King Crimson founder Robert Fripp and his wife, Toyah Willcox, are back with a fresh helping of Sunday Lunch, this time performing the Cream classic, "Sunshine Of Your Love". Check it out below. 





Toyah & Robert's Sunday Lunch is going on tour throughout the UK in September and October. The couple will be accompanied by a live band, with Fripp on guitar.




Tickets are available here.





Says Toyah: “When people ask, 'What is the show going to be?', it’s going to be about the hundred years of musical experience we have between us.”


Watch the "Toyah At Home" video below, where Toyah and Robert introduce the tour concept:

Sabaton guitarist / Majestica frontman Tommy Johansson has released a folk metal cover of "Nu Grönskar Det" along with the following message:


"Glad Midsommar!


According to Swedish tradition we celebrate 'Midsummer's Eve' this weekend every year. We dance around a pole (more of a cross actually) and then we jump around the pole and sing about frogs and how small they are. At the dinner table take a 'nubbe' (small shot of hard liquor) - but first we sing a song about how excited we are to drink this shot -  they we drink it. And - it usually rains on these glorious days."




Written by: Johan Sebastian Bach
Lyrics by: Evelyn Lindström





Johansson, who has become known for his weekly covers of '80s classics, recently released a seven song compilation of fan favourites from his catalogue. It is now available on digital platforms. 





The tracklist is as follows: 


"Africa" (Toto)
"Headless Cross" (Black Sabbath)
"18 And Life" (Skid Row)
"You're The Voice" (John Farnham)
"The Price" (Twisted Sister)
"Alone" (Heart)
"I'm Still Standing" (Elton John) 

SATYRICON singer Sigurd "Satyr" Wongraven joined PANTERA on stage this past Friday (June 23) at the Tons Of Rock festival in Oslo, Norway to perform the Philip Anselmo-fronted band's classic song "Walk". Fan-filmed video of Satyr's appearance can be seen below.

Back in 2018, Satyr said that his EIBON project ultimately disintegrated as a result of Anselmo's severe drug addiction.

The short-lived black metal supergroup, which featured Satyr alongside the PANTERA singer, DARKTHRONE's Fenriz and NECROPHAGIA's Kiljoy, contributed one song to Moonfog Records' (Satyr's label) "A Different Perspective" sampler more than two decades ago and was working on a debut album, only to be shelved, never to be heard from again.

During an interview with Landry.Audio, Satyr was asked if he thinks there is any chance that EIBON could eventually be revived. "Every time when my brother Philip and I meet, we talk about it," he laughed. "So that's surely something that we would love to do. But it is hard to make that happen. I'm not really in touch with Fenriz, and nor is Philip. I guess Killjoy of NECROPHAGIA didn't necessarily… I don't know if he… In terms of lyrics, that was pretty much Philip, for the most part, and in terms of music, that was 95 percent me, if not more.

"Being brutally honest, Philip and I could do EIBON without Fenriz and without our late brother Killjoy, but I think that we should have finished it when we were working on this back in the late '90s [and] early 2000s," he continued. "But, frankly speaking, it was Philip's addiction at the time that ruined this whole project. That's all there is to it. [We] can talk about this and that, but that's what it comes down to. At the time, he was beyond fucked up. Yeah, but he really was. We were in the studio trying to do things. I'd come out from the recording room, [and] I'd find him lying, passed out on pills, heroin, whatever, on the floor, with his entourage surrounding him, not wanting to interfere or do anything that could offend him, because he was the big guy. And then I'd be thinking to myself, 'What the hell is this? I love this guy and he's a great musician, but I'm a black metal guy; I'm not a PANTERA fan. And when I travel from the other side of the world to come work, I'm here to work, not to do drugs.' So, for me, that was a deeply frustrating period that really upset me. But I consider Philip one of my very best friends and an outstanding musician, so, in one way or another, I would love to do more music with Philip at some point, that's for sure."

Asked if he knew Anselmo for a long time before they decided to collaborate on an album, Satyr said: "No, I didn't. And perhaps if I would have, maybe things would have been a little bit easier. I can't remember if it was '98 or '99 where I got to know him. It might have been '98, I suppose. And then we were on tour with [PANTERA] in 2000. I have to say this, though, about their music: in hindsight, I like it. I didn't like the music back then when we were actually on tour with them and had a lot to do with them, but in hindsight, I've grown to like their music. I think the [Abbott] brothers [Vinnie and Darrell], the way they interact musically, it's very intriguing. There's nothing quite like it. This rhythmical understanding that the Abbott brothers had is unique. And Dime's guitar playing is phenomenal, of course, but it's also… he [was] very creative from a rhythmical point of view. And I think Vince's way of playing drums and taking all the awkard timing of Dime's riffs and making it a little bit more powerful and straightforward with his drum arrangements was a unique quality that Vince had. And Rex [Brown] providing a strong backbone with his playing, and then Philip being just one of the most unique frontmen and singers in modern heavy metal history, I suppose."

Also in 2018s, Anselmo admitted to Bardo Methodology that he "was still a pill-popping, druggard idiot who'd nod off mid-sentence" while he and Satyr were trying to work on EIBON in the studio. "But Satyr was always a hard worker; he was the guy who led," Philip said. "I found it interesting from a musician's standpoint. We played primitive black metal, so, in my opinion, the listener would consider what we were playing extremely simple… and it was — but I was made to play by the Norge rule of strumming with the wrist instead of down-picking on half-time parts, which is totally crazy in my mind. I tried explaining to a very willful Satyr that the downward chop sounds heavier than halftime-picking, but, alas, he was having none of it. [Laughs] So, despite the music's simplicity, it was a fresh, unexpected challenge within the genre. I fucking loved it! Damned cool experiences."

Asked what ultimately became of the project, Anselmo said: "There was a slight Norge fallout between the natives, and I didn't wanna get stuck in the middle of that particular fight. So, the band never materialized. All I have left is three poorly mummified-sounding songs, recorded and mixed terribly raw, with one song featuring place-keeper-style vocals. Hardly impressive."

Philip went on to say that he still keeps in touch with Satyr, although he hinted that he and the SATYRICON frontman weren't necessarily musically aligned. "Satyr kinda freaked me out back in the late 1990s to early 2000s with the type of bands he liked — especially U.S. acts who were popular at the time," Anselmo said. "I'll just leave it at that. I couldn't believe it. Terrible music taste, in my opinion, but music is subjective. Satyr always had big things on his mind, and there's a palpable hunger within him. I couldn't have predicted the direction they'd go in, but, truth be told, I played no role in the scribing of any SATYRICON record. That's all on them."

DOKKEN will release a new studio album, "Heaven Comes Down", in September.

Earlier today, the Don Dokken-fronted outfit shared a few photos from the video shoot for the LP's apparent first single at the popular immersive arts venture Meow Wolf in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and it included the following message:

"Hey everybody! We just finished a great music video shoot at Meow Wolf's House of Eternal Return with Director Chris Eyre for our new record coming out in September titled, Heaven Comes Down.

