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

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

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

La Torre discussed his views on the PANTERA comeback while sharing his thoughts on the "Top 10 Metal Albums Of 1994" with Canada's The Metal Voice. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Look, it's two original guys. It's the same as QUEENSRŸCHE. It's the same as JUDAS PRIEST. It's the same as 99 percent of every band that we ever loved from this era.

"There's only one Dime. Okay, yeah, I get it," the singer continued. "I understand that. But I think that it's their name, and [Philip is] the singer, and Rex Brown is there, and if they wanna go out and play it… Charlie is nailing the drum parts — like exactly. Okay, Zakk plays it his way. He's not trying to just be a complete copycat. He has his own identity. And I think because of that notoriety… He's a face that kind of everybody loves, right? Everybody loves Zakk. So he's playing with the band.

"I support it completely," Todd added. "It's their band; it's not yours. They can do whatever they want. And either you got to see 'em originally, like many of us did back in the day… This is the closest thing you're ever gonna get. So either embrace that and be happy for them that they're doing it or just play the old stuff and be a sourpuss about it."

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

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

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

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

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

Ozzy Osbourne was honored with a Grammy in the "Best Rock Album" category in the pre-telecast ceremony at the 65th annual Grammy Awards, which is being held tonight (Sunday, February 5) at the Crypto.com Arena (formerly the Staples Center) in Los Angeles, California. Ozzy was nominated for his 2022 effort "Patient Number 9".

The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame inductee, who has been held back from touring by a litany of health issues in recent years, previously won three Grammy Awards and received eight nominations. In 1993 Ozzy won a solo Grammy Award for "Best Metal Performance" for "I Don't Want To Change The World" and two Grammys as a member of BLACK SABBATH for "Best Metal Performance" in 2000 for "Iron Man" and in 2013 for "Best Metal Performance" for "God Is Dead?" from "13".

The nominees in the "Best Rock Album" category were as follows:

* THE BLACK KEYS – "Dropout Boogie"
* ELVIS COSTELLO AND THE IMPOSTERS – "The Boy Named If"
* IDLES - "Crawler"
* MACHINE GUN KELLY - "Mainstream Sellout"
* OZZY OSBOURNE - "Patient Number 9 "
* SPOON - "Lucifer On The Sofa"

The eligibility period for the 65th annual Grammy Awards was October 1, 2021 through September 30, 2022.

The nominations for all 91 categories were announced last November during a livestream from the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles. The event was streamed live on Grammy.com and on the Academy's Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok channels. Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. was joined by 12-time Grammy winner John Legend, multiplatinum recording artist Machine Gun Kelly, three-time Grammy winner Olivia Rodrigo and 2023 MusiCares "Person Of The Year" honoree Smokey Robinson in announcing the 2023 Grammy nominees.

Among the new category changes this year is that albums must contain greater than 75% playing time of newly recorded music in order to be eligible for a Grammy; the previous eligibility rule was 50%.

"Patient Number 9" — released in September and marking Ozzy's 13th solo studio album — set new career highs for the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame inductee and Grammy-winning singer and songwriter. The critically acclaimed album topped his previous chart entries with record-breaking numbers around the world. In the U.S., the album debuted at No. 1 on multiple charts: Top Album Sales (Ozzy's first No. 1 ever on this chart),Top Current Album Sales (another first),Top Rock & Alternative Albums, Top Rock Albums, Top Hard Rock Albums, Top Vinyl Albums and Tastemaker Albums charts; and at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. Globally, the album charted at No. 1 in Canada (Ozzy's first-ever No. 1 there); career-high No. 2 entries in the U.K., Australia, Finland and Italy; No. 6 in the Netherlands and New Zealand; No. 8 in Belgium; and No. 14 France. Other highlights include No. 2 in Austria, Germany and Sweden; No. 3 in Switzerland; and No. 4 in Norway.

