Reba Meyers — the Grammy-nominated vocalist and guitar player of CODE ORANGE and current touring guitarist for Marilyn Manson — who released her debut single, "Certain Uncertainty", in late 2024, has unveiled a second glimpse into her eagerly awaited debut album with the release of the dreamy "Got Your Hold On Me" and its accompanying video.

"Being human is painful. Being human and in love with anything or anyone is even more painful I hope we can all find what helps us cope without it killing us or turning us into emotionless robots. For me, writing songs helps," Meyers shares. "Thanks for listening and to all who have supported me so far in any band or project."

The five-minute song was produced by Meyers with mixing by Steve Evetts (THE CURE, THE WONDER YEARS) and mastering by Alan Douches.

Upon its release, "Certain Uncertainty" received widespread praise, with Consequence calling it "more subdued than CODE ORANGE, but still heavy," while Revolver described the track as an "anthemic" song featuring "distortion-graced chords and yowl-rasped vocals."

On her decision to focus on solo work, Meyers explained: "I'm finding that I have the space only now in my life to have a bird's eye view on my adolescence, and that perspective made it the perfect moment to begin to release solo material. A moment I've been sure would eventually come, thought I never knew exactly how it would look. With that, I get to experience the rewarding and nerve-wracking process of allowing myself the platform to be a more vulnerable person, and to explore that natural foundation proudly outside of how I've maybe been portrayed."

Meyers's full-length album is expected later this year, with more details to follow.

Reba is a guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter hailing from Pittsburgh. Best known as a founding member of the acclaimed band CODE ORANGE, she has earned a reputation as a fearless and innovative artist. In 2020 she became the first female signature artist in ESP guitar history with the arrival of her LTD RM-600.

Meyers has been playing concerts as part of Manson's band since he kicked off a summer tour last August.

Photo credit: Greg Puciato

On the heels of playing Los Angeles's Kia Forum, and releasing recent single "Nod" — "the anthem we need right now" (Vice) — RISE AGAINST has shared its second new single of 2025. Out now on Loma Vista Recordings, "Prizefighter" illustrates the internal battle between making art, maintaining autonomy and meeting the demands of the present day’s never-ending, rapidly shifting attention span.

RISE AGAINST vocalist and lyricist Tim McIlrath says: "'Prizefighter' is about a compulsion to create, that then creates an audience, and then your connection with that audience and your responsibilities to that audience, and how much an artist is obliged to that audience. It's trying to reconcile the shift from spectator to the public arena, and what you owe the people that are your fans versus what you owe your own mental health."

The "Prizefighter" music video showcases the symbolism behind the song, the roaring energy of RISE AGAINST's live shows and the deep devotion of the band's fans.

"Prizefighter" follows RISE AGAINST's blazing return with "Nod" — the band's first new single in three years — which arrived days after the U.S. presidential inauguration, and delivered "a particularly potent rallying cry for the moment" (Rolling Stone). Quickly uniting millions in its call for community and compassion, encouraging listeners to not sit idly by as world events, societal changes and technology shape our ways of life, rise against have since toured across three continents this year, and have made "Nod" a highlight of their live sets.

Produced by Catherine Marks (BOYGENIUS, FOALS, MANCHESTER ORCHESTRA, ST. VINCENT) and mixed by Alan Moulder (NINE INCH NAILS, PARAMORE, QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE, THE KILLERS),"Prizefighter" now marks a propulsive page-turn in RISE AGAINST's next chapter, revealing another side of the band’s outspoken perspective and prescient point of view.

Like the body of multi-gold and platinum hits that have come before, "Prizefighter" and "Nod" further amplify the type of invigorating music, defiant messages and bulletproof melodies that have earned billions of streams, filled arenas, topped charts, broken records, and, above all, joined fans in an embrace of vital issues. Just as the stakes could not be higher, the Chicago punk rock band is back bigger, louder and more progressive than ever.

Currently in the midst of their "Rise Of The Roach" tour, bandmembers Tim McIlrath (lead vocals/guitar),Joe Principe (bass/vocals),Zach Blair (guitar/vocals) and Brandon Barnes (drums) will be on the road all year long, with a slew of summer festivals, dozens of arena and amphitheater shows, and more on the horizon, all throughout the U.S. and abroad.

In a recent interview with Oran O'Beirne of Overdrive, McIlrath spoke about "Nod", which will appear on RISE AGAINST's upcoming follow-up to 2021's "Nowhere Generation" album, tentatively due later in the year. Regarding when the ideas for the new material came together, Tim said: "Let's see if I can remember. It came after the tour. We were really focused on 'Nowhere Generation' when we were touring. And then we wrapped that up. We took a break, which is pretty standard for us. The touring, it's intense and it takes a lot out of you. And that's kind of our moment where everyone can kind of go reconnect with home and then kind of recharge your batteries. And so we started writing probably a few months after we got off the road from 'Nowhere Gen'. We weren't really rushing or pressuring ourselves.

"This is our tenth record — we've been doing this for a long time — and so it's very organic in terms of timing," he explained. "We write when we feel that urgency to write. We record when we feel like it's ready. We don't do anything that's too rushed. And so that was this record, was when ideas started percolating and we started sharing them. We were, like, 'Okay, I think we have some songs here. Let's start putting them together.' And then we just took our time putting those songs together."

Asked if he and his bandmates still get nervous when they are about to release new music in terms of how it will be received by the RISE AGAINST fans, Tim said: "By the time we release it, by the time you hear it, it had to get through so many checks and balances just for the four of us — every single note, part, lyric, sound — and I'm really confident in the song at that point; we're all really confident. So it's, like, this is the best version of RISE AGAINST in 2025. And so, aside from that, there's nothing I can do about how people accept it. And that goes back to when you were first a band, and you took that leap of, like, 'I'm just gonna make music and put it out there.' And it was a surprise to see that anybody connected to it. And so, in that sense, I'm I'm always appreciative, because I don't expect people to love our band, I don't expect them to love our songs. I'm always consistently appreciative. There's a lot of gratitude when someone goes, 'Oh, I love this song.' Especially when you put out a song this late in our career, people are, like, 'Yo, this is a great song. That's awesome.' That's what you want. And if people don't like it, that's kind of okay too. We're not out here trying to shove anything down anybody's throat. But if you're hearing a new RISE AGAINST song, you're hearing what we think is the best version of ourselves right now."

