Today, Canadian hard rockers, Harem Scarem, are pleased to unveil their new single, “Reliving History”, out now via Frontiers Music Srl. The single is accompanied by a lyric video, available to view below.



Vocalist Harry Hess comments on the new single: “It’s been almost 5 years since we’ve released any new music. We are thrilled to announce the release of our brand new single ‘Reliving History’. Looking forward to seeing everyone on the road this year. Enjoy!”

Watch the lyric video for “Reliving History” below. Stream the single here.



Arguably Canada’s finest melodic hard rock band, Harem Scarem were formed in 1987 by guitarist Pete Lesperance and singer Harry Hess, formerly of the heavy metal band Blind Vengeance. The lineup was rounded out by Darren Smith (drums) and Mike Gionet (bass).

They recorded a demo in 1989 and, on the strength of it, they were signed to Warner Music. Their self-titled album was a significant success in Canada and paved the way to the release of the heavier ‘Mood Swings’ album in 1993, often considered the crown jewel of their early releases.

Enjoying a particular success in the land of the Rising Sun, Harem Scarem kept on releasing albums regularly during the 90’s, until they decided to ultimately change their name and music style to Rubber between 1999 and 2001.

In 2002, the band came back to melodic hard rock with the milestone album Weight Of The World, which was their first proper release in the European marketplace thanks to their newly signed deal with Frontiers. With the Italian label, Harem Scarem released another five original albums (not counting 2006’s Human Nature) until they took a break from recording in 2008 after the release of the album Hope.

In December 2012, it was announced that a reunited Harem Scarem would headline the 10th Firefest festival in Nottingham, UK, in October 2013, to perform the Mood Swings album in its entirety. The band regrouped and performed at Firefest and moved forward re-recording Mood Swings II, a twenty-year anniversary re-recording of their critically acclaimed and fan favorite second album.

The three new songs included on that release showed renewed musical vigor and chemistry. This new energy was confirmed on 2014’s Thirteen release, which was a definitive return to the sound that put Harem Scarem on the map over 20 years earlier.

Two more acclaimed albums followed: United (2017) and Change The World (2020), where the band presented a new lineup featuring Harry Hess (lead vocals, keyboards), Pete Lesperance (guitars, keyboards), long-time drummer Creighton Doane, Mike Vassos on bass, and backing vocals from original sticksman Darren Smith.

With well over a million records sold in 43 countries and 12 top 40 hits around the globe, the new year will see Harem Scarem return and ready to dominate. Check them on tour in Europe in spring.

Harem Scarem are:

Harry Hess – Lead & Backing Vocals, Keyboards
Pete Lesperance – Guitars and Bass
Creighton Doane – Drums
Darren Smith – Lead and Backing Vocals

(Photo – Al Piazza)

Dutch singer / songwriter Anneke van Giersbergen (ex-The Gathering) has checked in with the following update:

“I’m excited to announce that my new album will be titled La Vie, La Mort, L’Amour – French for Life, Death, Love. This collection of songs will be released as a trilogy. The first EP, La Vie, will be available digitally on February 28.

I wrote these songs shortly after the passing of both of my parents and I brought my 8-piece live band into the studio to record them. Last year, I was confronted with some of life’s biggest questions and the doubt that came with my loss. These songs reflect my emotions and thoughts during that challenging time. Musically, I was inspired by the sounds of the ’80s and ’90s, the music that shaped my youth.

I’m really looking forward to sharing this with all of you!”

Anneke recently released a new acoustic single, “One More Nanosecond”, which is now available on streaming platforms. Check it out below.

The original lineup of BLACK SABBATH — Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward — will play its final concert in July.

Dubbed "Back To The Beginning", the charity show will be held at Villa Park in Birmingham, United Kingdom on July 5, with tickets on sale from 10 a.m. on February 14. Support at the gig will come from METALLICA, SLAYER, PANTERA and many more.

Rounding out the event will be an all-star group featuring Billy Corgan (THE SMASHING PUMPKINS),Tom Morello (RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE),Fred Durst (LIMP BIZKIT),Jonathan Davis (KORN),Wolfgang Van Halen and many others. Morello will also serve as the musical director for the event.

Morello promises: "This will be the greatest heavy metal show ever."

See the full list of performers in the poster below.

All proceeds from the show will go to Birmingham charities Cure Parkinson's, the Birmingham Children's Hospital and Acorn Children's Hospice.

Osbourne comments: "It's my time to go 'Back To The Beginning'… time for me to give back to the place where I was born. How blessed am I to do it with the help of people whom I love. Birmingham is the true home of metal. Birmingham Forever."

A year ago, Sharon said that Ozzy was hoping to play a farewell concert at Birmingham's Villa Park as a "goodbye" to fans.

BLACK SABBATH is considered a pioneer of heavy metal and was formed in 1968 in Aston, Birmingham.

BLACK SABBATH has sold over 75 million albums worldwide and were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2006, awarded a Lifetime Ivor Novello Songwriting Award in 2015 and were presented with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019.

The band has a star on the Broad Street Walk Of Stars in Birmingham, alongside individual stars in their own right, together with a bench in their honor.

In February 2017, SABBATH finished "The End" tour in Birmingham, closing out the quartet's groundbreaking 49-year career.

"The End" was SABBATH's last tour because Iommi — who was diagnosed with lymphoma in late 2011 — can no longer travel for extended amounts of time.

Iommi revealed his cancer diagnosis in early 2012, shortly after SABBATH announced a reunion tour and album. He underwent treatment throughout the recording of the disc, titled "13", and the subsequent tour to promote it.

The BLACK SABBATH guitarist successfully underwent an operation in January 2017 to remove a noncancerous lump from his throat.

"13" was the first album in 35 years to feature Iommi, Osbourne and Butler all playing together.

Ward was on board for the SABBATH reunion when it was first announced 11 years ago, but backed out soon after. The drummer later claimed that he sat out the recording and touring sessions because of unfair contractual terms, although the members of SABBATH have hinted in other interviews that he wasn't physically up to the task.

All four original members of SABBATH were present when the band announced its final reunion in late 2011. But Ward split from the group in 2012, citing an "unsignable" contract, and Osbourne, Iommi and Butler carried on with their Rick Rubin–produced "13" LP and extensive international touring without him.

On the red carpet of the 67th annual Grammy Awards, which was held Sunday night (February 2) at the Crypto.com Arena (formerly the Staples Center) in Los Angeles, California, JUDAS PRIEST singer Rob Halford spoke to Stage Right Secrets about the band's musical evolution since its inception more than five decades ago. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET):  "I think the fact that the substance of this band goes from the beginning of where we originated from and the way that we have always had an eye on what's happening around us. And relevance and importance are always vital for, I think, any musician to feel that they're connected. And metal has been doing that for the last five decades for JUDAS PRIEST. If you look at any particular decade through PRIEST's life, you'll see something that shows you that we're in the groove, we're in the connectivity of it all. So, whether we're breaking the law or living after midnight or being your turbo lover, or as we are today, your crown of horns, it's all really this thread, this heavy metal thread, that is connecting. And it makes us feel great, it makes us feel good to still be here, still vital and doing what we love to do so much."

