VOLBEAT has officially parted ways with guitarist Rob Caggiano.

Earlier today, the Danish rock and rollers released the following statement via social media: "After ten incredible years we must sadly announce that VOLBEAT and Rob Caggiano have parted ways. During our time together we've traveled the world sharing great experiences and released four albums that we are immensely proud of, and we wouldn't change a moment of it.

"We wish our brother Rob all the best with everything he does in the future (we know it's going to be great)!

"Filling those shoes on stage will be a herculean task, but our good friend Flemming C. Lund (THE ARCANE ORDER) will be jumping in to handle lead guitar on our 2023 shows.

"Thank you to all of our incredible fans for their support, and more importantly, thank you to Rob for ten amazing years."

West Coast metal veterans METAL CHURCH made their live debut with their new vocalist Marc Lopes (ROSS THE BOSS, LET US PREY) last night (Saturday, June 3) at the Legions Of Metal festival at Reggies in Chicago, Illinois. Fan-filmed video of the performance can be seen below.

Lopes joined METAL CHURCH in the summer of 2022 as the replacement for Mike Howe, who tragically passed away in July of 2021. The band's current lineup is rounded out by founding guitarist Kurdt Vanderhoof, guitarist Rick Van Zandt, bassist Steve Unger and drummer Stet Howland.

Lopes's first studio album with METAL CHURCH, "Congregation Of Annihilation", came out on May 26 via Rat Pak Records (America) and Reaper Entertainment (Europe). The LP was produced by Vanderhoof.

In a recent interview with Chris Akin Presents, Lopes spoke about the inevitable barrage of criticism that he will receive as a result of stepping into the role previously occupied by Howe, David Wayne and Ronny Munroe. He said: "Being in ROSS THE BOSS [the band led by former MANOWAR guitarist Ross 'The Boss' Friedman], I have faced so much stupid bullshit from fans, from MANOWAR fans. At the beginning, it bothered me, years back. Now I can give two shits; I don't fucking care. Because, you know what? If you fucking start worrying about what other people think, you'll never get anywhere. And the way I look at it is, it's, like, look, if you like it, great. If you don't, then fucking go somewhere else. I don't really give a shit. I know that I'm giving it everything that I have to do it and make it sound as best as possible. And if you don't like it, why am I gonna sit here and try to fucking satisfy you? I don't fucking care. I mean, obviously, if everybody fucking hates it, then probably I shouldn't do the gig. But with much respect to the METAL CHURCH community, they've been amazing; they love this new stuff.

"I've gotta be honest — the anticipation is insane, and it's making me more… I'm definitely nervous," Marc admitted. "But at the same time, I'm, like, look, I've gotta go out and do my thing. And the reason that I was put in charge of doing this new era of the band was because I am putting my own spin on it. Am I gonna sound like David Wayne? Maybe in some aspects. Am I gonna sound like Mike Howe? Maybe in some aspects. Am I gonna sound like Marc Lopes? Abso-fucking-lutely. And that's really what it comes down to.

"If this is my era of the band, then I have to do what I do best. Trying to imitate it isn't gonna do anybody any good. And the funny thing is, Ronny Munroe is amazing — he's a great vocalist — and he sounded more like David Wayne than me.

"I've gotta be honest: at first, I was, like, 'Fuck, man. How am I gonna do this?' [Then I was, like], 'Wait a minute. You're already approaching it wrong.' Kurdt would always be, like, 'You're already approaching it wrong.'

"Those guys are not imitatable because they are who they are… And Ronny has his own style too, and the stuff that he did was great. It just was a weird era for the band, I think, in the totality part of it…

"I already know there are gonna be the haters," Marc added. "And I don't care. And for those people — if you wanna waste your time with that kind of shit, then go for it. There's way more things to spend time on in life than being out there going, 'I hate this.' It's kind of ridiculous.

"The biggest joke is I'm a huge IRON MAIDEN fan and I never liked the Blaze Bayley era. And we always used to joke about it. I was, like, I'm a huge MAIDEN fan. Do I spend my time going, 'Oh my God. I hate that. And I hate this.' It's, like, why? I don't listen to it. [Laughs] Not everybody's gonna like everything you do. It's just the way it is."

When Lopes's addition to METAL CHURCH was first announced in early February, Vanderhoof wrote in a social media post: "We auditioned a handful of vocalists and while they were all great, Marc quickly became the clear choice.

"Both David Wayne and Mike Howe had a very unique, irreplaceable quality to their voices, so we were not looking for a clone of either. We wanted someone new, who could embrace the past, and also bring something fresh and exciting to the mix.

"Marc brings a very classic yet modern feel to the songs."

In an interview with Heavy New York, Vanderhoof described "Congregation Of Annihilation" as "definitely more aggressive and more back to our thrash roots". Regarding how the LP's tougher sound came about, he said: "I had written an album. Mike and I had just started writing and working on a new album. So I wrote a new album. And Mike and I started the process of collaborating. And then, obviously, he passed away. Then there was a few months of trying to decide if I even wanted to continue. But then, when we decided to continue, it was kind of a step-by-step process. So when things started working with Marc, there was definitely much more aggressiveness in his vocals and his delivery, and that seemed like a good way to go. I didn't want a Mike clone. If we were gonna continue, I wanted to kind of have it be another chapter — something a little bit different. Just a new phase — a new old phase, I guess you could say. So when that started happening, when things worked out with Marc, it was, like, 'Okay, that's definitely making the trajectory that we're going.' So a good batch of the songs that I wrote with Mike in mind fell by the wayside, and a part of the album was brand new material, to fit with our new direction."

Asked if Marc adds a new dimension to the METAL CHURCH sound, Kurdt said: "Yeah, absolutely. He definitely brings his own thing to it. But he also very much honors the past and our sound and what METAL CHURCH musically is all about."

Howe was found dead at his home in Eureka, California in July 2021. According to TMZ, Howe's official cause of death was determined to be asphyxia due to hanging. A spokesperson for the Humboldt County Sheriff's Dept. told the site authorities are calling it a suicide. He was only 55 years old.

According to police, drugs and alcohol are not believed to be factors in the death and no controlled substances or paraphernalia were located at the scene.

Howe, who fronted METAL CHURCH from 1988 until 1994, officially rejoined the band in April 2015.

Howe is not the first singer of METAL CHURCH to die. David Wayne passed away in May 2005 from complications following a car crash. He was 47 years old.

Wayne sang on METAL CHURCH's first two classic offerings (1984's "Metal Church" and 1986's "The Dark") before leaving the group and being replaced by Howe.

Festival Updates:

- Set times are below. Doors are at 5PM today and if you park on the street you will need a parking...

Posted by Legions Of Metal Festival on Friday, June 2, 2023

In a new interview with MoreCore.TV conducted at this weekend's Rock Am Ring festival in Nürburgring, Germany, MOTIONLESS IN WHITE frontman Chris "Motionless" Cerulli was asked to name "something untypical" and "out of place" that he has done that the band's fans wouldn't necessarily expect. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I think it was just seen on the Internet not long that I'm a really big Taylor Swift fan. I went to go see five of her shows on her tour in the U.S. right now — three in Atlanta and two in Philadelphia.

"I love her stuff," he continued. "And I don't care who you are or what style of music that you like or don't like, you can't deny her show is phenomenal. The amount of effort and detail that goes into it has to be appreciated no matter what."

Last July, Chris told Revolver magazine that he is "absolutely" a diehard Taylor Swift fan and named 2020's "Folklore" as his favorite album by the pop superstar. Asked what strikes him about Taylor, Chris said: "She's a phenomenal writer. She writes most of the stuff either herself or very, very heavily involved with it. She's so, so, so smart in every asset of her musical… Everything she does is genius. And I think she's a brilliant songwriter. I love her honesty on 'Folklore' a lot. And more than anything else, you can feel the songs and they feel so genuine and so relatable. It's just awesome."

Asked what MOTIONLESS IN WHITE song he would like to do a duet with Taylor on, Chris said: "A song called 'Another Life'."

MOTIONLESS IN WHITE will join Grammy Award-nominated act IN THIS MOMENT for a co-headline run across North America this summer featuring special guests FIT FOR A KING and FROM ASHES TO NEW. "The Dark Horizon Tour" will see the two bands alternating closing sets each night and performing at arenas and amphitheaters across the country. The upcoming trek is set to kick off July 8 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut and continue through an August 19 performance at MVP Arena in Albany, New York.

Later this fall, MOTIONLESS IN WHITE will tour the U.S. with Louisville metallic hardcore crushers KNOCKED LOOSE, djent mainstays AFTER THE BURIAL and Australian metalcore unit ALPHA WOLF. The trek will kick off in MOTIONLESS IN WHITE's hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania on September 16 and will last over a month before wrapping up in Boston on October 29.

MOTIONLESS IN WHITE recently earned two RIAA gold singles for "Another Life" and "Voices".

Somebody met Chris in line at the Taylor Swift concert last night and I just want to know when good things are going to happen to me 😭

Posted by Danielle Cook on Sunday, April 30, 2023

QUEENSRŸCHE's estranged drummer Scott Rockenfield says that he is "looking forward" to the upcoming trial in connection with the lawsuit he filed against the band's fellow original members Michael Wilton (guitar) and Eddie Jackson (bass). The trial is set for 9 a.m. on January 16, 2024 in Snohomish County Superior Court in the state of Washington.

