STRYPER has returned with a powerful new single, "I'm Alright (I'm Okay)" reaffirming why they remain one of the most influential and enduring bands in Christian metal. Decades into their career, the band continues to balance their unmistakable message with a sound that is every bit as commanding, melodic, and relevant as ever.

On the new single, STRYPER frontman Michael Sweet comments: "This one is for the old-school metalheads. It's a little 1985 mixed with a little 1991, with a little 2026 sprinkled on top. It has all the qualities that you've come to expect from STRYPER, yet it also blends in perfectly with the times we live in. It's a battle cry to stand strong and persevere no matter what, while believing that you will be alright, you will be okay."

"I'm Alright (I'm Okay)" is the first single from STRYPER's upcoming album, due later in the year via Frontiers Music Srl.

Michael is joined in STRYPER by Oz Fox (guitar),Robert Sweet (drums) and Perry Richardson (bass).

Sweet stated about STRYPER's follow-up to 2024's "When We Were Kings": "I do believe that we've somehow figured out a way to merge the past with the present. To combine the classic sound with a bit of a modern twist. That's not always an easy thing to do. Actually, it's almost impossible. I think we've somehow structured each album in a way that showcases who we once were, and who we are now. I'm very happy about that.

"This new album is a very unique album for us. An evolution from 1984 to 2026. 42 years and counting.

"We've been through a lot. We broke up. We got back together (barely). We've parted ways with a few members over the years yet somehow we're still here. Why? Because STRYPER isn't just one individual. It's a legacy that God ordained and called together back in 1983. It's a one-of-a-kind ministry that was formed to reach the lost. To encourage the hurting. To inspire the uninspired. To save the dying. That's God. Not me, not Rob, not Oz, not Perry. God would and could use anyone. We just happened to be in the right place at the right time.

"So, get ready for another album, and I'll say it again and again — it's our best one yet. That's because God is limitless. He can do anything. Believe it. I do."

STRYPER released its long-awaited Christmas album, "The Greatest Gift Of All", in November 2025 via Frontiers Music Srl.

Sweet's latest solo album, "The Master Plan", his most personal and spiritually resonant solo LP yet, was made available in April 2026 via Frontiers Music Srl.

Formed 43 years ago, STRYPER's name comes from Isaiah 53:5, which states: "But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed."

STRYPER's other albums include "To Hell With The Devil", "Second Coming", "No More Hell To Pay", "Fallen", "God Damn Evil", "Even The Devil Believes" and "The Final Battle".

Photo credit: Manuel Moggio, Hainecch (courtesy of Frontiers Music Srl)

THE STOOGES' self-titled and "Fun House" albums have been reimagined for audiophiles on new reel-to-reel and Dolby Atmos editions arriving today. "Fun House"'s open-reel debut and self-titled and "Fun House"'s immersive audio mix offer fans two fresh ways to experience its chaotic brilliance.

"Fun House" (Rhino High Fidelity R2R) was duplicated in real time from a 1:1 copy of the original flat analog master tape. The result is a master-quality listening experience that captures the full dynamics of the recording without the surface noise or groove wear of vinyl. The 15 i.p.s. half-track 1/4" tape is produced to the IEC equalization standard on premium RTM LPR90 tape stock and housed on a 10.5" metal reel. The Reel-to-Reel edition is limited to 350 copies available exclusively at Rhino.com.

"The Stooges & Fun House" (Atmos) brings together Dolby Atmos (TrueHD 7.1) and Hi-Res Stereo (DTS-HD MA) mixes of both albums on Blu-ray, newly created by legendary producer Ed Stasium from the original multi-track tapes. Stasium's immersive Atmos mix elevates the album's primal energy, placing the listener in the center of the studio floor as the band deconstructs rock music in real time.

Rhino will exclusively offer a bundle of all three audiophile titles from THE STOOGES for $354.98

Recorded in Los Angeles with producer Don Gallucci, "Fun House" arrived on July 7, 1970, as THE STOOGES — Iggy Pop, Ron Asheton, Dave Alexander and Scott Asheton — doubled down on everything that made their debut a year earlier so confrontational.

In the album liners, Pop notes that it was a deliberate escalation — testing how far the music could be pushed without coming apart. "Something about this record that I like is the way it begins with a couple of very short, fully structured numbers, and then slips farther and farther out of control… yet it never loses a structure of its own," he writes.

Rhino High Fidelity continues to tap into Warner Music's vast catalog, introducing reissues of seminal albums across genres—from rock and pop to jazz, soul, and beyond. Each title pairs uncompromising audio with archival-grade packaging, honoring the album's original intent in both sound and design.

"Fun House" (Rhino High Fidelity R2R) track listing

01. Down On The Street
02. Loose
03. T.V. Eye
04. Dirt
05. 1970
06. Fun House
07. L.A. Blues

"The Stooges & Fun House" (Atmos) track listing

"The Stooges"

01. 1969
02. I Wanna Be Your Dog
03. We Will Fall
04. No Fun
05. Real Cool Time
06. Ann
07. Not Right
08. Little Doll

"Fun House"

01. Down On The Street
02. Loose
03. T.V. Eye
04. Dirt
05. 1970
06. Fun House
07. L.A. Blues

Swedish extreme metal architects MESHUGGAH have announced the release of newly remastered anniversary editions of two of the band's most important works: "Destroy Erase Improve: 30th Anniversary Edition" and "Catch Thirtythree: 20th Anniversary Edition". Both titles will be available on vinyl, CD digipack, and digitally, featuring the original album artwork and newly remastered audio. Both editions will be released on July 24, 2026 via Reigning Phoenix Music.

The releases follow their limited Record Store Day editions, which arrived this April with alternate/reimagined cover art. For these wider anniversary editions, MESHUGGAH return both albums to their original visual identities while preserving the enhanced, remastered sound created for this milestone campaign.