At this year's Grammy Awards, JUDAS PRIEST was nominated for "Crown Of Horns", a song off the band's latest album, "Invincible Shield", which came out in March 2024.

JUDAS PRIEST was honored with a Grammy in the "Best Metal Performance" category in the pre-telecast ceremony at the 52nd annual Grammy Awards, which was held in January 2010 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. JUDAS PRIEST was nominated for the track "Dissident Aggressor", from the band's 2009 live album "A Touch Of Evil: Live". Halford and PRIEST drummer Scott Travis accepted the award at the event.

JUDAS PRIEST played the final concert of its 2024 tour on December 13 at Ex Theater in Roppongi, Tokyo, Japan.

PRIEST will celebrate the 35th anniversary of its classic album "Painkiller" extensively live with the "Shield Of Pain" tour in 2025. This "rare" and "unique set" will include "beloved classics" and "will be defending the metal faith in a truly memorable experience throughout Europe" this summer, according to a social media post from PRIEST.

PRIEST's 12th album, "Painkiller" was recorded at Miraval Studios in Brignoles, France, and was mixed at Wisseloord Studios in Hilversum, the Netherlands. It was the first LP to feature Travis following the departure of Dave Holland.

"Invincible Shield" entered the U.K. chart at No. 2, just behind Ariana Grande's "Eternal Sunshine".

Prior to "Invincible Shield"'s arrival, PRIEST's highest U.K. chart achievement was with 1980's "British Steel", which reached No. 4.

PRIEST's 2018 album "Firepower" entered the chart at No. 5.

"Invincible Shield" was JUDAS PRIEST's fifth Top 10 album, after the aforementioned "British Steel" and "Firepower", as well as 2014's "Redeemer Of Souls" (No. 6) and the 1979 live album "Unleashed In The East" (No. 10).

"Invincible Shield" landed at No. 1 in Germany, Finland, Sweden and Switzerland, as well as No. 5 in France, No. 8 in Italy and No. 16 in Australia.

Fan-filmed video of Ace Frehley's February 1 concert at AURA in Portland, Maine can be seen below.

In a recent interview with Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station, Frehley confirmed that he had commenced work on "Origins Vol. 3", the sequel to Ace's 2016 and 2020 collections of cover songs that inspired the former KISS guitarist. "I'm working on 'Origins Vol. 3', 'cause that's the next record I'm putting out in 2025," he said. "So, we're starting to gear up for that and figuring out which songs [to include on the LP]. I have a long extensive list and we're slowly whittling it down to which ones we're gonna track."

Frehley went on to say that he is once again working with TRIXTER's Steve Brown, who produced and co-wrote all the material on Ace's latest solo album, "10,000 Volts", which was released in February 2024 via MNRK Music Group (formerly eOne Music).

"'Origins Vol. 3' will probably be out before the end of 2025," Ace revealed. "I usually put out a record every year, year and a half, two years now. I have two more albums on my record deal with MNRK Music. And everything's great."

Released in September 2020, "Origins Vol. 2" featured cover versions of THE BEATLES' "I'm Down", DEEP PURPLE's "Space Truckin'", LED ZEPPELIN's "Good Times Bad Times", THE ROLLING STONES' "Jumpin' Jack Flash", THE KINKS' "Lola" and THE JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE's "Manic Depression", among others. A cover of the 1975 KISS tune "She" also appeared as a bonus track. Guests on the set included CHEAP TRICK's Robin Zander, Lita Ford and former KISS guitarist Bruce Kulick.

Released in April 2016, "Origins Vol. 1" debuted at No. 23 on The Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 16,000 equivalent album units. The CD featured KISS frontman Paul Stanley joining Ace on FREE's hit "Fire And Water", Slash trading leads on THIN LIZZY's classic "Emerald", Ford singing and playing lead on THE TROGGS staple "Wild Thing", then-ROB ZOMBIE guitarist John 5 playing guitar alongside Ace on the classic KISS composition "Parasite", and PEARL JAM's Mike McCready playing guitar with Ace on KISS's "Cold Gin".

In a 2016 interview with The Aquarian Weekly, Frehley admitted that doing the first covers album was "the record company's idea. To be honest with you, initially, I wasn't that excited about the project, because I had just come off the high of the success of 'Space Invader', which is all originals except for a cover of 'The Joker'," he said. "It was almost, like, 'Okay, I'm going to go through the motions and get this out of the way and then jump into the studio for my next real studio album.' But I've gotta tell ya, man, once I started the process and started remembering the groups that influenced me, narrowing down which songs I thought were going to be best for the record, and then started the recording process; I really started getting more excited about it."

The official music video for the "10,000 Volts" track — directed by Alex Kouvatsos from Black Wolf Imaging — was released in late November 2023. A clip for "Cherry Medicine", which was directed by Justin H. Reich of Three Thirty-Three Creative and produced by Reich and Steve Seabury, followed in February 2024.

🎸 NEW SHOW in Portland::

🎤 Ace Frehley
📆 Saturday, February 1st
📍 Aura | portland, ME
🎟️ Tickets go on sale Friday, December 6th at 10AM - https://bit.ly/AuraAceFrehley

Posted by Aura on Monday, December 2, 2024

Idle Heirs, which features Sean Ingram of Coalesce and producer Josh Barber, will release their debut album, Life Is Violence, on April 11

Idle Heirs is a band born from necessity, forged through a need to articulate previously unspoken feelings, illuminating the darkest recesses and inhabiting them wholeheartedly. The two piece band from the Kansas City area is a tight knit unit that hums with creativity and revels in the freedom of creating exactly what their hearts desire.

For over a decade Sean Ingram’s focus had been elsewhere; due to the prolonged hiatus of Coalesce, music was no longer at the forefront of his artistic endeavours. When events – on both a global and personal level, and specifically, where the two intersect – conspired to bring Ingram to a place where music once again became essential, the seed for Idle Heirs was planted. Rather than the conditions being right for a musical reprise, the conditions had to be all wrong, leaving only one way forward.

Having connected with musician and producer Josh Barber, Ingram already knew who his co-conspirator for this mission would be. The two friends had discussed working together on music but their earliest efforts had stalled. Describing himself as “a doer, not a dreamer”, Ingram made it clear to Barber that there was an increasing urgency to getting the project off the ground. Barber understood how imperative this was to them both, and took dramatic measures to kickstart the creative process.

Barber sequestered himself in a remote part of the Pacific Northwest for eight days, giving himself the space and time to concentrate solely on what would become the blueprint for the debut Idle Heirs album. Shedding his self-imposed attempts to compose what others expected of him, Barber wrote with a solitary, highly focussed mindset, all the while imbibing the atmosphere of the gloomy forests and storm-battered shoreline around him.