Working with producer Andrew Watt for the second time, Ozzy welcomed a dynamic A-list featured guests on the album. For the first time ever, BLACK SABBATH co-founder, guitarist, and riff-master Tony Iommi appears on an Ozzy solo album. The record also boasts guitarists Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Mike McCready of PEARL JAM, and longstanding righthand man and six-string beast Zakk Wylde who plays on the majority of the tracks. For the bulk of the album, Chad Smith of RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS held down drums, while the late Taylor Hawkins of FOO FIGHTERS appears on three songs. Old friend and one-time Ozzy bandmember Robert Trujillo of METALLICA plays bass on most of the album's tracks, with Duff McKagan of GUNS N' ROSES and Chris Chaney supplying bass on a few songs.

Ozzy Osbourne was honored with a Grammy in the "Best Metal Performance" category in the pre-telecast ceremony at the 65th annual Grammy Awards, which is being held tonight (Sunday, February 5) at the Crypto.com Arena (formerly the Staples Center) in Los Angeles, California. Ozzy was nominated for "Degradation Rules", a track from his 2022 album "Patient Number 9".

The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame inductee, who has been held back from touring by a litany of health issues in recent years, previously won three Grammy Awards and received eight nominations. In 1993 Ozzy won a solo Grammy Award for "Best Metal Performance" for "I Don't Want To Change The World" and two Grammys as a member of BLACK SABBATH for "Best Metal Performance" in 2000 for "Iron Man" and in 2013 for "Best Metal Performance" for "God Is Dead?" from "13".

Osbourne was not present at the ceremony, but producer Andrew Watt and METALLICA bassist Robert Trujillo, who played on "Degradation Rules", accepted the award on Ozzy's behalf. In his speech, Watt relayed a message from Osbourne, noting the 74-year-old BLACK SABBATH frontman wanted to say: "I love you all and fuck off."

The nominees in the "Best Metal Performance" category were as follows:

* "Call Me Little Sunshine" - GHOST
* "We'll Be Back" - MEGADETH
* "Kill Or Be Killed" - MUSE
* "Degradation Rules" - OZZY OSBOURNE (featuring Tony Iommi)
* "Blackout" - TURNSTILE

The eligibility period for the 65th annual Grammy Awards was October 1, 2021 through September 30, 2022.

The nominations for all 91 categories were announced last November during a livestream from the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles. The event was streamed live on Grammy.com and on the Academy's Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok channels. Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. was joined by 12-time Grammy winner John Legend, multiplatinum recording artist Machine Gun Kelly, three-time Grammy winner Olivia Rodrigo and 2023 MusiCares "Person Of The Year" honoree Smokey Robinson in announcing the 2023 Grammy nominees.

Among the new category changes this year is that albums must contain greater than 75% playing time of newly recorded music in order to be eligible for a Grammy; the previous eligibility rule was 50%.

Photo credit: Ross Halfin

The Jim Powers YouTube channel has uploaded video of JOURNEY's February 4 concert at PPL Center in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

The band's setlist was as follows, according to Setlist.fm:

01. Only The Young
02. Neal Schon Guitar Solo #1
03. Stone In Love
04. Don't Stop Believin'
05. Lights
06. Send Her My Love
07. Dead Or Alive
08. Who's Crying Now
09. Walks Like A Lady (Deen Castronovo lead vocals)
10. Let It Rain
11. Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'
12. Jonathan Cain Piano Solo
13. Open Arms
14. Faithfully
15. Girl Can't Help It (Jason Derlatka lead vocals)
16. Neal Schon Guitar Solo #2
17. Wheel In The Sky
18. Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)
19. Be Good To Yourself
20. Any Way You Want It

JOURNEY played its first concert of 2023 on January 27 in Durant, Oklahoma. The two-hour performance at the 3,000-capacity Grand Theater at the Choctaw Casino & Resort marked the band's first appearance since JOURNEY guitarist Neal Schon and keyboardist Jonathan Cain publicly feuded over several issues, including Neal allegedly causing over $1 million in personal expenses to be charged to the band's shared American Express card and Schon demanding that Cain stop playing events for former U.S. president Donald Trump.

Last month, Cain filed a lawsuit against Schon over the guitarist's personal expenses which were allegedly charged to the American Express card, including $400,000 in a single month last year.

Cain's allegations come more than two months after Schon filed a lawsuit against his longtime bandmate, contending that he was being denied access to the American Express card.

