In a new interview with Lisa Karkos of the Nashville On The Rocks podcast/show, SKID ROW bassist Rachel Bolan confirmed that he and his bandmates are still looking for a singer to replace Erik Grönwall, who exited the group more than a year ago. The now-37-year-old Swedish-born musician, who was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in March 2021, announced his departure from SKID ROW in March 2024, saying that it had become increasingly "difficult to prioritize" his health and full recovery as the lead singer of the group.

Regarding how he and the rest of SKID ROW are going about looking for a new vocalist, Rachel said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It's kind of become a thing with SKID ROW, 'cause we've had quite a few [singers]. But we're going to do something pretty big to find one, find the [right] person [to front the band].

"We have a certain criteria, and I think the main part, you have to have strong pipes," Bolan explained. "You have to be able to tour a lot. And you have to be a good hang. I think that's the main thing, is being a good hang.

"It's really hard doing it as long as we've been doing it, and other bands and artists could back me up on this, [when] you're doing it for this long, the hang becomes really necessary. When you get someone in there that is out for themselves and doesn't care about anything that's going on around them, it's tough.

"So that's where we're at," Rachel added. "We're going to start up in hopefully October again. Because we've auditioned some people, and some people came in and they were great — they were really great. But you have four guys that are looking at someone, and it's, like, one guy might think they're perfect, another guy might think they're almost perfect, another person might think, 'Eh,' wasn't feeling it. So all four of us — Rob Hammersmith [SKID ROW drummer], Snake [SKID ROW guitarist Dave Sabo], Scotti Hill [SKID ROW guitarist] and myself — we need to be a hundred percent on board."

Rachel went on to say that he and his SKID ROW bandmates are "not gonna rush anything" when it comes to selecting the group's next vocalist. "We have the luxury of time on our side," he explained. "Maybe not our ages [laughs], but we have the luxury of time. We don't have any tours set up or anything like that, that we have to just like kind of get someone in place… Our booking agent says those shows are still gonna be there. If it takes two years, three years, whatever, those shows are gonna be there, dude. And it makes you feel good, because when you're as close to it as I am, it's, like, you don't look at us, like, 'You guys are fucking SKID ROW, man. You can do whatever the fuck you want.' I look at it as, like, 'We're SKID ROW. What the fuck are we gonna do?' We just told ourselves we're not gonna stress. If it takes a long time, it takes a long time. And like I said, we've had people down that we've dug a lot. Something was there. Maybe there was pieces missing, an element missing, but it is what it is. And we're meeting a lot of really cool people along the way — a lot of really cool people who I'm, like, 'Wow.' I'll listen to some of their songs, and it's, like, you look at someone and you're, like, 'Maybe we could work together on something else or write songs together.'"

Erik was SKID ROW's fourth frontman since Sebastian Bach's departure.

This past March, Hammersmith told The Chuck Shute Podcast about SKID ROW's ongoing vocalist search: "We've been busy. We've been on the hunt, I guess we've been on the prowl, if you will, we have been on an active search since last year. So, having said that, we've had some really good candidates. We've had some really strong candidates that we have been in discussions with. We have actually been in a room with a handful of people. We've had a really good experience with a lot of people. That said, we are still in the midst of an active search, so we like to keep that storyline out there and remind everybody that we are still looking. So if anybody hears this, if there's anybody out there that thinks that they're right for it, it is still an ongoing search at this at this moment. But we've made a lot of progress. And it's amazing — to make the best of a situation like that, it's kind of awesome to see how many talented people there are out there. Whether or not they're right for us, it really doesn't matter. It's really inspiring. It's awesome to see how many talented people there are out there."

Asked if he and his SKID ROW bandmates are looking for a singer who is stylistically similar to the group's previous vocalists, including Bach, or if they want to find someone to take SKID ROW "in a different direction", Rob said: "We would be open to either of those scenarios. When you're dealing with a situation like ours, there's a legacy there. There's a history, there's a legacy, there is a particular component to what we do that a lot of people are very, very attached to, and we're aware of that, and we're grateful for that. It's a really wonderful situation to be in. So having said that, preserving the history and honoring the history is very important to us. But that's not to say — all of our favorite bands have evolved and they've changed throughout the years. So I would say we are open to either scenario that you're describing, but we do have to honor the history and so many important parts of the history of the band."

Regarding whether the singers SKID ROW has auditioned so far are established and well-known vocalists or if they are relatively unknown, Rob said: "A bit of both, a bit of both. So in regards to that, we are certainly not narrowing the scope of that in terms of who we're looking at and who would be a potential candidate."

Circling back to what he and his SKID ROW bandmates are looking for in a new singer, Rob said: "The way I've explained it to a lot of people, in my perception of the situation, it's a very specific gig. We're not claiming to be THE BEATLES, we're not claiming that we write the most complicated music that's out there, but it's a very specific thing. And then going back to the history and the legacy of the band, not only is it a specific thing, but it's a specific established thing. It's a pre-established sound. You're talking about an iconic catalog of music. For some people, they hold that catalog of music very sacred. So, you do have to find out what the balance of evolution, but honoring that and really giving the fans the experience that they're hoping to have. It's difficult. It's a balancing act, but you figure it out as you go. And everybody that we have been in a room with, as I said, there's some amazing people out there, amazing singers. And you can really see where every one of those people would bring something really cool to the table and bring something really cool into the mix. It's just the reality of a situation like this. It's a very specific gig."

In May 2024, Rachel confirmed to Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station that he and his bandmates had been talking to singers about potentially stepping in to replace Grönwall. He explained: "No one, really, with a name. But, yeah, we've been talking to a few guys that piqued our interest, for sure."

That same month, Sabo ruled out a reunion with Bach telling The Hook Rocks podcast: "It's not gonna happen. And I say the same thing every time. I'm thankful that people have such an interest in wanting to see that happen, but I also have to reiterate that this is about being happy in the situation that you're in. So I'll speak for myself personally.

"First of all, I do need to say something too, is that the reason that this isn't happening is because there's three of us — myself, Scotti [Hill, SKID ROW guitarist] and Rachel — who've had conversations about this, and we've all been on the same page that we don't wanna go down that road again. We just — we don't.

"Rachel has taken a beating over this through the years," Sabo continued. "He's the one who's been blamed for this. 'Oh, it's Rachel's ego.' 'It's this and that.' No, that's a load of bullshit. That is not true. And I feel bad because he's really, really had to shoulder that blame and has never said anything derogatory or anything like that. But you know what? The truth of the matter is that Rachel, Scotti and myself have continually felt the same way, that we enjoy being happy in this band and we're really happy.

"It's been such a great experience for the last however, 35 years, everything, all the ups, all the downs, everything, but we just don't wanna revisit that particular aspect of our history," he explained. "I love the songs, [I] love a lot of the memories, [I am] not fond of some of the memories, but just as individuals and as a collective, that's just how we feel. So this is not on Rachel. And this has nothing to do with anyone's ego or anything like that. So that's just gotta be clear. Again, for anyone to sit there and make assumptions that this is Rachel Bolan saying 'nope,' it's not. It's the three of us, and we've all collectively sat there and just said that we don't wanna do it. We just don't wanna do it. And we wish everybody all the best."

Snake added: "We've been just ripped apart by ex-members of the band and stuff — ripped apart. Some really shitty stuff [has been] said about all of us. And we just choose not to [respond]. It's not who I am. It's not who we are. We won't go down that road. We just wanna play music and be happy. This has really never been about a monetary aspect of things because it's known that we've been offered a good amount of money to do shows together and to reunite [with Sebastian] and whatever, but it's just never been about the money, man. I choose my happiness, my willingness to continue to be a really good friend to my best friends and a really good husband and a really good dad and bandmate and person. And I don't wanna endanger that in any way. So the people that we choose to play with, those choices are made in order to keep those particular things in line for all of us."

Bach fronted SKID ROW until 1996, when he was fired. Instead of throwing in the towel, the remaining members took a hiatus and went on to play briefly in a band called OZONE MONDAY. In 1999, SKID ROW reformed and, after a bit of shuffling over the years, featured a lineup consisting of bassist Rachel Bolan, guitarists Dave "Snake" Sabo and Scotti Hill, alongside drummer Rob Hammersmith and singer Johnny Solinger. SKID ROW fired Solinger over the phone in April 2015, a few hours before announcing ex-TNT vocalist Tony Harnell as his replacement. Eight months later, Harnell exited the band and was replaced by South African-born, British-based singer ZP Theart, who previously fronted DRAGONFORCE, TANK and I AM I. Theart was fired from SKID ROW in February 2022 and was replaced by Grönwall, who was previously a member of the Swedish hard rock band H.E.A.T.

Five years ago, Bolan also confirmed that he and his bandmates "were entertaining the idea" of reuniting with Bach following Harnell's departure. But Rachel shot down the possibility of a rekindling of his friendship with Sebastian, explaining: "Well… Here's the soundbite for Blabbermouth. I wouldn't say we were friends [when we were in a band together]. We were bandmates. You know what I mean? We're two very different people." Bolan added that he hadn't seen Bach "in years."

Six years ago, Bach was asked by Rolling Stone what it would take for SKID ROW to be reunited. He responded: "It would take those guys to realize that I have a lifetime manager. His name is Rick Sales. I've been with him since 2006. They don't want to deal with a guy like that. They want to give some singer who doesn't have a manager $700 to $800 bucks a week. I've got a team that's worked with me and don't allow me to get fucked around. I didn't have that team when I was 19 years old."