On Friday (June 2),Scott took to his personal Facebook page to share a copy of the May 5 "notice of trial setting and certificate of trial confirmation", and he included the following message: "Looking forward to the 'many truths' that will finally be revealed..."

In October 2021, Rockenfield filed a lawsuit against Wilton and Jackson, alleging, among other things, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty and wrongful discharge. In the lawsuit, which was filed in Snohomish County Superior Court, Rockenfield claimed that he took paternal leave of absence from QUEENSRŸCHE in February 2017 after his fiancée experienced complications during the birth of their son and had to have an emergency Cesarean delivery. According to the drummer, his leave of absence was approved by the members of QUEENSRŸCHE and he was to retain an equal one-third interest in all QUEENSRŸCHE companies (QR Companies),including Tri-Ryche Corporation, Melodisc LTD., Queensryche Merchandising, Inc., EMS Music, LLC and Queensryche Holdings, LLC.

Scott alleged that or about October 11, 2018, Wilton and Jackson purportedly "voted to dismiss Rockenfield from the QR Companies due in whole or in part to his taking of approved family leave. Rockenfield was informed of his purported dismissal from the QR Companies in a letter dated November 3, 2018."

According to Rockenfield's complaint, since 2017, Wilton and Jackson "have wrongfully withheld from Rockenfield all sources of income from the QR Companies in violation of the various Operating Agreements and Contracts governing the QR Companies for no lawful purpose." In addition, they "have failed to provide Rockenfield with an accounting of the books, records, business and contracts of the QR Companies."

Although Rockfenfield said he had continued to receive royalties from Tri-Ryche since February 2017 for the old catalogue, he claimed he had "received no payments from Melodisc since February 2017, and no payments from Queensryche Merchandising since early 2018, and no payments from EMS since February 2017."

Rockfenfield also claimed that Wilton and Jackson did not include him in the recording of QUEENSRŸCHE's latest album, "The Verdict", "despite his availability and willingness to participate."

During all of 2017 and 2018, Rockenfield claimed, he "remained active in all aspects of the QR Companies' business, song writing, licensing options, and communications with the exception of touring.

Rockenfield claimed to be "owed compensation for lost wages and profits as, as well as an amount equal to the present fair market value of his equity interest in the QR Companies as of his wrongful dismissal, plus interest thereon."

On March 10, 2022, Wilton and Jackson filed their "answers, affirmative defenses and counterclaims" in which they denied Rockenfield was wrongfully dismissed from QUEENSRŸCHE. In the document, they claimed that Rockenfield announced in March 2017 that he was taking a few months off from touring fully aware that "QUEENSRŸCHE was in the middle of a tour and was contractually obligated to play a number of live concerts, including an upcoming April 1, 2017 concert in California, to be followed by several concerts in the U.S. scheduled for April and May, and that QUEENSRŸCHE, including Rockenfield, had agreed and were scheduled in June 2017 to play 13 live shows at different venues across Europe. Rockenfield's sudden departure required Jackson and Wilton to locate and hire a drummer" — former KAMELOT drummer Casey Grillo — "so that the band could comply with their contractual touring obligations."

Wilton and Jackson went on to say that Rockenfield "made no effort to assist the band in finding a substitute drummer for the remaining concert dates on the QUEENSRŸCHE tour." They also claimed that they, along with singer Todd La Torre and the band's manager began attempting to contact Rockenfield "near the end of 2017" to discuss his participation on the next QUEENSRŸCHE album. However, "Rockenfield only sporadically responded to band members and band management about participating in the recording the new album. On those occasions when Rockenfield did respond to members of QUEENSRŸCHE or band management, he obfuscated and refused to commit or agree to rejoin the band or to participate in the process of recording the new album."

According to the document, QUEENSRŸCHE management contacted Rockenfield via e-mail in late 2017 and informed him that "QUEENSRŸCHE had to have a declaration from Rockenfield as to whether or not he intended to participate in recording on the band's album. Rockenfield was informed by QUEENSRŸCHE management that due to his continued obfuscation, that his failure to respond with anything other than a commitment to rejoin the band for their album, would necessarily be deemed a 'no.' Rockenfield subsequently acquiesced to QUEENSRŸCHE hiring another drummer to take Rockenfield's place."

Wilton and Jackson also accuses Rockenfield of failing to generate any income to pay off a loan used to cover the settlement QUEENSRŸCHE had reached with the band's original singer Geoff Tate nine years ago.

"When QUEENSRŸCHE had negotiated their financial settlement with Tate in 2014, QUEENSRŸCHE's then attorney recommended and arranged for Jackson, Wilton and Rockenfield to secure a loan from a particular third party lender, the proceeds of which would to be used to pay Tate a lump sum of the entire amount of the agreed upon settlement," the document states. "Wilton, Jackson and Rockenfield signed the loan agreement as individuals doing business as QUEENSRŸCHE. Under the Agreement, Jackson, Wilton and Rockenfield were jointly and severally liable to the Lender for repayment of the loan. The Lender required the band members to pledge real property as security for the loan. Wilton and Jackson pledged real property that each individually owned. As additional security Wilton and Jackson were required to pledge specific valuable and irreplaceable personal property they had accumulated during their three decades of playing and performing in rock and roll music all over the world. Rockenfield did not own any real property. Rockenfield was only required to pledge some computer equipment he had used for recording his side project, Hollywood Loops. With the rapid advancement of computer technology, any value of the computer equipment Rockenfield pledged, quickly diminished."

According to the document, Jackson, Wilton and Rockenfield were required to make regular monthly payments or risk default" on the loan "and loss of the property they'd pledged as security. The loan prohibited Wilton, Jackson and Rockenfield from selling or otherwise disposing of personal property pledged as security for the loan, and provided that, if any of the property pledged as security was disposed of prior to the loan having been paid in full, the loan would come immediately due. Prior to the loan being paid in full, Rockenfield sold or otherwise disposed of the property he'd pledged as security for the loan."

Wilton and Jackson noted in the document that "the revenue generated through QUEENSRŸCHE concerts was the primary income source that allowed QUEENSRŸCHE band members to stay current on Tate loan. Since Rockenfield left the band in Spring 2017, Rockenfield has not generated any income for use to pay off the loan used to pay Tate. Since Rockenfield left the band in 2017, he has not contributed any money to pay off the Tate loan. Rockenfield's failure to generate any income for the band after leaving in 2017, resulted in the other obligors, Jackson and Wilton, shouldering the entire responsibility to pay off the Tate loan, including Rockenfield's portion, and, Rockenfield's actions put Jackson and Wilton at risk of default and loss of their own property."

According to the document, Rockenfield opted not to participate in any of at least 65 concerts QUEENSRŸCHE played between March of 2017 and October 2018, and was informed and invited to attend pre-production meetings for "The Verdict" album in 2018. "Although the band's pre-production work was occurring approximately 10-12 miles from Rockenfield's residence, he declined to take part," the document states.

Wilton and Jackson also accused Rockenfield of "intentionally and wrongfully withdrawing $10,000.00 in cash from QUEENSRŸCHE without permission and for his own personal use," "intentionally and wrongfully charging personal expenses to his QUEENSRŸCHE company credit card" and "removing video-wall panels without notice or permission from the band's storage facility."

Regarding how Wilton and Jackson came to dismiss Rockenfield from the QUEENSRŸCHE companies, the guitarist and bassist claimed that they "provided Rockenfield with 10 days written notice of a shareholder/board meeting of the QR Companies, with a notice of the date, time and location of that meeting place, and an advisement that the subject matter of the meetings was the dismissal of Rockenfield from the QUEENSRŸCHE companies. On October 11, 2018, the day before the scheduled meeting, Rockenfield sent Jackson and Wilton a text message confirming he'd received notice of the meeting. Rockenfield requested that he be allowed to attend the meeting telephonically. Historically, telephonic attendance of meetings of the QR Companies was a commonplace practice for members of QR Companies. Wilton notified Rockenfield he could attend the meeting telephonically. Rockenfield received a text that confirmed the meeting location and included confirmation of the meeting time and the phone number that allowed Rockenfield to call in and participate telephonically in the meeting. On October 12, 2018, at the time scheduled for the meeting, Rockenfield failed to appear and failed to call in telephonically. After waiting for in excess of an hour without Rockenfield either appearing in person or calling to appear telephonically, and, the remaining members constituting a quorum, Rockenfield was formally voted out of the QR companies."

Wilton and Jackson went on to say that "Rockenfield's initial indication that he would participate, at least telephonically, in the October 12, 2018 meeting, only to fail to make any effort to do so, along with his to failure to notify either Jackson or Wilton that he was not going to participate, was consistent with the behavior Rockenfield had shown the band and in matters of QUEENSRŸCHE business for most of the previous year and a half."

