Cult rock group UNCLE ACID AND THE DEADBEATS is back with a new single, "Don't Let It Control You", via Killer Candy Records.

A blood-soaked taster from UNCLE ACID AND THE DEADBEATS' forthcoming studio album, "Don't Let It Control You" sees the band rip through three minutes and 45 seconds of psycho rock at chainsaw speed. Combining Fuzzrite guitars with driving Stooges piano, out-of-tune harmonies, and Shadow Morton backing vocals, this earworm will be sure to rot in your brain all summer.

Pre-orders for the single, the band's first seven-inch release since "Pusher Man" in 2016, will begin today. To accompany, the band teamed up with low-budget B-movie specialists Tinnitus Productions to produce an exclusive Super 8 music video. Watch it below.

UNCLE ACID AND THE DEADBEATS have also announced shows around the U.K. in November to add to their summer European dates. A full list of confirmed shows below. Tickets for all U.K. shows go on general sale April 30.

UNCLE ACID AND THE DEADBEATS live:

Continental Europe:

June 4 - Norje, SE - Sweden Rock Festival
June 6 - Netphen, DE - Freak Valley Festival
June 7 - Strasbourg, FR - La Laiterie
June 10 - Bilbao, ES - Kafé Antzokia
June 12 - Lisbon, PT - LAV
June 13 - Madrid, ES - Sala Mon
June 14 - Barcelona, ES - Razzmatazz 2
June 16 - Toulouse, FR - Le Rex
June 17 - Bordeaux, FR - Le Rocher de Palmer
June 18 - Clisson, FR - Hellfest
June 20 - Dessel, BE - Graspop Metal Meeting
June 22 - Groningen, NL - Vera
June 24 - Leipzig, DE - UT Connewitz
June 26 - Stuttgart, DE - Im Wizemann
June 27 - Wiesbaden, DE - Sol Sonic Ride
June 28 - Bourlon, FR - Rock in Bourlon
July 2 - Roskilde, DK - Roskilde Festival
July 3 - Donje Primišlje, HR - Bear Stone Festival

U.K. dates:

November 19 - Wolverhampton, UK - KK's Steel Mill
November 20 - Manchester, UK - New Century Hall
November 21 - Glasgow, UK - The Garage
November 22 - Leeds, UK - Brudenell
November 24 - Bristol, UK - Trinity
November 25 - Southampton, UK - Engine Rooms
November 27 - Brighton, UK - Concorde 2
November 28 - Norwich, UK - Waterfront
November 29 - Nottingham, UK - Rescue Rooms

The brainchild of Kevin Starrs, UNCLE ACID AND THE DEADBEATS have been making extraordinary music since 2009. Always too bold and idiosyncratic to be easily pigeonholed, they emerged from an obscure corner of the labyrinthine British underground as shadowy purveyors of a new and overwhelmingly psychedelic take on the gritty rudiments of hard rock and downer blues. Steeped in both the wayward melodies, vocal harmonies and mischievous arrangements of psychedelic pop and the dissonant thunder and macabre imagery of proto-metal, Starrs' greatest feat has been to create an entirely fresh sonic world from these most familiar of ingredients.

UNCLE ACID AND THE DEADBEATS' reputation was swiftly built on towering, riff-driven milestones like 2011's breakthrough opus "Blood Lust" and its warped and wicked follow-up, "Mind Control" (2013),both released through Rise Above Records and subsequently showered with critical acclaim. The band established themselves as an exciting live act in 2013 with a string of high-profile festival appearances, culminating in a tour as sole support to BLACK SABBATH. By the time "The Night Creeper" was released in 2015, their mutation into heavy music's most unmistakable eccentrics was complete, as they cranked up the melodic weirdness, rendering monstrous ideas into something approaching three-dimensional Technicolor.

Firmly established as cult heroes, UNCLE ACID AND THE DEADBEATS consolidated "The Night Creeper"'s triumph by touring the world extensively, including a string of sold-out shows in the U.S., Europe and Australia. The dystopian-soaked "Wasteland" followed, cementing their reputation, before releasing the bizarro "audio film" concept album "Nell'ora Blu", which challenged their audience with its exploration of new sounds.

While most musicians seem content to chase their own (or other people’s tails),UNCLE ACID AND THE DEADBEATS remain resolute individualists. Masterfully echoing the magical atmospheres of heavy music’s turbulent past while sounding entirely unlike anything else available to human ears. Having set up their own label Killer Candy Records, with the single "Don't Let It Control You" and new album set for 2026, UNCLE ACID AND THE DEADBEATS continue to be the deadliest show in town.

UNCLE ACID AND THE DEADBEATS is:

Kevin Starrs - Vocals/Lead Guitar
George Hudson - Rhythm Guitar/Vocals
Jus Smith - Bass
Jon Rice - Drums
Rachel Burnett - Keys/Vocals

Photo credit: Karin Hunt

In a new interview with Australia's Everblack podcast, SEPULTURA guitarist Andreas Kisser spoke about his plans for after the completion of the legendary Brazilian/American metal band's "Celebrating Life Through Death" farewell tour. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I have a lot of ideas. Already we have a lot of stuff parallel to SEPULTURA for many years. I have another band called DE LA TIERRA. I have a radio show with my son here in São Paulo [Brazil] for 14 years now. I have another band with my son, KISSER CLAN, which we play covers and stuff. Also, after my wife's passing, I started a movement here to stimulate the people to talk about dying, which is a taboo subject here in Brazil — in the world in general, but in Brazil especially. After the experience I had with my wife, I started to move and started to try to improve the dying situation here in Brazil. We can make changes, cultural changes, that can make this process a little easier. Of course it's very painful when you lose somebody close, but there's ways that we can prepare ourselves during our life."

He continued: "[The] 'Celebrating Life Through Death' [concept] has a lot to do with experience I went through as well, to respect finitude, to see dying as not a punishment, but as an inevitable part of life. Once you respect the end, you're gonna live your present with much more intensity. And that's what we are doing. I mean, we are doing an amazing tour, probably our best tour ever, seeing old friends. Lots of people who never came to see SEPULTURA are coming to see us. We are fulfilling wishes, last wishes, like going to Iceland or playing at Lollapalooza or [releasing] this [new] EP with a ballad. Why not, right?"

Andreas added: "We have a tendency not to talk about [dying], and when death comes, we are not prepared emotionally and rationally to deal with that in a more peaceful way, let's say. So I'm going to, of course, invest more time in this. I do a, a festival here [in Brazil] honoring Patricia, my wife, and all the funds go to organizations and associations who take the palliative care to the favelas of Rio [De Janeiro] and São Paulo. People there are completely forgotten by society. They don't have access to medication or even a hospital and stuff. So, it's something that life put me in this way through death, if that makes any sense. But it does. I mean, one cannot live without the other, so we should embrace that and live more intensively.

"And so in general, I have all these possibilities, and, of course, new ideas or new projects," Andreas concluded. "I know so many musicians around the world, amazing musicians from amazing bands, that we can start something new or fresh. Who knows? But also I like to invest more [time into] my classical guitar playing. I'm studying so much, a lot; I never stopped studying, actually. And I like to do different stuff, different approaches to music, and see what happen. I think I don't have to be sure about anything. The only thing I'm sure that's gonna be a new phase, and that's enough, and that we see where these new roads will take me."

Earlier this month, Kisser talked to France's Metal OBS about SEPULTURA's new EP, "The Cloud Of Unknowing", which came out on April 24 via Nuclear Blast Records. Regarding why he and his bandmates chose to release new music while preparing to put the group to rest, he explained:  "When we announced the farewell tour two years ago, almost three years ago, we announced that it's gonna be open. But I mean, we know we are dying; SEPULTURA is stopping. So we're gonna leave it open to fulfill our last wishes. For instance, we had the chance to play Lollapalooza in Brazil for the first time… We went to Iceland for the first time. So we need time to go to places and to fulfill all the possibilities. So every album that SEPULTURA puts out, we take three years touring the world. If you see the history, that's our rhythm. Because we go everywhere. We've been to more than 80 countries and we go far and it takes time. So, why rush? Why run? I mean, there's no reason that we [have to] announce [the final tour] and in a year we have to stop just because people think the farewell has to stop in a certain time. And we leave it open, because we live the moment, we live the present. And it turned out the possibility to record an album."

Kisser continued: "We did the 70000 Tons Of Metal last year, which is a cruise, from Miami to Jamaica and then Jamaica to Miami, and then we make the best of the situation. We went to the Criteria Studios in Miami to record four songs. I had a few ideas. I always have demos and ideas floating around. And [SEPULTURA drummer] Greyson [Nekrutman] came into the band two years ago, and he brought a new perspective, a new energy, new frequencies to the band that it was great. The atmosphere was perfect for us to work. We went into the studio. We didn't have a release date. We didn't have a name for the album. We didn't have even names for the songs. I mean, the song 'Sacred Books', the number three song, we wrote in the studio, jamming, together, me and Greyson and stuff, and we did it in the studio. So it's very spontaneous. It's an album that it doesn't have any attachment to any strategy or marketing or whatever you wanna call. It just happened. And it's great, in this third year of our farewell tour, to have a new element, to have new songs. We have four new songs, which we will play live on this upcoming tour and stuff."

As for why SEPULTURA didn't make a full-length album and opted to record an EP instead, Andreas said: "The pressure of doing an album is totally different. It's totally different. It's another story. We have an EP. The format really fits wherever we felt at the time. Why we have to do an album? There's no law that [says we have] to do something like that. So we made the best of what we had in our hands. The elements of the present. We [were] in Miami. We [had] a few ideas. We went to the studio for 10 days, and we did it. And then a year later now, everything's ready to release. We put out the first single, and April is coming out the whole, full EP. So it's great. I mean, it's, it's something that was really spontaneous. It's kind of crazy. Of course you have some planning, you have some ideas, but you have to let room to improvise as well."

Prior to "The Cloud Of Unknowing"'s arrival, SEPULTURA released two singles from the EP: "The Place" and "Beyond The Dream". SEPULTURA collaborated on the latter with Sérgio Britto and Tony Bellotto of TITÃS.

SEPULTURA kicked off its farewell tour on March 1, 2024 at Arena Hall in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. The sold-out show marked the band's debut performance with Nekrutman, who previously played with SUICIDAL TENDENCIES.

SEPULTURA announced previous drummer Eloy Casagrande's departure on February 27, 2024, explaining in a statement that he was leaving to join "another project", with Eloy later confirming that he was the new drummer of SLIPKNOT.

The news of Eloy's exit from SEPULTURA came just two months after the band announced it would celebrate its 40th anniversary in 2024 by embarking on a "farewell tour" which would cover the entire globe.

In SEPULTURA's statement, the remaining bandmembers expressed their shock over Casagrande's departure, saying they were "taken by surprise" that their now-former drummer would "abandon everything related to SEPULTURA" less than a month prior to the start of the tour.