As for whether "Nod" is a good representation of what fans can expect to hear on RISE AGAINST's upcoming album, Tim said: "Yeah, if I had to piece it in a group of songs that we've put together, 'Nod' is probably among the more traditional RISE AGAINST. I think that you hear it and you hear RISE AGAINST, you hear sort of what we've done and what we have been doing, but in a little bit of a new way. So I think it falls in the category of pretty like traditional RISE, which is a sound that we will always embrace. And there's stuff on the record, I think, that will be less traditional, for sure."

SHINEDOWN has released a music video for the band's No. 1 song "Dance, Kid, Dance". The clip, which was filmed in Brooklyn, New York, brings the viewer into a dark underground world of pure rock fervor and dance. The video opens up with concertgoers trying to break into a vending machine to take "the pills (that) will make you dance" and building into a nonstop crescendo of a mixture of rock and pure adrenaline. Not to mention, the video features the members of SHINEDOWN doing exactly what they do best — bringing the high energy with a killer live performance.

On the new music video and its creative vision, SHINEDOWN singer Brent Smith said: "For the video, we really wanted to focus on the dancers. Every one of them brought so much energy to the set, and it was amazing to watch and be a part of. The song doesn’t let up, so it was super important that our performance as a band matched the intensity of the choreography. When it came to the location, everyone agreed that NYC was the place. The backdrop of the city, and the authenticity of the dance culture was extremely important. One of the coolest things about the video for us as a band, is that every time you watch it you see something new, and exciting. We had an absolute blast making it and we hope the fans love it as much as we do."

The video was directed by Lewis Cater, choreographed by Julissa Bond, and edited by Samuel Halleen.

Up next SHINEDOWN will kick off the "Dance, Kid, Dance" tour on April 25 in Des Moines, Iowa. The 36-date run is one of the largest run of shows (and venues) the band has ever put on. It will be the first time the band has ever headlined some of the country's most legendary venues, including Madison Square Garden (July 20),Boston's TD Garden (July 19),Los Angeles's Kia Forum (August 3),New Orleans's Smoothie King (May 6) and more. Joining them on the tour are BEARTOOTH and BUSH (on select dates) and Morgan Wade for all shows.

Smith recently sat down with BEARTOOTH's own Caleb Shomo and talked about how excited they were to be going on tour in an "Off The Record" video series. Filmed at Henson Studios in Los Angeles, the two talked about the origins of each band, how the bands got to know about one another, growing into being an artist, and about what fans can expect on the new "Dance, Kid, Dance" tour. Not to mention they touch on some of rock's favorites, including SLIPKNOT, GWAR, PAPA ROACH, PARKWAY DRIVE, IRON MAIDEN and more.

This year has also come with some historic wins for SHINEDOWN as they recently took home two trophies at the iHeartRadio Music Awards where they won "Rock Artist Of The Year" and "Rock Song Of The Year" for "A Symptom Of Being Human".

"A Symptom Of Being Human" has hit nearly 125 million global streams and charted at five radio formats, including a No. 1 at Active, Top 10 at Alternative, Top 10 at AC, Top 15 at Hot AC and a Top 20 at Top 40. To date SHINEDOWN is the very first artist to get a song Top 10 at Active, Alternative and Hot AC Radio on Mediabase with one song. The song, off of their "Planet Zero" album, resonated with fans across the globe for the unifying message of its lyrics: that it is our human connections that matter the most.

The band has already had a packed 2025 as their latest single "Dance, Kid, Dance" has made history, reaching Np. 1 on the Mediabase Active Rock chart, which marks their 22nd song to reach No. 1 on the chart, and on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart. SHINEDOWN has become the only band in the chart's history to reach 20 No. 1s on the chart. Not to mention when the song entered the Top 5 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart, SHINEDOWN tied with the FOO FIGHTERS for the artists with the most songs to hit the top 10 in the chart's history, with 32 songs each. On Mediabase, SHINEDOWN holds the record for the most No. 1s, No. 5s and No. 10s on the Active Rock chart, with a total of 24 No. 1s on the Mediabase chart.

However, SHINEDOWN aren’t just a rock band. They are SHINEDOWN — a band for everyone — and just like they did with "A Symptom Of Being Human", they have already crossed over with their second 2025 single "Three Six Five". The track not only is already Top 15 at Alternative Radio and Hot AC but it continues to climb.

Smith and Eric Bass co-wrote "Three Six Five" and "Dance, Kid, Dance" was co-written by Brent Smith, Eric Bass and Dave Bassett. The songs were produced by Eric Bass at his own Big Animal Studio in Charleston, South Carolina.

In a new interview with Scott Itter of Dr. Music, L.A. GUNS guitarist Tracii Guns, who spent some of his early years as a member of GUNS N' ROSES, was asked if he would ever consider writing an autobiography. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "No. And I was with Rich Bienstock last night. He's the guy that writes all the books. And I was at his book signing — him and Tom Beaujour, they have a new Lollapalooza book out ['Lollapalooza: The Uncensored Story Of Alternative Rock's Wildest Festival']. And Rich is a really dear friend of mine. And he drops the hint once a year, 'Hey, are we doing this?'

"I did the math," he continued. "To make it worth it, I would want a lot of money. To make a lot of money, I've gotta tell all the true stories. I don't wanna do that.