Wilton and Jackson also took issue with Rockenfield's decision to launch a cryptic new QUEENSRŸCHE-centric web site in May 2021 without notice or permission from them. On the Queensryche2021.com web site, Rockenfield "'teased' viewers that he would be releasing new QUEENSRŸCHE music," according to the document. "Rockenfield followed his on-line posting with statements on social media that he was 'ready to rock,' inviting fans to join his site by providing him with their names and email contacts." They also claimed that "without permission or approval from QUEENSRŸCHE or its label, Rockenfield posted an out-take of a version of an old song QUEENSRŸCHE had decided not to use in a prior album." They added that "Rockenfield actually had no new QUEENSRŸCHE music to release and his on-line posts served only to confuse fans and damage the QUEENSRŸCHE brand."

Wilton and Jackson asked the court to dismiss Rockenfield's claims with prejudice, declare Rockenfield abandoned his position of employment with QUEENSRŸCHE and to award the two of them "general, special, and statutory damages and equitable remedies" that they are entitled to.

Photo credit: Century Media

Looking forward to the "many truths" that will finally be revealed...

Posted by Scott rockenfield on Friday, June 2, 2023

*** June 3, 2023: This is an updated version of an article that was originally published on May 27, 2023.

The original version of this article incorrectly stated that Philip Anselmo publicly "disavowed" the "Confederate flag" when in fact he was referring to a "White Power" flag that was being held up by a couple of PANTERA fans during the band's concert in Sofia, Bulgaria

The updated story follows below.

PANTERA frontman Philip Anselmo publicly "disavowed" a "White Power" flag that was being displayed during the band's concert in Bulgaria.

The 54-year-old singer made the comment while performing with his bandmates on May 26 in Sofia. He was addressing several fans in the audience who were holding up the sign (see video below). Before launching into the closing song of PANTERA's set, "Cowboys From Hell", at Arena Sofia in Sofia, Philip told the crowd: "Sofia, I gotta say this: incredible audience. One more thing: there's a person over here holding up this sign trying to ruin the fuckin' show. I disavow, I disavow the fuckin' flag. I'm sorry. It's ridiculous, man. Keep politics out of shit. It's boring."

More than seven years ago, Anselmo was at the center of controversy after he made a Nazi-style salute when he performed at the January 2016 "Dimebash" event at the Lucky Strike Live in Hollywood in honor of late PANTERA guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott. He also appeared to say "white power" as he made the gesture, but later claimed he was joking about drinking white wine backstage and was reacting to the audience members up front who he says were taunting him.

Before he delivered that Nazi salute onstage, Anselmo already had a history of making troubling racial statements, including several white-pride speeches at various PANTERA shows in 1995.

Back in May 2019, Anselmo was asked by U.K.'s Kerrang! magazine if he feels the "Dimebash" debate is something he has moved past. He responded: "I feel like it's ridiculous. I made an off-color joke and 'Boom!' — it's like I'm literally Hitler! I'm not. I take each individual one at a time, in the way that any logical individual will. I have love in my heart. Over the years, I've learned to take the first step with love and to put good faith first. I get along with everybody. If there's any doubt about my political leanings, people should get it out of their heads. I was raised amongst a dazzling [cast of characters] from the theatre, from the mental hospital, from all walks of life — all colors, creeds and kinds. It's absurd to me that anyone in this day and age would judge anyone by the color of their skin, their heritage or their religion. I'm a harmless guy. I'm a reactionary, not a troublemaker."

In the days following the "Dimebash" incident, MACHINE HEAD's Robb Flynn — who played PANTERA songs with Anselmo at the event — released an eleven-minute response video in which he denounced Anselmo as a "big bully" and a racist. He concluded by saying that he would never play another PANTERA song again. ANTHRAX's Scott Ian, who is Jewish, released a statement on his official web site saying, "Philip's actions were vile" and invited Anselmo to make a donation to the Simon Wiesenthal Center.

Vinnie Paul, who hadn't spoken to Anselmo since the band's split in 2003, was dismissive when asked for a comment on the singer's white-power salute. "I can't speak for him," Vinnie said in a 2016 interview. "He's done a lot of things that tarnish the image of what PANTERA was back then and what it stood for and what it was all about. And it's sad."

In 2017, Anselmo blasted "false journalism in the metal community" for suggesting he was racist because of his actions at "Dimebash".

In the weeks after the "Dimebash" incident, Anselmo's DOWN project canceled a number of shows, including at France's Hellfest, Dutch festival FortaRock and U.K.'s Download. The singer wrote an open letter to the Hellfest organizers in which he said it was not the right time for DOWN to tour. He also revealed that he was suffering from a recurring knee injury and needed rehabilitation.

This past January, PANTERA's appearances at two rock festivals in Germany, which were scheduled to take place in early June, and a concert in Austria were canceled following an outcry over Anselmo's previous racist remarks.

PANTERA was scheduled to appear at Gasometer in Vienna on May 31 and at Rock Am Ring and Rock Im Park festivals in Germany as part of its spring/summer 2023 European tour. However, more than four months ago, promoters released separate statements on social media saying that the shows were scrapped.

There was additional criticism with regard to the fact that Rock Im Park takes place in Nürnberg (known in its English form as Nuremberg),where Hitler supporters held a series of mass Nazi party rallies between 1933 and 1938.

In calling for Rock Am Ring and Rock Im Park organizers to cancel PANTERA's appearances at the festivals, the German Green Party said in the Nürnberg city council that Anselmo "repeatedly and deliberately made Nazi gestures and yelled racist slogans." Réka Lörincz, the spokeswoman for the Greens against racism and right-wing extremism, added that "the former Nazi party premises" were "being deliberately misused for the staging and reproduction of racist and inhuman ideology." The Green Party rep told Germany's Stern magazine that Anselmo's apology for his white power outburst was "not credible enough" and that hosting the band on the former Nazi Party rally grounds "clearly exceeds the limit of what is bearable."

“We are relieved about the organizer's decision not to offer the band PANTERA a stage. Their singer Phil Anselmo had repeatedly attracted attention with anti-Semitic and racist incidents," Lörincz wrote in a statement on the Green Party's web site. "Therefore, a performance was unimaginable for us — especially on the former Nazi party rally grounds."

In the days leading up to the Vienna concert cancelation, the Green party in Vienna demanded that this performance also be scrapped.

"Due to its National Socialist past, Vienna in particular has a special historical responsibility to oppose any form of right-wing extremism. The appearance of PANTERA is completely incompatible with this responsibility," they said in a statement. "Therefore, it can only mean for Vienna: No stage for a Hitler salute, no stage for PANTERA!"

Earlier this week, TMZ caught up with KISS frontman Paul Stanley in the Beverly Glen neighborhood of Los Angeles, California and asked him about governor Gavin Newsom's proclamation declaring June 2023 as "LGBTQ+ Pride Month" in the State of California. This month — and every month — California stands with the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) community as they take pride in who they are and whom they love.

Paul said: "Everybody has a right to be who they are. Life's too short to be anyone else… Everybody should celebrate who they are. Be proud of who you are as long as it's something worth being proud of… What's the criteria for being proud is being a good person, not transgender or any other gender."

In late April, Stanley came under fire for sharing what some people characterized as "misinformation" about gender-affirming care for youths, saying that "irreversible" procedures shouldn't be performed on children. "There is a BIG difference between teaching acceptance and normalizing and even encouraging participation in a lifestyle that confuses young children into questioning their sexual identification," Stanley wrote.

He added that adults "may decide reassignment is their needed choice," but said that children should not be eligible for gender-affirming surgeries and procedures. "Turning this into a game or parents normalizing it as some sort of natural alternative or believing that because a little boy likes to play dress up in his sister's clothes or a girl in her brother's, we should lead them steps further down a path that's far from the innocence of what they are doing," he wrote.

Closing his statement, Stanley claimed that too many parents were confusing "teaching acceptance with normalizing and encouraging a situation that has been a struggle for those truly affected and have turned it into a sad and dangerous fad."

A few other rock musicians publicly supported Stanley's comments, including TWISTED SISTER frontman Dee Snider, who tweeted: "You know what? There was a time where I 'felt pretty' too. Glad my parents didn't jump to any rash conclusions!" Phil Labonte, lead vocalist of the metal band ALL THAT REMAINS, tweeted, "Paul is right." And pro wrestler Chris Jericho — who fronts FOZZY — retweeted Stanley's statement without additional comment, to his 3.5 million followers.

Some pointed out that KISS, which was co-founded by Stanley in 1973, was pioneering in breaking down the taboos surrounding men wearing makeup and feminine clothing.

THE OFFSPRING guitarist Noodles, whose real name is Kevin Wasserman, wrote on Twitter: "This is a very disappointing take, especially from someone who wore high-heels, makeup, & teased up hair his whole career. As a young kid your band helped teach me that I could be whatever I wanted to be. I guess it was just gimmickry after all."

In a follow-up statement on May 4, Stanley walked back his previous statement, saying: "I support those struggling with their sexual identity while enduring constant hostility and those whose path leads them to reassignment surgery. It's hard to fathom the kind of conviction that one must feel to take those steps."

Closing his latest statement, Stanley opted not to clarify his original comments, insisting that social media may not be the best place for genuine discourse. "A paragraph or two will remain far too short to fully convey my thoughts or point of view, so I will leave that for another time and place," he wrote.