In a countersuit filed in California state court, Cain said that during the first one-month billing cycle, after Schon obtained the AMEX card, Schon charged more than $50,000 in personal expenses for the billing period ending September 15, 2021. For the one-month billing period ending January 15, 2022, Schon allegedly charged more than $100,000 of his personal expenses on the AMEX card. For the one-month billing period ending February 13, 2022, Schon allegedly charged approximately $30,000 of his personal expenses on the AMEX card. For the one-month billing period ending March 16, 2022, Schon allegedly charged more than $400,000 of his personal expenses on the AMEX card. The charges allegedly included $42,000 to various PayPal accounts, over $104,000 to Chrome Hearts (jewelry and apparel),more than $31,000 to the Bergdorf Goodman department store in New York City, and over $54,000 for his personal insurance premiums.

According to Cain's lawsuit, "Schon's charges placed considerable pressure on JOURNEY and its ability to cover normal tour expenses. Schon was spending JOURNEY's money, and Cain is the one who was and is ultimately liable for the AMEX Account and Schon's charges on the AMEX Card. Even with the $30,000 limit on Schon's card on the Nomota AMEX account," referring to the company Cain and Schon set up to operate the band, "Schon still managed to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars in additional, excessive personal expenses through other tour personnel and travel agents. For example, the budget allocated a maximum of $1,500 per night for hotel rooms for Schon and Cain. However, Schon demanded to stay in hotel suites that cost in excess of $5,000 per night. After the recent tour ended in Honolulu, Hawaii, Schon stayed an extra week in a hotel suite that cost $6,000 a night and charged more than $100,000 in expenses to the AMEX Account."

In a statement to Billboard, Schon's attorney Skip Miller called allegations "ridiculous" and "as phony as a three dollar bill." He said the countersuit was merely "sour grapes" after a recent incident in which Schon demanded that Cain stop playing for Trump. "We want Cain to just focus on JOURNEY and its fans," Miller said.

In December, Cain fired back at Schon when the JOURNEY guitarist called him a "hypocrite" for performing the band's 1981 hit song "Don't Stop Believin'" at Trump's Mar-a-Lago property. Cain, whose wife, Paula White-Cain, is the former president's self-styled spiritual adviser, played the track in November with a backup chorus of U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Donald Trump Jr.'s fiancée Kimberly Guilfoyle and former Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake.

"Neal Schon should look in the mirror when he accuses me of causing harm to the JOURNEY brand," Cain said in a statement. "I have watched him damage our brand for years and am a victim of both his — and his wife's — bizarre behavior."

An attorney for Schon sent a cease-and-desist letter to Cain after he performed at Trump's Florida estate.

The latest legal move came a few weeks after Schon filed his lawsuit against Cain. Cain, for his part, accused Schon of misusing the card, citing his "excessive spending and extravagant lifestyle."

A month earlier, former JOURNEY singer Steve Perry took legal action against both Schon and Cain, asking them to stop registering federal trademarks on the names of many of the band's hits.

Presented by AEG Presents, JOURNEY's tour with TOTO will make stops in Austin, Montreal and Memphis before wrapping April 25 at the brand-new Acrisure Arena in Palm Springs, California.

The "Freedom Tour 2023" run includes rescheduled dates in Washington, D.C., plus Hartford, Toronto and Quebec, which were postponed last year due to the coronavirus.

LINKIN PARK will release a previously unheard song called "Lost" this Friday, February 10. The track is an outtake from the recording sessions for the band's second album, "Meteora", which will celebrate its 20th anniversary in March.

"'Lost', a new, never-before-heard song from the 'Meteora' archives. Out Friday, February 10th," LINKIN PARK wrote on Twitter.

LINKIN PARK has been on hiatus since the death of frontman Chester Bennington in 2017.

Last April, LINKIN PARK's Mike Shinoda said that there are no plans for new music, albums or live shows from the band.

The 45-year-old musician, who was appointed Community Innovation Advisor of Warner Recorded Music (WRM),addressed LINKIN PARK's future during a Twitch livestream.

"The only LINKIN PARK news I have for you is that… Yeah, we talk every few weeks — I talk to the guys, or some of the guys," he said. "And there's no tours, there's no music, there's no albums in the pipeline. Okay, so let me just tell you that. So just keep in your minds that that is not happening.