SEPULTURA is putting together a live album commemorating its last run of shows. The band is recording 40 songs in 40 different cities for what SEPULTURA said will be a "massive compilation of our best, most energetic moments on stage."

The final North American leg of SEPULTURA's "Celebrating Life Through Death" tour will feature support from thrash legends EXODUS, hardcore heavyweights BIOHAZARD, and newcomers TRIBAL GAZE. The trek will kick off on April 29 in Montclair, New Jersey and will visit major cities across the U.S. and Canada, including Montreal, Detroit, Chicago, Denver, and Los Angeles, before concluding on May 29 at The Wiltern in Los Angeles. Along the way, SEPULTURA will also perform at major festivals, including Welcome To Rockville and Sonic Temple.

In a new interview with U.K.'s Heavy Matters, SEPULTURA frontman Derrick Green spoke about his plans for after the completion of the band's ongoing farewell tour. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "There's so many possibilities, endless possibilities. I've always been into photography, and I will continue to do that. I've been really into fitness and health and this plant-based world, and I'll continue doing that. And I will continue doing music. I definitely would love to do another band. And I'm putting that together as we speak."

Derrick continued: "Trying to align with certain people, it's like starting from scratch — well, not necessarily from scratch, but it's definitely a challenge to form that connection with people again — different people. After being with a band for so long — I've been especially with [SEPULTURA guitarist] Andreas [Kisser] and [SEPULTURA bassist] Paulo [Xisto Pinto Jr.] for so many years, since like 1998 — so it's interesting to think back and then now be where we're at, where it's just, like, 'Okay, I'll try to find other people to jam with.' It's exciting, I have to say."

Asked if he is planning on returning to his hardcore roots with his post-SEPULTURA music project, Derrick said: "I was able to learn so much and take away so much being with SEPULTURA, and I will use different elements from that. Then, the hardcore, of course, it's always flowing in my blood. And then also a lot of melodical-type stuff I was doing. I felt that I've grown and evolved in being able to do that. So I wanna have a mix of that, and for sure have a heavy groove on whatever it is I'm gonna do in the future. So I'm looking forward to really combining all those different elements."

Earlier this month, Kisser told France's Metal OBS about his plans for after the completion of SEPULTURA's farewell tour: "I'm not gonna stop, of course, doing music. I have so many ideas, but I didn't decide yet where to go. I still wanna enjoy the moment, enjoy the tour, enjoy the very last run that we have this year. But I have many possibilities. Maybe [I will] do another album myself or try something different. I wanna explore different worlds. I'm going more to the art world, like painting and mixing music with colors and stuff. And it's interesting, to try to go to different places. I don't wanna find another world that is the same as SEPULTURA. I already did [all that] during SEPULTURA. So I'd like to absorb more ideas and to be aware of new possibilities and see what happens. But now I'm very focused of what we doing today and the [last few months of the] tour."

SEPULTURA has just released a new EP, "The Cloud Of Unknowing", via Nuclear Blast Records. The band previously released two singles from the effort: "The Place" and "Beyond The Dream". SEPULTURA collaborated on the latter track with Sérgio Britto and Tony Bellotto of TITÃS.

SEPULTURA kicked off its farewell tour on March 1, 2024 at Arena Hall in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. The sold-out show marked the band's debut performance with drummer Greyson Nekrutman, who previously played with SUICIDAL TENDENCIES.

SEPULTURA announced previous drummer Eloy Casagrande's departure on February 27, 2024, explaining in a statement that he was leaving to join "another project", with Eloy later confirming that he was the new drummer of SLIPKNOT.

The news of Eloy's exit from SEPULTURA came just two months after the band announced it would celebrate its 40th anniversary in 2024 by embarking on a "farewell tour" which would cover the entire globe.

In SEPULTURA's statement, the remaining bandmembers expressed their shock over Casagrande's departure, saying they were "taken by surprise" that their now-former drummer would "abandon everything related to SEPULTURA" less than a month prior to the start of the tour.

SEPULTURA is putting together a live album commemorating its last run of shows. The band is recording 40 songs in 40 different cities for what SEPULTURA said will be a "massive compilation of our best, most energetic moments on stage."

The final North American leg of SEPULTURA's "Celebrating Life Through Death" tour will feature support from thrash legends EXODUS, hardcore heavyweights BIOHAZARD, and newcomers TRIBAL GAZE. The trek will kick off on April 29 in Montclair, New Jersey and will visit major cities across the U.S. and Canada, including Montreal, Detroit, Chicago, Denver, and Los Angeles, before concluding on May 29 at The Wiltern in Los Angeles. Along the way, SEPULTURA will also perform at major festivals, including Welcome To Rockville and Sonic Temple.

During an April 23 appearance on SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", GODSMACK frontman Sully Erna publicly disclosed for the first time his romantic relationship with Dorothy Martin, the lead singer of the rock band DOROTHY. Erna also talked about his musical collaboration with Dorothy on a track called "Set Me Free". He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It's actually really good. It's a banger. It's coming out soon."

Regarding how he first hooked up with Dorothy on the aforementioned song, Sully said: "Me and her connected originally because we both went through some history and with bad relationships. A lot of people kind of go through these things, but we have the opportunity to kind of voice it and vent it through our art. So we both kind of had gone through a similar situation that just felt really appropriate to kind of write about it and set it free. And the song became obvious. And it's just a down-and-dirty good hard rock song. And it's not a ballad, it's nothing sappy. It's actually the opposite."

Dorothy, who celebrated her 40th birthday earlier this month, told "Trunk Nation" host Eddie Trunk that she was thrilled about her new relationship. "I love this man," she said about the 58-year-old Sully. "He's such a good, solid man. I feel safe with him. And we had a wonderful friendship for months and months. I've never laughed so much in my life. My face hurts."

In a separate interview with Billboard, Erna described "Set Me Free" as "an incredibly powerful and really straight-up, bad-ass, boot-kicking rock song. [Dorothy] has a hell of a voice; she's so cool and smokey and bluesy. We were really up to do a song with her, so we jumped in the studio with Scott Stevens and me producing, and it's really cool. The voices work really well together. I'm really excited to release that song and have that get out on the Internet and the airwaves and see how people respond."

Earlier this month, Dorothy told U.K.'s Daily Mail that she was once involved in a deeply toxic relationship with a world-renowned musician from another popular band. "He was... famous and successful. I won't say his name because this isn't about him," she said. "This is about giving survivors the strength to leave and recover from abuse."

Elaborating on the mistreatment she suffered at the hands of the musician in question, she said: "I knew things weren't right because his actions and words wouldn't line up. He would gaslight and lie to keep me off balance. He made promises of love and a future, but once he gained my trust he treated me with contempt and cruelty. The emotional and psychological abuse wrecked my nervous system."

She added: 'My ex admitted to doing horrendous things in his previous marriage but always had an excuse. He also worked very hard to smear his ex, that was a major red flag that I didn't take seriously enough."

At the 2023 Rocklahoma festival in Pryor, Oklahoma, Erna was asked for relationship advice by a then-"freshly engaged" Matt "Cuervo" Cuellar of Springfield, Missouri's Q102 radio station. Erna responded: "Here's the key to every relationship. I guarantee you, this is every relationship. Everybody has their shit, right? Everybody has their baggage. Everybody has their things that annoy you. A relationship is just about choosing someone whose shit you can deal with the most. That's really all it is. Whose shit do you wanna deal with?"

Earlier in 2023, Erna went public with his relationship with Kelly Fedoni, the ex-wife of Deadmau5, a Canadian singer and DJ whose real name is Joel Thomas Zimmerman. That same year, Sully confirmed that he once dated Lady Gaga. He stated about the pop superstar: "I was introduced to her through a mutual friend. We clicked and dated for a hot minute, and there was nothing but respect for each other... There may be a lot of people in the world that think she's kooky and crazy because she's so wild with fashion and things like that, but she knows exactly what she's doing. She's an extremely smart businesswoman. And she's kind and super talented. I'm proud to say that I shared some great moments with her. I was able to meet Elton John through her. She's an incredibly great person and those are some very fond memories for me. And I'll leave it there."

Sully has a daughter, Skylar Brook, who was born in December 2001.

Sully Erna photo credit: Chris Bradshaw / Dorothy photo courtesy of Atom Splitter PR

Belated 40’s comin’ in hot w/ a rock n roll plot twist & lots of loooooove ❤️‍🔥👸🏻🎸

Posted by Dorothy on Friday, April 24, 2026

Tom Gabriel Fischer (a.k.a. Tom Warrior; CELTIC FROST, HELLHAMMER), Thomas "Angelripper" Such (SODOM), Schmier (DESTRUCTION), Piotr "Peter" Wiwczarek (VADER), Attila Csihar (MAYHEM), Andy Brings (SODOM), Dan Lilker (NUCLEAR ASSAULT) and Blake "Bulldözer" Arendell (a.k.a. Blake Arenvurst; INTERCEPTOR) are among the guest musicians who joined Jeff "Mantas" Dunn and Anthony "Abaddon" Bray, iconic co-founders of the pioneering black metal band VENOM, to celebrate the 45th anniversary of VENOM's classic debut album, 1981's "Welcome To Hell", at the 2026 edition of the Keep It True festival on April 24, 2026 at Tauberfrankenhalle in Lauda-Königshofen, Germany. Professionally filmed video of the entire concert can be seen below.

According to Setlist.fm, the setlist for the show was as follows:

(Blake "Bulldözer" Arendell on vocals, unless otherwise noted)

01. Witching Hour (VENOM song)
02. Die Hard (VENOM song)
03. Live Like An Angel (Die Like A Devil) (VENOM song) (Jeff Mantas on vocals)
04. Welcome To Hell (VENOM song) (Tom Gabriel Warrior on vocals)
05. Schizo (VENOM song)
06. Poison (VENOM song)
07. Genocide (VENOM song) (Piotr Wiwczarek on vocals)
08. The Seven Gates Of Hell (VENOM song)
09. Buried Alive (VENOM song)
10. Don't Burn The Witch (VENOM song)
11. Angel Dust (VENOM song) (Tom Angelripper on vocals and bass, Andy Brings on guitar)
12. One Thousand Days In Sodom (VENOM song) (Tom Angelripper on vocals and bass, Andy Brings on guitar)
13. Black Metal (VENOM song) (Schmier on vocals)
14. Warhead (VENOM song)
15. The Chanting Of The Priests (VENOM song)
16. In Nomine Satanas (VENOM song) (Dan Lilker on bass)
17. Sons Of Satan (VENOM song) (Dan Lilker on bass)

Encore:

18. Bloodlust (VENOM song) (Attila Csihar on vocals)
19. Countess Bathory (VENOM song) (Diva Satanica on vocals)
20. In League With Satan (VENOM song) (every guest musician on stage)

When the event was first announced last September, Mantas commented: "I still vividly recall walking into Neat Records in 1981 to record another set of demos when David Wood, the owner, asked us if we had enough material for an album. We, of course, said 'yes' and we were given three days to record our first album, 'Welcome To Hell'. That, my friends, was 45 years ago, and now we are here at the Keep It True festival to celebrate 45 years of 'Welcome To Hell', a groundbreaking album in heavy metal that I am so proud of. This is gonna be an amazing night my friends with so many very special guests. Come celebrate with us. April 24 2026, see you all there. Maximum respect."