Motivated only by a need to express what roiled inside them, the duo had no intention of the band being for public consumption. Even as the creative contributions of others weaved their way into the Idle Heirs core, the pair remained focussed only on the path they sought to follow, trusting each other implicitly and pushing each other each and every step of the way.

Today, Idle Heirs shares the first taste of music from their Life Is Violence debut album, “Rare Bird”. Stream / share “Rare Bird” on DSP’s here, and find the music video below.

Life Is Violence was recorded at Ocean Sound studio in Norway – something of a bucket list adventure, given Barber’s fondness of Cult Of Luna. Indulging themselves in the freedom that came with creating without restriction or expectation, the pair decamped to the icy Norwegian wilderness with five of their collaborators to lay down the eight tracks. The isolation of the studio and the absence of external pressures allowed for an unparalleled clarity and exacting level of attention to detail.

Idle Heirs have created a post-metal album that captures a certain vulnerability within its mournful sound. Ingram attributes this to the fact that throughout its creation, even as the songs themselves were taking shape and coming to life, the album was still not recorded with an audience in mind. Assuming that it would never be heard beyond his closest circle of friends allowed a disarming honesty to permeate the songs. Alongside this, there’s a leftfield turn for anyone expecting only to hear his familiar throat-shredding vocals: on Life Is Violence, Ingram utilizes a broader range of vocal styles, a development of his craft that required considerable training. The unguarded approach and differing vocal delivery allow slivers of optimism to counter the desperation and tension; even in darkness light can sometimes be found.

Embracing the idea that art can be an effective way of processing experiences, Ingram channeled a complex web of grief and existential thought into his lyrics. Thematically, Life Is Violence contemplates the thread of paternal influence from generation to generation and how it can be disrupted. Ingram examines the impact his father had on his life, whilst simultaneously contemplating his own mortality and what he will pass down to his children. With a determination to ensure that what he leaves behind in the future is markedly different to what he inherited himself, Idle Heirs have issued a missive that stands as both a line in the sand and a testament to love.



Pre-order Life Is Violence here, and look for more news from Idle Heirs soon.

Life Is Violence tracklisting:

“Loose Tooth”
“Rare Bird”
“Jaded Mountain”
“Lemonade Stands”
“Dim Shepherd”
“Pillow Talk”
“Dead Ringer”
“Momma”

Raven Black will release their new album, Black Sonata, in September. The first single, “Fuck You”, will be available on March 13.



Raven Black are a theatrical metal act originally from Los Angeles. Their unique brand of metal – influenced by gothic, classical, and heavy metal music – is the soundtrack to vocalist Raven’s duality, as she shares her story of being a hybrid of both dark and light.

Taking from all their musical influences and mixing them with all their favorite art, movies, ethnic background and life experiences, every song is created to take their fans on a journey, an adventure and come out of it with new perspective and understanding. Some songs are melodic, some songs are dark, some songs are fun. Some songs are raging and psychotic, bull all the songs tell a story.

Hailing as a “Dark Metal Carnival”, the band has released three albums since 2016 and toured rigorously since, supporting acts such as Cradle Of Filth, DevilDriver, Jinjer, Mushroomhead and Static-X. The band, previously managed by The Oracle (Dez Fafara of Coal Chamber and DevilDriver) and has worked exclusively with their producer Ulrich Wild (Grammy-nominated with works of Static-X, White Zombie, Deftones).

Bullet For My Valentine and Trivium kicked off their The Poisoned Ascendancy Tour on January 26 in Cardiff, Wales at Utilita Arena. The tour celebrates the 20th Anniversary of their respective albums, The Poison and Ascendancy.

Bullet For My Valentine setlist:

“Her Voice Resides” (first time since 2017)
“4 Words (to Choke Upon)”
“Tears Don’t Fall”
“Suffocating Under Words of Sorrow (What Can I Do)”
“Hit The Floor” (first time since 2016)
“All These Things I Hate (Revolve Around Me)”
“Hand Of Blood”
“Room 409” (first time since 2016)
“The Poison” (first time since 2019)
“10 Years Today” (first time since 2016)
“Cries in Vain” (first time since 2016)
“The End” (first time since 2016)

Encore:
“Knives”
“Waking The Demon”







Trivium setlist:

“Rain”
“Pull Harder On The Strings Of Your Martyr”
“Drowned And Torn Asunder”
“Ascendancy”
“A Gunshot To The Head of Trepidation”
“Like Light To The Flies”
“Dying In Your Arms” (first time live since 2017)
“The Deceived”
“Suffocating Sight”
“Departure” (first time since 2012)
“Declaration” (first time since 2007)

Encore:
“In Waves”

Bullet For My Valentine and Trivium kicked off their The Poisoned Ascendancy Tour on January 26 in Cardiff, Wales at Utilita Arena. The tour celebrates the 20th Anniversary of their respective albums, The Poison and Ascendancy.

Trivium setlist:

“Rain”
“Pull Harder On The Strings Of Your Martyr”
“Drowned And Torn Asunder”
“Ascendancy”
“A Gunshot To The Head of Trepidation”
“Like Light To The Flies”
“Dying In Your Arms” (first time live since 2017)
“The Deceived”
“Suffocating Sight”
“Departure” (first time since 2012)
“Declaration” (first time since 2007)

Encore:
“In Waves”

During an appearance on "The New Man" podcast with Tripp Lanier, LAMB OF GOD frontman Randy Blythe spoke about being 14 years sober. Asked about how he got over the notion that really creative people, including great writers, need alcohol or drugs to find their best ideas or perform to the best of their ability, Randy said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "That's a sort of cultural mythos, especially in rock bands, and even more so in a metal band. I believe that that mythos is sort of shifting, that paradigm is shifting, and the young kids don't think it's as cool to be fucked up anymore like we did when we were kids. It was part of the deal. And it's a lie, it's definitely a lie that you need all that stuff to do what I do. But it's a cultural sort of mythos that I bought in to, not just with music, but with writing, because like any other angst-riddled 20-something male American dude, I loved reading Hemingway, I loved reading Bukowski, I loved reading Hunter S. Thompson, F. Scott Fitzgerald, all these members of this supremely male canon of authors who really reshaped modern English literature. And all of them had a few things in common — all of them were wild, did wild manly shit, which I'm for. All of them drank to excess and generally got into some sticky situations from time to time. It's a cornerstone of your identity, it becomes so. So for me, in my twenties and thirties, I would talk about being a writer a lot and I was doing all the things that all those writers, Hemingway and Hunter S. Thompson and Bukowski, all those guys did — I did a lot of drinking, I did a respectable amount of womanizing, I did some fist fighting here and there, I got into some crazy shit, I was practicing, I was doing all the things the great writers did except for the writing part. That's the hart part. So that's that cultural mythos with the writers. And then with music, and being in a heavy metal band, and the sort of cultural perception of that, that baggage, and me personally knowing some of the legends from this who did drink and drug to excess, I bought in to that. And in a sense in the beginning, alcohol was useful, and every now and then some drugs were useful."