Originally released in 1995, "Destroy Erase Improve" marked a decisive turning point not only for MESHUGGAH, but for the future of heavy music itself. The album introduced a sharpened and unmistakable version of the band's evolving language: machine-like rhythmic precision, dissonant riff architecture, jazz-fusion flashes, and a level of technical control that would become foundational to progressive, extreme, math, and djent-adjacent metal in the decades that followed. Widely regarded as one of the defining metal albums of the 1990s, "Destroy Erase Improve" remains a blueprint for the sound MESHUGGAH would make entirely their own.

To accompany "Destroy Erase Improve: 30th Anniversary Edition", the remastered single "Future Breed Machine" has been released, spotlighting one of the album's most iconic and enduring tracks.

A decade later, MESHUGGAH pushed their vision even further with "Catch Thirtythree". Released in 2005, the album stands as one of the band's most singular statements: a continuous 47-minute composition divided into 13 movements, built around hypnotic repetition, shifting rhythmic illusions, crushing eight-string guitar work, and an atmosphere that remains uniquely immersive within the band's catalog. Produced by MESHUGGAH, "Catch Thirtythree" also marked the band's only full-length album built with programmed drums, using Toontrack's Drumkit From Hell technology as part of its stark, futuristic design.

In celebration of "Catch Thirtythree: 20th Anniversary Edition", the remastered track "Shed" has been released on all streaming platforms.

Both anniversary editions reaffirm the lasting impact of MESHUGGAH's work across generations of heavy music. From the genre-redefining force of "Destroy Erase Improve" to the monolithic conceptual scope of "Catch Thirtythree", these remastered releases offer longtime followers and new listeners alike the chance to experience two essential chapters in the band's history with renewed clarity and weight.

"Destroy Erase Improve: 30th Anniversary Edition" and "Catch Thirtythree: 20th Anniversary Edition" will be available on vinyl, CD digipack, and digital formats on July 24.

Formed in Umeå, Sweden in 1987, MESHUGGAH have spent more than three decades redefining the outer limits of heavy music. Known for their groundbreaking use of complex polyrhythms, down-tuned guitars, dissonant atmospheres, and surgically precise execution, the band has become one of the most influential forces in extreme and progressive metal.

Across their catalog, MESHUGGAH have continually pushed their sound forward, from the technical thrash foundations of their earliest work to the genre-altering breakthroughs of "Destroy Erase Improve", "Chaosphere", "Nothing", "Catch Thirtythree", "obZen" and beyond. Their music has had a profound impact on modern metal, inspiring generations of artists and helping shape the rhythmic vocabulary later associated with the djent movement, while remaining unmistakably singular in vision and execution.

Rather than following trends, MESHUGGAH have built an entire language of their own: mechanical yet human, cerebral yet crushing, and as hypnotic as it is devastating. With a reputation for uncompromising innovation and formidable live performances, MESHUGGAH continue to stand as one of the most original, challenging, and revered bands in heavy music.

Legendary guitarist Dave Hill has announced the release of his long-awaited solo album, "Dirty Foot Lane", due in October through JCPL Records. He is also working with worldwide music publisher Notting Hill Music.

"Dirty Foot Lane" is a rich, autobiographical collection of songs reflecting a lifetime of music, creativity, and personal discovery.

Best known as a founding member of SLADE, Hill steps into a new artistic space with a record that blends rock, blues, folk, and atmospheric soundscapes. The album captures both the energy of his live-performance roots and a more reflective emotional depth shaped by recent years.

"Dirty Foot Lane" is deeply rooted in Hill's personal history. The title itself refers to a real place not far from where he grew up and still lives today, underscoring his identity as a true local lad. More than just a location, Dirty Foot Lane serves as the emotional and symbolic heart of the album, representing the center of Hill's family memories and formative experiences.

This is an intensely personal body of work, tracing Hill's journey from childhood to global success. The album explores his upbringing, the influence of his parents and family, his early ambition to become a musician, and his rise to international fame. It also addresses more challenging chapters, including struggles with mental health and the profound impact of the COVID-19 lockdowns, ultimately arriving at a place of reflection and appreciation for life.

Leading the production is Django Holder, who also plays a key role in engineering and shaping the album's sound. As the son of Noddy Holder, his involvement adds a meaningful generational connection to Hill's musical legacy.

A key contributor to the album is Hill's long-time collaborator John Berry, whose career includes work with MUD and THE SWEET.

"I've known John for over twenty years," says Hill. "He's incredibly talented, honest, and always gives you his very best. That's invaluable." Berry plays a particularly important role on some of the album's heavier tracks, while Hill performs the majority of the lead vocals. Producer and musician Rob Childs also contributes to the project.

Songs like "Play It To The Crowd" and "Back In The Air Again" capture the exhilaration of live performance, written during lockdown as a response to the absence of touring.

"I wanted to recreate that feeling of walking into a packed arena — the energy, the buzz, the connection with the audience," Hill explains.

In contrast, "Dirty Foot Lane" also explores more personal and complex themes. "She Had A Troubled Heart" stands out as a deeply moving track addressing love, loss, and mental health, inspired by real-life experiences. "It's about what happens when love becomes one-sided," says Hill. "And the impact that can have on people's lives."

The album draws on every stage of Hill's journey. "Thanks For The Good Times" serves as a tribute to fans, collaborators, and shared success, while "Reasons To Succeed" reflects his lifelong ambition. "Only Fools And Horses" revisits the unpredictable early days of the music industry, and "Fast Train" captures the intensity of SLADE's rapid rise. Elsewhere, "Dust My Axe" channels a blues-driven response to modern life, while "Sweet And Tender" offers a heartfelt tribute to his mother.

The title track, "Dirty Foot Lane", stands as the emotional centerpiece of the record. Reimagined with Django Holder, it blends folk and ambient elements into an intimate, atmospheric soundscape.

"It's my story — my family, my home, my journey," Hill says. "Everything connects back to that."

Stripped back and deeply expressive, the track encapsulates both the personal and artistic essence of the album. Together, the songs form a narrative that is both intimate and universal, grounded in memory, resilience, and a lifelong passion for music.