Last October, Mantas and Abaddon spoke to Canada's The Metal Voice about the fact that there are now three different bands using variations of the VENOM band name. In addition to their new collaboration, there is the Conrad "Cronos" Lant-fronted version of VENOM, in which Cronos is the sole remaining member from the band's classic era, and there is VENOM INC., which is led by bassist/vocalist Tony "Demolition Man" Dolan, who was a member of VENOM between 1989 and 1992, appearing on the albums "Prime Evil" (1989),"Temples Of Ice" (1991) and "The Waste Lands" (1992). Mantas said in part: "I'm just gonna speak the truth, the absolute truth. I'm the founder member [of VENOM]. If there's a co-founder, it's Abaddon. Cronos was the last one to join. Everyone knows that. I wrote all the early material, blah, blah, blah. And at this very moment in time, the way I look at it is there isn't a VENOM out there. There's bands out there who are playing VENOM material. And that's the honest way that I look at it."

Regarding why he and Abaddon chose to reteam for these shows right now, Mantas said: "Myself and Abaddon, we said, 'Look, why don't we just do something to celebrate this fucking band?' And that's all we're doing. It's a celebration of 'Welcome To Hell', 45 years of that album. And this stupid fucking band has missed every major anniversary in its history. We've never celebrated an anniversary of this band. So I spoke to the guys at Keep It True, Oliver Weinsheimer in particular, the owner of the festival. And I said, 'Right, here's an idea. Why don't we get some special guests, people who have been influenced by the band? All that kind of thing.' And he said, 'Great. Let's do it.' So that's how it all came about. And now we're getting offers from other places to do the same thing. So, yeah, if nobody else will do it, we're gonna go out and celebrate this band."

Asked what band name he and Abaddon will perform under, Mantas said: "As far as I'm concerned, there's no fucking name to it. There's Abaddon's VENOM logo, which is his. And underneath it, it says, 'Mantas and Abaddon.' And then special guests. And that's what we're doing."

Elaborating on the reasons he and Abaddon have chosen to play the VENOM music together again, Mantas said: "I know it's not gonna be the PANTERA thing, and I know it's not a fucking KISS reunion or anything like that, but this band has had, for whatever reason, and it still amazes me to this day, but this band has had so much influence on the metal scene from day one, especially when that album ['Welcome To Hell'] came out. And then [VENOM's second album] 'Black Metal' — black metal, as a genre, is still alive and kicking today. Extreme metal is around, people say, because of us."

On the topic of the response from VENOM fans to the announcement of the Keep It True concert, as well as the November 30, 2025 appearance by Dunn and Bray at Shinjuku Antiknock, a legendary music venue in Tokyo, Japan, alongside some of Japan's finest black metal players, Mantas said: "Every comment I've seen so far, 90 percent has been really, really positive. Like, 'Great. Go for it, guys,' all this kind of stuff. Then you get the one, 'Oh, no Cronos, no VENOM.' It's, like, okay, listen to me right now. You can you imagine the most toxic relationship and the most stressful relationship you've ever had in your fucking life, and now go back and invite it back in. And that's what we tried to do.

"If everybody knew the real reason I left in 1986, you wouldn't even fucking look at that guy again. All these people who say that about Cronos and stuff like that, yes, he was a part of the band. I appreciate that. He didn't write all the fucking early material. He didn't found the band. He was the last person to join.

"If you were having problems with your wife and you put it on the fucking Internet, I would never go, 'Oh, yeah, well, I know what's going on,' because you don't — you don't know the personalities of the people involved in it," Mantas explained. "All you see from the outside is a band. I mean, I love KISS. I love JUDAS PRIEST. Now there's fucking problems with K.K. [Downing] and all the rest of fucking PRIEST. There's problems with Ace [Frehley] and fucking Gene [Simmons] and Paul [Stanley] and Peter [Criss], but we don't know what's really gone on. And it's, like, yeah, I tell you what, get back in your mom's basement. Eat your fucking microwave meal and play your video games. This is ridiculous to comment on people's careers. And that's the way I feel about it. And all I'm saying is that myself and Abaddon, as the two original members of VENOM, we're gonna go out and we're gonna celebrate this band and its music. And that's it. Nothing more, nothing less."

Abaddon also offered his opinion on the VENOM name issue, saying: "My take on that is very straightforward. If you've got three bands using the word VENOM to sell the music… Originally, VENOM were a three-piece. Unless you've got two members of that three-piece, you can't call it VENOM because it's Cronos and some other blokes, or it's Dolan and some other blokes. If you've got me and Jeff, you've got two-thirds of the original fucking band. That's as straightforward as you can get."

In August, Mantas and Abaddon reached out to their loyal fans — the "Legions" — for support in a legal battle against Cronos. Since 2023, Mantas and Abaddon have fought to resolve two critical issues: securing recognition for their contributions to VENOM's legendary artwork and claiming their rightful share of merchandise profits from albums they co-wrote and performed, including "Welcome To Hell" (1981),"Black Metal" (1982),"At War With Satan" (1984) and "Possessed" (1985). Now in their 60s, Mantas and Abaddon seek a fair resolution to ensure their families benefit from VENOM's enduring legacy, which helped define the black metal genre. "We're simply asking for what is rightfully ours," they said in a joint statement. "After decades of avoidable conflict, we want peace and closure."

Despite efforts to resolve the dispute amicably, the duo has been forced to pursue legal action, incurring significant personal and financial costs.

The legal battle intensified in June 2024, with Cronos suing Abaddon and Plastic Head Music Distribution Ltd, accusing the distributor of selling merchandise with Lant's copyrighted VENOM designs and Bray of approving the infringement through a licensing agreement. The dispute revolved around the fact that both parties were licensing and selling official VENOM merchandise featuring the contested designs.

The duo is calling on fans worldwide to help fund their legal fight. "If every fan bought us a pint, we could see this through," they said.

Contributions can be made at this location.

According to Law360.com, Lant testified in court that he joined VENOM in late 1979 and came up with the Satanic-themed designs used in the band's logo and album covers, which included goat heads, pentagrams and inverted crosses.

Bray filed a counterclaim for infringement against Lant and Lant's distributor, Razmataz.com Ltd., arguing that Bray was the real author of the works.

Because Lant was able to produce numerous sketches which demonstrated his design process and Bray was unable to do the same, Bray was deemed the owner of the original logo, while Lant was found to be the creator and copyright owner of all but one of the other artistic works in dispute.Nearly a decade ago, Dunn formed VENOM INC. with Bray and Dolan.

In December 2024, approximately eight months after suffering his second heart attack, Dunn announced that he was leaving VENOM INC., explaining in a statement that his "health and wellbeing are of paramount importance to myself and my family," but adding that "there are also more personal issues which have influenced my decision."

Dunn suffered his first heart attack in May 2018 and underwent a double bypass surgery.

Mantas sat out VENOM INC.'s fall 2023 U.S. tour after revealing that his wife had been diagnosed with cancer. He was replaced on the trek by Mike Hickey, known for his work with VENOM, CARCASS, CATHEDRAL and CRONOS.

VENOM INC. is not to be confused with the Lant-fronted version of VENOM, which is continuing to tour and make albums under the VENOM moniker. Joining Cronos in that group are Rage (a.k.a. Stuart Dixon) on guitar and Danté (a.k.a. Danny Needham) on drums.

VENOM's classic lineup trio of Dunn, Lant and Bray recorded four studio LPs, "Welcome To Hell" (1981),"Black Metal" (1982),"At War With Satan" (1984) and "Possessed" (1985),and live album, "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik" (1986). Often cited by bands such as METALLICA, BEHEMOTH, CELTIC FROST and MAYHEM as major influences, they are one of the most revered bands of their generation. VENOM is still fronted by Cronos and headlines festivals all over the globe and continues to release new music while Dunn and Dolan had joined forces in the similarly named VENOM INC.

Abaddon was part of VENOM's classic lineup from 1978 to 1992. He then returned to the band in 1995 and stayed with them for four years before joining VENOM INC. alongside Dunn and Dolan. VENOM INC. released its debut album, "Avé", in August 2017. A year later, VENOM INC. revealed that it was recruiting Jeramie Kling of the Tampa-based melodic death metal band THE ABSENCE to fill in for Bray on a European tour while Abaddon stayed home to spend time with his newborn daughter.

Dunn, Bray and Dolan released the aforementioned three albums as VENOM: "Prime Evil", "Temples Of Ice" and "The Waste Lands".

In September 2022, Bray revealed that he had been diagnosed with lymphoma.

In an interview with Eddie Trunk conducted at the 2026 edition of the Monsters Of Rock festival in São Paulo, Brazil in early April, legendary Swedish guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen spoke about his plans for the follow-up to his latest album, "Parabellum", which was released in July 2021 via Music Theories Recordings/Mascot Label Group. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I just finished recording a new album. I've been in the studio almost five months straight.

Regarding the musical direction of his new LP, Yngwie said: "Well, it's very Malmsteen-esque. It will be everything you expect and then some."

Asked if there are any vocals on the album or if it's all instrumental, Malmsteen said: "Oh, yeah. I sing about four songs. And then [the rest of it is] instrumental. It's a mix. But it's made especially for the vinyl. So it's exactly 46 minutes [long]. I made it especially so it's gonna be a vinyl record. It's gonna come out on everything, but it's made to fit perfectly on a vinyl LP."

Malmsteen also talked about his mindset going into making the new album. He said: "I have the luxury of owning my own [recording studio], so I go in when I'm inspired. And I decided a long time ago, I'm not gonna try to do something special, either what other people think I should do or decide [ahead of time which direction to go] — except sometimes [I say], 'Okay, I'm gonna make a blues album,' or, 'I'm gonna make an acoustic album,' which has happened. But when I make the records that are, let's say, an Yngwie Malmsteen album, I just let it flow. And I come up with maybe a hundred ideas and I use nine or 10. So I take the best of what I think is the best, the most dramatic stuff, most interesting stuff — not necessarily a decided direction or whatever. It's just natural, whatever comes out. And this particular album is gonna be very neoclassical."

Asked what the key is to making instrumental music work and be able to cross it over into a bigger audience, Yngwie said: "I don't know, but I decided a long time ago to make honest music. Not to try to do something that's fashionable or follow a trend or do what other people say. But what I've always done is [made] passionate music. Like [Italian violinist and composer] Niccolò Paganini said, one must feel strongly to make others feel strongly. So I feel very strongly about the music, and apparently that translates out. So it seems to work."

