Former MEGADETH guitarist Marty Friedman, who was named Japan Heritage ambassador in 2016, has shared his video for the Japan Heritage official theme song.

Marty announced the video's release via social media, writing in an accompanying message: Says Marty: "Many people outside of Japan relegate their image of Japan to anime/cosplay conventions, Harajuku fashion, futuristic neon signs and Samurai warriors. This is an incredible shame because as uniquely Japanese as all those things are, that isn't even the tip of the tip of the iceberg.

"I always wanted to do a spectacular video showing the rich yet completely understated beauty of Japan, to show people a side of the country rarely seen outside of Japan.

"Most bands from overseas come to Japan and play in 3 cities - Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya. If they are lucky, they come again and add Sendai, Fukuoka, maybe Kyoto. Since I was constantly touring all over Japan, I was fortunate to play also in Akita, Nobeoka, Hiroshima, Tottori, Kagawa, Sapporo, Kobe, Nagaoka, Kanazawa, Yokohama, Yonago, Okinawa, Nagasaki and so many other wonderful places. I wanted to make a video to show these rarely seen locations and unique artistic customs, and just share some of the wonder that I was lucky to experience over the time I lived in Japan.
Well, that was an ambitious dream, and it didn't soon materialize.

"I did a video for 'Undertow' which was good for what it was and had a very Japanese theme, but nowhere near the extravagant picturesque video I had in mind.

"A video was made for 'Inferno' which also had a very Japanese theme, but many people outside Japan saw it and just thought I was a nutcase. Even the American director who made the video had no idea what I was talking about.

"The first thing I thought of after I finished composing the Japan Heritage Theme Song for the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra was, 'This is going to be perfect for the video I always wanted to make. I'm going to guide all my friends from around the world through visions of Japan that will make them want to visit more than ever.' I was filled with the excitement of the prospect.

"Of course then Covid pretty much wiped out the idea of anyone coming into the country for what seemed to be an indefinite period of time. Before I could even get started on any kind of music video for the song, it got put onto the back burner.

"As soon as I saw things starting to lean towards re-opening the borders, I pushed the idea of making this video to the powers that be (and there are many whenever you are doing anything even remotely government related) with an urgency, knowing that really soon, people from all around the world will want to discover this mysterious place. It's a bucket list destination for sure, and I knew that I wanted to play even a tiny part in making a few dreams come true.

"So now the video is finally done, and I am ecstatic about how it came out. Japan is a small country with so much cool stuff packed tightly in it, it is truly a feast for your imagination. Every culture has its own beautiful traits and Japan is certainly no exception. I am excited to show you my musical interpretation of Japan as a foreigner who has been here quite some time. If it resonates with you even a tiny bit, I'll be thrilled."

Earlier today (Monday, February 13),Marty spoke and performed at the Japan Heritage Symposium.

When he first announced his Japan Heritage Symposium appearance on Saturday (February 11),Marty took to his social media to write: "It's a great honor to be an Ambassador of Japan Heritage. Occasionally I will be requested to speak or perform at events related to Japan Heritage. I'll be doing both of those things at the Japan Heritage Symposium on Feb. 13.

"The date, 'February 13', if you translate it to numeric Japanese, would be ni (2) I (1) san (3). This becomes a play on words as 'ni' is short for 'Nihon' which is the Japanese word for Japan and 'isan' which is the Japanese word for heritage, hence the Japan Heritage event taking place on that day each year.

"Of all the places I get to play guitar, this has got to be the farthest from what I envisioned as a little kid!"

In July 1999, Friedman was onstage performing at Woodstock '99 in front of a sea of fans as the lead guitarist for MEGADETH. Since joining the band in 1990, Marty played a crucial role in their rise to stardom with his unorthodox style of virtuoso guitar playing, selling millions of records worldwide, and being nominated for multiple Grammy Awards. Just six months after Woodstock, in an unexpected move that shocked his friends, family, and especially his bandmates, despite platinum albums and sold-out tours, for reasons unknown, he suddenly quit the band and walked away from it all. Unbeknownst to his U.S. fans, Marty moved to Tokyo to pursue his love of Japanese pop music, and in the process, reinvented himself as a wildly successful Japanese TV celebrity! Marty has appeared on 700-plus television programs, commercials and motion pictures since then, and become was dubbed "the Ryan Seacrest of Japan" by Billboard magazine in the USA.

Friedman in 2014 spoke to Wondering Sound about his decision to leave MEGADETH in order to make the kind of music that he was passionate about: Japanese pop music, or J-Pop, which Friedman calls "embarrassingly happy."

"I found myself touring with MEGADETH, and in my hotel room I'd be blasting this Japanese music all the time. What's wrong with this picture?" he said.

As his interest in J-pop grew, Friedman started enjoying MEGADETH less. "I thought I was doing myself a disservice just playing the same old stuff and not really enjoying it," he told Wondering Sound. "Making money from fans who want to see you play when you're not into it didn't really sit right with me."

According to Marty, he simply outgrew metal, explaining that MEGADETH's music began to bore him, and he singled out the band's popular ballad "A Tout Le Monde" as an example.

"The melody's like duh duh duh duh, duh duh duh duh. It's kind of the same thing over and over again," he told NPR in a separate interview. "I'd go play the show at night with MEGADETH. And I'd be like, you know, what what I'm listening to is just so much more exciting than what I'm playing as my gig."

Friedman told his MEGADETH bandmates that he would leave the group at the conclusion of a 16-month-long tour, but "only stayed three more months." He explained to Wondering Sound: "It was just too much. I'm the kind of guy who can't fake it that well. It wasn't very nice, but I just couldn't go on anymore."

Focusing on the J-Pop genre, Friedman noted that going for the opposite of metal was the whole point.

"There's not a whole lot of happy music going on," he told NPR. "Especially in the heavy metal world, where everybody's just trying to out-lame each other, you know, with darkness and monsters and crap like that."

Marty was recently announced as direct support on the upcoming QUEENSRŸCHE tour. Marty is confirmed to perform on 31 dates with QUEENSRŸCHE, kicking off on March 3 in Orlando, Florida and running through April 16, where is wraps up in St. Petersburg, Florida. Along the way, the tour 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 Counts Vampd and March 18 in Los Angeles, California at the Whisky A Go Go. The tour marks Marty's first time performing in the U.S. since 2019.

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.

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King Crimson founder Robert Fripp and his wife, Toyah Willcox, are back in the kitchen serving up another Sunday Lunch. This time out they "perform" Toyah's song, "Dance In The Hurricane"





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

Skid Row vocalist Erik Grönwall has shared a new cover video, this time taking on the Bon Jovi ballad "Always".





Grönwall recently shared a cover of the Iron Maiden classic "Run To The Hills". Check it out below.







Grönwall (ex-H.E.A.T.), who is a cancer survivor, recently spoke with Metal Roos about how his battle with cancer affected his life moving forward, and joining the band in the aftermath.


Grönwall: "It was a big risk for the guys to ask me if I wanted to become the singer without ever meeting me or being in the same room as me," Erik told Metal-Roos. I told Rachel (Bolan / bass) and he told me that, 'Well, you took four risks with us; Rachel, Scotti (Hill / guitar), Snake (Dave Sabo / guitar) and Rob (Hammersmith / drums).' I guess there's some truth to that, but... first of all, this is an opportunity that you can't say no to. I told myself that, well, if this doesn't work, if they don't like me and I don't like them, well, at least I was the singer of Skid Row for a week or two, and that's something I will always have with me. So that was the mindset I had going into this, but, luckily, we have a really good time together, and we really connected, so it's all good."





Skid Row's new album, The Gang's All Here, can be ordered here.





The Gang's All Here tracklisting:


"Hell Or High Water"
"The Gang's All Here"
"Not Dead Yet"
"Time Bomb"
"Resurrected"
"Nowhere Fast"
"When The Lights Come On"
"Tear It Down"
"October's Song"
"World's On Fire"


"Time Bomb" video:





"Tear It Down" video:





"The Gang's All Here: (Official Fan Video):

Sabaton guitarist / Majestica frontman Tommy Johansson has shared his solo cover of TNT's "Tell No Tales" from the 1987 album of the same name. Check out the video below. 





Johansson previously covered TNT's 1987 classic "10,000 Lovers (In One)".

Swiss multi-talent Seraina Telli has released the new single, "Modern Warrior" (Acoustic - Live From the Cave). The official video for the song can be viewed below.


The original version of the song appears on Seraina's solo debut album, Simple Talk, released in October 2022 via Metalville Records.







The former frontwoman of Burning Witches combines everything that the modern rock world urgently needs: great songwriting, vocal power, musical versatility, artistic depth, and a really strong attitude. Coupled with her authenticity, Seraina Telli is the ideal mixture of power woman and promising artist.


The charismatic Swiss singer leaves a lasting impression, visually and musically. Her music is as colorful and varied as her hair colors, one of her typical distinguishing features. The multi-talent is reluctant to be tied to one style, as her previous musical career shows. As the former frontwoman of the Swiss heavy metal band Burning Witches, she shook the stages of major rock festivals such as Bang your Head and Leyendas del Rock for four years.


Now the time is ripe for her solo project under her own name.


"I am what I am, and that's just right!" This message is very important to Seraina Telli. She wants to motivate other women in particular to believe in themselves, to be completely with themselves and, above all, to stay that way.


Colorful, loud, different, and above all, unique With a style of music that "straight in your face rock" couldn't describe better.





Tracklist:


"Modern Warrior"
"I’m Not Sorry"
"Take Care"
"I Dare To"
"Remedy"
"Soldier Of Fortune"
"G.E.B."
"Dreamer"
"Not One Of Your Kind"
"Fever"
"Remember You"
"Medusa"


"I Dare To"





"Modern Warrior"

Nekrogoblikon performed on the Sophie Lancaster Stage at Bloodstock Open Air 2022. Professionally-filmed footage of the band's entire show can be viewed below.


The setlist was as follows:


"The Many Faces of Dr. Hubert Malbec"
"Golden Future"
"Yin"
"Darkness"
"Dressed as Goblins"
"Going to Die"
"The Magic Spider"
"No One Survives"
"This Is It"
"Powercore"

Japanese supergroup THE LAST ROCKSTARS played a sold-out concert last night (Friday, February 10) at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles. Fan-filmed video of the show can be seen below (courtesy of the Faith WestYouTube channel.

The Los Angeles show took place more than a month after THE LAST ROCKSTARS released its debut single, "The Last Rockstars (Paris Mix)". The track was made available via the quartet's global distribution deal with Ingrooves, which is part of Universal Music Group's Virgin Music Group.

THE LAST ROCKSTARS — which consists of Yoshiki, Hyde, Sugizo and Miyavi, four major forces from Japan's rock scene — played two shows in New York City last week, on February 3 and February 4 at Hammerstein Ballroom.

