "72 Seasons" sold 146,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in its first week of release to land at position No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart. It marks the band's 12th Top 10-charting album, of which eight have reached the top two.

"72 Seasons" had the biggest week for any rock or hard rock album since TOOL's "Fear Inoculum" arrived in September 2019 with 270,000 equivalent album units.

"72 Seasons" was released on April 14 via METALLICA's own Blackened Recordings. Produced by Greg Fidelman with guitarist/vocalist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, it is METALLICA's first full-length collection of new material since "Hardwired…To Self-Destruct".

In the seven years since the arrival of "Hardwired… To Self-Destruct", METALLICA has reissued some of its classic albums, released a second live album with the San Francisco Symphony, commissioned a covers album featuring the likes of GHOST, VOLBEAT, WEEZER, Corey Taylor and THE HU, and landed on the Billboard songs chart with "Master Of Puppets" after a prominent placement in the hit Netflix show "Stranger Things".

In a new interview with Oran O'Beirne of Bloodstock TV, Dave Mustaine reflected on MEGADETH's special performance four months ago when he and his bandmates were joined by ex-MEGADETH guitarist Marty Friedman during the group's first-ever gig at Tokyo, Japan's famed Budokan. Friedman came up on stage for three songs toward the end of the main set on February 27: "Countdown To Extinction", "Tornado Of Souls" and "Symphony Of Destruction".

Asked if Marty's appearance with MEGADETH at Budokan felt like no time had passed since Friedman's departure 23 years ago, Dave said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It did have a lot of those emotions. It did feel like it was the good old days. Also, Marty has made quite a name for himself on his own since then. Of all of the ex-bandmembers of MEGADETH, Marty seems to be the only one that's ever amounted to anything. No offense to the other guys — that's how the facts are. If you look at their sales and stuff, Marty's the only one that's ever done anything significant. And to be able to go over and visit him in his world… It was neat to see him out of his environment. Plus, when he came in, he was very suggestive on some things to make the show really smooth. And he wanted to go over all the songs that we were playing several times to make sure everything was just really shit-hot. And, of course, Marty being in Marty fashion, he got out there and he mesmerized us all, me included. I found it kind of hard to watch him and do my job at the same time, but I very much wanted to just sit there and watch Kiko [Loureiro, current MEGADETH guitarist] and Marty play together, because they two are some of the greatest guitar players in hard rock and heavy metal right now, and to watch the two of them play together was remarkable."

Last month, Marty told "The Jasta Show" that the three songs that were chosen for him to perform with MEGADETH at Budokan were selected in an "organic" way. "It was like two buds in high school talking about, 'Let's go jam.' It was so incredibly casual. And I think that's the way it should be, really," he said. "And we just talked about a couple of songs. I wanted to do two songs, and then Dave says, 'Why don't we do another song?' And I'm, like, 'Okay. That's great.' Yeah, so we did the songs that we did, and there was no real rhyme and reason to which songs we did. But it turned out just fine and we enjoyed the hell out of it."

Friedman also shot down speculation that there was bad blood between him and Mustaine in the two decades since they parted ways. "The funny thing is there was really nothing between us ever in the time that we weren't playing together," he said. "And if there was, it was kind of like things that media kind of like… You know how they do these days — they'll take something that could possibly look negative out of, like, a two-hour interview, and that'll be the headline. There was never anything between us in the first place. If either of us e-mailed each other, it would be totally casual. So it wasn't unusual to hear from Dave and say, 'Dude, we're playing Budokan. You wanna jam?' It was just completely casual. So there really never was anything — definitely nothing that I know of that was of any kind of juicy, newsworthy arguments between us in the first place. It's boring. But it is what it is."

In April, Friedman told Michael Christopher of Metal Edge magazine that he had no regrets or disappointments about the fact that a proposed reunion of MEGADETH's "Rust In Peace" lineup failed to materialize nearly a decade ago, before the passing of drummer Nick Menza. "I never even thought about that," he said. "I don't even know how to answer the question. In the music business, projects are constantly being pitched and ideas are constantly happening. 'And what about this collaboration? What about that and what about this and what about that?' In Japan as well. There's just so many things that I'm doing.

"The 'Rust In Peace' thing was very interesting, the idea," he continued. "Whatever it took to make that happen wasn't there at the time, so it just didn't happen. But I don't have any regrets at all.

"I don't regret anything that I did in the band," Friedman added. "And I think that what they've done in my absence has been very, very good. I'm their biggest fan and proud of them for continuing to be a force in the kind of music that MEGADETH's set out to make. I mean, that's not easy to do for decades, so I'm proud of them."

Three years ago, Friedman admitted that money was a major motivator for him when he was approached about taking part in a reunion of MEGADETH's "Rust In Peace" lineup.

Friedman had met with guitarist/vocalist Dave Mustaine and then-bassist David Ellefson at the 2015 NAMM show in Anaheim, California to discuss the reunion, which would have seen him and Menza back in the mix.

Friedman opened up about his reasons for turning down the MEGADETH reunion in Mustaine's latest book, "Rust In Peace: The Inside Story Of The Megadeth Masterpiece", which details the making of the iconic record "Rust In Peace".

"My main thing was I'd be happy to do it, but I'm not going to take less money than I'm already making to do it," Marty said in part.

"I'd been in Japan for more than ten years cultivating a career with solid rewards. I was making money not only for myself but also for my management and staff. My manager has been with me fifteen years.

"Everything was sound and solid professionally, and when the offer came up to all of a sudden join MEGADETH again, as long as I would not be making less money, I was ready to go," he said. "But I was certainly not going to take a loss to join a band that, frankly, at that point, didn't seem like they had too much to offer musically. A couple of members of the band had recently quit, and musically I hadn't heard anything that they've done in a long time. I didn't know about how relevant they continued to be in the music business. It wasn't like MEGADETH was on the tip of people's tongues, at least not in Japan. I had reached the point where people stopped immediately connecting me to MEGADETH and were talking about the things that I had done in Japan."

According to Friedman, part of the reason he turned down the MEGADETH reunion is the fact that the group is largely seen as Mustaine's solo project, with members coming and going every couple of albums.

"Had it been more of a band situation and not such a one-man, Dave Mustaine-main-man party, I might have considered doing it for a little less," Marty said. "But, at the end of the day, MEGADETH is so much Mustaine because that's the way he engineered it. I didn't feel that kind of camaraderie, the four-man diamond, THE BEATLES, KISS, METALLICA. I felt like I would be going out there and tour and it was going to be Mustaine's big success. If I'm going to do that, I'm certainly not going to lose money to do that; I was doing great on my own in Japan."

Mustaine told Loudwire that he was put off by Friedman's financial demands when the topic of a "Rust In Peace" reunion was broached.

"Marty has a really successful career in Japan where he makes quite a lot of money," Dave said. "And this is the part where I thought it was a little weird, where he said he said that he has to pay all his team while he's gone instead of just himself. 'Cause I thought we'll pay you what you're making so that's switching horses in the middle of the river — it's no big deal unless you fall off. And then when we found out that he wanted to sell his merch, his this, his that, his this, his that, then he wanted this crazy amount of money and he wanted to fly first class everywhere. I said to our management, 'I can't deal with this.'"

In a 2016 interview with the "Eddie Trunk Podcast", Mustaine confirmed that MEGADETH didn't hold any rehearsals with Friedman while attempting a reunion of the "Rust In Peace" lineup.

