Following up on their three track concept EP Gallery Of Sin, metal masters Veil Of The Serpent have now shared the lyric video for "The End And The Beginning". The track is the third part of the brutal horror story the band created for the EP.





Commenting on the idea behind the track, vocalist JD Stafford says:




"The story is taking place in Noxa City. A serial killer starts terrorizing the citizens and a mysterious new art gallery depicting wickedness gains mass popularity. A detective is trying to hunt down the serial killer that makes paintings using the blood of his victims. But in reality the detective has a split personality and is actually the killer. In ‘The End And The Beginning’ he realizes this and the personalities fight and the evil personality takes over permanently."





"Gallery Of Sin" lyric video:





"Profiling A Demon":





Trailer:

Oregon death metal dealers Dripping Decay have officially joined the Satanik Royalty Records roster for the release of their debut full-length, Festering Grotesqueries.  


Forged in 2020 in the sewers of Portland, Dripping Decay spews forth putrid, old-school death/grind inspired by the classic slasher films of the ‘70s and ‘80s. Their blasting output pays homage to the golden age of not only horror cinema, but death metal itself.


Notes Satanik Royalty Records head, Freiburger, of the band’s signing, “I have been following Dripping Decay since their name first caught my eye in 2020. When they approached me about the album at first, I wasn’t sure if I could because of how much I have on my agenda. But I just couldn’t stop listening to the album. It is a bumper-to-bumper banger and I am extremely proud to put this album out! On top of that, their performance at Disemboweled God Fest was amazing! We are honored and excited to welcome Dripping Decay to the Satanik Royalty Records family!”




Adds the band, "The opportunity to work with Satanik Royalty Records is a special one for a variety of reasons. Freiburger as an individual is a staple of the Pacific Northwest metal scene known for promoting and embodying camaraderie, honest dealings, and the promotion of high-quality extreme music acts. His label adheres to his personal standards in every one of those regards and as such we as a band are honored to be a part of the Satanik Royalty roster."





Initially featuring founding guitarist Neil Smith (Frightmare, ex-Lord Gore, ex-Blood Freak), drummer Jason “The Machine” Borton (ex-Jungle Rot), vocalist Eric Stucke (Hallucinator), and bassist Trevor Soule, Dripping Decay chose five of their finest platters of splatter to serve up to an unsuspecting public in the form of 2021’s Watching You Rot demo. Cut in a matter of hours by the band themselves, the only outside force to touch the eighteen-minute blast of bestial morbidity was noted engineer Dan Lowndes of Resonance Sound Studios, who mastered the disc prior to its release via Portland’s own Headsplit Records. The initial run of CDs and cassettes quickly sold out, and additional pressings and distribution deals were brokered via Black Hole Productions (South America) and Corpus Vermis Records (Italy), as well as vinyl pressings via Flesh Vessel Records (US) and Fucking Kill Records (Germany). 


Early 2022 saw the departure of Soule, who was replaced by Jackson Jordan (ex-Conducting From The Grave) in time for inaugural live performances both local and regional. By late summer, the band had completed their debut record and were ready to put it to tape. Entering Portland’s Falcon Studios with engineer Derek Leisy, Dripping Decay spat out Watching You Rot, a 36 minute audio onslaught of blistering death metal performed with the surgical precision for which these seasoned musicians are known. 


The five cuts from Watching You Rot were reforged and refined, then joined by nine new songs to form the fourteen-track Festering Grotesqueries, set for release via Satanik Royalty later this year. Mixed by noted death metal journeyman Vincent Detto (Mortiferum, Cerebral Rot, Oxygen Destroyer), Festering Grotesqueries combines the timeless production of Dripping Decay’s death metal forebears with meticulousness performances and a sick, occasionally nihilistic lyrical bent; a self-destroying viewpoint concocted in a city crumbling from within.


Stand by for further details on Festering Grotesqueries to be unveiled in the weeks to come.


(Photo – Wendy O’Brien Jordan)

Frontiers Music Srl announces the upcoming release of Smackbound's new album, Hostage, on April 21. The Finnish five-piece, vocalist Netta Laurenne, guitarist Teemu Mäntysaari, drummer Rolf Pilve, keyboardist Vili Itäpelto, and bassist Tuomas Yli-Jaskari, once again deliver a hooky, driving, metal-influenced slab of hard rock power on their second album.


The first single and music video from the album, "Change", is out today. Watch the clip below, and pre-order the new album here.


”We started writing the album in early 2021 and even recorded the drums for a couple of songs we had ready in the fall, but then stopped the process because a lot was going on in our lives. Given a deadline for getting the album done, most of it was written and recorded in September and October 2022 and I remember writing lyrics and singing lead vocals just days before mastering. And we mixed the album until the very last minute, with Vili [Itäpelto] and Tuomas [Yli-Jaskari] taking turns between working on the record and sleeping! It was a hell of a ride, but we were able to pull through and give birth to our beloved second child, Hostage," says vocalist Netta Laurenne.




Hailing from Finland, Smackbound's story started back in 2015 when vocalist Netta Laurenne founded the group. A classically trained singer who has also studied pop, jazz, and folk singing, Laurenne's powerful vocal style is also perfectly suited for hard rock and metal and she went about finding the perfect musicians to team with for the musical style she wanted to pursue with Smackbound.


Guitarist Teemu Mäntysaari (Wintersun), drummer Rolf Pilve (Stratovarius, The Dark Element), keyboardist Vili Itäpelto (Tracedawn), and bassist Tuomas Yli-Jaskari (Tracedawn) joined forces with Netta and the band commenced writing songs and set about playing gigs to continue to gel as a cohesive unit. Those gigs helped the band build up their rapport as musicians and live performers, turning them into a well-oiled machine by the time they hit the studio to record their debut album 20/20.


But before 20/20 was released, the band formally debuted with a string of successful singles and videos on Youtube including the hooky "Drive It Like You Stole It", the energetic “Wall Of Silence", and the powerful "Run”. All three singles were included on the band’s debut album, which was recorded at Sonic Pump Studios, produced by Tuomas Yli-Jaskari, and mixed and mastered by Jesse Vainio (Sunrise Avenue, Apocalyptica, Poets Of The Fall), except for "Those Who Burn", which was mixed by Nino Laurenne.


Between the release of 20/20 and the band's upcoming album Hostage, Laurenne partook in various guest appearances and also partnered up with fellow Finnish vocalist Noora Louhimo to release an absolutely amazing heavy/hard rock album under the name Laurenne/Louhimo in 2021. The Reckoning was released to rave reviews as it showcased two powerful, dynamic vocalists delivering stunning performances boosted by their undeniable chemistry working together.


Now, Laurenne and her bandmates return for the second chapter of the ongoing story of Smackbound with Hostage.





Hostage tracklisting:


"Reap"
"Change"
"Razor Sharp"
"Rodrigo"
"Break"
"Imperfect Day"
"Graveyard"
"Traveling Back"
"Hold The Fire"
"Hostage"
"The Edge"


"Change" video:





Lineup:


Netta Laurenne - Vocals
Teemu Mäntysaari - Guitars
Tuomas Yli-Jaskari - Bass
Vili Itäpelto - Keyboards
Rolf Pilve - Drums

Finnish melodic metal band Dark The Suns have released a new single and music video, "Phoenix"§. The track is taken from the upcoming fifth studio album which is released later this year via Inverse Records. 


Mikko Ojala commets: "We have worked on our new album for a year. We have worked hard, never gave up and now we can enjoy and celebrate our hard work with the brand new single, 'Phoenix'." 
 
Pick up the single here. Check out the video below.
 



In 2005 Dark the Suns was founded by Mikko Ojala. In 2006 the band grew when three new members (bass player Inka, Juha on the keyboards and drummer Markus) joined the band, which signed with Firebox Records that same year.




During 2007-2010 Firebox Records released the band’s three full-length albums (I


Darkness Comes Beauty, All Ends in Silence and Sleepwalking In A Nightmare). The band performed many live shows during these years.


There have been some changes in the line-up over the years, but Mikko and Inka have been continuously together, making music. The band was inactive for 2013-2020 but in 2020 Mikko and Inka decided to resume making music together. It was a really natural way to continue the band as a duo, because they have written almost all the band’s music and lyrics during all these years.


