King Crimson founder Robert Fripp and his wife, Toyah Willcox, are back with their latest Sunday Lunch video. Watch below.


A message states: “Welcome to another awesome Sunday Lunch, this week’s edition comes with exclusive news and bonus footage at the end... Be warned though you cannot unsee it once its out there!"







The couple recently shared a couple of blooper videos, which can be viewed below:

EMPIRE STATE BASTARD, the extreme metal band founded by Simon Neil (BIFFY CLYRO) and Mike Vennart (BIFFY CLYRO live guitarist and solo artist, ex-OCEANSIZE),played its first live show last night (Sunday, March 26) at the Cathouse is Glasgow, United Kingdom. Fan-filmed video of the entire concert can be seen below.

Last week, EMPIRE STATE BASTARD released its debut song "Harvest". The track is available now on all streaming platforms and accompanied by a visualizer which can be seen on the group's YouTube channel.

EMPIRE STATE BASTARD, which recently signed with Roadrunner Records, also features the legendary Dave Lombardo (SLAYER, TESTAMENT, MR. BUNGLE) on drums, with Naomi Macleod (BITCH FALCON) rounding out the live lineup on bass.

Bursting with aggression, "Harvest" sees Vennart's inventive, barbed riffs complementing Neil's feral vocal attack, with Lombardo's battering ram rhythms anchoring it all.

Commenting on the release, the band exclaimed: "Empires fall, States rise, Bastards sing…it's 'Harvest' time, motherfuckers!"

"Harvest" features artwork from BBC Radio 1 "Rock Show" host Daniel P. Carter, who described the track as "a blistering noise/metal assault."

The idea behind EMPIRE STATE BASTARD emerged when Simon and Mike would spend downtime on tour sitting at the back of the bus sharing the heaviest, most avant-garde or the most sickeningly confrontational music they could find. When thoughts turned to making their own sonic wasteland, Simon already had the band name in mind, leaving Mike with a particularly grotesque challenge: what music could he write that would live up to the name?

It took around a decade to find both the time and ferocity to make it happen. With Mike writing the songs and recording all guitars, and Simon focused on vocals and lyrics, they eventually emerged with a collection of songs which adventurously probes almost every dark crevice imaginable from the myriad sounds of metal and genre-adjacent extremity.

EMPIRE STATE BASTARD's terrifying tourist trail visits slamming hardcore in the vein of SIEGE; frenetic, visceral thrash in SLAYER's ballpark; the claustrophobic sludge of MELVINS; the freeform vocal dexterity of Mike Patton; and the gargantuan stoner riffs of SLEEP. It's a band that’s rooted in the tradition of metal's forefathers, but informed by more recent waves of leftfield aggression.

Up next, EMPIRE STATE BASTARD is slated for a run of sold-out U.K. shows later this month, with festival sets confirmed for this spring and summer at U.K.'s Download (June 9),France's Hellfest (June 18),U.K.'s 2000trees (July 7) and U.K.'s ArcTanGent (August 17).

Neil previously told NME that working on other projects, including EMPIRE STATE BASTARD, got him "through not touring — just knowing I can spend the year making new music."

He added: "I like putting myself in these positions where I'm like, 'I should never be doing this, so this is what I'm going to do.' I don't just want to do the same shit. Every time between records, I want to do something that's fucked up and off the wall. It brings me back to BIFFY, and I'm more in love with it now than I've ever been."

Lombardo, who has spent most of the recent years between crossover pioneers SUICIDAL TENDENCIES, horror-punk icons MISFITS, hardcore supergroup DEAD CROSS and MR. BUNGLE, was effectively fired from SLAYER after sitting out the group's Australian tour in February/March 2013 due to a contract dispute with the other bandmembers. He was later replaced by Paul Bostaph, who was previously SLAYER's drummer from 1992 until 2001.

Lombardo rejoined TESTAMENT last year.

NIGHT RANGER bassist/vocalist Jack Blades has been discharged from hospital after undergoing a "successful procedure".

As a result of Blades's hospitalization, NIGHT RANGER was forced to postpone three concerts: March 23 in Anaheim, California, March 24 in Ivins, Utah and March 25 in Stateline, Nevada. New dates are currently being scheduled for late October.

Late Sunday night (March 26),NIGHT RANGER released the following statement via social media: "We've got an update on Jack… and it's good news! He is now out of the hospital and feeling great.

"Last week he was admitted due to heart irregularities, followed by a successful procedure. We are so happy everything went well. Jack can't wait to get back out on the road and neither can we! Our goal is to play all remaining shows as currently scheduled.

"THANK YOU for the immense support and a SPECIAL THANK YOU to the doctors, nurses & staff at Garden Grove & Orange County Global Medical Centers."

NIGHT RANGER released its 12th studio album, "ATBPO", in August 2021 via Frontiers Music Srl. "ATBPO" stands for "And The Band Played On", an ode to making music during the COVID-19 era.

NIGHT RANGER began writing the album in early 2020, amid the onset of the global pandemic. After narrowing down the song selection and tightening them up to their well-known rock and roll sound, the band hit the studio, although separately, due to the times we were in.

"With 'ATBPO', I really feel like we've gone back to our roots of who we are as a band," Blades told KATV in a 2021 interview. "Even though this album was a challenge to make, it was all us together. Every song is all our heart and soul and what's coming from us. These songs are directly who we are. That's why we're so stoked to get this album out to the fans so they can experience the whole picture and not just a few singles. They get to experience what NIGHT RANGER is all about."

Blades went on to say that he hopes to be writing songs and touring until the day he dies.

"I think the biggest focus for us right now is touring," he said. "It's much more important to put on a great show than to have hits at this stage of the game. We enjoy touring even more now than when we did back in the '80s. It is just fun now. We don't have to prove anything or make a name for ourselves. We are who we are, so that allows us to throw in songs that maybe we grew up listening to or tell a different story because we do have a lot of stories. And the audience really enjoys that too because we get a chance to get them really involved. I mean this is what I do. NIGHT RANGER is going to be around for a long time to come."

Having sold over 17 million albums worldwide, performed across more than 4,000 stages, and enjoyed a radio audience that exceeds one billion, NIGHT RANGER has both epitomized and transcended the arena rock sound and style well beyond that era.

NIGHT RANGER is Jack Blades (bass, vocals),Kelly Keagy (drums, vocals),Brad Gillis (lead and rhythm guitars),Eric Levy (keyboards),and Keri Kelli (lead and rhythm guitars).

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Japanese heavy metal veterans LOUDNESS have canceled their previously announced European tour. The trek was most recently scheduled to kick off on April 6 in Essen, Germany and conclude on April 22 at the Keep It True festival in Lauda-Königshofen, Germany.

On March 23, LOUDNESS released the following statement via the band's official web site (translated from Japanese): "As already announced by the local agent, the European tour scheduled for next month has been cancelled. It was a tour that was planned three years ago, but since the corona crisis, not only have airfares soared, but also various expenses have skyrocketed, and there has been a shortage of human resources. It was a painful decision based on the judgment above.

"We are very sorry to all the fans who have been waiting for the band for three years, but in the near future, we would like to reorganize and return in front of everyone in Europe in a state where we can deliver the best performance.

"Regarding ticket refunds, please check with the [ticketing agent] where you purchased your ticket."

In recent months, a number of high-profile musicians have been vocal about the realities of post-pandemic touring, including increased travel expenses — gas, tour buses, hotels and flight costs.