On January 20, just a few days before their sold-out arena shows in Tokyo, THE LAST ROCKSTARS released the music video for their first single, "The Last Rockstars (Paris Mix)". The track landed at No. 1 on the iTunes Rock chart and All Genres chart in Japan and reached the Top 10 in eight international territories (Finland, France, Hong Kong, Hungary, Macau, New Zealand, Norway, and Taiwan).

"We've come together to start this challenge for the world out of Japan," Yoshiki said.

"This may be our last chance at this challenge," Sugizo said. "We want to put what's left of our lives on the line to make the world rock with our music."

Yoshiki has several monumental accomplishments under his belt both as the leader of X JAPAN and as an accomplished solo artist. He has been named "one of the most influential musicians and composers in Japanese history" by Consequence Of Sound and has composed Hollywood film soundtracks, a concerto for the Emperor of Japan, and the official theme song for the Golden Globe Awards. He has performed at the world's greatest stages, including Madison Square Garden, Wembley Arena, Coachella music festival, and Carnegie Hall. In addition to his music, Yoshiki has been internationally recognized for his philanthropy, and was awarded a Medal Of Honor by the Japanese government.

Hyde is internationally recognized as the vocalist for L'ARC-EN-CIEL, VAMPS and as a successful solo artist. L'ARC-EN-CIEL has sold over 40 million albums worldwide, headlined Madison Square Garden, and were also the first rock band to headline Japan National Stadium. Hyde has also had great success touring internationally as a solo artist.

Sugizo has worked and performed globally as a member of LUNA SEA, X JAPAN, and U.K.'s JUNO REACTOR, a group credited with creating psychedelic trance. As a solo artist he has been pursuing his unique style of electronic music while creating for multiple movie and theater soundtracks.

Miyavi "The Samurai Guitarist" has enthralled the world with his transcendent unconventional "slap style" of playing his guitar, which has taken him around the world nine times to tour in over 30 countries. In 2014 he made his debut as a Hollywood actor in "Unbroken". He was the first Japanese public figure to be featured in Gucci's global campaign, and has been appointed as a Goodwill Ambassador for UNCHR, providing support for refugees.

With their illustrious experience in Japan's most influential rock bands, remarkable sales records individually, and hit collaborations with global artists, these four musicians coming together is a monumental occurrence. THE LAST ROCKSTARS are here to usher in a new legendary era of rock.

Fantasy symphonic power metal band France's Avaland will be releasing their sophomore full-length The Legend Of The Storyteller due out on March 31, 2023 via Rockshots Records following their 2021 debut Theater Of Sorcery. In addition to the album's upcoming unveiling, the band will be supporting Rhapsody oOf Fire from April 1 to 23 on their Glory For Salvation Tour.


Avaland has shared their second single "Betrayers" featuring guest vocals from Madie (ex-Nightmare/Faith In Agony).


“BOOM!” That was my first reaction while listening for the first time to the final mix of ‘Betrayers’. This song is the more bombastic one of the album. This song is a real speed power metal one, with a tragic chorus, Jeff sings like a god on it, especially when the final comes, he shows all the spectrum of his incredible voice. It’s the first song for Avaland I built around the guitar parts instead of the keyboards, and I must admit my mates sublimated it so well!" says Adrien G. Gzagg (Autor/Composer/Lead Singer/Synths and Orchestrations).




Compared to its predecessor, The Legend Of The Storyteller is heavier and is a much more epic power metal record full of anthems upon anthems for fans to chant to as they are taken on a journey over twelve theatric tracks. The record also hears double vocal duties from Adrien G. Gzagg and Jeff Kanji, along with album guests that include Zak Stevens (Savatage / TSO), Madie (Nightmare / Faith In Agony), Pierre “Cara” Carabalona (Eltharia), Ivan Castelli (Lionsoul), Angèle Macabiès, Jens Ludwig (Edguy) and Bruno Ramos (Sortilège / Manigance).


Lead by Adrien G. Gzagg (autor / composer / lead singer / synths and orchestrations), the album's storyline is aprequel to the band's first album Theater Of Sorcery, as he explains further:


"This album, as the first one, is a journey, a trip out of our world, into the universe of Avaland. We enjoy seeing Avaland as a great saga, as a movie, or series. We feel like listening to Avaland is like watching Game Of Thrones, The Lord Of The Rings, or reading comics, it’s an escape from everyday life. For this album, we took a lot of inspiration from Game Of Thrones and Arthurian Myths. We love fantasy and mythologies and we also find ourselves having a great fascination for alchemy and esoterism. Time is also a great subject, it's mystical… in fact, time will be at the center of this saga. This new opus is showing a heavier and darker atmosphere of Avaland’s theatrical universe. Are you ready to be part of The Legend Of The Storyteller?"


Avaland's first single in support of The Legend Of The Storyteller is entitled "Crimson Tyranny" (feat. Cara, Madie & Zak Stevens).


“This song is the first one I composed for this album. It defines the atmosphere for this new album: darker than Theater Of Sorcery, but also more epic, especially with its mighty chorus (with some Blind Guardian influences). It’s a mind-sticking song, beware of this infernal hook 'Crimson! Tyranny!'. The title of the song is a tribute to 'In The Court Of The Crimson King' by King Crimson." adds Adrien G. Gzagg.


The Legend Of The Storyteller artwork and tracklisting:





"The Vision" 
"Crimson Tyranny" 
"Insurrection" 
"To Be The King" 
"Secret Night" 
"Kingslayer" 
"The Gift" 
"Out Of The Fog" 
"Betrayers" 
"Madness Of The Wise" 
"You’ll Be The Legend" 
"Lies" 
"La Folie Du Sage" (Bonus Track)


"Betrayers" video:





"Crimson Tyranny" lyric video:





Pre-save The Legend Of The Storyteller on your favorite digital platform now at this location; or pre-order a physical copy here.

Cello metallers Apocalyptica have uploaded their performance of “Ashes Of The Modern World” from Tuska Utopia 2020. The track is taken from their 2020 album Cell-0.





In December 2022, Apocalyptica released their single, "Rise Again", featuring Epica vocalist, Simone Simons. The clip below features Simons performing the song with Apocalyptica in Manchester, UK on The Epic Apocalypse Tour on February 3rd. It is only the second time they have performed the song together live.










Apocalyptica issued the following statement when the single was released last year:


"Surprise! We just dropped 'Rise Again' our 'new' song with Epica's incredible frontwoman, Simone Simons! Why is 'new' in quotes you ask? Because this song features Simone singing over "Rise", a track from Cell-0!


Eicca says: "It was so great to make 'Rise Again' with Simone Simons! When we were putting the Epic Apocalypse-tour together we were thinking of making this collaboration with Epica even deeper by releasing a song together. 'Rise' from Cell-0 album had the beauty and feel which we felt could fit perfectly for Simone’s unique voice. We are so happy for the song and really excited about this tour with Epica as it will be something really special and amazing!!!"

Swedish metal band Narnia release the single "Rebel", which is the opening track on the upcoming record Ghost Town, the band's ninth studio album.


"Rebel" showcases a seasoned and still hungry five-some that musically gives a nod to the band's earliest influences, and should appeal to longtime fans. A follow-up tour is planned, and Narnia is ready for huge steps into a new, exciting chapter.


While waiting for Swedish metal band Narnia’s ninth studio-album, Ghost Town, (which will be released on March 17) the first single "Rebel", is released on all major digital platforms in cooperation with Sound Pollution Distribution. The song is the opening track on the upcoming album and is an up-tempo track with a sound that has been associated with the band for their 27 years to date.




This single release begins the countdown to a new major venture with Narnia, which means additional single releases, an album release in March and subsequent worldwide tours.


Lyrics that make you reflect combined with the broad musical breadth the band possesses, along with a solid production, is Narnia’s musical trademark which runs throughout the entire album. If the latest studio album From Darkness To Light from 2019 marked the way, Ghost Town is a more than worthy sequel with a life of its own.


Ghost Town is produced by CJ Grimmark, mixed by the band"s sound engineer Viktor Stenquist, and mastered by Thomas Piec Johansson. It will be available on all digital platforms, CD, and vinyl on March 10, in collaboration with Sound Pollution Distribution.


Pre-save / pre-order Ghost Town here.





Tracklisting:


"Rebel"
"Thief"
"Hold On"
"Glory Daze"
"Descension"
"Ghost Town"
"Alive"
"Modern Day Pharisees"
"Out Of The Silence"
"Wake Up Call"


"Rebel":





Lineup:


Christian Liljegren: Vocals
CJ Grimmark: Guitars, backing vocals
Jonatan Samuelsson: Bass, backing vocals
Martin Härenstam: Keyboards
Andreas “Habo” Johansson: Drums


(Photo - Mats Vassfjord)

With the release of their third studio album Stereo Typical just two weeks away, California rockers Roxanne have released another music video from the album scheduled for worldwide release on February 24. The video for “Only A Call Away” featuring dUg Pinnick is now available and showcases the softer side of the quartet comprised of Jamie Brown (Vocals, Guitar), John Butler (Guitar), Joe Infante (Bass) and Dave Landry (Drums). 


The video is set in a diner as vocalist Jamie Brown sings the lyrics of a pair that is separated but can be back together in just one phone call. King’s X front man and bassist dUg Pinnick offers his vocal talents and appears in the music video directed by Joel K Rodgers and Jamie Brown. The song is also available via all digital service providers and fans that pre-ordered the album digitally will receive the song instantly. The video for “Only A Call Away” featuring dUg Pinnick can be seen below.


"This song is about friendship and the importance of spending time with the ones who matter the most, while you can," explains Jamie Brown.




Originally formed in the late ‘80s, Roxanne garnered commercial success with their 1988 self-titled debut album which was well received with two songs charting on rock radio; “Cherry Bay” and “Sweet Maria”, as well as a cover of Wild Cherry’s “Play That Funky Music.” The band is back with their first album of new material in five years and second for Rat Pak Records. Stereo Typical features ten brand new songs from the quartet comprised of Jamie Brown (Vocals, Guitar), John Butler (Guitar), Joe Infante (Bass) and Dave Landry (Drums). From the driving intro of album opener “Stereotypical” to the anthemic outro of “Without A Rope,” Roxanne is back with their signature sound of rock-n-roll that garnered them a legion of fans in the late 80’s and continue to support them today. Tracks like “Gotta Live,” “The Cost Of Living” and “Until They Do” are chock full of memorable hooks and melodies. Mr. Big guitarist Paul Gilbert adds a blistering solo to the piano ballad “Looks Like Rain” and King’s X front man dUg Pinnick offers his vocal talents to the catchy “Only A Call Away.”


Stereo Typical is now available in various bundle configurations including CD, vinyl and cassette at ratpakrecordsamerica.com.