In 2020 and 2021 Inverse Records released four singles from the band’s 4th album, Suru Raivosi Sydämeni Pimeydessä. The album includes ten songs of melancholic and melodic Finnish metal music. The band has always described their music as "Beautiful piano melodies and dark vocals.”


Fifth studio album is set to be released later in 2023 via Inverse Records. 

CONTROL DENIED and PHARAOH vocalist Tim Aymar has died at the age of 59.

Tim's passing was confirmed by his PHARAOH bandmates in a social media post. They wrote: "We are very sorry to share the awful news of the passing of PHARAOH's one and only singer, Tim Aymar.

"Tim has meant so much to so many people, whose hearts are suddenly flooded with sadness but also memories of his life and music. We look forward to sharing some of our own memories when the right time has come. Until then, we are joined in sorrow and gratitude with all of Tim's family, friends, fans, and fellow musicians."

Aymar is perhaps best known as the vocalist for Chuck Schuldiner's CONTROL DENIED project, which released one album, "The Fragile Art Of Existence", in 1999. Tim also sang for 313, TRIPLE X, PSYCHO SCREAM and the aforementioned PHARAOH, which formed in 1997 in Pennsylvania.

TRIPLE X won the In Pittsburgh Music Awards for "Best Metal Band" in 1990, and was the first regional band to be awarded a national sponsorship, from Anheuser-Busch/Budweiser Anheuser-Busch. Tim was also voted "Vocalist Of The Year" in readers polls of many of the Pittsburgh tri-state area's rock and entertainment publications.

In a 2021 interview with TrueMetal, Tim stated about how he landed the CONTROL DENIED gig: "It was actually Jim Dofka who hooked me and Chuck up. Chuck asked to 'borrow' me for CONTROL DENIED and Jim knew it would boost my career, so he was all for it. Chuck called me, and we hit it off. He invited me to his place in Florida to record three songs as an audition. Obviously, it went well."

Regarding his memories of the making of "The Fragile Art Of Existence", Tim said: "We all had a great time working with [producer] Jim Morris and each other. Then Chuck told me he was having severe headaches and couldn't sleep because of it. He was also experiencing partial paralysis in his left hand which scared the dickens out of him. I recommended a chiropractor since I have neck and back injuries that were being treated by one. As it turned out, well, we know the end of that story."

Schuldiner passed away on December 13, 2001 after a battle with pontine glioma, a rare type of brain tumor. He was 34 years old.

We are very sorry to share the awful news of the passing of Pharaoh's one and only singer, Tim Aymar. Tim has meant so...

Posted by Pharaoh (Official) on Tuesday, February 14, 2023

It is with deep sadness that from several sources it would appear that Tim Aymar has passed away. Our deepest and most sincere condolences to his friends and family.

Posted by Death (Official) on Tuesday, February 14, 2023

“The End Is Imminent” according to Poland’s grindcore commando squad Nuclear Holocaust and the latest single. The song precedes the band’s new album, Sailing Seas Of Nuclear Waste, nearing March release through Selfmadegod Records.


Nuclear Holocaust debuted in 2015 with the Mutant Inferno demo and have since been serving their rabid grindcore with clear influences of thrash metal and punk. Their catalog includes various compilation inclusions, two prior albums, split releases with Leb Prosiaka, Expurgo, and Straight Hate, and more. The band has played numerous shows, sharing the stage with Conflicted, Nuclear, Avulsed, General Surgery, Antigama, Trauma, Dead Infection, Blockheads, Warfuck, and numerous other acts within the world grind scene.







The third full-length of this savage foursome, Sailing Seas Of Nuclear Waste shows Nuclear Holocaust executing sixteen raging songs, nearly none of which crack the two-minute mark with many not even hitting sixty seconds. Recorded in one day in August 2022 at Skog Vegas Studio, engineered by Paweł Chyła, Sailing Seas Of Nuclear Waste is an intense grindcore feast recommended to all diehard savages who regularly visit the damaging records of Excruciating Terror, Rot, Phobia, Blood Duster, P.L.F., and Captain Cleanoff.


With “The End Is Imminent,” drummer Overkiller states, “This song shows probably the best how far we can go for now – although it may not be the best representative of the style of the whole album, it definitely shows the spirit of the creative process we engaged ourselves in.”


Selfmadegod Records will release Sailing Seas Of Nuclear Waste on CD and digitally on March 3. Find preorders on Bandcamp.

Just in time for Valentine’s Day, Whitesnake has uploaded a lyric video for the Unzipped version of “All I Want All I Need” featuring former Snake guitarist Doug Aldrich.





Whitesnake released the Unzipped box set in in October 2018 via Rhino Records. The 5 CD/DVD collection features unplugged and acoustic-based performances recorded over the past 20+years, including rare and unreleased studio and live recordings, acoustic demos, concert videos, interviews and more.

FOREIGNER lead singer Kelly Hansen spoke to the 96.1 KLPX radio station 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.

Asked what led to FOREIGNER's decision to stage what is being billed as the band's last-ever run of shows, Hansen said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "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 last month 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 recent interview with Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station, former MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson was asked if he has heard METALLICA's two new songs, "Lux Æterna" and "Screaming Suicide". He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I have. I liked it. I think it's very cool. You know, just as much as everything with those guys, they're like Apple — when they do a product launch, it usually comes off pretty frickin' cool. A new METALLICA album is like a new iPhone launch — it's pretty much awesome. [Laughs]"

Ellefson went on to say that "Lux Æterna" and the announcement of METALLICA's "72 Seasons" album and accompanying stadium tour came "out of nowhere" last November while he was in Poland working on his DIETH project. "And you're, like, 'Jeez.' I mean, this literally just dropped out of the sky; I don't think any of us saw it coming, which I thought was so cool," David said.

Elaborating on what he thought of "Lux Æterna" and "Screaming Suicide", Ellefson said: "That first single ['Lux Æterna'] especially I thought was very cool...

"Look, at this point, there's only 12 notes in the chromatic scale," he explained. "We've played them all in almost every possible combination of how to play 'em. So, it's like, how do you now, at album — whatever it is for them. And even with MEGADETH, it was like, 'Jeez, we're on how many albums now? And how do we not repeat ourselves yet still keep street cred and play to those fans that wanna hear us do that?'

"You're not the same guy you were when you recorded 'One', right? You're not the 1987 METALLICA; you're now this," Ellefson added. "So I think as we age into our career and we age into our artistry, if you will, you're always looking for how do you scratch the itch and satisfy all parts of your creative thing there."

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 WRIF 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.

In a new interview with Guitar World magazine, Dave Mustaine was asked how he views the perceived competition between MEGADETH and his former band METALLICA. The MEGADETH leader responded: "In my mind, there is no competition between MEGADETH and METALLICA. We're different bands, and I believe MEGADETH has been more consistent. But the sad thing is that the drama between us has been more popular than the music ever was. And remember, METALLICA got a big head start, and they did so on the back of what I helped create. They became one of the biggest bands in the world, and here's one of the biggest bands wasting their breath trying to discredit me by saying, 'Dave's not a good guitar player.' Excuse me, what the fuck did you say? [Laughs] I think I wrote many of the songs that made you famous, so you probably should recheck that bullshit statement. But this is the shit those guys say, and you've got the sheep who follow them around believing it."

Asked who he thinks is at fault for perpetuating the issues, Mustaine said: "The issue is that people don't know their history and take sides. I never wanted to take sides; I wanted things to be reconciled and to be friends, but for whatever reason, they didn't. And METALLICA is represented by the same agent as MEGADETH, and I've asked our agent, 'You're METALLICA's agent, too; why won't those guys play with us? What are they afraid of?' And they've confirmed they're going out [this summer] with FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH and the PANTERA thing, so it's clearly about the money. The fact is simple: the world wants to see MEGADETH and METALLICA play together. And in case anyone is wondering: there's fucking money in that. The fans want to see METALLICA and MEGADETH share the stage. Does MEGADETH need METALLICA? No. But METALLICA talks about their fans, but they don't give them what they've been asking for. What are they afraid of? I don't know. It's not me; it's them."