On the topic of Yngwie's touring plans for the coming months, the guitarist said: "We go to Europe in June, and then we go home a little bit, and then we go back to Europe in July. And then in September, I think we're in Asia. Then October, November, United States."

Only four of the songs on "Parabellum" featured vocals. The album title is Latin, translating as "Prepare For War".

After working with some of the top hard singers of the past four decades, Yngwie now handles much of the lead vocals himself in his own band, backed by a lineup that includes keyboardist Nick Marino, bassist Emilio Martinez and drummer Kevin Klingenschmid.

Yngwie released a new live album, "Tokyo Live", in April 2025 via Music Theories Recordings. The concert was recorded at the Zepp DiverCity, Tokyo on May 11, 2024 as part of Yngwie's 40th-anniversary world tour.

METALLICA has paid tribute to conductor, composer and educator Michael Tilson Thomas (MTT),who led the San Francisco Symphony for 25 years. Thomas died on Wednesday, April 22, nearly five years after he was diagnosed with a brain tumor that doctors later identified as glioblastoma multiforme, at his home in San Francisco, according to a statement from his publicist, Constance Shuman. He was 81 years old.

METALLICA first teamed with the San Francisco Symphony in 1999 for the live album "S&M", four years after Thomas became the symphony's music director. In 2019, Thomas, as conductor, joined with METALLICA to celebrate 20 years since the band and the Symphony recorded "S&M", at the September 6 and September 8, 2019 "S&M²" concerts before 18,000 fans at San Francisco's Chase Center.

Earlier today (Thursday, April 23),METALLICA released the following statement via social media: "It is with great sadness that we learned of the passing of legendary conductor Michael Tilson Thomas. A towering figure in classical music, many of you became familiar with the man known as MTT when he worked with us as a major driving force in the development and live performances of the 'S&M2' shows in San Francisco in September of 2019.

"MTT was more than a conductor; an accomplished pianist and composer, he served as the San Francisco Symphony's musical director for 25 years. During his time with the orchestra, he brought innovation, experimentation, and community engagement to San Francisco. He fostered contemporary music by forming relationships with living composers and creating fresh accounts of standard repertory. Throughout his career, he earned 12 Grammy Awards.

"We cherished our time with MTT and learned so much working with him to prepare the 'S&M2' performances; it was a very high honor to have him on the podium for our shows. He will be sorely missed."

The "S&M²" concerts were historic on multiple levels: They served as the grand opening of San Francisco's Chase Center, reunited the band and Symphony for the first time since the 1999 performances captured on the Grammy"S&M" album, and featured the first-ever symphonic renditions of songs written and released since those original "S&M" shows. The event was conducted by Thomas and Edwin Outwater, with new orchestral charts by acclaimed musical arranger Bruce Coughlin supplementing material from the first "S&M".

The sold-out concerts were rapturously received by the 40,000 fans who traveled from nearly 70 countries, as well as the media: Rolling Stone raved "the group proved that anything was possible," Variety noted an atmosphere "buzzing with excitement," while the Mercury News witnessed "a concert that fans will be talking about for decades to come," and Consequence Of Sound hailed "a true celebration of METALLICA and their musical prowess."

The three-hour concerts were split into two parts and included a rendition of "Anesthesia (Pulling Teeth)" from METALLICA's debut album, "Kill 'Em All", performed as a solo by the Symphony bassist Scott Pingel in tribute to METALLICA's late bassist Cliff Burton.

METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich told Kerrang! magazine: "The 'Anesthesia' bass solo was incredible. The way the fans reacted to that was goosebump-city. I loved the dare of playing 'Iron Foundry'. I loved revisiting songs we don't play so often like 'The Outlaw Torn' and 'The Call Of Ktulu'. I loved how Edwin brought one sort of dynamic when he was conducting the more rock stuff, and how Michael Tilson Thomas — the maestro, the elder statesman of his world — brought in some different pieces and encouraged the fans to understand where the symphonic and rock worlds overlap. Most of all, though, the fact that there was no barricade stood out. When was the last time you went to a rock show of that size without one? What does that barricade do? What does it mean? It's a safety thing, but in essence it's something that separates people. I loved just being able to walk out with the fans. At one point, I leaned back and let myself go into their embrace. That was a great moment."

In an August 2019 interview with the San Francisco Chronicle, ahead of the shows, Lars dismissed the idea of playing it safe.

"You mean, 'Why not take the easy way?' Two words: San Francisco. It's that simple," Ulrich said. "When we're home, we've got to do something above and beyond."

Regarding the artistic chemistry behind the production, Ulrich said: "Knowing we're in great creative and collaborative company with Michael Tilson Thomas and Edwin Outwater and the whole San Francisco Symphony is an incredible thing."

"It's a beautiful opportunity," METALLICA frontman James Hetfield said at the time. "We're super proud that after 38 years, there's still cool things on the horizon for us."

It is with great sadness that we learned of the passing of legendary conductor Michael Tilson Thomas. A towering figure...

Posted by Metallica on Thursday, April 23, 2026

Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. today debuted a music video for "Reward The Scars", an original new song created by KORN, the multi-platinum, Grammy Award-winning band whose influence has shaped heavy music for over three decades. The song, released alongside the new "Diablo IV" expansion, "Lord Of Hatred", is KORN's first new music in over four years. Channeling the emotional weight, intensity, and darkness that both brands are known for, "Reward The Scars" explores what remains after the fight: pain, survival, and what that ultimately turns you into.

Long recognized for their raw, confessional songwriting and willingness to confront themes of pain, trauma, and transformation, KORN brings a perspective that naturally aligns with "Diablo"'s universe, thus making the collaboration feel like an extension of their core identity.

The song was debuted live during KORN's set at Sick New World festival in Las Vegas this past weekend, offering fans an early glimpse of the prodigious track. The official music video builds on that, bringing "Diablo"'s world to life through a visual lens defined by dread, power, and resistance.

"I've played 'Diablo' for years, so getting to step into that world creatively felt natural," said Jonathan Davis, KORN frontman. "I've always connected to the darkness in the game and the idea of confronting what lives beneath the surface — that's something KORN has explored in our music from the beginning. 'Reward The Scars' came out of our own writing sessions as a new KORN song, and it became clear pretty quickly that it was a natural fit for 'Diablo'."

"This collaboration came together naturally — KORN and 'Diablo' live in that space of confronting darkness head-on," said Kevin Bjelajac, VP of brand and creative marketing at Blizzard. "With 'Lord Of Hatred', we're telling a story about consequence, choice, and what it means to embrace — or resist — the pull of evil. 'Reward the Scars' captures that spirit perfectly."

"Diablo IV: Lord Of Hatred", launching today, is the second expansion to "Diablo IV" and the climactic conclusion to the "Age Of Hatred" saga. As the hour of reckoning approaches, players are drawn into a final confrontation with Mephisto, the Lord Of Hatred, whose influence now threatens to consume Sanctuary entirely. What began as an act to contain evil now comes due — forcing players to face the consequences of that choice and determine the fate of a world on the brink.

Blizzard Entertainment's iconic "Diablo" universe transformed video games forever in 1997, defining the action-RPG genre while immersing players in a dark world of damnation unprecedented in the industry. In the decades since, "Diablo" has put hell on earth for players globally across PC, console, and mobile. "Diablo IV", the latest installment in the genre-defining series, features cross-platform play and progression on Windows PC, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4 and Steam.

KORN is a two-time Grammy Award-winning band which has shaped the course of modern music for over three decades. Emerging from Bakersfield, California in the early '90s, the band helped define and popularize a new style of heavy music by blending metal, hip-hop, and industrial influences into a sound that redefined the genre's boundaries and continues to inform the progression of other genres of music today.

With over 40 million albums sold worldwide, multiple platinum releases, and a catalog that includes landmark albums such as "Follow The Leader" and "Issues", KORN has remained a constant force across generations of heavy and popular music alike. Known for their raw, confessional songwriting and visceral live performances, the band continues to headline major festivals and stadiums globally.

Their influence spans far beyond metal, impacting artists across hip-hop, electronic, and alternative music, while maintaining a fiercely dedicated global fanbase. "Reward The Scars" marks KORN's first new music in over four years and hints at what's to come.

Photo by Tim Saccenti (courtesy of Fresh Tracks Marketing for Blizzard Entertainment)

MEGADETH performed its version of "Ride The Lightning", the title track of METALLICA's 1984 album for which MEGADETH leader Dave Mustaine got a co-writing credit following his 1983 departure from the legendary heavy metal band, live for the first time during its headlining concert Sunday night (April 26) at Movistar Arena in Bogota, Colombia. Fan-filmed video of the performance can be seen below.

The setlist for the show was as follows, according to Setlist.fm:

01. Tipping Point
02. Hangar 18
03. Wake Up Dead
04. In My Darkest Hour
05. Skin O' My Teeth
06. I Don't Care
07. She-Wolf
08. Sweating Bullets
09. This Was My Life
10. Angry Again
11. Trust
12. Tornado Of Souls
13. Let There Be Shred
14. Mechanix
15. Ride The Lightning (METALLICA song) (Live debut)
16. Peace Sells
17. Symphony Of Destruction

Encore:

18. Holy Wars... The Punishment Due

During a February 2026 appearance on SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", Mustaine once again spoke about his decision to include his version of "Ride The Lightning" on the final MEGADETH album. Regarding when he came up with the idea to record this particular METALLICA song, Dave said: "Well, we were past the halfway point in the album. 'Cause that song ended up being song number 13. And when the time came to do that, we were talking about — what we usually do is a rendition of somebody's song that we like or something like that, or a remake. And when I was talking with [my son] Justis [who is part of the MEGADETH management team], he had said, 'Why don't you do 'Ride The Lightning'?' And I kind of looked at him like, 'Hmm.' And then I thought about it. I said, 'That's probably a good idea.' And I said, 'Let's try it.' We tried it. It was cool. And I said to the band guys, 'Okay, if we're gonna do this, let's make sure that we do it as good as the original or better.' 'Cause we gotta do that. If we're gonna honor those guys by doing a new version of the song that I did with James [Hetfield, METALLICA frontman], I think it's important to make it as good or better. And what we did was we sped it up a little bit, and the drum fills at the very end, I told Dirk [Verbeuren, MEGADETH drummer], 'Have fun there. And you can beef it up if you want'. And I talked to Teemu [Mäntysaari, MEGADETH guitarist] and I said, 'The guitar solo that's in there, try and stay close to it, if you can.' 'Cause it really is Kirk [Hammett, METALLICA guitarist] doing an improvisation of what I was doing. 'So, let's have fun with it.' And the solo was a little different — close to the original that Kirk did, but it was a little different. And then there was the singing. James and I have instantly identifiable voices, but they're not at all alike. And I was listening to James sing, and it was fun for me to be able to listen to his vocal parts and break it down and hear how he sings, and then to go back and approach the song and try and sing in my style, which I do believe I put my DNA on that."