"I love everybody I played with, regardless of how the relationships ended up. A couple guys I hate, but mostly everybody… I love [MÖTLEY CRÜE's] Nikki [Sixx], I love [GUNS N' ROSES singer] Axl [Rose] — I love everybody. I would hate to tell stories that are 40 years old, 30 years old, 20 years old of crazy shit I saw or was involved in, and then have it somehow make somebody sad or angry or something like that.

"The people that lived those stories were there," Tracii added. "And those are private moments and those are things that happened amongst friends during times of animosity, maybe, whatever you wanna call it. And I'm just not the guy. I'm not the guy. I don't need the money. And I told Rich last night I'm not gonna do it. And he is, like, 'Well, as long as there's a couple dead bodies in the book.' I'm, like, 'No.' And we laughed about it. But he gets it better than anybody 'cause he publishes a new book every three years. And it's all about the dirt. [Like in the] MÖTLEY CRÜE book 'The Dirt'. And even within 'The Dirt', there's a lot of dirt that's not in 'The Dirt'.

"But I'm not a famous enough person to get away with writing a story that's kind of a little dirty," Guns concluded. "I would really have to spill the fucking beans, and I'm not gonna do it."

Since being founded by guitarist Guns and drummer Rob Gardner in 1983, more than 50 musicians have performed under the L.A. GUNS moniker, including Axl Rose (who fronted the group prior to forming HOLLYWOOD ROSE, and then again for a brief period after that band's breakup),Ralph Saenz (better known as Michael Starr of STEEL PANTHER),Jizzy Pearl (LOVE/HATE, QUIET RIOT),Chuck Garric (ALICE COOPER),Chris Holmes (W.A.S.P.) and Keri Kelli (NIGHT RANGER, RATT).

For a number of years after Guns left L.A. GUNS in 2002 to focus on BRIDES OF DESTRUCTION — a group that also featured Sixx — there were two competing versions of L.A. GUNS: one featuring singer Phil Lewis and drummer Steve Riley, and another featuring Guns. After the latter incarnation disbanded in 2012, Guns and Lewis gradually began making amends, performing a full set of L.A. GUNS material together at a Las Vegas concert in 2015 before officially joining forces (while initially being billed as L.A. GUNS' PHIL LEWIS & TRACII GUNS) for a handful of concerts the following year. For the past nine years, the group has toured and recorded simply as L.A. GUNS.

Photo credit: Joe Schaeffer

In a recent interview with Elena Rozberg of Bulgaria's Z-Rock radio station, GODSMACK frontman Sully Erna spoke about "I Stand Alone: The Sully Erna Story", a film based on his life story, which was made available in November 2023 via Apple TV+ and Amazon Prime Video. Based on Erna's memoir, "The Paths We Choose", which came out in 2007, the 98-minute documentary was written and produced by Sully, with additional writing, production and editing by Noah Berlow and writing, production and directing by Troy Smith.

Sully said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, for sure there'll be another book one day. There'll probably be another book about my life, a continuation of some of the things that I didn't get to talk about in the first book, and also a continuation of what happened from when that book ends to the next chapter of my life. The only reason I haven't wrote it yet is because I don't know how that chapter ends yet. I'm still living in it. So in the meantime, we were able to put out a feature documentary based on the book, which is called 'I Stand Alone: The Sully Erna Story'. And if anybody has read the book, you know that the book pretty much starts when I was born and it ends when I get a record deal. But when you have to put it to a movie, it only becomes a snapshot, a small piece of what the book was, and we had to figure out what were the most important stories that created the path of how important music became to me in my life."

Erna continued: "The movie, it was very interesting for me to watch it for the first time because in the early days — I was born in 1968 and through the '70s and the '80s, we didn't really have video cameras and cell phones back then, so we had very little video footage and we had to do a lot of reenactment, a lot of recreating some of the stories. Otherwise, the whole documentary just becomes about me in an interview, and you have to be able to show the visual. And then, of course, as they get into the '90s and so forth and then video cameras and everything were more available to us. But it was really interesting for me to watch my whole life story on film because I didn't know. Is this an interesting story? Are people gonna care about this? But it's done really well and I was really proud of it and I thought they did a great job making it. And I think if people love the book, they're gonna love this story."

During a December 2023 appearance on "The Mistress Carrie Podcast", Sully stated about "I Stand Alone: The Sully Erna Story": "The feature documentary that they've been working on, it's been six years in the making. And the reason why it took so long, first of all, is because as you know, we grew up in a similar era, back then, we're talking about '70s, '80s, even some of the '90s, we didn't have cameras on our cell phones and accessibility to cameras in general; they were this big. So a lot of the stories that were told from my life growing up in the streets of Lawrence [Massachusetts] from the time I was born until I got a record deal, a lot of those years just don't have footage to support the stories. So we had to really be careful about how we re-enacted these stories and whether you just find stuff online — generic scenes that match the theory of the story — or whether we actually had to shoot that content and make it believable enough so it wasn't cheesy, 'cause a lot of those things can really come off weak. So that was what took the most time, was just trying to have visuals to support the narrative."

He continued: "[The documentary is] basically a blip of my book, and the book is really a blip of my real life. 'Cause you can only fit so much information in 90 minutes. And so the documentary is 90 minutes, but it's based on 30 years of my life pre-GODSMACK. So, [it was] hard to do. And then you kind of have to find the thread that weaves through the whole story and that kind of thing, and, like, what is this story? What are we actually putting out on this documentary? And it became about perseverance, really. I think it's a story about perseverance. It's about one boy's journey growing up in some very challenging times in a very challenging city and going off through those obstacles to try to survive and then make something of yourself, and music really became the thread that saved my life so many times and got me to where I needed to be in life and with my career. But getting there is just a real motherfucker. I think people underestimate how hard it is to make it in this industry. I probably believe maybe actors and actresses go through the same thing when you're out there and you just have to starve yourself and sacrifice everything and focus with blinders on to get there. So it's about that. It's not the GODSMACK story. It's about my years from the time I was born until I got a deal, and it ends as things are starting to go in the direction of finding my record deal and my career."