"If you haven't heard about Meow Wolf, check them out! And check out my cool jewelry by Cody Sanderson!"

The title of the new DOKKEN album is apparently not to be confused with the song "When Heaven Comes Down" which originally appeared on the band's 1984 LP "Tooth And Nail".

This past March, DOKKEN bassist Chris McCarvill confirmed to Sam Wall that the band's long-awaited follow-up to 2012's "Broken Bones" album was "totally finished." The LP will be made available via Silver Lining Music, the label owned by Thomas Jensen, one of the founders of Germany's Wacken Open Air festival.

Regarding what DOKKEN fans can expect from the new album, Chris said: "I have to tell you is Don sounds fantastic on it. He sounds great. I talked to him on the phone about this a bunch of times, and it was, like, he re-did his vocals three times. He didn't just phone it in; he really worked hard on it. And I can honestly say that, as someone that — I liked DOKKEN growing up and stuff — I can't imagine any DOKKEN fan being disappointed by it; I really can't. Don really sounds good on it."

In 2018, Don told "The Classic Metal Show" that his band's next album would be "a classic-sounding DOKKEN record" with "straight-ahead, catchy choruses, cool guitar riffs, burning guitar solos" and "nice grooves." He added: "The dilemma is to try to do that 30 years later without just ripping myself off and regurgitating old DOKKEN riffs."

Regarding the musical direction of the new DOKKEN material, Don previously told The Metal Voice: "We're kind of going retro. I mean, look, you write what you write as a musician — your life changes, the world changes, you write what you write. You're influenced by new bands and other music. But I know where my bread is buttered as far as the classic DOKKEN sound, and Jon's really good at doing that. And so I said, 'I think we should write a record between the lines of 'Tooth And Nail' [1984] and 'Under Lock And Key' [1985].' And that's kind of the direction I'm writing in right now."

DOKKEN released an album called "The Lost Songs: 1978-1981" in August 2020 via Silver Lining Music. Featuring sleeve art by renowned U.S. artist Tokyo Hiro (MOTÖRHEAD, MOTLEY CRÜE),the effort contains material written and recorded by a hungry young Don Dokken as he embarked upon a journey which started in Southern California and Northern Germany.

DOKKEN's classic lineup of Dokken, guitarist George Lynch, bassist Jeff Pilson and drummer "Wild" Mick Brown completed a short Japanese tour in October 2016, marking the first time in 21 years the four performed together.

A DOKKEN concert DVD focusing on the band's reunion tour, "Return To The East Live (2016)", was made available in 2018.

At some of the recent DOKKEN shows, Lynch has been rejoining the band on stage to perform three of the classic DOKKEN songs: "Kiss Of Death", "When Heaven Comes Down" and "Tooth And Nail".

Image credit: Melvin Zoopers

Hey everybody! We just finished a great music video shoot at Meow Wolf's House of Eternal Return with Director Chris...

Posted by Dokken on Saturday, June 24, 2023

Fan-filmed video of TNT's June 23 performance at the Tons Of Rock festival in Oslo, Norway can be seen below.

The Norwegian hard rockers played their first concert with returning American singer Tony Harnell on June 2 at Jærnåttå in Bryne, Norway.

The 60-year-old Harnell, who was born in San Diego, grew up in California and moved to New York when he was 16, announced his return to TNT last November, saying that he would reteam with guitarist Ronni LeTekrø and drummer Morten "Diesel" Dahl on stage in 2023 for select live appearances. The trio is joined in the current TNT lineup by returning bassist Sid Ringsby, who played with TNT for the first time on the "All The Way To The Sun" album in 2005 and has appeared with TNT at various concerts over the years.

In a March 2023 interview with Scott Itter of Dr. Music, LeTekrø was asked if he and his bandmates have commenced work on new music. He responded: "I'm supposed to not say anything, but I can say yes, gradually we're starting to create stuff. I can't say how far we've come or anything, but there's definitely a good vibe in the band. And I think we all look forward to creating new stuff and also performing, of course, the old songs, the classic songs."

He continued: "It's been hard being a European band with an American singer. It's been hard for both parts, especially for Tony; he had to travel a lot. But we also had to do that to promote [the band] in the United States in the '80s and '90s. It's like FOREIGNER — a British band with an American singer. TNT, a Norwegian band with an American singer."

In February, TNT shared several photos from Studio Studio Nyhagen in Norway and included the following caption: "First basic tracks session for new TNT music taking place."

In January, Harnell said in an online post that he and his TNT bandmates were hoping to "get some new songs out there for you all" in 2023.

In March 2022, Le Tekrø confirmed to the "Paltrocast With Darren Paltrowitz" that he had been in touch with Harnell about a renewed collaboration. Speaking about the group's status, Ronni said: "I've started writing new material, and I'm currently having good talks with Tony and the whole band. We have very much communication. And it's been 40 years [since TNT's formation]. But we're trying to bring the band back together and hopefully make one last tour of Europe and maybe America… I think we might wanna end the TNT chapter with dignity and do one last tour."

In April 2021, Harnell, who has been in and out of TNT several times throughout its four-decade existence, told "The Chuck Shute Podcast" that he didn't rule out returning to the band. "Ronni and I, contrary to popular belief, we talk often," he said. "Ronni's not a big technology guy, but he really loves FaceTime video. And it's kind of annoying, because I love him, but he'll call me early in the morning, 'cause he's overseas, so he'll call me early in the morning [for a] video chat, and I'm, like, in bed. But I love the guy. Whatever happens, we'll be on a beach someplace when we're in our 70s, laughing and hanging out. Most of the things that pushed us apart — again, contrary to popular belief — are business related," he continued. "I'll just leave it at that. 'Never say never' is a good way to put it [regarding a possible new TNT album]. And there might be a time and a place."

Harnell's most recent split with TNT took place in October 2017, less than a year and a half after he rejoined the group. He later described his relationship with TNT in an "Unphiltered" interview as "a very long marriage. I'm here [in New York], they're there [in Norway] — they're across the pond really far away. It's a very difficult situation to be in without having a very unified business organization, and no matter what I did, I could not get the thing unified. We were just on two totally separate not only continents physically, but mentally, psychologically, we were on two different continents as well."

Harnell said that he "really, really wanted" his last collaboration with TNT to work out. "In my opinion, this was gonna be it — we were gonna stay together until I didn't feel like singing anymore," he said. 'I was gonna do other things and do other projects and so forth, but my goal was that TNT would be my band for at least another five years, maybe 10 years or whatever, until it ran its course. So this was kind of an unexpected thing."

In a 2019 interview with "80's Glam Metalcast", Le Tekrø said that he was still on good terms with Harnell. "Definitely," he said. "We talk regularly and we're even discussing making a kind of Page/Plant album, a Harnell/Le Tekrø album, which could maybe lead into something in the future. But I think me and Tony Harnell — I'm speaking not on behalf of him, but on behalf of myself — we need a different playground to do more extensive hard rock with other ideas, whereas TNT is more limited to a [specific] sound. You see what I mean? So, we're definitely buddies, and that will last forever. We don't hate each other, and we never did. That was never the [case]."

TNT's latest studio album, "XIII", came out in June 2018 via Frontiers Music Srl. The band's thirteenth LP was TNT's first to feature vocalist Baol Bardot Bulsara, who replaced Harnell. Baol is a Spanish singer whose debut with TNT happened in front of 8,000 fans in November 2017 when the band opened for German hard rock legends the SCORPIONS in Oslo, Norway.

Fan-filmed video of AVENGED SEVENFOLD's entire June 23 concert at Madison Square Garden in New York City can be seen below. The group's 16-song set included three songs from AVENGED SEVENFOLD's latest album, "Life Is But A Dream…": "Mattel" and the three-track run of "G", "(O)rdinary" and "(D)eath". The latter has been described in one review as by far the most left-field sounding part of the LP, ranging in style from metal/country ["G"], to full-blown DAFT PUNK impersonation ["(O)rdinary"] to lounge jazz ["(D)eath"].

AVENGED SEVENFOLD's setlist for the Madison Square Garden concert was as follows:

01. Game Over
02. Mattel
03. Afterlife
04. Hail To The King
05. We Love You
06. Buried Alive
07. The Stage
08. So Far Away
09. Nobody
10. Nightmare
11. Bat Country
12. Unholy Confessions
13. A Little Piece Of Heaven

Encore:

14. G
15. (O)rdinary
16. (D)eath

In a recent interview with Lou Brutus of HardDrive Radio, AVENGED SEVENFOLD singer M. Shadows discussed the experimental nature of "Life Is But A Dream…" Written and recorded over the span of four years, it was produced by Joe Barresi and AVENGED SEVENFOLD in Los Angeles and mixed by Andy Wallace in the Poconos, Pennsylvania. The album is a journey through an existential crisis; a very personal exploration into the meaning, purpose and value of human existence with the anxiety of death always looming.

"We were just looking for really bold moments — in life, in art, in film," M. Shadows explained. "Things that we could sort of wrap our minds around an audio representation of how we were feeling about certain things.

"At this point, playing around with melody, playing around with tones, playing around with left turns, curveballs was really appealing to us.

"I think we've proven to everyone, whether they like the band or not, that we kind of know the rules of music, and this record, we were able to just go break all the rules," he continued.

"Mike Shinoda [of LINKIN PARK] put it to me really perfectly — I love his insight on a lot of things — and he said, 'This record is like you guys throwing paint at the wall, but if a fourth-grader was doing it, you'd say that's just paint on the wall. But because of everything you've done before, we all know you know how to make a beautiful painting, so this record is actually really special because it's not just paint on the wall. You guys have broken all the rules and done things in an abstract way. But we wanna listen and pay attention because we know what you guys have done before.' And I thought it was an interesting way of putting it, 'cause those [LINKIN PARK] guys — Dave ['Phoenix' Farrell] and Mike — have been big fans of this record. And I think that was a cool way of putting it."

The singer, whose real name is Matt Sanders, added: "We kind of just really wanted to push the boundaries — the musical boundaries, the lyrical boundaries, the themes — and we didn't want anything on the record to sound generic or phoned in or not exciting. We wanted to redo everything we've ever done, where even the song lengths and the way we kind of put these little pieces of ear candy, but we get away from it quick. Or staying away from three choruses, or if there is three choruses, they're all vastly different. And really thinking about turning the traditional landscape of how you would normally put a song together on its head, but do it in an interesting way — not just to do it, but just to do it in a way that we think people will enjoy and give them sort of a reason to get to the end of songs or get to the next song on the record. And I think that was just a mindset this time, was just a little different — really looking at those things."

AVENGED SEVENFOLD made its first festival appearance in five years on May 19 at Welcome To Rockville at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. The band's setlist included three songs from "Life Is But A Dream…": "Game Over", "We Love You" and "Nobody".

AVENGED SEVENFOLD's first concert since June 2018 took place on May 12 at AREA15 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

In April, AVENGED SEVENFOLD announced the second leg of its extensive "Life is But A Dream…" North American tour featuring support from FALLING IN REVERSE. Produced by Live Nation, leg two includes stops in Nashville, Denver, Austin, and more before concluding at Fort Worth's Dickies Arena on October 15. Fans will have the opportunity to hear the group's first single in seven years, "Nobody", and their new album "Life Is But A Dream…" for the first time live during the 30-show outing.

The first leg with support from ALEXISONFIRE includes thirteen cities across the U.S. and Canada, such as Mansfield, Québec City, Tinley Park, Calgary, and more.

Moonshine Bandits mashed up their genre-defying backwoods country soul and hip-hop fusion with Josh Todd and Stevie D. from Buckcherry in their brand new single and music video for "Wild".


"We wanted a rock vibe for 'Wild' and Buckcherry was the perfect match for that song," said Dusty ‘Big Tex’ Dahlgren. "Our fanbase and Buckcherry’s fanbase crossover so I can see a future tour with us together." 


"Working with Josh was a great experience. His energy during the video shoot was 'Wild'," added Brett “Bird” Brooks. "It was nice to be able to connect with him on a personal level about similar experiences that we have shared from the stage and being in the business itself. He shared a story about playing for the USO over in Doha, Qatar that was absolutely incredible. He's a very humble guy and all-around cool. Looking forward to having our paths align again in the future."







Moonshine Bandits have paved the way for the budding country/rap genre amassing a dedicated legion of fans who call themselves the “Shiner Nation” with their grassroots touring and rebellious, outlaw values. 


Pour Decisions, out July 14th, 2023, features 15-tracks that continue to show Moonshine Bandits paving their own lane. The album takes its inspiration from the struggles and successes of America’s extraordinary era when dreams were being made while hunting for that elusive precious gem. Just like the rumrunners, bootleggers, smugglers, and outlaws of old, the Moonshine Bandits provide a supply of goods for the demand, defying the mandates and trends of mainstream pop-culture. Playing off its title, the duo have also partnered with California Cowboy Whiskey to release Bucked Up Whiskey.





Pre-order Pour Decisions now at this location.


Buckcherry recently released their tenth studio album entitled Vol. 10. The 11-song album features ten new Buckcherry originals and, as a bonus track, a cover of the Bryan Adams classic “Summer Of ’69”. Order your copy via Roundhill or Earache.





Catch Moonshine Bandits on the road in the following cities:


July 
5 - Decatur, IL - Lincoln Square Theatre 
6 - Cedar Rapids, IA - North Point 
8 - Elkhart, IN - The Lerner Theater 
9 - Sebewaing, MI - Kretzschy's BBQ 
11 - Springfield, MO - Southbound Bar & Grill
12 - Topeka, KS - Country Stampede Festival
14 - Greeley, CO - Moxi Theater
15 - Sedalia, CO - Wide Open Saloon 
16 - Grand Junction, CO - Mesa Theatre 
19 - Petaluma, CA - Mystic Theatre 
20 - Stateline, NV - Blu Nightclub at Bally's Lake Tahoe 
21 - Concord, CA - Vinnie's 
22 - Murphys, CA - Ironstone Amphitheatre
25 - Bellingham, WA - Wild Buffalo House of Music 
26 - Victoria, BC - Wickett Hall 
27 - Vancouver, BC - The Pearl 
28 - Spanaway, WA - Sam's 
29 - Spanaway, WA - Sam's 
31 - Edmonton, AB - Starlite Room 


August 
1 - Calgary, AB - Palace Theatre 
4 - Sturgis, SD - Glencoe Camp Resort
5 - Vale, SD - Full Throttle Saloon
6 - Sturgis, SD - Glencoe Camp Resort
20 - Stateline, ID - Cruisers Bar & Grill


Since their formation in Los Banos, California in 2003, Moonshine Bandits’ blue-collar work ethic and unwavering persistence has seen the band defy the mandates and trends of mainstream pop culture. The duo have crisscrossed the country performing hundreds of shows a year, ventured into branding their own beef jerky and moonshine, collaborated with some of the music business’s most prolific artists, outshined in the face of record industry roadblocks, earned a fiercely loyal fan following, and embrace the unconventional.


 


 

Italian metal legends, Lacuna Coil, performed at the 2022 edition of Germany's Wacken Open Air festival. Professionally-filmed footage of the band performing the tracks "Trip The Darkness", "Heaven's A Lie", and "Our Truth", below:





Lacuna Coil recently have released their new single, "Never Dawn". Save it here, and listen below.







Says Lacuna Coil: "'Never Dawn' our new single is out now. Ignite the fire in your heart and enjoy the listening!"





Lacuna Coil also released the documentary short, 20 Years Of Comalies, celebrating the band's breakthrough album, Comalies, released in 2002, and the process that led to the creation of Comalies XX, a new deconstructed and remade version of that seminal album.


Watch the documentary, as well as an introduction video, below:

Sid Falck has released a new song, "Your Gods' Hatred", with very special guest, Nikolay Atanasov (Rezet, ex-Agent Steel, ex-Prophecy) under the Falck name.





Sid Falck: “What can I say about 'Your Gods' Hatred'?... I can say for a fact, that probably 70-80% of people are going to misunderstand what it’s about, simply basing it on the title. Oh my, Sid hates God! Hahaha.. Nah not at all. Normally, I don’t really like explaining my lyrics.. kinda takes away everyone’s option to interpret them, in their own way. I’m all for everyone believing in whatever makes them feel better, gives them peace or whatever.




If you want to believe in any known religion, good for you. If you want to pick up a handful of rocks, and proclaim them The One and Only God… go for it. I’ll stand up for your right to do so, as long as I breathe. As Long as you extend that same freedom to everyone else!


One thing that seems common with all the different religions, are, that they all proclaim that Their God, is a God of Compassion, Mercy and Love, and accepts everyone equally, without fail.


However, the problem I’m having, is looking around, listening to those who organized the religion(s) and those who belongs to any faith group, all of a sudden wanting to speak for ‘their’ God/particular faith. It seems to me that, especially those who yell the loudest, have the biggest platform, sound like ‘their’ God actually doesn’t love everyone equally.. that ‘their’ God loves you… but only if you fit within certain parameters. I’m hearing a lot more hatred than love from them, Hence the title "Your Gods' Hatred". So I guess you could say I have a problem with organized religion, and those whom claim to speak for their God, as it’s really not at all as much about God’s love, but more about control of how they/others think you should be in order to be accepted as a valid human being. Personally, if I have something to say to any particular God, I feel like I’m much more qualified to do it, One on One, as opposed to having someone else interpret my specific thoughts or concerns.


To me, more important than the title, is the underlying feeling of abandonment by what you thought you were brought up to believe, but then as was the case for me, you get older and become maybe more observant of what’s going on around you, and what you see differs dramatically from what you were told.


For this song, I have Nikolay Atanasov of German Reset doing the lead. Nik and I have talked a couple of times over the last year or so, and he expressed a wish to do this, and as is very apparent, he’s obviously a huge talent, right up there with Gustafson, Cannavino, Linsk and Hibbs... Also, he has in no way endorsed the lyrics or message of this song.”


"Your Gods' Hatred" can be downloaded here for “set your own price”, making it a free download, should you so choose. An accompanying video can be found below:





"Your Gods' Hatred" is / will also be available on all streaming and digital platforms.

“We Will Rock You,” this week’s episode of Queen’s yearlong The Greatest: Live video series, continues the exploration of how Queen songs are adapted from studio to stage. This week’s episode - No. 22 in the series - reveals archive footage of one of the band’s all-time classics to discover how that transition can often inspire unexpected results. You can watch the episode in full below.


Few songs have remained at the heart of popular culture like “We Will Rock You” - and Queen’s classic anthem has evolved alongside the changing times. When Brian May presented the song for 1977’s News Of The World, the band tracked the original studio version without drums, with all four members instead supplying foot stamps and handclaps.


“I wasn’t sure if it was going to sound like a proper song,” Brian told Guitar World. “But as soon as I heard Freddie singing it, I started to be more confident, because he sounded like a kind of rabble-rouser.”




Performed live on that year’s News Of The World tour, and rapidly earning its enduring status as a must-play setlist highlight (usually followed by “We Are The Champions”), “We Will Rock You” has shed its skin countless times. In last week’s episode of The Greatest: Live, Brian explained how the Queen crowd claimed ownership of the song’s addictive beat (“It’s become a drum extravaganza… the audience sing it and the physicality is there.”)


Now, rare archive footage reveals how the band reimagined “We Will Rock You” through the eras, toying with tempo, instrumentation and many other variables. Opening with the famous show at Budapest’s Népstadion on 27 July 1986, we get to see the performance that cleaves closest to the studio original, with Roger Taylor driving the iconic rhythm at a leisurely pace on his floor toms and snare.


However, a speedier version of “We Will Rock You” always existed in parallel, and the song becomes a very different beast at a 1977 show in Houston, as Brian attacks his Red Special guitar with an almost punky aggression while a leather-jacketed Freddie shoots his vocal from the lip. The song flexes its muscles once again at Queen’s fabled 1982 show at the Milton Keynes Bowl, while the band’s four-way vocal harmonies seemed more prominent than ever when they chose “We Will Rock You” as the opener at Montreal’s Forum in November 1981.

Over the past year, Swedish progressive rock legends The Flower Kings and InsideOutMusic have been reissuing the bands extensive back catalogue as newly remastered and partially remixed editions, with some being available on vinyl for the very first time.


Today sees that campaign reach its culmination with the launch of The Sum Of No Evil on Ltd CD Digipak, Gatefold 180g 2LP+CD, and as Digital Album.







You can listen & order all of the available back catalogue here.


Watch Roine Stolt discuss the most recent reissue and more in this new clip:





Tour dates listed on the flyer below:





(Photo - Lillian Forsberg)

Sherinian/Phillips is the musical alliance of Derek Sherinian and Simon Phillips, whose parallel reputations in virtuosic sonic inventions combine on the backdrop of instrumental genre fusion.


Though the two had written and recorded together in the past, commitments to other projects had kept them busy in their own circles for a time. Upon their reunion for the recording of 2020’s The Phoenix, the duo has been going strong with consistent new releases ever since.


Now, they are pleased to announce the release of Sherinian/Phillips Live, which exhibits the pair uniting once again for a collaborative effort, documenting a special concert recorded at The Grape in Ventura, California on August 29th, 2022. The set is due out on August 25 via InsideOutMusic.




Joining Sherinian/Phillips are fellow creatives Ron "Bumblefoot' Thal on guitar and Ric Fierabracci on bass to round out the lineup of the evening. Several tracks from the latest studio album offering, Vortex, made their way into the set, such as the title track “Vortex”, “Seven Seas”, and “Aurora Australis” (the original recording of which featured Bumblefoot), alongside other instrumentals.


You can check out the performance of “Aurora Australis” below.


Sherinian/Phillips Live has every note - planned or jammed - captured like lightning in a bottle, taking listeners to the moment these sounds sparked from their instruments. The live performance sits naturally in a rock context, while reminiscent of jazz fusion concert structures, with room for each musician to stand out in a solo space, each carrying and trading unique melodies along the way.


Derek Sherinian: “After 20 years of making albums together, it was a great pleasure bringing this music to life with Simon for the first time.”


Pre-orderhere.





Sherinian/Phillips Live tracklisting:


"The Vortex"
"Empyrean Sky"
"Temple of Helios"
"Inertia"
"Alpha Burst"
"Barnacus"
"Seven Seas"
"Ascension"
"The Phoenix"
"Introduction"
"Aurora Australis"





Lineup:


Derek Sherinian (keys/synth)
Simon Phillips (drums)
Ron ‘Bumblefoot’ Thal (guitar)
Ric Fierabracci (bass)


Sherinian’s background as a composer and keyboardist extends well beyond his familiar Dream Theater run, with a notable solo career creating a landscape for contributions from an array of acclaimed musicians, alongside performance credits with the likes of Alice Cooper, Black Country Communion, Billy Idol, Whitesnake, Kiss, Black Label Society, and Sons of Apollo (doubling on production credits), among others.


Phillips has equally rooted himself as a well-respected drummer and composer in the rock, metal, and jazz worlds, with credits ranging from Toto, Judas Priest, Jeff Beck, The Who, Whitesnake, and Joe Satriani, to a discography in jazz fusion with Protocol, movie soundtracks, and beyond.


The diverse range of this pair’s individual talents collectively emerges through each work they craft together; Sherinian and Phillips continue to evolve their joint musical endeavors in new directions.

MÖTLEY CRÜE guitarist Mick Mars has told Rolling Stone in a new seeking out a record label to release his upcoming debut solo album, "Another Side Of Mars". Songtitles set to appear on the CD, which is described by Rolling Stone writer Andy Greene as "darker and more aggressive than anything in the CRÜE catalog," include "Broken On The Inside", "Alone", "Lonely In Your Grave", "Loyal To The Lie", "Decay", "Fear", "Memories" and "Erased".

Mars went on to say that he won't hit the road in support of the upcoming LP. "I'm done touring," he said. "If somebody really, really wants a one-off, or a couple of nights, I would probably do it. But all that travel stuff and planes … I'm way over it."

Mick also revealed that he recently sold his share of the publishing rights to the CRÜE catalog. "The deal was just finalized," he told Rolling Stone. "Now I can relax and don't have to worry about anything, since, like I said, I'm probably just going to live another seven or eight years."

When asked how he knows he won't live longer than eight years, the 71-year-old said: "I'm old enough, man. I'm not going to live to be 85 or 90, I just have a feeling. I don't want to, either. My brain doesn't want this ugly-ass body that's all fucked up to keep going. I wish I could just take the information out of my brain, put it on a chip and into somebody else, or a robot. There's still a lot of stuff going on up there."

In April 2022, Paul Taylor, well known as an accomplished guitarist/keyboardist who has worked with countless artists as a composer and musician over the decades, most famously with WINGER, revealed during an appearance on the "Sonic Dorms" podcast that he spent "the last couple of years" collaborating with Mars on the CRÜE guitarist's long-awaited solo album.

"I wrote most of the record with Mick and [Alabama musician] Jacob Bunton, who sang with [former GUNS N' ROSES drummer] Steve Adler," Paul said. "Me and Jacob have written a lot of stuff for TV together. I'm really excited to have that come out."

Taylor went on to say that he was impressed with Mick's skills as a guitarist and a songwriter.

"Mick is so awesome, and just the endless cool things he comes up with and the palette of sounds," he said. "There's days I just go, 'Is that guitar? Is that you doing all that?' [It's been] really fun. I'm very excited about that."

According to Taylor, he worked with Mars and Bunton on Mick's solo album "for a good year and a half. And Mick doesn't really want me to say too much about it," he explained. "But he said it's okay just to say it's a heavy record — it's definitely heavy — and it very versatile. I feel really lucky that I got to sit and work with him and turn these things into songs. I think it's gonna blow some people away. It's really cool."

Mars has been working on his solo disc — on and off — for at least the past seven years. Some of the early sessions for the LP were helmed by recently retired producer Michael Wagener (OZZY OSBOURNE, ACCEPT, WARRANT, SKID ROW) at Blackbird Studio in Nashville, where Mars has lived for about a decade.

Three years ago, Bunton revealed that he was the lead singer on Mars's solo album. Speaking to AL.com, Bunton, who has previously also played with LYNAM, said about his collaboration with Mars: "I can tell you that I'm involved and the past several months we wrote and recorded a record and Michael Wagener produced it. The great Michael Wagener from [mixing 1986 METALLICA album] 'Master Of Puppets' and all that kind of stuff. He worked with MÖTLEY CRÜE on their very first record 'Too Fast For Love', when they did it themselves they recorded the record and then Michael Wagener mixed, and then when they got the record deal with Elektra, [QUEEN producer] Roy Thomas Baker ended up going back and remixing it. But on all of their self-released copies, it's Michael. But to make a long story short, Michael's producing the record because that was the first producer Mick worked with in MÖTLEY CRÜE, so he wanted to do his solo album, so it's been really cool. We've been recording it in Nashville and we're almost done."

Regarding what fans can expect from Mars's solo CD, Bunton said: "The songs are really cool, the record is really cool. He's such an inventive player and his riffs are insane and it's definitely going to be what people are expecting. When they hear it … It's really cool."

In September 2019, Mick told Billboard about the musical direction of his solo material: "[It's] not like today's music, which to me is pretty much pop metal and more growly guys. It's all cool and it's all good, and I'm just searching for something that's just a little different than that. I [also] don't want to be living in '85. It's hard to reinvent yourself, but that's what I'm doing now. I'm trying to reinvent the way that I approach music writing. I've got a lot of crap, and I've got a lot of good stuff too."

At the time of the Billboard interview, Mars said that he had been working with a vocalist named Jacob, leading some fans to speculate that he was referring to Bunton. "[He] can be a lot of different voices, and it's pretty amazing," Mick said. "I go, 'I want this kind of voice here,' and he'll pull it straight off."

In a separate interview with "Talking Metal", Mars said that his debut solo record will not sound like anybody else. "Well, I guess it's my own style," he said. "It isn't really blues. My playing has a blues element to it, of course, but it isn't what you would call a blues record. It's more of a heavier rock thing, but I don't wanna even try to 'outheavy' the heavies, you know what I mean? It's just something hopefully just a little different than what's going on now. You're not gonna hear a MÖTLEY-flavored song, except for the guitar, [because] that's me. They're gonna be a bit harder than that, but not as hard as the heavies, like MINISTRY and some of those guys."

In December 2021, former MÖTLEY CRÜE singer John Corabi said that he didn't know if the songs he recorded with Mars seven years ago will make it to the MÖTLEY CRÜE guitarist's solo LP.

Back in 2016, Mars released snippets of two solo songs, apparently called "Gimme Blood" and "Shake The Cage". The tracks, which were recorded at the aforementioned Blackbird Studio, featured Corabi, who appeared on CRÜE's 1994 self-titled album. Corabi later said that he didn't contribute to the writing process for the two songs, but that he was open to collaborating with Mars on some brand new material.

In August 2021, KORN drummer Ray Luzier confirmed that he is a featured guest on Mars's solo album. Earlier this month, former ACCEPT bassist Peter Baltes also said he is featured on the LP.

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

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Oslo's Urban Sound Studios has shared a new photo of GUNS N' ROSES singer Axl Rose and guitarist Slash, apparently taken the day after the band's performance at the Tons Of Rock festival in Norway's capital city.

On Thursday (June 22),the picture was posted on the Urban Sound Studios Instagram account along with the following message: "We got to hang out with these 2 rock legends in the studio today. Really cool guys! (The two in the middle...). The band wanted a nice studio with a variety of speakers and headphones to listen to new mixes before they head for Glastonbury. It sounds awesome!"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Photo credit: Katarina Benzova

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Former MEGADETH drummer Lee Rauch passed away on Friday, June 23. No cause of death has been revealed. He was reportedly 58 years old.

Lee's passing was announced by his brother Chris Rauch in a social media post on Friday. He wrote: "Today is a very sad day, we lost my brother William Lee Rauch.

"Lee was a very strong man of faith so I know he is with God now. He was an Awesome drummer, who helped launch one of the biggest metal names in history by being the first drummer for MEGADETH, playing along side Dave Mustaine, Kerry King and David Ellifson. His heart was set on making it big and came very close numerous times.

"Lee was a very loving and giving individual who was extremely hard working, he continued to play drums later in his life for the church which made him happy. He was a loving son and a very honorable man. Most of all, he was my brother and though I didn't always keep in touch the way I should have, I loved him very much and he will be greatly missed to my core.

"I love you brother, good journey. Hope you enjoy that setup they've got up there for you bro, bet its not as big as your blue set was though, lol.

"There will be a memorial service held for Lee, when we have the date and time I will relay it here. Please keep our family in your prayers."

In a 2004 interview with Bob Nalbandian, Mustaine was asked what happened to Rauch in the years after he left MEGADETH. Dave responded: "I don't know. He wasn't necessarily an original [MEGADETH] drummer. He was a guy that we really liked, and then one day sitting on the steps of Billy Cordero's house, when David Ellefson and I were squatting...we just kind of met this kid, went to his house and filtrated his bedroom and never left for a couple months. Lee was telling us how he had given his soul to Satan, and I know enough about black magic that if you really do the actual act of giving your soul to Satan, you have to have sex with Satan to consecrate the deal. You had to have sex and have a Satanic priest take the embodiment of Satan on so he can sodomize you. And I asked him, 'So, who was the priest?' And he said, 'My priest was a guy named David.' I was like...'I'm out of here!'"

Rauch was featured on MEGADETH's first demo, 1984's "Last Rites", which consisted of three tracks. The lineup on the demo was Mustaine, Ellefson and Rauch. Rauch also performed with MEGADETH, alongside Mustaine, Ellefson and Kerry King (SLAYER). That same year, Rauch left MEGADETH due to internal conflict and was replaced by Gar Samuelson. After exiting MEGADETH, Rauch performed live with DARK ANGEL but never recorded anything with the group. He was also a member of WARGOD, which was launched by guitarist Michelle Meldrum.

Today is a very sad day, we lost my brother William Lee Rauch. Lee was a very strong man of faith so I know he is with...

Posted by Chris Rauch on Friday, June 23, 2023

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Paul Rodgers, iconic lead vocalist, main songwriter and founding member of legendary rock band BAD COMPANY, has just released a new single, "Living It Up". The song is the first from Rodgers's forthcoming LP "Midnight Rose", slated for release on September 22 via Sun Records. This is Rodgers's first solo album of new music in nearly 25 years.

The eight-track album is a collection of all new, original music completely written by Rodgers, with the exception of "Living It Up", which was co-written by Rodgers and his band's bassist Todd Ronning, and drummer Rick Fedyk.

"Midnight Rose" was produced by Cynthia Rodgers and Bob Rock, and was recorded at Roper Recording and The Warehouse over the last 18 months with unique album artwork contributed by Paul and his love of 26 years, Cynthia.

"My new album 'Midnight Rose' grew from sparks of ideas I had," says Rodgers. "The sparks developed into a raging fire when the band and everyone involved brought their absolute 'A' game. I think it is my best album to date, I like it. I hope you do too."

Dominic Pandiscia, chief strategy officer, Primary Wave/Sun Label Group, adds: "Paul Rodgers is a rock legend and we're proud to have him on the Sun Records label. His album 'Midnight Rose' is a modern-day classic that his established and new fans will love. We have heard one consistent comment throughout the record making process and it's that Paul has never sounded better. I couldn't agree more."

The album's second single, "Take Love", will be released July 28.

"Midnight Rose" track listing:

01. Coming Home
02. Photo Shooter
03. Midnight Rose
04. Living It Up
05. Dance In The Sun
06. Take Love
07. Highway Robber
08. Melting

The founding member of English supergroup BAD COMPANY along with guitarist Mick Ralphs, Rodgers has sold more than 125 million records worldwide in his 55-year career. In addition to BAD COMPANY, Rodgers formed and led two other legendary English bands to international success — FREE with guitarist Paul Kossoff, and THE FIRM with LED ZEPPELIN's Jimmy Page.

"Working with Paul gave me the opportunity to appreciate what an extraordinary vocalist and songwriter this man really is," Page said.

Rodgers was also instrumental in resurrecting QUEEN under the banner of QUEEN + PAUL RODGERS, which saw the group release an original album "The Cosmos Rocks", which marked the first time Rodgers released new, original music since his 1999 solo album "Electric". They also released several live DVDs including songs from both of their respective catalogs. He fronted the band for four years from 2004 to 2008 before leaving to return to his solo career and BAD COMPANY.

"[He's] simply the greatest blues/rock singer alive. Having now had the privilege to work with Paul, it is even more clear to me that Paul Rodgers is the rock/blues voice they all look up to," said Brian May, lead guitarist of QUEEN.

He added: "FREE's 'Fire & Water' album was our bible when we were starting out. I remember we were in the studio recording and Freddie [Mercury] was doing the vocal track. I made some suggestions and he said, 'I'm not Paul Rodgers. I can't do that!'"

LED ZEPPELIN's Robert Plant calls him "the voice of all British voices" and Rolling Stone magazine ranked him as "one of the greatest singers of all time." Some hit songs include "All Right Now", "Bad Company", "Feel Like Makin' Love", "Can't Get Enough", "Satisfaction Guaranteed" and "Radioactive".

Respected rock journalist Mick Wall, author of biographies on rock stars including Ozzy Osbourne, Jon Bon Jovi and Axl Rose, with bylines in publications such as Louder, Classic Rock and Kerrang!, believes "everyone knows that Paul Rodgers is one of the greatest singers in the world. What they are only waking up to is that there may never be another like him."

Former MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson spoke to Ghost Cult magazine about the bass intro to the song "Peace Sells", from the band's 1986 album "Peace Sells… But Who's Buying?" The opening bassline was used as the theme for MTV News, but MEGADETH leader Dave Mustaine has repeatedly claimed he never received any royalties for MTV's usage of the song.

Ellefson said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Most people don't get one of those in their lifetime. [BLACK SABBATH's] Tony Iommi, I always think of 'Iron Man'. [IRON MAIDEN's] Steve Harris, of course, has got his signature sound. RUSH has theirs. So, as a musician, to have such an identity related to…

"And the funny thing is, I was on tour. I missed the whole thing. I wasn't home watching MTV every day to hear it," he continued. "I was out going to work; I was touring. So it's people like you who tell [me], 'Oh my God. You have no idea. It was on every day. We heard it all the time. It was part of our backdrop of our lives through that whole season.' So, [it's] probably better that I wasn't there for it, because… I was out working. I was actually playing the song every night on tour and growing our band.

"Look, what an honor to have that moment and to be part of it. 'Cause that was a band — we put that song together as a group. It only took about two hours. We put the song together as a band — the arrangement and everything and all the pieces. And that was a beautiful moment in that band. We were very much in sync, the four of us. We were working well together. And that song just laid right in the trench so effortlessly.

"I'm thankful to whoever it was over at MTV who had the fortitude and the bright idea to use it," Ellefson added. "Thank you, dude, whoever you are. I think about that with [former JUDAS PRIEST guitarist] K.K. Downing. As great of a guitar player as he is, that opening whammy-bar thing for 'Sinner'? C'mon! Fucking changed all of our lives. That's his. It doesn't have to be some beautiful melody. It's just vicious, and he's fucking beating the shit out of the guitar. It's, like, 'Fuck, dude. You're our guy forever.' So in metal, sometimes it's the stabbing and the blood and the fucking viciousness of it — that's our takeaway; that's what we love the most."

Back in August 2019, Ellefson told 93.1 WMPA's "In The Basement With Jesse Bruce" about the creation of the "Peace Sells" bass intro: "It's funny. Dave [Mustaine, MEGADETH guitarist/vocalist] and I were living with our producer from our first record, 'Killing Is My Business'; his name's Karat Faye. We were living up in a bungalow in Hollywood Hills and Laurel Canyon. We were so poor. We had no electricity. I think we were getting electricity via a cable, like an electrical extension cord from a neighbor. We were on hard times, if there ever was one. And Dave picked up… I had a bass. It was a bass that I had ripped the frets out of. He picked it up and he started playing it. And that riff basically then became the guitar riff of the song, the bass riff of the song. We went to rehearsal that night, and that song literally wrote itself right there in the band room. And I'm a firm believer that great songs do that — they just write themselves."

In 2006, VH1 ranked "Peace Sells" at No. 11 on its list of the "40 Greatest Metal Songs" of all time.

In 2018, Mustaine brought up the "Peace Sells" bassline while discussing Ellefson's contributions to MEGADETH. He told mxdwn: "David's got moments of greatness where he goes from being a star to a superstar; most notably is the riff I wrote for 'Peace Sells…But Who's Buying?' When I showed that to him, he embraced it and people fell in love with his playing and the rest is history."

Eight years ago, Ellefson told Songfacts that the "Peace Sells" bassline was "definitely one of the most recognizable" basslines ever in rock. "The reason the song stands out is the melody, for sure," he said. "But also because it's the tone, it's the sound. Like, you hear [Jimi] Hendrix play, it's not just him, but it's the sound that they captured of him back in those days that is part of the character. When I hear a [BLACK] SABBATH tune, you instantly know it's SABBATH, because you are so familiar with the recording. And I think 'Peace Sells' is that thing. It's the bassline, but also, our ear is trained now to hear that recording that we captured in 1986, when we put that down to tape. I think it really speaks to that line being used on MTV for all those years [as part of the theme for MTV News]. It was something that was almost subliminally piped into everybody's house for 10 years, and it's amazing what an effect it has on people. And also, it's just a really cool song. And it's a really tricky bass line. When people tell me that they just learned how to play the bass and this is the first line they're trying to learn, I'm, like, 'You might want to learn something a little bit easier.' That's a very tricky song to play."

Mustaine told Rolling Stone that he knew when he first wrote "Peace Sells" that it was something special. "Prior to that song, everything was just shred-festing and just playing really fast, aggressive stuff," he said. "But as soon as 'Peace Sells' came out, it was like, 'Wow, this is really a song-song,' something that, unbeknownst to myself, would stand the test of time, something that would be my friend forever. Never had I gotten that feeling from our previous songs. I never thought, 'Hey, you're gonna be playing this song every night for the rest of your life.'"

Image credit: Jackson Guitars

During a new appearance on the "Rimshots With Sean" podcast, TRIXTER singer Pete Loran spoke about the possibility of him and his bandmates reuniting to play their first shows since 2017. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, as of right now, there's three of us — me, P.J. [Farley, bass] and Steve [Brown, guitar] — who, we talk. We're cordial. I actually just saw P.J. about three weeks ago. He was out here [near my home in Arizona] — he's out with Chris Jericho's FOZZY, and they were doing UFEST here in Phoenix with GODSMACK. And he had called me up and said, 'Let's get together. Let's grab some lunch.' And I hadn't seen him since probably 2017. And it was needed. For me, it was needed. We had really kind of talked past what had happened. So we're great. It was really good for me. Gus [drummer Mark Scott], on the other hand, with those guys, not so much… And they've all done interviews and really talked some shit about each other, which — I get it, I guess.