Mustaine continued: "It would've been different if I would've done a song by a band I was in that I didn't write. That's kind of like doing a weird nepotistic cover song. But this is one of my songs. So, yeah, I loved doing this. I loved writing it with James, and I loved playing it with MEGADETH."

Asked if he thought MEGADETH would include "Ride The Lightning" in the live set on the current tour, Mustaine said at the time: "Oh, shit, Eddie. You don't have to ask me that. [Laughs] Maybe. Maybe. We do play 'Mechanix'."

Mustaine co-wrote the song "Ride The Lightning" with Hetfield, METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich and then-METALLICA bassist Cliff Burton.

"Mechanix" was the original version of "The Four Horsemen", the METALLICA song that was co-written by Mustaine and included on METALLICA's debut album, 1983's "Kill 'Em All". METALLICA wrote new lyrics and renamed the song "The Four Horsemen" after Dave was kicked out of the band. The track "Mechanix" later appeared on MEGADETH's debut album, 1985's "Killing Is My Business...And Business Is Good!".

In a separate interview with Spain's MariskalRockTV, Mustaine also spoke about his decision to include his version of "Ride The Lightning" on "Megadeth". Regarding why he chose to record "Ride The Lightning" at this point in his career, Dave said:  "Probably 'cause it was the most emblematic of my guitar influence. The spider chord — you know how I do the spider chord. And then there's something called grunting, where I'll hit the chord a half a step below the note I want to go to. I'll fret it and I'll slide into it… It's way heavier. So, to me, I call that grunting. So spider chords and grunting are in 'Ride The Lightning'."

Mustaine continued: "Having written so much of the songs with [METALLICA] — people think I wrote a lot, but on that record ['Ride The Lightning'], it was 'The Call Of Ktulu', which used to be called 'When Hell Freezes Over', and [the title track] 'Ride The Lightning'. And the previous album [METALLICA's 1983 debut, 'Kill 'Em All'] had four songs on it [that I co-wrote]."

Asked if the guitar solo in MEGADETH's version of "Ride The Lightning" is "very close to the original song" because current METALLICA guitarist Kirk Hammett copied Mustaine's solo from Dave's original version of "Ride The Lightning" with METALLICA, or if Mustaine simply "wanted to respect" Hammett's work by reproducing Hammett's solo from the 1984 album, Dave said: "I think Kirk — if you listen to [METALLICA's 1982] 'No Life 'Til Leather' demo and then you listen to the 'Kill 'Em All' record, it's pretty clear that that Kirk had some instruction [about how to approach the guitar leads on that album]. Was it note for note? No. But it was pretty close. So, when the opportunity came to do 'Ride The Lightning' [with MEGADETH], I didn't really feel like I knew the song very well anymore, and I don't remember what I played on for that song, for 'Ride The Lightning'. I had a hard time finding anything that I played on either. So we just figured, 'Fuck it. [Current MEGADETH guitarist] Teemu [Mäntysaari] and I'll split the solo up, and half of it'll be for him and half of it'll be for me,' and it turned out so that [Teemu] did a little more than half."

In December 2025, Mustaine told Guitar World magazine about his decision to include his version of "Ride The Lightning" on "Megadeth": "The main reason I chose to do this was to close the circle and pay my respects to my partners. I thought this was a really great way to do that.

"Whenever we select any other band's music to go on our albums, sometimes there's a lot of thought behind it and sometimes there's not. This was one of the ones that we thought long and hard about, because all I wanted to do was play the song I wrote with the guys in METALLICA," Mustaine explained. "I wanted to pay my respects to James Hetfield, who I think is an amazing guitar player, and Lars Ulrich, who was an excellent songwriter. I remember when I was there and we were putting these songs together, Lars didn't just sit there; he was very instrumental in making these songs.

"Of course, when we got into making demos of these songs, it was fun to do the recordings, but we were never really able to do a full-on produced version of 'Ride The Lightning' [while I was in METALLICA], and I would have loved to have heard that.

"I gotta tell you — listening back to James's original vocal performance, it was really tremendous," Dave added.

"Anyway, there's no big strategy; I have respect for the guys, and I just wanted to show that. And it's a hell of a song."

Mustaine previously talked about his version of "Ride The Lightning" during an appearance on the December 5, 2025 episode of SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk". Dave said at the time: "We're managed by three men — Danny Nozell, Steve Ross and Justis Mustaine. And we were talking with management, and we were just kind of yacking about what the cover song was gonna be on the record, 'cause we always did cover songs on our records. But this wasn't a cover song, because I wrote it with James. And it just became clear that I should do this, because if I'm going to ride off into the sunset, I wanna pay tribute to the band that I started in, and I wanted to make mention about what I think about James."

Mustaine continued: "I think [James is] an exceptional guitar player. I remember the day that I saw him play guitar for the first time. We were playing at the Whisky [A Go Go in West Hollywood, California]. And we had a guitar player with us, and his name was Brad Parker. And the night of the show he changed it to Damian Phillips. And he showed up at the Whisky in mid-1980s Rudy Sarzo garb. And I thought, 'Wow, that's not gonna go down.' And I looked at him and he had a giant feather earring. And I thought to myself, 'This guy's not gonna be here very long.' So I go to rehearsal, after the show, the next rehearsal I go and there's no Brad, there's no Damian, nobody. It was just James playing guitar — like a motherfucker. And I thought, 'How did this happen? How did this guy go from singer to a great guitar player like this?' And I was excited for me. I was excited for the band. And we started playing then."

As for how "Ride The Lightning" was chosen as the song for MEGADETH to record this time around, Mustaine said: "With the track, choosing that, I figured it should be something that I had something to do with, but I didn't know it was going to turn out like that. Something off of 'Kill 'Em All' would've been obvious, and we already did that [with 'Mechanix']. And so I was thinking about 'Ride The Lightning', and there's only a couple songs on there that I wrote. And I didn't think that 'The Call Of Ktulu' would be the right move, 'cause that's not even how the song was when I was in the band; they changed it so much, so it's not the way that I remember it. So we started doing 'Ride', and it just felt so great, listening to the tracks, listening to James's singing, listening to how the song structure was. It was just great. I loved it. And I've always believed when you do a song from somebody, you've gotta do it as good or better — you've got to. So we sped it up a little bit and we beefed up a couple parts, just to make them a little bit more modern. And there you have it."

Mustaine also previously talked about MEGADETH's version of "Ride The Lightning" last October in an interview with Rolling Stone magazine. He said at the time: "It wasn't really that I wanted to do my version. I think that we all wanted it to turn out a certain way, and for me, this was about something so much more than how a song turns out. It was about respect."

Speaking specifically about Hetfield, Mustaine added: "No one ever talks to me about that. One day he's a singer, the next day he's this fucking powerhouse and I've always respected him as a guitar player. So I wanted to do something to close the circle on my career right now, since it started off with [Mustaine's band before METALLICA] PANIC and several of the songs that ended up in the METALLICA repertoire, I wanted to do something that I felt would be a good song."

Elaborating on his reasons for recording "Ride The Lightning" for MEGADETH's final album, Mustaine said: "Our intentions were pure. I didn't have any reason I was going to say, 'Oh, hey man, this thing that we've had for 40 years where you guys will never tour with me, me doing the song is going to change things.' That wasn't it at all. It was more about: This is my life going forward. I want to do things that are respectable. And I think doing something where we can pay honor to the guy that … I mean, I hate to say this, because it's just so fucking arrogant, but the guitar playing in METALLICA changed the world."

In a separate video message, Mustaine said: "So on the new album we recorded 'Ride The Lightning', and the reason we did that was, obviously, it's a song that I had a lot to do with writing it. And James and I, when we were working on the song, it became clear to me, when James first started playing guitar, how good of a guitar player he was. And I thought it would be really cool to close the circle to show respect, to play the songs that I've written with METALLICA and to honor our friendship, even though it's been strained and ruined from emotions over the years when we were not necessarily friendly. But one thing I've always had is I've always had a tremendous respect for James's guitar playing andLars's [Ulrich] songwriting. So, it was cool to do this and add it to the record. We sped it up just a little teeny bit, and we kind of played around a little bit with the solo and Teemu and I both tossed it back and forth to each other. So, you might hear a little bit of some differences with the tempos and, of course, I sing different from James too. But once again, it was about completing the circle and just showing what James and I, as guitar players, did to change the world."

Mustaine was a member of METALLICA for less than two years, from 1981 to 1983, before being dismissed and replaced by Hammett.

Mustaine was not inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame with METALLICA during the April 2009 ceremony at Cleveland, Ohio's Public Auditorium. Ulrich later explained to The Plain Dealer that Mustaine "never played on any METALLICA records. No disrespect to him. But there [were] half a dozen other people that were in the lineup in the early days. We thought... the fair thing to do would be to include anybody that played on a METALLICA record." He added: "Dave Mustaine was in the band for eleven months, predominantly in 1982... I'm not trying to play it down. I have nothing but respect and admiration for his accomplishments since."

Sharon Osbourne, the wife and manager of the late Ozzy Osbourne, has settled a legal dispute with Jim Simpson, the first manager of BLACK SABBATH, over Simpson's plans to release an album of tracks from the pre-BLACK SABBATH days of Ozzy, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward.

Simpson, who managed BLACK SABBATH in the band's earliest days, announced last year — weeks prior to Ozzy's death — that he intended to release a collection of 1969 demos recorded before the band adopted the BLACK SABBATH name. The material, titled "Earth: The Legendary Lost Tapes", was initially expected for release in July 2025, but Sharon's legal threats put a block on its release, warning Simpson against moving forward without the band's approval. The demos in question feature BLACK SABBATH's original lineup during the brief period when the four musicians performed under the name EARTH.

Sharon offered an update on the legal dispute during an appearance on the latest episode of "The Osbournes" podcast, telling her son Jack (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We settled with Jim Simpson and the band now have their demos back. And all four of them [the original members of BLACK SABBATH] own it, which is where it should be. All of that stuff should be theirs. So it all ended well. So, yeah, they own them. We're gonna talk about what everybody wants to do with it, and we'll go from there."

Sharon added that the EARTH recordings are "very different" from what BLACK SABBATH eventually became, featuring a more blues-driven direction. But she explained: "I just think it's historically important — for music lovers of that genre. And then we got [the rights to] the pictures that were taken at that time too. So, that is all so important. I mean, listen, you [Jack] want those pictures. Everybody in the band's kids and grandkids would love to see [them]… It's special. And I'm just happy that it's where it should be — with the band, and [they can decide] what they wanna do as a band, what they're gonna do with it. So that's great."

Sharon went on to thank Simpson for eventually working out a deal with the members of BLACK SABBATH so that the recordings would end up under their ownership.