"Dirty Foot Lane" marks a significant step forward for Dave Hill — an artist still driven by creativity and curiosity after decades in the industry.

"I've always been driven," he says. "And I'm still looking for the next challenge. This album is part of that journey."

Hill is best known as the lead guitarist of SLADE, one of the U.K.'s most iconic rock bands. With a career spanning over five decades, he continues to record, perform, and connect with audiences worldwide.

"Dirty Foot Lane" track listing:

01. Thanks For The Good Times
02. Back In The Air Again
03. Dust My Axe
04. She Had A Troubled Heart
05. Sweet And Tender
06. Fast Train
07. Only Fools And Horses
08. Play It To The Crowd
09. Reasons To Succeed
10. Dirty Foot Lane

On May 24, Irish singer and three-time Eurovision Song Contest winner Johnny Logan and Finnish hard rockers LORDI, winner of the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) 2006, performed the band's metal rock anthem "Hard Rock Hallelujah" on the long-running German television show "ZDF Fernsehgarten". Official video of the performance, as shared by the ZDF channel on YouTube, can be seen below.

Logan, LORDI and former BATTLE BEAST singer Noora Louhimo recently surprised their fans around the world by making history with an amazing collaboration.

Logan released his own pop-rock version of "Hard Rock Hallelujah". Meanwhile, LORDI joined forces with Louhimo and released a metal version of Logan's legendary classic power ballad "Hold Me Now".

LORDI and Louhimo also performed their version of "Hold Me Now" on "ZDF Fernsehgarten". You can see video of their rendition below.

The idea emerged during a spontaneous phone call. "The meeting was scheduled for 15 minutes and then lasted over an hour. We immediately hit it off," said Logan. The original idea of a duet for the twentieth anniversary of LORDI's ESC victory was quickly discarded in favor of a song swap. "When I heard LORDI's demo of their winning song tailored to me, I knew right away that I wanted to do it."

LORDI leader Mr. Lordi stated: "We really wanted to do something special to celebrate LORDI's twentieth anniversary of Eurovision victory as well as the seventieth anniversary of the whole Eurovision itself. So the outcome are the two Eurovision winning songs as new arrangements, and jumping bravely into other genres while doing so. I rearranged, and also recomposed, 'Hard Rock Hallelujah' in the style of what I thought would fit Johnny Logan."

LORDI invited Noora Louhimo to join "Hold Me Now". "I knew we needed some extra kick to the song," said Mr. Lordi. "Well, that extra kick is 'The Motherbeast' with her mind-blowing voice that lifts this version to a completely new height."

Louhimo said: "I am so excited about our collaboration and this new friendship we have created with LORDI in the past few months. In this project I get to fulfill many of my dreams — working with LORDI, working with the legend Johnny Logan, singing a Eurovision winner song, and singing in heavy metal style. I love ESC, I love our version and I'm so happy this will be my first release continuing my career as a full-time solo artist."

This year, due to the ESC boycott supported by Ireland, Johnny Logan could not appear at the Eurovision Song Contest. "I would have loved to present the project live as well, but under the current circumstances that's not possible," Logan explained. LORDI, on the other hand, was on stage at this year's competition.

"I'm very happy for LORDI that they are taking part in this special year concerning their anniversary," Logan said, delighted for the Finnish hard rockers.

Logan, who made music history with "What's Another Year" (1980),"Hold Me Now" (1987) and "Why Me" (1992),recorded his vocals in Copenhagen.

"'Hard Rock Hallelujah' had incredible energy from the very first moment," said the singer. He was also impressed by the reinterpretation of his own classic: "LORDI and Noora Louhimo have completely made 'Hold Me Now' their own."

Noora Louhimo is a Finnish award-winning singer best known for her big raspy powerful voice and striking stage outfits as the former lead vocalist of the metal band BATTLE BEAST, and for the character "Motherbeast" she created during her 13 years with the band. She departed the band in December 2025 to pursue her career as a solo artist. Since then her career has taken off with arena shows, touring around Finland, and performing on primetime TV shows.

Louhimo is a powerful, unapologetic artist making her music in different styles, using fashion as her armor and her voice to empower and entertain people. She is currently working on her second solo album, set for release in 2027, with a tour to follow celebrating both the album and her twentieth anniversary as an artist.

LORDI, whose ESC victory in 2006 brought Finland its first win in the competition and took "Hard Rock Hallelujah" into charts across Europe, took over the creative direction.

"The driving force behind the project is clearly [Mr.] Lordi — his idea, his production, his vision," Logan emphasized. The collaboration developed into a personal connection. "We share the same dark humour and the same passion for music. This project was simply a unique pleasure."

Mr. Lordi added: "I know I am speaking on behalf of our whole band when I say that we're both humbled and proud of having both of these iconic voices of their respective genres collaborate with us. Having Logan and Louhimo joining LORDI on this little anniversary celebration is truly an honor for us."

Following their electrifying and intimate underplay performance at New York City's legendary Bowery Ballroom earlier this week, Grammy Award-winning rock band GRETA VAN FLEET officially returns today with an explosive new single and music video, "Play Your Games" — the first taste of what signals a powerful new age for the band.

Recorded and co-produced in Tennessee by the band alongside acclaimed producer Mike Elizondo (Fiona Apple, TURNSTILE, Sheryl Crow),"Play Your Games" captures GRETA VAN FLEET at their most raw, irreverent and instinctive. Inspired by one of their oldest demos from the band's revisited archives, the track channels the spirit of their earliest days — loud, fearless and untamed.

Written by the band, "Play Your Games" leads the charge with swagger, chaos and sharp-edged charm, feeling like a nod to the band's formative years performing in small clubs in their hometown of Frankenmuth, Michigan. Guitarist Jake Kiszka explains. "It's this beautiful nature of seizing a moment."

Accompanied by an official music video produced and directed by Moonbase, the visual further expands the band's evolving world, marking GRETA VAN FLEET's first new music since stepping away from the limelight, offering fans an exciting glimpse into where they are headed next.

The release arrives just days after the band stunned fans and critics with a sweat-drenched, sold-out underplay show at Bowery Ballroom, reigniting anticipation around their return and reminding audiences why GRETA VAN FLEET remain one of rock music's most compelling live forces. Vocalist Josh Kiszka shares, "to take the stage again and share new music feels profoundly emotional and exciting. To see people singing and celebrating in this moment is a reminder of the power of music, and there's so much more to come."

Prior to the Bowery Ballroom concert, GRETA VAN FLEET — brothers Josh (vocals),Jake (guitar) and Sam Kiszka (bass, keyboards) and Daniel Wagner (drums) — hadn't played a live show since September 2024. In the meantime, Sam Kiszka and Danny Wagner played on "The Dreamin' Kind", the 2026 album from Pennsylvania singer-songwriter Langhorne Slim. Jake Kiszka appeared in last year's Bruce Springsteen biopic "Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere" as a guitarist in a band in a New Jersey club. Meanwhile MIRADOR, the band founded by Jake Kiszka and Chris Turpin from IDA MAE, recently released a new EP, "The Gathering At Badon Hill".

GRETA VAN FLEET's most recent album was 2023's "Starcatcher".

Since emerging from Michigan and exploding on to the global stage, GRETA VAN FLEET have become one of the defining rock bands of their generation: a group equally embraced by lifelong rock purists and a younger audience rediscovering the power, freedom, and spectacle of the genre. Their ascent has been marked by platinum-selling records, Grammy wins, huge international arena and stadium tours, and a reputation for delivering live performances with the kind of musicianship and emotional release that plays into the history books and cultural mythology of the legendary bands before them.

In an era increasingly dominated by algorithms and disposable culture, GRETA VAN FLEET continue to stand apart as a band committed to the timeless ideals, transcendence, theatricality, musicianship, rebellion, and human connection that comes hand in hand with rock and roll.

Photo credit: Lewis Evans

In a new interview with the Talk Louder podcast, hosted by veteran music journalist "Metal Dave" Glessner and lifelong hard rock/metal vocalist Jason McMaster, VOIVOD's drummer and founding member Michel "Away" Langevin spoke about the band's upcoming album, "Symphonique", a special live collaboration with the Quebec Symphony Orchestra (Orchestre Symphonique De Québec),which is due on June 5, 2026 worldwide via Century Media Records. "Symphonique", which functions like an epic piece of cinema, showcases VOIVOD's pioneering futuristic metal with the strains of a symphony orchestra, and features a carefully curated VOIVOD best-of setlist composed of 12 songs across 73 minutes, recorded live on June 4, 2025, at the Grand Théâtre in Québec City, Canada.

Asked how the collaboration with the Quebec Symphony Orchestra came together, Away said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Oh, man. We wanted to do that forever, but I would have never believed that we would end up on stage with, like, 65 or 70 orchestra musicians. It was pretty intense. And we did try... Chewy [VOIVOD guitarist Daniel Mongrain], our guitar player, he has a lot of notions with transcribing charts. And so we did, on the album 'The Wake', we had the string quartet in the studio, and when we were invited to play the Montreal Jazz Festival in 2019, we had a brass quintet. So, Chewy was writing the parts for these people. And so he collaborated a lot with the arranger for the symphonic show."

Away continued: "It's actually a bit strange how it happened in the sense that there is this magazine here in Montreal that homeless people sell on the street corners to make ends meet. And I did an interview in one issue, 'cause I'm very involved with many organizations in town in Montreal. And so the musician from the Montreal Symphony Orchestra that plays solo bassoon saw it, and because it was also published online, posted online, he brought the article to the direction of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra. And I came back from touring, and I had a message on my answering machine saying that the Montreal Symphony Orchestra were looking for me. [Laughs] So it was pretty cool. And so it was their original idea. And we spent a couple of years putting it together, really. Chewy was mainly involved with the arranger, but I was really busy with the graphics to be projected behind the stage. And so first we started trying to figure which songs we were gonna play that would match the orchestra. And some of them were a bit obvious, like 'Pre-Ignition', because we already, back in the days, put a lot of modern classical music into our songs, like Shostakovich, Penderecki, Bartók. And a lot of it came from listening to soundtracks from the Stanley Kubrick movies, actually. And so, actually we got busted by the Montreal Symphony Orchestra. The musicians were, like, 'Hey, this is like 'The Rite Of Spring'.' [Laughs] And so we picked songs that were more on the proggy vibe and with many movements. Although we did 'Nuclear War' from the first album, 'War And Pain', because we thought with the orchestra it could become a very scary military march, and it worked very well. And we also really wanted to play 'Astronomy Domine', the Syd Barrett song, the PINK FLOYD cover, with an orchestra, and it turned out really good as well. Meanwhile, Chewy was giving ideas to Hugo [Bégin], the arranger, like 'Maybe the band could stop there and then the orchestra could keep going, and Snake [VOIVOD vocalist Denis Bélanger] could sing along with the orchestra,' and things like that, which meant that we had to be very focused because we were really used of playing these songs a certain way, and now we had to... On my end, it's pretty stressful because if I missed a beat or a bar, the whole orchestra is lost. [Laughs] So I was very focused on Dina Gilbert, the conductor. I was watching her a lot, and we had cues. It almost became telepathy, man, I swear. So it was a pretty cool and intense experience. But I remember that we were giving Hugo tips, like what we were looking for, mainly the vibe of early cyberpunk movies, 'Mad Max', 'Blade Runner', 'Terminator'. I remember I mentioned 'Planet Of The Apes', the very old movies, because of the avant-garde music they had in there. And so I think he really understood what we wanted, 'cause the first demos we got from him immediately sounded like a dystopian sci-fi movie soundtrack. And I was, like, 'Yeah, we got it.' And Chewy matched the original songs from the CD with the arranger's demos. And so we went into RadicArt Studio where we've been recording for the past 11 years, and we started building the show with the demos of the arranger. So, we did two concerts in January last year, in Montreal, and then we were offered to do the same in Quebec City with the Quebec Symphony Orchestra, and this time we decided to record the audio for a release. We wish we could have documented it visually, but it's really, really expensive. If you want for a commercial release, you have to pay a lot of money to the union and all that. But even just the audio, it's pretty expensive. But the reaction to the first single, 'Forgotten In Space', is so good, I think we're gonna recoup."

Elaborating on how VOIVOD chose the songs to perform with the orchestra, Away said: "At first I thought, 'Ah, we can't really pick the fastest stuff from 'Rrröööaaarrr', but I realized after, these people are used to playing Paganini and very insane and fast stuff sometimes. And so, they probably, I would say, got the charts a week ahead or something, but it was perfect. All I was very impressed by Dina, who was conducting, because she has, like, 70 orchestra musicians and the band to direct from A to Z, and we didn't get lost. But I was watching her movements a lot, especially the first show, 'cause, again, I'm not allowed to make one mistake, so I was super focused. And usually I'm not nervous before going on stage, but for the first show in Montreal, I remember going down the corridor to the stage when the orchestra was doing the intro. I remember telling myself, 'You can do it.' [Laughs]"

He continued: "I think that the main thing we tried to do was, like, the orchestra was playing the intro of 'Tribal Convictions' or 'The Unknown Knows', and usually we are playing that part, and so we would kick in at one point, and then they would stop, we'd keep going, and so on and so on. I didn't change my playing on my end. I tried to be a bit more precise, and I learned a lot younger from [the drummer from] MAGMA, Christian Vander, or Robert Wyatt from SOFT MACHINE, but mainly Guy Evans from VAN DER GRAAF GENERATOR. There are a lot of ghost notes on the snare, and I had to be a little more careful for these shows and hit with a frank hit. And so I changed my style a little bit, but all the parts are the same, except that, like I was saying earlier, at one point we stop in a song and the orchestra keep going, and so these were the parts where I had to be very vigilant."

Away added: "Prior to doing the symphonic concerts, we were touring the province of Quebec, and we were adding songs bit by bit towards the symphony show. And so we had the songs down when we got to play the shows with the orchestra, but then we realized that the arrangements were a bit different, and so we had to sort of reprogram ourselves for these shows. And [it was] quite an exercise in memory, and a wonderful experience."

"Symphonique" track listing:

01. Experiment (Symphonique)
02. Holographic Thinking (Symphonique)
03. The Unknown Knows (Symphonique)
04. The End Of Dormancy (Symphonique)
05. Into My Hypercube (Symphonique)
06. Forgotten In Space (Symphonique)
07. Cosmic Drama (Symphonique)
08. Pre-Ignition (Symphonique)
09. Nuclear War (Symphonique)
10. Fall (Symphonique)
11. Tribal Convictions (Symphonique)
12. Astronomy Domine (Symphonique) (PINK FLOYD cover)

VOIVOD previously played two shows with the Orchestre Symphonique De Montréal on January 29, 2025 and January 30, 2025 at Salle Wilfrid-Pelletie in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Mongrain, who previously wrote an eight-minute arrangement for the brass quintet that performed with VOIVOD at the Montreal International Jazz Festival (Festival International de Jazz de Montréal) in June 2019, called the collaboration with the Orchestre Symphonique De Montréal "a dream come true."

"I never tried to write for a whole orchestra," he explained. "I know a little bit about it, studying orchestration at university and knowing my music theory and all that. But what happened is that my help with the project was to provide the music sheets to the arranger, Hugo Bégin. He did an amazing work. He took the music sheet that I wrote for guitar and bass. So he had a template to work on. And so he orchestrated it for the whole orchestra and added his own color to it. And it's very efficient. It's like a movie soundtrack, like the movie we used to watch, like 'Planet Of The Apes' and 'Ben-Hur' and 'Mad Max' and all that. VOIVOD has been influenced since the beginning by those movies, so you can hear it, but with the whole orchestra, it's very exciting. So I exchanged a lot of e-mails and messages with Hugo, the arranger, and we worked really hard on it and he was really, really fast and efficient…. It's a dream come true, but it's so big that you only imagine something like that in your wildest dreams, but you know it's not gonna happen. So this is just a life-changing experience, a bonus in a career."

VOIVOD is a Canadian heavy metal band from Jonquière, Québec. Their musical style has changed several times since the band's origin in the early 1980s. Starting out as a speed metal band, VOIVOD have added a mix of progressive metal and thrash metal to create their own unique metal style, and are credited as one of the "big four" Canadian thrash metal bands, along with SACRIFICE, RAZOR and ANNIHILATOR. They are considered by many as one of the most influential metal bands from the '80s, influencing and gaining praise from multiple bands and across numerous genres.

VOIVOD found mainstream success in the late 1980s with their fifth studio album, "Nothingface" (1989),which is the band's only album to enter The Billboard 200 chart, peaking at number 114.

VOIVOD's long-awaited official documentary, "We Are Connected", received its world premiere on July 29, 2024 at the Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal, Quebec. Canada.

"We Are Connected" dives deep into the 40-plus-year legacy of one of the most original and influential metal bands in history. From their explosive beginnings in Jonquière to their groundbreaking global journey, VOIVOD's story is one of unparalleled creativity, resilience, and evolution. The film covers VOIVOD's history from unlikely origins in northern Québec at the height of the Cold War to underground success to sharing tours and stages with IRON MAIDEN, RUSH and METALLICA. Included in the documentary are high and lows throughout those 40 years, from major-label support and Billboard recognition to seismic lineup changes and an event many critics claimed to be the end of VOIVOD: the death of co-founding guitarist and composer Dennis "Piggy" D'Amour.

Directed by Felipe Belalcazar and produced with full access to the band's archives, this film features exclusive insights and appearances by metal icons like Tobias Forge (GHOST),Mikael Åkerfeldt (OPETH),Jason Newsted (METALLICA),Zach Blair (RISE AGAINST, GWAR),Tom G. Warrior (CELTIC FROST, TRIPTYKON) and Ivan Doroschuk (MEN WITHOUT HATS),among many others.

VOIVOD has been touring in support of its latest album, 2023's "Morgöth Tales", which was released via Century Media, The Orchard and Sony Music.

The band's 2022 release, "Synchro Anarchy", garnered significant acclaim, winning the 2023 Juno Award for "Best Hard Rock/Metal Album" in Canada.

Once more recorded and mixed by Francis Perron at RadicArt Studio, mastered by Maor Appelbaum and produced by VOIVOD, "Morgöth Tales" includes fresh studio re-recordings by the band's current lineup of nine especially selected, not-so-obvious picks from the band's hyper-classy and extremely diverse back catalogue (between 1984 and 2003) as well as a brand-new song and the album's title track, "Morgöth Tales".

In a new interview with LA Lloyd, the nationally syndicated radio host for the "LA Lloyd Rock 30", SEVENDUST frontman Lajon Witherspoon spoke about the band's fifteenth studio album, "One", which came out on May 1 via Napalm Records. Asked what the significance of the album title is to him personally, Lajon said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Man, it means so many things. I would like for people to grasp it and understand it for themselves. But 'one' for me is that we all are one. Not only SEVENDUST, and we've come back to this and we're closer than we've ever been at the old age that we are, and we're still relevant, if that's the word, in this industry, but we all are one. Even in this united, divided world that we live in, we are one and we are all unbreakable, too."

During the same chat, Lajon was asked what has kept him and his bandmates together for more than 30 years. He responded: "I don't know, man. I feel like you have a lot of groups out there that say they're bands. I feel like we're a band. We've been through everything together. If anyone knows each other more than anyone, it's us. I mean, we've been there through divorces, we've been there through deaths, breakups, remarriages, 'So-and-so's sick. Oh, God.' You know what I mean? So, if there's anyone closer, it's us, so we really understand each other, and I think that's what's kept us together. And then also, years and years ago, I was, like, the only way we're gonna stay together is we have to make sure that everything is equal. You can't have somebody riding up on a scooter and then some guy flying in on a helicopter with a submarine tied to the bottom of it. You know what I mean? [Laughs] So, that's something that's kept us together, is everyone comes to the plate, and we're very blessed to be the way that we are, because no one thinks that, 'Oh, man, this is my band.' This is our band. No one is a leader. We're all owners and bosses."

SEVENDUST once again worked on "One" with producer Michael "Elvis" Baskette at Studio Barbarosa in Gotha, Florida. Baskette had previously worked with ALTER BRIDGE and Slash, among others.

The writing sessions for the new SEVENDUST album took place at the farmhouse of Lajon and his wife Ashley.

SEVENDUST recently hit the road in support of "One". Their U.S. headline tour kicked off April 16 in Carterville, Illinois, and ran through May 20, concluding in Knoxville, Tennessee. ATREYU, FIRE FROM THE GODS and AMERICAN ADRENALINE joined as support. The band also opened for ALTER BRIDGE at two special U.S. dates: April 26 in Atlanta, Georgia, and May 21 in Nashville, Tennessee. Additionally, SEVENDUST appeared at major festivals including Welcome To Rockville and Sonic Temple.

Photo credit: Chuck Brueckmann

In a new interview with Argentinean rock journalist Lucas H. Gordon, who currently resides in California, Ronnie James Dio's widow and longtime manager Wendy Dio spoke about the status of the officially sanctioned Dio tribute band DIO DISCIPLES. She said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): " I'm excited about the new DIO lineup… So we're going to take DIO and the DIO band out again… I don't know if it's gonna be [called] DIO DISCIPLES or it's gonna be DIO AND THE DISCIPLES, or DIO... We don't know yet. The name is not there. But it will be Ronnie, and not in a hologram, not in A.I., but we're gonna do real Ronnie in Ronnie video. So we have Ronnie video, and he will sing with the band about four songs."

Asked who will be in the new DIO band, Wendy said: "The new lineup will be with Simon Wright [on drums], as usual, Bjorn Englen on bass, as usual, Scott Warren on keyboards, as usual, and the two vocalists will be Oni Logan, who used to be in LYNCH MOB, and Robin McAuley, who was in Michael Schenker's band. And on guitar will be Rowan Robertson, who used to play in the DIO band, with [the] 'Lock Up The Wolves' [album]. And we're very excited about it. Hopefully we'll do some dates in the fall in the U.S., and then next year we're hoping to tour the whole of Europe and South America."

Wendy also talked about various Dio-related projects that are currently in the works, including previously unreleased material that has yet to see the light of day. She said: "We have some more things. And plus I'm trying to put together... I wanted to put together a bunch of songs that Ronnie did with other people that a lot of people don't know. Like he did two songs with Kerry Livgren [from KANSAS], and he did a rendition of 'Dream On', and he did one of a Alice Cooper track. He did, of course, 'I Could Have Been A Dreamer'. He performed with the philharmonic orchestra and DEEP PURPLE. And then he did something with a bunch of different bands or different things, and he did that Christmas thing. I was thinking to put them all together, of things that maybe fans are not aware of or would like to hear them again. He did a track with GIRLSCHOOL. He did a track with a bunch of different people and different things, so I think it'd be interesting to [put them all out on one collection]... Plus I have a couple of unreleased tracks that I would like to put out. We have a show, a live show, that I'm working on right now that was done in the '80s, a DIO live show [that's] never been out before. I think it's from Seattle. It's from '83, I think. It's a live show that's never been out. But there's a lot of different things. There's a couple of love songs that Ronnie wrote for me and recorded that's never been out. He'd probably kill me if I put those out. [Laughs] He never wrote love songs, [but] he wrote a couple of love songs for me and recorded them. And I think they're pretty good… So, yeah, it's an exciting time, I think. I'm doing lots and lots of different things."

This year's "Rock For Ronnie" concert in the park benefiting the Ronnie James Dio Stand Up And Shout Cancer Fund will take place on Sunday, May 31, 2026, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the South Lawn adjacent to the Autry Museum of the American West in Griffith Park (opposite the Los Angeles Zoo) in Los Angeles, California. The lineup of music will feature fan favorite Lita Ford and her band, popular tribute band LED ZEPAGAIN, DIO DISCIPLES, southern rock band Jason Charles Miller, British hard rock band LEGS DIAMOND, the all-female AC/DC tribute band WHOLE LOTTA ROSIES and Los Angeles-based up and comers SAINTS OF SINNERS.

Billed as a "celebration of the music and legacy of the greatest singer in the world, Ronnie James Dio," DIO DISCIPLES have been playing Ronnie's music on tour in a bid to keep their old bandmate's memory alive.

Six years ago, Wright told The Metal Voice that the proposed DIO DISCIPLES debut album had been put "on hold" so that he and his bandmates could focus on the "Dio Returns" tour. At the time, Simon said that "about four or five demos" had been laid down of "different songs" that he and former DIO guitarist Craig Goldy had been working on.

Several years ago, Goldy revealed DIO DISCIPLES were planning to start work on a project of original material, and they debuted three of the new songs during their May 2016 appearance at the "Ride For Ronnie" motorcycle rally and concert in Encino.

In a new interview with Laughing Monkey With Shawn Ratches, ROSE TATTOO frontman Gary "Angry" Anderson discussed his previous announcement that the band, which formed in Sydney in 1976, will play its final live show at the end of this year. The 78-year-old Angry said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET):  "When I say the end of the band, it's not gonna be completely the end of the band, but that's not something I really wanna talk about because I don't know what shape that's gonna take. But I said to Mick [Arnold, ROSE TATTOO guitarist] the other day when we were… I went down to Mick's place, the slide player, and we were doing some songwriting. And I said something to him about some of his tunes, and I said, 'We'll save them for next year.' And he looked at me and sort of smiled. And I knew the smile was one of, 'Fab. Thanks. That's great.' 'Cause I hadn't sort of shared that kind of prophecy, if you like, or plan in my... But I said to him, I said, 'We'll keep writing songs,' because I'm very much enjoying what we're coming up with for the next TATTS album. And I said, 'Well, so we'll keep writing, and we'll see what we produce.' And I said, 'If we produce a bunch of songs that really should be ROSE TATTOO songs,' I said, 'Well, we'll just go ahead and record them and just put them out.' When I say put them out, it's upload or whatever happens these days. So we'll make them available."

This past January, Anderson was asked by Peter Kerr of Rock Daydream Nation if there are "mixed emotions" about taking one "final lap" with ROSE TATTOO. Angry said: "Oh, yeah. Yeah. I thought I was fine. I thought when you preempt something or you have pre-knowledge, and I don't mean to be gloomy, but when you know someone — I've just lost someone rather dear to me, yet another person, to cancer just recently, and we knew she was terminally ill. And so we had this two years plus of leading up to it — constant treatment, talking about it, blah, blah, blah — but it didn't prepare me for the shock. And it reminded me of losing the other members of the band. We all knew, months in some cases, years ahead of time, that they were terminally ill, but when it actually happens… And that's just human nature. That's just what happens."

Angry continued: "Three years ago, when I first went to Scot Crawford, our manager, and said, 'Are you aware of the fact that the band is 50 years old in a few years?' two and a half years, whatever it might've been. And he went, 'Yeah, yeah, yeah.' And I said, 'Well, we'll do another album.' 'Cause the songwriting with this particular lineup, predominantly with Mick, the slide player… And he's very prolific musically, and he comes up with the sort of music that appeals to me. It's very bluesy. It's quite modern technique, but it's very bluesy. It's very chordy, [with] some beautiful, beautiful nuances and some beautiful riffs and chord progressions, et cetera. So [I'm] quite happy and very excited about that. As far as we know, it'll be our last album."

Anderson added: "The end of the year, when I wake up on the morning, the first morning of '27, I'll wake up and the band will be gone.

"I was home by myself [this past] New Year's Eve, and I thought, 'I'm gonna drink some beer and bourbon and smoke a cigar and go to bed a happy man.' And foolishly I started… I'd had a couple of drinks and I was making something for myself to eat and I started listening to some of the new songs. And that's when it just came down on me like a fog. And, of course, I'd had three or four shots of bourbon by this… And I certainly wasn't pissed by that stage, but you get that nice buzz thing going on when it first comes on… And the new songs reminded me so much of the old songs, and when you hear them, you'll know what I'm saying, but in a different way altogether, really. But, yeah, I just sat there and I just thought, like, 'Wow.' Because by this time, midnight had come, and I just thought, well, [in] a year, I'll be sitting there possibly…' Well, I'll be with the band, 'cause we'll play on the New Year's Eve into the New Year's morning of the first morning of '27, because that's how the band started. We took our first gig from the New Year's Eve gig at the Chequers nightclub here in Sydney. And I thought, I'll wake up to a new year and I'll be bandless."

ROSE TATTOO's 2026 tour is showcasing the current lineup of Angry Anderson (vocals),Paul DeMarco (drums),Steve King (bass),Mick Arnold (guitar) and Ronnie Simmons (guitar).

ROSE TATTOO has released a total of eight studio albums: "Rose Tattoo" (1978),"Assault & Battery" (1981),"Scarred For Life" (1982),"Southern Stars" (1984),"Beats From A Single Drum" (1986),"Pain" (2002),"Blood Brothers" (2007) and "Outlaws" (2020).

Six former ROSE TATTOO members have died in recent years, including four of the original recording lineup: Dallas Royall (1991),Peter Wells (2006),Ian Rilen (2006),Mick Cocks (2009) and Lobby Loyde (2007),who was a member between October 1979 and September 1980, and Neil Smith (2013),who played bass temporarily prior to Loyde.

From the band's first gig on New Year's in 1976 until today, ROSE TATTOO has rarely strayed from its mantra of being the best barroom blues-based rock band in the world. For 50 years, the one constant is Anderson, whose vocals tell the story of bars, booze, fights and love, mostly lost.

ROSE TATTOO has toured relentlessly in Australia and Europe, with the occasional jaunt into the U.S., gathering fans along the way.

In a new interview with Local Band Smokeout, former ARCH ENEMY singer Alissa White-Gluz was asked if her 2025 collaboration with extreme power metallers DRAGONFORCE on an alternate version of their track "Burning Heart" was what ultimately led to her joining the latter band as a full-fledged member. She responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Kind of. I think we all kind of agreed that we got a really good vibe from working together, and that the music could be really cool to combine everything that DRAGONFORCE is known for and what I'm known for, and play on our strengths. And I think we just weren't sure if we could really do it. And I think in life you're never really ready to do something; you just have to do it and then figure it out. And so we were, like, 'You know what? It's now or never. Let's just do it. Let's just jump into this and make it happen.' And so we did. And so we've been working, yeah, for a while, actually, just to get prepared to be able to perform these shows together, and also working on new music."

Regarding what the experience has been like of working on new music with DRAGONFORCE, Alissa said: "[It's been] really good. You never know... 'Cause you can practice your stuff on your own and write independently and it could be fine, but when we actually started playing together in the same room, playing properly, rehearsing, writing, working on lyrics, working on chord structures, parts, arrangements, concepts, titles and stuff like that, we worked on stuff and then we listened back and we were, like, 'This sounds really good.' I think we were... We were pretty confident, but then listening back to it, we were, like, 'Ooh, okay. We're really on to something here.' So it was great."

Alissa was also asked for an update on the health of longtime DRAGONFORCE singer Marc Hudson, who was forced to sit out the last couple of the band's festival gigs due to ongoing hearing loss and tinnitus issues. She said: "Yeah, I talk to Marc pretty frequently, actually. He's great. He's an amazing singer. His technique is so interesting to me 'cause it's so different than my technique. He sings in what appears to be a head-dominant mix, and I sing in a chest-dominant mix. But, yeah, I know that it's really insanely frustrating to try to sing when you can't hear, and tinnitus is... I mean, there's no cure for tinnitus, as far as I know. I know a lot of musicians with tinnitus, so I do hope that he starts to feel better soon. I think it's a struggle, but he's a professional and he's working through it, and he's still able to get some singing done. So I just hope that it goes away for his sake so he doesn't have to be so frustrated trying to hear himself."

On the topic of what fans can expect from the upcoming follow-up to DRAGONFORCE's ninth studio album, "Warp Speed Warriors", which came out in March 2024, Alissa said: "I wish I could [share some information about it, but] I cannot, but I can tell you that we're having a lot of fun working on it, and it's a pleasure to work with everyone in this camp. So it's a lot of fun."

Alissa also talked about DRAGONFORCE's recently announced tour celebrating the 20th anniversary of the band's monumental album "Inhuman Rampage" — the record that birthed the platinum-selling global phenomenon of "Through The Fire And Flames" and spent 23 consecutive weeks on the Billboard 200. Asked if there is a particular song from that LP that she is looking forward to performing, Alissa said: "Obviously I'm looking forward to all of it. Obviously I'm looking forward to 'Through The Fire And Flames', 'cause the room just ignites when you start that song. But interestingly, in the set that we just did for the past two shows, we included 'Storming The Burning Fields', and that one is super fun to sing. Something about that song is very satisfying to sing. So I'm glad that we started incorporating that one. And I didn't really realize that that would be a favorite. 'Fury Of The Storm' [from 2004's 'Sonic Firestorm'] is also really fun to sing. I think that there's gonna be some favorites that pop up as we go through the tour, and it's kind of hard to predict which ones they would be right now, 'cause there's so many factors that lean into that. I like to perform songs that are challenging, but also satisfying, but also that the audience likes. So it's like a fine balance. 'Cause sometimes if a song is too easy, it becomes a little boring to perform night after night, and if a song is too hard, you can't enjoy it because you're just, like, freaking out the whole time. And also, usually if it's a super-complex song, the audience might not totally grasp it, 'cause it's a live performance, a live environment where things sound crazy. So I think there's that fine balance. And I have a feeling 'Storming The Burning Fields' will probably be in the top."

DRAGONFORCE's largest North American tour in more than two decades will bring the world's fastest band to 22 cities this November and December, with support from ENSIFERUM and RHAPSODY OF FIRE. Beginning at San Diego's Observatory on Friday, November 13, dates will stretch from New York City's Palladium Times Square to Chicago's Riviera Theatre, Los Angeles's Wiltern and beyond, further marking 2026 as the start of DRAGONFORCE's biggest, boldest and most electrifying era yet.

DRAGONFORCE previewed the forthcoming tour with two festival performances at Welcome To Rockville and Sonic Temple, which were "riotously received" (Metal Hammer) and "epic" (Metal Injection). But with White-Gluz at the helm, this fall will see sets that are as exhilarating as they are technically breathtaking, filled with even more time-warping precision, spectacular set design, hits from "Inhuman Rampage" and an early taste of their impending studio album.

As the preeminent pioneers of extreme power metal, now joined by one of metal's legendary vocalists, DRAGONFORCE have welcomed tens of millions of listeners into the fold through the seismic history of "Inhuman Rampage" and their eternally joyous, adrenaline-filled music. Founded in 1999 and based between Los Angeles and London, they have rewritten the rules of heavy metal, while redefining the possibilities of their respective instruments.

Since the release of "Inhuman Rampage" and its signature anthem "Through The Fire And Flames" — the notoriously unbeatable final boss of "Guitar Hero III: Legends Of Rock" — the Grammy-nominated band have continued to blow the minds of musicians and gamers everywhere. They have been heard in "Despicable Me 4", "Fortnite Festival", "Brawl Stars", "Asphalt Legends" and beyond, and seen on the covers of dozens of magazines. They have shared stages with IRON MAIDEN, Ozzy Osbourne, SLIPKNOT, METALLICA and many more.

Photo by Travis Shinn