Asked what he means when he says that alcohol and drugs were "useful", Randy explained: "Well, if you have a sense of stage fright, a liquid courage, a little bottled confidence [would always help in the early days]. And we were very confrontational band, so our earlier gigs were at house parties, squats and things like that. They weren't even in clubs, and you're on the floor with people, and [they were] very physical. The crowd can either aggressively not like you or aggressively really like you — either way.

"There's no school to teach you how to be a frontman, how to get in front of people and do your thing," Blythe continued. "You're not, like, 'Okay, I'm relying on my training,' like a Navy seal, like falling back on to the level of your training. It's, like, 'Okay, let's go out and see what fucking happens.' And so that can give you the nerves. And in the early days you, I could quiet those nerves with some alcohol. Most certainly. They don't call it liquid courage for nothing. After a while, that inhibits your ability to do your job. Luckily, in my case, I wasn't doing Al Green. I'm not Pavarotti. So if Pavarotti or Marvin Gaye got up there all fucked up, people would be, like, 'Oh my God, this sucks.' When you're in a heavy metal band, there's an element of danger to it, which I think is valuable in music, at least in what we do. And there was definitely an element of danger to what we did. And alcohol was part of that. The thing is, though, man, you don't need that. That's a lie."

Regarding how he turned that corner, Randy said: "I had to get beat on the head repeatedly that I was going to die if I didn't stop drinking. I can tell you about my first sober show if you want [to hear it]. We were in Australia, and we were on tour with a band called METALLICA. And we had been out with them for about a year over the course of two, two and a half years. We'd done Europe, United States a few times, and we ended this tour in New Zealand and Australia. And my last night of drinking was in Brisbane, Australia. And I went out with some friends and just got completely, utterly fucked up, except for that it didn't work. I drank enough and I'm sure had I been given a breathalyzer, they would have been, like, 'Jesus Christ, how is this dude still alive? There's almost no blood left in his alcohol system.' … And the alcohol, for me, was a thing that shut off the voices in my head, the voices that were angry at the way the world was behaving, that were angry at myself for my own shortcomings and asshole-ish behavior or moral cowardice at times — whatever. The inner critic was incredibly harsh — and still is sometimes. But I'm trying to ameliorate that from time to time. But anyway, I went out and it stopped working. And I woke up in Brisbane on a hotel balcony. And I looked out on the street below… And one of my favorite bookstores in the world was directly across the street from the hotel. And then down the streets more were great restaurants, plenty of food. And then over to the left was the Brisbane Botanical Gardens, which are cool. And they've got all sorts of beautiful, weird plants we don't have. And of course it's Australia, so you're gonna see weird-ass animals and birds. It's just a gorgeous place. And so I looked out from my hotel balcony. And I had a suite. It was very nice. We're in Australia. I've got money in the bank. I'm on tour with fucking METALLICA. It's the biggest heavy metal band in history, not to mention one of the biggest bands in the world, period. I've got money in the bank account. My band, I've learned somehow to function well enough, drunk, that I can still do my job. I still had a romantic partner at that time, a longterm romantic partner that ended eventually, but at that time I still had her. And everything on the outside was good. And I looked out over this street and all this cool shit and I realized I didn't want to do anything. I didn't want to exist. It wasn't like I felt suicidal, like 'I wanna kill myself', but I was, like, 'I don't wanna be here anymore. I just want to vanish from existence.' And I looked over at this table where I had set the beer bottles from the night before 'cause I'd been drinking for a few days and I'm kind of a weirdo OCD dude with my surroundings. So I had very carefully, even while intoxicated, lined these beer bottles perfectly up in this — you know how bowling pins would be, like they're just perfectly lined up, touching each other. All the labels are facing the right way. 'Cause I'm trying to, by controlling my external environment, exert some sort of control on the disaster that is Randy. So I looked over at these beer bottles that were empty and they were stacked there and I realized that they were a metaphor for my life. Because on the outside, just like my life, everything was perfect and orderly and in its place. But, just like those bottles, I had just become an empty receptacle for alcohol and drugs. And all it would take would just be a little push, and those bottles would just fall and shatter. So I looked. I was, like, 'Fuck. I don't wanna exist. I'm just an empty beer bottle now. And I thought, 'Man, maybe I ought to really try and quit drinking, honestly, this time,' because I'd been trying half-assed for, like, four or five years. And this time I took it serious. And I was, like, 'Hey, I have to quit drinking.' And so I asked the universe, I was, like, 'God, please help me.' Whatever's out there. I had this moment where it wasn't, like… I didn't have a picture of a bearded dude in the sky or anything, but I just asked — I use the term 'God' for lack of a better term. I asked, 'Whatever is out there, please help me because I don't know what to do.' I knew then, like, 'Let's stop and try drinking,' and a peace washed over me, like immense calm in that moment. When I was just, like, 'I'm fucked,' 'cause that's the only way, if you have a problem, you're ever gonna get better, is if you realize that you're fucked. It was a realization of reality, to put it simply recognizing that I was indeed totally fucked. So I had this brief moment of immense peace wash over me, and it lasted for approximately 45 seconds. And then this little devil on my shoulder, like little Satan, he's always there or whatever, the demon, it was, like, 'Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Hold on. Let's think this through. Maybe you just had a bad night. Maybe you've just had a bad 22 years of solid drinking and drugging. It was crazy. It was crazy. I totally didn't wanna live anymore. And it wasn't the first time I'd felt that way. And I'd had these repercussions for drinking… You feel like you can't function. And I felt that. And I was, like, 'Whoa, whoa, whoa. A second ago you were all good, and then before that you wanted to die and now you wanna drink again. You're crazy. You are crazy, bro.'

"Some of the guys in METALLICA's band and crew were sober on that tour, and they had had words with me," Randy added. "I'd been getting signals for fucking 15, 20 years from parents, family, kindly members of the Richmond Fraternal Order Of The Police, judges. I had a journalist in Richmond write a story about me, like, 'This dude needs to sober up.' I was, like, 'Fuck you. Fuck you. You don't know what I do. If you had to do what I did, you'd drink too.' So I was, like, 'I think what I'm gonna do is I'm just gonna try not to drink.' I made a decision, 'cause there was beer in the fridge right there in that hotel. I was, like, 'I'm not gonna go get a beer. I'm not gonna go get a beer. I'm gonna go to tonight's show and I'm gonna talk to these guys. I'm gonna be, like, 'Will you fucking help me? What the fuck do I do?' So I went to the gig, and I showed up early and I found a couple of those guys. I'm, like, 'Look, I'm fucked. Help me. I'm trying to be sober.' And they were, like, 'We got you, bro.' And my hair was still long then. I walked on stage that night in front of 14,000 people, falling to pieces, weeping hysterically. Luckily, like I said, I had long hair, so I kept it in my face. And our music is, like, super aggressive, so I'm just crying… I think [the emotion at the time] was just, like, 'I don't know what I'm going to do. What is going on? What happened to my life? How did I reach this point?' It's like someone had scraped my entire skin, like road rash all over my soul. So I stood on stage in front 14,000 people screaming my head off while weeping uncontrollably. Luckily, no one could tell because I was just constantly running and headbanging. And I made it through that show. And that was my first day sober. And that was October 18th, 2010. I haven't had a drink or a drug since."