Tracklisting:


“Stereotypical”
“Looks Like Rain” (feat. Paul Gilbert)
“Gotta Live”
“Only A Call Away” (feat. Dug Pinnick)
“The Cost Of Living”
“Open Book”
“Waiting For Laura”
“Keep On Keepin’ On” (feat. Jeff Scott Soto)
“Until They Do”
“Without A Rope”
“Nothing To Lose” (Bonus track)


"Only A Call Away" video:





“Keep On Keepin’ On” video:

Swedish progressive death metallers, Scar Symmetry, have announced reissues for four of their classic albums. Pitch Black Progress (2006), Holographic Universe(2008), Dark Matter Dimensions (2009), and The Unseen Empire (2011) will all be available on vinyl for the first time ever on April 14, with pre-orders available here.





The albums will be available in the following variants:




Pitch Black Progress (2006)
- 1000 2LP Gold Vinyl
- 500 2LP Gold/Black Splatter Vinyl (Mail Order exclusive)


Holographic Universe (2008)
- 1000 2LP White Vinyl
- 500 2LP White/Dark Blue Splatter Vinyl (Mail Order exclusive)


Dark Matter Dimensions (2009)
- 1000 2LP Grey Vinyl
- 500 2LP Grey/Black Splatter Vinyl (Mail Order exclusive)


The Unseen Empire (2011)
- 1000 Clear Vinyl
- 500 Clear/Black Splatter Vinyl (Mail Order exclusive)


Scar Symmetry have completed work on their seventh full-length album, The Singularity (Phase II - Xenotaph), the long-awaited follow-up to 2014's The Singularity (Phase I - Neohumanity). Stay tuned for updates.


Scar Symmetry is:


Roberth Karlsson - Vocals
Lars Palmqvist - Vocals
Per Nilsson - Vocals, Guitars, Bass, Keyboards
Benjamin Ellis - Guitars
Henrik Olsson - Drums

Queen recently launched the new video series, “Queen The Greatest: Live”, a year-long celebration of Queen Live. A 50-week YouTube series going behind the scenes to reveal what goes into creating a Queen show featuring moments from iconic performances and demonstrating why the band is regarded as the ultimate live act. The latest episode can be found below.


"To wrap up our behind-the-scenes look at Queen's rehearsal process, this rare footage of Brian and Roger at a sound check in Kyiv reveals how those precious few hours at a venue before the show, are key."







Queen have announced that The Official 77th Freddie Mercury Birthday Party is scheduled for September 2 at Casino Barriere in Montreux, Switzerland. Tickets are on sale now, here.


A message from Queen states: "The live entertainment this year will come from the UK's Live Killers, who will be performing Queen's 1973 debut album in its entirety, plus deep cuts and classic hits. All those who purchase a ticket will be entered into a draw to win a personalized framed presentation disc of Queen's 1973 debut album signed by Roger Taylor and Brian May. All profits from the event go to The Mercury Phoenix Trust - Fighting AIDS Worldwide.


"From August 31 - September 3, further free activities and live music will be organized near the statue by Montreux Celebration. More information at montreuxcelebration.com."

One of the most iconic and influential albums ever, Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side Of The Moon continues to find new audiences globally. This year, to celebrate its 50th Anniversary, a new deluxe box set will be released on March 24. Pre-order here, and listen to "The Great Gig In The Sky" (2023 Remaster) below.





It includes CD and gatefold vinyl of the new 2023 remastered studio album and Blu-Ray + DVD audio featuring the original 5.1 mix and remastered stereo versions.  The set also includes additional new Blu-ray disc of Atmos mix, plus CD and LP of ‘The Dark Side Of The Moon – Live At Wembley Empire Pool, London, 1974’, a 160-page hardback photo book, a music book, replica 7” singles and memorabilia.  For full details see full listing via the pre-order link above.




The box set includes CD and gatefold vinyl of the new 2023 remastered studio album, and Blu-Ray + DVD audio featuring the original 5.1 mix and remastered stereo versions. The set also includes an additional new Blu-ray disc of a Dolby Atmos mix plus a CD and LP of The Dark Side Of The Moon - Live At Wembley Empire Pool, London, 1974. There's also a 76-page music book, replicas of two 7" singles, posters, stickers, a replica invite to the press preview of the album at London Planetarium in February 1973, and Thames & Hudson's 160-page hardback book with rare and previously unseen photographs from the 1972-1975 tours taken by Jill Furmanovsky, Peter Christopherson, Aubrey Powell, and Storm Thorgerson.





Simultaneously, on March 24, the CD and first ever vinyl issue of The Dark Side Of The Moon - Live At Wembley Empire Pool, London, 1974 will be released independently of the box set. It was originally recorded in November 1974 as part of the band's winter tour and this is the first time it will be available as a stand-alone album, with artwork featuring an original 1973 line-drawn cover by George Hardie.





Thames & Hudson's book Pink Floyd - The Dark Side Of The Moon: 50th Anniversary will also be published separately from the box set on the same day - March 24. Curated by photographer Jill Furmanovsky and art directed by Hipgnosis co-founder Aubrey Powell, this LP-sized book was created with the involvement of the band members.


The 50th Anniversary release will also be celebrated as Pink Floyd invite a new generation of animators to enter a competition to create music videos for any of the album's 10 songs. Pink Floyd has a rich history of collaborating with animators from the beginnings of the band (Ian Emes, Gerald Scarfe etc.), and in some cases the visuals that accompany the songs have become synonymous with the music itself. The 50th Anniversary will be no exception. The band would like to give all animators an opportunity to present a fresh take on these timeless aural works. Animators can enter up to 10 videos, one per song on the album. A winner will be selected from a panel of experts which will include Pink Floyd’s Nick Mason, Aubrey 'Po' Powell (Pink Floyd's creative director) and the BFI (British Film Institute). The deadline for submissions is November 30th 2023. Please see the separate post with Nick Mason talking about the competition.


On February 27 1973, EMI Records held a press conference for the debut presentation of Pink Floyd’s new album The Dark Side Of The Moon at the London Planetarium. 50 years on, in recognition of the iconic album and with the help of huge strides in technology, an official full dome experience with stunning visuals of the solar system and beyond and played out to 42 minutes of The Dark Side Of The Moon, will be released in Planetariums around the world in March. Contact your local Planetarium for any screening details.


For further information, head to PinkFloyd.com.

Einar Solberg - frontman of Norwegian rock mavericks Leprous - is pleased to announce the release of his debut solo album, 16, on June 2. Wildly diverse, but spiritually rooted in Einar’s well-established musical world, 16 is an album that brims with surprises and spinning curveballs and features a collection of intimate but extravagant collaborations.


Today sees the release of "Grotto", the first single to be taken from the album, a track written alongside Magnus Børmark, best known as a member of Norwegian alt-folk troupe Gåte. It also features Keli Guðjónsson (Agent Fresco) on drums, Tor Egil Kreken on bass, Raphael Weinroth-Browne (Leprous touring member) on cello & Chris Baum (Bent Knee) on violin. Watch the video below.


Einar Solberg is as renowned for the tender honesty of his lyrics as he is for the eccentric majesty of Leprous’ music. But even by his usual standards, 16 is an extremely emotional and dynamic piece of work. Einar describes the record as “the closest I’ve ever come to writing a concept album” and explains that the new songs are about a very specific and transformational period in the musician’s life. This is the sound of a restless spirit in his absolute element.




“It’s called 16 because that’s when the first really, really bad things started happening to me in life. From 16 to 19, there were a lot of very life-defining moments that happened to me, and that changed me,” he says. “That’s when I kind of lost my innocence and I started realising that life is serious and bad shit can happen. A lot of pretty drastic things happened within those three years. But this album is not only about the bad things. It’s also about some of the career-defining moments, like the moment I started playing with the band and began to find a community to belong to. Emotionally, I’m a bit of everything, so it covers the entire emotional spectrum!”


16 finds Einar collaborating with everyone from modern prog contemporaries like Bent Knee’s Ben Levin and Agent Fresco’s Toti Gudnason, to experimental cellist (and regular Leprous live musician) Raphael Weinroth-Browne and Magnus Børmark, best known as a member of Norwegian alt-folk troupe Gåte. He also once again collaborates with Ihsahn and Star Of Ash amongst many others. The record was mixed by mixed by Adam Noble (Placebo, Biffy Clyro, Nothing But Thieves) and mastered by Robin Schmidt (The 1975, Placebo, The Gaslight Anthem, etc.).


16 will be released on Ltd CD Digipak, Gatefold 180g 2LP + LP-booklet & Digitally, and is now available to pre-order here.





Tracklisting:


"16" (feat. Raphael Weinroth-Browne)
"Remember Me"
"A Beautiful Life"
"Where All The Twigs Broke" (feat. Star Of Ash)
"Metacognitive" (feat. Raphael Weinroth-Browne)
"Home" (feat. Ben Levin)
"Blue Light" (feat. Asger Mygind)
"Grotto" (feat. Magnus Børmark)
"Splitting The Soul" (feat. Ihsahn)
"Over The Top"
"The Glass Is Empty" (feat. Tóti Guðnason)


"Grotto" video:





Einar will debut his solo material live with two exclusive shows at the Eindhoven & London editions of Prognosis Festival (15th & 22nd April respectively). You can find more details here.

After twelve years of band history, it's time to take the power metal hope Winterstorm to a new level. The band‘s fifth studio album, entitled Everfrost, will be their first offering since 2016 and their debut on AFM Records.


"Winter" stands for nordic viking and folk metal, "Storm" for fast-paced power metal, combined with epic and orchestral metal facets, Winterstorm shines in a new splendour as the brand new single, "To The End Of All Known“, proves.


The band comments:  "While our new single 'To The End Of All Known' is about uncertain future times driven by technical progress, we as a band are looking forward positively to play our next shows for our fans and hope they enjoy the newest song and our upcoming album."




Watch the video for "To The End Of All Known" below.





It’s the melodic grandeur, that clearly marks the foreground of Winterstorm, reflected in heavily catchy choruses and colossal, polyphonic vocals. Striking elements of different metal styles merge with each other and get a completely new impression, that Winterstorm’s forthcoming record may be their most versatile and powerful album to date; one that does not have to hide behind proven genre colleagues such as Blind Guardian or Rhapsody Of Fire.


Everfrost will be available as CD Digipak, limited clear blue vinyl and boxset on July 14 through AFM Records. Pre-order here.





Tracklisting:


"Origin"
"To The End Of All Known"
"The Phoenix Died (Remember)"
"Circle Of Greed"
"Future Times"
"Everfrost"
"Final Journey"
"Fate Of The Atlanteans"
"Crusade"
"Overcome The Fear"
"Silence"


"To The End Of All Known" video:

RATT singer Stephen Pearcy has blasted bands who rely heavily on backing tracks during their concerts, calling it "bullshit" and insisting that he loves "the real shit."

In recent years, more and more artists have been given a pass for relying on pre-recorded tracks, drum triggers and other assorted technology that makes concerts more synthetic but also more consistent. For better or worse, pre-recorded tracks are becoming increasingly common for touring artists of all levels and genres and they're not just used in pop music — many rock artists utilize playback tracks to varying degrees.