In April, outspoken conservative rocker Ted Nugent shared a tweet in which he denounced the existence of transgender people and told people they could "debate" him if they disagreed.

"There is no such thing as transgender. You cannot change your gender. Comfortably numb is actually uncomfortably dumb. Debate me but bring your bib," he wrote.

FOZZY frontman and wrestling superstar Chris Jericho joined HELLOWEEN onstage during the German metallers' concert last night (Friday, June 2) at the YouTube Theater in Los Angeles, California to perform the HELLOWEEN song "Best Time". Fan-filmed video of his appearance can be seen below.

Earlier today, Jericho shared a few photos of last night's performance on social media and included the following message: "The Three Tremors! It was such an honour to join @helloweenofficial onstage at the @youtubetheater to sing 'Best Time' last night in #LosAngeles! What a blast and a dream come true to throw down with @sortofbedman #MichaelKiske & #AndiDeris, two of the legit best metal singers of all time!! Thx to @therealsaschagerstner for helping to set things up and thanks to @grayforcex1, @the.dani.loeble, #Weiki & Markus for still being the BEST POWER METAL band of all time!"

HELLOWEEN shared Chris's post and added simply: "Thanks for joining us, Chris Jericho!"

HELLOWEEN's 1985 album "Walls Of Jericho" was the inspiration behind Chris's wrestling moniker.

Born Christopher Keith Irvine in Manhasset, New York, Chris grew up in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada where he recently had a street named after him.

A few years ago, in an interview with Larry King, Jericho explained how he got his stage name. He said: "They wanted me to be a cowboy when I first started [wrestling]. And I hated cowboys and stuff. So they wanted me to be, like, 'Cowboy Chris Casper' or something like that. I needed a name quickly, and there was a cassette tape of this German heavy metal band; the album was called 'Walls Of Jericho'. And I was, like, 'I don't wanna be 'Cowboy Chris Casper'; I'll be 'Chris Jericho'.' 'All right, Chris Jericho it is.'"

FOZZY started off nearly two and a half decades ago as a cover band called FOZZY OSBOURNE, with Chris initially taking on the persona of "Moongoose McQueen."

FOZZY's 2017 single "Judas", off the band's seventh studio album — also called "Judas" — became the group's biggest hit, peaking at No. 9 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart and the No. 1 spot on the SiriusXM Octane chart.

Last year, the "Judas" title track was certified gold by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association Of America) for accumulating 500,000 certified units.

HELLOWEEN kicked off its "United Forces" tour of North America on May 13 at The Factory in Deep Ellum, Dallas, Texas. Support on the 13-date trek is coming from Swedish metallers HAMMERFALL.

HELLOWEEN's North American tour will close on June 3 in San Francisco, California.

Singer Michael Kiske's first album back with HELLOWEEN, 2021's self-titled effort, landed in the Top 10 in more than 10 countries, including Germany, Spain, Finland, Sweden, Switzerland and Austria. The cover artwork for the LP was painted by artist Eliran Kantor, who has previously worked with HATEBREED, SOULFLY, TESTAMENT, ICED EARTH and SODOM, among others.

Produced by Charlie Bauerfeind and Dennis Ward, the latest HELLOWEEN LP was recorded in part at the H.O.M.E. Studios in Hamburg (where everything started in 1984). The same recording console used for such HELLOWEEN albums as "Master Of The Rings", "Time Of The Oath" and "Better Than Raw" was utilized to record the band's new material. The effort was mixed at the Valhalla Studios of Ronald Prent (IRON MAIDEN, DEF LEPPARD, RAMMSTEIN).

"Helloween" saw the legendary German power metallers going "back to the roots," with the band recording fully analogue and Daniel Löble playing the drum kit previously used by HELLOWEEN's original drummer, the late Ingo Schwichtenberg, on the legendary "Keeper Of The Seven Keys" recordings.

The "Pumpkins United" tour marked the first time Kiske had played live with HELLOWEEN since 1993. Guitarist/vocalist Kai Hansen, who departed HELLOWEEN in 1988, had been joining the band onstage on various tours and festival appearances throughout the years. The set featured several duets with Kiske and his replacement, Andi Deris, along with many rarely played songs, including "Kids Of The Century", "Rise And Fall" and "Livin' Ain't No Crime". Hansen — who fronted HELLOWEEN until late 1986 — sang a medley of several early HELLOWEEN classics, including "Ride The Sky", "Judas", "Starlight" and "Heavy Metal (Is The Law)".

The Three Tremors! It was such an honour to join @helloweenofficial onstage at the @youtubetheater to sing “Best Time”...

Posted by Chris Jericho on Saturday, June 3, 2023

In a new interview with Jen Thomas, the entertainment writer at U.K.'s Metro, MÖTLEY CRÜE bassist Nikki Sixx was asked to name the funniest thing he has read about the band over the years. "I mean, the silliest thing I've ever read about ourselves was from Mick Mars's attorneys," he said, referencing the recent lawsuit filed against CRÜE by the band's founding guitarist. "I'm just really sad at what's happened... They put out that the band doesn't play live. We're, like, who is playing the bass then? It's literally one of the funniest things.

"Imagine being in a rock'n'roll band for 42 years and some guy in a suit puts out that the band doesn't play," Nikki continued. "The silliest thing is, because of the way a lot of media is these days, they don't cross-check. They just run with headlines and we call it clickbait. I mean, that's about as silly as it gets."

When Mars announced his retirement from touring with MÖTLEY CRÜE last October as a result of worsening health issues, he maintained that he would remain a member of the band, with John 5 taking his place on the road. However, in his lawsuit, which was filed on April 6 in Los Angeles County's Superior Court, the 71-year-old musician said that, after his announcement, the rest of CRÜE tried to remove him as a significant stakeholder in the group's corporation and business holdings via a shareholders' meeting. In his lawsuit, Mars also alleged that he was the only bandmember to play 100 percent live on their most recent tour, claiming Sixx "did not play a single note on bass during the entire U.S. tour."

In response to Mars's lawsuit, CRÜE's manager of 29 years, Allen Kovac, told Variety that Mars is coming out with a list of allegations "to gain leverage in a smear campaign on MÖTLEY. He's attacked the band, and he's done it in a slanderous way, with false accusations and misrepresenting the facts to the fans. Mick is not the victim. The victims are MÖTLEY CRÜE and the brand, which Mick is so prideful of." But, he added, "What's upsetting to me is not Mick, but his representatives, who have guided Mick to say and do harmful things to the brand he cares about so much, MÖTLEY CRÜE. He has a degenerative disease and people are taking advantage of him. It's called elder abuse."

Kovac continued: "Mick's representatives have no idea what they've created, but I've stopped the band from speaking about this, so they're not gonna turn the fans against Mick. But I am going to make sure that people understand that Mick hasn't been treated badly. In fact, he was treated better than anyone else in the band, and they carried him and they saved his life."

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

Regarding Mick's claim that he was the only CRÜE member to play 100 percent live on their most recent tour, Kovac told Variety: "Everything is live with Nikki's bass playing and Tommy's drum playing. When they've used loops, they're still playing. There are augmented vocals, which were (recorded) in the studio and are backgrounds behind the two ladies who are singing and (other background vocals by) John 5 and Nikki Sixx, and before that Mick and Nikki." He described the pre-recorded vocal layering as where "you multi-track and you do gang vocals with, like, 20 people, just like all the other bands do with background vocals. They've got background vocals in the mix. That's the truth.

"But Nikki played his bass and always has," Kovac continued. "Vince was singing better than he was before (on the latest tour). That was in reviews. Now, John 5 is playing like who John 5 is. I've heard John 5 perform and I heard Mick perform. Both are great guitar players. Unfortunately, Mick is not the same. He hasn't been the same for a long time. Which was in reviews! You see that the professionals knew. DEF LEPPARD (which alternated headlining spots on tour) knew. And (Mars) caused a train wreck up there, because he would play the wrong songs and the wrong parts, even with the guide tracks. When he played the wrong song, it wasn't Nikki Sixx that had a tape; it was the soundman bringing it into the mix so the audience could hear a song, even though the guitar player was playing a different song." He says audiences "would hear it at first, but (sound engineers) would fix it so that we could keep the song going. I heard it. I'd go to the soundboard."

I had a chat with Nikki Sixx Mötley Crüe ahead of their UK shows for today’s Metro. Talking about gratitude, getting back in the studio, up-and-coming bands he loves and why Motley shows will ‘pummel’ you🤘🏻

Posted by Jen Thomas on Friday, June 2, 2023

Gary Cherone and Nuno Bettencourt of EXTREME joined Tom Morello (RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE, AUDIOSLAVE) on stage last night (Friday, June 2) at the Best Of Blues And Rock festival 2023 at Ibirapuera Park in São Paulo, Brazil to perform the AUDIOSLAVE classic "Cochise". Video of the performance can be seen below. (Thanks to Igor Miranda.)

EXTREME and Morello both played at the tenth edition of Best Of Blues And Rock, which was launched by Dançar Marketing in 2013.

In a pre-show press conference, Morello stated about Bettencourt: "He's been a huge influence. Combining funky music with heavy music and then musicianship with abandon are things that have been involved in this band and I think in Nuno's playing from the very start."