"He did the right thing at the end of the day," Sharon said. "He did the right thing for the band."

Simpson, now in his late 80s, previously claimed to have paid for the recordings back in 1969 when Ozzy and the other three musicians were youngsters in a band called EARTH. He said that he had since restored and remastered each track and initially planned to issue the material via his Birmingham blues/jazz label Big Bear Records.

Last fall, Jim insisted that he gave the members of BLACK SABBATH an opportunity to be included in the process of having the recordings officially released, but that they declined.

"I approached members of the band about this on 24 September 2024," he said. "The message I got back was that they didn't want it released and wanted nothing to do with it. This included two very threatening e-mails from Sharon. But the band had every chance to be involved."

Simpson added: "My reason for launching this album is because it will become a crucial segment of music history. It contains recordings that clearly demonstrate what fine music Ozzy, Tony, Geezer and Bill were producing right from the very beginning in their pre-SABBATH days. It shows how these four young men from Birmingham, barely out of their teens, were already remarkable musicians when they existed as EARTH, and that they fully deserved all the success that was to come their way as BLACK SABBATH."

"Earth: The Legendary Lost Tapes" reportedly features three blues covers — "Blue Suede Shoes", "Evenin'" and "Wee Wee Baby" — as well as two versions of a track called "Song For Jim", with the name in the title "referring directly to Simpson," according to Jim. Iommi plays guitar in the first version, while the second version features a rare performance on the flute. There is also an "Untitled" track and three more songs, "Free Man", "Wicked World" and "Warning".

Simpson added: "If we can finally release this album, it will be a great gift to the music world and to millions of SABBATH fans."

Legendary hard rock singer Joe Lynn Turner (RAINBOW, DEEP PURPLE) performed his first solo album, 1985's "Rescue You", in its entirety, along with his other hits, at select shows in Scandinavia this past week.

Backing Joe at the gigs was his solo band consisting of Nikolo Kotzev on guitar, Ken Sandin on bass, Will Oaks on keyboards, and Darby Todd on drums.

Fan-filmed video of Joe's April 26 concert at John Dee in Oslo, Norway can be seen below.

"Rescue You" was produced by Roy Thomas Baker, known for his work with QUEEN and THE CARS. Joe co-wrote most of the songs with keyboardist Al Greenwood (FOREIGNER). The first single, "Endlessly", received extensive airplay on radio and MTV. A tour with Pat Benatar followed.

In a summer 2025 interview with Finland's Southeast Wreckmetal, Joe was asked if his next studio album will see him reteaming with Swedish producer Peter Tägtgren (HYPOCRISY, PAIN, LINDEMANN),who worked on Joe's latest LP, 2022's "Belly Of The Beast". He responded: "No, actually, I talked to Peter, and even a year ago, he said his calendar is so full right now. He's working two bands. I mean, he was doing LINDEMANN, but that's over with and so on. But he's just really, really too busy, and he needed a break. So he said, 'I'm sorry, man. I can't do a second record.' I said, 'Do you know something? That's okay.'

"I don't intend on repeating myself," Joe explained. "I think it was David Bowie who said an artist should never repeat himself. And I did 'Belly Of The Beast' as a major project to send out not only the music, but the message. And I think that message is still there. I don't need to repeat this message over and over again. I'm not trying to preach. What I'm trying to do is put it in a musical form to educate people. However, I've been writing with a couple of Swedish guys right now who are brilliant. And I went back to actually writing songs that are meaningful personally to people. Not that 'Belly Of The Beast' isn't, but what I'm trying to say is if you look at my past, it's great songs, great hooks, great melodies that you can walk away singing, whistling, whatever, remembering, and that's what I'm doing now. I'm not so concerned with trying to… I'm not gonna save the world. It's already proven that they cannot be saved. The only way you can save it is by saving yourself. So I urge everyone to be awake, save yourself. Me, I'm going back to very classy, well-produced sort of — it's like great material with a modern production. I wanna change up that too as well, so I don't wanna repeat myself."

Asked when he expects to release his next studio album, Joe said: "Oh, definitely not until '26 at this point. I really wanna finish the summer things that I have — a lot of festivals, individual gigs. I have a new two-year-old boy, so I wanna spend time with Matteo and watch him grow. He's fantastic. And I wanna take a holiday, and I will not tour in the winter because it is too dangerous with travel. It honestly is. I've been in too many situations in the past. So I will be able, fortunately enough, to take the winter off, work on the record, come out in the spring, something '26. And I'm in no rush."

Joe continued: "The world's in flux right now. The world is a bit chaotic, and I think that we need to settle down a bit. Otherwise your release will get lost in all of the fluff, as I say. So I'm in no hurry, for various reasons. But I've got 10 songs already perfectly written — more than 10, but I know 10 are solid, killer. And I'm very excited about them. Each song for me is a gem. It's a diamond. They're so good… And for my fans out there and my [fan]base — guys, you won't be disappointed. You're just gonna love this record. It's what Joe Lynn Turner is all about. And I'm being true, as usual, to my integrity and to myself, and I think that's extremely important. That I'm not trying to change with the times, I'm not trying to alter anything — I'm just being who I am. And I think that would be good advice for a lot of people."

Joe founded FANDANGO in 1977 and sang for the band for four records before RAINBOW guitarist Ritchie Blackmore rang. His vocals powered the seminal "Difficult To Cure" in 1981, going gold in the U.K., France, and Japan in addition to cracking the Top 50 of the Billboard 200 and Top 3 on the U.K. albums chart. A year later, he ignited RAINBOW's "Straight Between The Eyes", which Guitar World retrospectively hailed as one of "The 25 Greatest Rock Guitar Albums" of 1982. It also spawned the Hot 100 hit "Stone Cold". During 1988, a Polygram VP wanted Turner to extend his writing and singing skills to collaborate with legendary shred virtuoso Yngwie Malmsteen for his project RISING FORCE. Their album, "Odyssey", scaled the Top 40 of the Top 200, marking Malmsteen's highest bow on the respective chart and going gold in Sweden. Not long after, he reteamed with Blackmore for DEEP PURPLE's "Slaves And Masters" (1990),reaching gold status in Switzerland and Japan.

In addition, he has co-written for and appeared on classics such as Mick Jones's "Mick Jones" (1989),RIOT's "The Privilege Of Power" (1990) and Lita Ford's "Dangerous Curves" (1991),to name a few. Not to mention, he lent his background vocals to Michael Bolton's double-platinum "The Hunger" (1987),Cher's platinum "Cher" (1987),Billy Joel's Grammy Award-nominated quadruple-platinum "Storm Front" (1989),and many more. From 2001 to 2004 he teamed up with his friend and counterpart Glenn Hughes and formed HTP (HUGHES TURNER PROJECT). The release of two highly acclaimed original albums and two world tours in support gave him further recognition. Other collaborations range from shining on stage with "Raiding The Rock Vault" at LVH Hotel and Casino and an unforgettable turn on "X Factor Bulgaria" to two cuts on MICHAEL SCHENKER GROUP's 2021 album, "Immortal".

In 2017, he initially met Peter after performing at his brother's private birthday party. Soon later, Joe and Peter collaborated on their first track "Don't Fear The Dark", cementing their creative partnership and assembling what would become "Belly Of The Beast".

Joe performed without his trademark wig live for the first time in June 2023 at the Rock Orchestra Fest at Dinamo National Olympic Stadium in Minsk, the capital and the largest city of Belarus.

The singer said in 2022 that now was the right time to finally drop the hairpiece he has worn since the age of 14 after being diagnosed with alopecia at three years old.

Turner went public with his new look in August 2022 in a series publicity images released to promote "Belly Of The Beast". In a press release for the LP, Joe said that he started wearing the wig to deal with "emotional and psychological damage from cruel bullying in school."

𝐉𝐨𝐞 𝐋𝐲𝐧𝐧 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐨 𝐚𝐥𝐛𝐮𝐦 - 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐞 𝐘𝐨𝐮 - 𝐈𝐧 𝐈𝐭𝐬 𝐄𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐲 + 𝐇𝐢𝐭𝐬

Thursday, 𝟐𝟑 𝐀𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐥 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔 at...

Posted by Joe Lynn Turner on Monday, March 2, 2026

William Shatner is stepping into heavier territory than ever before, launching a new metal album that pairs his unmistakable voice and fearless creative energy with a lineup of major rock and metal talent. Bold, unexpected and built for maximum impact, the project is already shaping up to be one of the most talked-about hard rock releases on the horizon.

Alongside the previously announced Rob Halford (JUDAS PRIEST),Shatner now reveals the recruitment of John Moyer of DISTURBED, one of modern hard rock's most recognizable and powerful bass players; and Dave Lombardo — the iconic drummer whose work with SLAYER helped redefine thrash metal and whose legacy with the MISFITS further cemented his place in rock history.

"It was a true privilege to contribute drums to William Shatner's ambitious heavy metal project," says Dave. "At any age, real artists keep pushing boundaries — and this one pushes them into orbit."

Behind the boards, the project is being driven by a heavyweight production team led by Adam Hamilton (L.A. GUNS, BRIAN JONESTOWN MASSACRE) and Brian Perera, president of Cleopatra Records, with additional production from Derek Hughes, Marcus Nand and Jürgen Engler of DIE KRUPPS.

And the momentum is only building: another Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame guitarist will be announced shortly, adding yet another major name to a cast that already spans multiple generations of hard rock and metal excellence.

For Shatner, this is not a novelty move — it is a full-scale artistic statement. At 95, he is leaning into the power, danger and drama of heavy music with the same sense of commitment and conviction that has defined his career across film, television, spoken word and music.

This album finds him channeling something raw and primal: the shock of volume, the force of rhythm and the emotional charge that made heavy music a permanent cultural force.

Shatner is also setting out to do something virtually unprecedented — uniting an all-time cast of rock and metal superstars for a single album built on ambition, scale and genuine musical chemistry. The result is a project designed not just to surprise listeners, but to hit with real authority.

Fueled by massive musicianship and a shared appetite for sonic risk, the album blends Shatner's commanding vocal presence with the crushing energy of top-tier players and producers who understand how to make heavy music feel cinematic, physical and alive. It reaches back to the spirit of the era when music felt dangerous and larger than life, while pushing forward with a modern intensity all its own.

Shatner has said he feels this music in his bones — as something shattering, youthful and alive — reconnecting him with the visceral thrill of a time when things got truly heavy. That spirit runs through the entire project, which aims to deliver not just star power, but impact.

With additional guest appearances still under wraps, the album is quickly emerging as a major crossover moment: part metal event record, part artistic left turn, and entirely unmistakable in its vision.

More details, including the album title, release date, and additional featured artists, will be announced soon.

William Shatner has cultivated a career spanning over 70 years as an award-winning actor, director, producer, writer, recording artist, and horseman. He is one of Hollywood's most recognizable figures and a major philanthropist.