Pearcy addressed some rock acts' reliance on pre-recorded tracks in a Cameo video message requested by the Syncin' StanleyYouTube channel. Asked for his opinion on "singers who lip sync", Stephen said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, there's artists who need that — the Taylor Swifts and all these other people, maybe. Maybe not even her; she's a real kind of gal.

"I think it's bullshit, really," he continued. "And my peers are doing that shit.

"I love my guys in MÖTLEY [CRÜE], but when that shit [is] everywhere — on stage, and your bass is piped in — that kind of stuff kind of eats me. But it's not my gig. I don't do it. I wouldn't do it. I'm old school — new minded, but old school… I love the real shit. But, you know, it is what it is."

In March 2020, SHINEDOWN guitarist Zach Myers said that "90 percent" of rock artists use at least some pre-recorded tracks during their live performances. He told Rock Feed: "It bothers me that it bothers people. I'm, like, 'Why does this bother you?' It's the way it is. People have been doing this since the '80s. And we want the sound to be the best it can be. Could we go up there, just the four of us, and put on the best rock show ever? Of course. But that's not how we wanna do it."

Former SKID ROW singer Sebastian Bach has previously said that he is "one of the last people" who are still not using pre-recorded tracks at their live shows. "I don't know how much longer I can say to you that I don't use tapes onstage, because I don't, and I never have," he told Consequence Of Sound. "And I still don't. When I have opening bands, and they're using tapes, and then I come out and I don't use tapes… sometimes, it makes me feel stupid, because I'm like, 'What am I doing, when all these kids half my age can come onstage and do all of my moves, but they don't have to warm up for an hour before the show, or weeks, before the first show?' Sometimes, I'm like, 'Why do I even bother, if the public is so used to this other way?' It's becoming very rare to come see a good band that's actually a real band — that's not miming or doing silly moves while a tape is running. It just becomes more rare as the years go on."

In 2019, IRON MAIDEN guitarist Adrian Smith said that he doesn't "agree" with certain rock artists relying on pre-recorded tracks during their live performances. "I tell you what, I see it with a lot of younger bands, and I don't think it's a good thing at all," he told the New York Post. "I mean, the music is getting too technical now. You have computerized recording systems, which we use, but I think we use them more for convenience than because we need to. We've toured with a couple bands that use tapes — it's not real. You're supposed to play live; it should be live. I don't agree with using tapes … I think it's a real shame."

One musician who has been open about his band's used of taped vocals during live performances is MÖTLEY CRÜE bassist Nikki Sixx, who said: "We've used technology since '87." He added the group employed "sequencers, sub tones, background vox tracks, plus background singers and us. [MÖTLEY CRÜE also taped] stuff we can't tour with, like cello parts in ballads, etc.... We love it and don't hide it. It's a great tool to fill out the sound."

In a 2014 interview, MÖTLEY CRÜE guitarist Mick Mars admitted that he wasn't comfortable with the fact that his band used pre-recorded backing vocals in its live shows, claiming that he preferred to watch groups whose performances are delivered entirely live. "I don't like it," he said. "I think a band like ours… I have to say '60s bands were my favorite — '60s and '70s bands — because they were real, like, three-piece bands or four-piece bands, and they just got up there and kicked it up. Made a mistake? So what? Sounded a little bit empty here or there? So what? It's the bigness and the rawness and the people that developed and wrote the songs and made them and presented them. To me, that's what I really like. I mean, I could put on a MÖTLEY CD and play with it all day long. I don't wanna do that."

KISS lead singer Paul Stanley, who has been struggling to hit the high notes in many of the band's classic songs for a number of years, has been accused of singing to a backing tape on KISS's ongoing "End Of The Road" tour.

Back in 2015, KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons slammed bands who used backing tapes for not being honest enough to include that fact on their concert tickets.

"I have a problem when you charge $100 to see a live show and the artist uses backing tracks," Simmons said. "It's like the ingredients in food. If the first ingredient on the label is sugar, that's at least honest. It should be on every ticket — you're paying $100, 30 to 50 percent of the show is [on] backing tracks and they'll sing sometimes, sometimes they'll lip sync. At least be honest. It's not about backing tracks, it's about dishonesty.

"There's nobody with a synthesizer on our stage, there's no samples on the drums, there's nothing," Gene continued. "There's very few bands who do that now — AC/DC, METALLICA, us. I can't even say that about U2 or THE [ROLLING] STONES. There's very few bands who don't use [backing] tracks."

Earlier this month, KISS's longtime manager Doc McGhee defended Stanley's vocal performance on "End Of The Road", explaining that the "Star Child" "fully sings to every song" at every concert. He explained: It's enhanced. It's just part of the process to make sure that everybody hears the songs the way they should be sang to begin with. Nobody wants to hear people do stuff that's not real, that's not what they came to hear."

When McGhee was asked to clarify if he was "actually saying there are backing tracks that [Paul is] singing to," Doc said: "He'll sing to tracks. It's all part of a process. Because everybody wants to hear everybody sing. But he fully sings to every song."

DIEHUMANE, the new "avant garde alt-metal" band featuring Rick Hunolt (EXODUS) on guitar, Garret West on lead vocals, Sal Abruscato (TYPE O NEGATIVE, LIFE OF AGONY) on drums, Joshua Vargas on rhythm guitar, bass, piano, programming and Greg Hilligiest Jr. on keyboards, samples, additional guitar, will release its debut album, "The Grotesque", on May 5 in partnership with producer Ulrich Wild's label WURMgroup and The Oracle Management, the management company of COAL CHAMBER and DEVILDRIVER frontman Dez Fafara. The LP was produced and mixed by Wild.

"The Grotesque" track listing:

01. The Executively Dysfunctional
02. King Of Nothing (The Bruiser)
03. Standing At The Edge Of Forever
04. Shell Shock
05. The Death Knell
06. Epitaph
07. Oblivion
08. The Vanishing
09. Ghosts
10. Aphasia
11. Nevermind
12. Crossroads
13. The Descent
14. The Devil Sings
15. Sparrows
16. Skeletons
17. Stardust Blues

The second single, "Shell Shock", can be streamed below.

DIEHUMANE was founded in Galveston, Texas at the end of 2020 by Vargas and Hilligiest as a way to deal with the loss and isolation of that year. From there it snowballed into something massive, with West, Hunolt and Abruscato all joining the fold.

DIEHUMANE is a band that swims about as far away from the other fish as it gets. It combines elements of doom metal, jazz, industrial, blues and prog. Imagine if CELTIC FROST got into a car crash with A PERFECT CIRCLE, NINE INCH NAILS and TYPE O NEGATIVE while listening to PINK FLOYD on the radio. DIEHUMANE is heavily rooted in mood and atmosphere, from the brooding to the cathartic, from the hopeless to hopeful. Love them or hate them, it's a musical ride that you can only get from them.

Wild said: "I'm incredibly excited and honored to be part of DIEHUMANE's debut album. I'm always interested in artists who create their own genre-defying brand of music, and DIEHUMANE did just that with 'The Grotesque'. Their music is incredibly dynamic, and goes from hauntingly beautiful to absolute destruction with everything in between. A true musical journey."

Fafara added: "When I heard the record for the first time, I immediately restarted it for the second time. This is one of the most unique musical offerings in metal at this point — completely its own sound, lush and unforgiving in artistry. There will be big things on the horizon once the public gets attached to this band! Oracle is proud to represent DIEHUMANE."

Said Hunolt: "To be honest, being in a band wasn't even on my mind at the time a dear friend called me and said, 'Hey, I know these guys looking for a guitar player.' He sent me some raw tracks, and I listened for about a month before I replied, and it was the music that I was looking for. It gave me the ability to express myself musically and, even more important, was radically different than anything I have ever played. Music needs 'different' in order to evolve. [There's] so much talent in this band, and I can't wait for you to experience DIEHUMANE."

Added Abruscato: "I am looking forward to the release of this very different and unique album I had the pleasure writing/performing the drum tracks for. It's different from what I have done in the past and it's been fantastic to be a part of it with everyone in the band, Ulrich Wild/WURMgroup and The Oracle Management. I feel folks will be blown away."

Stated West: "I grew up listening to Sal and Rick. Then Dez took us into his flock with The Oracle and Ulrich (a powerhouse responsible for many of my favorite records) made it his mission to make us sound pristine. What we have here is something special. I just hope people find it as special as we do."

Said Hilligiest: "I want to thank Ulrich and Dez both for taking interest in us and helping us get it out there. I'm just happy to finally get it out to people's ears. We've been hearing this album in many different forms for two years now, it's time to let everybody else in the world hear it as it is meant to be heard. I hope you all like it as much as we do."

Commented Vargas: "Typically the formation of a project and subsequent creation of an album marks the beginning of something, whereas this one starts with the end, and actually ends with the beginning of something. All of these songs began as a way of dealing with complete and total isolation in 2020 and the loss of what life was before that year, and ends marking the beginning of something awesome, and the album sounds like exactly that. Recording began in a dingy townhome in Galveston, Texas and ended in fucking Hollywood. The musical journey we all took on this album is something I wouldn't trade for world. Big thanks to Ulrich Wild (WURMgroup) and Dez Fafara (The Oracle Management) for going on this crazy journey with us. I'm so happy with this album that I don't even care if anyone hates it."

Hunolt — the other half of the famed EXODUS "H-Team" who is on every studio recording from 1985 through 2004 and co-wrote some of the band's best-known songs such as "A Lesson In Violence" and "Deliver Us To Evil" — left EXODUS after the band's highly acclaimed 2004 reunion album, "Tempo Of The Damned". Following his departure, Hunolt was replaced by HEATHEN guitarist Lee Altus.

Rick discussed his exit from EXODUS during a November 2021 appearance on "Put Up Your Dukes", the podcast hosted by ex-EXODUS singer Rob Dukes. He said: "During the recording of 'Tempo', Gary [Holt, EXODUS guitarist] had just gotten clean a little while prior to that, and I was still using. But I've gotta say, Gary Holt — my hat's off to the man for… He never sweated me. Not once did Gary say, 'Dude, you're a piece of shit. I'm gonna fire you from the band if you don't get your shit together.' He never said nothing. He let it take its course, you know what I mean?

"I was a mess," Rick continued. "We all were, but everybody got better, and I didn't. I fell down the rabbit hole even worse, I think, because I was just so depressed. I couldn't stop. I don't know what was up… To the point where I was gonna lose my position in the band I'd been in for over 20 years — my best friends, my life. Yeah, it was dark as fuck.

"One day, after spending my life, giving everything that I had and the whole world to EXODUS, one day I woke up and I wasn't in EXODUS anymore," Hunolt added. "And that morning was, like… Dude, I can't even describe the emotions that I [was feeling]. I woke up and I wasn't in EXODUS anymore, dude. It damn near took me out, bro."

Rick revealed that he went through a particularly difficult period after splitting with EXODUS. "I had to reinvent myself at 40-plus years old, [with] two little kids," he said. "I ended up moving out of Oakland. I had to get the fuck out of there, 'cause we were living at the studio; it was bad. And then we moved in with my wife's mom and I got a job at the [discount chain] Dollar Tree and I ended up working there for, like, two or three years. I mean, I can go on and on and on. But long story short, I met a guy who knew who I was and offered me a job on his ranch. And the rest is history. He taught me how to live my life and make money."

Hunolt makes a guest appearance on EXODUS's latest studio album, "Persona Non Grata", which was released in November 2021 via Nuclear Blast Records.

Photo credit: Anthem In Art Photography

BUTCHER BABIES have released the official music video for their new single, "Beaver Cage". The track is taken from the band's upcoming fourth studio album which was recently completed with producer Josh Schroeder (LORNA SHORE, KING 810).

Last month, BUTCHER BABIES vocalist Heidi Shepherd told the "BREWtally Speaking" podcast about the band's musical evolution: "We've been a band for nearly 15 years, so when we started we were angry kids — very angry. We had a lot to be angry about. And as success started coming around and we started leaving our families and leaving our friends behind, our second more [about] loneliness and emotion in that, and then the third album was just kind of a culmination of all that. And then, all of a sudden, we're angry again, because our shit was taken away from us for years [because of the coronavirus pandemic]. We're angry again. We go to Michigan in the middle of the winter. And I feel almost like we reverted to our first album — those emotions you can really hear on our fourth album because we're kind of going through those same emotions.

"That's what's awesome about bands putting out albums," she continued. "It's a snapshot of time. It's a snapshot of what they were going through at the time, or what they felt like they wanted to explore."

Heidi went on to say that "evolution is necessary as an artist." She added: "We need to evolve; we need to try out all these different things. We don't do it for our fans; we do it for us. Of course we love when they like it and they wanna hear certain things, but I need to be able to put my emotions on to an album as well. This is my therapy. [Laughs] This is my very expensive therapy. So it's important for us."

Circling back to the upcoming BUTCHER BABIES LP, Heidi said: "I'm so excited for people to be able to hear this because a lot of this stuff was written right in the studio, so you're gonna hear a lot of what we were going through in those six weeks that we wrote and recorded this album. Weird emotions within the band 'cause some of us hadn't seen each other in over a year. Weird emotions about not being able to tour, not being able to go play these songs. Weird emotions about everything. And I think that we were all going through those type of emotions. So it's gonna be really awesome for people to hear that from us."

Added guitarist Henry Flury: "I think it's gonna be really shocking when people hear the other songs compared to our first single, because they're gonna these expectations of, like, 'Oh, it's gonna be this kind of album.' Get ready for a curveball, because it's coming."

Last October, BUTCHER BABIES shared the official music video for their cover version of rapper Saweetie's chart-topping single "Best Friend". The clip was directed by Dale "Rage" Resteghini and was filmed at the Bare Den adult entertainment club in Newton, New Jersey.

BUTCHER BABIES have been performing their cover of "Best Friend" at their recent live shows.

Speaking to Spain's EMP about BUTCHER BABIES decision to cover "Best Friend", Shepherd said: "It's basically a song about [me and fellow BUTCHER BABIES singer Carla Harvey]. 'Cause we've been best friends for so long. We were a band together prior to BUTCHER BABIES. It's a cover, and we figured we can't think of two better people to cover this song besides us. So it's fun."

Asked by Metalshop why it's better to release singles than a full-length album in 2022 and 2023, Carla said: "I think we live in a time where people want things right now; they want new stuff all the time. And I also think that when you release a single, people have a chance to digest that song, fall in love with that song before they skip to the next one and the next one and the next one. We really like developing a song on its own, making a video for that song, telling the story of that song, because every song is special to us."

Added Heidi: "We put our heart and soul into every single song that goes on the album. We don't just half-ass any of the songs, and so we want to make sure that it gets the life and the attention it deserves. And so I think we're just gonna continue this way and just leak it a little bit at a time and keep it going."

In a separate interview with Bloodstock TV, Carla stated about the recording process for the new BUTCHER BABIES LP: "It was a really cool experience. We got to sit together for about six weeks in the middle of nowhere — a very, very small town in Michigan — and just create together. And we had an Airbnb with animal skulls all over the place. And we just sat there in the snow and created probably our best album to date. So it was a great bonding experience."

When Oran O'Beirne of Bloodstock TV suggested that some BUTCHER BABIES fans might object to such a diverse combination of musical styles, Carla said: "We haven't changed at all, because some of our earliest songs were similar. We've always run the gamut throughout our music; we've never stayed with one style. Most people love about BUTCHER BABIES that we have a death metal song and a thrash metal song and then a poppy radio song, and whatever mood they're in, we've got a song for them."

Added Heidi: "What I love about being in a band like this and being around musicians that we all see eye to eye is that we can do different things; we're not pigeonholed to one certain sound. Sometimes we wanna get up and we wanna scream and we wanna be angry bitches, and then sometimes we wanna sing and we want people to hear what we feel from our hearts. And I think that that's important as an artist, to be able to do both."

Carla continued: "And judging by the audience reaction when we go from one very, very heavy song to one lighter song, they love it. They have literally the same energy for both kinds of music. They want it too. People want the freedom to be able to like different types of music."

BUTCHER BABIES' latest album, 2017's "Lilith", was produced by Steve Evetts (THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN, SEPULTURA, SUICIDE SILENCE) and marked the band's recording debut with drummer Chase Brickenden, who replaced Chris Warner in 2016.

In July 2019, longtime BUTCHER BABIES bassist Jason Klein announced his departure from the band. He has since been replaced by Ricky Bonazza.

In 2021, BUTCHER BABIES embarked on a headlining tour, "Butcher Babies Vs. Goliath", which saw the band performing its debut album, "Goliath" — released in 2013 via Century Media Records — in its entirety along with recent hit singles and new material.

Hailing from the City of Angels, BUTCHER BABIES have released two Eps and three albums to date, with "Lilith", debuting at #1 on iTunes Metal chart and #7 on iTunes Rock chart. The band kicked off 2021 by independently releasing a handful of newly energized singles produced and co-written by Matt Good (FROM FIRST TO LAST),including "Bottom Of A Bottle", "Sleeping With The Enemy", "Yorktown", "Last Dance" and "It's Killin' Time, Baby!" The latter was inspired by the DC Comics character Lobo, a heavy metal bounty hunter.

Legendary Canadian band THE GUESS WHO will release a new studio album, "Plein D'Amour", later in the year through its new partnership with Deko Entertainment. The official music video for the LP's first single, "The King", can be seen below.

THE GUESS WHO enjoyed chart-topping hits in the late 1960s and early 1970s with an impressive catalogue of songs, including "American Woman", "These Eyes" and "No Time". During the course of its career, the band has released 11 studio albums, all of which charted in Canada and the United States. THE GUESS WHO is best known internationally for its 1970 album "American Woman", which hit No. 1 in Canada and No. 9 in the United States, with five other albums also hitting the Top 10 in Canada. All in all, THE GUESS WHO boasts 14 Top 40 singles in the United States and more than 30 in Canada.

Following its critically acclaimed 2018 recording "The Future IS What It Used To Be", THE GUESS WHO is currently gearing up to release its latest creation, "Plein D'Amour". Bandmembers Derek Sharp, Michael Staertow, Leonard Shaw, Michael Devin and founding member Garry Peterson have crafted a collection of songs that raises the bar and continues to take things up a notch both musically and sonically.

THE GUESS WHO is primed to take its stunning new music to even greater heights with its spectacular live show. The band is ready to start the newest chapter of its illustrious career in partnership with Deko Entertainment (ADA/Warner Music Group) commencing with the forthcoming release of "Plein D'Amour".

Staertow said: "We couldn't think of a better time to introduce the world to an exceptional collection of songs that exude positivity and cohesive energy, a much-needed cultural antidote. Now we ARE love — 'Plein D'Amour'!"

Peterson added: "After recording this album, and living with it for a while, I believe this is the best album that I have played on."

Deko Entertainment president Bruce Pucciarello said: "This new song collection is a progressive-pop blend of well-written material and the musicianship is over the top. Decades later, this band still blows me away."

Sharp said: "'The King' is a nod to 'all the king's horses and all the king's men, couldn't put Humpty together again' … however, loving kindness is a universal balm, which can not only put Humpty together again, but turn him into a Prince!"

In addition to "The King", "Plein D'Amour" includes seven more new tracks. The LP was recorded at Villa Sound in Singhampton, Ontario, Canada with Adam Fair.

In a new interview with the YouTube channel of the Brazilian music journalist Igor Miranda, former RAINBOW and DEEP PURPLE frontman Joe Lynn Turner was asked if he viewed the coronavirus pandemic as "more collective hysteria than a global health crisis" and whether he felt that was "an exaggeration in the measures imposed to combat the disease." Joe responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I think that now there are many, many, many reports; there's much data out there now about the adverse effects of the vaccination; there's much, much information about the 'plandemic' as opposed to the pandemic; there's a lot of information about where it really came from, how it came about, where was the money coming from from this. A lot of things have opened up since the actual pandemic happened. And I think the truth is coming out more and more. And I think the people around the world are starting to wake up more and more and are starting to — as [I say] in one of my songs — rise up more and more and realizing that this is an attempt at absolute tyranny, at authoritarianism, about enslavement. This 'great reset' is really nothing more than the New World Order disguised in a new name. It's been happening from the beginning of time — since, say, like the Romans; they tried to do this, but humanity prevailed and broke the chains that the governments have tried to put on people. I really believe you have something very, very similar happening in your country. I've been following it very closely, and power to the people. And I believe, with God on their side, people will prevail.

"This has been happening in the United States and just about every country in the world — fixed elections and tyrannical governments and enslavement of people," Joe continued. "They're trying to starve us economically — energy, you name it. Look around. No one can say that this is not happening — no one. The facts are here.

"When I was writing [the songs on my new solo album 'Belly Of The Beast'], it's because I'm a very, very observant, resourceful and educated individual. I have been studying this stuff for many, many years — whether it's occultism, special secret societies, constitution, laws — you name it. It's one of my biggest passions. So I saw this coming a while ago. I wrote [the song] 'Black Sun', which is basically Illuminati, which they tried to make you think is a conspiracy theory… Oh, while I'm telling you this… You know the difference — this is a joke — the difference between a conspiracy theory and the truth? About six months. That's all it takes. Because then the conspiracy theories become truths. Because this is what's been happening all along. The people who know are still fighting this.

