In a new interview with Joshua Toomey of the "Talk Toomey" podcast, ex-FEAR FACTORY singer Burton C. Bell was asked how it felt to see his former group going out on tour with someone else singing the parts he originally wrote and recorded with the band. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It doesn't affect me at all. To be honest, I haven't been this happy in a long time. More power to them, but I'm just moving forward in my own life, my own career, and I'm just trying to make a name for myself."

Asked if he has checked out any of the videos on YouTube of FEAR FACTORY performing with his replacement, the Italian-born singer Milo Silvestro, Bell said: "No, I don't. I don't care to."

Burton went on to say that he doesn't mind being asked about FEAR FACTORY despite the fact that he is no longer in the band. "FEAR FACTORY, it's what I'm known for," he explained. "And the 30 years I had with FEAR FACTORY were some of the proudest moments of my career. And everything I've ever done in FEAR FACTORY I'm very proud of. Even some of the questionable things I've done in FEAR FACTORY I'm still proud of. It was a great legacy."

During an April 2022 appearance on an episode of "The Ex-Man" podcast hosted by Doc Coyle (BAD WOLVES),Bell touched upon FEAR FACTORY's latest album, "Aggression Continuum", which was released in June 2021 via Nuclear Blast Records. The LP, which was recorded primarily in 2017, features Bell and fellow original FF member Dino Cazares (guitar) alongside drummer Mike Heller.

"I was just happy that record finally came out," Burton said. "We finished that record in 2017. By the time it came out, I'd forgotten all about it. 'Oh, yeah, I remember that song. Oh yeah.'

"There's some good songs on that record. The song 'Collapse' is a good song. The title track 'Monolith' is a good song," he added, referencing the LP's original working title, before it was changed by Cazares.

When Coyle noted that the mix on "Aggression Continuum" is "great," Bell hesitated for a couple of seconds before reluctantly agreeing. "I guess," he said. "When I finished the record [in 2017], the record was done and agreed upon and then further work was done without my say."

Elsewhere in the chat, Burton said admitted that "it was difficult" for him to leave FEAR FACTORY. "Stepping away from FEAR FACTORY was not an easy decision by [any] means," he said. "But what I experienced for the 10 years before that, the lawsuits, the acrimony, that was the one that killed me. And I just had to step away to realize, you know, they can take all this stuff from me — they can take the money, they can take the royalties, they can take the trademark away from me — and I realized that didn't define me. They can take that, but I'm still Burton C. Bell, motherfucker, and whatever I have they can't take. So I'm just kind of moving forward and doing new things."

According to Bell, hardship is par for the course for most musicians, who often find themselves victims of bad contracts, unscrupulous management and, all too often, what appears to be a penchant for self-destruction.

"I knew a long time ago I wanted to be an artist — way before I was in FEAR FACTORY," he said. "When I was in high school, I was, like, 'I wanna be an artist.' To be an artist, you've gotta suffer. You've gotta understand that people wanna take from you the entire time — what you create they wanna make money off of and take it away from you and just give you a pittance. But being bitter is not my style — never has been.

"Whatever negativity has happened in the past with FEAR FACTORY doesn't even hold up to the amount of positivity that has happened," he continued. "If you think about the negative, it can weigh you down so much, but it's not really that much in comparison to what the band achieved, what we created, what we provided to the music world, and for that I'm proud and very happy.

"No one likes to talk to a bitter person at all," Burton added. "Me for one. It's, like, 'Man, just get over it and just move on.' 'Cause holding on to the past doesn't serve me anything, it doesn't serve anybody else anything. Move on and show 'em what you can do from that point forward."

In September 2020, Bell issued a statement officially announcing his departure from FEAR FACTORY, saying that he "cannot align" himself with someone whom he does not trust or respect.

Bell's exit from FEAR FACTORY came more than two weeks after Cazares launched a GoFundMe campaign to assist him with the production costs associated with the release of FEAR FACTORY's latest LP.

Bell later told Kerrang! magazine that his split with FEAR FACTORY was a long time coming. "It's been on my mind for a while," he said. "These lawsuits [over the rights to the FEAR FACTORY name] just drained me. The egos. The greed. Not just from bandmembers, but from the attorneys involved. I just lost my love for it.

"With FEAR FACTORY, it's just constantly been, like, 'What?!' You can only take so much. I felt like 30 years was a good run. Those albums I've done with FEAR FACTORY will always be out there. I'll always be part of that. I just felt like it was time to move forward."

Bell will unveil "Paradise Found", his debut exhibition of photographic works, at the Vincent Castiglia Gallery in Fort Lauderdale, Florida from March 11 through May 23. The photographs Bell is presenting are representational of his industrial and science-fiction aesthetic.

"Paradise Found" consists of 20 original full-color photographs of abandoned industrial buildings taken in darkness and fog from 2002 to 2003. Bell's images are printed on aluminum using the dye sublimation process - an approach Bell calls "celluloid impressionism."

Bell's ASCENSION OF THE WATCHERS project released its second full-length album, "Apocrypha", in October 2020 via Dissonance Productions.

Photo by Erica Vincent Photos / Earsplit PR

James Hetfield (METALLICA, John 5 (MÖTLEY CRÜE, ROB ZOMBIE, MARILYN MANSON),Frank Hannon (TESLA),David Ellefson (MEGADETH),Zakk Wylde (BLACK LABEL SOCIETY, PANTERA, OZZY OSBOURNE) and Doug Aldrich (WHITSNAKE, DIO, THE DEAD DAISIES) are among the musicians who have reacted on social media to the passing of guitarist Gary Rossington, the last surviving founding member of LYNYRD SKYNYRD. Gary was 71.

Rossington's passing was announced by LYNYRD SKYNYRD on the band's official Facebook page Sunday evening (March 5). No cause of death was given. The guitarist had battled a number of heart problems, including an emergency heart surgery in 2021. Six years earlier, he suffered a heart attack, prompting several of the band's concerts to be canceled. He also underwent quintuple bypass surgery back in 2003 due to coronary artery disease. In 2019, he had an operation to fix a leaky heart valve.

Five years ago, Rossington told the Tampa Bay Times his doctors had urged him for years to quit touring. "I've had heart attacks on stage," he said. "That's why I was calling it a farewell tour. I don't know if I'll be here [much longer]. I don't want to just say, 'Well, we're never going to end,' because I don't want to die and then it end that way — which is a heavy thing to talk about, but I have to."

Rossington survived the 1977 plane crash that killed singer Ronnie Van Zant and guitarist Steve Gaines. The band reunited with Ronnie's brother Johnny Van Zant as singer in 1987 and has been on the road ever since.

Rossington was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2006, along with other members of LYNYRD SKYNYRD, and contributed to many of the group's most iconic songs, including "Sweet Home Alabama" and "Free Bird".

Last December, Rossington told Rolling Stone magazine about LYNYRD SKYNYRD's enduring relevance: "It's a tribute band right now, and everybody knows it's not the original. Everybody who comes to see us is told that during the show, and probably knows before they even get there. But people still come to hear it live."

Rossington, whose health woes had forced him to miss many of LYNYRD SKYNYRD's recent shows, with Damon Johnson filling in for him, admitted he went through "a lot of different emotions" watching LYNYRD SKYNYRD from the side of the stage. "The notes are the same, and the songs are the same. It sounds good to me. It sounds like our band," he explained. "I look out and don't see the original band — it's strange. And then I look out and see a replacement for me, which is strange. Just hearing the songs without me playing on 'em live is very strange."

Despite “101 strange things happening," Rossington said that he was happy to know that LYNYRD SKYNYRD's music is still connecting with people. "To see the younger people enjoying it makes your heart warm."

Lord Of The Lost will bring a glamorous party between glam rock and metal to Eurovision Song Contest 2023, when they will represent Germany in Liverpool with the title track of their current #1 album, Blood & Glitter. In a show with multiple artists from many different musical genres at the German preliminary shows, the band got by far the most votes in the public voting.


Lord Of The Lost to their fans and everyone that took part in the show: “BLOOD & GLITTER is “Our song for Liverpool”! THANK YOU, for everything! We are not the best band in the world (they already exist), but we are the band with the best fans in the world: YOU! Thanks also to everyone who made this show possible. Since there are too many names, summarized: NDR, ARD, Bildergarten TV, everyone orbiting in the orbit of this event and our crew! And greatest respect, thanks and love to you: Anica Russo, René Miller, Will Church, Patty Gurdy, Trong, Frida Gold, Lonely Spring and Ikke Hüftgold. From day 1 of the rehearsals we lived the spirit of the ESC: UNITED BY MUSIC. With each other – not against each other.”


Watch the winning performance of “Blood & Glitter” live at the German preliminaries below:







In 2023, German genre-fusing visionaries Lord Of The Lost are jumping from one highlight to the next! The appearance at Eurovision Song Contest 2023 in Liverpool on May 13, 2023 is another huge highlight in the band’s career. The year began with their first-ever #1 debut on the Official German Album Charts with their new album, Blood & Glitter, followed by a completely sold-out club tour throughout Germany, and will continue on to support Iron Maiden again on their upcoming European tour. Lord Of The Lost will also appear at several major festivals throughout Europe through the rest of the year and recently announced further shows.


Order the Blood & Glitter album here.





Blood & Glitter tracklisting:


"Blood & Glitter"
"Leave Your Hate In The Comments"
"Absolute Attitude"
"The Future Of A Past Life"
"No Respect For Disrespect"
"Reset The Preset"
"Destruction Manual"
"Dead End"
"Leaving The Planet Earth"
"Forever Lost"
"Save Our Souls"
"One Last Song"
"The Look" (Roxette Cover)


"Absolute Attitude" video:





“Leaving The Planet Earth” video:





"Blood & Glitter" video:





Lord Of The Lost are:


Chris Harms – Vocals, Guitar
Pi Stoffers – Guitar
Class Grenayde – Bass
Gared Dirge – Piano, Synths, Percussion, Guitar
Niklas Kahl – Drums

Whitesnake have released the new video below, in which frontman David Coverdale unboxes the upcoming 15th anniversary edition of the band's Good To Be Bad album, entitled Still Good To Be Bad.





Whitesnake returned in 2008 with Good To Be Bad, the band’s 10th studio album and its first in over a decade. Fans embraced the comeback, pushing the album into the Top 10 in the UK and flocking to shows on the band’s massive world tour. Today, album tracks like “Best Years” and “Summer Rain” have taken their place in the band’s live repertoire alongside global hits like “Here I Go Again” and “Still Of The Night.”




Whitesnake explores the group’s 2008 return with the upcoming legacy retrospective, Still Good To Be Bad. The collection will be available in different configurations on April 28, a few days after the original album’s 15th anniversary. The first collection is a 4-CD/Blu-ray with two new versions of the original album (one remastered and the other newly remixed), a selection of rare and unreleased studio and live recordings from the period, and videos all the music videos, interviews, and electrifying live performances from the Good To Be Bad world tour.





Three other versions of Still Good To Be Bad will also be available on April 28. The album’s 2023 Remix will be released on vinyl as a double-LP and a single CD. Still Good To Be Bad also comes as a 2-CD set that includes the remixed and remastered versions of the album. The new alternate mixes also feature new background vocals from the “Hook City Harlots,” Cami Thompson, Misty Rae & Jackie Landrum, plus the “Hook City Horns” with Rick Metz on saxes and the trumpet of Joshua Reed.


The newly remixed version of “Can You Hear The Wind Blow” is out today as a digital single and new music video. Listen here, watch below.





Whitesnake founder and lead singer David Coverdale played an integral role in making the new collection, serving as its executive producer. In the set’s liner notes, Coverdale traces the creative spark for Good to Be Bad back to 2003 when he reconvened Whitesnake for a tour celebrating the band’s 25th anniversary.


“We went out for two months and came back nine months later, and I had a big smile on my face and felt really energized.... I thought—‘Wow! I’ve got thirty years of music here that I can go out and play, and I don’t have to promote a new record...I can just have fun out there.’”


The anniversary ended, but the tour buses kept rolling as Whitesnake remained in demand on the road. As a result, in 2006, the band released Live...In The Shadow Of The Blues, a concert album that also introduced four new studio recordings. Those songs raised fans’ hopes for a new Whitesnake studio album, the first since 1997’s Restless Heart.


Coverdale enjoyed a newly forged creative friendship with electrifying guitarist Doug Aldrich...After initially saying he wasn’t interested in new projects...after three years of touring, he felt the need for new music...not only for the fans, but also to reinvigorate himself.


He found the perfect writing partner with Doug Aldrich. Not only as a co-writer but, as a co-producer, too...


“Doug & I got on so well, I suggested we sit down with our acoustic guitars & see what unfolded...I was thrilled how effortless it was to create new Whitesnake music with him...”


So, it was that in 2007, Coverdale, guitarists Doug Aldrich and Reb Beach, keyboardist Timothy Drury, bassist Uriah Duffy, and drummer Chris Frazier began recording tracks for Whitesnake’s 10th studio album, Good to Be Bad. Celebrated by both fans and critics, the record was named “Album of the Year” at the 2008 Classic Rock Awards.