In a separate interview with the The Lydian Spin podcast, Blythe spoke about the challenges of going on tour and being around people who are drinking. The 53-year-old musician said: "I can be kind of antisocial in general anyway. By the end of my drinking, I just wanted to be alone: 'Leave me the fuck alone, and let me drink.'

"I can go out," Randy explained. "I'll go anywhere. I'm not afraid of being around alcohol or drugs. If I was, I would never tour again. For me, being around utterly shitfaced people is fairly intolerable now. And so if I go to a party, if there's like a house party, friends of mine are having dinner, I'll hang out and I'll hang out until people hit me with the 'I love you, man,' like a couple times. I'm, like, 'Okay, it's time to go. I had a great time, and you guys can carry on and God bless. Good luck and godspeed. I'm outta here.' So, I don't have a problem [being around people who are drinking], and I don't walk around like some sort of angry curmudgeon, like, 'Don't fucking talk to me.' And when I am trapped by those people, I look at it as a karmic debt. I look at it as a karmic debt, because I fucking terrified and annoyed countless people for decades. So it's, like, what comes around goes around."

Randy previously discussed his sobriety during a September 2022 appearance on SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk". He said at the time: "It's not attractive to sit up and fucking drink and snort coke and say a bunch of stupid shit with a bunch of morons when you're [in your early 50s]. It's just not. [Laughs] I haven't had a hangover in over [more than a decade]. I don't know if I would survive one now."

Asked by host Eddie Trunk if it was "tough" for him to be on the road where alcohol can be found everywhere, Randy said: "No. Hell no, dude. Seeing people party and stuff, especially when they 'party party' and get stupid… I don't judge, but it makes it more repulsive to me, 'cause I was, like, Jesus… I was pretty bad. Nobody looks cool when they're wasted, so it just doesn't appeal to me. And I have better things to do. I'm trying to do good things with my life — write books and do photography and shit like that. I can't do that when I'm drunk. Plus, man, I drank enough. I did it for 22 years. I'm not gonna discover anything new in drugs and alcohol."

Pressed about whether it bothers him when people around him are drinking, Blythe said: "It doesn't bother me. It only bothers me if they're fucking wasted and saying stupid shit to me and then I run. But it doesn't make me wanna do it, if that's what you're asking. It has the opposite effect. Seeing people drink does not bother me at all. The only thing that bothers me is when they're hammered and in my face. But other than that, I don't expect the rest of the world to behave… I can't expect the rest of the world to behave in the way I do and not drink because not everybody's an alcoholic like me. Some people are perfectly okay, and that's no problem. God bless. Have a good time. But if you're wasted and the 'I love you, man' starts, then I just dip out. It's not a problem."

Blythe discussed his battle with alcoholism and how he got sober after a couple of decades of drinking during a book-signing event and question-and-answer session for his memoir, "Dark Days: A Memoir", in 2015. At the time, he said: "Most people, when they stop… It's entirely individual… Some people hit bottom because they wake up in jail, because their wife has left them, because they don't have any money left, because they lost their job, or because they just can't… they can't take it anymore."

He continued: "When I woke up the morning… I wrote about this in my book; I wrote about the last night I drank and the first day of sobriety. I woke up, and I was on tour. I was in Australia. I was opening up for the biggest band in metal, in the world — ever, in the history of metal. I was in a beautiful place. I had money in my bank account. My wife hadn't left me yet — and she still hasn't, somehow amazingly. And everything on the outside of my life, to anyone looking at it, beyond the fact that I looked kind of busted, everything would look good. Like, this dude is in this band, he's on this tour in this beautiful place. It's Australia, it's paradise. He's getting paid…. Not millions of dollars; don't get me wrong. But he's making money. I woke up one day and I just did not want to do anything. It's the strangest feeling to not want to… I couldn't think of a single thing I wanted to do. I didn't wanna eat, I didn't wanna sleep, I didn't wanna read a book, I didn't wanna go to work, I didn't wanna… drink. I couldn't imagine not drinking. I didn't want to do anything. I felt completely empty."

Blythe added: "So, for me, it was a very emotional flatline… like, bottom. It wasn't anything traumatic whatsoever. I just reached a point where I was, like, 'I've gotta do something else, or else I might as well be dead.' And I firmly believe I would be dead [by now if I hadn't stopped]. So it was just a weird thing. I don't know why. I drank 22 years — heavy — and finally I got enough pain where it's, like, 'Okay, this sucks. I've gotta stop.' But it's different for everyone. Anybody who's ever had a drinking problem can tell you that it's different for everyone."

Blythe's second book, "Just Beyond The Light: Making Peace With The Wars Inside Our Head", is due on February 18, 2025 via Grand Central Publishing (GCP).

"Just Beyond The Light" was described by Blythe as a "tight, concise roadmap of how I have attempted to maintain what I believe to be a proper perspective in life, even during difficult times."

In December, Blythe announced more spoken-word and question-and-answer events to promote "Just Beyond The Light". The special "evening with" event includes a spoken-word performance, an audience question-and-answer session, a copy of "Just Beyond The Light" and an opportunity to have the book signed.

In 2012, Blythe was arrested in the Czech Republic and charged with manslaughter for allegedly pushing a 19-year-old fan offstage at a show two year prior and causing injuries that led to the fan's death. Blythe spent 37 days in a Prague prison before ultimately being found not guilty in 2013.

Blythe's prison experience inspired two songs on LAMB OF GOD's 2015 album "VII: Sturm Und Drang": "512", one of his three prison cell numbers, and "Still Echoes", written while he was in Pankrac Prison, a dilapidated facility built in the 1880s that had been used for executions by the Nazis during World War II. It also led him to write his first book, "Dark Days", in which he shared his whole side of the story publicly for the first time.

Italian groove metallers Dosgamos have announced that their second album, On Day Seven He Regretted, will be released on March 14, 2025 via Wormholedeath Records. The band’s first single “Slay The Mother Of All Ignorance” is streaming now.



“We’re stoked to announce that we’ve signed with Wormholedeath Records, a label with years of experience and an internationally recognized name,” the band says. “A new chapter begins for us, and we’re ready to bring our music to a larger audience. We can’t wait for everyone to hear our new material—a product of total dedication and relentless effort. We are proud, grateful, and more driven than ever to work harder and push forward. Forge onward. Ever onward.”