Nuno said in part about Tom: "It's funny because I heard RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE, we heard RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE, for the first time, we loved it so much that we hated them. We have this saying that Jimmy Page — so I thought — and I said this to Jimmy Page, I thought Jimmy Page wrote all the great rock and roll riffs and threw the rest of us the scraps, the bones. And that was until I heard RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE. Every riff was monstrous; it was everything. And the fact that they had a rapper took it to a whole other level of genre and changed the game."

EXTREME's performance took place exactly one month after Bettencourt sustained a leg injury of some kind while taking part in a basketball game aboard the Monsters Of Rock cruise. In a June 2 post on his social media, Nuno revealed that he worked for a month "with an incredible physical therapist to get ready" for the São Paulo show but that he "had a strange setback" during his 23-hour travel day to Brazil. He added that he "had to bring in reinforcements to do the show", including getting what appeared to be cortisone injections, as evidenced in the video that accompanied his post.

Bettencourt wrote: "Apologies to fans today for witnessing the not so physical perfomance you are used to getting from me for 35 years. Wish I was 100 percent… But I'm here and ready to rock."

AUDIOSLAVE featured Morello alongside his RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE bandmates Tim Commerford (bass) and Brad Wilk (drums),plus SOUNDGARDEN singer Chris Cornell.

AUDIOSLAVE came together in 2001 following the then-dissolution of both SOUNDGARDEN and RAGE, releasing three studio albums and a historic concert set recorded in Cuba before Cornell exited in 2007, ending the band.

AUDIOSLAVE performed together for the first time in over a decade in January 2017, reuniting at the Teragram Ballroom in Los Angeles as part of the Anti-Inaugural Ball, a star-studded concert protesting the swearing-in of Donald Trump as the nation's 45th president. The band played three of its best-known songs: "Cochise", "Like A Stone" and "Show Me How To Live".

Cornell was found dead in his hotel room after performing a show with SOUNDGARDEN in Detroit on May 17, 2017. Officials later confirmed he had hanged himself.

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In a new interview with Heavy Debriefings, DREAM THEATER drummer Mike Mangini revealed that his long-awaited solo album will finally see the light of day in August. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "There's a reason why it's been taking a while and has gone in steps. I wrote everything. I'm the executive producer, engineer with our DREAM THEATER guy, Jimmy T [James Meslin] that knows my thing inside and out. I wrote the songs, wrote all the parts, wrote the lyrics, did everything, and then found some wonderful people to replay my virtual instruments and most especially to re-sing my horrific vocal guides. [Laughs]"

Last July, Mangini spoke in more detail about his approach to making a solo album during an appearance on the Sarah Hagan Backstage podcast. At the time, he said in part: "It's important to me 'cause of the way it sounds… I actually write notes on a keyboard, because that way I can communicate to people… But for the solo album, I wrote absolutely every single note on the keyboard, virtual instruments or MIDI. I composed absolutely everything and then at one point I turned it over to some players who took it in and occasionally would offer things like, 'Well, that doesn't work on my instrument.' I'm, like, 'I know. I know. It's a keyboard. Go ahead and just do it this way,' or whatever."

He continued: "This album is above and beyond more me than anything, because it's me doing it… It's a long time in the making. And that's how it came to be where it's not ultimately just fully totally me, 'cause Jimmy T's gotta put his little bit of whatever in there. But working together for so long, it's, like, 'This is how I sound.' When I hit the cymbal, I wanna hear it ringing two seconds later… With everything else that I've done, you're working in a group. You're working with people. You have to morph to the group. And when something's out of your control, it's out of your control, which is why it sounds so different… The end result morphs to the person in charge. That's gonna happen every single time. So whatever that result is morphs to that person who is making the call. And sometimes that person spreads the autonomy, and sometimes that person takes it and does everything that they wanna do. It just depends on the situation."

Circling back to his solo LP, Mike said: "I'm excited when it comes out, 'cause it is a solo record, except that now I'm not the one playing every single instrument. But that's okay, 'cause it came out better than my virtual instruments. [Laughs]"

Mangini joined DREAM THEATER in late 2010 through a widely publicized audition following the departure of Mike Portnoy, who co-founded DREAM THEATER more than 30 years ago. Mangini beat out six other of the world's top drummers — Marco Minnemann, Virgil Donati, Aquiles Priester, Thomas Lang, Peter Wildoer and Derek Roddy — for the gig, a three-day process that was filmed for a documentary-style reality show called "The Spirit Carries On".

Mangini made his name in the hard rock world in the mid-1990s when he played with EXTREME, before landing the gig with guitar legend Steve Vai in 1996. Nearly a decade later, Mangini took up a full-time teaching position at the world-renowned Berklee College Of Music.

DREAM THEATER won its first-ever Grammy in the "Best Metal Performance" category in the pre-telecast ceremony at the 64th annual Grammy Awards, which was held in April 2022 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. DREAM THEATER was nominated for "The Alien", a track from its 2021 album "A View From The Top Of The World". DREAM THEATER's previous Grammy nominations were for the song "On The Backs Of Angels", from 2011's "A Dramatic Turn Of Events" album, and the single "The Enemy Inside" from 2013's "Dream Theater".

The Steve's Concert Corner YouTube channel has uploaded video of QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE's entire May 28 performance at the Boston Calling festival in Boston, Massachusetts. Check out the footage below.

Featured songs:

00:25 Misfit Love
06:20 Little Sister
09:10 I Sat By The Ocean
13:05 The Lost Art Of Keeping A Secret
16:45 Sick, Sick, Sick
20:25 If I Had A Tail
26:15 Emotion Sickness
36:55 Smooth Sailing
32:40 My God Is The Sun
41:35 The Evil Has Landed
48:12 Negative Space
52:25 Make It Wit Chu
59:24 Go With The Flow
1:02:23 No One Knows
1:08:16 A Song For The Dead

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, Josh Homme and his bandmates played one gig in early 2020, their first since 2018.

"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. The album will be available across all digital platforms and on vinyl and CD. Artwork and double LP gatefold packaging designed by longtime collaborator Boneface. LP vinyl will be available globally in black, green, red, silver and blue.

QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE said in its album announcement that the record reflects the heartache its members have experienced in the past few years.

QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE's last album, 2017's "Villains", debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 chart.

"In Times New Roman..." is "raw, at times brutal and not recommended for the faint of heart," a press release states. "And yet, it's perhaps the most beautiful and definitely the most rewarding album in their epic discography. Homme's most acerbic lyrics to date are buoyed by the instantly identifiable QOTSA sonic signature, expanded and embellished with new and unprecedented twists in virtually every song. With 'In Times New Roman…' we see that sometimes one needs to look beneath scars and scabs to see beauty, and sometimes the scabs and scars are the beauty."

King Crimson founder Robert Fripp and his wife, Toyah Willcox revisit their cover of the AC/DC classic "Back In Black" 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:

German metal legends Tankard performed at Rock Hard Festival 2023 in Gelsenkirchenm, Germany on May 28th. Check out the pro-shot livestream below.


The setlist was as follows:


"Rectifier"
"The Morning After"
"Ex-Fluencer"
"Rapid Fire (A Tyrant's Elegy)"
"Rules for Fools"
"One Foot in the Grave"
"Octane Warriors"
"Chemical Invasion"
"Zombie Attack"
"Beerbarians"
"A Girl Called Cerveza"
"(Empty) Tankard"







A new animated video from Tankard, created for the song "Beerbarians", recently celebrated its world premiere via the Sydney-Melbourne Science Fiction Film Festival.


The “Beerbarians” video was created by the famous film school, RMIT University from Melbroune, Australia (Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology). In cooperation with Florian Milz from Reaper Entertainment, production manager, animator, and lecturer Simon Norton, and his team of film students dedicated themselves to the song "Beerbarians" from the current Tankard album, Pavlov’s Dawgs. The video was presented to the enthusiastic audience at Cinema Nova, Carlton in Melbourne. The Sydney/Melbourne Science Fiction Film Festivals and their Travelling Roadshow serve as Australia's premier celebration of science fiction and fantasy cinema and they offer an extensive new program of premieres, well-received international films, and special anniversary events.


Simon Norton comments, "The new animation video for Tankard’s ‘Beerbarians’ is already the eleventh successful collaboration between Flori from Reaper Entertainment and the animation students of RMIT Melbourne in the Bachelor of Design (Animation & Interactive Media) course. It’s the third animated video that we’ve made for our favorite band, Tankard – see also ‘Fooled By Your Guts’ (2014) and ‘Don't Bullshit Us’ (2018). This latest video was created from July 2022 to February 2023, with large and small contributions from a total of forty-nine current animation students. The challenge for the students was to create an epic world for the ‘Beerbarians,’ including the beloved Tankard mascot. And, they did it! Enjoy the epic adventures of Tankard the Beerbarians!"





Tankard's Pavlov's Dawgs album was recorded and produced at Gernhard Studio Troisdorf together with producer Martin Buchwalter. The album available on CD, vinyl in various color variants, limited earbook with previously unreleased pictures from the last 40 years of Tankard, and as a limited box set which includes two demos on cassette. Order here.