In response to Bach's statements about the earnings of SKID ROW's singer, Sabo told Rolling Stone in an e-mail: "I guess fact-checking isn't in his skill set… The five of us go on that stage as a band and we all get paid equally. We're in this together. There's no egos."

Sebastian went on to say that SKID ROW was "close to reuniting, but then it didn't happen. The fact that it didn't happen obviously makes me somewhat bitter, because life is only getting shorter, as the song says," he added.

"I wouldn't say 'came close,'" Bolan told Rolling Stone in an e-mail response to Bach's account of the reunion talks. "We entertained the idea. Snake and I went as far as talking with agents and promoters about money. But we quickly learned after a few text conversations, why we fired him in the first place. Nothing is worth your happiness and peace of mind."

Legendary former King Crimson members Adrian Belew and Tony Levin banded together with guitar virtuoso Steve Vai and explosive Tool drummer Danny Carey to create BEAT, a creative reinterpretation of the three iconic 80s King Crimson albums – Discipline, Beat, and Three Of A Perfect Pair.

In 2024, the ensemble staged 65 standing room only shows in North America. They followed this touring with an expansive run of Mexico and South America in 2025.

And most recently, just returned from Japan where Beat staged a performance to a full house at the famous Budokan in Tokyo.

Today, the band and InsideOutMusic / Sony present “Thela Hun Ginjeet” in front of the release of BEAT Live on September 26. Watch below.

Adrian Belew shares, “In the eighties Robert Fripp made the observation the King Crimson quartet was perhaps the best live band in the world at the time. Tony, Steve, Danny and I are committed to honoring this legacy with each and every performance staged.”

In reference to “Thela Hun Ginjeet,” Steve Vai offers, “I used to listen to and love this song when it came out in the early 80’s. It’s a shot of adrenalin to end the BEAT show with this track. It gets people up and dancing… in 7/8! At least that’s the time signature of my blazing part. The whole song is a wild ride, from the tempo, the intensity of the groove and the subject matter. In my perspective, ‘Thela Hun Ginjeet’ is a masterpiece and I’m
honored to play it with the band every night.”



BEAT Live will be released in three configurations. A 3-LP set, a Blu-ray release accompanied by 2-CDs and a 12-page photo booklet, and lastly a limited collector’s edition that will contain the Blu-ray, 2-CDs, a bonus CD, and a 36-page artbook. Pre-order here.



The Blu-ray tracklisting features “Neurotica,” “Neal and Jack and Me,” “Heartbeat,” “Sartori In Tangier,” “Model Man,” “Dig Me,” “Man With An Open Heart,” “Industry,” “Larks’ Tongues In Aspic Part lll,” “Waiting Man,” “The Sheltering Sky,” “Sleepless,” “Frame By Frame,” “Matte Kudasai,” “Elephant Talk,” “Three Of A Perfect Pair,” “Indiscipline,” “Red,” and “Thela Hun Ginjeet.”

The concert film was directed by Scrote, with a collective delivering the editing amongst whom include Scrote, Steve Vai (Harmony Hut, Encino), Alan Berry and Don Adams. The bonus material video was directed and edited by Alan Berry. Additionally, a mid-tour interview captured by Sweetwater is included in the program. Videography was captured by Alan Berry, Mike Skillsky, Jon Luini and Dan Ermey. Art Direction by Scrote and designer Dan Ermey. Photography compliments of Alison Dyer, Tony Levin, Peter Dervin, Jerry LoFaro, Mike Skillsky, Dan Ermey and Jim Snyder.

On the audio side, BEAT Live was Produced by Scrote and Mixed by Bob Clearmountain, assisted by Ira Becker. Mastering by Emily Lazar at The Lodge, assisted by Bob DeMaa. Audio editing by Scrote, Steve Vai (Harmony Hut, Encino), and additional audio production assistance by Bill Mims

The bonus CD contained in the deluxe set features the track listing “Neurotica,” “Neal and Jack and Me,” “Heartbeat,” “Sartori in Tangier,” “Frame by Frame,” “Industry,” “Larks’ Tongues In Aspic Part III,” “Elephant Talk,” “Matte Kudasai,” “Three of a Perfect Pair,” “Indiscipline” and “Thela Hun Ginjeet.”

The vision for this undertaking emanated from initial dialogue between Angelo Bundini aka Scrote and Adrian Belew. Tour Producer Bundini recalls, “When Adrian called me to help bring his idea to fruition, I immediately thought it best to focus on the 80s albums: Discipline, Beat, and Three Of A Perfect Pair. These three records famously mark Adrian and Tony’s entry into King Crimson. Their fluid, melodic virtuosity, and Fripp’s and Bruford’s dramatic precision created a totally unique, dynamic push and pull that would influence nearly every rock musician and/or band going forward for years, if not decades, to come.”

In a new interview with Billboard, MÖTLEY CRÜE bassist Nikki Sixx spoke about his band's absence from the Ozzy Osbourne/BLACK SABBATH "Back To The Beginning" farewell concert, which took place July 5 in Birmingham, England, two weeks before Osbourne passed away at the age of 76. "It was something we were just unable to do… We couldn't do it even if we wanted to," Sixx, who watched the streaming concert online, explained, referring to CRÜE frontman Vince Neil's recovery from a then-unspecified medical procedure, which the singer recently revealed was a stroke that occurred late last December.

Sixx went on to say that Osbourne played an instrumental role in the CRÜE's career when Ozzy took the Los Angeles hard rockers on the road as his opening act in 1984.

"Honestly, they broke our band, Ozzy and Sharon [Osbourne, Ozzy's wife and manager]," Sixx said. "Sharon saw a band that something was happening with and it was a perfect fit for Ozzy, and we just became so close and Ozzy took us around the world and just did everything for us…and of course all the wild and fun stories that is Ozzy. I'll forever be in debt to Sharon and Ozzy for that."

Circling back to the "Back To The Beginning" concert, Nikki said: "And, man, I gotta tell ya — Ozzy, way to fuckin' go out with a bang. He really did it, and everybody showed up because they loved him and supported him. Unfortunately, we don't have him anymore, but we got one of the greatest rock stars of all time who came while we were here on this planet and went back to the fuckin' stars, man. It's like, 'I came down there and I kicked some fuckin' ass.' Thank you, Ozzy, every day for the opportunity to have a career."

It is not clear if MÖTLEY CRÜE was invited to perform at "Back To The Beginning", which featured METALLICA and GUNS N' ROSES, who paid tribute to Osbourne and the original BLACK SABBATH at what was billed as their final show. The charity gig featuring the four original BLACK SABBATH members — Osbourne, guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler, and drummer Bill Ward — also included performances from SLAYER, PANTERA, GOJIRA, ALICE IN CHAINS and more, with RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE's Tom Morello serving as the musical director. The event featured all-star jams that included AEROSMITH's Steven Tyler, SMASHING PUMPKINS' Billy Corgan, Morello, Sammy Hagar and more.

Ozzy told The Pulse Of Radio a while back that what little he remembers of the '84 tour with the CRÜE was pretty wild. "The 1984 tour was the most craziest tour I think I've ever done in my life," he said. "I don't remember it, but I remember I used to wake up every morning or come around thinking, 'What the fuck went on last night?' I mean, everybody keeps asking me, 'Hey, Ozzy, did you really snort a line of ants?' You know what, the answer to that is: I don't know, but it's very possible."

When asked by Page Six if the story in the MÖTLEY CRÜE biopic "The Dirt" about Ozzy allegedly drinking his own pee and snorting a line of ants was true, Sixx reconfirmed it. "Of course," he said. "We were a wild young band and he kind of took us under his wing. We thought we could compete with that, but you can't with Ozzy. He won."

Back in April 2019, guitarist Jake E. Lee, who played guitar for Osbourne on the 1984 tour, disputed the Ozzy ant-snorting story, telling Tone-Talk: "I was there, and I never saw ants. I was right there. He snorted a little spider. There was a not a trail of fucking ants there. Tommy [Lee, CRÜE drummer] says it, Nikki says it, Ozzy says it — they were fucked up. I was not. I was just trying to get a fucking sun tan. That's all I was doing. They were getting fucked up. Ozzy snorted a little tiny stupid spider that was crawling across. There was no ants — there was no fucking ants. I don't care what the other guys say — there was no ants."

In October 2023, Ozzy's son Jack asked Sharon during their "The Osbournes" podcast if it's true that Ozzy snorted a line of ants. Sharon said: "I was not there, thank God. I used to try and stay away from MÖTLEY when they were with Ozzy. And I don't know. I honestly don't know. All I know is that I think it made their movie. And I wanna know why, now we're on the subject, of why, when they advertise their movie on Netflix, it's a picture of a guy imitating Ozzy. Why isn't the ad campaign a picture of MÖTLEY CRÜE? Why is it a picture of your father?" Jack said: "Well, I know, I know the answer to that. 'Cause Ozzy Osbourne's bigger than MÖTLEY CRÜE", to which Ozzy replied: "No. No. No. Stop. Stop. Stop. Let's move on." Sharon continued: " The thing is I just think it's an invasion." She then went on to call Sixx an "asshole." After Ozzy said, "No, he's not," Sharon countered with, "Yes, he fucking is."

Pressed by Jack if Ozzy did in fact snort the line of ants, Sharon said, "I say no." But Ozzy claimed otherwise. "Yes. Yes, I did," he said. "I was there. I did it. [In] my nostril… I was drunk and I did it."

A short time later Sixx responded to Sharon's comments, writing on Twitter: "We had a lot of love and respect for Sharon. We love Ozzy. So when people comment on stuff calling her a plastic granny tranny I have it deleted. Not sure what she's upset about now but let's not perpetuated her comments by posting negativity about her."

In a new interview with Scott Itter of Dr. Music, legendary ACCEPT frontman Udo Dirkschneider was asked if he has thought about writing his autobiography. Udo responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Yeah, I was working already for years on this. But then I stopped. And then now I can say yes. I'm just finished nearly with the contract, with the publishing [company], and then I think now it's getting very quick to do a biography. But that will be very interesting for some people. [Laughs]"

Udo previously talked about writing an autobiography as early as 2007. He told Lords of Metal at the time: "I have already started working on it and try to get as much material as I can. But it's not going to be a typical autobiography style. I want it to be more like a novel. We'll see how it turns out and when it's ready."

Dirkschneider, who turned 73 years old in April, is a German singer who first rose to fame with the heavy metal band ACCEPT. After leaving the group in 1987, he formed the band U.D.O., in which he has also enjoyed commercial success.

Udo has a long career spawning almost five decades that helped to shape German heavy metal. His unique and raspy voice approach and, his taste for huge choruses made big part of ACCEPT's appeal and made him the one of the most recognizable characters in heavy metal history.

ACCEPT in 2005 completed a 25th-anniversary tour with a touring lineup of original members Dirkschneider, Wolf Hoffmann and Herman Frank (both on guitar) and Peter Baltes (bass),along with drummer Stefan Schwarzmann.

In November 2011, Dirkschneider's son Sven supported U.D.O. on a date in Germany and became a permanent member of his father's band in February 2015. That same year, the band was renamed DIRKSCHNEIDER and embarked in a long tour called "Back To The Roots" where the band only performed ACCEPT songs.

In 2021, Udo along with his former ACCEPT bandmates, drummer-turned-guitarist Stefan Kaufmann and bassist Peter Baltes, released new music under the name of DIRKSCHNEIDER AND THE OLD GANG that also features former U.D.O. guitarist Matthias Dieth, drummer Sven Dirkschneider and singer Manuela Bibert.

In April 2022, Udo released an album of cover versions, titled "My Way", to mark his 70th birthday

Dirkschneider continues to steadily expand upon his international successes with both his U.D.O. and DIRKSCHNEIDER outfits.

TWISTED SISTER has announced its first reunion concert as part of the band's 50th-anniversary tour. The Dee Snider-fronted act will perform at Barcelona Rock Fest, which will take place from July 3 to July 5 in Barcelona, Spain. Also confirmed so far for the Barcelona Rock Fest's tenth-anniversary edition are ACCEPT, HELLOWEEN and POWERWOLF.

TWISTED SISTER's 2026 shows will feature the band's three core members: Snider, founding guitarist Jay Jay French and longtime lead guitarist Eddie Ojeda. Bassist Mark "The Animal" Mendoza won't be joining the celebration. Russell Pzütto, who has toured with Snider's solo projects, will replace Mendoza on bass. Joe Franco, who briefly played with the group in the mid-1980s, will sit behind the drum kit, stepping in for A.J. Pero, who passed away in 2015 at the age of 55.

In a recent interview with John "JP" Parise of Long Island, New York's 102.3 WBAB and Tampa, Florida's 102.5 The Bone radio stations, Snider stated about why he changed his mind about returning to the road, nine years after the completion of TWISTED SISTER's "40 And Fuck It!" farewell tour, and after he repeatedly slammed KISS and MÖTLEY CRÜE farewell tours and subsequent reunions as mere cash grabs: "First of all, I own [my previous] statements [about not wanting to stage a TWISTED SISTER reunion]. I said that and more. I singled out bands. I named names. I ranted and raved about this, and I expected to get excrements for this, but I'm getting hit hard.

"I'm not gonna lie, and I can only tell you so much, but this is the total truth," he continued. "I turned 70 this year and I had a health scare. And I'm okay… And it shook me up… I won't say [exactly what it was], and I'm okay. But it really made me re-evaluate a lot of things. [When I was] 40, 50, 60, I thought I was superhuman. TWISTED SISTER retired 10 years ago when I was ripped to shreds. And then [at] 70, something happened and it was a re-evaluation, quite honestly. And part of that re-evaluation was looking and saying… Am I ready to go? Well, you never know when you're gonna go quietly to the night. You never know when your time is up. And do I really wanna do that without rocking one more time. And I stopped doing solo stuff a few years back as well. I mean, I go out and I join [POISON frontman] Bret Michaels or Lita Ford on stage [during their shows] for a couple songs, but I don't go out and perform. And upon talking to my wife and re-evaluating, it was I, me, who called the [other] guys [in TWISTED SISTER]. I called them. They never called. I mean, we talk, but they never brought it up because I was, like, 'This is not happening, guys. It is done. It is over, just like I told everybody.' But, like I said, I had a life-changing experience and re-evaluation of a lot of things, and I reached out. I said, 'Guys, what do you think about doing it one more time?'"

According to Dee, Jay Jay and Eddie didn't immediately jump at the opportunity to return to playing live shows with TWISTED SISTER. "It was a conversation," Snider explained. "At this point, do we wanna take this, for lack of a better word, victory lap, so to speak? But it was a conversation. And then everybody goes, 'Well, how can you not, with Alice [Cooper] out there [at the age of 77]?' Alice told me... I said, 'Dude, when are you gonna retire?' He says, 'I'm looking forward to singing when I'm 80.' So he's got no plans. [Mick] Jagger's out there [playing shows at age 82]. Paul McCartney's doing three hours [at age 83]. Now I know he doesn't run around like I do, but the same time, you go, well, there's precedents. People are out there into — there are octogenarians out there [touring] now. So we decided to go for it and go out on a high note."

After JP criticized some of the media's coverage of TWISTED SISTER's return, particularly as it relates to reports of the band "touring" again, Dee said: "It doesn't say that in the press release. I checked. I'm seeing, 'Tour.' 'They're hitting the road again.' Wait a minute — who's hitting the road? We're flying first class on an air jet airplane. Private plane.

"I'm sorry, folks. People are saying, 'Come to this town, come to that town.' No, man," he clarified. "This is a handful of dates — I'm thinking it's about 20, 25 shows around the world, festivals almost exclusively. And it's not a full-blown tour or anything like that. It's a celebration for us, and I hope you're celebrating with us for the fact that 50 years ago, next year, we got together — me, Eddie and Jay Jay — and we, against all odds, we had success."

Asked which festivals fans can expect to see TWISTED SISTER at next year, Dee said: "All the usual suspects. They're not announcing the dates because the events want to announce on their schedule, when they present their new lineup, whatever. But a lot of those names I'm seeing on the list, a lot of the usual suspects, whether it's [U.K.'s] Download or Sweden Rock or [France's] Hellfest, [as far as] Europe [is concerned]. I'm not saying 100 percent, but I've seen all these names popping up — [as well as Maryland's] M3 and [Oklahoma's] Rocklahoma. So I don't know if all these deals are signed, sealed and delivered, but these are all the names that I'm seeing — like I said, the usual suspects for where you would see an '80s, a hundred-year-old '80s metal band going out and playing."

Asked by JP "how big the dump truck full of money" was "that showed up in [Dee's] driveway" that convinced the singer to reunite TWISTED SISTER for the band's 50th anniversary, Snider said: "I'm gonna be honest. The numbers are getting higher and higher and higher, but it wasn't really where I — I had this place in mind, and it wasn't there. But like I said, honestly, it wasn't about the money. Yeah, if there was no money, I'm not gonna do it. I'm not gonna lie about that. But it really was this sort of looking in the mirror going, 'Hey, man, that was scary. And I don't wanna go out like that.' I do not wanna go out quietly. Kicking and screaming, man — that's the way I wanna go."

Dee also talked about the challenges of preparing for TWISTED SISTER live performances, particularly as it relates to the physical demands of stepping on a stage for an hour and a half. He said: "I always had a mixed relationship with the concerts. I did so much prep and I got so into it, it was so intense, I made myself miserable. When I go out there, it's the greatest moment in my life for 90 minutes, and I get off the stage and I feel really good for about 15 minutes, half hour, and then I start [to think], 'Oh no. I've gotta do this again tomorrow.' And I start getting manic. And [my wife] Suzette would never come out the road with me. She said, 'You're miserable. You sit in the room, you obsess.' I sit there, and I'm not one of those people, but I sit there writing a list of the exact time I've gotta eat my protein and what time I've gotta do my neck stretches and a hot bath and vocalizing. I write it down on a sheet, and I check it off. I'm, like, manic. And so that's another reason why going back to it, there's a lot of discomfort in the whole — and being away from the family and being away from my wife, 'cause she doesn't wanna be anywhere near me, which I understand. So, this way of doing it, going out and doing a show on a weekend and going out, there'll still be that day of getting ready for the show because it's sort of my method. But at least after the show, Suzette will be out there and we'll go and we'll enjoy wherever we are for a few days and relax until the next one comes. So it'll be one day of intensity as opposed to just an endless day after day after day of obsessing and making myself crazy."

During a September 10 appearance on SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", Dee stated about Mark's absence from the TWISTED SISTER 2026 tour: "I can only simply say irreconcilable differences and leave it at that. I can't get into the weeds and I can't go down that path. And I won't. But irreconcilable differences. People change, and however it is, and I'm not saying he changed; maybe we changed whatever it is. So in deciding who to use on bass, my bass player on the last two Dee Snider albums, 'For The Love Of Metal' and 'Leave A Scar', was Russ Pzütto. And he was Mark Mendoza's bass tech, and a great bass player… So, he did an amazing job on those two albums. He was a great guy to tour with. The band all knew him from years of working with TWISTED, and again, he seemed like a likely choice. As a matter of fact, one time he was Mark's choice to fill in for him. And one gig, it was in Belgium at Graspop, and Mark couldn't make it, and Russ stepped in and played with TWISTED. So he actually has performed with TWISTED once before."

Asked if he thinks the door is open for Mark to play with TWISTED SISTER again at some point during the reunion tour, Dee said: "I can't imagine it right now. I can't imagine it right now. I mean — I plead the fifth. I can't go beyond that. But things have happened that I don't see being reconciled, hence the term 'irreconcilable differences.'"

French previously addressed Mendoza's departure in a statement to Rolling Stone, explaining: "Me, Dee and Eddie have performed as TWISTED SISTER for nearly 50 years with 10 different bass players and drummers. The band has never discussed internal realignment before and has no intention of doing it now. Suffice to say that almost all bands with a 50-year history have gone through realignment as a byproduct of time. We wish Mark well in his future endeavors."

Franco played on TWISTED SISTER's 1987 album "Love Is For Suckers". Mike Portnoy, who took over for Pero after he died near the end of TWISTED SISTER's 2016 run, is busy touring with DREAM THEATER and is unable to participate in the upcoming TWISTED SISTER live activities.

Two and a half years ago, TWISTED SISTER staged a one-off reunion at the Metal Hall Of Fame in Agoura Hills, California. On hand to be inducted into the Metal Hall Of Fame were Snider, French, Mendoza and Portnoy. Ojeda was absent from the event after contracting COVID-19; filling in for him was Keith Robert War. TWISTED SISTER played a highly charged three-song set consisting of the staples "You Can't Stop Rock 'N' Roll" and "Under The Blade", as well as the anthem "We're Not Gonna To Take It".

TWISTED SISTER's original run ended in the late '80s. After more than a decade, the band publicly reunited in November 2001 to top the bill of New York Steel, a hard-rock benefit concert to raise money for the New York Police And Fire Widows' And Children's Benefit Fund.

The first of many!
After 10 long years
Twisted Sister is finally back and confirmed! July 3rd 2026 for Rock Fest in...

Posted by Danny Stanton on Friday, September 19, 2025

Florida death metal veterans DEICIDE played their first concert with new guitarist Jadran "Conan" Gonzalez (EXMORTUS) Friday night (Saturday, September 19) at the opening show of the band's Latin American tour with BEHEMOTH at Tork N' Roll in Curitiba, Brazil. Fan-filmed video of the show can be seen below.

Gonzalez joined DEICIDE as the replacement for longtime guitarist Kevin Quirion, who left the band this past spring.

When Jadran's addition to DEICIDE was first announced earlier this week, he said in a statement: "I'm thrilled and honored to jam amongst such legends as Glen [Benton, bass/vocals] and Steve [Asheim, drums] and to hang with the rest of the team. I thank them for having me on board. I'm looking forward to unleashing hell in Latin America on this tour."

Quirion exited DEICIDE in April 2025, explaining in a social media post: "So after 15 years I decided to leave the band. Mainly I'm just done with touring and would like to spend the extra time with my family. I will still be writing songs and have already sent some to Derek Roddy and Sean Baxter to release under the COUNCIL OF THE FALLEN name. There will be no labels or shows, just putting out EPs whenever we feel like it.

"It was nice meeting a bunch of fans, bands, promoters etc and I wish everyone the best."

Quirion appeared on the last three DEICIDE albums: "In The Minds Of Evil" (2013),"Overtures Of Blasphemy" (2017) and "Banished By Sin" (2024).

Last October, DEICIDE canceled the last three shows of its North American tour with KRISIUN, INFERI and CLOAK in order to return home "to protect" their "families and properties" as Floridians prepped for the second storm to hit the Gulf Coast in a little over two weeks.

DEICIDE's latest album, "Banished By Sin", was made available in April 2024 via Reigning Phoenix Music.

In February 2024, DEICIDE released the second single from "Banished By Sin", a song called "Sever The Tongue". The track was recorded at Smoke & Mirrors with engineer Jeramie Kling, while the mixing and mastering was handed by Josh Wilbur.

DEICIDE collaborated with David Brodsky from My Good Eye: Music Visuals for a visually arresting video for "Sever The Tongue" that complements the track's blasphemous undertones.

To close out 2023, DEICIDE celebrated Christmas with another blasphemous song called "Bury The Cross...With Your Christ".

DEICIDE played its first show with guitarist Taylor Nordberg (THE ABSENCE, INHUMAN CONDITION) on May 21, 2022 at the Rickshaw Theatre in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Previous DEICIDE guitarist Chris Cannella amicably left the band in January 2022 after a three-year run.

Chris joined DEICIDE in 2019 following the departure of guitarist Mark English.

English became a member of DEICIDE in 2016 after the exit of longtime guitarist Jack Owen.

Rock and blues guitar legend Gary Hoey has released his first album in six years, "Avalanche", on Wazoo Music Group (Hoey's own label). "Avalanche" features special guest Lita Ford on vocals on "You Know I Would", the official music video for which can be seen below, and Gary's son, Ian Hoey, is featured on "Dear Mama", a tribute to Gary's mother, and "Summer's Here".

Gary says: "'Avalanche' is a return to my rock roots. It feels great to turn up the volume and have some fun. This album was a therapeutic album for me.

"I named the album 'Avalanche' because sometimes life feels like one thing after another."

Hoey called on his old friends to help him record; Matt Scurfield on drums, AJ Pappas on bass, Ian Hoey on guitar, and his niece Taylor on background vocals.

"Playing live is the best feeling," he said. "I love to travel and see the fans after the show. And having my son Ian playing guitar by my side is a dream come true. We will be playing the new and the old classics 'Hocus Pocus', 'Low Rider' and more."

Hoey's first break came in 1987 when Ozzy Osbourne showed up in Boston looking for a guitarist. Osbourne liked Hoey's tape enough to fly him to Los Angeles for an audition. Ozzy suggested that Gary move to Los Angeles. He took Ozzy's advice, and with $17,000 he saved from teaching, Hoey loaded the U-Haul and drove across country to L.A. In 1992 Hoey released the self-titled debut album from his short-lived band HEAVY BONES on Warner Bros. In 1993 Hoey released "Animal Instinct", which included a
cover of the FOCUS hit "Hocus Pocus". It rocked into the Billboard Top 5, outpacing all other singles as the most frequently played rock song of the year. In 1994 Hoey scored the successful "Endless Summer II" soundtrack and had another radio hit with WAR's "Low Rider". Other film clients have included Walt Disney films, ESPN, New Line Cinema, scoring the music to "California Screaming" (Disney Roller Coaster),"Office Space", "Deck The Halls" (Danny Devito) and "Beethoven III".

In 2012 Hoey produced and co-wrote Lita Ford's latest release "Living Like A Runaway". 2026 will see a new Lita album produced and co-written by Hoey.

Gary has toured with Jeff Beck, Brian May of QUEEN, Joe Bonamassa, Ted Nugent, Joe Satriani, THE DOOBIE BROTHERS, FOREIGNER and STYX.

"Avalanche" track listing:

01. Avalanche
02. Unstoppable
03. Maine to Mississippi
04. Cold
05. Angels & Devils
06. You Know I Would (feat. Lita Ford)
07. Break Free
08. Safe Place To Fall
09. Dear Mama
10. Let's Go
11. Summer's Here

Produced by Gary Hoey
Mixed by Max Norman
All songs written and arranged by Gary Hoey
Recorded at Wazoo Studios (Pelham, NH)

Recording lineup:

Gary Hoey - Guitar, Vocals
Ian Hoey - Guitar (solos on "Dear Mama" and "Summer's Here")
Matt Scurfield - Drums
AJ Pappas - Bass
Sean Hagon - Keyboards
Lita Ford - Guest vocals on "You Know I Would"
Tayla Lemieux – Background Vocals

In a 2018 interview with NJArts.net, Lita stated about working with Gary: "Gary and I jell perfectly. Musically, he finishes the sentences that I start. As a producer, he's just badass."

Ford went on to say that "a badass producer" is "someone that will inspire you to go places you didn't think you could go. Sometimes there will be a note I won't be able to hit vocally, and I'll just want to say, 'Screw it.' Gary will say, 'No, Lita, you are going to hit this note.' Again, I'll tell him that I can't, and he'll pull out a guitar and play [Lita imitates a guitar playing a scale of notes) and say, 'See, you can get there from here.' Then we'll go do it again, and I'll hit it."

Swedish black metallers WATAIN have announced that their upcoming eighth studio album will be their final collection of new material.

Earlier today (Saturday, September 20),WATAIN released the following statement: "Ladies and gentlemen, followers, allies and supporters, this is a solemn transmission from the Temple of WATAIN.

"We hereby announce that in III years' time — upon our 30th anniversary — WATAIN's eighth and final full-length album will be released. The album will mark the closure of a thirty-year-long magical Work, the last crossroad of WATAIN, after which the band will cease to exist. The ending of a triad of decades during which we have shared our sacred path through this strange world with you, our loyal audience, on a steady course towards the beckoning darkness of The End.

"Over the course of the next three years, the reasons for this will be spoken of and accounted for. But for now we just want to say this: Have our songs and our art not always dealt with finitude and mortality, with DEATH and the beyond? Now it is time to claim our own conclusion, and shape it as we have shaped our stage and our songs, in the fires of will. Instead of being consumed by the jaws of time, or broken upon the wheel of circumstance, we choose to let WATAIN return, unbowed and undefeated, back into the primordial chaos that once gave it life.

"And so we stand on the threshold to our final chapter, and III years of Work remain. III liminal years in the borderlands between the living and the dead, during which new music will be written and shared, concerts will take place, and other things, that will be revealed in due time, will emanate, with the certainty of DEATH, from the Temple of WATAIN.

"Take this message not as a farewell, but as the first note of a sacrificial requiem, as well as your invitation to partake in shaping these last years into something beyond compare.

"Praise be to the Devilgod by whom our path is blessed,
and upon whose altar we now place this our humble offering.

"To the DEATH and far beyond!"

WATAIN's latest album, "The Agony & Ecstasy Of Watain", was released in April 2022 via Nuclear Blast.

Formed in 1998, WATAIN has ascended and grown into one of the world's most well-known and notorious black metal bands. Their legacy is often referred to with fear, love, confusion or awe, but seldom with indifference. Their infamous live shows have become a worldwide phenomenon; inimitable ceremonies of wild black metal fanatism where the sacred and solemn collides with raw unadulterated force.

In an interview with Tinnitus Metal Radio, WATAIN frontman Erik Danielsson was asked to elaborate on his previous comment that "metal should be written by people who live metal lives." He said: "I think that, yeah, I don't see metal as a thing that can be performed by anyone else [but someone] who's, like, deeply affiliated with this form of, not only music but subculture and lifestyle in general. Of course you can — of course you can rip off a [IRON] MAIDEN riff even if you're a skater boy — but to me, the metal that always struck hardest, the metal that always kind of shook my soul has always been written by liberated spirits, by outlaw, free-thinking real rock and roll men and women. And that's just how it is; there's no way around that. I mean, if I would be a young guy wanting to write a love song, I would probably wait to write that love song until I have been in love. And if I would write a song about death, I would probably wait until I had some kind of actual experience of it. And the same thing goes, but in a larger context, with metal music. I think it kind of demands a personal affiliation, a kind of deep-rooted compatibility between the artist and the music. That's my profound belief."

Erik previously told Sense Music Media that WATAIN has "always worked with extremes" in its expression. "We have always worked near the borders of sanity, and the limits of what's being allowed and so on," he said. "All these different interpretations of what we do, all these misconceptions and so on, I think they serve the purpose of maintaining a well-needed and quite flattering mystery around the band, you know? I don't mind that at all. I actually like that people don't really know how to approach us sometimes. Ultimately, I think 90% of everyone that listens to WATAIN does that because they find what we do relatable, maybe in a musical taste sense, or they like the way our things look and so on. Everything is pretty elaborate and meticulously done and so on … I don't think most people see it as such a radical thing, in their lives, to be a fan of WATAIN, but I think there is definitely a general conception among people who don't like WATAIN, or that are not that well acquainted with our sound or our records or our live concerts, I think maybe it's more around those people that there's this general confusion or misconception about what we stand for and so on. That's fine by me. [Laughs] That's not really the people that we are playing to anyway, you know? I'm fine with being an elusive anomaly when it comes to trying to pin us down or whatever, in a larger context."

😢😢😢we stand in front line as always TTD🔱🔱🔱

Posted by Watain Disciples / Hellenic Division on Saturday, September 20, 2025

In a new interview with the Today's Boondoggle podcast, former MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson spoke about the band's announcement that MEGADETH's upcoming LP will be the band's last. The Dave Mustaine-led outfit will also embark on a farewell tour in 2026. Asked if he would return to MEGADETH if Mustaine called him and asked him to take part in the band's final tour, Ellefson said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Yeah, of course I would. I mean, I didn't ever think I should not be there now. You know what I mean? [Laughs] So, now with that said, look, there's some shit we'd have to kind of hash through, but look, it was like the last time [in 2010 when I rejoined MEGADETH]. [Prior to that] we didn't talk for — I don't know — four or five years, three or four years, and then [MEGADETH's drummer at the time] Shawn Drover gets us both on the phone. It was, like, a two-minute conversation. I throw a bass in my car, I drive across the desert to San Diego, we plug in, play 'Symphony Of Destruction'. It was like we just played yesterday. It sounded amazing. It immediately sounds like MEGADETH. And it was kind of like we just looked at each other and it was, like, 'Why did we not talk for the last five years?' You know what I mean? It's so silly."

Ellefson went on to say that "it's always some outside forces that pull [Dave and me] apart. It's never really me and him. If it were up to me and him, we'd probably be playing together. But there's always outside influences and advisors and all this bullshit. And so the reality of it is, when Dave and I hang, it's usually pretty chill. It really is. But, look, he's got his own band now. I'm not in that band, and that's his band, so I'm not here to go carving up his group, you know what I mean? But if, look, if he made the call, given it was a friendly environment, which I'm sure it would be, why wouldn't I? You know what I mean? MEGADETH was my band too. It's my lifetime of work as well."

Earlier in the month, Ellefson was asked by the Rock 'N' Blues Experience podcast with host Tim Caple if it was a shock to him to hear that MEGADETH was calling it quits. David said: "I knew about it. Obviously, I'm in the business, so I knew about it, which — it was a little shocking. I've known Dave as a workhorse. All things good, bad or indifferent about Dave, he's a pretty fucking tough mule, man. I mean, he's gotten out there and sang and played despite all the odds. And I will give him that. He definitely never backed down to a challenge."

Ellefson continued: "I remember there was a comment some years ago — we were playing a festival in Mexico, and his wife, Pam, had looked over at me, and with him sitting right next to me, [she] goes, 'The old horse is slowing down.' [Laughs] And that was a big gig. It was [with] JUDAS PRIEST and SCORPIONS… And I remember when she said it, it was kind of, like, we are getting up there a little bit, but then I look at the SCORPIONS, and fucking Rudolf Schenker, that guy comes up and hugs you like a Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robot. You're, like, 'What the fuck did they put in the water in his house?' This guy's well into his 70s, and it's, like, 'Aargh.' Like, Jesus, man. The SCORPIONS are impenetrable; they're strong, like Iron Man."

David added: "I haven't talked to Dave now in four years, so I have no idea the reason or anything about it other than they made their announcement."

Asked what he thinks would happen if he just picked up the phone and called Mustaine, Ellefson said: "Well, even if I had his number — I don't know; he might have changed his number since I [last] talked [to him]. No, but I know what you mean.

"Look, he removed me from the group, so it's not my place to call him to go back," David continued. "I put it out there — I did something on my podcast, I floated it out there and said, hey, look, if it were to be, I'd be up for it. I think it'd be cool. Having just watched what happened in Birmingham [at the 'Back To The Beginning' event] where everybody got together —not only did we get to say goodbye to [BLACK SABBATH], they got to say goodbye to us. And I think that's just as important.

"Dave's closing up shop on MEGADETH, and he's doing it for him, obviously, for his reasons. I think in a perfect world there would be at least a moment where maybe some of, if not all of, the rest of us got a chance to say goodbye as well," Ellefson added. "I think that's a takeaway from Birmingham, is that there's a moment for everybody to just put everything aside and go, 'You know what? That was a fucking good run, man.' And take the final bow together on some level."

Ellefson's ELLEFSON-SOTO bandmate Jeff Scott Soto, who was also part of the interview, chimed in: "I'm sorry, I have to interject here. I absolutely agree with you, David, that it would be a lovely way for it to end or go out is to have the surviving members of this legendary band all together, at least for one more hurrah. But as far as I'm concerned, MEGADETH, you guys [Ellefson and Mustaine] are the Joe Perry and Steven Tyler of this band. And to end this whole legacy without one or the other, to me, is wrong. And I'll put it right here. You can clickbait and Blabbermouth it all you want, Dave Mustaine, you need to call David Ellefson and you need to put him as part of the end — if this is truly the end and you're calling it a wrap, you need to include David at some point, even if it's one show, one song, something like that. To me, that's the true closure. That's the real way to actually close the book on MEGADETH. They have to at least include David, to include Chris Poland and all the others, Jeff Young, all the others that have been involved. That, to me, would be the ultimate farewell, sayonara, all of the above. That needs to happen, as far as I'm concerned. You need to get the Lennon and McCartney, the Joe Perry and the Steven Tyler of this band together for one final hurrah. That's how I see it."

Ellefson previously discussed his reaction to MEGADETH's farewell tour last month in a special episode of his video podcast "The David Ellefson Show". Asked for his "thoughts" on MEGADETH "calling it quits", Ellefson said: "There's a lot, 'cause, of course, it brings up years and years of thoughts, feelings, emotions, some great, some not so great. I always say these gold records on the wall — which, the only reason I have 'em up is 'cause we have a podcast [laughs]; it just makes for a good backdrop — but I look at 'em, 'Countdown [To Extinction]', 'Peace Sells', 'Beavis And Butt-Head', 'Rust In Peace', they all have a story in 'em. And some of the stuff in the '90s were better stories — the band was cohesive, the management was consistent, the music, I think, was collaborative. We went to new heights, we explored new territory that you could only dream of doing, Grammy nominations, festivals, the world for touring was really opening up everywhere. So, really great stuff. In the middle of it, of course, and around it was addictions, rehabs, canceled tours, lost finances in the millions. And so for things to sort of flush out the way that they did with now me not being part of the final farewell of something I started, as one can imagine, [it's] probably not something I'm super happy about. And saying that while still being grateful for all that it was, because I think at some point you have to find a path through it because this is reality."

Referencing Mustaine's debilitating injury in 2002 that caused severe nerve damage to his left arm and hand, and rendered him unable to play the guitar for a while, Ellefson continued: "Look, I feel like Dave Mustaine ended our friendship in 2001, and that was it. And he ended it very loudly, very publicly. He personally signed his name to it. He said we would never play music together again. And that's it. That is it. So from there on, I, I moved on. And I learned from 2002, with the career-ending nerve damage to his arm, and then two years later there's a new album with a new band and new financial terms and I'm not part of it and lawsuits to settle business matters, and just all the things go, there's a whole story there of a lot of this stuff. I was out, then suddenly I was back, and it was great. And he and I tried to mend fences, as I think we did. He was generous to me. Things were good.

"Clearly MEGADETH is a Mustaine family-run business," Ellefson added. "And it started that way, I think, probably a little while after I came back to the band [in 2010]. 'Cause when I came back to the band, it was not — it was Dave. And I kind of became the good friend to Dave. I knew him and he knew me in a way that no one else could. Dave had his friends before me growing up in California, but I've certainly known him one of the longest of most anybody on the planet, at least from inner workings of a band kind of thing. So, as bands go though, there can be tensions, there are all those things. Certainly what was made clear to me in 2004 is, 'Hey, it's a new day. It's a new way. Dave's in charge. It's not gonna be what it was. It's not gonna be collaborative.' [Former MEGADETH drummer] Shawn Drover always used to remind me of that. He goes, 'Dude, those days when of us all getting in a room and writing a record, dude, those days are long gone.' In fact, I remember when I came back and we were doing the 'Th1rt3en' album after about a year on the road, Dave asked me, he said, 'Oh, I'd like to have you write.' I said, 'You know what? No. Why don't you write the songs? I'll play bass for you. Let's just keep it clean. Keep it simple. Let's not even blur the lines.' And that's why I did other musical things. I did the ELLEFSON solo records and various other things to just have a little… I [thought], 'Let me take my creative stuff over there.' I knew in no way was that ever gonna sort of trump the brand, if you will, be bigger than the MEGADETH brand, yet it was a way to have a little creative outlet on the side, kind of get my yayas without interfering with MEGADETH. 'Cause I knew — look, we got it back together. Let's keep it clean, let's keep it simple. Let's just do that. And I think every time we tried to write, it was always a sore spot. It was problematic. And I was, like, 'Oh, I wish we weren't even going down this road.' Now, of course, everybody wants their name on the record, everybody wants to feel some of the financial windfall. And how things are split financially doesn't always have to how they're split with the credits and stuff like that.

"There's a weird thing in bands that how things are financially split… If you're a founding member of a band, to some degree you should be entitled to a piece of every everything and all of it, basically, 'cause it wouldn't exist if you weren't there," David noted. "And that deal got changed in 2004. That immediately changed the landscape. It changed my feelings about it. It drew us into a legal dispute — rightfully so. And no one wins in lawsuits, to some degree, yet sometimes they have to happen because things need to be done the way they need to be done. And I guess the good news for me is financially it landed certainly much better for me, and getting paid directly for my sources rather than… 'Cause sometimes that's what happens, is money goes through the channels of the organization and sometimes people don't get paid. So that needed to happen, and I'm glad I went through the process. It's not a fun process — I didn't sleep for nine months because of it — but that's when I had my little band F5 and I was trying to at least kind of keep my nose creatively involved in some stuff.

"So, there's a lot of history here with this band. This band started with a resentment. It started with a 'fuck you', Dave's sort of revenge against [his former band] METALLICA. And it wasn't entirely that. I mean, that gets a little blown out of proportion. To some degree, Dave was his own artist away from METALLICA. He had 'Mechanix' and some songs before METALLICA, and he certainly wrote songs after. So I think that that's a little unfair to paint that entirely on Dave that MEGADETH was just this revenge toward METALLICA. It may have been often fueled by it, but how could it not be? He was not a founding member of METALLICA. He was there for, as I always call it, a year and a half in the life of METALLICA. And [he] certainly changed the course of what they did. But they went on and had their own successes.

"But, look, for Dave to call it quits or to retire, I should say… Farewell… I don't even know if he's retiring. He's just basically saying MEGADETH's over… Would I like to be a part of it? Yeah, of course. Who wouldn't?" he admitted. "I'm a founding member of it. I'm a 30-plus-year member of it. Is that gonna happen? Who knows? It's too early to tell. I don't know what they have planned. I have no idea what it is. They just made an announcement about it. Do I think there should be some sort of farewell that everybody gets to participate in? I mean, look, [the] 'Back To The Beginning' [concert in Birmingham] with BLACK SABBATH. Look, they made nice. They brought all four of BLACK SABBATH['s original members]. They brought everybody back. You had [former Ozzy Osbourne guitarist] Jake [E. Lee]. Now, was everybody there? No. There were some key people — Bob Daisley — some people that weren't there. But for the most part, they brought a lot of the people back. And just speaking of BLACK SABBATH, they brought the original, the core four back, and they said goodbye. Not only did they say goodbye, everybody got to say goodbye to them. And I think when you're doing a farewell, that's important, that you get to say goodbye and everybody gets to say goodbye to you. I think that that's an important part of it. But that's me. I'm not in the band anymore. I have no say in it. So that's just me. That's just one guy with an opinion, quite honestly."

After podcast co-host Joshua Toomey opined that "everyone that was ever in MEGADETH should also be able to say their farewell too" and be part of the celebrations in some way, Ellefson said: "Well, I strongly stand against the notion that MEGADETH was only Dave Mustaine, 'cause it wasn't. And everybody knows that. So, if Dave needs to retire, wants to retire, I get it. I understand. He's given a lot. It's taken a lot out of him. It's taken certainly a toll on him, as anyone can imagine. So, look, God bless you, brother. If you're done, this is it, you wanna go do something else with your life, spend time with your family, just not play guitar, I get it. I mean, dude, believe me, I'm 60. There's some days I just kind of go, 'God, really? Should I write another album, another song? Do I really wanna go on stage?' And the answer always comes back to yes, I do. So I do. So I can't speak for him, and I'm not gonna speak for him. But, look, again, I haven't talked to the guy now in four and a half years, so I have no idea what his reasoning is, what the thinking is behind it.

"Someone made a point, they said we're all fans of MEGADETH music, even if we're not maybe fans of a particular lineup of the band, or we're not fans of certain members of the band, we still all love MEGADETH music," he continued. "And I thought, okay, I'm down with that. I can get behind that."

Referencing Mustaine's decision to fire Ellefson in May 2021 after sexually tinged messages and explicit video footage involving the bassist were posted on Twitter, David said: "It's unfortunate that things landed between me and Dave where they did, because as I said right from the beginning, they didn't have to. And I made it very clear on the phone call when they were firing me that they didn't have to do that. It was unnecessary. Whatever those circumstances are were nothing to be feared. We can move on. But whatever. They made their decision, so let the chips fall where they may. I don't really even like going back to that period of time, because I felt like there was a lot leading up to that stuff behind the scenes, conversations that Dave and I were having about things that maybe we just weren't agreeing on. And that's okay. You can agree to disagree. You don't have to agree on everything.

"[OVERKILL singer] Bobby Blitz said something really good to me when I was touring with OVERKILL," Ellefson added. "'Cause he said he and D.D. [Verni, OVERKILL bassist], they're the boss. They run OVERKILL, they run the band. And he said, 'No matter how we go into the room with separate ideas, we come out as one voice.' And I thought, 'Man, that's a great way to put it.' And I always felt like Dave and I did that. No matter what we felt like when we got in the room, we leave this room as one voice. And Dave being the leader, Dave being the self-appointed voice of the group, let him have that voice. So I always felt like I stood behind that. I was unified with him. Whether I agreed with it or not, you get on board with it and that's what it is, and you go with that. And look, for the most part, Dave's way worked pretty good. I wasn't there to defy that."

Mustaine and the rest of MEGADETH have yet to reveal the final album's title, release date or the band's remaining tour dates.

In a press release announcing MEGADETH's final album and farewell tour, Mustaine thanked fans for their commitment and love while celebrating the band's impact on the music world.

"There's so many musicians that have come to the end of their career, whether accidental or intentional," Mustaine said. "Most of them don't get to go out on their own terms on top, and that's where I'm at in my life right now. I have traveled the world and have made millions upon millions of fans and the hardest part of all of this is saying goodbye to them."

He continued. "We can't wait for you to hear this album and see us on tour. If there was ever a perfect time for us to put out a new album, it's now. If there was ever a perfect time to tour the world, it's now. This is also a perfect time for us to tell you that it's our last studio album. We've made a lot of friends over the years and I hope to see all of you on our global farewell tour.

"Don't be mad, don't be sad, be happy for us all, come celebrate with me these next few years. We have done something together that's truly wonderful and will probably never happen again. We started a musical style, we started a revolution, we changed the guitar world and how it's played, and we changed the world. The bands I played in have influenced the world. I love you all for it. Thank you for everything."

The follow-up to 2022's "The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!" will be released via Mustaine's Tradecraft imprint on Frontiers Label Group's new BLKIIBLK label, and is expected next year.

Fans can register for early access to exclusive information and offers surrounding the upcoming final album on MEGADETH's web site. Pre-orders for the LP will start on September 25. The initial run of farewell tour dates will also be announced later this year.

For its final album, MEGADETH is once again working with Chris Rakestraw, a producer, mixer and engineer who previously worked on MEGADETH's last two LPs, the aforementioned "The Sick, The Dying... And The Dead!" and 2016's "Dystopia".

Ellefson was in MEGADETH from the band's inception in 1983 to 2002, when the group briefly broke up because Mustaine suffered severe nerve damage that left him unable to play. After Mustaine reformed MEGADETH with an all-new lineup in 2004, Ellefson sued his former bandmate for $18.5 million, alleging that Mustaine still owed him substantial merchandise and publishing royalties. In January 2005, the case was dismissed in court, and five years later, Ellefson rejoined MEGADETH.

Back in October 2022, Mustaine once again said that he was the sole founding member of MEGADETH. The guitarist/vocalist made the comment in an interview with LifeMinute to promote "The Sick, The Dying... And The Dead!". While discussing the MEGADETH "sound", the now 63-year-old musician said: "There's a misnomer that there were two people that founded MEGADETH. I was the founder; I was the only one in the beginning. There was a bass player before who just was… who just left. So it's been my vision. When I got kicked out of METALLICA, I got kicked out of METALLICA; no one else was with me on the bus coming home."

Mustaine's comments came nearly seven years after he implied in an interview with the Cape Girardeau, Missouri radio station Real Rock 99.3 that Ellefson was not a founding member of the band because, he said, "MEGADETH was already in its formative phase long before I even knew David Ellefson." Ellefson later said that he was "technically" a founding member of MEGADETH because he was "in the room" the day MEGADETH decided to change its name from the previous working moniker of FALLEN ANGEL at the suggestion of the band's then-guitarist Greg Handevidt.

In February 2016, just a month after his original remarks were published on BLABBERMOUTH.NET, Mustaine was asked by Ticketmaster what it means to have a longtime collaborator like Ellefson back in the band after so many lineup changes. He responded: "David and I have been friends for a long time, even during the lawsuit. I had made it clear that I loved him, and I loved his family. I said that the truth would come out and that it was very unfortunate. The lawsuit was dismissed, I forgave him, and we got back in business again. It's been fun ever since."

He continued: "There's a couple web sites out there that don't like me and they're trying to twist some of my words around about David Ellefson being in the band or not being in the band, or being a founding member or not being a founding member. And that shit don't matter, because it's a gossip web site. The truth is, me and Dave are partners, we make good music together, he's in MEGADETH, we're going on tour. Hopefully people will know when they see him on stage and not think he's somebody else. [Laughs]"

In February 2016, Ellefson was asked by Cranked Up Live about Mustaine's comments to Real Rock 99.3 where the MEGADETH leader implied that Ellefson was not a founding member of the band. Ellefson said: "Well, it's interesting… Yeah, I did see [the article on BLABBERMOUTH.NET]. And it's interesting. The headline was very misleading and was obviously meant… It was very inflammatory. It was meant to be a hamburger bomb thrown over into the middle of our campaign. And I think I saw it as that. So, again, open the story, read it. They didn't even say that. They didn't even say what the headline says. That headline was misconstrued.

"Now, look, when Dave came home from METALLICA, he had another bass player, kind of a kid he was almost teaching how to play bass, and another guitar player he had been working with a little bit, and a singer, named Lor. And those were kind of the first people that, I think, in April and May of 1983 that Dave was just kicking some ideas around [with], seeing if he could get anything going. But the day me and my friend Greg Handevidt knocked on Dave's door and asked him where to buy some cigarettes and beer, that was the day that there was a unity that moved forward, because me, Greg, Dave, that singer Lor and our drummer Dijon Carruthers, who helped create a lot of the lyrics and the concept of 'Black Friday' on the 'Peace Sells' record, that was… we were the group that were rehearsing for a few weeks, working on these new songs Dave was writing. And one day we came back to… I think it was me and Greg's apartment… And it was Greg who suggested… We were talking about band names, and Greg suggested… There was a name kicking around, FALLEN ANGEL, that I think Dave… That was kind of working title that he had. But he had a song called 'Megadeth', which was later retitled to become 'Set The World Afire'. And it was my friend Greg who suggested, 'I think we should call the band MEGADETH.' And it was decided that day, so, I mean, technically, whoever was in the room that day was a founding member of MEGADETH. And, again, I don't know why there has to be so much importance on that. I know, I was there. And quickly, all those other members either scattered or were let go, and within a month or so, it was me and Dave standing next to each other — Dave and Dave of this new group called MEGADETH.

In a new interview with Jeff Gaudiosi of MisplacedStraws.com, OVERKILL bassist D.D. Verni was asked about the progress of the songwriting sessions for the band's follow-up to their latest album, "Scorched", which came out in April 2023 via Nuclear Blast. He said:  "We are demoing stuff right now. We probably have maybe nine or 10 songs kind of scratched out that I gave to Blitz [OVERKILL singer Bobby Ellsworth] a little while ago. Usually the process is I'll demo everything up musically [and] then I'll give it to Blitz. He'll spend some time with it and kind of do his thing with them. Then we get everybody together, kind of that. So I gave it to Blitz maybe not too long ago."

As for a possible release date for the new OVERKILL album, Verni said: "I would think next year, for sure. Just when will it be — spring? Will it be fall? Somewhere in there. But [in] '26 [there] will definitely be a new OVERKILL record."

In August 2024, OVERKILL confirmed Jeramie Kling as the group's new drummer. Kling joined the veteran New Jersey thrash metal outfit as the replacement for Jason Bittner, who announced his exit from OVERKILL earlier that month.

A founding member of THE ABSENCE, Kling appeared on VENOM INC.'s second album, 2022's "There's Only Black", and has played with such acts as FORE, RIBSPREADER, GOREGÄNG and NECROMANCING THE STONE. He was also briefly affiliated with the reunited Florida death metal band MASSACRE, which led to the formation of INHUMAN CONDITION, alongside Terry Butler (OBITUARY, ex-DEATH) and Taylor Nordberg (DEICIDE). In addition to being a drummer, Kling is a recording engineer, producer and live sound engineer.

Bittner joined OVERKILL in 2017 and played drums on the band's last two studio albums, 2019's "The Wings Of War" and the aforementioned "Scorched".

Last November, Jason admitted to "Reckless" Rexx Ruger of Pod Scum that he "hadn't been happy" in OVERKILL "for, like, two fucking years. It wasn't a surprise that I quit. I'd been dissatisfied for a long time, but I'm a team player. I don't like to leave things. I love the guys personally. So I just kind of just hung in there, but I was not happy where I was career-wise, let's say, within the confines of that band. I wasn't a bandmember. And that's the main thing for me to keep doing this at this point in my lifetime." He added that he felt he wasn't "being paid fairly" for his time" but clarified that there was "no animosity" and called his decision to leave "just a business thing." He explained: "I can play five shows with SHADOWS FALL and make more money than playing 30 with OVERKILL."

In September 2024, Verni told Capital Chaos TV about Bittner's departure: "We kind of knew that that was coming. He had told us a while ago that he was just kind of burned out on too many things and had his hands in too many pots. So I think we kind of knew that was coming."

OVERKILL played its first concert with Kling on August 30, 2024 at the Posada Rock festival in Câmpulung Muscel, Romania.

In a new interview with George Dionne of KNAC.COM, former ACCEPT singer David Reece was asked if there are any plans for a second album with IRON ALLIES, his collaborative project with fellow ex-ACCEPT member Herman Frank (guitar). He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Nah. Herman and I kicked off on the right foot, but partnerships are partnerships, and then I soon realized it was no longer a partnership.

"There's a weird thing with that whole ACCEPT family — excluding [original ACCEPT singer] Udo [Dirkschneider], I must say — and I know why," he explained. "It was created by the old management, which was really good at dividing everyone and pitting everybody against each other. Really evil. And the only one that wasn't part of that dark side was Udo. We're good friends now, since '88. I could call him today, if he's home, talk to him and his boy. But some of that, it created a distrust of everybody around. And that's how managers keep control. They cause this dissension of getting everybody freaked out so they can basically make you do what they want. And I've noticed in a lot of those guys, in those outsiders that are doing their own thing, that's still there. You still hear about it. And I started feeling that."

Circling back to his current relationship with Frank, Reece added: "He writes great riffs [with his long-running band] VICTORY. It's funny 'cause when he came here and said, 'If we do this [IRON ALLIES project], it's gonna be heavy metal,' and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. But if you look at VICTORY, it's kinda like [Reece's] BANGALORE CHOIR; it's more of a pop-rock band. And he's happy. He's got a great singer. Gianni's [Pontillo] great, and I wish him well. But no, I don't wanna work with the guy. I mean, I don't hate him. I just don't want that unease. I wanna be happy. I wanna focus on what I'm doing and not worrying about, 'Oh, God, things are cool today,' and then you walk into rehearsal and it's not cool. I mean, screw that, dude."

Back in October 2024, Herman was asked by Dionne about the possibility of a second album from IRON ALLIES. He said: "We will see. I'm always working. I do have my own project, Herman Frank, and I'm writing for other people, so I'm quite sure that IRON ALLIES will have a second album, for sure. We've played on a couple of festivals — [Belgium's] Graspop [Metal Meeting] is one of the biggest festivals all in Europe — and we have been in Czech and stuff like that, in Switzerland and Germany. So I guess it was a good start. And I do love David's voice. That kind of gives a different shape, different style into rock/metal or metal/rock. It's not the typical classic metal or rock singer screaming. He's singing. He knows how to sing. And I do love his lyrics. So, yeah, for sure."

IRON ALLIES' debut album, "Blood In Blood Out", arrived in October 2022 via AFM Records.

When "Blood In Blood Out" was first announced, Frank said in a statement: "This record cannot be compared to anything David or I have produced in our past. It's at the same time standing on its own, while sounding like it came from the one and the same mold. You could say: the two of us have sought and found each other."

Although these two exceptional musicians had known each other for a very long time, sparks really started to fly during Frank's visit to Piacenza, Italy, where the American-born Reece has been living after marrying an Italian woman.

"We hit it off right away because David — like me — is not only an old warhorse, but a total music lover," Herman said. "It's only with this unswerving passion for music that you can last as long as we have in this shark tank.

"I love David's voice, that unique blend of metal, rock and blues. Also, he's an awesome lyricist and as a U.S.-American he obviously has a much greater range of vocabulary than non-English-speaking singers."

"In a way, 'Blood In Blood Out' is the motto of IRON ALLIES," Herman explained. "This band was formed as a blood brotherhood, and no one gets out of here without shedding blood.

"Blood In Blood Out" was recorded at Horus Sound Studio in Hannover, Germany with co-producer Arne Neurand. Joining Frank and Reece on the IRON ALLIES album, which was mixed and mastered by Dennis Ward, were drummer Francesco Jovino (U.D.O., PRIMAL FEAR, VOODOO CIRCLE, JORN),bassist Malte Burkert and rhythm guitarist Mike Pesin.

Frank said: "We left nothing to chance. All positions were perfectly cast."

In October 2021, Reece discussed his collaboration with Frank in an interview with the "Heavy Metal Mayhem" radio show. He said: "The ironic thing about Herman and I, we played festivals many times and not even met each other. And here we are, part of the same band and their history. And we would miss each other by, like, two minutes. We always wanted to see each other, but something came up [and] we never really got to meet. So Herman and I started talking, and we said, 'Yeah, let's put a band together. Who do you wanna get?' We talked to [drummer] Mike Heller from FEAR FACTORY a few times, and that didn't really work out. And then I said, 'I've got Francesco Jovino, dude, on my [solo] album. This guy is a beast.' So then we got the band together."

Regarding the musical direction of IRON ALLIES, Reece said: "It's got some of those elements of old [ACCEPT circa] 'Restless And Wild'. It's got Dave's voice — [as heard on my solo albums] 'Cacophony [Of Souls]' and 'Blacklist [Utopia]'. It's ripping shit, man. I'm really excited about it."

According to Reece, part of the motivation for putting IRON ALLIES together is the negative publicity surrounding their respective departures from ACCEPT. "They badmouth him, they badmouth me, there was this back-and-forth all the time, and then [Herman] said, 'You know what? Screw it. I'm gonna call David Reece,'" David explained. "And I'd never really talked to him. He just came down to Italy and we got to actually meet face to face. We went out to a great dinner, hung out for about six hours. He was just driving around Europe, relaxing, 'cause he had just finished another VICTORY album and his solo album, so he needed a break."

Herman joined ACCEPT in 1982 shortly before the release of the band's "Restless And Wild" album and exited the group for the first time after the arrival of 1983's "Balls To The Wall" LP.

When ACCEPT reunited for festival appearances in 2005, Herman handled second-guitar duties alongside founding axeman Wolf Hoffmann, with Stefan Schwarzmann sitting behind the kit.

Frank and Schwarzmann were involved in ACCEPT's comeback with singer Mark Tornillo and appeared on the reunited group's first three studio albums: 2010's "Blood Of The Nations", 2012's "Stalingrad" and 2014's "Blind Rage".

Five years ago, Herman told All That Shreds about his decision to exit ACCEPT in December 2014: "It was just time to leave the band. Let's put it this way: I wanted to do music the way I started to. I wanted to have my own band. I wanted my own music and just wanted to just play my own leads. Not to follow somebody's guitar. I was getting too old for it. It's fine to be a backup, but after a couple of years, it's time for a different thing."

Reece was recruited for ACCEPT's "Eat The Heat" LP in 1989 following the departure of Udo Dirkschneider. Reece's higher-pitched delivery was in sharp contrast to Dirkschneider's distinctive style, and overall, the album was a critical and commercial disappointment. Midway through the "Eat The Heat" tour, differences between the band and Reece had come to a head, leading to the altercation between the singer and bassist Peter Baltes in Chicago. By the end of 1989, ACCEPT had hung it up.

David spoke about the circumstances that led to his dispute with the bassist during an interview with Metalliluola. He explained: "Peter had told my girlfriend I was having an affair. And I asked him, 'Did you tell her?' And he said, 'Yes.' So I slapped him. That ended it. It was bad before that, the communication. Ticket sales weren't good. We were opening for W.A.S.P."

He continued: "I think they really thought that getting the American [singer] in, they were gonna break the United States. But ACCEPT aren't really huge in America, like [in Europe]. That's why they hired me — they wanted a change. And the tour was going kind of slow. We did a headline tour first in the States, [playing in the] clubs. That was good. And then we went out with W.A.S.P. and METAL CHURCH, and it was half[-filled] rooms. So they were feeling the stress of that, and the communication was bad. So it was building."

David went on to say that he is sorry for assaulting his former bandmate. "Peter and I are friends now," he said, adding that "it was a bad decision" that was made while he and the rest of the group were under "a lot of stress. Being in a band, it can be a lot of drama. He had no right to tell her, and I had no right to slap him. So, I regret it."

In a new interview with Dennis Wood of WOKW 102.9 FM's "Back To The 80s", VIXEN drummer Roxy Petrucci was asked what it means to her personally to "still be playing these great songs and connecting with fans all these years later." She responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It's who I am. It's not just what I do. I still have the enthusiasm. I still have the drive. I love the band. I love playing with these girls. We're having a great time. So I think because I love VIXEN, I love the music. I just love this band, and I wanna continue doing it. And as long as the fans wanna keep hearing it, I will do it till I can't — physically can't. But right now I'm still in fairly good shape, still got tons of energy and I'm gonna keep slamming those skins."

As for what it is like to see a whole new generation discovering VIXEN and 1980s rock in general, Roxy said: "Oh, it's awesome. We'll be playing these shows and sometimes we go out and do meet-and-greets, and there'll be people that say, they come out to the meet-and-greet and they're, like, 'We saw you with Ozzy [Osbourne] back in 1989. This is my daughter, and she's [been] introduced [to] you, and she loves you guys.' So we get a lot of that — a lot of that. A lot of college kids that are totally into the '80s now. Because the '80s, there's nothing like it. That music, the fun, the anthems — how can you not like that? Because people wanna hear it, young kids wanna hear it, and they're totally all about it now. And the people want it. They're coming to the shows. That is the test."

Petrucci went on to confirm that VIXEN does not use any backing tracks during the band's live performance. "Hell yeah. None of that. We don't do that. We don't need to," she said. "When you go see a band, you kind of want that rawness. When I go to a concert, I don't want them to sound just like the CD or the recording. I wanna hear some rawness. We give it to you. But the vocals are incredible. Yeah, Rosa [Laricchiuta, VIXEN singer] nails it every night, and Britt [Lightning, a.k.a. Brittany Denaro, VIXEN guitarist], Julia [Lage, VIXEN bassist] and Tyson [Leslie, VIXEN touring keyboardist], we all do backing vocals, and it's just there."

VIXEN's most recent release was the 2023 single "Red". It marked the group's sole studio recording with singer Lorraine Lewis, who was fired from VIXEN in May 2024 and replaced with Laricchiuta, a singer, songwriter, and performer from Montreal, Quebec.

Laricchiuta's hard rock project BLACK ROSE MAZE released its self-titled debut album in August 2020 via Frontiers Music Srl.

Rosa made her live debut with VIXEN on June 21 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California alongside GREAT WHITE, SLAUGHTER and QUIET RIOT.

In January 2019, VIXEN recruited Lewis as its new lead singer following the departure of Janet Gardner.

Lewis had already performed with VIXEN in March 2018 in Durant, Oklahoma while Gardner was recovering from surgery.

Prior to Lewis's addition to VIXEN, Petrucci, bassist Share Ross and Lightning vowed to "expand upon the VIXEN legacy while remaining true to our musical roots."

Gardner, Petrucci and Ross are considered to be part of VIXEN's classic lineup, along with founding guitarist Jan Kuehnemund, who died of cancer in October 2013.

Gardner contributed lead vocals to VIXEN's most commercially successful studio albums — "Vixen" (1988),"Rev It Up" (1990) and "Tangerine" (1998) — as well as the group's latest full-length release, 2018's live album "Live Fire".

Three and a half years ago, Ross announced that she was "taking a hiatus" from VIXEN. Her replacement is Lage, formerly of the Latin Grammy-nominated Brazilian rock group BARRA DE SAIA and wife of Richie Kotzen. Lage made her live debut with VIXEN on February 8, 2022 at the pre-Monsters Of Rock cruise concert at Magic City Casino in Miami, Florida.

Image credit: Tom deBlonk