Formed in 2018, Dosgamos has been carving out a unique niche in the metal landscape, blending powerful grooves with intricate melodies. The band features Michele Altavilla’s dynamic vocals, along with drummer Gorath (Stormcrow), bassist Giulio Garibaldi, and guitarist Vinnie (Injury). Following the pandemic, they completed their debut album, Wrapped Renaissance, which was recorded in late 2021 and released in 2022.

Since then, Dosgamos has been relentlessly promoting their debut with electrifying live performances across Eastern Europe. The addition of drummer Elia Dutto and guitarist Alessandro Parola has only strengthened their live presence, culminating in a powerful debut at a festival in Prague.

Mixed and mastered by Ronnie Björnström (Meshuggah, Aeon), On Day Seven He Regretted promises to be a game changer. This collaboration is set to elevate Dosgamos to new heights, representing their growth and commitment to pushing their sound forward.



Tracklisting:

Slay The Mother Of All Ignorance
Categorical Reprisal
Death Obeys
Apple Of My Eye
Raped Feelingly
I’ve Rehab
On Day Seven He Regretted
Indulgence At Stake

In a new Instagram Live, DISTURBED guitarist Dan Donegan spoke about the band's upcoming 34-date "The Sickness 25th Anniversary Tour", which will kick off in Nampa, Idaho on February 25, 2025 and is produced by Live Nation. The tour celebrates 25 years of DISTURBED's seminal debut album which launched the band into public consciousness and is one of the most important and influential heavy metal albums of all time. Each night will feature two sets of music, opening with DISTURBED playing the five times platinum "The Sickness" in full, followed by a full set of greatest hits. The first half of the tour will feature support from special guests THREE DAYS GRACE, featuring the return of original singer Adam Gontier, and opener SEVENDUST, and the second half will feature special guests DAUGHTRY with opener NOTHING MORE.

Donegan said in part (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET):  "We start the first leg of the tour in a few weeks in Idaho with SEVENDUST and THREE DAYS GRACE. Do that for a few weeks with those guys. Two of my favorites there. And then a few days off here and there. And then we will go to start the second leg with NOTHING MORE and DAUGHTRY. So it's gonna be a great run on both these. I love all these bands, of course. Very inspirational, all of them. Amazing guys, amazing musicians. So hopefully you got your tickets coming out to see at least one of those, or if not both of those.

"We will be playing all of 'The Sickness', the whole album, front to back, and some additional hits. So it's kind of like a two-part set for us. And so it'll be, besides the two support acts before us, we will play a couple hours as well. So it'll be a nice, fun-filled night.

"So we're just diving into the rehearsal, start jamming through the songs again. [it's] pretty exciting because some of these songs we haven't played in many, many years. Mostly the ones from 'The Sickness' — songs like 'Numb', 'Violence Fetish', 'Conflict', a lot of these songs we haven't played in a long time. So, pretty exciting to get back and work the rust off a bit, get back into it. I was jamming the songs at home a bit and it's kind of nice because muscle memory came back real quick. Sometimes you don't wanna overthink it. You just get back in that muscle memory and you just play, and so the songs came back to me rather quick. So it'll be a good time."

Since "The Sickness" was released in 2000, the album was certified five times platinum by the RIAA, spent a total of 106 weeks on the US Billboard 200 chart, and Revolver named it one of "Top 25 Debut Hard Rock Albums." Billboard said of the title track upon release: "'Down With The Sickness' is, of course, the quintessential DISTURBED song, harnessing all the band's seethe and its now-famous tribal beat and guitar chug into three and a half minutes of alt-metal mayhem. It's menacing, it's rhythmic, it's rebellious."

DISTURBED recently announced the 25th-anniversary edition release of "The Sickness". To commemorate the anniversary, the band will reissue the five-times-platinum-certified LP on March 7, exactly 25 years to the date of their original release, in editions including:

* A limited edition 1-LP (silver vinyl) and 3-CD box set. It includes the original album, B-sides, unreleased demos, and an unreleased 14-track concert from The Palladium in Los Angeles from April 2001 as well as songs recorded at Chicago's Metro in March 2000 and the London Astoria in February 2001. The box includes a poster, cloth patch, backstage pass, and a set of guitar picks. It also includes a book featuring rare photos and memorabilia, and an extensive essay with new interviews with the members of DISTURBED, and producer Johnny K. An exclusive lithograph signed by the band is included with the limited-edition D2C format.

* A 2-CD deluxe edition that includes the original album, plus a disc of B-sides, unreleased demos, and rarities. The booklet features an essay with new interviews with the members of DISTURBED and producer Johnny K.

* Vinyl editions, including variants in limited edition green vinyl, limited edition orange vinyl (Germany/Central Europe exclusive),and limited edition milky clear vinyl (Spotify Fans First).

* Digitally, which includes all 40 tracks included in the limited-edition box set.

"The Sickness" 25th-anniversary edition is available to pre-order on all formats here. The deluxe box set will be available via the band's web site and digitally on March 7, and via all retailers in North American on March 21.

DISTURBED has become one of the most celebrated and commercially successful metal acts of all time. To date, DISTURBED has seen record-breaking success with sales of over 17 million units and 14 billion streams. It all began with "The Sickness", which includes their songs "Down With The Sickness" (recently certified eight times platinum),"Stupify" (two times platinum),"Voices" (gold),and "The Game" (gold). The album peaked at No. 29 on the Billboard 200 chart and spent a total of 106 weeks on the chart. To date, "The Sickness" has been streamed 2.5 billion times worldwide. It was included as No. 24 on Loudwire's "Top 25 Debut Hard Rock Albums" list, one of Metal Hammer's "20 Best Albums Of 2000," and was highlighted in Revolver magazine's "20 Essential Nu Metal Albums" list. Billboard said of the title track upon release: "'Down With The Sickness' is, of course, the quintessential DISTURBED song, harnessing all the band's seethe and its now-famous tribal beat and guitar chug into three and a half minutes of alt-metal mayhem. It's menacing, it's rhythmic, it's rebellious."

Emerging out of Chicago at the turn of the century with an insidious, infectious, and inimitable vision without comparison, DISTURBED have quietly dominated hard rock on their own terms. They make the kind of music that pushes you to hold on tighter, fight harder, and persevere forever. It's why they've claimed a place at the forefront of 21st century rock with record-breaking success, sales of over 17 million-plus units, nearly eight billion streams, and sold out shows around the globe. The band have six RIAA album certifications, and singles from all eight albums have reached the top ten of the Mainstream Rock chart.