"Marty had sent some e-mails saying, 'Oh, man, you know, the fans have this self-inflated importance of 'Rust In Peace' beyond what it really is. And I was, like, 'Huh?'" Dave said. 'So I didn't know if that was a backhand to the face of the fans or not, but he had basically said that if we were gonna do anything, it had to be better than 'Rust In Peace'. And he sent me over some links to some songs that he thought should be the direction that we were going in, and one of it was this J-Pop band with some Japanese girl singing, and I was, like, 'Uh-uh. This ain't gonna work.' More power to [Marty for being into that stuff]. Do what you want, Marty. He's a great guitar player. But I'm not gonna sing like a Japanese girl."

Photo credit: Gibson

Brazilian rockers, Icon Of Sin, have announced the upcoming release of their sophomore album, Legends, on August 4. The first single and video from the album, “Cimmerian”, are out today. Watch the video below, and pre-order/save Legends here.


“I’m living exciting times,” declares guitarist Marcelo Gelbcke. “Icon Of Sin, along with Landfall and Stormwarning, is one of my homes! I’ve always treated this band like one of my babies, and to consider it my official Heavy Metal band and becoming a real full member is so cool! I really love playing music with these talented guys and believe this current line-up is absolutely killer! I’ve been dreaming about this album for a long time, since we started writing it! Sharing it with the world is so exciting! I consider Legends to be the best music I’ve written with Sergio so far! Get ready, Metalheads!”


“I think this album is a higher level, a perfect evolution from the first,” continues Sergio Mazul, who wrote all of the album’s lyrics and co-produced Legends with along with Gelbcke. “More epic inspirations for lyrics and melodies, powerful chorus and tons of pure Heavy Metal guitar riffs. I’m sure that any kind of Metal fan - from the old school headbanger to the new generation of metalheads - will find this album a must and enjoy each one of the songs. Also, it’s one of my best musical works so far! I always give my soul in Semblant, StormWarning, and Icon Of Sin, and I’m really proud of the results that we reached. With Marcelo now part on the line-up, we have a killer live band ready to strike the stages around the globe.”




“I think we did great work in this album,” concludes singer Raphael Mendes, “we found the essence of Icon Of Sin and we have evolved our music. People will listen to it and will know that is Icon Of Sin. Legends is a strong album and it has great potential. I am really happy with the songs in this album. I can say that there is more variety than our debut album. There are a couple of songs that will make people blown away, they will love it.”


Legends comes hot on the heels of the success of the self-titled debut album, which was released on Frontiers during 2021.


Icon Of Sin is a band centered around the vocal talents of the popular Brazilian YouTube sensation Raphael Mendes together with two other stellar Brazilian musicians, Sergio Mazul (Semblant) and Marcelo Gelbcke (Landfall) who work as songwriters and producers.


Raphael Mendes has become a very popular figure in the YouTube world due to his jaw-dropping vocal covers. His recognition as one of the hottest new talents in metal started in 2016 when he was invited by guitarist Fabio Lima to record a YouTube video that wound up going viral. Encouraged by the reaction, Mendes launched his own YouTube channel to create more videos for fans to enjoy. As more and more fans around the world started to discover him, he was invited to join other musical projects, including Marius Danielsen's Legend Of Valley Doom Part 2, which also featured Michael Kiske, Vinny Appice, Mark Boals, Michele Luppi, and Diego Valdez, among others. One of the things that made Mendes' reputation grow considerably earlier in 2020, when a video series called “What if Bruce Dickinson sang in other bands” was launched. With Mendes Dickinson-esque singing style being used to cover songs by Megadeth and more, these versions impressed fans worldwide and word quickly spread in the metal community.


The band’s debut album showed a true emerging star in the work of traditional heavy metal. Sergio Mazul and Marcelo Gelbcke crafted a no-nonsense, straight-ahead classic pure heavy metal album which blew fans of Iron Maiden and classic Dio-era Sabbath away! Mendes comes out of it not as a mere imitator of someone else’s vocal style, but rather as an artist with something really hot especially for the followers of the new trends in traditional Heavy Metal revival.


Legends follows up to the task of bringing forward and forging a true and solid identity for Icon of Sin. Once again, the songs stretch Raphael’s vocal capacities without any mercy taking his undeniable talents to the next musical level. Gelbcke (appearing this time also as lead guitarist) and Mazul wrote again an exciting set of tunes which--while taking inspiration from masters like Maiden, Priest, Dio, Saxon - offer a head-bangingly addictive, one hundred percent infectious, album.


Icon Of Sin already made their live debut in Brazil and look for opportunities to bring their music outside their own country.





Legends tracklisting:


"Cimmerian"
"Night Force"
"The Scarlet Gospels"
"In The Mouth Of Madness"
"Heart Of The Wolf"
"Bare Knuckle"
"Wheels Of Vengeance"
"Clouds Over Gotham Pt.2 – The Arkham Knight"
"Terror Games"
"Black Sails And Dark Waters"


"Cimmerian" video:





Lineup:


Raphael Mendes - Vocals
Marcelo Gelbcke - Guitar
Sol Perez – Guitar
Caio Vidal – Bass
Markos Franzmann - Drums

Dave Grohl joined GUNS N' ROSES on stage this past Saturday night (Saturday, June 24) at the United Kingdom's Glastonbury festival to perform the closing song of the band's set, "Paradise City". Professionally filmed video of his appearance can be seen below.

"There's never such a thing as too many guitars," GN'R frontman Axl Rose said as he introduced Grohl.

Grohl, who had appeared earlier on Saturday as a guest for THE PRETENDERS, had previously played a secret show with FOO FIGHTERS at Glastonbury on Friday (June 23).

Ever since Grohl famously lent his throne to Rose after the GN'R frontman broke his leg prior to the band's reunion tour, FOO FIGHTERS and GUNS N' ROSES have shared the stage on several occasions, including at the 2021 BottleRock Music Festival.

Grohl reportedly took the train to his band's surprise appearance at Glastonbury on Friday and appeared in a photo posted by Great Western Railway's official Twitter account that showed him posing with the train's guard.

The picture was captioned: "Even rock royalty knows that there is no better way to travel to Glastonbury than by train! You never know who is going to churn up on board our trains! #FooFighters #Glastonbury23 #TheChurnups."

GUNS N' ROSES' 24-song, two-hour-plus set on the main Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury included the recent singles "Absurd" and "Hard Skool".

In its review of GUNS N' ROSES' performance at Glastonbury, Independent called it "the worst Glastonbury headline set of all time" and referred to Rose as the band's "fatal flaw." The reviewer, Mark Beaumont, wrote: "Rose makes the whole thing sound like a Muppet Show pastiche of hard rock. It's his voice: a creature that, were you to take it to a vet, would come home in a cardboard box. Mumbling vague approximations of English words as if chronically constipated (if you've hit the goat curry hard enough, you'll feel his intestinal pain),he flips between a lower register that resembles a clogged lawnmower and a higher one that sounds like Barry Gibb suffering the mother of all wedgies."

During FOO FIGHTERS' set at Glastonbury — where they were billed as THE CHURN UPS — Grohl dedicated the final song, "Everlong", to band's late drummer Taylor Hawkins.