Mustaine also talked about his influence over METALLICA, saying: "In the early days, I was the only guitar player in the band and wrote some of the songs that ended up on their earlier records. So, for a guy who 'couldn't play guitar,' I sure did fucking influence things. The only reason James [Hetfield, METALLICA frontman] even played guitar early on was that we couldn't find anyone else. So who was it that couldn't play guitar? We had one guy named Brad Parker, whose real name was Damian Phillips. He showed up and had an oversized feather earring; we did one show, and that was the end of him. And that was why we ended up having James play guitar. There was no other reason. Also, early on, James was terrified to talk to the crowd, and I would look at him and say, 'Talk, man. Get up there and fucking talk,' but James didn't do it; he stayed in the background, and he's the fucking singer. So, I — the guy who can't play guitar — went up to the mic and started talking. That's how it was until I left; James only started talking to the audience after I left; he had no choice. You can hear it on the tapes from the shows we did in San Francisco at the Waldorf and the Stone; I did all the talking. And most of what I said on stage was things James would then copy after I left. So how do I view my influence on METALLICA? It's pretty fucking deep."

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.

Mustaine touched upon the possibility of further "Big Four" shows in a November 2022 interview with Greg Prato of Songfacts. He said: "I really think it's time for the guys in METALLICA to step up and us do one last round, see if we can get SLAYER to come out of retirement and do a 'Big Four' passing of the torch to the new 'Big Four'. It would remain to be seen who they are.

"I think it would be really cool symbolically if we did something at, like, the L.A. Coliseum, even if it's one show and that's it," he continued. "SLAYER is from Los Angeles, so it would probably make it more convenient for them to go home at night. [Editor's note: SLAYER's Tom Araya is a longtime Texas resident while Kerry King currently calls New York City his home. Paul Bostaph and Gary Holt live in Northern California.] I personally have been hoping for this for a while, and I keep asking and asking and asking. They're just not into it. But that's up to them."

Back in 2018, Mustaine spoke about "Big Four" in an interview with "Trunk Nation LA Invasion: Live From The Rainbow Bar & Grill" on SiriusXM. Asked if there was a personal highlight for him from all the "Big Four" shows that MEGADETH has played so far, Mustaine said: "No. The whole thing was great. I can't whittle it down to one thing. I do know that looking out in the audience and seeing everybody in black t-shirts before we started and then the rain started and all these rainbow-colored umbrellas opened up, it was the most beautiful thing. Because it went form this monochrome kind of really ugly place in Sofia, Bulgaria in the rain to just this plethora of color and just beauty, and everybody was dancing and pogoing and wheelchairs going across people's heads and stuff. They didn't let the rain bother them at all. Me, I felt like I was ice skating up there on the deck, 'cause it was really slippery."

Earlier in 2018, Mustaine said that he would love play a "Big Four" show where all the bands "got treated fairly" instead of METALLICA performing a longer set and getting more stage space than the other groups on the bill. "It always kind of soured to me when you watch [METALLICA guitarist] Kirk Hammett say on the DVD ['The Big Four: Live From Sofia, Bulgaria'], when they're praying, and he says that 'we're the Big One,'" Mustaine told SiriusXM. "That just kind of shows you how the mentality was there — that it really wasn't the 'Big Four'; it was METALLICA and then the three of us."

Mustaine added: "I would love to see it done in a way where we all got treated fairly and we all played together, same amount of time, same kind of stage situation, but I don't think that's gonna happen. And it's cool, because SLAYER's gonna down in history, and they don't need the 'Big Four' to make them any more legendary than they already are. Nor do I."

Hammett said in 2017 that he believed that the "Big Four" idea would be revisited again. He explained: "I see those shows as kind of like a celebration — a real celebration of each other, and a real celebration of the music that we all make, and a real celebration of the audience embracing [what] we've done. And why not have more of that?"

Ten years ago, SLAYER frontman Tom Araya said that the only thing that was standing in the way of further "Big Four" shows was "the politics of character in one particular band," with some fans speculating that he was talking about Mustaine and MEGADETH.

In his autobiography, "Mustaine: A Heavy Metal Memoir", Mustaine addressed the issue of where his band fit in the "Big Four" order. According to The New York Times, he assured the reader that he was not offended by being put behind SLAYER. But he added an interior monologue: "O.K., we'll play ahead of you guys on this trip, and God willing we'll do it again sometime in the near future and we can flip things around."

Mustaine was a member of METALLICA for less than two years, from 1981 to 1983, before being dismissed and replaced by Kirk Hammett. He went on to form MEGADETH and achieve worldwide success on his own.

Mustaine feuded with the members of METALLICA for more than two decades before finally patching things up over the last decade and a half. He has jammed with his ex-bandmates on several occasions during "Big Four" shows and at METALLICA's 30th-anniversary concerts in 2011.
Still processing the sad fact that Jeff Beck has left us.
The latest Guitar World has a nice tribute to the amazing guitarist. pic.twitter.com/7TmEc1OjXC

— Brett Modglin (@BrettModglin) February 14, 2023

DISTURBED frontman David Draiman was interviewed on the latest episode of the "Sarai Talk Show", hosted by Sarai Idan, an Iraqi-American activist, television host, musician, and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned as Miss Universe Iraq 2017 and represented Iraq at the Miss Universe 2017 pageant. You can now watch the chat below.

Speaking about whether he and his bandmates ever voice their political views publicly in order to sway their fans one way or the other, Draiman said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I think it's okay to stand for something. I don't think it's okay to push it on other people. That's the difference to me.

"You can have an opinion. All of our songs are infused with very, very strong opinions, but they try to appeal to both sides of the spectrum," he explained. "I like to attack everybody. I don't wanna go ahead and go to one side or the other, because everybody's guilty. And so it needs to be universal; it needs to be something that people from any walk of life can find a connection to. That is incredibly important to me.

"People who try to use their platforms to push for one political candidate or another in elections and stuff like that? You'll never see me do anything like that," Draiman added. "That, I think, is overstepping. That, I think, I am in the Alice Cooper school of thought, where we're there to entertain. You can write about poignant stuff, about subject matter that means something, and you can even inspire people to feel passionately about a cause or whatever it may be, but at the end of the day, people come to a concert for an escape and they come for a way to come to terms with powerful emotions, to transcend things, to overcome things. So when musicians or comedians start to become too politicized and they become too partisan, it's annoying, because then all of a sudden they're not funny to the other half of the people anymore. I don't think it needs to be that way. I think that there can be common ground 99 percent of the time."

Back in 2015, Draiman, the son of Israelis and the grandson of Holocaust survivors, threw his support behind then-Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, writing on his personal Facebook page: "Well... Since it seems like the majority of the Republican voting base has fallen for [Donald] Trump's fear mongering, bigoted, racist, lunacy, and since no other Republican candidate (including mildly delusional Ben Carson) seems to have a chance against him, whether he goes independent or not... and since Hillary [Clinton] is hellspawn incarnate (best friend of the ‪terrorist-supporting Qataris, and just basically Obama part II),I feel that I have no choice (even though I wish he were stronger on Israel, and has plans for a social welfare state that could very well bankrupt our country; I guess I'd rather be financially bankrupt, then morally bankrupt) but to throw my support behind the venerable Bernie Sanders (much to the chagrin of my conservative/Republican friends, I'm sure). I just hope he remembers who he is and where he comes from (a Jew) and that he does whatever he can to protect both the American people and the State of Israel. He'll need a miracle...but who knows? The world is crazy enough these days that he just might get one."

Draiman had been outspoken about politics before, describing himself as fiscally on the conservative side but socially and culturally liberal.

He told The Pulse Of Radio a while back that he had problems with the candidates on both sides. "I have issues with everybody," he said. "I'm liberal about everything that is issue-based as far as ideology, but I'm also of the opinion of a very small government. I don't agree with the fiscal policies of the Democrats, but I certainly don't agree with the right-wing craziness of the Republicans."

Draiman has in the past battled with Twitter trolls who have harassed him about his sometimes-controversial views regarding Israel and its ongoing conflict with the Palestinians.