Regarding the actor who plays him in the documentary's re-enactment scenes, Erna said: "He was very timid. It was his first time ever acting, first of all. So I called up a good friend of mine, Angela, who is the owner of Boston Casting, and she helped me assemble the cast for the people that I needed to support the main stories that we were talking about in the documentary. And I liked his look a lot. His hair looked just like mine when I was younger. It was all frizzy and curly and crazy. But he had never acted. So I was, like, 'Ah, man. This is gonna be tough.' But he really stepped up and he just kind of followed great direction and he did a good job. And I was really happy. And, of course, I'm gonna be the most critical about the re-enactment stuff, because it was my life. I remember the scenes. I know what they looked like. I know how they played out. I know the emotion. But to get these kids these days, because some of those really gnarly stories in the documentary were based on the '80s, for instance, and we were teenagers, so we had to find kids in that age group. But the difference is that when we were teenagers, we were fearless and we were tough. And to get kids today who are growing up in a much different generation that are not so confrontational and things like that… They couldn't even believe some of the stories when I was directing them: 'Okay, here's the deal. I pulled out a shotgun. I pointed it to this kid's face. This dude came down with me on a knife. And the kid's going, like, 'What the fuck? That happened? Are you serious? This is ridiculous.' I'm, like, 'This is all based on true shit.' And so we're trying to recreate these fight scenes and things like that. And these kids just, they weren't angry enough to deliver it. So we had to keep shooting it until we were, like, 'You've gotta think about a knife coming at you and the fear in your eyes.' And so it was interesting to kind of direct the new generation, but I've gotta tell you, I'm real proud of all of them. And they did a phenomenal job. And for me to be convinced of the recreation footage says a lot. It's about as close as to how I remember it in real life. So people will get a good perspective on that stuff."

Erna's memoir, "The Paths We Choose", came out in 2007. At the time, he described it as "a snapshot of the first 30 years of my life." He told The Pulse Of Radio back then that it happened almost accidentally. "I never planned on writing a book," he said. "It was one of those things that just became a hobby. When I was on the road, I would be writing stories out as I talked to my friends on the phone and realized that some of these stories were so insane, I'm not sure if I would have believed some of them unless they had happened to me. And then the more I wrote out these stories, I started organizing them in the order of dates, and the more I did that, I started realizing I was writing a book."

Photo credit: Chris Bradshaw

In a new interview with Alma Hard, vocalist Ronnie Atkins of reactivated Danish hard rock veterans PRETTY MAIDS was asked if there is any possibility of him and his bandmates working on a follow-up to 2019's "Undress Your Madness" album. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "A new album wasn't really a part of what we talked about [when we decided to start playing live shows again in 2024], but now we are talking about recording something. We haven't written anything yet, but we're talking about writing some music and record it. But right now I actually wanna do a [new] solo album first because I've got 12 songs ready to go that's already written. I just didn't do anything last year or haven't done anything yet. But they're ready to go. I just need to write some lyrics and then I'm ready to record it. So, that is definitely, I assume, gonna happen. And then we're talking about writing some new stuff, me and Ken [Hammer, PRETTY MAIDS guitarist]. But I can't give you any release date or anything like that. I don't even know if we're gonna do it, but we're talking about it seriously."

PRETTY MAIDS played its first concert in nearly five years on June 16, 2024 at Forbrændingen in Albertslund, Denmark. The band was billed as KINGMAKERS for the "secret" performance, which served as a warm-up gig for PRETTY MAIDS's official return to the live stage on June 20, 2024 at the Copenhell festival in Copenhagen.

PRETTY MAIDS also played at last year's Time To Rock festival in Knislinge, Sweden and at the Jailbreak festival in Horsens, Denmark. Last month PRETTY MAIDS performed aboard the 2025 edition of the annual Monsters Of Rock Cruise.

In December 2023, Atkins, who is battling stage four cancer, told Jorge Botas of Portugal's Metal Global about the band's return: "Yeah, well, we were planning on a few selected PRETTY MAIDS shows. It's not gonna be a hell of a lot, I think. We're gonna do maybe five, six festivals during the summer or something."

He continued: "I know there's a lot of fans out there that wanna see the band again, at least to make some kind of closure. It all ended in a wrong way because I got sick, and while I was sick, I couldn't do shit for six months. And in that time, we released a new album. We never had the chance to tour with it. Then came the lockdown. So we just wanna go out and play a couple of shows. How much it's gonna be, I don't know. I don't know how much more we're gonna do. We might continue. I don't know. It all depends a little bit on my health as well. You know. So, now I've been releasing a lot of music for the last couple of years, and now I feel like 2024, I intend to do a lot more live shows. I really love to do that. 'Cause I like the close encounter with the fans, whether it's a big festival with 50,000 or it's 200 people in a club, I don't care. I mean, I like them both, actually. But let's see."

In September 2023, before the PRETTY MAIDS reunion was officially announced, Atkins was asked in an interview with Power Metal Point if there were any plans for him to do anything again with the long-running Danish hard rock outfit. He responded: "There's been issues between the band since 2019, particularly between me and Ken. But now we're actually talking again. We just met a little while ago, and we still have some business through 40 years we have to discuss sometimes on mails. I think it's gonna end up that we will bury the hatchet, if nothing else for the fans."

He continued: "It's always been a love-hate relationship, and I can't confirm anything, but I think we might do some selected gigs next year or something like that. Because the whole thing ended in a bad way and I got sick and we had a brand new album out in 2019 and we never hit the road with it, 'cause we had to cancel the tour. Then the lockdown came, the corona thing. So, yeah, let's see, let's see. We might do something [in 2024]."