Still Good To Be Bad explores the creative process behind the record with 28 different mixes and alternate versions of album tracks, all but one of them previously unreleased. High points include “If You Want Me,” backed by the Hook City Harlots and Horns and a version of “All For Love” that features a different guitar solo by Aldrich. The collection also includes “Evolutions”, a disc of unreleased recordings that presents a guide through the genesis of each song, from initial ideas with rough vocal melodies, lyrics and riffs through to finished demos and full band production versions.


The Blu-ray delivers a variety of Whitesnake video footage, including live tracks from the band’s 2008 European tour, acoustic performances from the era, and an interview by Eddie Trunk. New songs like “Best Years,” “A Fool In Love,” and “Can You Hear The Wind Blow” come to life in these incredible live performances. The Blu-ray also features promo videos for “Ready To Rock” and “Lay Down Your Love.”


Pre-order here.





Super Deluxe tracklisting:


CD 1: New Remix
"Best Years"
"Can You Hear The Wind Blow"
"Lay Down Your Love"
"If You Want Me"
"All I Want All I Need"
"Call On Me"
"Ready To Rock"
"Summer Rain"
"Good To Be Bad"
"All For Love"
"All I Want Is You"
"Got What You Need"
"A Fool In Love"
"Dog"
"‘Til The End Of Time"


CD 2: New Remaster  
"Best Years"
"Can You Hear The Wind Blow"
"Lay Down Your Love"
"If You Want Me"
"All I Want All I Need"
"Call On Me"
"Ready To Rock"
"Summer Rain"
"Good To Be Bad"
"All For Love"
"All I Want Is You"
"Got What You Need"
"A Fool In Love"
"Dog"
"‘Til The End Of Time"


CD 3: Alt Mixes and Various Versions
"Lay Down Your Love" w/ Hook City Harlots
"If You Want Me":w/ Hook City Harlots
"Call On Me" w/ Hook City Harlots
"Good To Be Bad" w/ Hook City Harlots
"All For Love" w/ Hook City Harlots
"Got What You Need" w/ Hook City Harlots
"A Fool In Love" w/ Hook City Harlots
"If You Want Me" Tommy Aldridge drums
"Ready To Rock" Tommy Aldridge drums
"All I Want Is You" Tommy Aldridge drums
"Dog" Tommy Aldridge drums
"All For Love" Doug Aldridge alternate solo
"Summer Rain" Unzipped


CD 4: Evolutions
"Best Years"
"Can You Hear The Wind Blow"
"Lay Down Your Love"
"If You Want Me"
"All I Want All I Need"
"Call On Me"
"Ready To Rock"
"Summer Rain"
"Good To Be Bad"
"All For Love"
"All I Want Is You"
"Got What You Need"
"A Fool In Love"
"Dog"
"‘Til The End Of Time"


Disc 5: Blu-ray / DVD
"Ready To Rock" (Promo Video)
"Lay Down Your Love" (Promo Video)
"Best Years" (Mini Concert From 2008)
"Can You Hear The Wind Blow" (Mini Concert From 2008)
"Lay Down Your Love" (Mini Concert From 2008)
"A Fool In Love" (Mini Concert From 2008)
"Got What You Need" (Purplesnake Video)
"Call On Me" (Purplesnake Video)
"Can You Hear The Wind Blow" (Purplesnake Video)
"All For Love" (Purplesnake Video)
"Best Years" (Purplesnake Video)
"Can You Hear The Wind Blow" (Cutting Room NY Live Acoustic)
"All I Want All I Need" (Cutting Room NY Live Acoustic)
"Lay Down Your Love" (Cutting Room NY Live Acoustic)

During an appearance on this past Tuesday's (February 27) episode of SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", Phil Lewis once again commented on the out-of-court resolution of the legal dispute over the rights to the L.A. GUNS name. Under the terms of the April 2021 settlement agreement, he and guitarist Tracii Guns are continuing to operate under the L.A. GUNS trademark, while drummer Steve Riley and his bandmates from the other version of L.A. GUNS are now operating under the new name RILEY'S L.A. GUNS. Asked if he is satisfied with how the dispute was resolved, the singer said: "I think so. Just to be clear, they were after us. There was no question, no doubt. I've got them on record saying, 'We have as much right to the name as they do,' talking about us, which is absolute baloney. And there was no way we could not stop what we were doing and address that, no matter what it cost, no matter what we had to do. Because it [would be] over; it'd kill us. So we had to come up with something. And we did. We came up with a solution. I suppose it's fair.

"L.A. GUNS is Tracii's baby; it has been his baby since, like, 1985. And a bunch of guys from back east getting together with a grudge isn't… You're doing it for the wrong reason. That's not L.A. GUNS," Lewis explained.

RILEY'S L.A. GUNS features Riley alongside Orlando, Florida-based guitarist/vocalist Kurt Frohlich, bassist Kelly Nickels (a member of L.A. GUNS' "classic" incarnation) and guitarist Scott Griffin, who played bass for L.A. GUNS from 2007 until 2009, and then again from 2011 to 2014.

In January 2020, Riley was sued by Lewis and Guns in California District Court. Joining Riley as defendants in the case were the three musicians who performed in his rival version of L.A. GUNS; that group's manager, booking agent and merchandiser; and Golden Robot Records. The complaint, which requested a trial by jury, alleged that Riley's version of L.A. GUNS (referred to in the case docket as "the infringing L.A. GUNS") was creating "unfair competition" through its unauthorized usage of the L.A. GUNS trademark. In addition, Guns and Lewis were seeking relief from and/or against false advertising, breach of contract and unauthorized usage of their likenesses.

In May 2021, Guns discussed the resolution in an interview with The SDR Show. He said: "We ended up settling in a way where, basically, [Steve] licenses the words L.A. GUNS for free; I'm not even asking for a percentage of when he plays. I'm just saying, 'Hey, I could have taken your house. I could have taken anything you own. But I don't want you to die in the street, and I don't want you to be poor.' And I really love his son, Cole. It just got to the point with all this litigation… It just got to the point where [we were] just going back and forth, and I'm, like, 'How can I easily make it just make sense?' 'Cause in the end, they had no argument. 'Well, I'm in L.A. GUNS.' That was the argument. No, you're not — you're not in L.A. GUNS. You were hired by me. The bass player guy was hired by me. And it's as simple as that. But if you wanna pretend that you came up with the name or you formed the band or it was your musical vision or that you even wrote one fucking song, you can go live in that fantasy, as long as it doesn't infringe on my business."

In a separate interview with Sonic Perspectives, Guns addressed the fact that Riley's version of L.A. GUNS played at the M3 Rock Festival in 2019 and released a full-length album under the L.A. GUNS name, 2020's "Renegades". He said: "Dude, when they did those couple of shows, we got so much angry e-mail from our fans. People were, like, 'What the fuck? None of you guys were there!' We would have to explain it's a different band with the same name. When I say a lot, I'm talking over a thousand e-mails. Then they put out a record using the name L.A. GUNS, [and] the e-mails just escalated. That was the point where some from our family stepped who had unlimited funds, which we used to stop this. It was what we needed to do, and it is done. Can you imagine, now they have to make up their legal fees? In what reality is it worth it? For Steve Riley to spend $80,000, and they will never make that back with RILEY'S L.A. GUNS. There is no logic, and it's so bizarre."

In November 2021, Riley told Waste Some Time With Jason Green that Tracii and Phil "do not like each other. I don't care what anybody says; I know what I know. I was the only one constant factor in L.A. GUNS through all the changes. I know how they talked about each other. I know how they got along when they were together, and they do not like each other."

Steve went on to say that he knew from the get-go that Phil "was making a bad call" be reuniting with Tracii. He added: "To call that an L.A. GUNS reunion with just the two of them… First of all, it's not a reunion. And then second of all, to do it with him and know their past relationship, know how they tore each other up in interviews and in the press and just said the worst things about each other, I just couldn't understand it; it wasn't registering to me. Why would you wanna do this when you could, at this age, at this point in your career, don't you wanna be comfortable and do it around people that you really dig? So it wasn't really registering why he would wanna do it. I guess they saw big dollar signs, and that didn't happen.

"The thing is you've gotta build a machine," he continued. "I know that the machine that they have around them right now is not good. I know that they have some people working for them that probably don't know how to direct them, how to get the most out of what they have. So the thing is gonna stall, and it has stalled."

In a new interview with Heavy New York, SEETHER bassist Dale Stewart was asked if there are any plans for him and his bandmates to work on new music as a follow-up to the "Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum" album, which came out in 2020. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We'll definitely be releasing some new music at some point. Where that's gonna be on the timeline is hard to say."

He continued: "We're at a place in our careers now where we… When you're a baby band, it's, like, 'We need that album. You've gotta get it out. You've gotta get it out,' whereas now we can take a little bit more time, make sure the songs are ready and then go in and knock it out.

"[SEETHER frontman] Shaun [Morgan] just had a kid, so we're not touring as hard as we did. But, yeah, we're definitely gonna start working on some new stuff. So, yeah, just kind of keep an eye out for announcements on that. Nothing set in stone yet, but it's in the future. So, don't despair. There's something in the pipeline. You've just gotta wait a little bit longer."

Last July, SEETHER issued the deluxe edition of "Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum", containing 22 tracks in all, five of which were previously unreleased. It includes all 21 songs recorded during the "Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum" sessions, along with the alternate version of "Wasteland" that was originally featured on the 2020 "The Purgatory" EP.

Produced by Morgan and engineered and mixed by Matt Hyde (DEFTONES, AFI),the acclaimed "Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum" ("If you want peace, Prepare for war") was released in August 2020, spawned three No. 1 singles on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart and at Active Rock radio and garnered some of the best reviews of the band's storied career.

Since forming in Pretoria, South Africa in 1999, SEETHER (Morgan, Dale Stewart, John Humphrey and Corey Lowery) has amassed a global, devoted fan base with an unbroken sense of purpose and commitment. Their impressive sales and chart history includes three platinum and two gold albums, 18 No. 1 singles, 21 Top 5 multi-format hits, single sales topping 17 million and over two billion streams worldwide across all platforms. SEETHER is Billboard's No. 8 all-time mainstream rock artist, which covers the over 40-year history of the chart's existence.

Last year, SEETHER finished a U.S. arena tour as special guests of BREAKING BENJAMIN.

FOREIGNER lead singer Kelly Hansen spoke to FOX17 Rock & Review about the legendary rockers' recent announcement that they were embarking on their farewell tour. The trek is set to launch on July 6 at Atlanta's Ameris Bank Amphitheatre. For the first leg of the U.S. Live Nation-produced tour, FOREIGNER will be joined by LOVERBOY.

Hansen said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I wanna be clear: I have so much gratitude for all people who have supported this band over the decades and have been there unrelentingly. And I just love that, and I want to honor that by not continuing to go on in a way where I can't perform these songs the way they need to be [performed]. It's really hard to sing these songs, and it gets harder every year… There are hard songs to sing when you're young. And I'm gonna be 62 in a month, and it seems like I have to give up something every year in order to maintain the status quo of my vocal quality. And I do that, and I get it and I appreciate it, but I don't wanna be in a position where I've seen other musicians where I look at them or I see a show and I kind of go, 'Wow, that's really disappointing.' I have no desire for that. I have no need to do that. I don't crave somehow the spotlight or adulation or something that makes me do it way beyond where I should. I want this band to go out on top with these songs being strong and the delivery being strong and that be the memory — not something lesser than it should be."

Last month, Hansen told Boomerocity about FOREIGNER's final tour: "We have never taken this for granted, and we understand how fortunate we've all been to be able to have this ride together. That is not lost on us. And the sweetness of us being together with an audience on stage is something that I'm gonna miss. And I'm sure there might be some special events or something like this or that, but this idea of touring nine months a year is the thing that's going to come to a close."

Kelly continued: "Some people say, 'Well, why don't you just go and do four weeks during the summer, every summer or whatever?' The issue with that is that the crew and the band all have to somehow make a living… The band and crew can't do nothing and then all come back together just for four weeks. So everyone has to take on other things. So that means that the way we work now… The way we work now is we do eight, nine months a year, and we can keep everybody together and doing stuff, because we're all really putting in a lot of energy and working and stuff, so it's enough to sustain everybody. But if you just limit it to a couple of weeks or a few weeks, all of a sudden you're gonna have to be using different people. Are you gonna have different musicians? And then the complexion completely changes, and it's not the way I envision it… 'Cause if the year starts in March, it's hard to go, 'Oh, I'm gonna be free for a month in the summer.' You're probably gonna be working with whoever you're working with, and that's kind of the way it goes."

Hansen added: "It's been a very hard and long-thought-out process about making this decision. And for me, I want to live a life and enjoy my family and my friends and spend time with my wife and be able to soak up life. Because, you know what? For the last 40 years or my life, I don't come home from work at five in the afternoon or five in the evening and hang out at home; I'm on the road. And I've done this for 46 years — something like that; 43 or 46 years. So I think it's not unfair for me to say it might be nice to enjoy things before it's too hard to enjoy them anymore."