Both of Draiman's maternal grandparents were survivors of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, while many others on his mother's side were wiped out by the Nazis.

DISTURBED performed in Israel for the first time in July 2019.

Although David had visited the country many times, this was the first DISTURBED concert in the Jewish state.

In the past, Draiman's DISTURBED bandmate, guitarist Dan Donegan, had frequently shared posts on his personal Facebook page that amplified Republican talking points and that were derogatory to Democrats.

In a new interview with Loaded Radio, STEEL PANTHER guitarist Satchel was asked about the chances of MÖTLEY CRÜE drummer Tommy Lee, who is reportedly not a fan of Satchel's band, ever making a guest appearance on a STEEL PANTHER record. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We love MÖTLEY CRÜE, and we're always gonna love MÖTLEY CRÜE and we're always gonna be fans of them. And Tommy is, honestly — he's a great drummer; he's one of the best rock drummers. But I don't know if Tommy is ready to play on a STEEL PANTHER record. [Laughs] But if he is, we'd love to have him, 'cause he's a great drummer and it would probably be really cool, whatever he does. 'Cause the guy plays great. He's awesome. He's solid as a rock."

Asked what Tommy's issue with STEEL PANTHER is, Satchel said: "I think Nikki [Sixx, MÖTLEY CRÜE bassist] had more of an issue with us than Tommy — or maybe they both did because they thought we were bagging on Vince [Neil, MÖTLEY CRÜE singer]. But I think what Michael Starr [STEEL PANTHER singer] meant when he said what he said about Vince was… It was just a lighthearted jab at how bitching Vince was back in 1983 compared to how he is now. But I'll tell you what: I saw pictures of Vince recently, and he looks really good; he's taking care of himself. So I wish all those guys the best. I like MÖTLEY CRÜE."

The war of words between STEEL PANTHER and MÖTLEY CRÜE began when Starr and STEEL PANTHER drummer Stix Zadinia were asked in a 2019 interview which musician from the past they would like to bring back. Starr replied, "I'd bring back Vince Neil," and Zadinia chimed in, "He's not dead." Starr pressed on, saying: "I'd bring back Vince Neil from back in the day because that guy is dead."

After news of STEEL PANTHER's comments made the rounds, Sixx tweeted: "The singer in Steal Panther [sic] can go fuck himself … wanna-be band putting down Vince Neil?" One fan then pointed out that STEEL PANTHER sometimes plays MÖTLEY CRÜE songs during its concerts, to which the CRÜE bassist replied, "That's why they are assholes. Backstabbers."

Satchel addressed the Sixx online feud in a 2020 interview with Ultimate Guitar. Asked if STEEL PANTHER's "Concert To Save The World" livestreamed event was "a plan to steal the audience from MÖTLEY CRÜE," Satchel replied: "You know what? MÖTLEY CRÜE had tour plans. And that shit got canceled, right? I mean, I'm a fan of MÖTLEY CRÜE. I think that Tommy Lee and Nikki Sixx can act like total dickheads much of the time, but that's also what comes with being a rock star sometimes. The guys want to act like dickheads and they do — and that's cool. I still like the songs. But we can't steal their fans any more than they can steal ours. People are gonna be fans of both bands, and I'm always gonna love MÖTLEY CRÜE no matter how big of a dick Nikki Sixx is, because I like how they sound. Our bands are not mutually exclusive, and you don't have to hate STEEL PANTHER to love MÖTLEY CRÜE and vice versa. And you don't have to hate MÖTLEY CRÜE to say Nikki Sixx is a dick as well. [Laughs] I still love MÖTLEY CRÜE even though I think Nikki Sixx is a dick — these things are not mutually exclusive. [Laughs]"

Asked if everything is "cool" between the two bands now, Satchel said: "I don't have anything going on with those guys. I don't really give a fuck one way or the other. Like, if I saw them, I probably wouldn't go hang out with them 'cause Nikki Sixx seems like he doesn't like my band so I probably wouldn't buy him a beer. But I don't have anything against MÖTLEY CRÜE and I wish them the best in the future. But it seems like we annoy Nikki Sixx — and I'm fine with being annoying to Nikki Sixx 'cause I don't really give a fuck. But I don't think we're going to be on tour with MÖTLEY CRÜE anytime soon; that's what I reckon."

The 2019 episode was not the first time members of STEEL PANTHER and MÖTLEY CRÜE had traded barbs. In 2017, Zadinia said that his band "really felt unwelcome" during its tour with MÖTLEY CRÜE several years ago. The drummer told Music Life Magazine: "[MÖTLEY CRÜE members] Tommy Lee and Nikki Sixx did not like it when we went on tour with them in 2011. And that was the only time that we really felt unwelcome. The thing with those guys is I think they thought we were actually making fun of them directly. And I just gotta chalk that up to their egos being too big, because nothing that we do has anything to do with them directly. But we ended up doing the tour and it went off great and everything was totally fine," he said, adding that it was a European tour and that DEF LEPPARD was actually the top-billed band on the jaunt.

Sixx told Australia's Music Feeds in 2016 that he didn't care for STEEL PANTHER's music. "You know, it's not my thing," he said. "That's just me personally. I don't know. It doesn't feel… I guess a lot of people think it's funny and they're kind of a joke band and that's cool. But that's not my cup of tea. I kind of take my music a little more seriously."

Back in June 2015, Starr revealed in an interview that Lee "was pretty upset over the fact we poked fun at Vince Neil. He didn't like it. He just thinks we're just a joke, like a stupid joke band that shouldn't be playing with them. But all their fans like us."

Starr added that members of MÖTLEY CRÜE simply "take themselves a little too serious," except for Vince Neil, who "totally loves it."

"You know, he told me, 'Hey, Michael, when we retire, you can have all our fans,'" Starr said.

In 2018, Satchel acknowledged that not everyone is a fan of his group's over-the-top, juvenile sex-and-drugs schtick. "There are bands that hate our guts," he told Meltdown of the WRIF radio station. "We did a tour a few years ago with DEF LEPPARD and MÖTLEY CRÜE. And DEF LEPPARD, they got us on the tour, and it was an arena tour in the U.K. And they love us — they were so nice and so cool. And MÖTLEY CRÜE was on the tour, and they hated us. They wanted to kill us — every night they wanted to kill us. They talked to us, like, once the whole tour. And Tommy Lee and I, we just got into it — we butted heads a lot. 'Cause Tommy Lee… I don't know why he hates us so much. Listen, I extended the olive branch. I wanted to be friends with them. I think some people feel threatened. I think maybe Tommy Lee feels like we're poking fun at him personally. But we're just having fun… And someday maybe MÖTLEY CRÜE will be our friends, but I think Tommy Lee would love it if one of us got hit by a bus."

Melodic US death metal trio, Majesties, today issues “Our Gracious Captors”, the third single from the band’s debut LP, Vast Reaches Unclaimed, nearing March release through 20 Buck Spin. Listen below.


Majesties unites guitarist/vocalist/drummer Tanner Anderson, guitarist Carl Skildum, and bassist Matthew Kirkwold. The sound on Vast Reaches Unclaimed will be another striking addition to their respective oeuvres, recalling the glorious days of Wrong Again and No Fashion Records. Evoking a time when Gothenburg was starting to unseat Stockholm as the unimpeachable city for Swedish death metal in the mind of the international metal scene, Majesties bears that intrinsic sense of rabid intensity and the effortlessly satisfying melodic ability that made albums like In Flames’ The Jester Race and the like instant classics. The mix of major key melodies and twin guitar harmonies snaking through every track ornament the vigorous riff eruptions and anguished vocals in a sheen of gleaming brilliance that proves an exhilarating triumph to behold.
 
Without a hint of the corruption the style experienced in a post-Slaughter Of The Soul world, Vast Reaches Unclaimed exists as a fervent reminder of what was and what again shall be. Majesties reanimates the corpse of the true melodic style that both divided and invigorated the death metal scene of the mid-1990s and brings it into 2023 like it never left, sounding as novel and thrilling as ever.