In December 2022, Atkins painted a more bleak picture of PRETTY MAIDS' future, telling Dawn Osborne of TotalRock: "We haven't seen each other since 2019. And there are some issues within the band that haven't been [resolved]. So nothing is happening. Ken is doing some other projects. Everybody is doing their own things, kind of. I'm not saying we won't get back together one day. Maybe — I don't know. But time is not on our side. Let's see. It would need some talks — a band meeting and some talk — before we go on. I'm a bit like 'I've been there, done that.' I mean, sometimes I miss it. On the other hand, I'm on with something else now, doing my own stuff."

Formed in early 1982 by Atkins and Hammer, PRETTY MAIDS' second album, 1987's "Future World", is still today regarded as a classic.

During the ensuing years, PRETTY MAIDS continued to release albums usually followed by European and Japanese tours.

PRETTY MAIDS' latest album, "Undress Your Madness", came out in November 2019 via Frontiers Music Srl.

"Future World" was released by CBS in 1987. By 1990, the album had sold 300,000 copies worldwide. The album charted at No. 165 on the Billboard 200 in the United States.

"Future World" was produced by Eddie Kramer, who was reportedly fired during the recording sessions. The band then finished the LP with engineer Chris Isca, who was credited as co-producer on the album. Mixing duties were shared between METALLICA, RAINBOW and MORBID ANGEL producer Flemming Rasmussen, and Kevin Elson, known for producing multi-platinum albums by JOURNEY, MR. BIG and EUROPE.

After being diagnosed with lung cancer in 2019, the now-60-year-old Atkins underwent at least 33 radiation and four chemotherapy treatments in the fall of that year before being declared cancer-free. In October 2020, he announced that his cancer had returned.

In a 2013 interview with Myglobalmind, Atkins joked that the secret to keeping his voice in shape was "twenty cigarettes a day and little drink now and then."

Ronnie's third solo album, "Trinity", was released in October 2023 via Frontiers Music Srl.

Following the rapture generated by the announcement of the imminent release of their new album "Skeletá", Swedish occult metallers GHOST have now unveiled a brand new webisode. The ominously titled "Chapter 20: Arrival Of A Secret Agent" is the latest installment of the ongoing "Chapters" series that, along with the feature film "Rite Here Rite Now" and the "Sister Imperator" comic book, continues to add to the canon of GHOST lore.

Chapter 20 checks in on recently replaced GHOST frontman Papa Emeritus IV — now rechristened Frater Imperator and promoted to "boss" of the Ministry — as he navigates the aftermath of his stint in the spotlight and begins to cultivate a less than healthy obsession with his replacement — and fraternal twin — Papa V Perpetua. Chapter 20 features the debut of a number of new characters likely to be integral to the new storyline, including Mrs. Psaltarian and Judith, the socialist media manager. The new chapter also offers a look at the inner office environment of the Ministry, a setting that’s sure to serve as the stage for crucial developments impacting the lives and lore of GHOST and its millions of fans worldwide.

Papa V Perpetua was revealed to the world during the climactic final seconds of the video for "Satanized", the "catchy goth-rock epic" (Vice) first single from "Skeletá", the anxiously awaited new GHOST album, out April 25 via Loma Vista Recordings. Trending No. 2 across YouTube upon its premiere and propelling "Skeletá" the top of pre-order / pre-save charts the world over, "Satanized" has been instant and profound in its singular impact.

The release of "Satanized" and breaking news of "Skeletá"'s impending arrival were accompanied by the debut of The Satanizer, a first-of-its-kind music video experience for fans who wish to be "Satanized". Developed in partnership with Jason Zada (Elf Yourself),The Satanizer morphs its users into characters featured in the song's melodramatic video. With a quick upload of their photo, The Satanizer sends out a personalized music video clip featuring the participant, who can in turn share via social media that they too have been "Satanized". To date, The Satanizer has generated over 125,000 creates with a staggering 96% conversion (generate-to-save ratio) and over 5.5 million impressions worldwide.

In a recent interview with Brent Porche of Philadelphia's 93.3 WMMR radio station, GHOST mastermind Tobias Forge stated about "Skeletá": "It is a record that is introspective to a further degree, I guess, than especially the previous record [2022's 'Impera']. Just to be clear, I do believe that most artists usually create a new record based on where they were on the previous one — not as a counter-reaction, but usually there's something that you wish to achieve that you maybe didn't on the previous[ one] or you wanna change something or just fill your… At the end of the day, what you're doing is basically you're filling your repertoire with hopefully songs that you didn't have before. But thematically, I usually have some sort of thematic guideline when I write, first and foremost for myself in order to make sense of what the new record is so it's not too whimsically just about everything at the same time. But where 'Impera' was very much not only extroverted, but exteriorly reflecting on bigger society, social issues, and also, as the title implies, imperial structure and its ultimate demise, it didn't feel very productive to continue down that and make an 'Impera 2', talking about the continual demise of… I was more attracted to the idea of this this record that was more shining a light in inside and making a record about healing aspects of being essentially a human being in whatever structural design, because at the end of the day, most humans are surprisingly alike and display the same abilities to sentiments. And these sentiments are usually quite basic. And that idea was attractive to me — making a record that had a song about hope, had a song about hate, had a song about love, acceptance and all these things."

Earlier last month, Forge told Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station about "Satanized": "Yeah, it's a fun video and it's a upbeat, fun track. It's a song about being in love and how that can potentially be mistaken as demonic possession, but in reality this song has nothing to do with demonic possession."

Asked why he picked "Satanized" to be the first single from "Skeletá", Tobias said: "It's funny because as I was making the record, I didn't really put much like regard into trying to write… Of course, as a songwriter, you always try to write as good songs as possible, but there wasn't a whole lot of, like, 'Oh, I'm gonna write a hit song.' So I was more interested in sort of making a bunch of songs that I was gonna put cohesively into an understandable and entertaining album. And wise with experience over the years where I've delivered records to the people that work with me, and I'm, like, 'This is the song. This is the single. This is the hit.' And more than often, it ends up being, like, 'Oh, no. We believe in that song instead.' Okay. So finally I've sort of given up a little bit on that. So I just sort of gave the record and I'm, like, 'You guys choose what you wanna do.' And then I'm sort of holding my thumb a little, crossing my fingers, hoping that that maybe they they'll hear what I hear. And to my big surprise, they came back with 'Satanized'. And I was, like, 'I couldn't be happier. I have a really funny video idea for that one. I never thought that you would go for that one,' simply because it's like…"

He continued: "To me, I am a huge fan of '70s music. That's a very simplified way of saying that, but I'm a big fan of SCORPIONS from the '80s, but also the SCORPIONS from the '70s, which sometimes, I guess, a certain age group might not be aware that that SCORPIONS was a band in the '70s, and they released several records. Those records are a little bit different from the '80s records, when they sort of became a '80s hit rock band. And 'Satanized' definitely had more of a SCORPIONS '77 stomp that I really liked about the track. And somehow, therefore, I guess, I wasn't like putting that as a hit-single fan favorite, or a favorite that way. I thought I was gonna work my magic to make that song a big song, the same way that we did with 'Mary On A Cross' once upon a time, when that was regarded as this 'B' track that was just for fun. And I was, like, 'I think that that song is actually quite good. We're gonna play it every show we're playing.' And it took years before it became what that became."

Circling back to the fact that his record company seemingly had the same vision for "Satanized" as he did in terms of the song's potential, Forge said: "I was overwhelmed and overjoyed with the synchronicity, because I have done that mistake before where I have conceived a record, conceived a track, have an idea for a video for a track, and then the powers that be want another kickoff. And then that leads to a discussion, and then more than often, the reasoning as to why you go with another track might be perfectly understandable, but all of a sudden my idea is just not worth the piece of paper it's written on, because it simply doesn't work if it's not in a… Sometimes the crux of being conceptual, sometimes your ideas are simply too conceptual and too based on presentation and stars aligning. But in this case, we ended up with fluency, which was cool."

"Satanized" was described in a press release as "an avalanche of infectious hooks and harmonies is buoyed by a hypnotic shuffle, as the narrator succumbs to dark forces within and without, helplessly acknowledging their own blasphemy and heresy as it inexorably consumes them." By the time the song's opening lines "There is something inside me and they don't know if there is a cure" have moved from the inner monologue of the possessed to the ears of the hapless listener, it will already be too late: You will have been "Satanized".

GHOST's sixth psalm, "Skeletá", is its most unflinchingly introspective work to date. Where previous GHOST albums dealt largely with chronicling and/or observing outward facing subject matter — such as "Impera"'s meditations on the rise and fall of empires and its predecessor "Prequelle"'s evocations of the ravages of era-defining plagues — "Skeletá"'s lyrics render the distinct individual emotional vistas of each of its 10 songs in one-on-one fashion, at times as if in a dialogue with oneself in a mirror. The end result is a singular collection of timeless, universal sentiments, all filtered through a prism of a uniquely personal point of view.

"Skeletá" track listing:

01. Peacefield
02. Lachryma
03. Satanized
04. Guiding Lights
05. De Profundis Borealis
06. Cenotaph
07. Missilia Amori
08. Marks Of The Evil One
09. Umbra
10. Excelsis

Forge performed as a "new" Papa Emeritus on each of the band's first three LPs, with each version of Papa replacing the one that came before it. Papa Emeritus III was retired in favor of Cardinal Copia before the release of 2018's "Prequelle". In March 2020, at final show of GHOST's "Prequelle" tour in Mexico City, Mexico, the band officially introduced Papa Emeritus IV, the character who fronted the act for its "Impera" (2022) album phase.

As previously reported, GHOST will embark on a world tour in 2025. The European leg of the trek will kick off on April 15 in Manchester, United Kingdom and conclude on May 24 in Oslo, Norway. The North American leg of GHOST's 2025 tour will launch on July 9 in Baltimore, Maryland and wrap up on August 16 in Houston, Texas.

The physical home video of GHOST's worldwide Top 10 box office smash feature film debut "Rite Here Rite Now" was made available on December 6, 2024.

In a new interview with Sakis Fragos of Rock Hard Greece, Tarja Turunen spoke about what it has been like to team up with her former NIGHTWISH bandmate Marko "Marco" Hietala for a new single, "Left On Mars" single, as well as their ongoing joint live performances which began with a series of triumphant shows in South America in early 2024. She said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I've been really enjoying to get to know him for the first time ever. It sounds strange to you — I was in a band with him for many years, but I didn't know the guy behind. I mean, I really didn't. So he has changed, and I'm very happy for him, very happy for him. He's doing great. He's free. We have now a lot more in common, a lot more in common, and we can talk, we can communicate and we are in touch more than we ever been — ever, ever, ever. We are in touch, and I can call him as a friend. He is my friend.

"This all started in 2012," she explained. "I took part in one of the biggest productions in Finland happening every year. It's called 'Raskasta Joulua' ('Heavy Christmas'). It's a Christmas production, that they do the Christmas songs in a more rock/metal way, arrangements, and I was one of the invited guest singers on that show — a couple of shows we did in Finland at that time. Marko was there. Marko is one of the original members of the project. And so I knew that I was gonna meet him there after so many years of silence between us that I hadn't heard anything from him [and] vice versa. And so we met there for the first time and it was just very natural. Obviously we both were nervous. Obviously it was no faking in that. He just came to my backstage room, ran late in time. I was expecting him to be in a soundcheck. He didn't show up. I was, like, 'I'm gonna be singing a song with him.' It was [Franz] Schubert's 'Ave Maria' done with Finnish lyrics in a very emotional way. And particularly that song sung by me and Marko for a Finnish audience, like five, six thousand people there — wow. It was so emotional. After we finished the first song we sang together, people just collapsed. The audience, they started crying and screaming like crazy. You know Finns — Finnish people don't show that much of emotion. [Laughs] It was crazy. It was crazy. And so after a couple of shows, Marko, after the last concert, he invite[d] everybody in the production to the backstage and apologize[d] to me in front of them, in front of everybody. It made me cry in that moment and we cleaned the table, we made peace after that. And then it was silence again. I lost the contact with him for few years and then I saw [that he was going to] perform in Switzerland couple of years ago in the same festival. I was headlining the festival; he had a show with his band there. So I contacted the promoter and said, 'Hey, I would love to sing 'Phantom Of The Opera' with Marko, but I have lost a contact. So could you please forward my message to him?' And the answer was that, yeah, he would like to do that. So I was, like, 'Yes.' So [I knew I was] gonna meet him again. And it was very, again, super emotional, but the guy, Marko, came with a pen drive. He had written a song, 'Left On Mars', already thinking about me and his wishes to collaborate with me as a duet in that song. So he gave me that song, and we talked and we talked, and a little bit of tears, and we talked and [blah blah blah]. And I came back home and I recorded the song. I love the song, and I love making music with him again. And then the touring started. The ideas of touring together started, and it's been so nice. And we've been doing great shows, great shows, and we are very happy."

Asked if she feels "kind of liberated" working together with Marko again but not under the NIGHTWISH umbrella, Tarja said: "Man, how free I have been for 20 years or plus as a solo artist. Marko is starting — he's still in the beginning of his [solo career], in a way. He's been doing music all his life on his own, but now, after the band and everything, he must feel pretty much the same that I do. You are free and you can do what you want. It's very important you have that freedom, and none of us should ever lose their freedom."

Three months ago, Hietala told Belgian Jasper about reconnecting with Tarja: "So here's the thing: to do this collaboration and all these things, it kind of started already in 2017 when we cleared our old shit, so we were ready for these kind of things [to] happen. Then we were playing at a Swiss festival, both our bands. She sends me a message, would we do 'Phantom Of The Opera', that I'm demoing songs with my band. 'Yeah, well, it's exciting. I'll do it.' 'Hey, would you be interested in a duet?' 'Yeah, we'll bring your song.' And, of course, then it's touring and doing a few legendary duets and all that. It's kind of fun and nice for a while, but you can't live on it. And it doesn't really answer neither one of us ambitions. And actually, I think that at least for me mentally, this is easier to do since the NIGHTWISH guys informed the world that they're going to take an indeterminate break from touring or doing shows. So, yeah, this is okay for a while and we're still heading out also [this] year for some touring. But you cannot really expect that thing, kind of an idea, to last. It's not what we're here for."

Hietala announced his departure from NIGHTWISH in January 2021, explaining in a statement that he hadn't "been able to feel validated by this life for a quite a few years now." He has since been replaced by bassist Jukka Koskinen (WINTERSUN),who made his live debut with NIGHTWISH in May 2021 at the band's two interactive experiences.

In July 2022, Hietala told Finland's Iltalehti that he had not kept in touch with NIGHTWISH since his departure or followed the activities of his former band.

Turunen was fired from NIGHTWISH at the end of the band's 2005 tour by being presented with an open letter which was published on the NIGHTWISH web site at the same time. In the letter, the other members of NIGHTWISH wrote: "To you, unfortunately, business, money, and things that have nothing to do with emotions have become much more important."

NIGHTWISH keyboardist and main songwriter Tuomas Holopainen later called the decision to part ways with Turunen "the most difficult thing I ever had to do." For her part, Tarja said the way she was kicked out of the group proved that her former bandmates were not her friends. "Maybe one day I'll forgive, but I will never forget," she said.

Teenage Cancer Trust at the Royal Albert Hall closed in spectacular fashion for another year with another unmissable performance by THE WHO.

Bill Murray was among the lucky audience in the packed venue along with Sadie Frost, Paul McKenna and Tracy-Ann Oberman. Hollywood star Murray recalled seeing THE WHO play 50 years ago and caught up with Roger Daltrey backstage after the gig.

Singer Roger Daltrey CBE launched the Teenage Cancer Trust concert series in 2000, and it has gone on to be an essential part of the U.K.'s music calendar, while raising more than £34 million for the charity. In 2026, THE CURE's Robert Smith will step in as guest curator.

The 2025 series ran from March 24-30, including THE WHO; THE CORRS; James Arthur; a night of comedy hosted by Micky Flanagan; a special night by Erased Tapes featuring Penguin Cafe; and Frank Carter and Paul Cook, Steve Jones, Glen Matlock of the SEX PISTOLS.

After bringing the house down on Thursday (March 27),THE WHO roared into action on Sunday (March 30) with the '60s hits "I Can't Explain" and "Substitute".

The hits kept coming, with the likes of "The Kids Are Alright" and the gorgeous "Behind Blue Eyes" followed by a soaring "Real Me".

Pete's unique guitar style played a starring role in "5:15" before his vocals took the lead on a beautiful "I'm One" ("loneliness starts sinking in"). Fan favorite "Love, Reign O'er Me" received a rapturous reception before "My Generation" spun out into an audience spanning the generations, before segueing into "See Me, Feel Me/Listening To You".

The 1982 track "Eminence Front" follows before "You Better You Bet" truly peeled back the years.

Roger and Pete enjoy a close bond with the band's fans and crack jokes throughout their shows. At one point, Pete said: "Many of you will know this is not my chosen career — I would have preferred to have been a dustman, to be honest. But it's glorious to be here with people like you tonight. Thank you so much."

There was a standing ovation for "Baba O'Riley", while "Won't Get Fooled Again" received a clap-along intro and the famous Daltrey scream was as huge as you could want. The "Song Is Over" was a rare treat for fans.

Aldi, which has partnered with Teenage Cancer Trust since 2017, and raised over £11 million for the charity to date is the headline sponsor for this year's Royal Albert Hall series. Domino's, which has partnered with Teenage Cancer Trust for ten years and has raised £8 million for the charity, is the official sponsor of the Ultimate Backstage Experience.

Teenage Cancer Trust is the only U.K. charity dedicated to providing specialized nursing care and support for young people with cancer.

Cancer kills more teenagers and young adults in the U.K. than any other disease. And for those who survive, going through it without the right support can be devastating — physically and emotionally.

Every day, more than seven young people aged 13-24 hear the words "you have cancer". By 2030 that number will be closer to 10.

There's never been a worse time to receive that news, with healthcare services under enormous pressure.

Money from these iconic gigs at the Royal Albert Hall means Teenage Cancer Trust can fund specialist nurses and youth workers to be there for a young person when cancer has turned their world upside down.

Cancer rates in young people in the U.K. have gone up by a quarter since the early 1990s. And by 2030, it's projected that the number of young people living with a cancer diagnosis will be 65% higher.

Since 2000, over £34 million has been raised by Teenage Cancer Trust concerts at the Royal Albert Hall, and that money has helped fund specialist nurses, hospital units and support services right across the U.K. that help get young people through some unimaginably hard times.

Since 2000 audiences at Teenage Cancer Trust's annual gigs have witnessed some extraordinary, once-in-a-lifetime shows, from Noel Gallagher and Damon Albarn performing together for the first time ever in 2013, Sir Paul McCartney in 2012, plus the likes of OASIS, MUSE, Nile Rodgers and CHIC, Ed Sheeran, FLORENCE + THE MACHINE, RUDIMENTAL and many more.

There have been many legendary moments. Sir Paul McCartney was joined on stage in 2012 for THE BEATLES' "Get Back" by Roger Daltrey, Ronnie Wood and Paul Weller — marking a Beatle, Rolling Stone and THE WHO joining forces.

In 2024 a special show was staged as an ovation for Roger Daltrey's years of service, with turns by the likes of Paul Weller, Kelly Jones, Eddie Vedder and Robert Plant.

Guitarist Doc Coyle and bassist Kyle Konkiel have announced their departures from BAD WOLVES. Replacing them in the group are returning guitarist Chris Cain and new bassist Kevin Creekman, respectively.

Earlier today, Coyle released the following statement via social media: "Dear Wolfpack, I regret to inform you that I have decided to part ways with BAD WOLVES. It was not an easy decision to make. I have been playing with the band for almost 9 years, so this is a massive life change for me. It should be said that this is a completely amicable split. I love John, Kyle, DL, and AJ. Not being in the trenches going forward with my boys is the hardest part of all of this. But this has been coming for a long while, and I think my time in the band has just run its course. I am still rooting for BAD WOLVES to take over the world. And it warms my heart knowing that our old guitarist, Chris Cain, is coming back to take the baton from me on lead guitar.

"I won't provide an in-depth explanation of why I'm leaving at the moment. I'm sure I'll share more details at some point when it's appropriate. I feel like I've lost a bit of who I am as a creative and where my passion lies. Being in this band has brought challenges that have taken quite an emotional toll and burned me out. Through the ups and downs, I've done everything in my power to make BAD WOLVES successful. I'm very proud of our work, the albums we made, and overcoming the adversity we faced. But it's time for a fresh start.

"Breaking out the way we did in 2018 gave me a 2nd chapter to my career that I could never have dreamed of. Being in our late 30s and receiving #1 singles, gold albums, and arena tours right out of the gate was a stunning achievement. I'll always be grateful for the opportunities and doors that have opened since I was in BAD WOLVES. And I'm proud of the fact that it inspired many musicians to keep grinding it out. If we could do it, you could do it.

"I want to thank everyone who worked with the band all these years - everyone at 10th Street Management and Better Noise Music, Eric and MSK, Independent Artist Group, every single crew member we've had, everyone who's written songs with us or done production work on any of our albums, but most of all I want to thank the BAD WOLVES fans. Your dedication has been a true inspiration. We've gotten each other through lots of hard times. The Wolfpack really is a family to me. Any time I've had the chance to meet you in person, give you a hug, share your story, or take a picture together has meant the world to me. I will forever be grateful for your support.

"What's next? I'm not sure, but for the first time in a long time, I have nothing on the books. My schedule is wide open. That frightens me and excites me. I'm writing music. I'm on a journey to find out what hell it is I want in life. And it's ok to not have all the answers right now. If you know me, you know that I'm not very good at staying idle, so I'm sure I'll see you all soon.

"Love and respect, Doc Coyle".

Konkiel issued a separate statement, saying: "After eight incredible years, I've decided to step down from BAD WOLVES. This wasn't an easy choice, but after much reflection, I know in my heart that I can no longer give this band 100%. And anything less wouldn't be fair to the music, my bandmates, or the fans.

"There are so many things I still want to accomplish in my career, and I feel now is the time to explore new creative paths, whether on my own or in a new project.

"The memories, the shows, and the experiences over the past near-decade will always hold a special place in my heart. I wish John, DL, and AJ nothing but success and will continue to cheer them on however I can. And as for my brother Doc, you already know I've got his back for life. We've been through more together than most bands ever do, and my support doesn't end here.

"To all the incredible fans, crew, and fellow musicians I've met along the way, thank you. Your support has meant everything, and I look forward to crossing paths again in whatever comes next.

"This isn't the end. Just the start of a new chapter."

BAD WOLVES' latest album, "Die About It", came out in 2023. The LP included the hit single "Legends Never Die" (which peaked at No. 3 on the Active Rock radio chart) and the track "Hungry For Life", which featured Grammy-nominated rock singer-songwriter Chris Daughtry. The effort was co-produced with Josh Gilbert (AS I LAY DYING) alongside drummer John Boecklin and singer Daniel "DL" Laskiewicz.

While this is bittersweet news, I’m glad I can finally talk about it publicly. It’s been a hell of a ride. I can’t wait...

Posted by Doc Coyle on Wednesday, April 2, 2025

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