The two-time Grammy Award-nominated quartet have notched five consecutive No. 1 debuts on the Billboard Top 200 for "Believe", "Ten Thousand Fists", "Indestructible" and "Asylum", occupying rarified air alongside METALLICA — the only other hard rock group to accomplish this feat. Since their influential five-times-platinum debut "The Sickness" in 2000, they have built a bulletproof catalog highlighted by a procession of smashes, including the platinum "Stupify", "Inside The Fire" and "Land Of Confusion", two-times-platinum "Stricken", six-times-platinum "Down With The Sickness" and seven-times-platinum "The Sound Of Silence" to name a few. The latter notably received a Grammy Award nomination in the category of "Best Rock Performance" as the band earned "Best Rock Artist" at the 2017 iHeartRadioMusic Awards. Still, DISTURBED never stop, and their most recent 2022 album "Divisive" featured their 17th No. 1 at Rock Radio "Hey You", "Unstoppable" and more.

Junkyard – a gritty, streetwise band with a bluesy undercurrent – has issued the following unfortunate statement regarding their frontman:

“We all know and love David Roach—not just as our incredible singer, but as a true friend, an inspiration, and a fighter.
Right now, he’s facing one of the toughest battles of his life: an aggressive cancer diagnosis.
To help with the overwhelming medical expenses David is selling his plaque art. Every purchase, share, and donation can make a real difference in getting him the care he needs.
In the coming months, we’ll be making our classic merch available for purchase, with a portion of every sale going directly to David and Jennifer. We also have more ways to help in the works and will be sharing those details in the months ahead.
If you can contribute in any way—whether by buying his art, picking up some merch, or simply spreading the word—it would mean the world.
Let’s rally behind him like we always have. Much love and gratitude to you all.”

German thrash metal veterans DESTRUCTION have announced a new documentary "The Art Of Destruction", to be released in German cinemas in March 2025.

Earlier today (Monday, February 3),DESTRUCTION released a trailer for the documentary along with the following message: "'The Art Of Destruction' is finally ready to be released! This highly anticipated movie portrays some of the most challenging years of our history. It all starts with a big dream, but soon turns into a wild ride across the globe — from Germany to Mexico and back!

"The film crew worked on this documentary with us for nearly five years, bringing you up close and personal with Schmier and the band.

"'The Art Of Destruction' is an inspirational story about perseverance, a lifelong dream, and the magic of music.

"The film will hit cinemas in Germany in March 2025, with an international release and screenings also in the works.

"Stay tuned! More news coming later this week!"

DESTRUCTION will release its 16th studio album, "Birth Of Malice", on March 7, 2025 via Napalm Records.

Schmier once again combines his dual vocal/bass attack with crashing riffs from dual battle axe masters Martin Furia and Damir Eskić, while Randy Black blasts his drums to new heights. As witnessed on their previous thrash fest "Diabolical" (2022),DESTRUCTION return with their uniquely raw and brutal sound, delivering merciless songs with a touch more variety and groove this time. All 12 songs straight from the butchers hit with a direct, clean sound — resulting in addictive metal anthems for the next generation of thrashers.

The "Destruction" single was released last November and as it's named after the band, it contains everything DESTRUCTION is revered for. This thrash anthem reflects on the band’s legacy, fueled by razor-sharp riffs and Schmier's relentless vocals. With lyrics celebrating their outcast origins and unbreakable metal spirit, "Destruction" is a tribute to over 40 years of thrash dominance.

DESTRUCTION's newest onslaught is opened by the aforementioned "Destruction", with a luring intro transforming into a true thrashing hymn with razor-sharp guitars honoring the band's 40-plus-year legacy, where mastermind Schmier reflects on the old days. Like the title "Birth Of Malice" suggests, lyrically, Schmier delves deep in human errors — like selfish behavior on "Greed" and "Evil Never Sleeps", while stomping "A.N.G.S.T." delivers shredding guitar solos and flirts with our paranoid instinct, criticizing evil forces who prey on the weaknesses of others. A clear statement is made with carnage on "Scumbag Human Race", exploring the mistakes mankind makes and pushing authorities in its memorable chorus "I will count your days!" The same rebellious attitude can be witnessed on the banging "No Kings – No Masters". DESTRUCTION also shifts to futuristic topics on the album, like the unconscious influence of technology and new forms of war on "Cyber Warfare". To close this brutal tour de force on a positive note, the thrashing legends celebrate their strong allyship with metal colleagues ACCEPT by presenting their own version of classic neck breaker "Fast As A Shark". All of these heavy topics are combined in the brutal cover artwork, designed by talented Hungarian artist Gyula Havancsák, known for his works for bands like ACCEPT, KREATOR and BLIND GUARDIAN.

"Birth Of Malice" was recorded at Switzerland's Little Creek Studio by V.O. Pulver. Guitarist Martin Furia mixed and mastered the masterpiece at The Black Mancave in Hannover, Germany.

DESTRUCTION's massive career has seen many successes, with the band hitting stages at the world's biggest festivals around the world like Hellfest, Wacken Open Air, Graspop Metal Meeting and México Metal Fest.

DESTRUCTION, known as one of the "Teutonic Four", alongside KREATOR, SODOM and TANKARD, were reunited with the other three acts at the "Klash Of The Ruhrpott" concert on July 20, 2024 in Gelsenkirchen, Germany.

In a January 2023 interview with Felipe Canales of Chile's iRock, Schmier was asked if he and his DESTRUCTION bandmates have ever considered changing their sound in order to reach a wider audience. He responded: "In Germany, we say, 'Don't change your winning recipe. Stick to the guns. Stick to what you can do best.' And for me, what I can do best is playing thrash metal. Every album we do sounds a little bit different, but it always will sound like DESTRUCTION.

"When you get older, it's very easy to slow down," Schmier explained. "A lot of musicians, when they [get] older, they wanna slow down; they wanna play blues; they wanna play more mellow music. For me, that's never been the case. I think the older you [get], the more you go crazy about it. You wanna still show the young kids how it's done. When we go out there to the festivals, we compete… To all those young bands, I could be [their] father, so I have to be the role model. So that's how I see it. Slowing down and changing something is not what we do."

As for whether it's harder for him to play physically challenging music as he gets older, Schmier said: "It's like in football — the old, experienced player, he has the feel for it. The young player runs more and runs faster. The old player has the eye and the brain. And it's the same in music. Of course I have to train harder to go on stage, but my experience of my age is great because I have better voice control. I know more what I want. I know what I don't want and where the band belongs. So this experience of a certain 40 years in the music business is, of course, a great one."

DESTRUCTION's latest studio album, "Diabolical", came out in April 2022 via Napalm Records.

In August 2021, DESTRUCTION officially parted ways with founding guitarist Michael "Mike" Sifringer and replaced him with Martin Furia. The Argentinian-born, Belgian-based Furia is best known for his work as sound engineer and producer for such bands as NERVOSA and EVIL INVADERS.

Sifringer was the only member of DESTRUCTION to have remained constant throughout the band's career. Schmier appeared on DESTRUCTION's first three albums before exiting the band and being replaced by POLTERGEIST vocalist André Grieder. André's sole recorded appearance with DESTRUCTION was on the "Cracked Brain" album, which came out in 1990. Schmier rejoined DESTRUCTION in 1999.