Vast Reaches Unclaimed was engineered by the band, mixed and mastered by Adam Tucker at Signaturetone Recording (Ulthar, Thou, Obsequiae), and completed with photography by Sarah Kirkwold, artwork by Juanjo Castellano (Gates Of Ishtar, Varathron, The Black Dahlia Murder), logo by Dan Capp, and layout by Chimere Noire. Fans of In Flames, Eucharist, Dark Tranquillity, A Canorous Quintet, Gates Of Ishtar, Iron Maiden, Ceremonial Oath, and clearly Obsequiae and Inexorum, should not miss Majesties’ debut.




Skildum writes, “‘Our Gracious Captors’ imagines the feeling of waking up trapped in a maze of mirrors with no obvious way out, and few clues as to who the architects are. At some point a choice presents itself - to continue to play the game or to escape the simulation by shattering the mirrors. What form of reality awaits beyond this construct?”


Vast Reaches Unclaimed will be released March 3 on LP, CD, CS, and digital formats. Find pre-orders at the 20 Buck Spin webshop here, or at Bandcamp here.





Tracklisting:


"In Yearning, Alive"
"The World Unseen"
"Our Gracious Captors"
"Verdant Paths To Radiance"
"Across The Neverwhen"
"Seekers Of The Ineffable"
"Sidereal Spire"
"Temporal Anchor"
"City Of Nine Gates"
"Journey's End"


"Our Gracious Captors":





"In Yearning, Alive":





"The World Unseen"





(Photo - Sarah Kirkwold)

Jesus Piece’s “Tunnel Vision” kicks off with an atonal riff straight out of the black metal playbook before settling into a pile-driving double-kick section and then into a half-speed wrecking ball. The single, which frontman Aaron Heard says is inspired by “the renewed drive for success that comes along with being a new parent,” is the latest preview into their forthcoming new album, ...So Unknown. Listen to the track below.


Jesus Piece gallantly broke onto the scene, turning heads for their feral live shows and grandiose, melodic songwriting which has since cemented them as standard stirrers and boundary-breakers. On …So Unknown, their Century Media debut, listeners ascend to the apex of metal and hardcore– where a mix of complex instrumentation is led by a manic, shaman-like vocal delivery from frontman Aaron Heard. It’s a cluster bomb of ten anthems, bursting at the seams with memorable riffs and pulsing with fresh ideas. Drummer Luis Aponte (LU2K) promises, “This is as close to a Jesus Piece experience as you’re going to get without standing in front of us.”


Jesus Piece has created an effort that never fails to impress, gets to the point and never gets in its own way. And much like their frantic live show, their patented mid-tempo sound is only a jumping off point to chaos- ably utilizing half-speed breakdowns, left-turns into riffage at breakneck speed and moody ambient atmosphere effectively.




Heard uses a livewire vocal delivery, ala Busta Rhymes, to orchestrate the crowd’s kinetic energy - pushing further toward utter mayhem and culminating in a show that stands tall among their genre peers and live music writ large. Jesus Piece is a live phenomenon, only possibly held back by a heretofore limited recorded output. Their time has come with So Unknown, the new and second Jesus Piece LP, the follow-up to their white-hot Only Self. Co-produced and mixed by Randy LeBouef (Every Time I Die, Orthodox) and clocking in at a lean and mean 28 minutes, So Unknown documents the lives of the bands’ five members as they step into life’s abyss and react to the changes.


Jesus Piece is composed of vocalist Aaron Heard, guitarists David Updike and John Distefano, bassist Anthony Marinaro and drummer Luis Aponte. Formed in Philadelphia in 2015, the band released a trio of EPs (the S/T EP, 3 Song Tape and the Malice at the Palace split) before delivering their massive 2018 debut LP for Southern Lord Records, Only Self. The release stood head and shoulders over much of the hardcore and metal crowd, with a diversity that can be credited to the unique approach and chemistry between the members. Hell, even their name bypasses typical hardcore naming conventions and instead originates from a piece of jewelry loved by the hip hop crowd.


…So Unknown sees its release April 14 on Century Media. Pre-order / pre-save here.





…So Unknown tracklisting:


"In Constraints"
"Fear Of Failure"
"Tunnel Vision"
"FTBS"
"Silver Lining"
"Gates Of Horn"
"Profane"
"An Offering To The Night" (Official Music Video)
"Stolen Life"
"The Bond"


"Tunnel Vision":



 
"Gates Of Horn" video:





"An Offering To The Night" video:





(Photo - Kayla Menze)

Richie Sambora says that he is in talks to reunite with BON JOVI for a tour and possible new music.

After being unveiled as Jacket Potato on the celebrity show "The Masked Singer", which airs in the U.K. on ITV, Sambora dropped by Absolute Radio for a chat with host Leona Graham. Asked whether he plans to join forces with BON JOVI again following his performance with them at their Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction in 2018, Sambora said: "We're talking about it. I don't think there's any reason not to at this point."

He added: "Jon [Bon Jovi] was having a hard time with his voice a little bit there and he needed to take a little bit of a breather.

"I don't know when Jon's going to get his voice together and [when the BON JOVI reunion is] going to happen, but we have to get out there and do it for the fans, really. I feel a second obligation.

Asked by Leona if he will write new music with BON JOVI, Richie said: “Oh, if he doesn't let me, he's crazy. I'm on a tear.

"Actually, I did write that other [BON JOVI] stuff, too. It's a misnomer when people go just because his name [Jon Bon Jovi] is on [the band] that's the name. We just couldn't think of anything else really. People think that I just come up with the guitar parts and something like that. But songwriting is conceptual. You have to have a concept. It's a story. And it can sometimes just come from looking out the window and observing and a lot of times it comes from your own life and for the most part of BON JOVI, my life was a lot [more] colorful than everybody else's in the band."

Richie went on to say that he has remained on good terms with Jon in the decade since his departure, explaining: "You know what, there's no malice. I mean, we did something… there's not a lot of bands that did what we did. I mean, obviously, bands like THE ROLLING STONES, PINK FLOYD and U2 [have]."

Three years ago, Sambora opened up about his controversial decision to leave BON JOVI in 2013 in an interview with People magazine, saying that he wanted to spend more time with his daughter Ava, now 25.

"It wasn't a popular decision by any means, obviously, but there was really almost no choice about it. I had a lot of conscious work to do around [my personal life]," the guitarist said.

"We've been through a lot of things together. That was a time of psychological maintenance for the family. You know, I ain't no angel. But I realized, Ava needed me to be around at that point in time. Family had to come first, and that's what happened."

Sambora, who spent time in rehab in 2007 and 2011 for alcohol and prescription drug abuse, added that the rock and roll lifestyle eventually took its toll.

"My lord, when I look back and start to list the tours ... 18-and-a-half months of being on the road, 52 countries," he said. "It's like, Wow. It was really time for a break. We did that 14 times over a 31-year period."

Two months earlier, Sambora told U.K.'s Daily Mail that he wasn't opposed to one day rejoining BON JOVI, provided that the circumstances were right. "It would have to be a special situation for me to go back, but I'm certainly not counting it out," he said. "I have no malice toward that band."

Richie's comments came just a couple of weeks after Jon Bon Jovi told Germany's Rock Antenne that "there's not a day that goes by that I don't wish that Richie had his life together and was still in the band. And yet, in a weird way, it's because of his inability to get it together anymore that we went on and wrote 'This House Is Not For Sale'."

Addressing Jon's remarks directly, Richie told Daily Mail: "When people say I don't have my life together — are you kidding me? I'm the happiest dude on the block."

Sambora, who joined BON JOVI in 1983 and co-wrote most of the group's iconic hits over the following three decades, hasn't performed a full show with the band since he left the "Because We Can" tour 10 years ago. He later said he thought BON JOVI "should have made more strides to become a band" and not turn into "Jon being the front guy and nothing else." Jon, in turn, claimed Sambora's "choices" had "led him astray."

Sambora rejoined BON JOVI on stage in April 2018 at the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction ceremony in Cleveland, marking his first performance with the band in five years. Also appearing with the group was bassist Alec John Such, who hadn't played with BON JOVI since a one-off performance in 2001. They performed several crowd favorites, including "Livin' On A Prayer", "You Give Love A Bad Name" and "It's My Life".

BON JOVI's latest album, "2020", was released in October 2020 via Island Records.