Italian power metal band, Frozen Crown, have inked a worldwide contract with Napalm Records. The five-piece was founded in 2018, and have since become one of the most influential Italian metal bands in the current scene.


So far, Frozen Crown have released four albums - The Fallen King (2018), Crowned In Frost (2019), Winterbane (2021) and this year’s Call Of The North - which have brought the band huge media exposure, millions of streams and video views, and big European tours with the likes of Dragonforce and Nanowar Of Steel, as well as two headlining tours in Japan.


Their current album, Call Of The North, is Frozen Crown’s most mature work so far, showcasing the best of the band’s unique power metal style infused with classic heavy metal, melodic death metal and speed metal influences, all topped with bombastic production highlighting opulent orchestrations and harmonies.




Frozen Crown on the signing: "We're happy and honored to join the Napalm Records family and we're ready for our next big step together. Since we founded this band in 2018 we worked hard incessantly, day after day, not only trying to put our best in our studio albums and live, but also managing the band all by ourselves, conquering every single little accomplishment with our DIY attitude, always keeping loyal to our (extremely) small entourage. Thanks to the support of our lovely fans, Frozen Crown eventually grew bigger, and got to a point where we were not able to handle it all by ourselves anymore. At the same time, we knew we needed more firepower to push the band further and bring it to the next level. And speaking of firepower, Napalm Records was just the best record label to start this new chapter with... We're excited beyond words to be part of the best metal label in the world, and we can't wait to start working together on our new album, joining forces with this huge team of professionals."


Sebastian Muench, Senior A&R Napalm Records, adds: “Frozen Crown are simply one of the most creative power metal bands to emerge in the last five years. Their previous releases, Winterbane and Call Of The North, are brilliant. We look forward to working with Frozen Crown to reach the next level in their career.”


Frozen Crown are:


Giada “Jade” Etro - Vocals
Federico Mondelli - Vocals, Guitar
Fabiola Bellomo - Guitar
Francesco Zof - Bass
Niso Tomasini - Drums


(Photo - Luca Morselli)

Bloody Times, the explosive force in classic heavy metal, proudly presents their new music video, "One Fateful Night". The video features former Iced Earth singer John Greely, well-known from the Night Of The Stormrider era in the early 90s.


"This music video represents our most ambitious undertaking to date," says Simon Pfundstein, bassist and founder of the band.


Bloody Times channels the essence of traditional heavy metal, drawing inspiration from legendary bands such as Manowar, Iced Earth, Black Sabbath, and Judas Priest. The band's unique appeal is further amplified by their collaboration with renowned musicians across borders, including John Greely from the USA and Balazs Fleischhauer from Finland.




The song "One Fateful Night" was previously released on their latest EP, and the music video marks a significant milestone in Bloody Times' artistic journey. Combining a unique blend of geographically dispersed members and guest musicians, the band has also featured notable talents such as Tim Owens (formerly of Judas Priest, Iced Earth), Zack Stevens (formerly of Savatage), and Ross Friedman, co-founder of Manowar, on previous tracks.





For more information about Bloody Times and their upcoming releases, visit their official website at bloodytimes.net or contact them via email at info@bloodytimes.net.

Blues-infused Southern rock quintet Parker Barrow — led by Megan Kane (vocals) and Dylan Turner (drums) — hold nothing back on their forthcoming debut 10-track album, Jukebox Gypsies, slated for release on August 11. Available now is the album’s lead single, “Count Your Dollars” and it's the perfect example of the group’s vitality. 


Coming out with guns blazing, “Count Your Dollars” is an old-school, Southern rock hit waiting to be played at full-volume with your windows down. Showcasing Kane’s powerhouse vocals and the band’s rock prowess, guided by Turner’s grounded drumming, “Count Your Dollars” is the quintessential introduction to Jukebox Gypsies and what Parker Barrow have in store. 







With the sounds of Southern rock and soulful blues coursing through their veins, the couple spearheads a brand of music unmistakably and distinctively their own. Supported by their badass band, Manning Feldner (guitar), Alex Bender (guitar) and Michael Beckhart (bassist), while Manning brings the Southern soul and Alex brings the classic rock ‘n’ roll — Parker Barrow is a full-throttle crew and a force to be reckoned with. 


Built on an instant connection, the band’s name pulls inspiration from the notorious partners in crime, Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow; Kane and Turner wanted to channel the iconic energy of a dynamic duo into their music, but rather than on the run from the law, they’re on the run towards their rock ‘n’ roll dreams. “Something about it just felt right,” the couple shares. “We believe that from the start it was exactly what each of us had always dreamed of.” 


Jukebox Gypsies is a collection of songs that tells the couple’s story over the last four years. From their chance encounter to living out of an RV while touring and everything in between, the record touches on the highs and lows of life on the road, with each song reflecting their feelings and emotions during these times and how they managed to find the sweet spot in the chaos of it all. 





Tracklisting:


“Peace, Love, Rock N’ Rollin’”
“Count Your Dollars”
“Back To Birmingham”
“Throwin’ Stones”
“Partners In Crime”
“Good Times Gone Away”
“Long Black Train”
“Desire”
“Sunshine Of Your Love” (Cream cover)
“Where The Bluebird Goes”


When talking about the overall inspiration behind the tracks and their songwriting process, Turner explains: “We both draw inspiration from many different places, but one that we both draw from is each other. We grew up in different places and experienced life in very different ways but have allowed each other to see the other side of the coin. Perspective is a crazy thing and we’ve been able to open each other’s eyes to things we may never have perceived if we hadn't met each other at the time we did.”


Heavily influenced by The Black Crowes, The Allman Brothers, Tedeschi Trucks Band and Whiskey Myers, the band loves to jam and includes a dose of the blues with every arrangement. Where the band truly shines is in their live performances; this down to earth crew flies high on the stage and is sure to take you on an energetic flight. 


It’s apparent to all that have seen the couple perform that Turner and Kane share a true vision, sincere passion, appetite and appreciation for life on the road. The duo places high value on their Faith, and their relationship through music and their families. The couple are truly kindred in spirit, recently having tied the knot and are excited to continue to create and perform together in this next chapter of life. From their intimate acoustic sets to powerful high-energy full band shows it is apparent that Kane and Turner are exactly where they need to be. 





Catch Parker Barrow live at the following shows:


June
24 - Charlotte, NC - 4001 Yancey
30 - Clemson, SC - Tiger Town Tavern
 
July 
7 - Cincinnati, OH - Fountain Square
13 - Washington D.C. - Pearl Street Live 
14 - Crozet, VA - Pro Re Nata
15 - Massanutten, VA - Massanutten Resort
20 - Dadeville, AL - Coppers Grill
21 - Birmingham, AL - The Fennec
22 - Birmingham, AL - The Fennec
27 - St. Simons Island, GA - Ziggy’s
28 - Oxford, MS - Proud Larry’s 
29 - Clemson, SC - Tiger Town Tavern


August 
4 - Keene, NH - Tempesta
5 - Keene, NH - Keene Town Square
10 - Nashville, TN - Whiskey Jam
11 - Covington, KY - Madison Live!
12 - Waynesboro, VA - The Foundry
15 - Harve de Grace, MD - Tides & Taste Fest
17 - Myrtle Beach, SC - Tin Roof
18 - Mebane, NC - Whiskey Sowers
19 - Arlington, VA - The Renegade
20 - Bel Alton, MD - Apehangers
26 - Washington Township, NJ - Country Crab Fest
27 - Solomons, MD - Tiki Bar





(Photos by Caylee Robillard and Jack Nutter)


 

Peter Baltes says that "everything was wrong" with ACCEPT before he made his decision to leave the band in 2018 after a four-decade tenure with the legendary German heavy metal act. The 65-year-old bassist discussed his exit from the legendary heavy metal act in a new interview with Rock And A Hard Place. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I wasn't the happiest person in ACCEPT before. In my life, every day counts. When you reach my age — I'm 65 now — I wanna enjoy my life and I don't wanna do anything I don't like. I have that right now."