In 1966, Shatner originated the role of Captain James T. Kirk in the television series "Star Trek". The series spawned a feature film franchise where Shatner returned as Captain Kirk in seven of the "Star Trek" movies, one of which he directed.

Shatner played the title role in the hit television series "T.J. Hooker" before hosting television's first reality-based series, "Rescue 911".

He won Emmys and his first Golden Globe for his portrayal of eccentric lawyer Denny Crane on both "The Practice" and "Boston Legal". He received four more Emmy nominations as well as other Golden Globe and SAG Award nods.

Shatner's love of music inspired him to record the critically acclaimed album "Has Been". The Milwaukee Ballet performed "Common People", a dance presentation set to several numbers from the record; the event and its preparations are featured in the documentary "Gonzo Ballet", which played to sold-out houses at film festivals worldwide.

In September 2021, Shatner released the autobiographical album titled "Bill" with tracks featuring Joe Jonas, Brad Paisley and Joe Walsh, to name a few. In October 2020, "The Blues" album quickly reached No. 1 on Billbord's Blues chart. Shatner previously released the country music album "Why Not Me", in August 2018 with Jeff Cook and Heartland Records. Quickly following that, Shatner experienced much success with "Shatner Clause", a holiday album released in October 2018 which peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard chart.

Off the screen and broadcast waves, Shatner has authored nearly 30 best-sellers in both the fiction and non-fiction genres. His autobiography, "Up Till Now", was a New York Times best-seller and was followed by "Shatner Rules", which was released in October 2011. William Shatner's book "Leonard: My Fifty-Year Friendship With A Remarkable Man", was released in February 2016, appearing on the New York Times bestseller list. Shatner's released "Live Long And…What I Might Have Learned Along The Way" in September 2018 and "Boldly Go", a fascinating and timely collection of essays in which Shatner reflects on key events from his 90-years of life, was released in October 2022.

In April 2011, Shatner launched his hugely popular one-man show, "Shatner's World", on Broadway. He toured in Australia and New Zealand, followed by tours in Canada and over 50 cities in the United States.

Shatner has been successful in another area — horse breeding. A longtime dedicated breeder of American Quarter horses, he has had enormous success with the American Saddlebred, developing and riding world champions and has won numerous world championships in several equine events. His passions for horses and philanthropy were united when he started the Hollywood Charity Horse Show, which benefits Los Angeles-based children's charities.

Shatner continues to act, write, produce and direct while still making time to work with charities and further his passion in equestrian sports. He lives in Los Angeles, California.

William Shatner photo by Elizabeth Shatner / Dave Lombardo photo by Hannah Verbeuren

In a new interview with Slovenia's PodRaznoKast podcast, JUDAS PRIEST guitarist Richie Faulkner was asked if there is a "particular era" of the band that he would like to focus on in terms of the setlist for an upcoming tour. Richie replied (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Personally, I'd like to do a 'Screaming For Vengeance' and 'Defenders Of The Faith' tour, [focusing on] those two records. So maybe it could be called 'Screaming For The Faith' or 'Defenders Of Vengeance' or something like that. But that's totally fantasy. That's nothing that we've spoken about or anything like that, but that's just something I'd like to do."

He continued: "The last [tour] was pretty album specific — it was [focusing on the] 'Invincible Shield' and 'Painkiller' [albums] — so I think this summer in Europe, it's just gonna be a bit more free, over the band's career, and nothing too specific — just a celebration, I think, of everything JUDAS PRIEST. So it will be fun to see what we come up with."

Asked if there is any particular song that he would like include in the setlist that hasn't been performed yet by PRIEST's current lineup, Richie said:"Let me think. I think we've done a lot of songs — over the last few years, we've done a lot of songs. Because usually if we go out for a third leg in the U.S. or something, we have to do different stuff, 'cause we can't play the same stuff again that we played twice before. So we have to change it up. So, we pull some good ones out. But I would like to play — we've played it before, but I'd like to play 'Night Comes Down' again. I love 'Night Comes Down'. I love that song. It's such a great song, especially for festivals. But as far as songs that we haven't played, 'Reckless' from the 'Turbo' album — we haven't played that one. I'd like to play that. We rehearsed it, I think, for the 'Redeemer Of Souls' tour, I think, but we never played it. Or maybe it was [the] 'Firepower' [tour]; I can't remember. But we've played so many. No, I think apart from 'Reckless', we've played all the ones that I wanna play, really — unless I'm forgetting one."

JUDAS PRIEST will release "The Best Of Judas Priest", a career-spanning collection celebrating one of the most influential and enduring bands in heavy metal, on June 19 via Sony Music.

An in-depth documentary, "The Ballad Of Judas Priest", premiered at the 76th Berlinale - Berlin International Film Festival in February. Directed by Tom Morello and Sam Dunn, this fascinating insight into the band's vast career will be released later this year.

"The Ballad Of Judas Priest" will receive its North American premiere at the Hot Docs Canadian international documentary film festival, which will present documentaries from around the world to audiences in Toronto from April 23 to May 3.

Rising from humble, working-class roots in Birmingham, U.K., to become global rock legends, JUDAS PRIEST didn't just help shape heavy metal culture — they forged it. Widely credited as being one of the pioneers of the heavy metal genre in the 1970s, JUDAS PRIEST has sold more than 50 million records and released 19 studio albums for their legion of dedicated fans around the world. In 2022, they were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. With their 2024 album "Invincible Shield", the band became the first heavy metal act to release studio albums 50 years apart. The album drew widespread acclaim, receiving a Grammy nomination for "Best Metal Performance".

JUDAS PRIEST's current touring lineup consists of singer Rob Halford, bassist Ian Hill, guitarists Richie Faulkner and Andy Sneap and drummer Scott Travis.

PRIEST guitarist Glenn Tipton was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease more than 15 years ago but announced in early 2018 he was going to sit out touring activities in support of PRIEST's "Firepower" album. He was replaced by "Firepower" and "Invincible Shield" producer Sneap, who is also known for his work in NWOBHM revivalists HELL and cult thrash outfit SABBAT.

Released in March 2024, PRIEST's latest album, "Invincible Shield", entered the U.K. chart at No. 2, just behind Ariana Grande's "Eternal Sunshine".

Prior to "Invincible Shield"'s arrival, PRIEST's highest U.K. chart achievement was with 1980's "British Steel", which reached No. 4.

PRIEST's 2018 album "Firepower" entered the chart at No. 5.

"Invincible Shield" was JUDAS PRIEST's fifth Top 10 album, after the aforementioned "British Steel" and "Firepower", as well as 2014's "Redeemer Of Souls" (No. 6) and the 1979 live album "Unleashed In The East" (No. 10).

"Invincible Shield" landed at No. 1 in Germany, Finland, Sweden and Switzerland, as well as No. 5 in France, No. 8 in Italy and No. 16 in Australia.

Fifty years ago today, on April 23, 1976, the RAMONES ignited the punk rock revolution with the release of their debut, self-titled album: "Ramones". Fast, loud and relentless, Joey Ramone (vocals),Johnny Ramone (guitar),Dee Dee Ramone (bass) and Tommy Ramone (drums) cut through the era's excess with a brash attitude and a set of songs — "Blitzkrieg Bop", "Judy Is A Punk" and a dozen other short, combustible, stripped-down but groundbreaking blasts — that were like nothing else at the time. "Punk rock started in 1976 on New York's Bowery, when four cretins from Queens came up with a mutant strain of blitzkrieg bubblegum," said Rolling Stone, when naming "Ramones" the No. 1 "Greatest Punk Album Of All Time" (later naming it the No. 1 "Best Debut Album Of All Time"). "But even if punk rock began as a kind of negation — a call to stark, brutal simplicity — its musical variety and transforming emotional power was immediate and remains staggering."

In the five decades that have passed, "the album's influence has been incalculable" (The New York Times),and the RAMONES' music reaches more ears today than ever before. To mark the occasion, the RAMONES and Rhino are beginning a series of year-long festivities to not only celebrate the record's generational legacy, but to honor the birth of a genre and the Rock And Roll Hall Of Famers' enduring impact on this global grassroots movement. From punk to pop to the perennially cool, music and style have never been the same since.

Organized and curated by The Punk Foundation in collaboration with Linda Ramone and Ramones Productions Inc., the only authorized exhibition dedicated to the RAMONES will make its world premiere at The Punk Rock Museum in Las Vegas on July 4, 2026. Framed around the 50th anniversary of the band's 1976 debut album, it brings together the band's music, materials, and cultural legacy within a larger live public program. Anchored by a summer of public and members-only performances, artist conversations, interactive experiences, artist-led tours, community workshops, and more, the exhibition connects audiences to the RAMONES' legacy, cultural impact, and continuing aftershock across music, art, design, and public memory.

Between now and the end of 2026, the RAMONES and Rhino will also announce physical releases and reissues, tribute performances and more, with newly remastered, upscaled videos of "I Wanna Be Sedated", "Psycho Therapy", "Rock N Roll High School", "Sheena Is A Punk Rocker", "Merry Christmas (I Don't Want To Fight Tonight)", "We Want The Airwaves", "Time Has Come Today", "I Wanna Live", "Something To Believe In", "Howling At The Moon" and "Do You Remember Rock And Roll Radio?" now available on the RAMONES official YouTube.

New York-based death metal corpse grinders UNDEATH have signed with Relapse Records. The band recently finished recording its fourth full-length album with Colin Marston (KRALLICE, GORGUTS, DEFEATED SANITY, ORIGIN) at Menegroth / The Thousand Caves Studio in Pennsylvania.

UNDEATH frontman Alexander Sason comments: "It's time to unveil the next chapter for UNDEATH: "We're honored to announce that we've signed to Relapse Records. Relapse is a label every member of this band has admired and respected since we were young metalheads obsessing over NECROPHAGIST and DYING FETUS, and for our band to now be a part of that amazing history (and such a badass roster full of bands we love) feels like a dream actualized.

"Our fourth album is recorded and in the chamber," he adds. "We'll have more details on that a little later, but for now just know that our fastest, darkest and most straight up evil record to date is on the way, and Relapse putting it out just feels right."

Later this month, UNDEATH will embark on a massive North American tour with ARCHSPIRE. Tickets are on sale now at undeathmetal.com.

UNDEATH rose to underground metal infamy since forming in Rochester, New York, in 2018. From the gory, wild-eyed splatter of the band's embryonic period ("Demo '19" and "Sentient Autolysis") to the fervent fan and press acclaim of debut "Lesions Of A Different Kind" (2020),the Billboard-charting successor "It's Time...To Rise From The Grave" (2022) and most recently "More Insane" (2024).

Previous album "It's Time... To Rise From The Grave" caught a wave of acclaim on TheNeedleDrop's YouTube channel, earned "Best New Music" from Pitchfork, and, most impressively, rocketed to the top of Decibel magazine's Top 40 Albums of 2022, along with a coveted cover feature.