Former MEGADETH guitarist Marty Friedman says that he feels "immense joy" about his upcoming appearance with the band at its first-ever gig at Tokyo's famed Budokan later this month. Friedman will come up on stage for three songs during the show's encore.

The Budokan concert, which will be livestreamed on February 27 and available on demand for a couple of days after, marks the first time in more than two decades Friedman has shared a stage with the group.

Earlier today (Tuesday, February 14),Friedman released a video message in which he said: "What's up, everybody? This is Marty Friedman here. Just a quick announcement to let you all know that I'm gonna be joining my good friends in MEGADETH on stage at the Budokan in Tokyo on February 27th.

"It's been a real long time since I've been on the same stage with Dave Mustaine making music, and we've both taken severely different paths in our life since then," he continued. "But that doesn't change the fact that I'm so extremely proud of the part that I played in MEGADETH's history and MEGADETH's legacy, and I'm also very, very proud of the achievements that the band has done in my absence. But for right now, at this moment, I just feel immense joy and serious adrenaline to look forward to playing together at this very, very cool place. So I just really wish you could be there, and I hope to see you soon."

Mustaine told Rolling Stone about reuniting with Friedman at the Tokyo cpncert: "When Marty said, 'Hey, I can play at this gig,' I thought, 'This is so magnificent.' It's gonna be so much fun to get Kiko [Loureiro, current MEGADETH guitarist] and Marty together, because they're both geniuses on guitar. So this is like a gigantic birthday and Christmas present for me."

Mustaine continued: "We haven't been to Japan in a long time. I thought that inviting Marty was just a very thoughtful thing to do. MEGADETH has not been a band has had a lot of guest appearances from other players. We are not a jam band. I asked Kiko how he felt about this, and Kiko is completely confident in his guitar playing.

"This is not like when THE POLICE handed their instruments to U2 to pass the torch," he added. "This is doing something really grateful to the Japanese audience. We want it to be a gift. So everybody who bought that ticket before today, you're welcome. … I'm really looking forward to this moment. It's gonna be great."

Three years ago, Friedman admitted that money was a major motivator for him when he was approached about taking part in a reunion of MEGADETH's "Rust In Peace" lineup.

Friedman had met with Mustaine and then-bassist David Ellefson at the 2015 NAMM show in Anaheim, California to discuss the reunion, which would have seen him and drummer Nick Menza back in the mix.

Friedman opened up about his reasons for turning down the MEGADETH reunion in Mustaine's latest book, "Rust In Peace: The Inside Story Of The Megadeth Masterpiece", which details the making of the iconic record "Rust In Peace".

"My main thing was I'd be happy to do it, but I'm not going to take less money than I'm already making to do it," Marty said in part.

"I'd been in Japan for more than ten years cultivating a career with solid rewards. I was making money not only for myself but also for my management and staff. My manager has been with me fifteen years.

"Everything was sound and solid professionally, and when the offer came up to all of a sudden join MEGADETH again, as long as I would not be making less money, I was ready to go," he said. "But I was certainly not going to take a loss to join a band that, frankly, at that point, didn't seem like they had too much to offer musically. A couple of members of the band had recently quit, and musically I hadn't heard anything that they've done in a long time. I didn't know about how relevant they continued to be in the music business. It wasn't like MEGADETH was on the tip of people's tongues, at least not in Japan. I had reached the point where people stopped immediately connecting me to MEGADETH and were talking about the things that I had done in Japan."

According to Friedman, part of the reason he turned down the MEGADETH reunion is the fact that the group is largely seen as Mustaine's solo project, with members coming and going every couple of albums.

"Had it been more of a band situation and not such a one-man, Dave Mustaine-main-man party, I might have considered doing it for a little less," Marty said. "But, at the end of the day, MEGADETH is so much Mustaine because that's the way he engineered it. I didn't feel that kind of camaraderie, the four-man diamond, THE BEATLES, KISS, METALLICA. I felt like I would be going out there and tour and it was going to be Mustaine's big success. If I'm going to do that, I'm certainly not going to lose money to do that; I was doing great on my own in Japan."

Mustaine told Loudwire that he was put off by Friedman's financial demands when the topic of a "Rust In Peace" reunion was broached.

"Marty has a really successful career in Japan where he makes quite a lot of money," Dave said. "And this is the part where I thought it was a little weird, where he said he said that he has to pay all his team while he's gone instead of just himself. 'Cause I thought we'll pay you what you're making so that's switching horses in the middle of the river — it's no big deal unless you fall off. And then when we found out that he wanted to sell his merch, his this, his that, his this, his that, then he wanted this crazy amount of money and he wanted to fly first class everywhere. I said to our management, 'I can't deal with this.'"

In a 2016 interview with the "Eddie Trunk Podcast", Mustaine confirmed that MEGADETH didn't hold any rehearsals with Friedman while attempting a reunion of the "Rust In Peace" lineup.

"Marty had sent some e-mails saying, 'Oh, man, you know, the fans have this self-inflated importance of 'Rust In Peace' beyond what it really is. And I was, like, 'Huh?'" Dave said. 'So I didn't know if that was a backhand to the face of the fans or not, but he had basically said that if we were gonna do anything, it had to be better than 'Rust In Peace'. And he sent me over some links to some songs that he thought should be the direction that we were going in, and one of it was this J-Pop band with some Japanese girl singing, and I was, like, 'Uh-uh. This ain't gonna work.' More power to [Marty for being into that stuff]. Do what you want, Marty. He's a great guitar player. But I'm not gonna sing like a Japanese girl."

On March 13, 2007, American gothic metal band TYPE O NEGATIVE released its seventh and final studio album, "Dead Again". This year marks the 16th anniversary of the record that came out three years before the passing of bassist/vocalist Peter Steele.

Last fall, the "Dead Again" 3LP reissue was made available in select colors. On May 5, the band will release "Dead Again" as a 2LP in black vinyl, light green transparent vinyl, light green/black/white splatter vinyl, and mint green marble vinyl as well as a black cassette.

TYPE O NEGATIVE has just released the live music video for "Love You To Death" just in time for Valentine's Day. It contains footage of the band's appearance at the 2007 Wacken Open Air festival in Wacken, Germany.

As an added bonus, the live tracks that were only available on the 3LP and CD reissues, including "Love You To Death", are now available on all streaming services.

"Dead Again" track listing:

01. Dead Again
02. Tripping A Blind Man
03. The Profit Of Doom
04. September Sun
05. Halloween In Heaven
06. These Three Things
07. She Burned Me Down
08. Some Stupid Tomorrow
09. An Ode To Locksmiths
10. Hail And Farewell To Britain

Bonus Tracks

11. Everything Dies (live)
12. My Girlfriend's Girlfriend (live)
13. Black Sabbath (intro) / Christian Woman (live)
14. Love You To Death (live)
15. Black No. 1 (Little Miss Scare-All) (live)
16. Anesthesia (live at Wacken Open Air 2007)
17. Christian Woman (live at Wacken Open Air 2007)
18. Love You To Death (live at Wacken Open Air 2007)
19. Kill You Tonight (live at Wacken Open Air 2007)

In a recent interview with the "Loaded Radio" podcast, TYPE O NEGATIVE drummer Johnny Kelly was asked if there has ever been any talk of staging a concert in honor of Steele. He responded: "Coffee talk. There was never any serious consideration, like, should we do something? Is there even a point of doing it? Or also, is it just a blatant cash grab? So all these things go through your head.

"People celebrate [Peter] all the time," he continued. "They do it daily. I see it online all the time and the impact that he had.

"Maybe somewhere down the road there may be something that's… I don't know. But I know that for me, it would have to include Kenny [Hickey, guitar] and Josh [Silver, keyboards] as well. Anything that we do, it would have to be the three of us. And there's no way you're getting Josh to do anything like that. [Laughs]"

Asked who would handle Peter's vocal parts if they ever did end up doing a tribute concert, Johnny said: "I don't know. I'd want a girl to do it. I'd want a female vocalist — like Ann Wilson [HEART] or something like that. [Laughs] But even so, that's the first thing. When you think about doing some kind of tribute show, you're just gonna get all these people… Yes, Peter was very highly regarded by our peers and stuff like that, and you'll just get a bunch of dudes up there just trying to sound like Peter. And you can't do that. And it's, like, all right, so what's the most remote thing from Peter? You'd have to do something completely abstract. And I would say get a female vocalist. I think Peter would get a kick out of… He would get off on seeing a girl sing his songs, seeing a female sing them. And it would really stress the point of doing something as a tribute instead of trying to recreate something."