In a separate interview, Kelly was asked by the 96.1 KLPX radio station what led to FOREIGNER's decision to stage what is being billed as the band's last-ever run of shows. He said: "One of my things that was important to me is that I not be out there doing these songs that I shouldn't really be doing anymore 'cause I can't do them anymore. I wanna do these songs justice and deliver them strong and vibrant and then quit while we're ahead like that. I've seen far too many people who are — for probably many different reasons — still out there when maybe they shouldn't be. And I guess everyone has their own view of their vanity, whether it's visually or instrumentally or vocally, and I think that we're really at a peak right now. It's getting harder and harder to do this really difficult, challenging but wonderful catalog of songs every year, and I just wanna do them right. And I don't wanna start having to do less of them right."

Asked about his post-FOREIGNER plans, Kelly said: "I have a lot to do before this winds up. I just got married over two years ago, and I look forward to spending time with my wife and family and making plans for what is the next step in our future. Because I have other interests; I wanna do other things. I have not yet decided what musical things I might be interested in or doing. But I definitely have a life focus in front of me first. Because I've been doing this for 18, almost 19 years, every year for nine months a year, not having much of a home life. And there comes a point in time where you say, 'Listen, I wanna just have a life.' And when we had COVID, I saw the seasons change for the first time at my house. And I'd never experienced that before. And it kind of makes you think about things."

Hansen previously discussed FOREIGNER's farewell tour in January in an interview with Rob Rush Radio. Asked if this is indeed FOREIGNER's last-ever trek, Hansen said: "Our plan is to do this into 2024. I've been asked many times by many different people to continue doing this. And, really, for me, it's a matter of being able to perform these songs at the level they deserve and that the fans deserve, and I cannot allow myself to do less than that, just as a human being.

"It's gotten tougher and tougher every year to sing this great catalog of songs," he admitted. "And it maybe sounds like I'm whining. I'm not trying to whine; I'm really fortunate to be able to have done this and do this with the band. It's just I don't wanna sacrifice the quality of these songs and the performance of these songs. So I think it's better to say, 'You know what? I'm gonna leave here strong and let the memory of this live thing be strong as well."

Asked what he will miss the most about touring with FOREIGNER, Kelly said: "Amazing crowds and amazing band. I mean, what a great band with people that we all enjoy being around each other. We enjoy each other's company, and playing a catalog of songs that you couldn't dream of, you couldn't buy. And as a singer, to sing so many hits songs — from the start of the show to the end of the show, there's no fluff or filler — and that's just a dream to have happen. And so I'm gonna miss all that. And it's been a hard decision to make, but I think you have to get on to these things early and make sure you're doing the right thing. I've seen far too many other live entities happen that I really feel shouldn't be out there anymore."

When FOREIGNER's final tour was first announced last November, the band's leader and founder Mick Jones said: "Many years ago, I wrote a song called 'Feels Like The First Time', and today we are launching one last worldwide tour. We will be presenting a show that I know will have the same enthusiasm as our very first appearances. The tour will start this summer in America and we hope to get to every place that we have played over the last several years. While I'm sure our fans will have mixed feelings about the end of the road for the band, I know our shows are going to delight audiences everywhere."

Jones continues to elevate FOREIGNER's influence and guide the band to new horizons with his stylistic songwriting, indelible guitar hooks and multi-layered talents while Hansen, one of rock's greatest showmen, has led FOREIGNER into the digital age inspiring a whole new generation of fans. Bassist Jeff Pilson, Michael Bluestein on keyboards, guitarist Bruce Watson, Chris Frazier on drums and guitarist Luis Maldonado provide an unprecedented level of energy that has resulted in the re-emergence of the astounding music that speaks to FOREIGNER's enduring popularity. FOREIGNER has an extraordinary streaming and radio audience.

With more Top 10 hits than JOURNEY and ten multi-platinum albums, FOREIGNER is universally hailed as one of the most popular rock acts in the world with a formidable musical arsenal that continues to propel sold-out tours and album sales, now exceeding 80 million. Responsible for some of rock and roll's most enduring anthems, including "Juke Box Hero", "Cold As Ice", "Hot Blooded", "Waiting For A Girl Like You", "Feels Like The First Time", "Urgent", "Head Games", "Say You Will", "Dirty White Boy", "Long, Long Way From Home" and the worldwide No. 1 hit "I Want To Know What Love Is", FOREIGNER still rocks the charts more than 40 years into the game with massive airplay and continued Billboard Top 200 album success. Streams of FOREIGNER's hits are approaching 15 million per week.

The only remaining original member of FOREIGNER, Jones suffered from some health issues beginning in 2011, eventually resulting in heart surgery in 2012. Ever since, it is never announced whether he will be appearing with the band for specific shows — it just depends how he is feeling.

After singer Lou Gramm left FOREIGNER in 2003, Jones took some time off before regrouping a couple years later with an entirely new lineup, featuring Hansen and Pilson, among others.

In 2018, Gramm revealed that he was retiring from touring as a solo artist. The vocalist made the announcement just months after he participated in FOREIGNER's "Double Vision: Then And Now" concerts, which featured current and original members of the band, including Jones, drummer Dennis Elliott, keyboardist Al Greenwood, bassist Rick Wills and guitarist/saxophonist Ian McDonald.

Gramm was the voice on FOREIGNER's biggest hits, including "Feels Like The First Time" and "Cold As Ice" from the band's eponymous debut in 1977, and later songs like "Hot Blooded" and "I Want To Know What Love Is".

In a new interview with Australia's Subculture Entertainment, vocalist Sean Killian of VIO-LENCE — whose current touring lineup also includes drummer Adrian Aguilar (EXMORTUS),guitarist Miles Dimitri Baker (VOIDBRINGER, INTERLOPER, ex-RINGS OF SATURN),bassist Christian Olde Wolbers and guitarist Ira Black (VICIOUS RUMORS, HEATHEN, METAL CHURCH) — was asked if there are plans for him and his bandmates to record a new full-length album. He replied (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Yeah, for sure. We started working on some stuff, and then Phil [Demmel, VIO-LENCE's founding guitarist], he got a lot of great opportunities for himself — going out with LAMB OF GOD [as a touring guitarist] and doing some other awesome, great things. So that kind of paused [the songwriting process]… Phil's got a lot going on, not just with music, but his family and Marta, his wife, is in BLEEDING THROUGH and they do stuff, and they own a business.

"My friendship with Phil is more important than music," Killian explained. "Together we write great. But I wanna add — Christian is a great writer. We've got Miles Dimitri Baker in the band; he's another great creative brain. I wanna put some stuff together and release… I'd like to release a full-length record, but it's kind of hard these days 'cause it takes… You don't wanna do so many songs that you just start kind of creating songs that are just there to fill space. I never wanna do that, and neither does Phil or anyone else in this band. So the EP format is great for us. We can really focus and create tracks that we feel really positive about instead of trying to make 12 songs all at once: 'Well, this we were gonna use on that song, but we need to fill space, so let's use it on this song.' I never wanna be in that position. And I know a lot of bands these days, doing 12-song records has gotta be difficult. And trying to produce them every other years has gotta be a challenge. I want the challenge to be not 'Do we fill space?' or 'Can we get 12 songs?'; I want the challenge to be 'Is this the best shit that we can put out?' And that five-song format really kind of is a good format for us to try to achieve that."

VIO-LENCE played its first show with Aguilar at the Whisky A Go Go in West Hollywood, California. Aguilar joined VIO-LENCE following the departure of Perry Strickland.

Demmel is sitting out the group's shows in Asia, Australia and New Zealand this month and is being replaced by Baker.

Notably, VIO-LENCE's shows in Asia, Australia and New Zealand feature only Killian from the lineup that played its first comeback gig in April 2019 at the Oakland Metro in Oakland, California. The VIO-LENCE lineup that appeared at the Metro consisted of Killian, Demmel, Strickland, bassist Deen Dell and guitarist Ray Vegas.

Strickland announced his departure from VIO-LENCE last month by sharing a video of him performing with the band and captioning it: "I'll Miss playing these songs !" After one fan asked Perry in the comments to clarify whether he has in fact exited the group, Strickland responded: "yes about a month ago".

Among the people reacting to Strickland's announcement was former OVERKILL and VIO-LENCE guitarist Bobby Gustafson, who wrote: "Good luck with what ever you do in the future. We had some good times finally."

On February 26, Demmel addressed VIO-LENCE's future in an Instagram Live video, saying it was "kind of weird playing these shows" with "a bunch of fill-ins and me and Sean." He added that while Adrian is "awesome" and the Whisky gig "was packed", he is "just kind of really torn right now in the sense of what VIO-LENCE is and what it's gonna be and what my role is gonna be in that and how I feel about that." Demmel went on to say that he told Killian he "wanted to shut [VIO-LENCE] down," but then he realized "that to ask that of those dudes to not do it anymore is selfish on my part."

Demmel also confirmed that he will perform with VIO-LENCE at the Hell's Heroes V preparty on March 23 in Houston, Texas and at the Milwaukee Metal Fest in late May in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, but revealed that he will likely scale down his live appearances with the band, to the point where he will no longer play any live shows with the group.

In March 2022, VIO-LENCE released a new EP, "Let The World Burn", via Metal Blade Records. The five-song collection, VIO-LENCE's first original release since 1993's "Nothing To Gain", was tracked at Trident Studios in Pacheco, California by Juan Urteaga (MACHINE HEAD, EXODUS),mixed by Tue Madsen (DARK TRANQUILLITY, HEAVEN SHALL BURN) and mastered by Ted Jensen (ALICE IN CHAINS, DEATH ANGEL).

Formed in 1985, VIO-LENCE helped define and refine what came to be known as the Bay Area sound, dropping three seminal albums before splitting in 1993. Leaving behind a heady legacy, they reformed briefly a couple of times in the intervening years before becoming a full-time going concern once more in 2019. After playing a string of successful shows, the quintet started to think about new music and delivered "Let The World Burn", showcasing their first new material in 29 years.

VIO-LENCE's recording lineup on "Let The World Burn" consisted of Gustafson, Demmel, Killian and Strickland along with Olde Wolbers.

VIO-LENCE reunited soon after Demmel left MACHINE HEAD in late 2018.

Demmel was in MACHINE HEAD for nearly 16 years, during which time he played on five of the group's studio albums: "Through The Ashes Of Empires" (2003),"The Blackening" (2007),"Unto The Locust" (2011),"Bloodstone & Diamonds" (2014) and "Catharsis" (2018).

VIO-LENCE played its first show with Black in August 2022 at the Brutal Assault festival in Jaromer, Czech Republic.

Black, who grew up in the Bay Area and previously played with VICIOUS RUMORS, HEATHEN and METAL CHURCH, filled in for Demmel, who was on the road at the time with LAMB OF GOD as the temporary replacement for Willie Adler.

Although MACHINE HEAD frontman Robb Flynn was part of VIO-LENCE's classic incarnation and played on the band's debut album, "Eternal Nightmare", he wasn't approached about taking part in the band's reunion.

Thanks Bangkok

Posted by Vio-Lence Offical Page on Saturday, March 4, 2023

Christian metallers Stryper are currently on tour in Australia. Fan-filmed video of their March 5th show in Melbourne at 170 Russell can be viewed below. The setlist on the night was as follows:


"In God We Trust"
"Revelation"
"More Than a Man"
"Surrender"
"Calling on You"
"Free"
"Sorry"
"All for One"
"Always There for You"
"Divider"
"The Valley"
"Yahweh"
"Soldiers Under Command"
"To Hell With The Devil"


Encore:
"Sing-Along Song"



















Remaining dates down under are as follows:


March
7 - Magnet House Night Club - Perth, Australia
9 - Bridgeway Hotel - Pooraka, Australia
11 - Galatos - Auckland, New Zealand

German thrash veterans Necronomicon, have conmpleted work on their 11th full-length concept album, entitled Constant To Death. The release is set for April 28th 2023 via El Puerto Records. 


With their new studio album, Necronomicon embark on an explosive tightrope walk between thrash, punk and power metal. It was recorded and produced it in the band's own headquarters and mixed and mastered by Achim Köhler.


Frontman Freddy describes Constant To Death as his most modern and at the same time most personal album: "There's everything in these 12 songs, from typical Necronomicon sounds to catchy Power Metal to my musical origins of Punk." 




Due to the worldwide events, the album title Constant To Death is also the main theme of the lyrics. The Russian war of aggression on Ukraine, churches and their sexual abuse, child poverty and hunger...there are very serious and sociocritical lyrics, which turn out accordingly dismal. 


CHeck out the official video clip for the title track below.





Tracklist:


"Constant To Death"
"They Lie"
"Redemption"
"Stored In Blood"
"The Guilty Shepherd"
"A Voice For The Voiceless"
"Black Rain"
"Children Cry Alone"
"Bloodrush"
"Down From Above"
"The Blood Runs Red"
"Poverty Show"
"Outro"






Line-up:
Freddy - Vocals / Melody & Rhythm Guitar
Marco Lohrenz - Bass
Rik Charron - Drums
Glen Shannon - Solo Guitar

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


A message states: “This week we go back almost a whole year to see what you guys made the most wanted Sunday Lunch of the year. This one "racked" up almost 1.5 million views!!”







A selection of Robert & Toyah's previous Sunday Lunch videos can be seen below:

Leading Japanese heavy metal act, Anthem, will release their brand-new studio album, Crimson & Jet Black, via Reaper Entertainment on April 21, today revealing the record’s second single and opening track, "Snake Eyes."


It’s been four years since the release of the band’s critically acclaimed Nucleus full-length — a re-recording of their classic hits with English lyrics. But Anthem used the pandemic downtime wisely. Crimson & Jet Black features eleven tracks, once again performed in English.


Bassist / founder Naoto Shibata comments: "This is clearly the strongest heavy metal album I've ever made. Experience the monstrous groove that the band creates. You'll witness Anthem's best album. I promise that Anthem will come to your cities and play. Until then, listen to this incredible album and let yourself be blown away."




After Anthem completed not one, but two anniversary tours in 2021, Anthem embarked on this new album to begin their next chapter. Originally, the completion was planned for spring 2022, but band leader Naoto Shibata, a perfectionist, decided to increase the quality of the songs even further and postponed the recordings to the summer / autumn so that the pure brilliance could unfold. As with previous albums, Naoto is the main producer of the album, but this time the renowned Swedish producer Jens Bogren (known for his work with bands such as Arch Enemy, Amon Amarth, Dimmu Borgir and Opeth, to name a few), who had already mixed and mastered Nucleus, is co-producer.





The tracklist is as follows:


"Snake Eyes"
"Wheels Of Fire"
"Howling Days"
"Roaring Vortex"
"Blood Brothers"
"Master Of Disaster"
"Void Ark"
"Faster"
"Burn Down The Wall"
"Mystic Echoes"
"Danger Flight"


"Snake Eyes" video:





"Wheels Of Fire" video:





Anthem are: 


Naoto Shibata - bass
Akio Shimizu - guitar
Yukio Morikawa - vocals
Isamu Tamaru - drums

World Gone Cold, featuring members of P.O.D, Demon Hunter, Disciple, The Letter Black, and Attack Attack!, have released their brutal single “Burn,” an homage to the times of the Salem witch trials when accusations of witchcraft led to the burning of “witches.” This track is dark, haunting, and devious, with a hint of a pop melody that makes the song irresistible. It is the final single from their upcoming self-titled EP, which is set to release on March 17, 2023 via Rockfest Records.


“The song ‘Burn’ is a straight-up witch hunt. It’s dark and fiery leaving you with almost a sense of panic. The bridge of this song gives me visions of a nuclear reactor exploding. This track has tons of raw energy that keeps your heading banging.” - Ryland Raus, Vocalist of World Gone Cold







World Gone Cold EP tracklisting:


"Left To Save"
"Opposites Attract"
"Burn"
"Attention"
"Again"
"Apology"
"Reality"


"Burn" lyric video:





"Apology" lyric video:





"Opposites Attract" video:





World Gone Cold, comprised of members from legacy bands: Traa Daniels (P.O.D), Tim “Yogi” Watts (Demon Hunter), Andrew Stanton (Disciple), Mark Anthony (The Letter Black), and Ryland Raus (Attack Attack! & Inhale/Exhale), deliver massive hard rock anthems with a huge wall of guitars, fluid bass rumble, monstrous drums, and soaring vocals, exploding into a mixture of heavy groove and melodic hooks.


A combination of organic metal and radio-ready songwriting encompasses the foundation of a band that began as one man’s solo outlet and quickly transformed into an unprecedented supergroup. This new band arrives armed with songs akin to the timeless catchiness of Rob Zombie or Nine Inch Nails, with the postmodern urgency of Bring Me The Horizon, Architects, and I Prevail.

Norwegian progressive rock group Avkrvst have announced their debut single “The Pale Moon”, the first release of the band since its formation. “The Pale Moon” is the first single of Avkrvst’s upcoming debut album, which will be out this year via InsideOutMusic/Sony Music. More information will be revealed on March 31.


The first single from the album “The Pale Moon” is now available on all digital platforms.


Vocalist Simon Bergseth had this to say about the track: “Besides being the opening track of our forthcoming debut album, it is a piece of music that contains some of the albums sonics in general. ‘The Pale Moon’ is the beginning of something greater and gives the listener a glimpse of what’s to come.”







The cover artwork for “The Pale Moon” was created by Berlin-based artist and illustrator Eliran Kantor, who is well-known for his intriguing cover creations for metal bands.


Earlier this year the band shared a teaser video of them working in the studio.





At the young age of 7 years old, Martin Utby and Simon Bergseth made a pact that they would form a band when they got older. Now, 22 years later they’ve done just that. An album is ready - 55 minutes of music inspired by everything they grew up listening to - everything from Mew, Anekdoten and Porcupine Tree to Opeth, Neal Morse and King Crimson.


All the music has been written at a small cabin, deep into the Norwegian forests (Alvdal, Nor- way). Simon (composer, guitars, bass and vocals) and Martin (composer, drummer and synths) have later been joined by Øystein Aadland on bass/keys, Edvard Seim on guitars and Auver Gaaren on keys.





(Photo – Kristian Rangnes)

Frontiers Music Srl will release the self-titled debut album from Stormwarning, an exciting new South American melodic rock act centred around Argentinian vocalist Santiago Ramonda, on March 17. A single and video for the track "Satellite Falling" is out today. Watch the music video below.


For the debut Stormwarning album, Santiago teamed with the production team of Sergio Mazul (Semblant) and Marcelo Gelbcke (Landfall), the same duo who oversaw the debut album from the amazing Brazilian heavy metal band Icon Of Sin.


"I am very excited to be part of the Frontiers family! It really took me a lot of effort to get to this point. I come from a small place where the conditions for art are not the best, but the passion of being committed to a purpose can break all barriers and schemes,” says Santiago. "I am happy to have signed with a label of this magnitude because with their help I am fulfilling my dream of recording my first professional studio album and making something to leave behind in this world, and especially something that is part of the great family of ROCK. Finally, I want to tell you something that has kept me on this path, and that day by day becomes ever more evident: "Dream big, because everything is possible, and dreams do come true!”




In 2007, Santiago began his musical journey by picking up a guitar, but later realized that he was more inclined to try his hand at singing. After several years of self-taught development, he started taking vocal coaching lessons from the singer Ivan Sencion and dove into singing and playing live with '80s and '90s rock tribute bands to further hone his skills. In 2020, as a result of a cover of Joe Lynn Turner's "Prelude/Endlessly" published on his YouTube channel,


Santiago began to catch the attention of some players in the global melodic rock scene. Guitarist Stuart Smith (Heaven & Earth), whom the label has a long relationship with, shared Santiago's YouTube videos with the label and the label immediately thought to introduce Santiago to Marcelo and Sergio. Both are both massive melodic rock fans and, coincidentally, had just started work on a bunch of melodic rock oriented material that they had not settled on a home for yet. The stars therefore aligned and thus Stormwarning was born.





Tracklisting:


"Eye Of The Storm"
"Satellite Falling"
"Sweet True Lies"
"Question Of Time"
"Neon Skies"
"Way Of The Warrior"
"Soldiers Of Love"
"Lovers In The Dark"
"Horizon Chase"
"Last Trip To Eden"
"Call Of The Wild"


"Satellite Falling" video:





"Eye Of The Storm" video:





"Sweet True Lies":





Lineup:


Santiago Ramonda - Vocals
Marcelo Gelbcke - Guitars, Bass, Keyboards
Felipe Souzza - Drums


- Produced by: Sergio Mazul and Marcelo Gelbcke
- Executive Producer/A&R: Serafino Perugino

FEAR FACTORY played its fifth concert with new singer Milo Silvestro and touring drummer Pete Webber Saturday night (March 4) at the Virginia Street Brewhouse in Reno, Nevada as part of the "Rise Of The Machine" tour as the support act for STATIC-X. Fan-filmed video of the performance can be seen below.

The Italian-born Silvestro recently joined FEAR FACTORY as the replacement for the band's original singer Burton C. Bell.

Webber is filling in for FEAR FACTORY's longtime drummer Mike Heller who is unable to make the trek due to "scheduling conflicts."

FEAR FACTORY's setlist for the Reno concert was as follows:

01. Shock
02. Edgecrusher
03. Disruptor
04. Dielectric
05. Powershifter
06. What Will Become?
07. Archetype
08. Demanufacture
09. Zero Signal
10. Replica

The 42-date North American trek also features DOPE as well as select dates with MUSHROOMHEAD and TWIZTID.

In a recent interview with Revolver, conducted prior to the start of the tour, Silvestro was asked if he was feeling nervous about taking the stage as the singer of FEAR FACTORY. He responded: "Yes, a little bit, but I always thought that being nervous is part of the game. My dad always told me, the moment that you're not scared of going onstage, you better quit music. I think it's supposed to be a really emotional thing, an emotional [moment in] your life. Also, the fact that it's my very first tour experience, my very first FEAR FACTORY experience, my first huge [musical] experience in general, of course that makes me a little bit nervous. But the good thing is that Dino [Cazares, FEAR FACTORY guitarist] and also the fans, fortunately enough, are making me really comfortable. I want to say thanks to them because they've been amazing. You're always scared about the hating, the negative comments and stuff, which I started seeing because my name had been leaking even before [I got the job] because of the [vocal] covers [I put on YouTube]. People were like, 'Oh, this guy is really good, so maybe it could be him.' Some haters started popping up: 'Oh, he's fucking garbage.' At first I was a little bit scared — and of course Dino had been preparing me for a long time. 'Be prepared. Either in a good or bad way, it's going to be a shitstorm.' But fortunately enough, [when] the announcement came out, [the reaction] was 99.9 percent positive. The negative comments were mostly about [how] this band without [the] previous singer is not FEAR FACTORY anymore. They just need to change the name, blah, blah, blah. Maybe one or two guys were like, 'I don't like him. He sucks.' But nothing that big to fuck with my brain or make me insecure. I was really happy to see literally thousands of people — either friends of mine, people that I know from Italy and totally unknown FEAR FACTORY fans — going, 'Welcome to the family, dude.' It was a really amazing love showering. I'm so thankful and so humbled for that."

Asked how he planned to win those skeptical fans over, Milo said: "I get that certain people are skeptical, because as a fan of music, as a metalhead and a fan of music in general, I know that metal fans are so dedicated, so crazy about their music, which is a good thing. It's almost like a religion. When your favorite band changes singers or a guitar player or whatever, you can feel a little bit sad about it. It can be hard to move on. I had favorite bands of mine that changed either singers or drummers. Maybe I was so affectionate to the style of that musician, and then I had a hard time moving on. But then once I found myself in this position of being the actual guy that is replacing the previous one, now I realize even more that, yeah, sometimes it can be tough for a fan. But it's just something that you either get over, or you don't care about the band anymore.

"What I want to say to [the doubters] is, I know you're skeptical, and it's totally understandable because the FEAR FACTORY vocal legacy is so iconic. The vocals were so identifiable and iconic and it's like replacing James Hetfield in METALLICA. What I want to say is that it's okay to be skeptical, but we are making sure that we're going to do this right. ... I've been working hard these past three years on the vocal style to make sure even the small nuances [are accounted for], how [Bell] pronounced certain things, how he goes from that note to that other note, how he pronounced certain screamed words. Also, from a vocal effects standpoint, we're making sure that everything sounds exactly like the record. I brought a bunch of effects, which I'm a bit of a freak about because I also run a studio. I like to tweak some shit, so I brought them a bunch of shit. Dino, at first, was like, 'What the fuck is this?,' but then he was like, 'Okay.' I was like, 'What if we recreate some of the vocal effects on the record, the beautiful delays which are parts of the vocal legacy?' Songs like 'Self Bias Resistor', the beautiful chorus has got a lot of deeper delay. That's part of the vocal sound. That's also what makes FEAR FACTORY's trademark sound."

Earlier in the month, Cazares told "The Jasta Show" about the band's vocalist search: "A lot of females stepped up. And there was definitely some females in the top five that I almost chose. But it did take a long process for me to find somebody. I was touring with SOULFLY [as a session guitarist] around late 2021 up till recently. And in that process I was looking for singers, and I was very meticulous, because I know how important it is for FEAR FACTORY fans that I pick the right guy. And I believe, and I know that I got the right dude. So I'm very happy [about] that."

Cazares went on to say that he "definitely" considered "guys [who] were in other bands" but that he thought "there would be a lot of scheduling conflicts, if the guy is in another band, and then we wouldn't be able to tour as much. What it somebody wanted us to do something like the Milwaukee Metal Fest, I wouldn't be able to do it because the singer has another gig somewhere else," Cazares explained. "So I wanted a guy who was fresh off the boat, new-school guy. I like discovering new talent. There's a lot of talented people out there, and they just never get the shot. So I wanted to give kind of an unknown guy a shot, or an unknown person a shot."

Dino previously told RichardMetalFan that he wasn't "afraid" of replacing someone like Bell. "I've been there before," he said. "I'm ready to move on forward. I look forward to it. I think it's gonna be fucking ripping. It's gonna be killer. I'm gonna put out some more heavy shit. So I don't think anybody needs to worry. The vocalist I got is amazing. He's younger; he's in his mid-30s. He's at his vocal peak, I think. He's there and ready to go."

In September 2020, Bell issued a statement officially announcing his departure from FEAR FACTORY, saying that he "cannot align" himself with someone whom he does not trust or respect.

FEAR FACTORY's latest album, "Aggression Continuum", was released in June 2021 via Nuclear Blast Records. The LP, which was recorded primarily in 2017, features Cazares and Bell alongside Heller.

Due this spring, "Wino: The Documentary" is the story of doom rock legend Scott "Wino" Weinrich, known for his many influential bands and projects such as THE OBSESSED, SAINT VITUS, SPIRIT CARAVAN, THE HIDDEN HAND, PREMONITION 13, WINO ACOUSTIC, PLACE OF SKULLS, SHRINEBUILDER, PROBOT, and more.

Dive into the outlaw life, epic career, and enduring influence of Wino in this honest, raw and often hilarious depiction of the man and his music. Woven together with heavier-than-hell live performances from his many legendary bands, the story is structured by the truth told in his own words, through interviews, road trips, tours, intimate behind-the-scenes footage, and the quest to pick up his 1964 Harley Davidson panhead chopper, Mr. Nasty.

"Wino: The Documentary" features interviews and appearances by Bobby Liebling (PENTAGRAM),Dixie Dave (WEEDEATER),Jimmy Bower (DOWN, EYEHATEGOD),Dave Grohl (NIRVANA, FOO FIGHTERS),Philip Anselmo (PANTERA, DOWN),Pepper Keenan (CORROSION OF CONFORMITY),Henry Rollins (BLACK FLAG),and more.

Says Wino: "Hey! After years in the making, 'Wino: The Documentary' is complete - and will be released this spring, starting with a festival premiere at the Maryland International Film Festival, and a theatrical premiere on 4/20/23 at @tinkerstreetcinema in Woodstock, NY. The Maryland screening is happening at the end of March. Date and time coming soon. After the screenings, the film will become available online to stream, and also for purchase on DVD."

For more information, visit wino-art.com.

Weinrich is widely as known as the iconic frontman of cornerstone doom metal founders SAINT VITUS and THE OBSESSED — both founded in the late 1970s and revered for inspiring hundreds of bands in their sovereign wake — as well as SPIRIT CARAVAN, THE HIDDEN HAND and SHRINEBUILDER.

Through his prolific and passion-driven 40-plus-year career, whether he was laying the foundations of modern doom or successfully sailing across stirring folk rock lands, Wino has remained an unwavering force of the underground scene.

Wino formed his first band THE OBSESSED in 1980, starting the reign of "heavy and slow" decades before doom grew into a flourishing worldwide genre unto itself. A few years later, he moved to California to join SAINT VITUS, with whom he released the seminal "Born Too Late" (1986),one of the most powerful statements in doom's early history, with Wino's raspy, heartfelt and punk-charged vocals booming loudly above the crowd of howling, gimmicky Ozzy copycats.

Following a reformation of THE OBSESSED and a brief major-label flirtation in the early 1990s, which included a a piledriving update of BLACK SABBATH's "The Wizard" alongside Geezer Butler, Bill Ward and Rob Halford, Wino formed yet another influential outfit, SPIRIT CARAVAN. The new band fused his trademark sludgy churn with an increased soulfulness, beginning to lay the groundwork for his eventual exploration of acoustic and expansive songwriting. During this time, Dave Grohl also invited Wino to join his all-star PROBOT project alongside Lemmy Kilmister, King Diamond, Max Cavalera and other notables.

Numerous world tours with his various bands later, the creative source remained inexhaustible as Wino embarked on a new direction with the release of his solo debut, "Punctuated Equilibrium". Quickly followed by second solo LP, "Adrift", in 2010 and a series of collaborations with German folk songwriter Conny Ochs, Wino embarked on extensive European and North American tours as a solo act, continuing to maintain his thriving solo output even with the arrival of a much-heralded and welcome re-constitution of THE OBSESSED for the third time in 2017.

Today, Wino is respected the world over as the godfather of doom and one of the heavy music underground's most revered lifers. Worldwide festivals like Roadburn, Hellfest, Psycho Las Vegas, Desertfest, Maryland Deathfest, Rock Hard Fest, Monolith On The Mesa and countless others keep inviting Wino back through his various sonic incarnations year after year.

Former THUNDERMOTHER members Guernica Mancini (vocals),Emlee Johansson (drums) and Mona Lindgren (bass) have launched a new band called THE GEMS.

In a new interview with Germany's Metal Hammer magazine, Mancini and Lindgren revealed that THE GEMS, which sees Lindgren returning to her original instrument, the guitar, is planning to release its debut single, "Phoenix", in April.

Regarding the "Phoenix" single title and how it relates to the trio's sudden and unexpected exit from THUNDERMOTHER, Guernica said (translated from German): "We wanted a hopeful and positive first single. There's a light at the end of the tunnel. This is how we felt as we struggled through this dark period of our career."

Mancini and Lindgren also noted that THE GEMS' live performances will include material from THUNDERMOTHER's last two albums, 2020's "Heat Wave" and 2022's "Black And Gold", both of which featured songwriting contributions from Guernica and Emlee.

Last month, it was announced that Mancini, Johansson and Lindgren were exiting THUNDERMOTHER and would form a new band together. At the same time, guitarist Filippa Nässil revealed that she would continue with a new THUNDERMOTHER lineup featuring singer Linnéa Vikström (THERION, AT THE MOVIES) and returning bassist Majsan Lindberg.

Mancini, who joined THUNDERMOTHER in 2017, reflected on her split with the band in an interview with Canada's The Metal Voice. Asked when she first had a feeling that things were not as they should be within THUNDERMOTHER, Guernica said: "It's a tough question to answer. I would say like this, that it's never been great for me. And it's been six tough years. But regardless of that, I don't regret anything. I still had amazing experiences with the band. And I wouldn't take anything back, 'cause I've grown and I've become the singer that I am. And there are so many positives to that. So even though it has been a very bumpy ride, I still think that it's been a beautiful ride. Because it does teach you a lot about yourself, and you grow as a human."

She added: "When you go through something that's tough and hard for you, you can either choose to learn from it and try to do something positive with it. And that's kind of what I'm aiming to do for myself."

When asked by host Jimmy Kay if she is saying that she was unhappy for six years, Mancini replied: "Not a hundred percent unhappy. It's been [up and down]. Definitely I've questioned how my dream of doing music and everything that I love so much and hold so dear had to be so tough. But in my mind I've always thought that it's probably the price you pay for getting these experiences or whatever. But I think that it doesn't necessarily have to be that. But like anything in life, nothing is gonna be happy and roses all the time. You go through things. It's normal."

Guernica also addressed the fact that Emlee and Mona both voluntarily left THUNDERMOTHER, once they found out Mancini was being kicked out of the group.

"It does make me feel [good], but I also felt really guilty… I felt guilty because I knew the opportunities that they were giving up because of this, but they had their own reasons," she said. "They did this completely on their own. And the problems that we've had in the band, they're not just something that is between [Filippa] and I; it's something that's been brewing and been there always. So when this happened, they also felt that it was very disrespectful towards them, being that they believed that we were a democracy and that we had a say in these things. She more or less [told] them, 'I wanna do this, and I've already found a new singer.' And that's when Emlee just said, 'I don't wanna play with another singer. And if you're gonna go ahead and do this, I'm gonna leave the band.' And that's what she did. And Mona felt the same way."

Guernica added: "I love [Emlee and Mona], and I'm forever grateful. I wouldn't have expected anything, but I also feel like I'm so blessed. Honestly, I'm so incredibly grateful that they are my new band. And they are the two that I enjoyed working with. And I have so much fun with them. And we already had two songwriting days, and we had just so much fun. And it was drama free. It was just a dream. And it's just, like, this is what a band is supposed to be."

Mancini then clarified: "We've had our differences. If you don't fight with your family and friends, that's kind of weird in itself. And we have. But we always… we say 'sorry', and we move past it. And our relationships always grow stronger and stronger and stronger. And that's, I think, the testament of a real, solid, healthy relationship. And that's how it is with them. So I'm really grateful that we have something and we get to continue playing together."

Guernica previously discussed her departure from THUNDERMOTHER last month in an interview with the "Rock And Roll Geek Show". Regarding how she found out she was being fired from THUNDERMOTHER, Guernica said: "I was blindsided. It's almost like I'm in an episode of fucking 'Survivor'. [Laughs]

"I got an e-mail [letting me know that I was no longer in the band]. I had a feeling it was coming because the week prior, [Filippa] had taken me off all our social media accounts. And I thought we had gotten hacked. I wrote to the group; I was, like, 'Girls, I think we're getting hacked. I can't get into our e-mail or Instagram — none of the accounts.'"

Asked if Filippa had any issues with Guernica's live performance or what she was doing on stage, Mancini said: "No, that's not something that I've… no information that I've received. I think that there's nothing you can complain about my performance or my singing, 'cause I've always brought my 'A game.' And if you have problems with that, I think that's strange, considering that's something that people really enjoy and respect the band for. So I think that would be weird."

Clarifying that the reasons for the split were "a hundred percent personal", Guernica revealed that "a lot of things happened behind my back, and I was the last one to know… Like there were meetings behind my back, trying to convince my fellow bandmates that I'm an awful person, I'm all these things that I'm not."

When interviewer Michael Butler noted that all the girls in THUNDERMOTHER looked like they were getting "along really well" when they were supporting the SCORPIONS on a tour of North America last fall, Guernica said: "I deserve an Oscar nomination for my acting. [Laughs]"

According to Mancini, she is still "really close" to Emlee and Mona. "We're actually really good friends, and that's the best part of my time in THUNDERMOTHER," she said. "Me and Emlee, she's legitimately one of my best friends. And Mona has become a really good friend as well. And we have a mutual respect and similar work ethic and we want the same things. We just work together. I just feel like, if anything, it's really lovely and positive that we have each other and that we all feel the same way and we all have had the same experiences and the reasoning behind not feeling great in the band as it was."

Asked how Emlee and Mona found out Guernica was being fired from THUNDERMOTHER, Mancini said: "[Filippa] had a secret meeting behind my back. She just told the girls, 'I wanna fire Guernica, and I already have a new singer.' And the girls were, like, 'Woah. Hold up. Wait a second. We did not sign up for that. And we thought we were a democracy in this band,' because that's something that we'd been told and that's how we've done everything.' So they were shocked."

On February 2, Nässil released the following statement via social media: "The last year has been full of adventures, new impressions and we have made memories that will last forever. Unfortunately our journey ends in the constellation known to you until today and a new chapter will be written for THUNDERMOTHER with both old familiar and new faces and for sure a lot more adventures and memories to come.

"After seven years of being together, we unfortunately came to the decision that our paths lead in different directions. Guernica, Mona and Emlee will focus on their own careers and I wish them nothing but the best of luck.

"I am thrilled to announce that our bass player Majsan who left for studies 1,5 years ago has finished and will rejoin!

"I am happy to announce that THUNDERMOTHER could win Linnéa Vikström (THERION, AT THE MOVIES) with her incredible power, her extraordinary voice and her charming manners as a new singer for THUNDERMOTHER!

"We are beyond excited and looking forward to the future filled with a new positive energy and with these girls by my side the future is going to fucking rock.

"Let's show the world that there is so much female talent out there and let's give the girls a heart-melting warm welcome to THUNDERMOTHER! Rock must live on!"

Guernica, Emlee and Mona also released a joint statement regarding their departures from THUNDERMOTHER. "It's with a heavy heart that we are writing this," they said. "Filippa has made the decision that Guernica's time in THUNDERMOTHER is over. Because of this, and the lack of agreement regarding the decision-making process in the band, Emlee and Mona have decided to leave THUNDERMOTHER.

"Filippa will continue with a new THUNDERMOTHER lineup. Guernica, Emlee and Mona will continue playing music together and are forming a new band.

"To all the people who have been a part of this journey; Guernica, Emlee and Mona want to say thank you for the support, we love you all. We are so grateful for everything that we've experienced with THUNDERMOTHER, and hope you all will support our separate journeys.

"We understand how hard it is to read this. This is by far one of the toughest situations we've had to go through and right now we are mourning the loss of a big part of our lives. We humbly ask you to be kind and respectful. Thank you for your understanding."

Following the release of their latest album, "Black And Gold", last summer and countless live shows alongside an extensive tour with iconic SCORPIONS in North America last fall, THUNDERMOTHER recently announced plans to team up with SCORPIONS for more European live dates, as well as headline gigs on the "Black And Gold" tour 2023. It is not clear if any of those shows will be affected by the latest lineup changes.

"Black And Gold" was recorded at Baggpipe Studios in Stockholm, and was mixed and mastered by Søren Andersen at Medley Studios in Copenhagen.

Last November, Mancini released her first solo single "Inception" via Golden Robot Records.

Photo credit: Mats Vassfjord / AFM Records

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Former MEGADETH guitarist Marty Friedman played his first U.S. show in four years last night (Friday, March 3) at The Plaza Live in Orlando, Florida as support act for QUEENSRŸCHE. Fan-filmed video of the concert can be seen below.

Marty is confirmed to perform on 30 additional dates with QUEENSRŸCHE, running through April 16, where the tour wraps up in St. Petersburg, Florida. Along the way, the trek will make stops in Dallas, Texas (March 11); Anaheim, California (March 19); Chicago, Illinois (March 31),New York City (April 10) and Nashville, Tennessee (April 14),to name a few. Also, Marty recently announced two headline shows on his own: March 17 in Las Vegas, Nevada at Count's Vamp'd and March 18 in Los Angeles, California at the Whisky A Go Go.

Marty's latest album, "Tokyo Jukebox 3", came out in April 2021 via The Players Club/Mascot Label Group. The record, which was made available in Japan in October 2020, is the third in a series that began with "Tokyo Jukebox" in 2009, and then "Tokyo Jukebox 2" following in 2011. The trilogy presents Friedman's inspired performances to Japanese repertoire he's chosen to cover.

Marty's presence in the world of music, the world of guitar and Japanese pop culture is mystifying, bizarre, and nothing short of inspiring. His first major impact in music was in the game-changing guitar duo CACOPHONY, which he founded with equally enigmatic and now-legendary guitarist Jason Becker. He then spent 10 years as lead guitarist in the genre-defining thrash metal act MEGADETH before moving to Tokyo due to his love for Japanese music, language, and culture.

Following his move, he landed a starring role for a new TV comedy "Hebimeta-san" ("Mr. Heavy Metal") and its spinoff, "Rock Fujiyama", which ran for six seasons and propelled him into the living rooms of Japan's mainstream. He has since appeared in over 800 TV shows, movies and commercials, including a two-year campaign with Coca-Cola for Fanta, authored two best-selling novels and was the first-ever foreigner to be appointed as an ambassador of Japan heritage and perform at the opening ceremony for the Tokyo Marathon in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2022.

At the same time, Marty has continued his career in music with several solo albums in addition to writing and performing with the top artists in Japanese music, racking up countless chart hits, including a No. 1 with SMAP, two No. 2 songs with MOMOIRO CLOVER, a No. 2 with SOUND HORIZON — just to name a few.

DEATH TO ALL (DTA) — which features former members of DEATH celebrating the life and music of Chuck Schuldiner — kicked off its North American tour last night (Thursday, March 2) at El Corazon in Seattle, Washington. Fan-filmed video of the concert can be seen below.

The current lineup of DEATH TO ALL includes Gene Hoglan (TESTAMENT, DARK ANGEL, DETHKLOK, STRAPPING YOUNG LAD),Steve DiGiorgio (TESTAMENT, CONTROL DENIED, SADUS) on bass and Bobby Koelble on guitar. Max Phelps (CYNIC),who has been touring with DEATH TO ALL, is once again handling the vocal and second-guitar duties.

As part of Jonathan Montenegro's "My 3 Questions To" series, Hoglan discussed his time in DEATH, with whom he played from 1993 to 1995. Speaking about DEATH's mastermind Chuck Schuldiner, Gene said: "Chuck was, at heart, a very… He was a very peaceful person. He loved animals. He loved gardening. [He was] not a big fan of people or the music industry, but he liked his friends; he liked his animals. That was Chuck. As well as being one of the godfathers of death metal. He was a great chef as well. There you go. He was a great cook. Boy, he cooked us up a bunch of amazing stuff when we spent those few years together. So that was pretty cool. His legacy will always live on.

"Myself and [fellow former DEATH members] Bobby Koelble and Steve DiGiorgio, we have [the tribute band] DEATH TO ALL going, and we start a DEATH TO ALL run starting next week here in the States. So, there you go there. And it's always a super blast to play Chuck's material and make it sound cool."

Hoglan previously reflected on his time with DEATH in a 2019 interview with Andrew McKaysmith of the "Scars And Guitars" podcast. At the time, the drummer said: "Chuck was very open-minded, and he was into having his musicians that were playing with him just reach out for the best stuff that they had. Every time I'd come up with some crazy beat, he'd be like, ' I'm good. I can play my riffs over your beats, so if that's the one you want, go with it. Go sick; go nuts. I'm good over here, so you keep doing your thing.' In that regard, Chuck was always a real pleasure to work with in that way. You had no handcuffing whatsoever — and it was pretty apparent [that] nobody handcuffed me on the drums. I played everything on 'Symbolic'. There definitely is some overplaying, [but] he never said, 'Hey, don't play that,' or, 'That's not working.' The only time I remember anything like that happening was two different times. One was in the 'Individual Thought Patterns' sessions, and that's where [producer] Scott Burns, while I was tracking 'Jealousy', I remember Scott saying, 'Hey, man. I'm not feeling that beat. Maybe can you simplify it?' I was like, 'Yeah, no problem.' Then on 'Symbolic', [producer] Jim Morris had pretty much said the same thing — like, 'I'm not sure about that one.' What was funny was, on the beat that Jim Morris said 'That's not happening,' it was a beat I robbed from Sean Reinert. It was something off of 'Human'... as for Chuck, he was always real gracious, like, 'Yeah, man. Do your thing. It's going to be great.

"Chuck was a pretty complex guy," Hoglan continued. "Some days, certain things would affect him that might not affect you or I... Chuck did not have a lot of trust for the music industry. I understand that — I get that, totally... He was generally real cool to work with, and we had a good time up until he had to make the moves that he had to make in order to keep himself sane. When he had to put DEATH aside after the 'Symbolic' album, he broke DEATH up, and he had to move forward. The best way for Chuck to move forward was the statement that was CONTROL DENIED."

Hoglan also discussed how 1995's "Symbolic" was initially received. "The hardcore death metal fan, the attitude was very pervasive throughout the scene — 'What the fuck happened to DEATH?' Chuck did not care, and I appreciate that absolutely," Hoglan said. "That's the way I am. I play music for me. If you guys enjoy it, that's a bonus, but it's not going to make me stop playing music if nobody cares and I'm the only one who does. I'm still going to play music, and that's kind of the way Chuck was. He was a very brave person. He could have just gone the safe route and put out another 'Scream Bloody Gore' or 'Leprosy'. He had to go with how he was feeling. Any true musician can appreciate that, absolutely."

Hoglan joined DEATH in 1993. He replaced Sean Reinert, who — along with guitarist Paul Masvidal — quit the band to focus on CYNIC. He appears on the group's albums "Individual Thought Patterns" and "Symbolic".

In a 2014 interview with Metal Rules, DiGiorgio was asked what DEATH TO ALL means to him. He responded: "Our formulated answer is that it is a tribute memorializing the memory of Chuck. To me, it means getting back with buddies. And you've seen their lineup change a little bit here, we had Paul [Masvidal] and Sean [Reinert] from CYNIC. We had Shannon Hamm in for a while. And now Gene and Bobby. I've jammed with all these guys over the years. They're pretty much some of the best musicians in the world. At least in my opinion."

He continued: "We did those albums back in the day, and when our cycle was over, and when whoever lasted however long, we went our own ways. Now we're back together again and it's cool, from my point of view, to do music with some of the best, amazing musicians/guys in the world. It's awesome. And we have a lot of fun every night, man, because we all realize that not only did we make a statement 20-something years ago, but here we are 20-something years later in our mid-40s playing that stuff as we did as young men. It's kind of, like, yay us. Because we are only just a few years off of 50 and we're playing this music we did just turning the corner into 20 and we're doing it pretty good. And that's not a brag. The reason is we push each other. Somebody falls a little bit behind and this guy's right behind him. You don't want to let your guard down, because everybody's really good at what they do. And that's what it means to me, man. It means to carry on what we did back then with no idea where we'd be in the future, and here we are doing it with conviction."

Schuldiner died on December 13, 2001 after a battle with pontine glioma, a rare type of brain tumor.

In recent years, DEATH's storied catalog has undergone a meticulous reissue campaign via Relapse Records.

Relapse released the first-ever fully authorized DEATH tab book, featuring 21 classic songs tabbed out for guitar from the band's entire discography. The book, which includes traditional notation as well as tablature, also comes with a digital download of all tracks.

In a 2011 interview with Bass Musician magazine, DiGiorgio stated about working with Schuldiner: "Sometimes people make good music together, and sometimes they vibe like yin and fucking yang. Chuck is credited with a lot of things in the music world (metal world, of course),but one thing a lot of people don't know much about is how aware he was. What I mean is that he was a good listener. If I thought of a wacky bassline to something he was writing, before I could even try to explain why it came to me, he was already ahead of it and looking for something on the next part. He had a good sense of when to hold me back and when to push me. It was great to have someone, especially the 'main man' of the band not only appreciate what I contributed but also help me find my inner demon to conjure even sicker and more abstract things to play. There really was some math going on in that roiling storm sometimes."

LEFT TO DIE, the new band featuring classic DEATH members Terry Butler (also formerly of MASSACRE and currently in OBITUARY) and Rick Rozz (ex-MASSACRE) paired with GRUESOME founders Matt Harvey (EXHUMED) and Gus Rios (ex-MALEVOLENT CREATION),kicked off its European tour last night (Friday, March 3) at the Garage in London, England. LEFT TO DIE performs DEATH's classic "Leprosy" album in its entirety, along with cuts from "Scream Bloody Gore". Fan-filmed video of the concert can be seen below.

When the tour was first announced in December, Butler commented: "It's such an honor to be playing 'Leprosy' after all these years. It's been 30-plus years since Rick and myself have rocked these tunes together and Matt and Gus are the perfect dudes to join us on this journey — huge DEATH fans and killer musicians."

Rozz added: "Old-school DEATH fans — prepare yourselves for total brutality! Thanks to Terry, Matt and Gus for making this happen."

Harvey added: "We had such a blast bringing old-school DEATH metal to U.S. audiences this past summer that coming to Europe was practically an inevitability. I'm humbled and beyond stoked to be able to help Terry and Rick keep the legacy of 'Leprosy' and 'Scream Bloody Gore' undead and rabid and I can't wait to unleash all the classicks and deep cuts on Europe!"

LEFT TO DIE completed its first U.S. tour in July 2022.

Butler previously stated about how LEFT TO DIE came together: "After the recent Chuck [Schuldiner] tribute shows that Matt, Gus, and myself did, Rick posed the question, 'Would anyone want to see some 'Leprosy' shows?' With a resounding 'yes!', the masses had spoken. Matt and Gus threw their hats in immediately and, in my opinion, they were the only real choice to bring this thing to life. LEFT TO DIE coming your way soon!!"

Rozz added: "It's going to be an absolute honor and pleasure to play these 34-plus-year-old songs on stage with Terry after all these years, along with the talents of Matt and Gus. It's gonna be brutal!"

Harvey and Rios were both very excited about the project coming together. Harvey reflected: "When Gus and I started GRUESOME as a DEATH tribute, we never thought that it would lead to us playing some of our favorite songs alongside the guys that recorded them, but here we are — and I couldn't be more stoked." Rios added: "When Rick contacted me about his idea, I was immediately on board, since 'Leprosy' is not only my favorite DEATH album, but my favorite death metal album of all time! I'm very grateful and stoked that Terry and Matt were also on board."

LEFT TO DIE is:

Terry Butler - bass guitar
Rick Rozz - guitar
Matt Harvey - guitar, vocals
Gus Rios - drums

On December 11-12, 2021, several former DEATH members — including Butler — played two shows commemorating the 20th anniversary of the passing of the band's mastermind Chuck Schuldiner at Brass Mug in Tampa, Florida. Butler, James Murphy (guitar),Harvey and Rios performed DEATH's classic third album, "Spiritual Healing" (1990),in its entirety under the LIVING MONSTROSITY banner, while Steve DiGiorgio (bass),Bobby Koelble (guitar) and Kelly Conlon (bass) joined forces as SYMBOLIC to play songs from "Human" (1991),"Individual Thought Patterns" (1993),"Symbolic" (1995) and "The Sound Of Perseverance" (1998

Schuldiner died on December 13, 2001 after a battle with pontine glioma, a rare type of brain tumor.

In recent years, DEATH's storied catalog has undergone a meticulous reissue campaign via Relapse Records.

Relapse released the first-ever fully authorized DEATH tab book, featuring 21 classic songs tabbed out for guitar from the band's entire discography. The book, which includes traditional notation as well as tablature, also comes with a digital download of all tracks.

Former MOTÖRHEAD drummer Mikkey Dee performed some of the band's classic songs over two nights on February 25-26 at Kooperativet in his hometown of Gothenburg, Sweden. He was joined at the gigs by THE DRIPPERS members Viktor Skatt on bass and vocals, and Stig William Rickard on guitar. Fan-filmed video can be seen below.

In a new interview with Canada's The Metal Voice, Dee was asked if he and guitarist Phil Campbell would ever go out and perform as MOTÖRHEAD again, with someone else stepping in to play late MOTÖRHEAD frontman Ian "Lemmy" Kilmister's parts. He responded: "No. I really don't think [the fans] want us to do that. That, to me, is stepping over the line. We will never, ever, ever tour with MOTÖRHEAD as a name ever and bring someone else in [to play Lemmy's parts]. That will never happen. But what we are doing is doing some shows here and there…

"I just did two shows Saturday and Sunday here in Sweden with two younger guys and did 10 MOTÖRHEAD songs," Mikkey continued. "And this show sold out in less than two weeks. We had to add that Sunday. And it's so great to play the old classics again and perform. But it has nothing to do with trying to be MOTÖRHEAD. And this is not advertised as MOTÖRHEAD; it's advertised [as] 'Mikkey Dee With Friends', for instance. So there's definitely a line there."

Dee also said that he didn't necessarily have a problem with other bands who go out and perform their classic songs without most or any of the original members. "I just don't get it [as to why fans complain so much about that]. I just don't get it," he said. "Because all [fans] have to do, if they have such a problem with it, just stop listening and stop following. But there is people out there that still wanna hear these songs. But with that said, it has to be done in a respectful and tasteful manner. And I won't mention any bands or names here, but everyone does not do that, and they're kind of overstepping, where it kind of becomes so obvious that there only is money that they're out for."

Lemmy died on December 28, 2015 at the age of 70 shortly after learning he had been diagnosed with cancer.

MOTÖRHEAD had to cancel a number of shows in 2015 because of Lemmy's poor health, although the band did manage to complete the aforementioned European tour a couple of weeks before his death.

In June 2020, it was announced that Lemmy would get the biopic treatment. The upcoming film, "Lemmy", will be directed by Greg Olliver, who previously helmed the 2010 documentary of the same name, "Lemmy".

A custom-made urn containing Lemmy's ashes is on permanent display in a columbarium at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Hollywood, California.

Back in May 2021, Dee told the "Waste Some Time With Jason Green" video podcast that Lemmy refused to quit touring in the weeks leading up to his death, even when his health was clearly deteriorating.

"We played the last show the 11th of December [of 2015] in Berlin, and he passed just [two] weeks later," Mikkey recalled. "And that tells you, the guy died with his boots on. And both me and Phil [Campbell, MOTÖRHEAD guitarist] were trying to talk him out of starting the second part of the European tour after Christmas. But there was no way in hell we could do that. And I said to Phil, 'Look, instead of arguing with Lemmy or pushing him not to do this,' because we said maybe we should break for a couple of months for him to catch his wind, basically. I said, 'Let's not push him anyway. Let him decide what he wants to do. He knows best what he wants to do.' And he wanted to be on stage. So we said, 'Let's just support him instead,' and that's what we did. But we never made it to the second leg of that European tour, unfortunately. It was the U.K. that was on the next part of it, I remember that."

Asked if he knew when he came home to Sweden that it would probably be the end for Lemmy, Mikkey said: "No. Not at all. Because I talked to Lemmy after that show in Berlin. We were all gonna go separate ways, obviously. I was gonna just fly out to Sweden, and Phil went back home to Wales. Lemmy was flying back to L.A., but I believe he was gonna fly to London and stay one night or two or so and say hi to friends and then fly back home. And I spoke to him right after the show. I went down to Lemmy's dressing room, and I said, 'All right. Go back to L.A. and figure out, maybe, another two songs from [MOTÖRHEAD's final album] 'Bad Magic' that you think that we should do. And we take out the two songs that we already played on this leg, and we put in two new songs from the record.' And he said, 'Yeah. All right. I'll check that out.' And I said, 'Let's hook up after Christmas.' Because it was the 11th of December at that time, and I figured we'd talk between Christmas and New Year's Eve and decide which two songs that we agreed on on playing on that next leg. And he said, 'Yeah, I'll go back and work on that.' And that was it. He had no intention of not coming back to Europe and touring. So we did a little finger hook, as we always did, and that was the last time I saw him, actually. Very sad."

Dee went on to say that Lemmy had made some changes in his life to improve his health after dealing with several issues over the last few years of his life, including heart trouble. "But my personal belief is that it was maybe a little too late," he said. "He should have maybe changed a little earlier. But knowing Lemmy, he was not for that. He was doing it his way or the highway, basically. And that made him to what he was. He never compromised with his music, he never compromised with friendship, he never compromised with what way he was gonna go for anyone else in that way, which is why MOTÖRHEAD was MOTÖRHEAD, and still is MOTÖRHEAD. But with that said, of course, the three of us were talking a lot about stuff, and it was not like he was some kind of a boss here. But we all worked so good together, and that's what created the magic, I would say."



Mikkey Dee Kooperativet

Posted by Bea Di on Sunday, February 26, 2023

Posted by Unplugged on Friday, December 9, 2022

NAPALM DEATH singer Mark "Barney" Greenway broke his right ankle at the February 19 stop of the band's "Campaign For Musical Destruction 2023" European tour in Munich, Germany and has been forced to play shows sitting down on a chair at the front of the stage.

The 53-year-old Greenway explained his latest injury during NAPALM DEATH's February 26 concert in Paris, France. He told the crowd: "[I] broke an ankle on stage in Munich seven nights ago. So I've got another five fucking weeks in this thing, but I'm gonna make the fucking most of it.

"Needless to say, there may have been an option for me to not do the gigs, but that is not what I do or what I don't do. I wanted to go [and play the gigs], and that is it.

"So, once again, apologies and thanks for your patience in advance."

Greenway previously injured his right ankle during NAPALM DEATH's fall 2019 U.S. tour with SICK OF IT ALL and MUNICIPAL WASTE.

Last year, Barney told Knotfest that his love of NAPALM DEATH stops him from ever getting fatigued.

"Yeah, I'm not interested in doing that [phoning it in]. If this becomes a general theme within the band or individually with me as a person in NAPALM DEATH, I'd rather just stay home," he said. "I don't want to inflict that on people. It's not for me. It's got to be the very best we can make it. Whether it's a live gig or whether it's an album that comes out."

He continued: "Everything's always subjective, but we can always do the best that we can do and that's just it really. I love it. I love NAPALM DEATH. It was my favorite band before I joined and I think it still is. And for that reason, I'll do my very best. I mean everybody has their off days, don't get me wrong, when you're not feeling so good. Everybody's human. You have days where stuff's going on maybe back home that you can't really be involved in because you're away. But I think, in the main, when NAPALM DEATH goes out on stage it's got to be 100%, nothing less."

In February 2022, NAPALM DEATH released a new mini-album, "Resentment Is Always Seismic - A Final Throw Of Throes", via Century Media Records.

"Resentment Is Always Seismic – A Final Throw Of Throes" is a partner recording to NAPALM DEATH's latest album, "Throes Of Joy In The Jaws Of Defeatism", concluding matters through vital, tumultuous grindcore and shockwave ambience.

The eight-song "Resentment Is Always Seismic – A Final Throw Of Throes" comes with a total playing time of 29 minutes and is available as a limited CD digipak, vinyl as well as in the digital album format.

"Throes Of Joy In The Jaws Of Defeatism" came out in September 2020 via Century Media Records. The band's 16th studio LP was recorded with longtime producer Russ Russell and features artwork by Frode Sylthe.

Image courtesy of ad acta

British guitar sensation Sophie Lloyd has released the official music video for her new single "Fall Of Man Ft. Matthew K Heafy". The second single from her forthcoming debut album, the guitar extraordinaire teams up with TRIVIUM frontman Matthew K. Heafy for an epic metal journey.

"The response to the song so far has been amazing and I am so excited for people to see this video," Sophie said of the clip, which was shot at TRIVIUM's The Hangar headquarters in Orlando, Florida.

"Filming with Matt was such a cool experience. As a longtime TRIVIUM fan, it was amazing to see the hub where they create their music and stream from.

"Matt was amazing to work with," she added. "It was so surreal performing there with him and actually seeing this song come to life.

"Our video crew Kal Visuals did an amazing job at taking a performance video to the next level by experimenting with camera rotation which captured the feeling of things spiraling out of control in life sometimes, but fighting through it and not letting these things 'pull you downwards'."

"Sophie Lloyd is an immensely talented force of a musician and songwriter," said Matt. "I recall first seeing Sophie's guitar playing online and being truly blown away — so having been a fan of Sophie's for several years, I was honored when asked to guest on an upcoming track. When I learned that TRIVIUM had been a longtime favorite band of Sophie's, I was humbled and appreciative."

Matt actually started work on his parts of the song live on Twitch, giving viewers, including Sophie, an insight into his writing process.

"My co-writer/drummer Christopher Painter and I had a lot of fun experimenting with different time signatures and using some scales that I don't traditionally use," says Sophie on writing the song. "Also Matt writing and recording the song on Twitch was really cool as we got real-time feedback from fans on what they want to hear. He really elevated the song into a metal masterpiece and I'm so excited for people to hear it!"

Titled "Imposter Syndrome", Lloyd's full-length debut album is expected later this year on her own Autumn Records label, and will see Sophie collaborating with some impressive names from the world of rock, with a stunning production from famed studio wizard Romesh Dodangoda (BRING ME THE HORIZON, NOVA TWINS, BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE, MOTÖRHEAD).

"I can finally say that I have new music coming!" says Sophie. "All my music before was instrumental, so this is a very special release for me as it includes vocals, and some of the people we've worked with are people I used to have as posters on my wall as a kid, so it feels very full circle. It's something that I have been working on before the first lockdown, and to be here talking about it feels amazing!"

Lloyd is one of the most prolific guitarists on the world wide web, a trailblazer who is redefining the concept of a "bedroom" guitarist. A talented composer and accomplished musician, Sophie graduated from the prestigious BIMM in 2018 with a First Class Honours BMus in Popular Music Performance, honing and refining a talent she has nurtured since childhood.

Since then, she has amassed the kind of following that even the guitar gods she grew up idolizing would be envious of, with a reach surpassing three million followers across her social channels, built through a steady stream of sharing her talent via guitar "shredleys", covers and her own original material.

Most recently, Sophie could be seen shredding on stage as guitarist for multi-platinum recording artist Machine Gun Kelly on his recent "Mainstream Sellout" world tour, which included sold out shows at legendary venues such Madison Square Garden in New York and Wembley Arena in London.

At 27 years old, Sophie Lloyd is just getting started, with work on her debut solo album in progress and a few others items to tick off her bucket list.

Photo credit: Black Card Films

UNEARTH has released "Mother Betrayal", the second single from the band's upcoming eighth album "The Wretched; The Ruinous", dropping May 5, 2023. UNEARTH's previous single, title track "The Wretched; The Ruinous" premiered on Sirius XM Liquid Metal, and has spent a monumental three weeks in the number one spot on "The Devil's Dozen".

UNEARTH vocalist Trevor Phipps states: "'Mother Betrayal' is an ominous banger heavily laden with the melodic death metal, thrash and metallic hardcore combination that has signified our sound since the beginning. It kicks up the aggression and ferocity beyond previous recordings while also veering into new territories musically, vocally and structurally. 'Mother Betrayal' is a warning that we are smashing past multiple ecological tipping points caused by our dependence on fossil fuels that will forever alter life on our planet."

On "The Wretched; The Ruinous", UNEARTH not merely continues to amp up their metal-meets-hardcore intensities, but they also exceed themselves with a record that incorporates elements of classic UNEARTH offerings dating back to 2004's "breakthrough" "The Oncoming Storm", while exploring beyond the recent back-to-basics promise of 2018's "Extinction(s)". For UNEARTH's founding mainstays, Trevor Phipps and guitarist Buz McGrath, it feels like the beginning of a new chapter.

"Buz took the entire pandemic to write these songs," says Trevor. "He pushed himself to get out of his comfort zone and explore what UNEARTH is, both past and present. Buz adding these new elements and killer song structures inspired me to be more diverse vocally. 'The Wretched; The Ruinous' is still UNEARTH, but it's also the most dynamic record we've ever done."

Teaming again with "Extinction(s)" producer Will Putney (BODY COUNT, THY ART IS MURDER),the goal was simple: create the definitive UNEARTH record. From the scathing title track opener to the explosive "Cremation Of The Living", the brooding "Mother Betrayal" to the album's riff-violent closer, "Theaters Of War", "The Wretched; The Ruinous" is UNEARTH pulling out all the stops. "There's certain songs where you can really hear the band's hardcore roots," explains Trevor. "The track 'Dawn Of The Militant' is a true mix of metal and heavy hardcore, that to me define what the term 'metalcore' truly is. For the bulk of this record though, the metal, aggression, and technicality are reminiscent of our 'Watchers Of Rule' (2014) album. All of the ingredients of UNEARTH are present on these songs, but the band continues to explore new territories as writers and players."

"The Wretched; The Ruinous" is a turning point moment for UNEARTH. It's first album in their canon recorded without guitarist Ken Susi, who exited the band in 2022. Trevor shares: "It simply came time for UNEARTH and Ken to take a break from working together. He'll always be a large part of the story of this band, and we wish him the best on all of his endeavors."

The frontman makes no bones about the arduous writing process for "The Wretched; The Ruinous".

"Coming out of the pandemic I found myself struggling to find my zone of creativity with writing, but I pushed through, and once I found it things caught fire," he says.

Phipps has never been one to shy away from often scathing social commentary. "Lyrically, it's a warning shot record," Trevor continues. "I've spoken about the decline of our environment by mankind's hand dating back to our first record in 2001, and I've continued to write about the environmental crisis throughout our entire career. We are now at a tipping point with Mother Nature and our place on this planet, and I had to devote the entirety of this album to what is happening around us. This album is a collection of stories of what is happening, and what is to come, if we do not make monstrous changes to how we treat our only home."

"The Wretched; The Ruinous' is about the eight billion people on this planet," echoes the frontman of UNEARTH's latest state of the world address. "We've created a man-made mass extinction event and have been too slow to correct our faults. Extreme weather, drought, famine, disease, erosion of land, culture wars, civil wars, wars for natural resources, and the displacement of billions of people, is all a current reality. This isn't a future problem; it is a now problem and I take this record to talk about it. As a species we are very quickly turning our once Garden Of Eden into our future hellscape."

"It's not all devastation and gloom though," adds Phipps. "On the track 'Call Of Existence' I talk about how we can turn this around with swift, drastic changes to our emissions and consumption of natural resources. There is a responsible way forward that will benefit all life on our planet, and we have to embrace and act on that responsibility now."

UNEARTH recording lineup:

Vocals - Trevor Phipps
Guitars - Buz McGrath
Bass - Chris O'Toole
Drums - Nick Pierce

Photo credit: Mezgarth

LYNYRD SKYNYRD guitarist Gary Rossington has died.

The 71-year-old musician's passing was announced by his surviving bandmates earlier today (Sunday, March 5). They wrote on social media:
"It is with our deepest sympathy and sadness that we have to advise, that we lost our brother, friend, family member, songwriter and guitarist, Gary Rossington, today.

"Gary is now with his SKYNYRD brothers and family in heaven and playing it pretty, like he always does.

"Please keep Dale, Mary, Annie and the entire Rossington family in your prayers and respect the family’s privacy at this difficult time."

The sole remaining original member of LYNYRD SKYNYRD, Rossington has dealt with a number of health issues in recent years. Back in July 2021, he underwent emergency heart surgery. Six years earlier, he suffered a heart attack, prompting several of the band's concerts to be canceled. He also underwent quintuple bypass surgery back in 2003 due to coronary artery disease. In 2019, he had an operation to fix a leaky heart valve.

Five years ago, Rossington told the Tampa Bay Times his doctors had urged him for years to quit touring. "I've had heart attacks on stage," he said. "That's why I was calling it a farewell tour. I don't know if I'll be here [much longer]. I don't want to just say, 'Well, we're never going to end,' because I don't want to die and then it end that way — which is a heavy thing to talk about, but I have to."

Rossington survived the 1977 plane crash that killed singer Ronnie Van Zant and guitarist Steve Gaines. The band reunited with Ronnie's brother Johnny Van Zant as singer in 1987 and has been on the road ever since.

Last December, Rossington told Rolling Stone magazine about LYNYRD SKYNYRD's enduring relevance: "It's a tribute band right now, and everybody knows it's not the original. Everybody who comes to see us is told that during the show, and probably knows before they even get there. But people still come to hear it live."

Rossington, whose health woes had forced him to miss many of LYNYRD SKYNYRD's recent shows, with Damon Johnson filling in for him, admitted he went through "a lot of different emotions" watching LYNYRD SKYNYRD from the side of the stage. "The notes are the same, and the songs are the same. It sounds good to me. It sounds like our band," he explained. "I look out and don't see the original band — it's strange. And then I look out and see a replacement for me, which is strange. Just hearing the songs without me playing on 'em live is very strange."

Despite “101 strange things happening," Rossington said that he was happy to know that LYNYRD SKYNYRD's music is still connecting with people. "To see the younger people enjoying it makes your heart warm."

Rossington went on to say that his former bandmates would be equally satisfied with LYNYRD SKYNYRD's continued presence on the touring circuit. "Me, Allen [Collins] and Ronnie [Van Zant] started this band with a dream of making it big, and that dream came true," he said. "They'd love it if their music was still being played when they're gone."

It is with our deepest sympathy and sadness that we have to advise, that we lost our brother, friend, family member,...

Posted by Lynyrd Skynyrd on Sunday, March 5, 2023

GODSMACK has canceled its previously announced spring tour of South America due to a "lack of ticket sales".

The band announced that it has scrapped the trek, which was scheduled to hit Santiago, Chile on April 21, Buenos Aires, Argentina on April 25 and São Paulo, Brazil on April 27, in a social media post earlier today.

GODSMACK wrote: "We are heartbroken to have to announce that GODSMACK cannot get to South America in April as promised. We are so saddened by this as we've been trying for so long to make this work, but due to the lack of ticket sales, we simply can't find a way to fund this tour at this time. Please know we've tried everything we could to make it work, but it has now gone beyond our control.

"We love and appreciate our fans and will remain optimistic that we will play for your country one day. Until then, our deepest apologies."

GODSMACK's South American tour was originally scheduled to take place last November but was postponed to April due to what the band described at the time as "logistical issues."

GODSMACK's new album, "Lighting Up The Sky", was released last month via BMG. The LP was co-produced by GODSMACK frontman Sully Erna and Andrew "Mudrock" Murdock (AVENGED SEVENFOLD, ALICE COOPER).

The first single from "Lighting Up The Sky", "Surrender", which arrived in September, marked the first release from GODSMACK in four years, following their globally acclaimed and gold-certified 2018 album "When Legends Rise", which earned the Erna-fronted outfit a No. 1 spot across U.S. Hard Rock, Rock, and Alternative album charts.

GODSMACK will embark on a spring 2023 U.S. tour with special guests I PREVAIL.

Photo by Chris Bradshaw
South America 😞 pic.twitter.com/arZciqCHIH

— Godsmack (@godsmack) March 3, 2023

In a new interview with "I Ask No One With Kevin Re LoVullo", former MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson was asked if the multi-platinum success of METALLICA's 1991 self-titled album helped or hurt the metal community. Ellefson responded in part (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Ah, it frickin' broke the doors down. METALLICA were always the leader. They broke all the doors down to every obstacle in the way of heavy metal. To some degree, IRON MAIDEN, before them, had superseded and became an arena act and done this stuff too, so certainly you've gotta give credit to MAIDEN. And even DEF LEPPARD, to some degree, because they started out as just kind of a grungy little heavy metal band out of Sheffield, and then they [went] on to become essentially almost like a pop act, on some level; I mean, they became that big. Those guys — certainly DEF LEPPARD and MAIDEN — deserve credit for sort of carving the initial path to sort of the big-time mainstream path for heavy metal. But then METALLICA came in, and they just fucking [said], 'We're here. We're coming in.' They really broke through every obstacle with MTV and daytime rotation with their videos and just became a household name. And it's cool, because they have 'metal' in their name, so it's not like there's any 'what is this?' It's, like, come on. It says 'metal' right in it. You know what it is. And they didn't clean it up and pretty it up; they just kept it raw and frickin' grungy and in your face, and it was, again, authentic. So, again, the likes of Lemmy [of MOTÖRHEAD], who influenced Lars [Ulrich, METALLICA drummer] and the guys, that inspiration that stayed true, that, 'We don't have to…' I remember with METALLICA, it was always the thing: 'We do our own thing. We don't play by the rules.' And to a large degree, they didn't. And that's, I think, what made it appealing to the fans, because, let's face it, heavy metal is kind of working man's music, and that's why we look to our heroes, because they're, like, 'God, I wish I could my boss to fuck off and just go do that, 'cause these guys can do whatever they want.' That's the message, right?"

Dave Mustaine, who was the original lead guitarist of METALLICA, was dismissed from the band by drummer Lars Ulrich in 1983. He was replaced by Kirk Hammett and went on to form MEGADETH and achieve worldwide success on his own.

Back in September 2020, Ellefson told Detroit's WRIF radio station that he and Mustaine paid close attention to what METALLICA was doing in the early years of MEGADETH's existence. "I mean, look, we are all just a branch off the METALLICA family tree," he explained at the time. "I mean, let's face it. Especially MEGADETH, with Dave being there, and then me being a branch off of Dave with MEGADETH. So, I mean, look, we owe everything to METALLICA. Those guys broke down the doors for every one of us — ANTHRAX, SLAYER. Bands today — LAMB OF GOD, PANTERA — none of this would have happened without METALLICA being up there as the 800-pound gorilla just carving the path through the jungle that would have never let heavy metal in. The stuff that they able to do and the size and the scope of which they were able to break those doors down, it changed all of our lives — as musicians, as fans, as everything. That's why I think when they did the 'Big Four' [shows] with us in 2010 and '11, that was just such a great olive branch."

The former MEGADETH bassist continued: "As Scott Ian [ANTHRAX] said, it's like we're all brothers of the same family, it's just that one of our brothers went off and became Microsoft [laughs], and that was METALLICA. It's, like, how the hell did you do that? That's amazing. You changed the world. But the fact that they came back and, again, offered that olive branch to us and just said, 'Hey, we were all in this together. Let's celebrate what we did together so many years ago.' And I think that speaks volumes to just how cool METALLICA is."

In 2019, Ellefson said that he got Mustaine's "blessing" to audition for the bassist position in METALLICA after Jason Newsted left the band more than two decades ago. David went on to say that he learned how to play some of METALLICA's songs in preparation for what he thought would be an audition with the group but that the opportunity never materialized.

Back in 2011, Mustaine said that he was relieved that Ellefson wasn't invited to join METALLICA after the tragic death of Cliff Burton.

Burton died on tour in 1986 in a tour bus crash, three years after Mustaine was kicked out of METALLICA and went on to form MEGADETH.

The so-called "Big Four" of 1980s thrash metal — METALLICA, MEGADETH, SLAYER and ANTHRAX — played together for the first time in history on June 16, 2010 in front of 81,000 fans at the Sonisphere festival at Bemowo Airport in Warsaw, Poland and shared a bill again for six more shows as part of the Sonisphere series that same year. They reunited again for several dates in 2011, including the last "Big Four" concert, which was held on September 14, 2011 at Yankee Stadium in New York City. Since then, METALLICA, SLAYER and ANTHRAX have played a number of shows together, including the 2013 Soundwave festival in Australia. They also performed at the 2014 Heavy MTL festival in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

During this past Wednesday's (March 1) episode of his "Nights With Alice Cooper" radio show on Planet Rock, legendary rocker Alice Cooper spoke about his upcoming follow-up to 2021's "Detroit Stories" LP, saying: "There's another album coming out that's really gonna knock you out. Everybody really likes it, the people that have heard it so far. It's just a rocking rock and roll album."

Cooper also teased his brand-new live show, saying he was "getting ready for another year of traveling around the world to play for my adoring fans." He added: "I think that it’s fair to say that it's going to be another amazing year because it's a brand-new show. We're bringing an entirely new show. The castle has gone. [I] can't tell you what it's going to be right now, but I can tell you there's that."

Last year, Cooper told Germany's Rolling Stone that he was working on two new albums with longtime producer Bob Ezrin. "A lot of those were born during the plague," he said. "We couldn't go touring for 18 months, so what's a musician gonna do? Well, they're going to write songs. Everybody has a studio in their house. So we were writing songs and doing demos. And at the end of this whole thing, I got in touch with Bob and said, 'Here's 30 songs.' And we decided, 'Okay, let's do two albums.' But the two albums are definitely two different angles of coming in to Alice Cooper. One is very hard rock; the other one is hard rock but it's twisted. And that's all I can say about it right now, because there's a couple of really important things about both albums."

Cooper previously spoke about his new music during an appearance in January 2022 on SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk". "I'm working on two albums right now, actually — two studio albums," he said. "They're two entirely different kinds of albums, but they're Alice Cooper pure rock and roll albums. The two albums will really be hard rock albums."

At the time, the now-75-year-old singer expressed hope that the first of his new LPs would arrive later that year. "It's kind of like the old days when you're touring and putting out records at the same time," Alice explained. "It kind of takes me back to when you're doing 'Love It To Death' and then you tour for 'Love It To Death'. While you're doing 'Love It To Death', you're writing 'Killer'. When 'Love It To Death' is over, 'Killer' comes out and then you go support that. And while you're doing 'Killer', you're writing 'School's Out'. So we're kind of piggybacking everything. And I kind of like that. It keeps everything moving. I don't like those big chunks of time when there's nothing going on."

Released in February 2021, "Detroit Stories" was recorded with Ezrin, mostly in Royal Oak with Detroit musicians and featuring a mix of original material alongside covers of songs by Bob Seger, the MC5, Mitch Ryder's DETROIT and OUTRAGEOUS CHERRY.

In 2018, Cooper issued "A Paranormal Evening At The Olympia Paris", a recording of his December 7, 2017 concert at the world-renowned Olympia venue in France.

Alice also released two albums with HOLLYWOOD VAMPIRES, 2015's "Hollywood Vampires" and 2019's "Rise".