The Rochesterians' mastery of the extremely extreme is no mean feat. They've logged over 250 shows to date (sharing the stage with EXODUS, THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, SUFFOCATION, et al),played festivals in the U.S. (Decibel Metal & Beer Fest, Milwaukee Metalfest),Denmark (Copenhell),the Netherlands (Into The Grave),the U.K. (Download, Damnation),and UNDEATH guitarist Kyle Beam even has a Dunable Guitars signature model, the Skeletonizer.

Photo by Sabrina Joy

During a recent appearance on The Jasta Show, LAMB OF GOD guitarist Mark Morton spoke about his memoir, "Desolation: A Heavy Metal Memoir", which came out in June 2024 via Hachette Books. Co-written with Ben Opipari, the book explores both Mark 's life in music and his tumultuous path through addiction and into recovery.

"It was just a weird thing, man," Mark said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). "The book is called 'Desolation: A Heavy Metal Memoir', for your listeners that don't know. It's been out now for a year and a half. And it's really kind of three stories in one kind of all blending together. It's basically this story of me being this sort of anxious, kind of shy, uncomfortable kid that finds guitar and finds the music and it just takes over my entire psyche. And then it follows the journey of [the pre-LAMB OF GOD band] BURN THE PRIEST into LAMB OF GOD that is really the most unlikely story, really. I mean, it's kind of a trope; it's like a Cinderella story. The degree of success we've had would've never made sense at any point if you'd have tried to have said 'script that' or 'plan that'. And it all sort of happened by accident, and it kind of details that. And then it also details just my descent into alcoholism and drug addiction, and then my coming out of that. And all those things, stories kind of intertwine. And there's some tragedy in there and there's some comedy in there, some funny stories and some sad stuff, too."

Regarding why he chose to read the "Desolation: A Heavy Metal Memoir" audiobook himself and not hire a voice actor to record it, Mark said: "Really, that boils down to — there is a section of the book where I discuss the birth and death of my first daughter. And I frankly just would never want anyone else to tell that story. I wouldn't have felt comfortable with someone else voicing that story. And beyond that, I didn't have any reason not to do it.

"I'll tell you this, and you know this — I didn't know this until I did it — doing voice work is tricky," Morton explained. "It's a skillset that I didn't have, and by the end of it, 'cause it took me, like, five days to do the book, to read it and record that. And I did it in a studio with a producer, et cetera, et cetera. But it's a tricky thing. You become very well acquainted with your own sort of speech impediments and idiosyncrasies and throat gurgles. And you learn when to not eat, when to eat, how much to eat, what to eat, when to drink water, when not to drink. You can't be too hungry, but you can't have just eaten, and your body's just making all this noise that you gotta work around. It's wild."

After Jasta noted that the audiobook has to follow the written version "word for word", Mark said: "Yeah. I mean, that, to me, is easier because I'm just simply just reading it. But kind of learning to be aware of your breath as you're reading and that kind of stuff, it's stuff that I walked into it not even thinking about. I've never listened to much of it. I've listened to clips here and there."

Asked if he feels like a different person because he co-wrote the book and then voiced it and shared it with the rest of the world, Mark said: "I didn't co-write it — I wrote it. I wrote every single word."

Elaborating on Opipari 's involvement with the book, Morton said: "Ben was a friend already. And the way the book came to be was, he has a place down at the beach in North Carolina, and we go down to that area of North Carolina, outer banks in North Carolina, pretty much every summer for vacation. And he was down there at the time. We were having coffee, and I was telling him some goofy story, music stuff. And he was, like, 'You've got a book in you, man. You should write a book.' And he's an English professor, and he works teaching lawyers how to write better and that kind of stuff. He's like a consultant. And he's, like, 'Let's write a sample chapter, just for fun, and see if we can get any interest.' And I was, like, 'All right, I'm down to go that far.' And we wrote one chapter, sent it to the one publishing company. We were, like, 'If we wanted someone to put this out, who would it be?' So we sent it to that company, and they were, like, 'Let's do a book.' I was, like, 'Oh, no.' So then I had to decide, like, am I gonna do it? I wrote every word. And the interesting thing about that is I don't type very well, so I wrote a hundred thousand words [very slowly]. So it took a lot of time on my laptop. So, hours to dollars, I probably made five bucks an hour writing this book. And then Ben would sort of edit and fix grammar, and if I said something twice, he would sort of — he just kind of cleaned it up. But no, he didn't write anything. I didn't recite anything. It was all written. Um. And so when I read it, it's not like I was reading something for the first time. I wrote every word."

Mark added: "To your question, I did not feel — it wasn't cathartic. It wasn't some self-discovery. That makes for good bylines, taglines about a project. But it wasn't, because everything in there, it's my story, it's my life. So all that stuff I've lived and I have as learned and lived experience."

Back in July 2024, Morton was asked by Full Metal Jackie's nationally syndicated radio show what the most surprising thing was that he discovered about himself in the process of putting together "Desolation: A Heavy Metal Memoir". Mark said: "Yeah, that's an interesting question. I went into this wondering, I went into the book project wondering if it would be cathartic or therapeutic or this process of self-discovery, as you alluded to. I'm not sure that it was, Jackie. I think the big takeaway for me… I essentially wrote the book just to see if I could do it, and it wound up being a mountain of work. And it was kind of — the joke was on me, because, yeah, I could do it, but it was a monumental project. But also, I think the big takeaway for me was just this sense of relief and gratitude that I had gotten past so much of the stuff that happens in the book.

"My life has by no stretch been a sob story," he continued. "There's a lot of just absolutely thrilling things that I've been fortunate enough to be a part of, and there's a lot of humor in the book, but there's some tragedy and some trauma as well. And so for me to be sitting where I'm sitting now and being able to reflect on that informs all of those experiences with a sense of hope. And I'd like to think that's one of the takeaways of the book, is that there's always hope and there's always a chance to get better."

When Full Metal Jackie noted that it must have been "a tough line to walk" in terms of how much of his "personal tragedies and low points" he wanted to share in the book, Mark concurred. "Yeah, it's a scary thing to try and balance how much you wanna let go of," he said. "'Cause there's some really, really personal stories in here. And those can be handled a lot of different ways, and you can go for shocking or you can go for guarded; there's a lot of different angles you can take with some of those stories. And that was a learning process for me. I'd never written a book. And I barely read books, frankly. When I do, they're usually rock memoirs. So I had some point of reference. So I think I had to learn that as I went.

"The big thing I found was to just be genuine and to try to tell those stories with a sense of respect, not only for the experience that I had, but for people who may have had a similar experience," Mark added. "So to try and be respectful of people who have lived through similar things as I have, but to also be genuine and not wear things as a badge or water things down to take the weight out of them, just to be authentic with it."

In a separate LiveSigning discussion with Opipari to promote "Desolation: A Heavy Metal Memoir", Mark revealed that the "hardest" chapter for him to write for the book was the one about the passing of his daughter. In 2009, Morton's baby, Madalyn Grace Morton, died the day after she was born after developing an infection during delivery. He wrote about the loss on the song "Embers" which came out on LAMB OF GOD's 2015 album, "VII: Sturm Und Drang", and in an essay that Noisey published.

Regarding why that chapter was especially difficult for him to write, Mark told LiveSigning: "It's not because I discovered anything new about that situation. I just think that I struggled to honor it and word it just right. And I remember telling you, 'I don't want a lot of notes on this one.' That was one of the things I was, like, 'If there's grammatical stuff…' I spent some time with that one. I was in a really bad mood those few days. So, in that sense, it just drummed up stuff. It's not something I bury. It's not something I forget. It's not something I wanna commodify either. I didn't want this to be a book about that, but I can't tell my story without touching on that. So it was more about finding the balance of all those things and kind of making it feel like I honored that, but didn't exploit it and told my authentic version of that. And I think that's what we did."

Morton also talked about the chapter that was "the most fun" for him to write, saying: "I really, really enjoyed kind of going through all the memories of the BURN THE PRIEST era of LAMB OF GOD and then the early LAMB OF GOD stuff and just really trying to characterize what an absolute just cyclone of chaos and idiocy we were back then. And that was fun to explore and to revisit. And even with the stuff before that, like my high school bands, I did a lot of checking in with folks and seeing if I was remembering this right. I even — when I talk about some of the early LAMB OF GOD days when we were playing, like, squats and warehouses in Philly and that kind of underground punk metal scene that we were a part of down there, I had a guy that I spoke to — he had reached out via one of my social media platforms and was saying he was at certain shows that I was kind of referencing as a touchstone from that point in time. And we got on the phone and I just checked my memory of that show versus his, and he gave me some real insight. And that was pretty cool. I thanked him in the book."

"Desolation" was described by the publisher as "the story of Morton's lifelong quest for clarity and self-acceptance, and shows how the pressures of career success and personal battles eventually came into conflict with Morton's dedication to the creative process. Intertwined with addiction, self-destruction, and the path to eventual surrender and recovery, Morton also reveals the greatest personal tragedy of his life: the death of his two-day old daughter, plunging Morton further into hopelessness. Surrounded by bandmates living their wildest dreams, Morton wanted nothing more than to disappear, ingesting potentially lethal cocktails of drugs and alcohol into his system on a daily basis.

"And yet, amidst the harrowing heartbreak, there were moments of triumph, hope, and incredible personal connection. Morton developed close relationships with his bandmates and crew members, sharing experiences that have made for some strange and hilarious tales. He's also gained a greater sense of purpose through interactions with his fans, who remind him that his work reaches people on a deeply personal level. Through the highs and the lows, Morton learns how to find presence and gratitude where he once found fear and resentment, a process that he considers a gift of spiritual awakening.

"'Desolation' is, at its core, about Morton's journey as a musician navigating self-doubt, anxiety and the progressive disease of addiction, and ultimately finding relative serenity. Perfect for fans, new and old, as well as anyone who has ever been tested and brought to their limits, "Desolation" is a highly satisfying, full-throttle investigation of the human experience."

When the book was first announced, Morton commented: "Initially, I started writing this book just to see if I could do it. But as the writing process unfolded, it quickly took on much more meaning. Unpacking my story, I was able to observe events in my life with an objectivity that I hadn't experienced while I'd lived them in real time.

"Through a lens of hindsight and recovery, I made friends with my past and found value in my most difficult days," he continued. "I hope that by offering my experiences, I can create a point of connection and commonality. There are a lot of fun stories in here and a few really sad ones. I'm grateful to have the opportunity to share them."

Morton co-founded LAMB OF GOD, which was initially called BURN THE PRIEST, in 1994.

In 2019, Morton released his debut solo album, "Anesthetic". An EP, "Ether", came out in 2020 and was followed by the "Without The Pain" LP in 2025.

LAMB OF GOD's tenth studio album, "Into Oblivion", will be released on March 13 via Epic.