"What I'm trying to say here is I've known about something like this happening. And I wrote, say, 'Black Sun', 'Don't Fear The Dark' and 'Tortured Soul' before this happened — for maybe two or three different reasons. But 'Black Sun' was definitely about, 'Here we come.' They were coming for us. This has been predicted in The Book Of Revelations, in the Bible. And I'm not saying I'm religious. I'm saying the Bible, as well, is a very historical book and it's a very prophetic book. And many, many things in the Bible have been prophesied and have been true, including the beast system, including the mark of the beast. Which is what they wanna do now with the chips, and what they wanna do now with the passport IDs, the identification, which is what they want to do now with your money in your bank. They wanna make a currency that is just like China, where they can tell where every single peso, every dollar, everything is going.

"This is control of your life, man," Turner added. "This is what's happening to us right now on the planet. And if we don't rise up as a people and realize we have the control, because a mass psychosis has happened to the people.

"I can count many, many different psychologists who have said what mass psychosis is, and if we have not been under a mass psychosis, I can't tell you… That is the absolute truth. From so many great philosophers and psychologists — from Freud to Jung — all these people have talked about mass psychosis. And it is exactly what it feels like the world is under right now. Because the compliance and everybody just accepting what authority tells them to do out of fear. And fear is the great motivator, you see. The biggest control mechanisms that they can use is fear — fear of death, fear of poverty, fear of disease, fear of criticism. Napoleon Hill, in his interview with the devil, which is basically fictional, but very, very educational, he lists the types of fears that Satan himself says how he controls people, and this is the biggest one of them.

"Remember, the only real prison is fear," Joe concluded. "And the only real freedom is freedom from fear. Many people will do everything when they are afraid, and that is what they created. The mass media is just as much to blame. They are in collaboration with the cabals — absolutely — with the big corporations, Big Pharma, et cetera, et cetera. And nobody is gonna tell me, as you look around the world right now, and you will see the same things happening in every country to the leaders, to the elections, to the people, the conditions, what they are putting them under. You think this is circumstance? No. This is synchronicity. This is purposeful. Okay? I mean, it's very plain to see. Anyone with one brain cell can understand this."

Turner's latest comments come just five months after he performed in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The singer broke with most international artists who canceled their live appearances in Russia in response to the global condemnation against the Kremlin and its president, Vladimir Putin, over the war in Ukraine. In addition, major record labels suspended their operations in the country, while streaming services like Spotify pulled out of the market.

A month earlier, Turner apparently threw his support behind Roger Waters over comments the PINK FLOYD co-founder made about Russia. Waters blasted U.S. president Joe Biden for "fueling the fire in the Ukraine" amid Russia's ongoing invasion of the country, and asked in an interview with CNN's Michael Smerconish, "Why won't the United States of America encourage [Volodymyr] Zelensky, [Ukraine's] president, to negotiate, obviating the need for this horrific, horrendous war?" After Smerconish responded that Waters got it "reversed" and was "blaming the party that got invaded," Waters fired back, saying it was about the "action and reaction of NATO pushing right up to the Russian border."

A short time later, Turner took to his official Facebook page to share a video of Smerconish's interview with Waters, and he included the following message: "Roger Waters speaks TRUTH to power! Thank you Roger. Someone has to say it..."

This was not the first time Joe had publicly taken a political stance. Back in 2015, the singer made headlines when it was revealed that he joined a list of Western celebrities who publicly expressed support for and defended Vladimir Putin, whose image had suffered greatly because of Moscow's aggressive foreign policy.

Two years later, Turner said that his opinion of the Russian president had remained unchanged. "He still is [telling the truth]," the singer told Kraig Casebier's "American Barber In Prague" in a 2017 interview. "Honest to God, I got a lot of crap for [saying] that [before]. But it's true, and he still is, whether you like him or not. He may be a gangster, but he's a good gangster. And I say there are good gangsters.

"There were gangsters in my family, in the Mafia, and they were good people," he explained. "They were the safest neighborhoods, and they protected everyone on the block, and they took care of a lot of people. And they actually donated their time, money to good causes. If somebody didn't have enough bread or food, they'd buy it for 'em. I mean, it depends on what kind of gangster you are. The politicans are bad gangsters; they can't even cover up their crimes."

Joe went on to lament the state of American politics and denounced the culture of extreme political correctness, which he believed had gone too far.

"I think America's lost its way," he said. "We've lost God, we've lost a lot of things that made that country great. And I'm sorry to say, being an American — Italian-American, and holding an American passport… I have had uncles… and my father did military service for twelve overseas stripes — the whole thing. And I went to Iraq for the troops, so anybody that wants to challenge that, c'mon, bring it on, because I think I know a few more things than you. But I think that we've lost a lot in our values of America. We can't even speak freely anymore. There's more freedom in Russia; I can tell you that. I've done a lot of time there and still will. People don't understand what Russia is [in America]."

According to Turner, his country's demonization of Russia is rooted in the fact that "America always needs a big, bad wolf. We need to hate somebody, because of the military industrial complex," he said. "So we need to hate somebody all the time [and] create a war. There's no need for it, really. If we can just straighten out the economy and get the Fed out of there, I think the people would have a chance. But right now, I pray for them — I really do. Because I just think they've got it all wrong."

As if sensing the criticism that would likely follow his comments, Turner preemptively defended himself by saying: "I said Putin was telling the truth, 'cause he is telling the truth. I got subpoenaed by my own government, okay? So all these naysayers and these haters who are gonna see this about me and stuff, you guys have no clue. 30 percent of the American people have passports, so 70 percent of you are isolated and know dick about it — you have been nowhere and done nothing. Excuse me, but that's what you should have been told a long time ago."

The now-71-year-old singer went on to explain that he was "subpoenaed" by the U.S. government after he played "three charity shows" in Russian-annexed Crimea, which he called a "wartorn country." "The people had a great time [and] we had sellout houses," he said.

Joe was the singer of RAINBOW between 1980 and 1984 and he sang on the album "Difficult To Cure", which featured the band's most successful U.K. single, "I Surrender".

During Turner's time with RAINBOW, the band had its first USA chart success and recorded songs that helped define the melodic rock genre.

1990 saw Turner reunited with RAINBOW leader Ritchie Blackmore in a reformed DEEP PURPLE for the "Slaves And Masters" album.

SCORPIONS frontman Klaus Meine spoke to Scorpions Brazil about the fact that the band's music video for "Wind Of Change" recently surpassed one billion views on YouTube. The power ballad was originally uploaded to the platform in November of 2009.

Klaus said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It's an incredible number. It's so hard to understand that [there has been] a billion clicks for 'Wind Of Change' on YouTube. It's cool [that] after so many years, [it] seems like the song hasn't lost its message, its meaning, singing about a peaceful world. It's amazing that after all these years the song seems to be still so relevant. And that's an amazing moment, I think, to reach this number and become part of the billion club, so to speak. It took a while, but here we are. And there's still another generation coming around the corner, picking up this song and the message, and to take a look into hopefully a peaceful future is, these days, more important than ever."

Meine and his bandmates wrote "Wind Of Change" after performing at 1989's Moscow Music Peace Festival in Moscow, where they shared the stage with other hard rock acts like BON JOVI and MÖTLEY CRÜE. The song was inspired by the sight of thousands of Russians cheering them on in 1988 — when they became the first hard rock band to play in Russia — and in 1989, at the aforementioned festival, even though they were a German band.

In the interview with Scorpions Brazil, Klaus explained the thought process behind changing the song's lyrics to acknowledge Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

"I thought it's not the time to romanticize Russia with lyrics like 'I follow the Moskva down to Gorky Park'," he said. "When I wrote that song, 'Wind Of Change' was something like a peace promise, going together into a peaceful future. And so many years later now, this peace promise was broken up last year. So I had the feeling I wanted to show our solidarity with Ukraine. That's why I changed a few lines."

In March 2022, at the opening concert of SCORPIONS' "Sin City Nights" residency at Zappos Theater at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino In Las Vegas, Nevada, Meine told the crowd before launching into "Wind Of Change": "This song is calling for peace, and tonight, I think, we shall sing it even louder. We dedicate this to the brave people in the Ukraine."

Back in 2015, SCORPIONS guitarist Rudolf Schenker stated about the inspiration for the original version of "Wind Of Change" "We wanted to show the people in Russia that here is a new generation of Germans growing up. They're not coming with tanks and guns and making war — they're coming with guitars and rock 'n' roll and bringing love!"

"There were so many emotional moments in Moscow," Meine added. "I guess it could have been BON JOVI or MÖTLEY CRÜE, any of these guys who had gone home inspired by what they saw, but for them it was like, 'Hey! We rocked the Soviet Union, dudes!' For us, maybe it was different. We saw so many changes from Leningrad in '88 to Moscow in '89. That was the inspiration for 'Wind Of Change'."

SCORPIONS' latest album, "Rock Believer", was released in February 2022. The album was recorded primarily at Peppermint Park Studios in Hannover, Germany and was mixed at the legendary Hansa Studios in Berlin, Germany with engineer Michael Ilbert, who has earned multiple Grammy nominations for his mix work with producer Max Martin on albums by Taylor Swift and Katy Perry.

SCORPIONS originally intended to record the new album in Los Angeles with producer Greg Fidelman, whose previous credits include SLIPKNOT and METALLICA. However, because of the pandemic, some of the initial work was done with Greg remotely, after which SCORPIONS opted to helm the recordings themselves with the help of their engineer Hans-Martin Buff.

Anders Fridén, vocalist of Swedish melodic death metal band IN FLAMES, has weighed in on THE HALO EFFECT, the new project featuring five former IN FLAMES members — Jesper Strömblad (guitar),Daniel Svensson (drums),Peter Iwers (bass),Niclas Engelin (guitar) and Mikael Stanne (vocals). Asked by GoetiaMedia.com if he has listened to the debut album from THE HALO EFFECT, which came out last year, Fridén said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "No, I have not listened to that album, and from what I hear — someone told me it sounds more like [Mikael's longtime band] DARK TRANQUILLITY… No, I haven't listened to the album."

He continued: "People ask me all the time [about THE HALO EFFECT], but it doesn't affect us and the decisions that we make and the music that we do. I mean, there have been more bands in the past with ex-IN FLAMES members.

"I think people make it too big of a thing. We don't worry about that stuff. We have enough to deal with our own.

"If I was them, it must be tiring after a while just to keep hearing about IN FLAMES all the time," Anders added. "'Cause they are on their own part, they are on their own journey, and they need to find their own identity. I wouldn't be happy if I was being called ex-IN FLAMES all the time. No, they're two different things, in a way. And me and Mikael have very different voices too, so it's just… Yeah, it's a different style, a different thing."

Earlier in the month, Anders's IN FLAMES bandmate, guitarist Björn Gelotte told El Cuartel Del Metal that he hasn't thought too much about comparisons between THE HALO EFFECT and IN FLAMES. "These are extremely good musicians, all of 'em, and they all have been part of IN FLAMES as members — as touring members or as recording members — and they, for different reasons, chose not to tour, basically, or be part of this anymore," he said. "And if they found a way back to music, they are really good. The music I haven't really heard that much, but I know what they're all capable of. So this is obviously not gonna be bad in any way. And I haven't really thought about it in any other way."

Björn continued: "I think it's a great opportunity, maybe sort of a second chance for these guys, to do it in a way that fits their life now. And timing-wise, they get to do it in a pace that they wanna do it. So I think it's only positive, obviously. And I think the world's probably a better place with more music in it. And these guys know what they're doing."

Last July, Fridén was asked by Chaoszine if he had a chance to catch THE HALO EFFECT when they played at Sweden Rock Festival alongside IN FLAMES a month earlier. Anders said: "They played the day after [IN FLAMES played], and we were already gone by that time. We played on Friday and they were playing on a Saturday."

Fridén went on to say that he hasn't "really paid attention" to THE HALO EFFECT and added that he doesn't care about a supposed rivalry between the two bands. "People can do whatever they want," he said. "There have been former members of IN FLAMES that played in other bands. Why would this be any different?

"I think you — not you personally, but media, they want it to be something [more than that]. But they do their thing.

"Honestly, I haven't listened, but from what I hear, it sounds more like DARK TRANQUILLITY than IN FLAMES," Anders said, referencing the fact that Stanne has been a member of DARK TRANQUILLITY since that band's inception more than three decades ago. "But it's fine. I don't care. They are allowed to do music, and as long as they are happy doing whatever they do, then that's fine. It's never gonna change us and what we do. It's just one band out of many.

"Good luck. I don't have anything else to say," Anders added. "I know you want me to say more. But that's the way it is."

THE HALO EFFECT released its debut album, "Days Of The Lost", last August via Nuclear Blast.

Asked in an interview with "The Back Lounge" podcast about some fans' perception that THE HALO EFFECT was formed primarily with the intention of "sticking it" to IN FLAMES, Iwers said: "No, no, no. It couldn't be further from the truth. Somebody said it to me perfectly… When you get that question, well, it's like talking about your ex-wife. You had it, it was great at the time, but then you moved on. So THE HALO EFFECT started out of love for music — not at all to spite anybody or to create some rivalry; nothing like that at all. And it needs to be said, and it probably will be said a bunch of times. The love for music and the love for each other is a hundred percent what it's all about."

Peter went on to say that forming a band with the intention of competing with someone else "would be totally the wrong reason" to do it. "Everything I do I base upon how I feel," he explained. "I try to do everything with a good vibe and everything that makes me feel good, feel great. And that's what it's all about with everything that I do. So if I would ever start something to piss somebody else off, then it wouldn't make me feel good, and I couldn't keep on doing it. It's real simple in my world, but I understand how people think that and how some people would like to think that. But there's no rivalry. IN FLAMES, I was a member for 20 years. And it is what it is. It's a great band and they always will be."

THE HALO EFFECT made its live debut in June 2022 at the Sweden Rock Festival in Sölvesborg, Sweden.

Eight months ago, Iwers was asked in an interview with Australia's "Scars And Guitars" podcast if he would agree that "Days Of The Lost" is, in some ways, a "spiritual successor" to "Reroute To Remain", IN FLAMES' sixth album, which came out in 2022. Peter said: "Ooh, interesting. I haven't really thought about it. When you make music, like we do, you tend not to overthink stuff — you just go in and you write music and kind of know that what comes out will sound a certain way because of the style that we are playing and how we are playing and performing our music. So I haven't really thought about it, but maybe — maybe. It was definitely nothing intentional. We just went in. We had a bunch of ideas and we came out with a bunch of songs that happen to sound a certain way. But none of us really overthought it and it was never meant to 'it's gonna sound like this' or 'it's gonna sound like that.' We just [went], 'Let's write this music and see what happens.' And because of, like I said, how we're playing, it will sound a certain way."

Added Daniel: "A lot of people like to analyze music, and, of course, it sounds Gothenburg metal-ish because we all are from that genre and we are some of the people that kind of created it. So, of course, it will sound Gothenburg metal-ish, IN FLAMES-ish. And then which era, I don't know. And as Peter said, we don't really think about how it should sound. This is how we sound today, and with our legacy this is inevitable, that we sound as we do."

Continued Peter: "Obviously, people like to do a lot of comparing between us… It's a difficult topic to discuss because none of us have — even though we've all been in IN FLAMES at some point, none of us have really thought about this as what you're saying. But then a lot of people that we speak to say it. So it's a little hard to take in, as we've been very thorough in just writing music. But I'd say it's a little flattering to hear it."

Svensson, who joined IN FLAMES in 1998, announced in 2015 that he was leaving the group to focus on his family life.

A member of IN FLAMES since 1997, Iwers issued a statement in November 2016 saying that he was exiting the band "to pursue other endeavors."

A founding member of IN FLAMES, Strömblad quit the band in February 2010 in order to continue receiving treatment for his alcohol addiction.

Engelin has been sitting out IN FLAMES' tour dates for the four years but has never officially confirmed his departure from the band. Engelin's replacement for IN FLAMES' live shows since then has been former MEGADETH and current ACT OF DEFIANCE guitarist Chris Broderick.

Shortly after leaving IN FLAMES, Iwers joined CYHRA, the band featuring vocalist Jake E (ex-AMARANTHE) and Strömblad. Iwers announced his departure from that band in May 2018.

In a new interview with Matilda Svensson of Chile's Radio Futuro, former DREAM THEATER and current THE WINERY DOGS drummer Mike Portnoy was asked what advice he would give to aspiring musicians looking to follow in his footsteps. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "You look on Instagram or YouTube, there's all these young drummers — and I mean young; I've seen six-year-old girls playing my drum parts on Instagram or whatever. So it's pretty incredible that the bar has risen so high with these young musicians and drummers, and they're all so talented.

"What advice would I give? Try to learn as much as you can from as many people as you can, but also play with other musicians," he continued.

"As incredible as it is to see these young kids playing all of my crazy, technical drum parts, that's obviously very impressive technically, but there's more to playing drums than just playing these parts. Anybody can kind of learn how to make your four limbs do something and do it; it's another thing to create parts like that," Portnoy explained.

"So, play with other musicians. Write music of your own. It's not just about playing your own instrument yourself to Instagram followers; it's about playing with other musicians and creating music. And it's about how you utilize your instrument within the context of the bigger picture and the music you write. So that would be my advice."

Portnoy, who co-founded DREAM THEATER more than 37 years ago, abruptly quit the band in September 2010 while on tour with AVENGED SEVENFOLD. He has since been replaced by Mike Mangini (ANNIHILATOR, EXTREME, JAMES LABRIE, STEVE VAI).

THE WINERY DOGS, Mike's power trio with guitarist/vocalist Richie Kotzen and legendary bassist Billy Sheehan (MR. BIG, TALAS, DAVID LEE ROTH),will release their third album, "III", on February 3 via the band's Three Dog Music label (via Burnside Distribution/The Orchard). Following in the footsteps of their first two albums, "III" was once again produced by THE WINERY DOGS and mixed by longtime band associate Jay Ruston.

"III" is the follow-up to the band's critically acclaimed and Billboard-charting album "Hot Streak", which was released October 2, 2015 on Loud & Proud Records via RED (a division of Sony Music Entertainment). After landing in the Top Five on many of Amazon's pre-order charts, including No. 1 on the Amazon BestSellers/Hard Rock chart and No. 1 on the Amazon Pre-Orders/Hard Rock Albums charts, it sold 30% more than their 2013 self-titled debut, landing them on various Billboard album charts including No. 2 on "Top Current Alternative Albums," No. 5 on "Top Current Hard Music" and "Top Hard Music Albums," No. 6 on "Top Current Rock Albums" and "Album Core / Genre Rock," No. 15 "Top Current Physical Albums," No. 16 "Top Current Albums," and No. 30 on the "Top 200 Albums" chart.

Upon its release, "Hot Streak" racked up rave reviews. Allmusic.com hailed, "'Hot Streak' is the trio's second album, and its loose, friendly feel shows that the trio doesn't feel compelled to rely on instrumental pyrotechnics. The bluesy, soulful 'Think it Over' would appeal to those who admire THE ALLMAN BROTHERS, while 'Captain Love' shows that the band also has some hard rock energy to unleash, and the title track lets fly some of the technical proficiency that its members are known for." And GuitarInternational.com praised, "'Hot Streak' picks up where their debut CD left off, but showcases the band coming into their own with straight-ahead rockers like 'Oblivion', 'Captain Love' and 'Devil You Know'."

THE WINERY DOGS is hitting the worldwide concert trail starting February 15 in Greensburg, Pennsylvania at the Palace Theatre for their "202III World Tour". Ticket and VIP package info can be found on the band's official web site.

Photo credit: Travis Shinn

In a new interview with Yes! You CAN Play Guitar!, ex-EXODUS guitarist Rick Hunolt reflected on his former band's decision to fire original singer Paul Baloff in 1986 due to what at the time was described as "personal and musical differences." Paul was replaced by Steve "Zetro" Souza, who had previously been the lead vocalist for LEGACY, an early incarnation of fellow Bay Area thrashers TESTAMENT.

Asked if he and his bandmates "felt bad at all" about taking LEGACY's singer, Hunolt responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I don't know, man. I really don't know if there was that much animosity. It was kind of like a natural progression. Because Zetro sounded a lot like Paul [and] he looked like him [too]. At the time, we were bigger than LEGACY. But we were all friends.

"Did we feel bad? It was kind of weird at first, I guess," he continued. "I guess you might say that, yeah. But they got Chuck [Billy to replace Zetro]. We were all really good friends."

Last November, Hunolt told For The Passion Not The Fashion about EXODUS's decision to fire Baloff: "Paul was… He wouldn't work. He was gettin' bad on the drugs. We all were, but Paul was probably the worst. And we were at a point in the band… It was so tough. It was the craziest thing, it was the hardest thing I ever did, the hardest thing we ever did. And I don't even know today, at this point… It could have been the biggest mistake we ever made. I don't know. No one will know. But I'll admit that — it could have been the biggest mistake we ever made. Who knows?"

Hunolt continued: "Zetro was great filling in; he was great. He did a good job. But after we let Paul go, he just fell deeper and deeper into his addiction and everything. Basically, he was homeless. He wouldn't get a job and he wouldn't stop doing what he was doing. We had to let him go. It was just to the point where it was getting so bad that he couldn't do anything. He couldn't remember lyrics. It was just bad.

"But I'll be the first to admit… I always try to think of what would have happened to EXODUS if we kept Paul," Rick added. "I don't even know. I don't even know if he would have been able to sing any of the music off of [EXODUS's second album, 1987's] 'Pleasures Of The Flesh'. I don't know.

"Anyway, that was the toughest decision me and Gary [Holt, fellow EXODUS guitarist] ever had to make. It was horrible."

Regarding Souza's addition to EXODUS, Hunolt said: "Not everybody's gonna like him. He's done a great job. He's had his ups and downs. But I think right now he's doing great. I think on [EXODUS's latest album] 'Persona Non Grata' he sounds better than he ever has."