DESTRUCTION 2025 is:

Schmier - Bass, Vocals
Martin Furia - Guitars
Randy Black - Drums
Damir Eskić - Guitars

Photo credit: Jennifer Gruber



DESTRUCTION CINEMA MOVIE TRAILER ONLINE!

The “The Art of DESTRUCTION” is finally ready to be released! This highly anticipated movie portrays some of the most challenging years of our history. It all starts with a big dream, but soon turns into a wild ride across the globe—from Germany to Mexico and back!
The film crew worked on this documentary with us for nearly five years, bringing you up close and personal with Schmier and the band. The Art of Destruction is an inspirational story about perseverance, a lifelong dream, and the magic of music.

The film will hit cinemas in Germany in March 2025, with an international release and screenings also in the works.

Stay tuned! More news coming later this week!

Check comments for external video link! 👇

@hmhtv @DeniseDörner

Posted by Destruction on Monday, February 3, 2025

PANTERA drummer Charlie Benante has shared front-drum-cam video of the "Suicide Note, Pt. 2" performance from the band's January 28, 2025 headlining concert at AFAS Live in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Check it out below.

Joining the ANTHRAX drummer in PANTERA's reformed lineup are surviving members Rex Brown (bass) and Philip Anselmo (vocals),along with guitarist Zakk Wylde (OZZY OSBOURNE, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY).

According to Billboard, the lineup was given a green light by Vinnie Paul and Dimebag's estates.

It was first reported in July 2022 that Anselmo and Brown would unite with Wylde and Benante for a world tour under the PANTERA banner.

Benante opened up about his participation in PANTERA's return during an interview with Australia's Heavy. He said: "We get people coming, we see them after the show, we see them during the VIP meet-and-greet things, and some of them are crying because it's a part of their youth. And they never thought they would hear these songs in this environment again. And it's the same thing for me. When I'm playing, I'm looking down at the setlist. I get excited about the next song coming up. It's good."

Charlie also addressed the negative comments he has received for his participation in PANTERA's comeback without Dimebag and Vinnie Paul. He said: "It's more important to — again, like I said a little while ago about hearing these songs again… Some of these people who were negative at the at the start of this whole thing, my whole thing was just, please shut up for a minute and just wait. If you don't wanna come, don't come. But if you do wanna come, and just come and then witness it, and then afterwards you can say, 'Fuck this. This was horrible.' But that hasn't happened. A lot of people are so positive about it and they enjoy it.

"There's no way I was gonna make this a bad, bad decision or a bad kind of vibe," Benante explained. "It had to be meeting my standards. It's gotta be killer. It's gotta sound like PANTERA. And that was it. There was a lot of homework that went into it. So for people to insult and say this, that, and the other thing, It's, like, well, that's not true. That's not true right there."

After one of the interviewers noted that most of the complaints center around the fact that the new PANTERA lineup is not "the real thing", Benante fired back: "What band is the real thing? What band is the real thing right now? Give me one band.

"Things happen. Life happens sometimes," he continued. "I went to see U2 about a month and a half, two months ago, and the drummer wasn't there. But I enjoyed the shit out of it anyway. It was just great.

"People online, they got those Internet balls and they have to talk shit. They can't exactly show any restraint. 'No, I have to push that 'enter' [key],' you know what I mean? It's, like, fuck you. Let me come to where you are. Let me just fuck with you all day."

During a February 2024 interview with "THAT Rocks!", the YouTube series hosted by Eddie Trunk, Jim Florentine and Don Jamieson, Benante spoke about some of the criticism he has received for his involvement with PANTERA. He said: "People had their preconceived notions of what they were gonna think: 'Oh, I don't dig this without Vinnie and Dime.' And of course… What do you think? We don't know that Vinnie and Dime are not with us anymore? But when we start playing the songs and you just see the faces in the crowd, all that shit goes out the window, the negative stuff that has been said.

"Man, that's all I ever wanted to do, is just come and do this and make people hear these songs again," he explained. "And that's what it's all about, really. It's about the music."

Asked who was in charge of making the decision to use the name PANTERA for the new lineup instead of calling it a tribute or naming it something else, Charlie said: "It wasn't me. [Laughs] For us it was about the celebration of the music and Dime and Vinnie; that's what it was about since day one. No one called it a tribute; no one called it a reunion. It can't be a reunion. This is a celebration of the music of PANTERA. Come and enjoy It. And that's it. That's all could do."

Benante also talked about his personal connection to Dimebag and Vinnie, saying: "Yeah. I loved those two guys, man. You never think that certain things would ever, ever happen, and then when it does, you sit back and think, like, 'How did this happen so fast? How did this time just slip by?' And Darrell's been gone for a while now. But it doesn't change how we all miss him and feel him.

"Every show that we play… [Longtime PANTERA engineer, bass tech and friend] Sterling [Winfield], who used to work for PANTERA — still does, in a sense. The first show, he came to Mexico City and he brought me one of Darrell's wristbands and a pair of Vinnie's gloves that they used. And every show that I've played so far, I wear the wristband and Vinnie's glove is in my pocket because I feel like they're with me. And I do that for every show, and I'll continue to do that for every other show we play. It just has significance."

During an interview with Consequence, Benante addressed the negative comments he has received for his participation in PANTERA's comeback, saying: "I don't go [online] looking for [people's negative comments about it]. There's people that send me, 'Hey, did you see this?' And I'm, like, 'Why did you send me this? Why ruin my day?'

"I think the people who do these things, these comments, I don't even think they realize how much of an effect that they could have on people," he continued. "And whether or not you hate the situation, or whatever it is, why can't you find some sort of restraint? Why do you need to say this thought that you have? Can't you just hold it in and maybe be, like, 'I'll keep my thoughts to myself.' No, they've gotta tell you. I've never seen more of it in my life than I [did] in these past couple of months about just people judging."

Regarding his personal approach to playing the parts originally written and recorded by Vinnie Paul, Charlie said: "I just spent a lot of time on Vinnie's parts and more importantly the tone that Vinnie had because I wanted it to sound like PANTERA. That was my thing. And my drum configuration is different from the ANTHRAX one because I wanted to challenge myself to play those parts like he played them in that configuration, which, to me, was more important than anything. But yet people still have to find some problem in that."

According to Benante, the initial rehearsals for the PANTERA comeback tour were "an emotional thing" for Philip and Rex "too, because they hadn't played as a group, those two hadn't played together in a long time, playing PANTERA songs. Yeah, they played [together] in DOWN, but this was an emotional thing for them," Charlie said. "And I remember after the week of rehearsals that we did, saying goodbye was weird, because it was an emotional thing; we really kind of bonded, the three of us. Zakk wasn't there at the time. But for me, I knew I had done something right."

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.