Tracklisting:


“Pavlov’s Dawg”
“Ex-Fluencer”
“Beerbarians”
“Diary Of A Nihilist”
“Veins Of Terra”
“Momento”
“Metal Cash Machine”
“Dark Self Intruder”
“Lockdown Forever”
“On The Day I Die”


"Diary Of A Nihilist" lyric video:





"Lockdown Forever" video:





"Ex-Fluencer":





"Beerbarians" lyric video:

Guitarist Thomas Zwijsen recently released the new video below, in which he performs Iron Maiden's full setlist of the Future Past Tour 2023 (as played on the opening night in Ljubljana, Slovenia, May 28, 2023). Every song in this full concert is arranged for classical acoustic fingerstyle guitar by Thomas Zwijsen.


Zwijsen is now singularly releasing the full setlist covers separately starting with“The Prisoner” – featured on the band’s 1982 album The Number Of The Beast.







Setlist:


"Caught Somewhere In Time"
"Stranger In A Strange Land"
"The Writing On The Wall"
"Days Of Future Past"
"The Time Machine"
"The Prisoner"
"Death Of The Celts"
"Can I Play With Madness"
"Heaven Can Wait"
"Alexander The Great"
"Fear Of The Dark"
"Iron Maiden"
"Hell On Earth"
"The Trooper"
"Wasted Years"


Violin by Wiki Violin.

Guitarist Toby Knapp's long running Black Metal project, Waxen, will release its sixth album, Die Macht Von Hassen, July 9 via Moribund Records.  The official video for the track "Holocaust Lights" is available below.


States the guitarist: "I'm very excited for the release of this album. Die Macht Von Hassen is the result of a kid who grew up listening to Yngwie's Malmsteen's Marching Out and Bathory's The Return of Darkness And Evil and took equal inspiration from both.”


Die Macht Von Hassen (German for The Power of Hate) is loaded with traditional thrash metal riffing that turns into black metal shredding, then sways towards a neo-classical heavy metal solo or segments of brutal death metal tremolo. Toby Knapp’s innovative and eclectic style and talent for writing real songs surpasses and sets him apart from all other shredders.




Die Macht Von Hassen is Knapp’s personal response to a black metal scene which has been diluted and distilled for far too long into something unrecognizable by its creators, founders and followers. A comprehensive tome of ceremonial magic put forth to re-instill the vigor, vinegar and vitriol of days of old. Days when black and thrash metal, were about creating hateful art aimed against the world’s major religions and contempt towards humanity as a whole, instead of being socially correct. 





Tracklist:


"Die Macht Von Hassen"
"God of All Endings"
"Those Reviled"
"Your Kingdom Will Bleed
"Holocaust Light"


"Holocaust Light":





"Those Reviled"

Fronted by powerhouse singer Jenny, and rounded out by Dennis, Raphael, Flo and Chris, German metal/rock act Fireborn produce unique and timeless music with strong passion, expressive vocals, and defining hooks. Despite her young age, the petite singer stands out with her hard to delicate voice, extensive vocal range, and incredible sovereignty. In 2019, Fireborn (still named Dislike Silence) played in the finals of the 37th German Rock and Pop Awards and took third place in the “Rock” category.


In winter 2021 the band visited the Little Creek Studio in Gelterkinden, Switzerland where the first album Reflections was recorded with producer Schmier (Destruction) and sound engineer V.O. Pulver (Destruction, Pro-Pain Burning Witches, The Order, Nervosa).


Schmier states, “There’s gotta be something special to arouse my interest as a music fan and as a composer and performer, something that touches my soul and gives me the chills. This really happened the first time I heard Jenny from Fireborn sing. They caught my full attention and as the band is from around my area, I offered to help with the production of their 1st album and that made me a fan, cause I’m a fan of timelessly good rock music! They play modern classic rock with a golden raspy female voice that is powerful and at the same time very fragile but always melodic and catchy. Fireborn are fresh and yet traditional. Alternative but also metal – hooks for eternity! Check them out if you adore ROCK music!”




The terrific artwork was done by the Hungarian art-wizard Gyula (Accept, Stratovarius, Wintersun, Burning Witches) and melts perfectly with the soundscapes on our first record: powerful, vibrant, atmospheric and diverse! The songs are modern and very influenced by American hard rock as well as classic rock, with a lot of atmosphere, energy and a great sense of melody! Lead singer Jenny states, “It was a true honor to work with the Hungarian cover artist Gyula, supercool to be recorded by the Swiss studio master V.O. Pulver (Burning Witches, Destruction, Nervosa) and it was exciting to get produced by Destruction mastermind Schmier (Burning Witches, Pänzer)! I am pretty sure that you will hear all the passion that we put into this album and I hope you will dig it!”


The Reflections bundle includes (order at dekoentertainment.com):
One (1) - Fireborn Reflections CD
One (1) - Fireborn Reflections T-Shirt
One (1) - 6x6 album cover flat signed by Fireborn





Tracklisting:


“Young Heart Dies”
“As Long As I Love You”
“Angel In Need”
“The Eye Of A Hurricane”
“Deep Blue Water”
“Proud And Ashamed”
“Guide You Home”
“Pack Of Wolves”
“You Seem So Far”
“Ferryman”
“Punchline”
“Malicious Rose”
“Done With You”
“Set Off” 


“Done With You” video:

Swedish heavy metal commando Lancer will release their fourth, new studio album Tempest worldwide on August 11, 2023. Today, the band reveals their first single and lyric video, called "Fan The Flames".


"You will recognize all the elements Lancer stands for, but also hear a new intensity and execution in the music. Being the first new song released with new vocalist Jack Stroem, it will of course bring a totally new feeling as well. The topic of the song tells about a person putting up a facade covering up his own living hell", comments guitarist Fredrik Kelemen and adds: "We have developed our sound, it's a bit darker, especially lyrically. Production-wise, more dynamic and gritty. A bigger picture of sound, with elements we have never used before."







Tempest will be released in the following formats:
CD Digipak incl. 2 bonus-tracks
2-LP Gatefold Vinyl incl. 4 bonus tracks (purple, limited to 300 copies)
2-LP Gatefold Vinyl incl. 4 bonus tracks (orange, limited to 300 copies)
Digital


At the Atomic Fire Records Records Webshop you can also order any format along with an exclusive bundle t-shirt. Preorder here.


"I can't believe it's been six years since last time we released an album," says guitarist Fredrik Kelemen and adds: "But with the line-up changes, the pandemic and the intention of making Tempest a great comeback album, we let it take its time. We have developed our sound, it's a bit darker, especially lyrically. Production-wise, more dynamic and gritty. A bigger picture of sound, with elements we have never used before.


“We wanted the artwork of the cover to symbolize this change, with the devastating storm drawing in with the wasteland it creates. We have been known for using birds on our previous album covers, so the demon raven of Tempest seemed only natural, and the title is just a more epic and stronger word for storm, in my opinion.


“Overall I want to use the most well-known cliché of all time: this is the best album we have done so far! And it's totally true, all jokes aside. We are absolutely thrilled to release it to the world!"





Tracklisting:


“Purest Power”
“Fan The Flames”
“Entity”
“Out Of The Sun”
“Tempest”
“Corruption”
“Blind Faith”
“We Furiously Reign”
“Eye For An Eye”
“The Grand Masquerade”
“End Of The World” (Bonus Track)
“Postlude” (Bonus Track) 


"Fan The Flames" lyric video:





Lancer is:
Jack L. Stroem - Vocals
Per-Owe "Ewo" Solvelius - Guitar
Fredrik Kelemen - Guitar
Emil Öberg - Bass
Pontus Andrén – Drums


(Photo – Erik Hansen, EH Digital)

BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION, the band featuring guitarist Joe Bonamassa, vocalist/bassist Glenn Hughes (DEEP PURPLE, THE DEAD DAISIES),drummer Jason Bonham (LED ZEPPELIN) and keyboardist Derek Sherinian (DREAM THEATER, ALICE COOPER, BILLY IDOL),has entered Sunset Sound studio in Hollywood, California to begin recording its fifth album.

On Friday (June 2),Hughes took to his social media to share a photo of him with Bonamassa in the studio and he included the following message: "With the band of Brothers @JBONAMASSA @Jason_Bonham @DerekSherinian @glenn_hughes in Hollywood, at our fave studio BCCV is now being recorded @sunsetsound feels good to be home again. Here we go".

The news of BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION's recording activity comes less than three months after it was announced that the band will perform on next year's Keeping The Blues Alive At Sea IX cruise, sailing from Miami, Florida to Cozumel, Mexico on March 18-22, 2024.

BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION's most recent performance took place in February 2018 at the fourth edition of the Keeping The Blues Alive At Sea, which benefits the Keeping The Blues Alive Foundation, Bonamassa's non-profit organization dedicated to providing students, teachers, and musicians with the resources and tools needed to further their music education.

In a September 2022 interview with Andy Hall of the Des Moines, Iowa radio station Lazer 103.3, Bonamassa spoke about the possibility of a fifth studio album with BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION. Joe said: "We have quite the group chat going right now. So we're gonna start — Glenn and I are gonna start working on writing some songs. We're just gonna get together in October, next month, and we're gonna start. And we're gonna see if we can get everybody's schedule lined up for next year and do another record. 'Cause I really miss those guys. And when we fire on all cylinders, there's nothing better."

Asked what it is about a "band situation" that appeals to him, considering he has spent most of his career as a solo artist, Joe said: "I like nothing more than to be a member of a band and playing guitar. I don't have to front it; I don't have to sing all the time. And it's a lot less pressure than being the front person. Being the person in front is a special skillset. You have to be an entertainer. You can't just sit up there and stare at your guitar and go, 'Wow. Look, I can play guitar pretty good.' That's not gonna fill the theater. You have to put on a show. And to put on a show requires being an entertainer. So being in a band, the sum of the parts is greater than the single entity. So this thing where Glenn co-fronts BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION, I can just sit back and play rhythm guitar and watch him do his thing. He's a legend. And then conversely, Glenn doesn't have to sing all night; I'll sing three or four [songs]. So we kind of spread out the whole workload a little bit."

BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION's next disc will be the follow-up to "BCCIV", which was released in September 2017 and marked BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION's first studio effort since 2013's "Afterglow".

Just like its three predecessors, "BCCIV" was overseen by producer Kevin Shirley, who originally had the idea of putting Hughes and Bonamassa in a band after seeing them jamming together onstage in Los Angeles back in November 2009.

BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION's inception took place when Hughes and Bonamassa fused their styles on stage in Los Angeles for an explosive performance at Guitar Center's King Of The Blues event. With the help and guidance of Shirley, they further added to their rock lineage by recruiting Bonham and Sherinian.

In a 2017 interview, Hughes talked about the chemistry between the BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION members, especially since all the musicians have had successful careers prior to launching the group.

"This band was meant to be," Glenn said. "It was formed out of a friendship with Joe and I. We got the [other] guys to come in, and it's always been a strong brotherhood. And we're just very lucky and fortunate to have met. I've known Jason since he was [a kid]. I just think that these four guys in this band are the right guys to play in the band."

Photo credit: Neil Zlozower
With the band of Brothers
⁦@JBONAMASSA⁩
⁦@Jason_Bonham⁩
⁦@DerekSherinian⁩
⁦@glenn_hughes⁩
in Hollywood, at our fave studio
BCCV is now being recorded
⁦@sunsetsound⁩
feels good to be home again 🖤
Here we go ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/WAIIJfiP7X

— Glenn Hughes (@glenn_hughes) June 3, 2023

Skid Row vocalist Erik Grönwall has shared a new solo cover, this time taking on the AC/DC classic "Girls Got Rhythm". The video below features Grönwall, guitarist Dave Dalone and drummer Antti Hissa.





On May 17th, Skid Row were forced to cancel their live date at The Triffid in Brisbane, Australia due to frontman Erik Grönwall coming down with the flu. On May 20th, the band announced they were cancelling the remaining dates on the tour - Adelaide and Melbourne - due to Grönwall's ongoing health issues.




On May 22nd, Skid Row announced they were cancelling their first tour of Japan in over ten years, due to Grönwall's continued health issues.


Grönwall recently shared a video diary from the band's trip to Australia, where he documents the events leading to the cancellation of the dates in Australia and Japan. Check it out to below.





Skid Row and Buckcherry recently announced that due to multiple sold-out shows and high demand from fans around the country - they are adding two more legs to their “The Gang’s All Here” co-headline tour.


The first leg in spring of 2023 wrapped with most dates selling out including Tampa Bay, Atlanta, Myrtle Beach and Huntsville. The second leg, which starts in late August, is tracking towards multiple sell-outs across the board.


Skid Row and Buckcherry are now thrilled to take their tour even further into the year with twenty-two additional shows along the west coast and across the border into Canada. “The Gang’s All Here Tour” will also be making a stop at the Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles on Saturday, December 9; this will mark Skid Row’s first live appearance in Los Angeles in a decade.


Tour dates:


August
31 - Dallas, TX - House of Blues


September
1 - Pryor, OK - Rocklahoma 2023 ^
2 - San Antonio, TX - Aztec Theatre
6 - Huber Heights, OH - Rose Music Center
8 - Montclair, NJ - Wellmont Theater
9 - Huntington, NY - The Paramount
10 - Lynn, MA - Lynn Auditorium
12 - Portland, ME - State Theatre
13 - Glenside, PA - Keswick Theatre
15 - Paducah, KY - Carson Center
16 - Cleveland, OH - MGM Northfield Park
19 - East Moline, IL - The Rust Belt
20 - Joliet, IL - Rialto Square Theatre
22 - Welch, MN - Island Event Center
23 - Fort Yates, ND - Prairie Knights Casino
24 - Deadwood, SD - Deadwood Mountain Grand


October
5 - Eugene, OR - McDonald Theatre*
6 - Suquamish, WA - Suquamish Clearwater Casino Resort*
10 - Penticton, BC - Penticton Trade and Event Centre*
12 - Enoch, AB - - The Venue at River Cree Resort and Casino*
13 - Dawson Creek, BC - Ovintiv Event Centre*
16 - Lethbridge, AB - ENMAX Centre*
17 - Saskatoon, SK - TCU Place*
19 - Calgary, AB - Grey Eagle Casino*
20 - Moose Jaw, SK - Moose Jaw Event Center*
21 - Brandon, MB - Westoba Place*
23 - Winnipeg, MB - Burton Cummings Theatre*
24 - Thunder Bay, ON - Thunder Bay Community Auditorium*
27 - Green Bay, WI - Epic Event Center*
28 - Sault Ste. Marie, MI - Kewadin Casino*


December
2 - Tucson, AZ - Rialto Theater*
5 - San Diego, CA - House of Blues*
6 - Anaheim, CA - House of Blues*
8 - Phoenix, AZ - The Van Buren*
9 - Los Angeles, CA - The Fonda Theatre*
12 - Denver, CO - Ogden Theatre*
14 - Boise, ID - Revolution Concert House*
15 - Reno, NV - Nugget Casino Resort*


* Newly Announced Dates
^ Festival Dates

German metal queen Doro Pesch will release her new single, "Time For Justice", on June 23. A music video for the track was recently filmed with director Mirko Witzki (CALIBAN, ANY GIVEN DAY, EMIL BULLS) and a preview of the clip can be found below.

"Time For Justice" is the first single from Doro's new album, "Conqueress Forever Strong And Proud", which will arrive on October 27, one day before her 40th-anniversary concert at the Mitsubishi Electric Halle in Düsseldorf, Germany.

In a recent interview with Canada's The Metal Voice, Doro stated about her 19-song follow-up to her 2018 double album "Forever Warriors, Forever United": "It's done. It's finished. I'm just about to film the first visual for this album. And we plan to have four or five singles out, and four or five videos, before the official [album] release. Saturday, actually, in two days, we will record [the video for] 'Time For Justice'. It will be a wild video. We have a good plan. I hope it will come out like we planned."

Regarding the musical direction of "Conqueress Forever Strong And Proud", Doro said: "It's pretty heavy. It's pretty hard. The first five songs are totally heavy. Then there's a midtempo anthem coming on. But I think it's pretty heavy. The song 'I Will Prevail' is the heaviest, I think. And the opener I love so much. It's called 'Children Of The Dawn'. And then there's some duets on it."

Doro went on to reveal that JUDAS PRIEST's Rob Halford is one of the guest musicians on the LP, adding that he is someone she has "loved for a long time. I'm so excited. Oh my God. It is a dream come true. And he's such a great guy. We were friends forever. It's a special treat. I could die now."

According to Doro, her duet with Halford is "a fast song" and "something everybody's familiar with. Yeah, it's cool. It's a fast song and it's an anthem."

Speaking in general about the fact that she has been able to record and share the stage with so many of her musical idols, Doro said: "I was so lucky in my life [that] I could play and perform and record with the best people, people I love. It's unbelievable."

"[Rob] was a big influence," she added. "I loved Ronnie James Dio, David Coverdale, Rob Halford, Biff [Byford], Lemmy… And I was a big KISS fan. And I could work with everybody. Oh my God. It's awesome."

In April, Doro told Brazil's A Rádio Rock that fans can expect "many anthems" and "many diehard metal songs" on her upcoming LP. "Many soulful songs. And a great, great guest. A great collaboration on one of the songs. And I think this will be probably my second 'All We Are' that people always wanna hear it and sing it. And there's one song for the animals, because I love animals. It's called 'Heavenly Creatures'. And I wanna do something with this song. So that's dedicated to all these heavenly creatures."

She continued: "I grew up with dogs and horses and parrots, and I miss that in my life. That's the only thing I miss. I have no regrets whatsoever, but I would have loved pets. But it's impossible when you're on tour. So I do something else. And I just adopted two horses. But they're not close to where I live. They're actually in a different country; they're in Austria. But they're someplace where people take care of animals. It's so nice. It's a paradise — for people and for animals."

This past February, Doro spent time at Miami Beach Recording Studios laying down vocal tracks for her upcoming studio album.

"Forever Warriors, Forever United" featured 19 regular tracks and six bonus songs.

In September 2022, Doro released a very unique single — a soulful adaptation of her classic metal anthem "Raise Your Fist In The Air". The track was made possible by the new ZDF (national German TV channel) music show "Music Impossible".

In May 2022, Doro told Sleaze Roxx that she does most of her songwriting now with former SISTERS OF MERCY guitarist Andreas Bruhn. "I met him, I think, in 1986," she said. "We've always worked good together. Actually, the new bass player we have in Europe, we wrote a new killer song together so that's a new friendship. It's an anthem. It's good! And I wrote one song with my very first producer from the 'Hellbound' album. We met up again and wrote a nice song together. It's a song for the animals because I love animals. It's called 'Heavenly Creatures'. That will definitely be on the new record I'm planning on putting out next year. Next year, I have my 40th year anniversary so we want to celebrate it big."

In celebration of 35 years of the "Triumph And Agony" album from her former band WARLOCK, Doro released "Triumph And Agony Live" in various formats, including CD, vinyl, cassette, DVD, Blu-ray, and a huge box set, in September 2021 through her own label, Rare Diamonds Productions. The "Triumph And Agony" artwork centered on Geoffrey Gillespie's famous original drawing of the "Warlock" embracing the blonde rock star.

Doro Pesch photo credit: Jochen Rolfes for Nuclear Blast

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A post shared by Doro Pesch (@dorometalqueen)

Swedish hard rock sensation H.E.A.T have delivered an electrifying live rendition of their hit track "Rock Your Body." Recorded during their European tour last year, the band's performance captures their unmatched stage presence and contagious energy.


After receiving widespread acclaim for their 2022 album Force Majeure, H.E.A.T show no signs of slowing down in 2023. Recently, the band released two new studio tracks — the empowering anthem "Freedom" and the heartfelt rock ballad "Will You Be."


In addition, H.E.A.T are constantly crafting visual content, including the release of a music video and an exhilarating 360-degree video experience.




To honor their devoted fans and create a true collector's gem, the band presents Extra Force – a strictly limited release. The specially priced LP, available on September 1, features a compelling mix of new studio tracks, unreleased live recordings, and timeless H.E.A.T classics previously sung by Erik Grönwall, now for the first time with original singer Kenny Leckremo on vocals.


The specially priced longplayer comes as limited CD Digipak and limited Black Vinyl. Extra Force is a must-have addition to any H.E.A.T fan's collection. Preorder Extra Force here.





Tracklisting:


Vinyl
“Freedom”
“Will You Be”
“Rise (Kenny L. Version)”
“One By One (Kenny L. Version)”
“Rock Your Body” (Live)
“One By One” (Live)
“Dangerous Ground” (Live)
“Back To The Rhythm” (Live)


CD
Tracks 1-9 form vinyl plus:
“Nationwide” (Live)
“Living On The Run” (Live)


"Rock Your Body (Live)"





"Will You Be":

Queen continues the video series, “Queen The Greatest: Live”, a year-long celebration of Queen Live. It's a 50-week YouTube series going behind the scenes to reveal what goes into creating a Queen show featuring moments from iconic performances and demonstrating why the band is regarded as the ultimate live act. The latest episode can be found below.


A message states: "With so many hit songs to choose from, when it comes to building a set list Queen were able to have fun with their selections and keep the audience on their toes with a few well placed surprises. In this episode, we see a pulsating performance of 'Dragon Attack' end up featuring another crowd pleasing classic."







Earlier this week, Music Business Worldwide reported that the rights to Queen’s music catalog is expected to sell for an estimated $1.1 billion USD by the end of summer 2023.


Says Music Business Worldwide: "We’re told that the initial stages of a sale process for the band’s catalog - combining both music publishing and recorded music rights - is underway, and that a full acquisition could be completed by the end of this summer.


Major music companies including Universal Music Group have been in discussions regarding a potential acquisition, we’re told, in addition to players from the world of private equity. If the combined Queen rights sell, say MBW’s sources, a price-tag in excess of USD $1 billion seems guaranteed.


Some have told us they expect the Queen catalog to sell for around USD $1.1 billion; others say the eventual figure will be even higher than that. Either way, should a sale get completed, this would become the biggest single-artist music catalog sale in history, easily surpassing the $500 million-plus paid by Sony Music Group to acquire Bruce Springsteen’s recorded music and music publishing catalogs in late 2021.


A Queen catalog sale is complicated by the fact that Disney Music Group (DMG) owns the band’s recorded music catalog in North America. (DMG has a global distribution agreement with Universal Music Group.)


Queen band members Brian May, Roger Taylor, and John Deacon – plus the Freddie Mercury estate – each own equal shares in the company Queen Productions Ltd, which owns the group’s recording catalog outside the US and Canada.


Read the full report at MusicBusinessWorldwide.com.

Foo Fighters return with But Here We Are, out today via Roswell Records/RCA Records. The band have released a visualizer for the new song, "The Glass". Watch below:





Produced by Greg Kurstin and Foo Fighters, But Here We Are is in nearly equal measure the 11th Foo Fighters album and the first chapter of the band’s new life. Sonically channeling the naiveté of Foo Fighters’ 1995 debut, informed by decades of maturity and depth, But Here We Are is the sound of brothers finding refuge in the music that brought them together in the first place 28 years ago, a process that was as therapeutic as it was about a continuation of life.




But Here We Are can be ordered here.





Tracklisting:


"Rescued"
"Under You"
"Hearing Voices"
"But Here We Are"
"The Glass"
"Nothing At All"
"Show Me How"
"Beyond Me"
"The Teacher"
"Rest"


"The Teacher" video:





"The Teacher" lyric video:





"Show Me How" video:





"Under You" lyric video:





"Rescued" lyric video:





Find the band's live itinerary here.

Bassist Becky Baldwin, who was recently on tour with Mercyful Fate, has released the video below, performing a playthrough of "Melissa".


Says Baldwin: "My all-time favourite Mercyful Fate song, the epic 'Melissa' showcasing the huge dynamic range you can find in this band. It is from their debut album of the same name, and bringing that CD home at around age 14 was my first time really listening to them. Learning this one brought back great memories of looping that album on my CD player when the quest for new music was all that mattered. Timi Hansen's bass lines here are mostly understated, but really rip when the moment calls!  


Bass comes in at about 01:18, but I couldn't bare to crop the intro off a song like this, so join me in checking out some live footage from the Mercyful Fate tour in 2022 while I wait for my cue. You might spot me in somewhere in the fog while King, Hank, Bjarne and Mike do their thing! Want TABs? Sign up to my Patreon to download the full song in standard notation and TAB."







Watch Becky's playthrough video for the Mercyful Fate track, "Doomed By The Living Dead":





BraveWords recently spoke to Becky Baldwin, and you can read the full interview here.

In the video below, which has been remastered in high definition, Led Zeppelin perform "The Ocean" at New York's legendary Madison Square Garden in July 1973.





"The Ocean" was originally featured on Led Zeppelin's Houses Of he Holy album. Listen to Houses Of The Holy here.




Watch "Over The Hills And Far Away" from the same concert, remastered in HD:

MÖTLEY CRÜE and DEF LEPPARD played the sixth show of the European leg of their "The World Tour" this past Friday night (June 2) at Prague Rocks at Letiště Letňany in Prague, Czech Republic. Fan-filmed video of MÖTLEY CRÜE's performance can be seen below.

MÖTLEY CRÜE's setlist was as follows:

01. Wild Side
02. Shout At The Devil
03. Too Fast For Love
04. Don't Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)
05. Saints Of Los Angeles
06. Live Wire
07. Looks That Kill
08. The Dirt (Est. 1981) (with Machine Gun Kelly on screen)
09. Guitar Solo
10. Rock And Roll, Part 2 / Smokin' In The Boys Room / Helter Skelter / Anarchy In The U.K. / Blitzkrieg Bop
11. Home Sweet Home
12. Dr. Feelgood
13. Same Ol' Situation (S.O.S.)
14. Girls, Girls, Girls
15. Primal Scream
16. Kickstart My Heart

MÖTLEY CRÜE and DEF LEPPARD will next perform on June 3 at Expo-Plaza in Hanover, Germany.

Last month, MÖTLEY CRÜE bassist Nikki Sixx said that the band had completed recording several new songs with longtime producer Bob Rock.

MÖTLEY CRÜE's new guitarist John 5 told Sirius XM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" about recording the group's new music with Rock: "Bob would come in and [say], 'Okay, let's try this here, and that here and this here. It was one of the most incredible experiences ever… I'm thinking, 'We've got so much great technology today'… but we got in that room and it was like being in a garage working on a song when you were in high school… It was incredible, and we documented a lot of it too."

Regarding the musical direction of the tracks he and the rest of MÖTLEY CRÜE have recorded so far, John 5 said: "The songs are fucking heavy. I sound like a little excited kid right now, but they're heavy and they're mean. I can't wait for them to come out. I'm just so excited."

When host Eddie Trunk asked John 5 whether the new MÖTLEY CRÜE music can be compared to the band's breakthrough second album, 1983's "Shout At The Devil", the guitarist said that some of the new riffs are "heavier than anything" on that LP. "All I can tell you is that it's heavy and it's aggressive, and I think people are going to dig it because, talking as a fan, it's fucking badass," he said.

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

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

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