Although Baloff didn't appear on "Pleasures Of The Flesh", he did record a demo in 1986 featuring three songs that made it to the final album: "Seeds Of Hate", "Pleasures Of The Flesh" and "Braindead".

Hunolt previously touched upon EXODUS's split with Baloff in November 2021 when he spoke with Heavy Culture about why he thinks his former band failed to achieve the same commercial heights as the so-called "Big Four" of 1980s thrash metal, namely METALLICA, SLAYER, MEGADETH and ANTHRAX. He said: "First of all, we were just kids. We couldn't even buy alcohol. We were super young and just crazy, full of crazy energy. We recorded the album, 'Bonded By Blood', and it took forever and ever and ever and ever for it to come out — it took forever. So that really messed us up in the world. SLAYER, METALLICA and EXODUS — we were all there at the same time, we all had albums ready to be released, and, of course, ours was last one [to come out] because of record company craziness. So, the follow-up ['Pleasures Of The Flesh'], losing Paul was super tough.

"I think that when anybody… A good example if 'Van Halen I' — to this day, everybody compares everything that they've done after 'Van Halen I' to 'Van Halen I'. Same thing that we've been dealing with for 30 years — everything that we do after 'Bonded By Blood' is gonna be compared to 'Bonded By Blood'. So there's always gonna be people that say that, 'No, no, no. Nothing will ever be as good as 'Bonded By Blood'.' And then there's gonna be people that say, 'Yeah, their stuff after that is good too.' It's always gonna be that way. We have no control over it.

"Hiring a new singer and putting out 'Pleasures'… And then we had to wait another year for 'Pleasures' to come out; it was, like, another year for 'Pleasures' to come out. So that was like a double… '84, and then we waited till… 'Pleasures' came out, what, '86 or something? Late '85? So, people were just waiting and waiting and waiting. And we're sitting there going, 'Goddamn it.' It was a lot of pressure. Meanwhile, we got METALLICA and SLAYER and ANTHRAX now on board releasing albums every year. And we're just slowly but surely losing traction. It was tough. But shit happens. We were just kids. We didn't know anything.

"I think losing Paul was a big deal back then," Hunolt added. "I think that maybe we made a mistake by firing Paul. And this is just looking back on everything for me; this is just my personal thought. This is the stuff that I think about sometimes. What would have happened if we didn't fire Paul? I just think that maybe we would have gotten a little bit more traction if we didn't have that lag in between.

"People love Paul. And Paul was… he's a legend. He was going through a bad time in his life, and I guess, at the time, we felt that maybe he was holding us back; I think probably that's what we were thinking. I think that probably we might have thought about getting him better instead of firing him.

"But as far as the 'Big Four' goes… Well, I don't know… Maybe it should just be the 'Big Five.' I will say this: I think that everybody has their place in the old-school thrash. If you wanna give 'em a number or whatever, go ahead. I think it doesn't mean anything. I think that the people that were there and the people that love our genre know where everybody stands. And I know where we stand, for sure. Without EXODUS, I think that thrash metal would be very, very different."

Hunolt makes a guest appearance on "Persona Non Grata", which was released in November 2021 via Nuclear Blast Records.

The San Francisco Bay Area thrashers' latest disc is the follow-up to 2014's "Blood In Blood Out", which was their first release since the departure of the group's lead singer of nine years, Rob Dukes, and the return of Souza, who previously fronted EXODUS from 1986 to 1993 and from 2002 to 2004.

Longtime EXODUS fans will recall that Hunolt — the other half of the famed EXODUS "H-Team" who is on every studio recording from 1985 through 2004 and co-wrote some of the band's best-known songs such as "A Lesson In Violence" and "Deliver Us To Evil" — left EXODUS after the band's highly acclaimed 2004 reunion album, "Tempo Of The Damned". Following his departure, Hunolt was replaced by HEATHEN guitarist Lee Altus.

The original lineup of EXODUS consisted of guitarists Hammett and Tim Agnello, Hunting and vocalist Keith Stewart. Holt joined the band in 1981, while Kirk left two years before EXODUS's debut album, "Bonded By Blood", saw the light of day.

Souza is now on his third stint with EXODUS. A decade following his second departure, Souza returned to the fold in 2014, just in time to appear on "Blood In Blood Out".

Phil Soussan says that LAST IN LINE doesn't feel any pressure to perform a DIO-centric set during its live shows.

When LAST IN LINE formed, the intent was to celebrate Ronnie James Dio's early work by reuniting the members of the original DIO lineup. After playing shows that featured a setlist composed exclusively of material from the first three DIO albums, the band decided to move forward and create new music in a similar vein.

Soussan, who joined LAST IN LINE in 2016 following the passing of the band's original bassist Jimmy Bain, discussed LAST IN LINE's musical mindset in a new interview with The Rock Experience With Mike Brunn. He said: ""We wrestled for a little bit with people mistaking us for a heritage band or a Dio tribute band or whatever. There is a band that does that," apparently referring to DIO DISCIPLES, which pays tribute to Ronnie James Dio and is fully supported by Dio's widow/manager Wendy, "but it's not us. There are some [DIO] songs which we'd have to play; otherwise we'd probably get lynched. So we would do that.

"For us, a lot of those DIO songs that we used to play in the early days of LAST IN LINE were placeholders for our new material," Phil explained. "And so as we've been writing and releasing our own material, we started to replace some of those songs, to the point now where we do more original material than we do any DIO material.

"People have to come and have a listen to it and see. So many bands, [they go], 'Okay, here's the hits. Now we're gonna play one of our own songs,' and everybody files out to the bathroom. That doesn't happen with our shows," Soussan noted. "It's amazing. I don't know why — I have no idea why. But because of just the alignment of the planets, or whatever it is, people do really appreciate and love our material, and they want to hear those songs.

"When we played [the U.K.'s] Download [festival] in 2019, which was a pinnacle for us, actually, going out there on a stage in front of so many people, we did have a debate backstage," Phil recalled. "We said, 'What songs should we play? Are people here to hear the DIO songs?' And the idea came up to just go ahead and just play our own material. In fact, the only DIO song we played, I think, was an encore, but everything else was our material. Trial by fire, right? It's either gonna go down like a storm or a sack of shit. And it was fantastic. People loved it. And that really gave us the confidence to move forward and say, 'You know what? People really wanna hear this material. They love the new songs. They love the way it's going.' Obviously, it's quality. You can put it up next to the DIO catalog. But the DIO catalog was a long, long time ago. The only thing we have in common with that is the same DNA. So we have Vivian [Campbell, guitar] and Vinny [Appice, drums], of course. And the method by which we write the records, which we've kept the same as they did with DIO. In a nutshell, we don't bring in any songs that we record [on our own] as demos. We literally get into a room with nothing in front of us but our instruments and we create everything organically."

LAST IN LINE will release its third studio album, "Jericho", on March 31 via earMUSIC.

Last year, LAST IN LINE surprised fans by releasing a unique version of THE BEATLES classic "A Day In The Life", which was made available on the limited 12-inch silver collector's EP with the same name.

LAST IN LINE's third studio album was helmed by Chris Collier, who has previously worked with KORN and WHITESNAKE, among other bands. LAST IN LINE's first two albums were produced by former DOKKEN and current FOREIGNER bassist Jeff Pilson.

Formed in 2012 by Appice, Campbell and Bain — Ronnie James Dio's co-conspirators and co-writers on the "Holy Diver", "Last In Line" and "Sacred Heart" albums — LAST IN LINE's debut album, "Heavy Crown", was released in February 2016 via Frontiers Music Srl, landing at No. 1 on Billboard's Heatseekers chart. Initially, the release had been preceded by tragedy when Bain unexpectedly died at the age of 68 on January 23, 2016. LAST IN LINE, honoring what they knew would be Bain's wish to keep the band moving, brought in Soussan and committed to sustained touring in support of the album before beginning work on the follow-up release, 2019's "II", which was also made available through Frontiers Music Srl.

In a recent interview with Shannon Hernandez, a.k.a. The Shan Man, of 98KUPD, Arizona's Real Rock radio station, GODSMACK frontman Sully Erna spoke about some of the important life lessons that he learned in the early days of the band's major label success. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I think one of the first growths in this whole venture of making this a professional career rather than just being a musician and jamming with bands in garages… Once you step into the ladder of climbing to the top and the big leagues, I remember the first thing that I kind of learned was that it distorts your reality. And what I mean by that is when you're a young band and you're doing the grind and playing the circuit and trying to get a deal, and you have this group of friends and you all hang out and they support you on the weekends with your gig and you go home and have beers with them and shoot pool at the bar, all those things are normal. And then you go to your job and you go to rehearsal at night, and that's your reality. And then the dream of being in the big time and on a stage and doing this for a living is really the fantasy. But as you become successful, that turns around and reverses itself where you're touring so heavily… I mean, there was times we were doing tours where it was seven shows in a row with one day off, nine shows in a row with one day off, eleven shows in a row with one day off. You do that for two or three years in a row, you just become a robot. And then, all of a sudden, your realities get twisted, and now that becomes your normal daily thing. And when you go home, all the things that used to seem normal to you are foreign. And you go to a bar, and you see the same group of guys and friends that you would hang with, and all of a sudden they kind of act and treat you a little different. It's a little bit of a standoff — you're staring at them, they're looking at you, and they expect you to be this thing now 'cause they've now seen you for the last so many years on MTV or in articles and on videos. The behavior changes."

He continued: "Even though I think we've done a great job over the years of keeping ourselves humble and grounded and never forgetting our roots, that was one of the first things I really noticed that changed — was the realities getting kind of turned upside down. And then, over the years, you get a grip on everything. And the real people stayed by you, and the people that are there for the wrong reasons stayed away. And then everything normalizes again. And you eventually learn who your circle is and your family and your friends. And we've been in that place for a while now, where we just have a great support team around us and good family and kids and friends and all that stuff. And we do our job; we go out there and we enjoy what we do. We've been blessed to be able to have a career that we love and we can actually make some money at. So all things are good now, and have been for a long time."

Erna went on to say that it was "weird" and "awkward" seeing some of his old friends for the first time after coming back home from GODSMACK's earliest tours once the band had hit it big. "You know these guys, all these people for so long, and then, all of a sudden, they claim that you've changed: 'Oh, he's changed now,'" he recalled. "And in reality, they are the ones who changed, 'cause they treat you a little different when you walk in the door, which makes you respond differently and feel uncomfortable. So, it's that thing."

GODSMACK's new album, "Lighting Up The Sky", will arrive on February 24 via BMG. The LP was co-produced by 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.

In September 2021, GODSMACK's latest album, "When Legends Rise", was certified gold on by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) for sales in excess of half a million copies. In addition, two more of the LP's singles (the title track and "Under Your Scars") were also officially certified gold by the RIAA. The album's first single "Bulletproof" earned a platinum digital single award in September 2020 and was previously certified gold in the U.S.