"I think if you got all four of us in a room, within a short, reasonable amount of time, everyone would be hugging each other [and saying] 'I'm sorry' or whatever," Pete continued. "As far as doing a gig, I don't know about that. But it would be nice if that could happen, though — at least that part… And I'd like that to happen. I don't know if they'd like that to happen, but it would be good. The possibility of doing shows? I don't know if that ever happens again. But those guys [P.J. and Steve] are very busy, number one; they always have been. But they're also doing like a TRIXTER acoustic thing. And if they ever roll through Phoenix, I'll probably jump up there and do a couple of songs. I don't see why not."

Pete went on to lament the fact that Gus, Steve and P.J. have been unable to mend their differences. "These are guys that have known each other since junior high, grew up in the same town, started a band together," he noted. "Gang mentality — us against them. 'We're getting a record deal. Now we're gonna open up for the SCORPIONS in front of 18 thousand people, and we're gonna have to kick them in the teeth because we want them to accept us.' And all the accolades and whatnot throughout the years. It would be kind of sad to let that just all get kicked to the side because of something stupid. My opinion."

Both Brown and Farley have been critical of Scott in recent interviews, with Steve saying that the drummer is on "the shit list beyond belief" with the rest of the group, while P.J. compared being in a band with Mark to owning a disobedient dog. "Sometimes you let the dog off a leash and he just goes running to the middle of the street — no good," he said.

Since reuniting in 2008, TRIXTER has released two studio albums via Frontiers Music Srl — 2012's "New Audio Machine" and 2015's "Human Era".

TRIXTER toured extensively in the United States, Canada and Japan in support of its five major label releases. They have performed live in arenas and amphitheaters with crowds up to 35,000 people, appearing with such rock superstars as KISS, SCORPIONS, POISON, TED NUGENT, NIGHT RANGER, CINDERELLA, TWISTED SISTER, DOKKEN, WARRANT, GREAT WHITE and FIREHOUSE.

In a January 2022 interview with "The Bay Ragni Show", Gus stated about his relationship with his bandmates: "I haven't spoken to P.J. or Steve at all. There has been no activity as far as putting the band successfully back together at all. And to be honest with you, although my skirmish with those guys may be more well known, there's more layers to the problem between us, unfortunately. It involves the whole band, as far as seriousness to play and things like that or where they prioritize that thing. But that's neither here nor there. I think overall there's no deep-hearted desire on some people's part to really put it back together. And that's the biggest shame of all. And I think that's also the biggest obstacle to me to as far as even having a desire to reach out. Which sounds terrible. Honestly, as a friend, that's something that I wrestled with myself. Whether he pissed me off or I pissed him off is somewhat immaterial. Those sorts of things ought to take a secondary seat to anything else that we've accomplished together, and that should always be a priority. So at one point I've gotta believe I'm gonna break down and give a shout at least and say hey. It's stupid that it's gone this far, and I'm myself to blame equally as well. But no, as far as making any progress, unfortunately, no — there's been none. I think the biggest problem is there are some people that really just do not care or just do not want to do it to the level that it takes to wanna put it back together. And that's the biggest shame for everybody, I think. That's ultimately what bothers me the most, I think."

Scott also touched upon the various projects some of the other TRIXTER members are involved with, including Farley's current stint with FOZZY and both Brown's and Farley's collaboration with Eric Martin from MR. BIG.

"I think the biggest reason why I don't reach out [and] why a bigger effort hasn't been made on anybody's part is these guys are out with all these other projects, doing all this other stuff, and they didn't care to do TRIXTER first?" he said. "They fail to believe that there was potential to be at least… Like the idea of us going back to Japan. Oh, what a horrible idea that would be. Oh, it couldn't possibly be successful if we did something like that. The idea of really approaching this situation with a certain mindframe, that's the part that kills me the most. You actually don't see the potential or have the desire for that. Even if we did not have the potential, I love the music so much, I would do it for nothing; I'd pay somebody to get on that stage. Whereas they — apparently — do not possess that desire at all. And that I find exponentially more inexcusable — maybe that's the best way of putting it — at least to me. I think that hurts even more so. It's, like, why would you not wanna do that? That's what we lived for; that was what we would have killed for. So I guess that's maybe the biggest question that's unanswered. And that's the kind of thing those guys never wanted to sit down and talk about, even during the good times, even when we were out there doing it. There's an elusive quotient to the whole thing, man, because some people have not been on the level with the whole thing either. But at the end of the day, it's desire. I think that's the one quotient that has yet to really… That's the biggest festering sore. And even above brotherhood and all that, that's the part that prohibits progress."

Back in 2021, Scott told Waste Some Time with Jason Green that "there were always two camps within [TRIXTER]. It hasn't always been as bad as it is now. Peter and I were always very close, and P.J. and Steve were always very close. I mean, we were all collectively very, very close. We were a family, and that's not bullcrap; that's for real. We literally grew up together. P.J., at 15 and 16 years old, used to drive my car 'cause I wanted him to pass his driving exam. To that level, man. I've known these guys 35-plus years. So we've been through a lot, and we've experienced things around the world, the likes of which people will never experience. So we've been through very, very highs and very, very lows all together. We each know deep, dark secrets about each other. And it's something beautiful — it really is. And, unfortunately, more recently, it has turned more ugly."

Regarding what Brown is "mad" at him for, Scott said: "What it stems from is something, I think, that started a long time ago. And it was unresolved crap that got worse and worse, and then got out of control. It started small in a sense that there were two ideologies within the band on how to run the band. When we had opportunities like we did the second time around… When we first came out [after our comeback], we did three shows in one year; I think the next year we did five. When you have 52 weekends and [you're plotting] a big comeback and the press is favorable and people are throwing record deals at you and you're hitting No. 56 on iTunes, the idea of playing 20 shows in one year, to me, it just seemed like an opportunity to strike that no one else really wanted to share the idea. That's where I think things started, and nobody wanted to talk about it. That's a problem — in any business.

"It got to a point where I took some action, and I was somewhat of a dick about it," he admitted. "But my actions were certainly prompted — to take action. And it kind of caught him in the backside a bit, and he got really angry at me.'

Scott told Waste Some Time with Jason Green that he was "hesitant to give the full details" of his disagreement with Brown, but claimed that "there was a dictatorial attitude that [Steve] had, and he wasn't exactly sitting on the throne. And I think he took offense to the idea that I took a strike at his position, and it caught him a little short-sighted."

Asked if he acknowledges that he may have done something to rub Brown the wrong way, Scott said: "I'll go so far as to say a hundred percent. I pissed him off big-time, but it certainly wasn't without prompting. I didn't just one day wake up and say, 'You know what? Fuck him. And this is what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna take an ax and chop up his car.' No. It [had built up] over a long period of time. Everybody avoided the idea of having a conversation about it. I mean, if you're gonna run a bubblegum stand, you've gotta all agree upon how much bubblegum you're gonna sell, what you're gonna sell it for, and how often you're gonna sell it. And to have four guys that own one bubblegum stand and can't agree on the price of bubblegum and how often they're gonna sell it, they're pretty substantial problems."

Scott celebrated the 30th anniversary of TRIXTER's biggest MTV hit, "Give It To Me Good", by releasing a solo version of the song in May 2020.