"I'm just gonna say that much for now," he continued. "I say that because anytime the band says anything or does anything, everyone tries to start up the hype train, and we're, like, 'No, no, no, no. Don't start up the hype train.' You're gonna disappoint yourself. Don't do that."

LINKIN PARK has not performed together in public since October 2017, when the surviving members staged a tribute concert in Los Angeles to singer Chester Bennington. The band has not officially announced whether it intends to carry on following the death of Bennington, who committed suicide in July 2017 at the age of 41.

Four years ago, Shinoda shot down reports that LINKIN PARK was actively searching for a replacement for Bennington. In February 2019, Shinoda took to his Twitter account to write: "Lemme clarify a rumor: we are not looking for a new singer, and if it were to happen organically, I'd be open. Seems pretty clear, yet I guess some folks have a hard time understanding.

"I'm not into predicting the future. The future will happen."

Shinoda made his comments in an apparent response to how the media covered an interview he gave to Rock Antenne. When asked about the possibility of finding a new singer, Shinoda said: "That's not my goal right now. I think it has to happen naturally. And if we find somebody that's a great person that we think is a good personality fit and a good stylistic fit, then I could see trying to do some stuff with somebody... I wouldn't wanna ever feel like we were replacing Chester."

King Crimson founder Robert Fripp and his wife, Toyah Willcox, are back in the kitchen serving up another Sunday Lunch. Check out their take on the THe Tubes classic "White Punks On Dope" below.





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

From Ashes To New have today (February 3) delivered an intense and captivating new single “Nightmare,” taken from their upcoming as-yet-titled fourth album due this summer via Better Noise Music. “Nightmare” masterfully showcases dual vocalists Matt Brandyberry and Danny Case expertise in contrasting heavy rock anthemic choruses with nu-metal/rap rock verses. ”Nightmare” takes listeners through the emotions of being betrayed and the nightmares that result which are presented in the track’s accompanying apocalyptic-themed music video directed by Josiahx (Distrubed, Miss May I).





“Betrayal by someone we trust happens to the best of us,” says Case. “We befriend someone, let them in, build a connection and then all of a sudden they turn into someone unrecognizable. Someone you once trusted and cared for so deeply is now a backstabbing enemy. In a heartbeat, the person you once thought you knew is now gone. There aren’t many things in life that cut quite as deep as betrayal. Erasing that person from your life and moving forward is the only way to wake up from the nightmare.”




Stream “Nightmare” on all digital platforms here.


The Lancaster, PA-based group—Brandyberry (vocals), Case (vocals), Lance Dowdle (guitars) and Mat Madiro (drums)—will be on tour this spring, joining fellow Top 10 active rock-charting acts Shinedown and Three Days Grace across the East Coast and Midwest from April 3 to May 9 before appearing as some of the summer’s largest rock festivals including Welcome To Rockville (5/19 - Daytona Beach, FL) and Sonic Temple (5/27 - Columbus, OH).


Tour dates:


April
3 - Saginaw, MI - The Dow Event Center
4 - Cincinnati, OH - Heritage Bank Center
7 - Bridgeport, CT - Total Mortgage Arena
8 - State College, PA - Bryce Jordan Center
10 - Wilkes-Barre, PA - Mohegan Sun Arena
12 - Huntington, WV - Mountain Health Arena
14 - Jacksonville, FL - Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena
15 - Orlando, FL - Amway Center
17 - Savannah, GA - Enmarket Arena
19 - Huntsville, AL - Von Braun Center
21 - Memphis, TN - FedExForum
22 - Baton Rouge, LA - Raising Cane's River Center
24 - Tulsa, OK - BOK Center
25 - Lincoln, NE - Pinnacle Bank Arena
27 - Ft. Wayne, IN - Allen County War Memorial Coliseum
29 - Milwaukee, WI - Fiserv Forum
30 - Minneapolis, MN - Target Center


May
3 - Bozeman, MT - Brick Breeden Fieldhouse
6 - Spokane, WA - Spokane Arena
7 - Everett, WA - Angel of the Winds Arena
9 - Portland, OR - Moda Center
19 – Daytona Beach, FL – Welcome To Rockville*
27 – Columbus, OH – Sonic Temple*


*festival date, no Shinedown, no Three Days Grace


(Photo - Jeremy Saffer)