Asked if Udo Dirkschneider's departure from ACCEPT was caused by the singer's disagreements with guitarist Wolf Hoffmann and Wolf's then-wife Gaby Hoffmann, who also managed ACCEPT for several decades, Peter said: "The problem was always between Wolf and his wife and Udo. I never had a problem with Udo. I guess [Udo] wasn't sophisticated enough. He was a blue-collar guy. He was a singer. It never worked out between them. They just hated each other.

"I said that in another interview a while ago, I said here we made the biggest mistake," he continued. "I was asked, actually, by Metal Hammer [what I thought] the worst ACCEPT album [was], and I said it must have been [1989's] 'Eat The Heat' [which featured David Reece on vocals], because we left our true destiny. The singer, which was the sound of the band, is gone, and we try with an American singer to sound like DEF LEPPARD. What a stupid idea there.

"I think in 2005 we did a reunion tour with Udo. But I kept in touch with Stefan [Kaufmann, former ACCEPT drummer], and through him with Udo. Wolf and Gaby always had their [spats with Udo] back and forth in the media, and I kept out of that."

Peter added: "I told the guys in the [later version of ACCEPT], because they all chimed in, 'Eff Udo,' this and that. And I'm thinking, 'Without Udo, you wouldn't be in this band. You're the singer now and you're drummer. You're all humping on Udo. You never met the man, first of all. You never said a word to him. It is so easy to judge somebody. Without him, you would be nowhere.'"

Asked if he felt like he was stuck in the middle between Hoffmann camp and Dirkschneider, Peter said: "Of course. You grow up together, and you have a band. Fans — people who follow a band — for them it's hard to fathom and understand what you're going through, because you spend half a lifetime together or even longer. And you trust people. And then trust is betrayed. And you think, 'Why? What is there to gain? A little bit more money? Power? Is that it?' And I guess that is what it is. Certain people need control; they can't let go. And if they don't have it, they're not happy."

Baltes also reflected on the Mark Tornillo era of ACCEPT, which began with 2010's "Blood Of The Nations" album and as produced four more LPs so far.

"In the end, when you mention ACCEPT albums, yeah, the first one was really good because that was stuff that mostly I had accumulated over the years," Peter said. "So Wolf and I wrote that first album together; that was killer. But after that, it was so predictable — it was the same riff; it's the same thing. So we were very divided. One side just wanted… I'll never forget that — he said, 'We can just do this and ride in the sunset together.' And I said, 'I think I have a different sunset in mind,' because I wanna be relevant with my music. I don't wanna just keep my fans happy and don't go anywhere else and just keep doing this. I wanna evolve; I wanna explore things. I come from a progressive background — EMERSON, LAKE & PALMER, things like this. So I was, like, 'This is the same stupid riff again, the same vocal line. Just another word.' I didn't wanna do it. [There were] too many things that were just bad — financial situations, trust issues, musical [ideas]. Everything was wrong. So that's why I left."

Baltes previously discussed his departure from ACCEPT in an interview earlier this month with Finland's Chaoszine. At the time he said: "Well, it was… maybe the last two years, it started to go down. I didn't like it anymore. And I found out some things — I don't wanna elaborate — but I found out some things that are really not nice. I'd been together with Wolf my whole life, and that wasn't really necessary. Some people have to have all the control, and when it started going into the artistic control, then it really bothered me more. So I really wasn't into it anymore. And I was glad I did it, because it was 2018, and it was the last tour. And then corona happened anyway, so I got to record a lot of different albums. I played on Mick Mars's [MÖTLEY CRÜE] solo album. I did so many different things. And I was writing music for television and radio anyway, so I had two years of working [on] other stuff that I wasn't used to. And then, on the other hand, sitting at home for two years, when Udo called [and asked me to join U.D.O. and DIRKSCHNEIDER], that's why I took about five minutes to answer."

Peter's latest comments are similar to those he made in March in an interview with Scott Itter of Dr. Music. At the time, he said about his exit from ACCEPT: "The statement that came from the band literally five minutes after I announced that I'm leaving [back in November 2018], that I wanna spend more time with my family, well, that wasn't true. No, no. I was extremely unhappy. And I found out a few things. I'd been in the band forever, and I found out in the end, in this incarnation of ACCEPT, I wasn't even really a member; I was a hired gun. And it's these things that come out where you don't have any input, insight, and you start getting bitter. And there's no reason to, but somebody else's ego is just so big or whatever — two of 'em — that it just takes them there, and they just need to control everything and have everything and you name it. That's what got Udo out back then, and I think in the end it hit everybody. So I was the last one standing, but I couldn't stand it anymore. I needed happiness in my life, and there was no happiness there. It was just a dead horse. So I left after the tour. And in my case, it was the best I ever could have done."

Baltes also talked about what it was like to play bass for U.D.O., on the group's fall 2022 European tour after U.D.O.'s then-bassist Tilen Hudrap was hospitalized after the band's show in Munich, Germany.

"In retrospect, when I stepped on stage in Berlin [in September 2022] with Udo after so many years — the last time was 2005, I think — it was a moment that I can't even describe it," Peter said. "We went on stage first, and then Udo comes, and he starts singing. And the first note brought me back instantly to our days when we played little clubs. The man is such a legend, and his voice… And it's nothing to do with you're short, you're tall, you're fat, you're skinny, none of that — you're in shape or you're not — none of that matters to me, to him and the audience. [What is important is] when something is authentic. And that's what got me at that moment. I was, like, 'Man, this is the real deal.' I wasn't used to that; I wasn't. I totally forgot. And you can into this where you think, 'We've been doing this all our life.' No, we didn't. We played kind of like it, with people that kind of sound like it. But no. He's the real deal, and the power that comes out of his voice is second to none. Sheer power, meaning volume, power. Bruce Dickinson [IRON MAIDEN] has power. When he sings, you can see it — he has power. Some singers, they have power. And Ronnie [James Dio] had power. Udo has power. That's certain power that just captivates you in your ears, in your stomach, and you go with it."

Baltes was replaced in ACCEPT by Martin Motnik.

Two years ago, Hoffmann was asked by SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" if he had had a chance to talk to Peter since his departure from ACCEPT and if he had gotten clarification on why Baltes left the group. Wolf said: "No, man. That's kind of the sad part about it. He kind of made that decision alone, and we never really had a sitdown and a man-to-man talk that I was hoping we'd have. He just announced it to the world, and that was it, and at that point, it was almost too late. I have to respect his decision.

"I miss him very much, and I think he's always gonna be my buddy or whatever," Wolf continued. "But right now, we don't really have much in common. Because when somebody leaves the band, it's usually that we never really see them much again, as sad as it is. I wish we would, and maybe one day we will. But right now, we don't, really. But we didn't have any fights or anything. I can only speculate why he left the band, but I'd rather not."