Steele passed away in April 2010 from heart failure at the age of 48. Born Petrus T. Ratajczyk on January 4, 1962 in Brooklyn, New York, he stood 6' 7" (201 cm) tall, and had a low, bass-heavy voice, which was one of the most recognizable features in TYPE O NEGATIVE's music.

Before forming TYPE O NEGATIVE, Steele played for the metal group FALLOUT and the thrash band CARNIVORE.

"Going through a midlife crisis and having many things change very quickly made me realize my mortality," Steele told Decibel magazine in 2007. "And when you start to think about death, you start to think about what's after it. And then you start hoping there is a God. For me, it's a frightening thought to go nowhere. I also can't believe that people like Stalin and Hitler are gonna go to the same place as Mother Teresa."

In a 2020 interview with Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station, Kelly said about Steele: "Peter, for the most part, he was a clown. He was always joking around — sarcastic, very self-deprecating humor. Just the opposite of what the music portrayed. When we were working on music and stuff, the end result, he was very serious about what he wanted, how he wanted something to sound. Other times, he was a clown.

"I always said that he wanted to be a normal person, but because he was Peter, that was just not in the cards for him; it was completely impossible," he continued. "I bet he would love to just be able to hang out, go to the bar, have a few drinks. And we would try to do that, and the minute he would come out to the bar, everybody gravitated towards him. He couldn't go to the store by his house without something happening to him."

Asked if that was because of Peter's size, Johnny said: "I think so. He just had this very striking look. He didn't look normal. And he had fangs. [Laughs] He was six and a half feet tall, [had] long black hair and fangs. You're not gonna get the normal response when you're going grocery shopping."

EXODUS drummer Tom Hunting has weighed in on the fact that PANTERA's surviving members Philip Anselmo (vocals) and Rex Brown (bass) have united with guitarist Zakk Wylde (OZZY OSBOURNE, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY) and drummer Charlie Benante (ANTHRAX) for a world tour under the PANTERA banner.

Anselmo and Brown, along with Wylde and Benante, are headlining a number of major festivals across South America, Asia, North America and Europe and staging some of their own headline concerts. They will also support METALLICA on a massive North American stadium tour in 2023 and 2024.

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

Hunting discussed his views on the PANTERA comeback in an interview with Anne Erickson of Audio Ink Radio. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I'm excited for Phil. And, obviously, the players are all heavy hitters, and the music will sound amazing. I'm also kind of nostalgic too. I'm happy that Phil is gonna go out there and sing that music again. But I saw them in '94 with WHITE ZOMBIE — I think it was 1994 — and it was right when they were a force to see live. They were amazing that night. WHITE ZOMBIE was amazing that night. But I think the fans are gonna go nuts; they are gonna freak out. We're [EXODUS] playing with them, actually, at Hellfest in France in mid-June. And I'm excited to see it too. It's gonna be awesome."

When Erickson opined that Zakk and Charlie are the right musicians to present the PANTERA music live, Hunting said: "Totally. And those two guys, I can see that they're gonna love it. They get to play this legendary music. It's gonna be rad for them. I'm super stoked."

Last month, former EXODUS guitarist Rick Hunolt told "The Chuck Shute Podcast" that it will be great to hear PANTERA's classic songs played live again. "That's exactly why they're doing it," he said. "You know, there's money involved — of course there is. But who cares? Honestly, if you talk to Zakk or you talk to Charlie, they're doing it because they wanna play the songs.

"Have you seen the crowds [from PANTERA's recent concert] in Chile, in South America?" he continued. "Oh, get on YouTube. [Laughs] Dude, they are insane crowds. I mean, as far as your eye can see, the people are just jumping up and down. It's ridiculous."

Hunolt also reflected on his first time sharing the stage with PANTERA, which happened in the summer of 1990 as part of a three-band package also featuring SUICIDAL TENDENCIES.

"They [PANTERA] were crazy, and then we [in EXODUS] were crazy, and then we got together and it was crazy — for real," Rick said.

"I'll tell you a little story about touring with PANTERA. So it was us and SUICIDAL and PANTERA. But PANTERA didn't join the tour until about two shows into the tour. So we had already done a couple of shows with SUICIDAL, and then they [PANTERA] were gonna join the tour. And then we were gonna flip-flop with PANTERA who supports SUICIDAL. And at this time none of us had ever even heard of PANTERA. They had [a few] albums out, but we had never heard of PANTERA. So PANTERA shows up. And I wanna say the show was in Minneapolis, at Prince's club. And PANTERA shows up, and they're setting up for soundcheck. And me and Gary [Holt, EXODUS guitarist] were in the back of the club, hanging out and just talking. And Dime plugs in his guitar and starts playing, and me and Gary looked at each other and said, 'Holy crap! This dude is insane.' And we were, like, 'Oh my God. Listen to this dude play.'

"We became really, really dear friends with all of PANTERA," Hunolt added. "And it was amazing to watch, from that to how they blew up. I don't know why, but PANTERA just blew up — they kind of left us in the dust, bro. But it was fun to watch. And Dime was just the most incredible guitar player. Unbelievable."

In December, PANTERA played seven shows in Mexico and South America. The band will next headline the 2023 "comeback" edition of Japan's Loud Park festival. The two-day "limited" event will take place on March 25 at Intex Osaka in Osaka and March 26 at Makuhari Messe in Chiba City near Tokyo.

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

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

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

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

Orange County, California's Slaves To Humanity will release their new anthemic single, "Bully", to all major platforms on February 24. The single was produced by Trev Lukather (Halestorm, Dorothy, Andrew Hagar).





"From a very young age, I was constantly bullied and attacked by kids who weren’t like me. They would push me around and even beat me when I was around. Bullying was just something that I grew up with, just like many other kids at young ages.That’s where the inspiration for 'Bully' came from, and this song is a 'fuck you' to all the people who think it’s okay to treat others poorly," says the band's vocalist Aidan Amini.




In addition, you can catch Slaves To Humanity at The House of Blues in Anaheim, CA on February 25 in support of the single release.





"Bully" lyrics:


You love to cause a scene


Hating on everything


A hit of dopamine


Is what you’re getting


You think you know it all


Getting off when people fall


Acting like you’re ten feet tall


Is so pathetic


Live to ruin the moment


All for enjoyment


In your Mother’s basement


So used to no one fighting back


BULLY


ROLES FLIP NOW YOU’RE UNDER ATTACK


BULLY


You take a swing no time to react


BULLY


Your times up that’s a matter of fact


BULLY


You love to troll the screen


Commenting on everything


Would you like to feel the pain


That you’re causin’


There is no victory


Spreading your toxicity


Projecting insecurity


When the world is watching


Slaves to Humanity's members include Aidan Amini on vocals, Pierce Akers on guitar, Shane Ryan on drums, and Nathan Johnson on the bass. Together the bandmates create a sound like no other, mixing the melodic guitars of the late 80s era hard rock bands and the lyrics and vocal sound of the 90s grunge era, as well as throwing modern rock elements all around.


In 2019 they released their first single, “Battleground”, which had success on radio stations and streaming platforms alike. Following this release, during the Covid-19 pandemic, the band released “Behind My Back”, which showed even more success.


During the pandemic, the band worked hard on putting together their social media presence, and continue to do so today, showing success on Tiktok and Instagram. The band continues to play shows in Southern California, as well as build their social media presence.


The band appeared on Episode 2 and Episode 10 of the show No Cover (The only music competition show with unsigned artists performing original songs).

NONPOINT has released a new single, "Heartless", to all major platforms. The song was helmed by Chris Collier, the producer, engineer, mixer, and multi-instrumentalist who has worked with KORN, WHITESNAKE, LYNCH MOB, Mick Mars and many more, and released on NONPOINT's independent record label, 361 Degrees Records.