Last November, DISTURBED guitarist Dan Donegan told the Rock 100.5 The KATT radio station about the prospect of his band touring Europe: "It's been challenging for a lot of bands too, as you may have heard, just logistically 'cause of inflation. So a lot of artists I've seen, especially over in Europe… I know that SHINEDOWN had to postpone their tour, ANTHRAX, I think a few others. 'Cause a lot of that stuff has skyrocketed on prices on, obviously, fuel costs and production costs and trucking costs and travel."

In December, FEAR FACTORY guitarist Dino Cazares told the "Vulgar Display Of Podcast": "So much has changed in those couple of years, because look how much the economy has gotten really, really over the top, with gas and even availability on certain things, even drivers; just getting a driver, it's hard. People really don't understand the cost that goes into doing these tours. Everything affects you, whether it's venues taking a big cut of the merch sales to insane diesel and gas prices. A lot of people don't realize that these buses take diesel, and diesel is more expensive than gas. So that adds up, when you're spending eight hundred to a thousand dollars just to fill up a tank of a bus. People don't realize the cost of all that. So it's getting harder and harder."

Canadian singer, songwriter and producer Devin Townsend painted an equally bleak picture, telling Metallerium about the current touring conditions: "It's gotten way worse. I don't think it's better at all, actually. Because the costs of touring now, with inflation and the cost of gasoline and diesel… Plus, over the course of the pandemic, we've lost a ton of really good venues. I'd say probably 50 percent of the workforce in touring has now left. 'Cause what's a guitar tech gonna do for two years? You have to get a job, right? And so the ones that are remaining, not only are they already spoken for with other bands, but they're almost twice as expensive.

"I saw this thing about [the events ticketing giant] Live Nation the other day, they're taking 30 percent of merch sales from some of these venues," he continued. "The costs of airlines have gone up. So artists, the ability to make money on tour is almost completely gone now — at least an artist on my level.

"So, yes, it's opened up again, but it's 10 times as expensive. It's, like, what do you do? Even little things like, okay, the hotels are more expensive; the food at the hotels [is] more expensive. So at the end of it, you're touring for what? You're touring ultimately so you can present your work to the people who care about your work, and that's worth it to me. But I think for anybody to think that it's now easy again, you should investigate that, because I'm trying to set up tours for [2023], and there's no way to keep them within cost — there's no way. And so you go out there and, like, well, we can't have this vehicle; we can't have this backline; we can't have this production; we can't have these lights. And then if you show up at a place and the audience comes, they're, like, 'The show's not good. There's no lights. There's no production.' So what should you do? And I think a lot of musicians, their decision is, like, 'Well, I'll just stay home then and I'll just create from home.'

"I try to go out with acoustic now, because that way I can afford it," Devin added. "If I just show up with an acoustic guitar and sing for people, it's better than nothing. But it's still, like, man, it's a complicated time, brother."

LOUDNESS's latest studio album, "Sunburst", was released in July 2022 outside Japan via earMUSIC. The effort was originally made available in Japan in December 2021.

LOUDNESS has dominated the Japanese heavy metal scene ever since its birth in 1981 with classic albums like "Thunder In The East" (1985) and "Lightning Strikes" (1986).

LOUDNESS's lineup has changed multiple times since 1981, with the current incarnation consisting of three original members — lead singer Minoru Niihara, guitarist Akira Takasaki and bassist Masayoshi Yamashita — along with drummer Masayuki Suzuki, who joined the group in 2009.

Original LOUDNESS drummer Munetaka Higuchi died in 2008 after a year-long battle with liver cancer.

SKID ROW frontman Erik Grönwall has teamed up with Welsh singer Chez Kane to record a cover of the HEART classic "Alone". The video for the track, which was created by Jakob Jakobsson Blom, can be seen below.

Says Erik: "The cover this week is a collaboration with my very talented female colleague Chez Kane. You've got to check out her music if you haven't. She's such an amazing singer/ artist and is keeping 80's rock n' roll alive."

Added Chez: "This has absolutely blown my mind and I am so grateful and honoured for the opportunity to have done this with Erik! It's an absolute dream come true for me".

Erik, who made his recording debut with SKID ROW on the recently released studio album, "The Gang's All Here", spoke to The Rock N' Roll & Coffee Show about how he has been accepted by the band's fans since he joined the group earlier this year as the replacement for ZP Theart. He said: "There's so many different types of fans. I've realized that… 'Cause when we did the show in California, [some] people came up to me after the show, and they were, like, 'Sebastian [Bach], you've still got it.' [Laughs] Yeah, that happened. Then you have the fans who still think that Sebastian is in the band, and then you have the fans who know the whole story."

Erik went on to say that he isn't bothered by the fact that some fans are still clamoring for a reunion of the band's classic lineup.

"I understand the fan perspective of wanting the original lineup — I understand that — because I'm a Bon Scott guy myself," he explained, referencing AC/DC's late singer. "But I think that people are really excited about this new album, and I feel like even the people who want the original lineup are actually starting to approve."

He added: "When I joined this band, I realized that it's such a privilege to have people so interested in the band, talking about the band, discussing everything. A lot of bands would kill for that, and that's a privilege. You have all these people talking about SKID ROW and they like that singer or they like that song or they like that era, and that's just incredible, having people so excited about it or hating it. [Laughs]"

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 and 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 singer Tony Harnell as his replacement. Eight months later, Harnell exited the band and was replaced by Theart, the South African-born, British-based singer who previously fronted DRAGONFORCE, TANK and I AM I.

"The Gang's All Here" arrived in October via earMUSIC. The group recorded most of the LP in Nashville, Tennessee with producer Nick Raskulinecz, who has previously worked with FOO FIGHTERS, STONE SOUR, HALESTORM, EVANESCENCE, RUSH and ALICE IN CHAINS, among many others.

Grönwall, who auditioned for the competition show "Swedish Idol" back in 2009 by singing a cover of SKID ROW's "18 And Life", joined SKID ROW in January 2022. Theart, who had been in the group for more than six years, played his final gig with SKID ROW in February 2022 before being officially given the boot.

Grönwall was a member of the Swedish hard rock band H.E.A.T. with whom he recorded four studio albums — "Address The Nation" (2012),"Tearing Down The Walls" (2014),"Into The Great Unknown" (2017) and "H.E.A.T II" (2020) — before exiting the group in October 2020.

In September 2021, Grönwall announced that he was cancer free after receiving a bone marrow transplant. "Some anonymous wonderful human being somewhere in the world donated his/her blood cells so that I could get a second chance at life," he told Headbangers Lifestyle in January. "Sometimes I can just get tears in my eyes when I think about it. It's so beautiful that one person who is not connected to me in any way wanted to do that for me. He/she doesn't know that the blood cells were for me. It's completely anonymous."

In September 2021, Grönwall released his cover version of SKID ROW's "18 And Life" via all streaming platforms.

In 2018, Grönwall debuted in the U.S. for 10 million viewers in NBC's live broadcast of Andrew Lloyd Webber's and Tim Rice's musical "Jesus Christ Superstar". Along with John Legend, Alice Cooper, Sara Bareilles and others, Erik played the key role of Simon Zealotes.

Chez's second album, "Powerzone", was released in October 2022 via Frontiers Music Srl. It followed Chez's well-received self-titled debut LP, which came out a year earlier.

HOW WE END is a new European crossover band established in 2022, featuring musicians from Sweden, Germany, Switzerland and Spain. Diva Satanica (ex-NERVOSA) and Jake E (CYHRA, ex-AMARANTHE) deliver the perfect match of contrasting vocals that shape the band's style: melodic, heavy, no compromises. Guitarists Jen Majura (ex-EVANESCENCE) and Tom Naumann (PRIMAL FEAR) are responsible for the "chug", with Mitch Kunz on bass/synths and Adde Larsson providing the "heavy groove."

According to a press release, HOW WE END's music is a kickass blend of heavy guitar riffs and electronic programmed influences, growls and catchy singalong choruses.

The band, which composes and produces all of its songs independently, filmed a music video for its debut single, "My Fighting Heart", earlier this year. The track will be made available digitally on Wednesday, March 29, with the video to follow on Thursday, March 30.

Photo credit: Dirk Behlau

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In a new interview with The Travel Addict, SUICIDAL TENDENCIES frontman Mike Muir was asked if he has any new music coming up. He responded: "For the 40th anniversary, I'm doing a solo record. And I'm not trying to make a record that people won't like, but I really don't give a fuck, and I know they probably won't, but it's a lot of stuff from different projects I did, bands, SUICIDAL songs."

Muir went on to clarify that the album will include "all new songs. SUICIDAL, INFECTIOUS GROOVES, NO MERCY, all these projects that I was in, a thing I just did when we first got to Sony and when we were [managed by] Q Prime, they called it a solo-cide because they said if anybody heard that, it would kill my music career, which I thought was a very big compliment, but they didn't think it was a compliment, you know."

He continued: "I got Thundercat, a lot of the people we played with over the years, Herman Jackson who played Stevie Wonder's pianos and everything. It's stuff that you have never heard before. A lot of people probably won't want to hear it because it doesn't fit into that ten seconds of familiarity."

Regarding the musical direction of his new solo album, Mike said: "You could say it's a whole spectrum that I think is really good and I like, but it's different from what other people are doing and there's not a market for it."

Adding that the LP will be out "this year", Muir said: "It's definitely different and I like it."

SUICIDAL TENDENCIES' latest album, 2018's "STill Cyco Punk After All These Years", was a re-recording and re-imagining of a Cyco Miko (Mike Muir) solo LP recorded in 1995, "Lost My Brain! (Once Again)". The band's most recent studio album of all-new, original material, "World Gone Mad", came out in 2016.

The clip below features Firewind guitarist Gus G. running through his solo instrumental track, "Quantum Leap". It is taken from his 2021 solo album of the same name.




 

 
 

Outspoken conservative rocker Ted Nugent blasted Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky during an appearance Saturday (March 25) at a 2024 presidential campaign rally held for former U.S. president Donald Trump in Waco, Texas.

Nugent kicked off the rally Saturday by holding a moment of silence for the January 6, 2021 "political prisoners" and performing the U.S. national anthem, as he has done at previous Trump campaign events.

"How about a prayer for the political prisoners in Washington, D.C., who are victims of jack-booted thugs by Uncle Sam, who defied their oath to the Constitution and arrested Americans and do not allow them Constitutional rights," Nugent said.

Ted went on to say he had a few "ideas" for the country.

"I am a guitar player. I have a couple of demands. Secure my border," he told the cheering crowds. "I have a couple of really good ideas: give me my tax dollars back. I didn't authorize killing babies at Planned Parenthood....I want my money back. I didn't authorize any money to Ukraine to some homosexual weirdo."

Nugent was apparently referring to the military and humanitarian aid that the Biden administration has been sending to Ukraine to help defeat Russia in the war that Russian president Vladimir Putin launched more than a year ago.

While most Republicans in the House Of Representatives argue that providing Ukraine with military and financial aid is necessary to stop Russian aggression, others said they have "Ukraine fatigue".

Florida Republican congressman Matt Gaetz recently introduced a "Ukraine Fatigue" resolution seeking to end "military and financial aid" to Ukraine.

Ted's latest comments about the January 6 defendants come in the wake of some Republicans' efforts to portray perpetrators of the Capitol riot as victims of zealous federal prosecutors.

Last June, Nugent repeated the false narrative that that January 6, 2021 rioters were welcomed into the Capitol by police officers. During his YouTube livestream, Ted said that the "FBI instigated the January 6th vandalism. That was the FBI that did that. The Trump supporters didn't do anything wrong," he claimed. "They were ushered into the Capitol by the Capitol Police. When you're ushered in by law enforcement, you're not trespassing. Do you think if I welcomed people onto my property and then I called the judge and said, 'Hey, judge, they're trespassing.' 'Well, I've got video of you welcoming them on your property. So that wouldn't be trespassing; you actually welcomed them on your property. So eat shit, Nugent. That's not trespassing.'" He added: "Hey, FBI. Hey, Capitol Police. Hey, judges. Hey, Obama-appointed judges, that's not trespassing. Law enforcement welcomed them into the Capitol."

Earlier this month, Fox News host Tucker Carlson used highly selective editing and cherrypicked footage from security video provided exclusively to him by Speaker Kevin McCarthy to portray the riot as a peaceful gathering.

Capitol Police Chief Thomas Manger reportedly said in an internal memo to U.S. Capitol Police that the commentary on Carlson's show was "filled with offensive and misleading conclusions about the January 6 attack."

According to the United States Department Of Justice, at least 1,000 people so far have been arrested on charges related to the January 6, 2021, riot by a mob of Trump supporters. About 518 people have pleaded guilty to federal crimes so far.

Back in January 2022, Ted once again repeated the baseless conspiracy theory that the riot at the U.S. Capitol was orchestrated by undercover FBI agents, Antifa and Black Lives Matter.

"On January 6th of 2021, the conservative families who wouldn't break a window, wouldn't hurt a soul, had no guns, had no violence, had not done any rioting or arson, unlike Seattle and Portland and Black Lives Matter and Antifa… But you know, when they went to the Capitol, they were provoked and prodded by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation — allegedly. And that's where the violence erupted, that's where the vandalism occurred, that's where the criminality took place — at the hands of Democrat undercover punks wearing Trump regalia. Those weren't Trump supporters that did the violence and the vandalism — that was Black Lives Matter and Antifa and Federal Bureau of Investigation agent provocateurs. It's on film."

"I've had these debates with dirtbags, and some of the dirtbags are really close to me," Ted added. "'Well, you're a maniac because you can't see that those were Trump supporters breaking…' No, it wasn't. Those were Democrat and Federal Bureau of Investigation plants and agent provocateurs. In fact, the Trump supporters were saying, 'Don't breach the wall.' 'Don't break the windows,' 'Don't break in,' 'Don't go in' on film — the film that we've been allowed to see."

Last December, Nugent received the "Great American Defender Of Freedom" award from Trump at American Freedom Tour's Winter Gala at Mar-A-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida.

Nugent spoke about his admiration for America's 45th president in an October 2020 interview with InfoWars' "The Alex Jones Show", hosted by noted conspiracy theorist Alex Jones. At the time, he said: "I genuflect at the altar of this great man. He is just pulling off miracle after miracle. He's really touching the heart and soul and representing the heart and soul of the best American families out there. Just praise God for that. This is one of those divine intervention moments, like the founding fathers. Believe me when I tell you that."
Ted Nugent kicks off the Trump rally in Waco by calling Zelenskyy a "homosexual weirdo" to cheers pic.twitter.com/21d6x3mI5F

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 25, 2023


Ed Henry on Ted Nugent calling Zelenskyy a "homosexual weirdo" -- "he is channeling what a lot of Americans feel" pic.twitter.com/yLey6ApKhz

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 25, 2023

PANTERA is headlining the 2023 "comeback" edition of Japan's Loud Park festival. The two-day "limited" event is taking place on March 25 at Intex Osaka in Osaka and March 26 at Makuhari Messe in Chiba City near Tokyo.

Fan-filmed video of the Osaka concert, which marked PANTERA's first live appearance of 2023, can be seen below.

PANTERA's setlist for the Osaka show was as follows:

01. Mouth For War
02. A New Level
03. Strength Beyond Strength
04. Becoming
05. I'm Broken
06. 5 Minutes Alone
07. This Love
08. Yesterday Don't Mean Shit
09. Fucking Hostile
10. Planet Caravan (BLACK SABBATH cover)
11. Walk
12. Cowboys From Hell

PANTERA's surviving members Philip Anselmo (vocals) and Rex Brown (bass),along with guitarist Zakk Wylde (OZZY OSBOURNE, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY) and drummer Charlie Benante (ANTHRAX),are headlining a number of major festivals across South America, Asia, North America and Europe and staging some of their own headline concerts. They will also support METALLICA on a massive North American stadium tour in 2023 and 2024.

According to Billboard, the lineup has been given a green light by the estates of the band's founders, drummer Vincent "Vinnie Paul" Abbott and guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott, as well as Brown, who in 2021 said Wylde wouldn't tour with PANTERA if a reunion were to happen. It's unclear what changed his mind.

In December, PANTERA played seven shows in Mexico and South America.

Brown was forced to leave PANTERA's Latin American tour after testing positive for COVID-19. Filling in for him at some of the shows was CATTLE DECAPITATION bassist Derek Engemann, who also plays with Anselmo in both PHILIP H. ANSELMO & THE ILLEGALS and SCOUR.

Up until his passing, Vinnie remained on non-speaking terms with Anselmo, whom the drummer indirectly blamed for Dimebag's death.

Vinnie Paul and Dimebag co-founded PANTERA. When PANTERA broke up in 2003, they formed DAMAGEPLAN. On December 8, 2004, while performing with DAMAGEPLAN at the Alrosa Villa in Columbus, Ohio, Dimebag was shot and killed onstage by a troubled schizophrenic who believed that the members of PANTERA were stealing his thoughts.

Vinnie passed away on June 22, 2018 at his other home in Las Vegas at the age of 54. He died of dilated cardiomyopathy, an enlarged heart, as well as severe coronary artery disease. His death was the result of chronic weakening of the heart muscle — basically meaning his heart couldn't pump blood as well as a healthy heart.

Former METALLICA bassist and some of his friends played a benefit concert on February 11 at Lighthouse ArtCenter in Tequesta, Florida.

Newsted, who played acoustic guitar and sang, was joined by Jessie Farnsworth on acoustic guitar, bass and vocals, Carl Schmid on violin, Kalika Osgood on vocals and Chris Scianni on electric and acoustic guitars.

From January 19 through March 1, 2023, Jason and his wife Nicole Newsted returned to Lighthouse ArtCenter with "Like Mind", an exhibition showing their individual large and small-scale work.

A six-time Grammy Award winner and Rock And Roll Hall OF Famer, Jason is famous for his contributions to METALLICA from 1986 to 2001. Beyond his many musical achievements, he is a self-taught multi-media artist. His first visual art exhibit was in May of 2010. Newsted has shown successfully at Art New York, Art Miami, Art Basel and in duo exhibits with his wife at Lighthouse ArtCenter. His work mixes iconography, sometimes including guitars with abstract geometric and biomorphic forms, using a raw, expressive style. His paintings are highly textural, with otherworldly subjects and layered with meaning.

"Mending from disjointed pandemic years, we reconnect in 'Like Mind' to share again," said Jason. "Images built from opposite influences and common attractions bring us closer; they're bright and previously unseen works developed and created through our journey together."

Nicole Newsted is a talented painter who studied art on scholarship at Arizona State University. Her paintings are in collections across the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. Nicole's paintings on canvas use brilliant colors that depict maximalism in a minimalist setting. Her work is characterized by escapist and endearing subject matter, including brightly colored candies, donuts, and care bears that evoke comforting childhood memories.

"My work is an ongoing survey of the objects, landscapes, and people around me: both past and present," she said. "I am drawn to the overly saturated, the kitschy, and the saccharine. My paintings are meditations on objects made of plastic, polyester, and artificial flavoring."

Jason left METALLICA back in 2001, but was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, along with Lars Ulrich, James Hetfield, Kirk Hammett and the man who replaced him, bassist Robert Trujillo, in 2009.

Nine years ago, Jason shelved NEWSTED, the heavy metal project he operated between 2012 and 2014, saying that it cost him "an awful lot of money — hundreds of thousands of dollars." He added: "I couldn't continue because the business is such a harsh thing now and so different than what I had known."

Last month, Newsted told the Gator 98.7 FM radio station that he "spent six months of last year putting together THE CHOPHOUSE BAND 'Volume 1'" with his long-running project. He added: "THE CHOPHOUSE BAND has been together [and] making music since 1992. So it was our first album after 30 years. I spent a lot of time on that. And then, once I got that under my belt, I'm kind of stepping back into the heavy now. So the last couple of weeks I've been auditioning guitar players for a heavy project. I'm back on bass and singing with a metal drummer — double bass, you know; getting' loud again. So I've got a couple of irons in the fire. I'm putting two new projects together right now — but loud."

I got to write about Jason Newsted and his wife, Nicole, in January's issue of Jupiter Magazine...

Posted by Valerie Staggs on Monday, February 13, 2023

From last Saturday night’s show at Lighthouse Art Gallery, Tequesta.

Jason Newsted and Friends
L-R
JESSIE FARNSWORTH-...

Posted by Carl Schmid on Tuesday, February 14, 2023

Jason Newsted & Friends at the Lighthouse ArtCenter Gallery in Jupiter.

Posted by Reuben Dye on Saturday, February 11, 2023

Buckle up! LIKE MIND opens January 19, 2023, at Lighthouse ArtCenter, Tequesta, Florida.

Here's my Curator's...

Posted by Janeen Mason on Friday, January 13, 2023

Fan-filmed video of EVANESCENCE's entire February 28 concert at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas as the support act for MUSE can be seen below.

EVANESCENCE's current lineup, featuring Emma Anzai of SICK PUPPIES on bass and EVANESCENCE's longtime bassist Tim McCord on guitar, played its first concert last June in Athens, Greece.

EVANESCENCE's latest lineup changes, including the departure of guitarist Jen Majura, were announced in May 2022.

In a statement welcoming Anzai to the band, EVANESCENCE wrote: "We've been friends and fans for years, and the time has finally come to join forces."

Regarding McCord's switch to the bass guitar, EVANESCENCE said: "After 16 years in the band as our rock solid bass player, Tim is taking a turn on his original instrument. Spoiler alert- he's great at it."

In the comments section below EVANESCENCE's Instagram post, singer Amy Lee added: "Making positive change in your life (and band) can be really hard. Some choices we make, some are made for us. But who we are in the end is how we handle whatever comes our way.

"Taking another step forward with my brothers who have been beside me for 15+ years, and welcoming in a beautiful friend we are so excited to share the stage with…. I'm happy.

"You never know whats around the corner, but when something is right you know it's right. And this feels so right. Welcome Emma! Love all you guys."

Jen's exit from EVANESCENCE was announced via social media last May.

"It has been a very special chapter in the band with our dear friend Jen Majura, but we have decided it's time to go our separate ways," EVANESCENCE said in a statement. "We will always love her and support her, and can't wait to see what she does next! We are so grateful for the good times and great music we made all around the world together."

A few hours later, Jen took to her social media to clarify: "I feel the need to address that none of this was my decision! I have no hard feelings against anybody and I wish EVANESCENCE all the best. I am allowed to carry beautiful memories of these past years, I am grateful."

In 2021, EVANESCENCE released "The Bitter Truth", its first album in 10 years.

Japan's Loud Park festival took place this weekend in Osaka and Tokyo on March 25th and 26th respectively. Check out fan-filmed video of the entire Nightwish show is Osaka below courtesy of Metal Justice Tokyo.


The setlist was as follows:


"Noise"
"Storytime"
"Tribal"
"Élan"
"Dark Chest of Wonders"
"I Want My Tears Back"
"Nemo"
"Shoemaker"
"Last Ride of the Day"
"Ghost Love Score"







Congratulations to Nightwish vocalist Floor Jansen and Sabaton drummer Hannes Van Dahl, who have announced that they are expecting their second child. The couple have a six-year-old daughter Freja, born in 2017.


Floor shared the news via social media this morning, writing: "Life is good! We will go from being with three to four! Freja will become a big sister! We are very happy to share this special news with you!!!"

Sabaton guitarist / Majestica frontman Tommy Johansson has shared his weekly solo cover song and video, this time performing a power metal rendition of John Farnham's 1986 hit, "You're The Voice". Check it out below.





Check out some of Johansson's previous covers below.




"Africa" - Toto





"Headless Cross" - Black Sabbath





"Tell No Tales" - TNT





"Out In The Fields" - Gary Moore





"The Phantom Of The Opera" - Andrew Lloyd Webber

Swedish death 'n' roll outfit Tribulation played their the W:E:T Stage after sundown at Wacken Open Air 2022. Check out prio-shot video of  "Nightbound", "Melancholia" and "The Lament".





On April 7, Tribulation will unleash their new EP, Hamartia, via Century Media Records. Last year, the quartet dropped the title track for Hamartia as a standalone release (video below); now, they're back with another single/video from this record: "Axis Mundi".




Stream the song here, and watch the official video (directed by Johan Bååth in collaboration with Astrid Bergdahl) below.


Adam Zaars (guitars) comments: "'Axis Mundi' sees Tribulation entering The Machine Age through the lens of dystopian fiction in a journey to the centre of the world, and beyond. Being the first composition by Joseph Tholl (guitars), it offers the listener and the viewer a new set of flavours and hues to the palate, and from the palette that constitutes the egregore that is Tribulation. A new year calls for a fresh start, so please consider making this a part of the soundtrack to yours."


Forged amid the grubby depths of the Swedish death metal scene, Tribulation have always been the shadowy outlaws of the underground - and with Hamartia, they're poised to begin a new chapter in their sinister story. The group's songwriting powers have undergone a vigorous rejuvenation; new guitarist Joseph Tholl replaced the departing Jonathan Hultén, which in turn led to the creation of an EP's worth of material. Recorded in Stockholm with Robert Pehrsson at Studio Humbucker as well as Linus Björklund at Studio Ryssviken, before being crafted in mix by Tom Dalgety in the UK and then returning to Stockholm for mastering by Magnus Lindberg at Redmount Studios, Hamartia is a riotous encapsulation of everything that diehard fans demand from the Swedish crew - but, sharper, darker and laced with venom. These four new songs showcase a band in a robust state of health.


"The plan going forward is that Joseph and I will split the writing duties, just as me and Jonathan did before," says guitarist Adam Zaars. "The other difference this time is that we did work a bit closer with each other on these songs. On the last couple of albums, we've basically written our material separately. This time, even though Joseph wrote 'Axis Mundi' and I wrote the other two songs, I still went to Stockholm every other weekend for the entire Spring leading up to the recording, and we sat together and tried different things out. We've worked closer this time than we've done at least since 'The Children of The Night'. Comparing it to the last album, I'd say the new songs are a bit more cynical, harsher in a way."


Additionally, Zaars is already considering Tribulation's next move. “Fairly soon, I hope we can record something - an album before anything else," he concludes. "In some ways, I've already started writing, but I don't have a complete song to show anyone yet. I've got a lot of material, so we just need time to piece it all together...


We did a tour with Watain, Abbath and Bölzer last year and that was great, and this year we're going to focus on festivals...and writing new material!"





Pre-order Hamartia here, where the EP is available in the following formats:


- Ltd. CD Digipak
- 180g black vinyl
- Lilac vinyl available from CM Distro Wholesale EU and CMdistro.de (limited to 500 copies)
- Transparent blue vinyl available from Tribulation (limited to 300 copies)
- Digital EP





Hamartia tracklisting:


"Hamartia"
"Axis Mundi"
"Hemoclysm"
"Vengeance (The Pact)" [Blue Öyster Cult cover]


"Axis Mundi" video:





'Hamartia" video:

British heavy metal vocalist Blaze Bayley, who fronted IRON MAIDEN more than 20 years ago, has been hospitalized after suffering a heart attack.

Earlier today (Sunday, March 26),Mark Appleton and Christopher Appleton, who handle the management and concert bookings, for Blaze's solo band, released the following statement via social media: "We sincerely regret to announce that Blaze had a heart attack at home yesterday evening & is now in hospital in a stable condition, awaiting news of further surgery/treatment. He is in good spirits in the circumstances but utterly disappointed to have to postpone our imminent shows due in March & April. Ticket refunds will be available at source but we truly hope you will keep your tickets & make it to the new dates which we will be announcing as soon as they are scheduled.

"Regarding shows already booked for June-November this year, we understandably have to wait a short while to see how quick Blaze's recovery will be, so please stay tuned & meanwhile most importantly we're sure you will join us in wishing him a complete & speedy recovery.

"Blaze misses you, cannot wait to regain full health & see you all again.

"Every Storm Ends… 'your heart will heal'.

"Thank you so much everyone for your understanding & support."

Blaze's bandmates in WOLFSBANE issued a separate statement, saying: "Last night our brother and friend Blaze Bayley had a heart attack whilst at home. He's in hospital in a stable condition, awaiting news of further treatment. We have spoken to him earlier today and he seemed in good spirits, despite the ordeal he's been through.

"All our love and thoughts are with Blaze and his family.

"We'll update you all when we know more."

The 59-year-old Bayley fronted IRON MAIDEN from 1994 until 1999. The two MAIDEN albums he appeared on, "The X Factor" and "Virtual XI", sold considerably less than the band's prior releases and were their lowest-charting titles in the group's home country since 1981's "Killers".

Since leaving IRON MAIDEN in 1999, Bayley has released a number of albums, including several under the moniker BLAZE and more than a handful under his own name. He also appeared on 2012's "Wolfsbane Saves The World", the first album of new material by WOLFSBANE since the group's self-titled 1994 effort, and a follow-up LP, 2022's "Genius".

Blaze's latest studio album, "War Within Me", came out in April 2021. The LP was recorded during 2020 with work split between Blaze's studio at home in the West Midlands and Christopher Appleton's studio in Greater Manchester.

Earlier this month, Blaze told Metal Planet Music 's Gary Spiller about some fans' initial reluctance to embrace his era of MAIDEN: "I think that the girlfriend or partner analogy is the best. It's when your girlfriend or boyfriend leaves you for someone, and they are perhaps slimmer with more hair, more interesting and better looking, it doesn't feel good. And you lose your favorite singer from your favorite band, and I think that's awkward as well.

"There's a certain percentage of fans from that era, I'm their first MAIDEN singer, and I always will be, and they'll always have that affection for me," he continued. "But there's another group of fans who go, 'My favorite singer left my favorite band. I don't want to look at the replacement.' … And what is good is that after so many years and the 'Senjutsu' album coming out, people have good back and they've looked at the Blaze Bayley era of [1996's 'best-of' album] 'Best Of The Beast' and 'Sign Of The Cross', 'The X Factor', they've done that, and they've come back with a different look. And then they check out what I'm doing now.

"Since [leaving] MAIDEN, I've made 11 studio albums of my own. It's over 25 years ago [that I joined MAIDEN]; it's nearly 30 years now. It's just five years [that I was with MAIDEN]. With WOLFSBANE, we're back together, and we're together longer than I was in IRON MAIDEN.

"It's nice that it's so well thought of and people are still interested," Blaze added. "I've learned a lot. The experiences that I had have affected me and I've learned. And if you listen to my 'War Within Me' album, my new album, you can tell the IRON MAIDEN influence on that; you can absolutely tell. I'm not ashamed of it. I'm, like, well, this is what I enjoyed and learned in MAIDEN, and you'll hear parts of that and hints of that in the 'War Within Me' album. You'll also hear the development of me as an artist, going beyond that.

"So it's nice that people are still interested in that brief part of the MAIDEN history that contains me. And a lot of people think very nicely of me. But there are still a lot of people that absolutely hate me."

Blaze went on to say that his era of MAIDEN still plays a big part in his live show, particularly as he nears the three-decade mark since he first joined the band.

"What's nice is that when I do my anniversary setlist, which a lot of festivals asked for, then I can play songs in my set from those two albums that MAIDEN have never played and will never play," he explained. "And they are my songs, personal to me. So that's really, really cool. So if you did get into those albums and you like those albums, then you'll come and see me and go, 'Oh, actually, I've never heard'Como Estais Amigos' live.' So it's a really cool thing.

"Last year, we got a lot of really wonderful German festivals, and we played the anniversary setlist. And then afterwards, on my own tour, people came that saw me on that anniversary setlist and the festivals, they came and saw me do my Blaze Bayley concerts and really enjoyed it. And they got into 'War Within Me' album and my trilogy and a lot of things. So it's good, really.

"I'm very lucky to have actually had the top job in my field, to have attained the absolute top," Bayley added. "For me, I wanted to be a heavy metal singer, and by some quirk of faith, a lot of luck and a lot of help, then I managed to become the lead singer of IRON MAIDEN, which, for me, is the top job in the world for a heavy metal singer. And I got that job. So that's fantastic that I was able to get that. And I played huge venues all over the world and stadiums and theaters and everything."

We sincerely regret to announce that Blaze had a heart attack at home yesterday evening & is now in hospital in a stable...

Posted by Official Blaze Bayley on Sunday, March 26, 2023

Statement from Wolfsbane

Last night our brother and friend Official Blaze Bayley had a heart attack whilst at home....

Posted by Wolfsbane on Sunday, March 26, 2023

In a brand new interview with Canada's The Metal Voice, JUDAS PRIEST guitarist Richie Faulkner spoke about the progress of the recording sessions for the band's follow-up to 2018's "Firepower" album. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "[The songs] are almost complete. The songs have been around for a little while now. We didn't have the ability to get together and record them, because of the COVID pandemic. And when that lifted, we would then get out on the road. So then we had to record the stuff around being on the road. But we did it. So we'd do a tour leg and I'd come back and do the guitars and then we'd done the drums. And then [we] went back out on the road. And we'd done things around the touring cycle. Now Rob's [Halford] doing the vocals. So they're almost finished."

Regarding the musical direction of the new PRIEST material, Richie said: "I've said this before, and the Internet — the sharks got hold of it… I would definitely say, and Rob said it as well, I said the word 'progressive', and the Internet tore me apart. But they haven't heard it. When I said 'progressive', I'd say it's a little bit… instead of, let's say, verse, chorus, verse, chorus, solo, chorus, finish, it might do verse, musical part, musical section, bridge, chorus, musical section, back into the verse. It doesn't stay on the path; sometimes it goes off and plays it a little… Like the old '70s PRIEST used to, like the 'Sinner' and stuff like that; it used to go on a bit more of a musical journey. Which I think is great — it's interesting.

"So that's what I can say. I've said it before: it's a little bit more progressive; it's a little bit more musically, not experimental, but it's got a few more riffs in there," he explained. "[There's more] intricacies, there's more solos, there's more riffs, which, I don't think that's a bad thing, as a guitar player."

Last month, Halford spoke to the SiriusXM's Ozzy's Boneyard host Mark Strigl about PRIEST's musical evolution on the band's upcoming album. He said: "That's what we love about PRIEST, isn't it? I've always said we're the band that can kind of rip the skin off your face with 'Painkiller', and then the next second we can be your 'turbo lover', or we can go and 'break the law' or we can become 'the sentinel'.

"We've always had so much fun and adventure with not only the albums, but the songs within the albums," he continued. "It's part of who we are. And making these little microcosms of our personalities within the songs especially, all those names that I've referenced just, they've each got like a little mini-movie going on in your head when you think of the lyrics and the message, and then it's all supported by incredible music working together.

"That 'Firepower' record was a real pure effort on our part to do a little bit of reflection and reinforce a lot of the things that we've loved about PRIEST from day one," Halford explained. "That's not to say we went, 'Okay, let's get a bit of a vibe from 'Rocka Rolla' here.' And then, 'How about some 'Sad Wings Of Destiny'?' And 'Don't forget 'Point Of Entry'.' It was none of that. It was just really this overall umbrella of things that we've achieved in metal, and just using that in the back of our minds as we went through from song to song to song. And I wanna say it made it a little bit easier. And what I mean by that is when you have a focus and a direction and a template on which to work from, then you can keep going back to that and going, 'Okay, this is where we're focusing the ideas and the creativity,' and so on and so forth. So that's how 'Firepower' came together like it did. That album, to me, as a PRIEST fan, is as important as, say, 'Painkiller' was in reaffirming this band, and also what 'British Steel' was in reaffirming this band. And what I mean by reaffirmation is that it's like a football team or a basketball team. That team has been there forever, but you're bringing these ideas, you're bringing these moves, and then you go, 'Yeah, these are the things that make that band great.' 'These are the things that make this team great.' And because I overthink everything, that was my thought philosophy behind 'Firepower'. So you've got that in the back of your mind when you're trying to write this current album. And it can be a mind game."

Rob added: "You always wanna do better when you're in a band. Every band goes, 'This is the greatest record we've ever made,' as you should say, because that should be your logic behind whatever you're doing at that given moment in time, giving it a thousand percent so you stand by that statement: 'This is the best thing we've ever done, as of right now.'

"So what's what we're trying to do with this next one. And the substance of it is great, man. I mean, again, you've got all the things that you need from this band. And it's so difficult to talk about music, isn't it? All I can say is — you can tell by the way I'm expressing myself — there's a tremendous amount of belief and love and thought and power and riffs and crazy drums and screams. Man, it's just roaring again. But it's also got those familiar elements of some of the previous material. That's not to say that we're doing 'Firepower' Mark 2 — we're not. But we're in the home stretch. It feels wonderful. I listen to it every day. I've still got a lot of work to do myself, but the foundations of all the instrumentation are so thrilling to listen to. And it feels good.

"We wrote so many songs, like we always do — we overwrite, overwrite, overwrite — and then we curate the best things that we need to work with. So we have an album-plus worth of material, and it's roaring; it's roaring, man. It's on fire."

Halford previously about what fans can expect to hear on the band's upcoming LP in January in an interview with Metal Express Radio. At the time he said: "When you're in a band, you're always trying to better yourself; you're always trying to say, 'This is the best album we've ever made.' It's just a natural thing to do. And I'm aware of the great success and love that was given to 'Firepower'. And so how do you deal with that? Well, firstly, you have to let that go. You have to let that go, because it's like you're chasing after something that's elusive. What's the point of trying to emulate something that you've already done? We've just gotta do like we've always done with PRIEST, the way that every album has its own concept, every album has its own thing. 'British Steel' isn't 'Painkiller'; 'Painkiller' isn't 'Point Of Entry'; 'Point Of Entry' isn't 'Nostradamus'. So this album is shaping up to be its own thing."

He added: "It's great. It's a really good album, and I know our fans are gonna love it."

Last November, Faulkner told Robert Cavuoto of Metal Rules about the musical direction of PRIEST's upcoming LP: "You know what? The Internet seems to know everything these days about what the new album's going to sound like based on a couple of words that [we've] put out there [in previous interviews]. I think we've used the word 'progressive', and everyone thinks it's gonna become 'Nostradamus' [PRIEST's controversial 2008 symphonic heavy metal concept double album about Nostradamus], or RUSH, which is two different things. I've definitely used the word 'progressive' [to describe the new PRIEST material in previous interviews], purely because it's got a few musical turnarounds that 'Firepower' doesn't have. But that doesn't make it a RUSH record. It just makes it — instead of, like, a verse into a bridge into a chorus, there might be a couple of more musical passages in there to make it a bit more… interesting; might be the wrong word. I don't know. You've gotta be careful with the words you use these days. So it's not 'Firepower 2', but it's the same band a few years later, so there's obvious connections to the last record. But it's not 'Firepower 2' by any means."

Richie continued: "No PRIEST records have sounded the same, but it's got a common DNA. And you always try and make the next one sound a bit better — or whatever 'better' may be; 'better' is subjective. So, is it better written? Are the lyrics better? Does it sound better? And 'better' is always subjective. So it's hard to pinpoint, really. But it's a bit more of a musical adventure than the last one, I'd say. But then again someone might listen to it, when it does come out, and have a totally different interpretation of what it is. So it's always tough to sum up your own music without sounding up your own butt."

Asked if longtime PRIEST guitarist Glenn Tipton, who was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease nine years ago after being stricken by the condition at least half a decade earlier, will play on the band's album, Richie said: "He will be, yeah. I don't think he's recorded his guitar parts yet, but he's definitely involved in the writing of it. Obviously, we're all aware of his challenges with Parkinson's, so we were adamant that if he couldn't play that particular day that he was involved in the writing. He'd share his ideas with me and I'd kind of be his… he would share his ideas through me."

In October, Halford told AXS TV's Katie Daryl about what PRIEST fans can expect from the upcoming LP: "The same energy, the same vitality, the same determination, and it really is, again, another affirmation of what you love about JUDAS PRIEST. If you listen to any album from PRIEST from 'Rocka Rolla' in the '70s up to the 2000s with 'Firepower' and everything that went on between there, whether it was 'Turbo Lover' or whether it was the 'Painkiller' or '[You've Got] Another Thing Comin'', all of these pinpoints connect the dots of this great 50 years of metal, this journey that we're on. And it ain't over yet, folks, because that means another album and another tour. And we can't wait to keep pouring out the metal, 'cause that turbo power isn't gonna get turned off anytime soon."

In February 2022, Halford was asked by Remy Maxwell of Audacy Check In if he agreed with Faulkner's comment that the band's upcoming album will be more musically "progressive" than "Firepower". He responded: "Yeah, the metal is there. But here's the thing: we've tried our best not to replicate anything that we've done. From 'Rocka Rolla' all the way through to 'Firepower', each record has had a distinctive character. And it's tough because fans go, 'We want another 'Painkiller',' 'We want another 'British Steel'.' And [it's, like], 'Dude, we've already done that.'

"Fans know that we're a band that is always full of adventure and trying new stuff," he continued. "And so, yeah, this has got probably some more progressive elements that we've never really delved into before. And that's exciting, because, again, it gives us and our fans another opportunity to see a different side of PRIEST. But it's still metal. There's just more of it. There are more notes than there were before."

Also in February, Faulkner told Canada's The Metal Voice about the overall sound of the new PRIEST music: "Whenever you start a record, you never know how it's gonna turn out. So you might start with an idea of what it's gonna be, and as it kind of rolls on, it comes out something different. So you don't quite know. And also it's really hard to sum up your own music, I find, without sounding really pretentious. But I think this one — it's not 'Firepower 2', I don't think. It's its own thing, it's its own animal. If anything, I would say it's a bit more progressive in places, and in places it's got a bit more of that 'Killing Machine' swagger."

Faulkner added: "I know everyone says, 'Oh, is it the next 'Painkiller'?' or 'Is it the next…?' whatever… I don't know if they'd ever done it, but I know we've never done it when I've been in the band; we've never tried to recreate an album. It's always we try to create an album that stands on its own legs. So I think it's definitely a little bit more progressive than 'Firepower' and, as I said, in places it's got a little bit of that 'Killing Machine' angry swagger attitude going on. But again, as I said, we're waiting to see what it turns out like, 'cause it could turn out completely different."

Two years ago, Halford confirmed that PRIEST's next album would see the band reuniting with the "Firepower" production team consisting of Andy Sneap, longtime collaborator Tom Allom and engineer Mike Exeter (BLACK SABBATH).

Bassist Ian Hill is the sole remaining original member of PRIEST, which formed in 1969. Halford joined the group in 1973 and Tipton signed on in 1974. Rob left PRIEST in the early 1990s to form his own band, then came back to PRIEST in 2003. Founding guitarist K.K. Downing parted ways with the band in 2011, and was replaced by Faulkner.

In a new interview with Headbangers Latinoamerica, ACCEPT guitarist Wolf Hoffmann reflected on the band's ill-fated late 1980s period when they were fronted by American singer David Reece.

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 then-bassist Peter Baltes in Chicago. By the end of 1989, ACCEPT had hung it up.

Asked what he thinks about this particular record and ACCEPT's struggle to survive as a band in the 1990s, Wolf said: "it was a sucky time. The '90s were really terrible. To make it short — I've talked about this so many times that I don't even like thinking about it much, because it was just one of many, many things that happened along the career — but, basically, to sum it up, we made a record with David Reece, and we never had the good chemistry, and the times were hard, and it was the wrong album at the wrong time. And then the band basically just broke up after. It's as simple as that. It just wasn't meant to be. It was one of those things that you try — everybody had great intentions; we had some good ideas; but it just wasn't meant to be."

Wolf continued: "And you know what's interesting. Let me tell you this, what's interesting also about… Every album you need to see it in the context of the time. Maybe if we would have released this album five years earlier or five years later or 10 years later, it would have been all different, but at that point it was the wrong thing. You know, there's always timing — right time in the right place. And just the opposite happened in 2009, when we met Mark Tornillo as a new singer [for ACCEPT], and we met [producer] Andy Sneap, and everything basically fell in place. It was almost like the stars aligned properly. And with David Reece, nothing aligned; it was just not meant to be."

Hoffmann went on to say that he and his ACCEPT bandmates "felt lost" when the rise of grunge in the early 1990s forced most hard rock bands off the radio and MTV, with album and tour sales plummeting.

"Nobody knew where the music would turn and nobody knew where the music direction, what people wanted to hear," he admitted. "I know we didn't feel comfortable with grunge and alternative; that wasn't really our thing. We tried to adjust a little bit to the times. And, basically, all these metal bands that I'm familiar with, they all struggled. Nobody quite knew what kind of songs to release. We all didn't think heavy metal was ever gonna come back or would survive. Personally, I thought 'heavy metal is dead.' In the '90s, I thought, 'Okay, it's over.' I thought we had a nice time in the '80s and it was great, but I thought 'heavy metal will never come back.' But to my big surprise, it's back stronger than ever, and it's still here… And the opposite happened — grunge has disappeared, basically. It's strange, isn't it?"

More than two years ago, Wolf said that the "Eat The Heat" album "was a dark time in our history of ACCEPT. I would say that all of the '90s were very difficult and very dark in a way, and I don't even like to think about it so much," he added. "If only you journalist guys didn't constantly ask me about it, I would never even think about it. [Laughs] 'Cause it was just a time when heavy metal was going through a very dark period. The traditional sound was out of style and nobody wanted to listen to it, so it was sort of searching for a new direction — especially in the '90s. 'Eat The Heat' came out at the beginning of that era and it was meant to be a new chapter, but it's just never panned out because basically everything went wrong with that album. And it's just something you go through in life. I don't see why I still have to defend myself in a way… People always ask me this question almost in a provocative way, as if I have to defend myself about this album. It's ridiculous… It's almost like people have to apologize that they like it."

He continued: "There's something about this album that rubs a lot of people the wrong way and they have such a strong opinion about it… It's sometimes laughable. In my mind, it had some fantastic songs but it was just never executed properly, and it was not meant to be. But over the years, I've met so many fans who said exactly the same thing, 'Man, I really wanna apologize, but I really like this album… I know nobody likes it, but I think it's great.' And I think that's so bizarre. If you like it, you like it. It's so strange that people are so opinionated about it.

"It's just music," Wolf explained. "You can like it or not, but it's not more than that. In any case, it wasn't the period of time that I like to even think about much, 'cause it was very difficult."

Hoffmann is the sole remaining original member of ACCEPT, which he formed in 1976 in the town of Solingen, Germany with Dirkschneider and Baltes.

ACCEPT's latest studio album, "Too Mean To Die", was released in January 2021 via Nuclear Blast. The LP was the group's first without Baltes, who exited ACCEPT in November 2018. He has since been replaced by Martin Motnik. ACCEPT's lineup has also been expanded with the addition of a third guitarist, Philip Shouse, who originally filled in for Uwe Lulis during 2019's "Symphonic Terror" tour, before being asked to join the band permanently.

Frankfurt's power metal band Elvenpath will release their new album Faith Through The Fire on June 9, 2023 via El Puerto Records. The first song from the album, again produced by Uwe Lulis (Accept), will follow shortly. 


Faith Through The Fire can inspire with fast-paced power metal attacks as well as with flawless heavy metal anthems. On the one hand, the musicians don't take themselves too seriously and transport their very own humor on this album in the usual manner. On the other hand, there are also thoughtful songs on Faith Through The Fire such as the epic "Silesian Winter".


On April 1, 2023 Elvenpath will be guests at the Taunus Metal Festival in Oberursel (near Frankfurt/Main).




Artwork by Markus Vesper:





Tracklisting:


“Overture Of Steel”
“Shajan – Legend Of The White Wolf”
“Satan’s Plan”
“All Across The Universe”
“Ocras Agus Neart”
“The Famine Year”
“Faith Through The Fire”
“Hail The Hammer And Warrior Wind”
“Silesian Winter”
“The Smoke That Thunders”
“Epiclogue” 

3x Grammy-nominated Nothing More, lauded as one of mainstream rock’s most powerful and distinctive acts, have teamed up with rock singer/songwriter Lacey Sturm (Flyleaf) who is featured on a new version of the single “Best Times” from Nothing More’s 2022 album Spirits via Better Noise Music. “Best Times (Feat. Lacey Sturm)” is out today (March 24), across all digital platforms and the group has also shared its music video.





The music video for “Best Times (Feat. Lacey Sturm)” was directed by Michael Lombardi (The Retaliators, Papa Roach, The HU) and takes an inside look at a couple’s relationship and how life’s ‘best times’ can sometimes pass us by without being acknowledged and is a reminder to appreciate those moments as they occur.




“This song is a real special one,” reveals Nothing More frontman Jonny Hawkins. “It’s definitely one of the most positive feel-good songs we’ve ever written and it obviously stands out on the album by being that ray of hope too. I didn’t think it could get any better, but when we thought about featuring another singer and Lacey’s name came up it was a no-brainer. She’s been a shining light and is one of those singers that makes you feel and believe every word out of her mouth whether you agree with it or not. We knew her voice would take it over the top… and that’s exactly what she did! We couldn’t be more proud to have her collaborate with us on this and to get it out to the world for everyone to feel and embrace when you need a song to help get you through.”


Sturm comments: “I connected with Jonny's story about his family struggles with his mother and sister. I love the painful beauty in any art that comes from wrestling with mental health and addiction. I've always looked for common ground with artists who deal with suicide prevention. My own struggle against self-destruction is also a struggle to not tear my loved ones apart. There is a perspective shift in this song. Like a suffocating cloud, the heaviness of life turns to thankfulness and even joy over what matters most. Pain and loss can turn the lights on inside us, allowing us to see the good, all the ‘Best Times,’ we couldn't see before. I'm relieved to be reminded by this song to remember what matters most and find gratitude. I need it.”


Nothing More will bring their riveting live performance to virtual audiences on Sunday, April 9 as they’ve partnered with VEEPS to host a livestream show from their headlining NYC tour stop at Irving Plaza. Tickets are available on VEEPS. The stop is part of NOTHING MORE’s “SPIRITS 2023” U.S. tour which stretches from March 31 in Richmond, VA until the band’s featured set at Sonic Temple festival in Columbus, OH on May 28 and features supporting acts Crown The Empire and Thousand Below. The rock quartet will then make their way overseas to hit several of the top rock festivals across Europe including Hellfest (France), Knotfest (Italy), Graspop (Belgium) and more in addition to a newly added headlining show in London, UK on June 19 at O2 Islington Academy. Find tour and ticket info at nothingmore.net.


Nothing More will be bringing copies of their debut graphic novel, Spirits Vol.1, (Z2 Comics) on upcoming tour dates for fans to purchase along with fulfilling all online pre-orders. The puzzle box narrative was written by Dan Watters (King Diamond’s Abigail, Lucifer, Azrael) and illustrated by Christian Rosado. Adhering to the themes of Nothing More’s recent Spirits album, Spirts Vol. 1 follows the lives of four individuals from 1952 to modern day, and examines how the unexpected manifestation of their spirit types alter and shape their destinies for a greater purpose. The spirit types were formed from the results of taking the band’s own meta-personality Spirits Test released concurrent with the new album.


(Photo - Jody Domingue)