Hoffmann was also asked if he was surprised to see Baltes working with Udo on some new music in 2020. He responded: "Yeah, I probably shouldn't say much about that. Again, I can only speculate what that was all about. At the end of the day, we do our thing, and everybody has to know for themselves what they wanna do. Yeah, let me not say as much about that as I can, please."

In January 2021, Hoffmann told Australia's Metal Mal that he was "a little bit heartbroken" when Baltes left ACCEPT. "I felt it was not only a sad day for ACCEPT, it was also a sad day for rock and roll, or heavy metal, in general, because I thought we were gonna be doing this until the sun goes down — I don't know; until forever," he said. "But he all of a sudden decided otherwise, and he made that decision, and that was it. And that's sad, but what can you do, man? I decided, along with everybody else, the show must go on, and we continue without him. So this is what we did. And here's the new album — without Peter. But it's still sad. I still miss him sometimes. It's just the way it is."

In November 2019, Hoffmann told Powermetal.cl that he no longer kept in touch with Baltes after the bassist exited the group a year earlier. "Unfortunately, when somebody leaves the band, they're always kind of out of sight, out of mind," Wolf explained. "It's very sad. I wish it wasn't that way, because we've been friends for so long. But the reality is I haven't really heard from him — even though I reached out a couple of times. He's almost like he wants to disappear or he wants to leave the music business altogether. It's sad and I still don't quite understand what really happened. But it is what it is, and we move on."

Three years ago, Baltes and former ACCEPT drummer Stefan Kaufmann were part of the songwriting team for U.D.O.'s album called "We Are One", a collaboration with Das Musikkorps der Bundeswehr, the military band of the German federal armed forces.

A new U.D.O. album, "Touchdown", featuring Baltes on bass, will be released on August 25 via Atomic Fire Records.

Photo credit: Martin Hausler / Atomic Fire Records

Fresh off their first-ever (and sold-out) performance at New York City's Madison Square Garden, FALLING IN REVERSE have shared their cover of PAPA ROACH's "Last Resort". Watch the video for "Last Resort (Reimagined)" below.

"I wanted to reimagine one of the biggest rock songs of the last 20 years, because lyrically, it is so powerful and resonates," says FALLING IN REVERSE frontman Ronnie Radke. "I got the blessing from [PAPA ROACH singer] Jacoby [Shaddix] and I think that PAPA ROACH are one of the nicest, humble, and most down-to-earth bands to date and it inspires me to keep going, since they have been so successful for so many years. This is me paying homage in the best way I know how."

FALLING IN REVERSE also embark on its "The Popular Monstour" today, with special guests ICE NINE KILLS. Special guests on select dates include UNDEROATH, SLAUGHTER TO PREVAIL, CROWN THE EMPIRE and CATCH YOUR BREATH, making for a thrilling night of hard rock in each city the tour hits.

FALLING IN REVERSE continues to explode by leaps and bounds in this nascent decade. The band's catalog has clocked over 2.7 billion — yes, billion — streams. Another recent single "Watch The World Burn" is at 135 million global streams (including 36 million video views) and landed at No 1 on multiple charts, including Billboard's Hot Hard Rock Songs, Hard Rock Digital Song Sales, and Alternative Digital Song Sales. Elsewhere, "Voices In My Head" garnered over 140 million million streams and was the No. 1 song of 2022 at SiriusXM's Octane, while "Zombified" has clocked 138 million and topped the active rock charts. Lastly, "Popular Monster" was also, well, a monster, that landed at No. 1 on the active rock charts as well.

FALLING IN REVERSE, led by Radke, have been completely dominating the radio and streaming space in this new decade. The band, which formed back in 2008 and built itself as a mainstay of the Warped Tour scene while gracing many Alternative Press covers, has seen its latest single "Zombified" hit No. 1 on Billboard's Hot Hard Rock Songs chart. The band has also been generating nearly 50 million total streams per month.

"Popular Monster" has been streamed nearly half a billion times and has emerged as one of the biggest anthems of the past several years. It enjoyed a multi-week stint at No. 1 on the rock radio charts, landing in the top spot on the Mediabase Active Rock chart, Billboard's Hot Hard Rock chart, and the Nielsen Rock chart, and marked the first No.1 single of the band's career. It followed the gold certification of the band's 2011-released debut album "The Drug in Me Is You" and a sold-out anniversary tour. During the shutdown that was a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Radke quickly established himself as one of the most popular musicians streaming on the Twitch platform. In Winter 2022, the band returned to the road and embarked on the sold-out "Live From The Unknown" tour, further cementing its status as one of the top live draws in the genre. FALLING IN REVERSE have continued to catch the eye of the press, with their career arc being spotlighted by top-tier, tastemaking publications such as Forbes, Billboard, The New York Times, Pitchfork and beyond.

During an appearance on "KQ Morning Show" on the classic rock station 92 KQRS, BLACK SABBATH bassist Geezer Butler was asked if recording the audiobook version of his recently released autobiography, "Into The Void: From Birth To Black Sabbath - And Beyond", was harder than writing it. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Oh, it certainly was. 'Cause I'm terrible at speeches and things like that. It was nerve-racking, 'cause you have to keep repeating yourself, or you didn't put enough emphasis on certain parts, so you have to go back and re-record it. Yeah, it was nerve-racking. I didn't like the experience whatsoever."

A sample of the audiobook version of "Into The Void: From Birth To Black Sabbath - And Beyond" is available at HarperCollins. It can also be streamed using the embedded audio player below.

"Into The Void: From Birth To Black Sabbath - And Beyond" was released on June 6 in North America via HarperCollins imprint Dey Street Books and June 8 in the United Kingdom.

Regarding his reasons for writing his autobiography, Geezer recently told the "Far Beyond Metal" podcast: "It was just really to tell [my story], because I always regretted not asking my parents much more than I did. I just took them for granted. It was, like, 'There's mom and there's dad and I haven't really heard [any details about] any of their lives.' And I just wanted to have a kind of history of my life so the grandkids can get to know me a little better, and their kids and stuff."

Asked why he didn't write his autobiography with the help of a co-writer or a ghostwriter, Butler said: "I've read lots of other [autobiographies], and they just don't sound like the people that are supposed to have written 'em. And I just wanted a book that sounded like me in the writing."

Geezer went on to say that he did get some help in researching and fact-checking the material that ended up being included in his book.

"I had somebody that sort of went through all the archives through the '70s and '80s," he said. "I couldn't remember half the things, where I was or what gigs were there, what gigs we did and where we were at a particular time. So he helped me with all that. He went through what gigs we did and how long the tours were and when the albums were released."

According to Geezer, some of the stories that he had originally intended to include in his autobiography ended up being on the cutting-room floor.

"I just sent in several manuscripts of my stuff, and the final manuscript I sent in was about — oh, God — probably about five hundred pages, and that was edited down to three hundred pages, as in the book," he explained.

Asked if the leftover material and other stories he may have thought of since the book was completed might end up being included in a special future paperback edition of his autobiography, Geezer said: "I'm not sure how that works. 'Cause I keep thinking of things that should be in the book, and it's too late now. So I don't know how that works, if I can do an updated version when the paperback comes out. I'm not sure. I'll have to ask the publisher."

Pressed about whether doing another book would interest him, Butler said: "Uhm… It depends if I'm gonna get sued or not. [Laughs] 'Cause I had to leave out so much stuff. They were saying, 'Oh, you can't say that.' 'You can't say that.' 'How can you prove that?' and all that kind of thing. So I don't think there would be enough for another one."

"Into The Void: From Birth To Black Sabbath – And Beyond" is described by the publisher as "a rollicking, effusive, and candid memoir by the heavy metal musician and founding member of BLACK SABBATH, covering his years as the band's bassist and main lyricist through his later-career projects, and detailing how one of rock's most influential bands formed and prevailed.

"With over 70 million records sold, BLACK SABBATH, dubbed by Rolling Stone 'THE BEATLES of heavy metal,' helped create the genre itself, with their distinctive heavy riffs, tuned down guitars, and apocalyptic lyrics. Bassist and primary lyricist Geezer Butler played a gigantic part in the band's renown, from suggesting the band name to using his fascination with horror, religion, and the occult to compose the lyrics and build the foundation of heavy metal as we know it.

"In 'Into The Void', Butler tells his side of the story, from the band's beginnings as a scrappy blues quartet in Birmingham through the struggles leading to the many well-documented lineup changes while touring around London's gritty clubs (Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Frank Zappa, and THE WHO makes notable appearances!),and the band's important later years. He writes honestly of his childhood in a working-class family of seven in Luftwaffe-battered Birmingham, his almost-life as an accountant, and how his disillusionment with organized religion and class systems would spawn the lyrics and artistic themes that would resonate so powerfully with fans around the world.

"'Into The Void' reveals the softer side of the heavy metal legend and the formation of one of rock's most exciting bands, while holding nothing back. Like Geezer's bass lines, it is both original, dramatic, and forever surprising."

Back in 2021, Butler told Cleveland.com that he started writing a memoir "because when my parents died, I always wished I'd asked them a lot more things than I knew about. I don't really know much about my mum and dad, 'cause they were always just there," he explained. "So, I started writing a memoir for my grandkids to read, and that's been fun going through stuff — old times and growing up in Birmingham and all that."

In the fall of 2020, Butler told Australia's Wall Of Sound that his book would be "about growing up in Aston, Birmingham and how SABBATH came about." The bassist also reflected on everything he has accomplished in this past half a century, saying: "It's a great achievement to still be relevant 50 years after we recorded our first two albums. We honestly thought we'd last a few years, then be forgotten about. Fifty years ago any form of popular music was seen as a passing fad — people even thought THE BEATLES would be forgotten about after they broke up, but nobody then [realized] how powerful the nostalgia effect would be."

A founding member of BLACK SABBATH, Butler is also the lyricist of such SABBATH classics as "War Pigs", "Iron Man", "Paranoid" and others.

Butler, singer Ozzy Osbourne and guitarist Tony Iommi reunited in late 2011 and released a comeback album, "13", in June 2013.

In February 2017, SABBATH finished "The End" tour in Birmingham, closing out the quartet's groundbreaking 49-year career.

"The End" was SABBATH's last tour because Iommi, who was diagnosed with cancer in 2012 and is currently in remission, can no longer travel for extended amounts of time.

Although SABBATH will not tour again, Butler, Osbourne and Iommi have not ruled out recording together.

Geezer is the third member of the original SABBATH lineup to release an autobiography. Ozzy's memoir, "I Am Ozzy", debuted at No. 2 on the New York Times' "Hardcover Nonfiction" best-seller list. The book was published on January 25, 2010 in the U.S., nearly two years after it was first expected to arrive. "I Am Ozzy" chronicled the legendary metal icon's life from his working-class beginnings in Birmingham, England to his initial fame with BLACK SABBATH to his massive solo career and forays into television.

Osbourne won the "Literary Achievement" honor for "I Am Ozzy" at the 2010 Guys Choice Awards at Sony Pictures Studio in Culver City, California. Ozzy was presented with the award by Sir Ben Kingsley.

Iommi's memoir, "Iron Man: My Journey Through Heaven And Hell With Black Sabbath", was released in hardback in November 2011. It landed at position No. 35 on the New York Times' "Hardcover Nonfiction" best-sellers list. Da Capo reportedly paid a six-figure amount at auction for the rights to the 352-page book, which was described as "'Angela's Ashes' meets 'The Ground Beneath Her Feet' meets 'Spinal Tap'" by Foundry Literary + Media co-founder Peter McGuigan, who completed the North American rights deal for the memoir.

"Into The Void: From Birth To Black Sabbath - And Beyond" audiobook sample from HarperCollins

Former GUNS N' ROSES guitarist Daren Jay "DJ" Ashba is working on his autobiography.

The 50-year-old musician, who was born in Indiana but currently resides in Las Vegas, took to his Instagram on Thursday (June 22) to write: "I am currently writing a book about the story of my life and look forward to sharing my journey with all of you! Are you ready to go down the rabbit hole with me?"

Ashba is well known as the co-founder of SIXX:A.M., and as the lead guitarist for GUNS N' ROSES (2009-2015). He has written and produced numerous hits for legendary artists, including Neil Diamond, MÖTLEY CRÜE and Debbie Gibson.

In a January 2022 interview with SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", Ashba spoke about his decision to leave GUNS N' ROSES eight years ago. He said: "I'm a huge GN'R fan. The only reason I joined the band is because I grew up on the music, I have a ton of respect for the guys who wrote the music.

"[Singer] Axl [Rose] called me and said, 'Hey, I just wanna give you a heads up, Slash is coming back, but I want you to be a part of this,'" Ashba claimed. "Which was a really cool phone call to get. And at the time, I was going through a lot of different things with SIXX:A.M. too; SIXX:A.M. wanted to really pick up the pace and go nuts.

"For three and a half years, I played — 85 [or] 90 percent of my parts [with GUNS N' ROSES] were the Slash parts. So I didn't feel I had the brain capacity to relearn — 'cause at this point, it's muscle memory — to relearn a three-and-a-half-hour show differently than I'd been playing for the last six, seven years, it's gonna take some work. Plus I was, like, if Slash is coming back, man, this is his gig. I can happily step out. Because it's kind of the best of both worlds — I can go be in the band I helped create with [Nikki] Sixx and [James] Michael and go back to what I'm really good at doing, and that's SIXX:A.M.

"I've never been great at playing other people's stuff; it's never been my thing," Ashba added. "But if Slash was coming back, that was like the best of both worlds. It's, like, fuck, we get most of the band back, and I can go do what I wanna do too. So it worked out great. I backed out — bowed out, I should say — and I think Richard [Fortus] was the guy for that slot anyway. That was more the Richard role, I think. He fits that way better than I would have."

Ashba, who joined GUNS N' ROSES in March 2009 following the departure of Robin Finck, issued a statement in July 2015 saying that he was leaving GUNS N' ROSES "to dedicate myself to my band SIXX:A.M., my adoring wife and family, and to the many new adventures that the future holds for me." He later claimed that he was approached about being part of GN'R's "Not In This Lifetime" tour, but that he declined, citing his desire to pursue SIXX:A.M. full time.

In December, Ashba released the official lyric video for his latest single, "Cryptonite", featuring British singer and writer Sarah de Warren. Sarah has written for and is featured on dozens of records for A-list DJs, as well as attaining more than two million monthly Spotify listeners on her own artist project and a total 100 million streams across her songs.

Last summer, Ashba collaborated with his then-wife, an Italo-Colombian influencer Nathalia Ashba who goes by the name Natyash, on his "Malosa" single, a dance/rock hybrid he calls GDM (Guitar Dance Music).

"Malosa" was Ashba's first single since the release of "Bella Ciao", a modern-day EDM-driven makeover of the Italian folk classic. "Bella Ciao" marked Ashba's first release of 2021 and followed a series of tracks that were released in late 2020 through Edgeout Records/UMG/UMe, including "Hypnotic", "Let's Dance" and "A Christmas Storm".

In December 2020, Ashba told "The Mark And HooGie Show" that he isn't concerned about getting any pushback from his rock fans over the musical direction of his new venture: "Honestly, I'm at a point in my career where I could give two fucks," he said. "I could care less. If people don't like it, kiss my ass. Go listen to SIXX:A.M. If what I'm doing right now isn't rock enough, I've got a rock band. They can go listen to that then.

"My fanbase, thank God, has been, throughout my whole career, just very, very accepting," he continued. "They know me — they know I'm always trying to really push myself as an artist outside the box.

"If I had to live within this box, I'd rather honestly not play music. Playing music is a form of art, and if I can't truly be an artist and be true to what it is inside — whatever that is that keeps me going… I have to stay inspired. You can only write so many three-chord rock songs. So, to me, this is something that I'm kind of more doing for myself, and I feel like I kind of have earned that at this point in my career. And I'm just having fun.

"Surprisingly… It was weird. I was totally expecting for all my fanbase just to hate it — not get it," Ashba added. "'Cause I really, really go deep down in EDM — I stayed very, very true to the EDM sound — and I really thought they were gonna hate it, and I was okay with that. 'Cause in my mind, I'm writing this for the EDM, the young kids that go to those festivals. This is full-on festival music. And surprisingly, I got no pushback. My rock fans really, really were freaking out on it, which kind of freaked me out. I was expecting them to really not get it or maybe push it aside. But they've been nothing but supportive. I'm very thankful that they gave it a chance."

ASHBA's "Let's Dance" single featured a guest appearance by James Michael, co-founder and lead singer of SIXX:A.M., which he and DJ formed with Nikki Sixx (MÖTLEY CRÜE).

Ashba told the Las Vegas Review-Journal about the musical approach of his new effort: "I would go to a lot of EDM concerts, and their shows are so over the top and, you know, all these young kids just losing their minds, right? And the one thing that I've noticed is … it lacks guitar, you know, and I saw an opportunity, like five years ago, going, 'If I could take what I do and somehow inject it into this world.' A lot of kids are not being exposed to a lot of guitar in that world."

Although Ashba initially started work on the project as a collaboration with Michael — under the band name PYROMANTIC — it has since evolved into an Ashba solo venture, with Michael announcing in 2018 that he was stepping away from the group.

In a 2015 interview with Sweetwater editorial director Mitch Gallagher, Ashba, who also owns a company centered around media and advertising that runs various other companies, was asked what takes him in those directions. He responded: "You know, I don't know. I've always had that creative bone. My aunt and uncle invented the technology for aerosol cans, so ever since I was young… They came out with a product, when I was really young, called Pam that's like a butter spray. And I've always kind of grew up in that environment; I thought outside the box and I was really taught that it's better to create your own job than to work nine to five. So that's always been my mindset, and I just love creating."

Ashba also talked about his belief that musicians should "diversify" and have a "backup plan." He said: "I absolutely will always stand by that. If you put all your eggs in one basket, all you've gotta do is drop 'em, and they're gonna break; and every one of 'em will break. But the whole thing… and I've learned this from [SIXX:A.M. bandmate] Nikki Sixx… It's, like, you set up buckets… You set up buckets… little incomes coming in there, there, there, there, there… and, as a whole, that's how you… And if this one… these three buckets aren't doing so good this month, well, these are. So it's diversifying. But if you put all your eggs in that one bucket, and you have five months of, you know, 'God, things aren't going well,' that could really spill your eggs."

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by ΛSHBΛ (@ashba)

The StickHits YouTube channel, found here, has shared another remastered live Rush video. Check it out below.


StickHits: "I've been obsessed with finding the best recordings from the RTB tour for a long time, and have been very undecided, starting and stopping work on numerous shows over the last couple years. But after exausting every known peice of audio and video out there, this might be my #1 at this point. Sadly, the superior audio source is missing about 40% of the show, but that is still quite a goldmine to me, and I really think the boys played one of their best shows here compared to the exhaustive list of other shows I have reviewed.


I implemented some new tools and tricks here to try and push the audience recorded audio to the limit in terms of cleaning up background noise, ambience and audience chatter, as well as enhancing the dynamic range as far as I possibly could to try and emulate a soundboard recording, so let me know what you guys think!"







In October 2022, Rush and Henderson Brewing Company announced the third in their series of premium, Belgian inspired beers. A new trailer for the beer featuring Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson has been uploaded to the official Rush YouTube channel. Check it out below.





"Signals" is a classic Belgian-style blonde with Reisling must and cold pressed apples, delivering complex aromas of stone fruit, peach and mild spice that carry through to a warming finish.


A message states: "This release is all the more special for us at the brewery because the fire hydrant that adorns the album cover was manufactured, almost a century ago, just 100 or so meters away at 137 Sterling Road. This limited edition brew is available at the brewery and LCBO stores throughout Ontario. It will age nicely for 3-5 years."





Available:


- At LCBO stores across Ontario (Canada) (Find a location near you).  Check back throughout the week as inventory will be arriving shortly


- Through the Henderson Brewing Online Store, here
- Coming Soon to SAQ Stores.


* Please note, they cannot ship alcohol to the US or Quebec.

QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE frontman Joshua Homme spoke to Chicago's Q101 radio station about the lyrical inspiration for the band's eighth album, "In Times New Roman…"

"Look, everyone's had a really interesting and difficult — or I'll say precarious — four years," he said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). "And I too have had that. And when [I'm] making something, I like to put everything I've got into it; that's what I care about. But you don't know if it's gonna be behind, ahead or just out of sync with its own time frame. I'm starting to think maybe this is a record that's at least accurate for its time frame. 'Cause it is is brutal, and there's not a lot of mellow… [The song] 'Carnavoyeur' is about as mellow as it gets. But that's okay too, because these are the times we're living in, my man."

Regarding how losses in his personal life affected his mindset while working on "In Times New Roman…", Homme said: "Well, I think it would be a shame to hold on to things when the reality is they're gone. I think learning to accept that I had this thing and it's gone now… An example I would use is friends dying — I can still love them. I don't need to stop loving these people. And I think accepting the reality for what it is, is the goal. I think even though our record is quite tonally and emotionally and lyrically brutal, I think acceptance is kind of the mantra of the record. Because it's a shame to hold on too tight when something is gone and act like it isn't. I think facing the reality of it all is the way to accept something."

He continued: "That's not to say this is a downer record. We're all living the film of our lives, and this is the soundtrack to mine. And I think we made this as honest as possible in the hopes that it attracts somebody who is in a moment when they need something to be just real for them.

"My expectation or desire isn't to be the biggest thing ever. I'd like to be in the realest thing I can possibly be in," Joshua added. "And I don't have much more expectation than that. And that's why it's nice… When things go well, it's a nice break from the rest."

"In Times New Roman…" was made available across all platforms on June 16 via Matador Records.

QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE performed live for the first time in more than three years on May 26 at the Sonic Temple festival in Columbus, Ohio. Prior to the Columbus gig, Homme and his bandmates played one gig in early 2020, their first since 2018.

QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE's 11-song set included the live debut of the new song "Emotion Sickness".

"In Times New Roman…" was recorded and mixed at Homme's own Pink Duck (RIP),with additional recording at Shangri-La. The album was produced by QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE and mixed by Mark Rankin. Artwork and double LP gatefold packaging was designed by longtime collaborator Boneface.

Danish-American hyperthrash metal band Terminalist has announced its second album, The Crisis As Condition, is set for a September 8th release through Indisciplinarian. To accompany the announcement, the album’s first single and title track has been issued alongside a video, which can be seen below.


On The Crisis As Condition, the optimism of earlier times and faith in progress have been replaced by a bleak and pessimistic realism. Transformation turns to turmoil; the state of emergency is the new normal. Where Terminalist’s 2021 debut album, The Great Acceleration, was a commentary on the (future) space race and the inherently destructive side of technology, The Crisis As Condition is a simultaneously detached and impassioned look at the present. Science fiction fantasies have been shelved in favor of a fierce analysis and castigation of contemporary crisis-ridden society. This is expressed through hard-hitting and dynamic music rich in detail that has its basis in thrash metal, but which draws parallels to progressive metal and black metal with its intricate rhythms and ambitious songwriting.


Just as on their debut album, Terminalist has teamed up with producer Lasse Ballade. The Crisis As Condition was recorded and mixed at Ballade Studios in Copenhagen and mastered by V. Santura (Triptykon, Dark Fortress) at Woodshed Studios in Germany. British painter Ryan T. Hancock is once again responsible for the unique artwork, and photography is handled by Theis Wilmer Poulsen.




Singer, guitarist, and lyricist Emil Hansen states, “Wherever we look, our modern world is entangled in crises. Whether it’s the energy crisis, the inflation crisis, the corona crisis, the war in Ukraine, deepening political polarization, or the overarching climate crisis, things seem to be headed for the worst. The crisis is no longer a phase in passing or a simple challenge to overcome, it’s become a permanent condition. On this song as well as on the upcoming album where this serves as the title track, this theme is explored and expanded further. The future is not what it used to be."





It is this weighty and complex theme that Terminalist takes up on The Crisis As Condition. Rooted in 1980s technical thrash metal, they update the socio-political criticism known from the genre's heyday in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s—a time that was also characterized by political upheaval yet marked by a belief in better times ahead.


The Crisis As Condition will be released September 8th on LP – gatefold with 100 on Orange Vinyl and 300 on Black Vinyl – as well as CD, CS, and digital formats via Indisciplinarian. Physical formats can now be pre-ordered now at the label webshop.





Tracklisting:


"Life Won’t Last"
"The Crisis As Condition"
"A Future To Weave"
"Last Remains"
"Frenetic Standstill"
"Mutating Fractures"
"Move In Strife"


(Photo by Theis Wilmer Poulsen)


 

Los Angeles-based Sons Of Silver are wrapping up writing and recording the songs for their upcoming new album to be released later this year.


For the new music, they have enlisted the help of multi-platinum producers/mixers/engineers Tim Palmer (Robert Plant, David Bowie, Ozzy Osbourne, U2) and John Fields (Soul Asylum, Miley Cyrus, Jimmy Eat World).


“We’ve been holed up in our recording studio since the beginning of the year working on a bunch of new songs that we will be releasing later this year. We are so proud of the new music and can’t wait for everyone to hear it. We plan to hit the road in the fall in support of the new release. I can’t emphasize enough how much we’re looking forward to getting back in front of an audience night in and night out,” says frontman Pete Argyropoulos.




Along with singer and guitarist Argyropoulos, the band lineup includes backing vocalist and keyboardist Brina Kabler, guitarist Kevin Haaland (Skillet,) bassist Adam Kury (Candlebox,) with the new addition of drummer Marc Slutsky who has toured and/or recorded with Third Eye Blind, Goo Goo Dolls, Peter Murphy, and Todd Rundgren to name a few.


Stay tuned for further updates from the band.

On August 18, SLIPKNOT's "Live At MSG", which was originally made available as a bonus disc with the tenth-anniversary edition of "All Hope Is Gone" in 2018, will be released for the first time ever on vinyl to celebrate the 15th anniversary of "All Hope Is Gone".

SLIPKNOT has always bent the world to its own collective will. One of countless examples occurred on February 5, 2009, when the band did what few could have predicted when they’d started: SLIPKNOT headlined the world's most famous arena — Madison Square Garden. The band's MSG set is now the stuff of legend, being on the heels of the band's first No. 1 album in the U.S. ("All Hope Is Gone"),and only months before they would headline the U.K.'s Download festival for the first time. The New York City show was eight months and nine countries into the "All Hope Is Gone" world tour, and as such, their performance was ruthless and jaw-dropping, and a perfect document of the era for the band.

The "Live At MSG" vinyl release will feature new art by SLIPKNOT's percussionist and visual mastermind M. Shawn "Clown" Crahan.

The limited-edition, custom-colored vinyl was hand-selected by the band.

The variants are as follows:

* All Retail: Black
* Knotfest Exclusive 1: Coke Bottle Clear With Silver Splatter
* Knotfest Exclusive 2: Light Blue With Silver Splatter
* D2C Exclusive 1: Clear With Silver Splatter
* D2C Exclusive 2: Lemonade With Silver Splatter
* D2C 3: Black Ice With Silver Splatter

Track listing:

SIDE A:

A1. (sic) [3:55]
A2. Eyeless [4:15]
A3. Wait And Bleed [2:44]
A4. Get This [4:28]

SIDE B:

B1. Before I Forget [4:22]
B2. The Blister Exists [6:37]
B3. Dead Memories [4:03]
B4. Left Behind [3:28]

SIDE C:

C1. Disasterpiece [5:09]
C2. Purity [6:26]
C3. Everything Ends [4:22]
C4. Psychosocial [5:41]

SIDE D:

D1. Duality [5:26]
D2. People = Shit [4:10]
D3. Surfacing [4:49]
D4. Spit It Out [7:35]

There was never a band like SLIPKNOT, and there will never be another. Like a spore out of the Midwest, they've quietly bloomed into the most uncompromising, undeniable, and unique presence on the planet whose influence transcends genres and generations. Since sowing the seeds for revolution in Iowa during 1999, these musical outliers have captured a Grammy Award alongside 10 nominations, scored 12 platinum and 41 gold album certifications around the world, and logged over 8.5 billion global streams and 3.5 billion video views to date — unprecedented for a rock act in this generation or any other. Rolling Stone cited the seminal platinum-selling 2001 album "Iowa" among "The 100 Greatest Metal Albums Of All Time," while The Ringer attested, "They're the most important heavy band of their era." In addition to marking the group's third consecutive No. 1 debut on the Billboard Top 200, their sixth full-length album, "We Are Not Your Kind", bowed at #1 in twelve countries worldwide in 2019. Selling out shows on multiple continents, they deliver an irreplicable multi-sensory experience on tour and through their own festival Knotfest. With their seventh album "The End, So Far", SLIPKNOT are back, and nothing will be the same again.