The official lyric video for "Heartless", which was created by Francesca Ludikar, can be seen below.

NONPOINT frontman Elias Soriano states: "'Ruthless' introduced you to a dark, re-imagined Tinman. Our new single 'Heartless' will give you a peek inside the emptiness that drives his rusted cogs toward his target, Emerald City."

NONPOINT will embark on "The Emerald Cities Tour 2023" in March. The trek, which will kick off on March 2 in Virginia Beach, Virginia and conclude on March 26 in San Antonio, Texas, will feature support from BLACKTOP MOJO and SUMO CYCO.

Three months ago, NONPOINT released the official lyric video for its previous single, "Paper Tigers". The song, which was originally made available in September via 361 Degrees Records, was also helmed by Collier.

NONPOINT launched 361 Degrees Records LLC in January 2021. They filmed the process of starting the label and making new music in a docu-series titled "A Path To Independence" that can be seen on the band's YouTube and official web site.

In December 2021, NONPOINT released its latest EP, "Ruthless". This followed their independent label plan of delivering music to their fans through more frequent releases and videos from the band.

Asked in a recent interview with "Making Waves: The ShipRocked Podcast" if putting out EPs rather than full-length albums is "the way forward" for him and his bandmates, Soriano said: "For us, I think, like we talked about in our documentary during the pandemic, before we dropped 'Ruthless' and this next one coming up, it was a test on what everyone told us in the last 20 years we could or couldn't do with our music. Because I've worked with a lot of big teams — we started with MCA, went to Lava, went to Geffen, went to Rocket Science, then we went to Razor & Tie and then Concord; a lot of big, big, big names and big, big, big teams. And they have their systems in place. So when you go and you say, 'Hey, I feel like my fans would really gravitate to this kind of song,' there's a lot of doors you've gotta go through to finally feel like you have an answer to whether or not that feeling is right. When it's just completely up to you and the risk is yours and you've been asking that question for as long as we have, at this point it's just, like, 'Fuck it. I'm just gonna do it. And I'm not even gonna ask.'

"What we did with 'Ruthless', because we were flipping into the independent world, is we wanted to make sure that our base was taken care of," he explained. "For the last 20 years, I've dropping shit at radio and doing well at radio; I don't wanna pretend like I don't have radio songs. But I flash back to Hans Haedelt, our first A&R guy, when he signed us, and he was, like, 'You guys are gonna be the Latin PANTERA.' And it was because he saw our live shows with music that we had written that was completely untouched — by producers, by anyone. So when we went independent and I sat down with Robb [Rivera, drums] and I sat down with the guys, it was about answering that question. And we needed to bankroll that, to make sure that… And we did that — the 'Ruthless' EP, the streams, everything did so well for us that we are able to now… Our record label, in the first year, is now in the black and so is our independence. So everything is moving in such a positive way that we don't have to worry about things like budgets anymore, where it was constantly an issue before. Well, we worry about them, but it's dollars versus risk. And it's, like, 'Well, we never got to do this, so let's fucking do it.'

"With the next EP… 'Ruthless' was, like, 'Yes, they can write songs the way NONPOINT writes songs independent. Now watch what they do when the cuffs are off and the gloves are off and we're ready to throw down,'" Elias added.

Earlier last year, Elias told "HRH Metal With Dan Chan" that the group's decision to go it alone with NONPOINT's own record label has resulted in "less anxiety and more anxiety," adding that he has "a team" of "people that are professionals in place" to run the business for him and his bandmates.

"I'm not a neophyte when it comes to the overall scope and understanding of the music industry, but I know when to get the hell out of the way and let someone else steer the ship," he said.

Asked what he misses about having a bigger label behind his band, Soriano said: "The relationships and the friendships. It's fun working with a team that you know everyone around the corner is a professional. That definitely gives less anxiety. But you see, even the staff, they feel the same kind of restriction. They wanna go harder; they wanna spend more money — you know they want to — but they have people to answer to."

As for how he balances the business and the creative side of being in a band, Elias said: "It's not easy but we're doing it, and that's what matters. And the product that's coming out is better than ever. It's a lot of fun. It really is. I'm having fun doing this."

In 2021 alone, NONPOINT's song "Ruthless" reached No. 16 on Billboard's Rock chart and was featured on the New Metal Tracks and Kickass Metal Playlist on Spotify, SiriusXM Octane's Big Uns Countdown, LA Lloyd Top 30 and Loudwire Nights. "Ruthless" was also the featured track on AEW's nationally televised event "Blood And Guts" on TNT in May 2021.

NONPOINT's songs "Bullet With A Name", "Alive And Kicking", "In The Air Tonight", "Circles", "Your Signs", "Everybody Down" and many others have been featured in trailers, hit movies, television, iconic video games, as well as broadcasts from NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, WWF.

NONPOINT has toured with major acts like DISTURBED, PAPA ROACH, MUDVAYNE and SEVENDUST, to name a few. They have also been featured on the main stages and support stages of iconic festivals like Soundwave, Rock Am Park, Rock Am Ring, Ozzfest, Rock On The Range, Welcome To Rockville and many more.

Photo credit: Francesca Ludikar

Long-running blackened death metal unit, Hate, performed at the 2022 edition of Germany's Wacken Open Air festival. Professionally-filmed footage of the band performing the tracks "Sovereign Sanctity", "Erebos", and "Omega", can be viewed below:





No one combines death and black metal quite like Poland's Hate. With unflinching viciousness and a sense of atmosphere unique to the band, on Rugia, their twelfth full-length, they push the boundaries of their craft even further. The album is available on CD, LP, and digital formats. Order here.







Rugia tracklisting:


"Rugia"
"The Wolf Queen"
"Exiles Of Pantheon"
"Saturnus"
"Awakening The Gods Within"
"Resurgence"
"Velesian Guard"
"Sun Of Extinction"
"Sacred Dnieper"


"Exiles Of Pantheon" video:





“Resurgence” video:





Album stream:





Hate lineup:


ATF Sinner - vocals, guitars
Domin - guitars
Nar-Sil - drums
Tiermes - bass

The newest single from The Jeremy Edge Project’s double album release, Saints And Souls Vol 1 & 2, is hitting all streaming platforms this month, with a new music video dropping today.


Entitled “Coral Castle”, the song was recorded in PA and NJ and was mixed by Kevin "Caveman" Shirley (known for his work with Led Zeppelin, Black Crowes, Joe Bonamassa, Iron Maiden and more) and features Edge's bluesy "Robin Trower-esque" style in a more ethereal vibe - flanked by funky rhythm section grooves and haunting mellotron strings.


Edge elaborates: "This song was inspired by artists like Sade, Maxi Priest and Seal who utilize a hint of jazz and blues to make haunting yet grooving songs you can get entranced by. It's also Hendrix-ish and 70s rock guitar driven. I used a great Jimi Hendrix/Robin Trower sounding effect pedal sent to me by Chris of ‘Pedal Pawn,’ the ‘Gypsy Vibe’ that just replicates that classic sound so well.




“I love trying to create new things with a ‘melting pot’ approach to songs. This song is the most laid back on the record and although there are several stories going in my head about where the lyrics are coming from it mostly deals with hoping people leave abusive, harmful or simply toxic and unhealthy situations. Many times, they never do.”


“The title and chorus were inspired by the old "Coral Castle" in Florida built by one man who seemed to defy the laws of physics. It's a sad but intriguing story that borders on the supernatural and I just thought it a great concept to try to reference here. Kevin Shirley was so kind enough to mix a couple of tracks for our record in between large album projects and I just love the way it came out."





Saints And Souls Volumes 1 & 2 can be ordered here.





Volume 1 tracklisting:


“No Way Home”
“Better Way”
“Ghosts Of The Living”
“Liberation Song”
“Move On”
“Bad Times”
“White Sand”
“Slow Breeze”





Volume 2 tracklisting:


“Hellride”
“Cold Day In Texas”
“Coral Castle”
“South Of The Border”
“No Way Home (Reprise)”
“Devil’s Hand Blues”
“Marie”
“The World Is Gone”


“Move On” video: