QUEENSRŸCHE frontman Todd La Torre says that he is putting together ideas for the upcoming follow-up to his debut solo album, "Rejoice In The Suffering", which was released in February 2021 via Rat Pak Records.

Late Monday night (January 9),Todd took to his Facebook page to share a video of him playing guitar at what appears to be his home studio, and he included the following message: "Working on ideas for my next record. I'm looking to do something with more open chords, a more classic distortion sound, and a little less palm muted riffs. Open chords and space always allow for a more diverse vocal to be created, and without a good vocal melody, you don't have anything memorable or worth a damn. Less is more in many cases.

"While I love 'Rejoice In The Suffering', I am not exactly wanting to do another record just like that. I believe Craig [Blackwell, longtime friend, guitarist and collaborator] and I can do something even better, and much more musical (the word that comes to mind). The best songs were never with overplaying or too complex. I just want to write great songs, whatever that ends up being. Maybe this idea will turn into a great chorus idk, but it doesn't hurt to at least capture the ideas."

The idea for a debut solo album was always in the cards for Todd. With QUEENSRŸCHE tour dates postponed indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic, the world events offered Todd the opportunity to explore his ideas for the effort. Todd teamed up with Blackwell, alongside producer Chris "Zeuss" Harris, to create a diverse heavy metal album that draws influence from different styles. These styles surprised fans who only know La Torre from his previous work with QUEENSRŸCHE or CRIMSON GLORY.

In a February 2021 interview with Anne Erickson of Audio Ink Radio, Todd said that his solo material and QUEENSRŸCHE are like "apples and oranges. They're totally separate things. I don't write guitars, really, in like a QUEENSRŸCHE way. That's not where I shine in QUEENSRŸCHE. I think my lyric writing and my vocal phrasing and delivery and that sort of thing, that's kind of my asset to the writing process for QUEENSRŸCHE music. I would never try to push this kind of style or sound into QUEENSRŸCHE's music. I don't really write music- I mean, I co-write stuff with them, and I might have a guitar riff idea or something, but they're totally separate things, and I would never, never want to pollute the waters of QUEENSRŸCHE what I'm doing. [Laughs]

He continued: "I think because I've been able to get this first [solo album] out, I think that my eagerness to do things with QUEENSRŸCHE definitely takes a back seat, because I have this other outlet to do those things. So, I feel less inclined to be like, 'Oh, I need to scream here and show people what I can do on this.' I really want to just respect what QUEENSRŸCHE's sound is and not change. I don't want to change the style and sound of what QUEENSRŸCHE is and should be. I very much draw a line in the sand where, you know, I can experiment and try some things that might be fitting for a QUEENSRŸCHE song, but as far as pushing that on to them, I feel, because I got that done, I'm more relaxed doing the QUEENSRŸCHE stuff where I don't feel like I have to try to sneak in something heavier, because nobody's got to hear that from me. Now they get to hear a plethora of styles from me on this record."

La Torre joined his first band BLACKWELL as the drummer, performing in high school talent shows and entering into the club rock music scene in Tampa Bay, Florida. In 2009, Todd was suggested to CRIMSON GLORY guitarist Jon Drenning by a mutual friend to help with some vocal rehearsals in preparation for a CRIMSON GLORY memorial concert. This would pave the way for more collaborations with the band, eventually joining as the band's new permanent vocalist. La Torre was the lead singer for CRIMSON GLORY from late 2010 until resigned from the band in early 2013. In 2012, Todd became a household name in the metal world when he officially became the new lead vocalist of QUEENSRŸCHE. The band immediately began touring globally and started writing new material for the self-titled 2013 album "Queensrÿche". To date, QUEENSRŸCHE has released four studio albums with La Torre: "Queensrÿche", "Condition Hüman" (2015),"The Verdict" (2019) and "Digital Noise Alliance" (2022).



Working on ideas for my next record. I'm looking to do something with more open chords, a more classic distortion sound, and a little less palm muted riffs. Open chords and space always allow for a more diverse vocal to be created, and without a good vocal melody, you don't have anything memorable or worth a damn. Less is more in many cases.

While I love Rejoice in the Suffering, I am not exactly wanting to do another record just like that. I believe Craig and I can do something even better, and much more musical (the word that comes to mind). The best songs were never with overplaying or too complex. I just want to write great songs, whatever that ends up being. Maybe this idea will turn into a great chorus idk, but it doesn't hurt to at least capture the ideas.
Recording this with my 1981 Ibanez Destroyer II, Kemper, into ProTools.

Posted by Todd La Torre on Monday, January 9, 2023

Portland-based dark rock duo, Hoaxed, have released the official playthrough video for “High Seas”, from their debut album Two Shadows.


"The 'High Seas' playthrough pulls back the curtain on our process and gives a glimpse into the layers behind the recordings," the band comments. Taking the opportunity to showcase their multi-instrumentalist chops, Kat Keo and Kim Coffel write and perform everything recorded on their albums, including bass and keys."







Comprised of vocalist / guitarist Kat Keo and drummer Kim Coffel, Hoaxed's superlative blend of styles - heavy melodic rock with captivating hooks, gothic undertones, undeniable metal, and tinges of Americana - pave the way for a singular expression that’s entirely their own.


Two Shadows is out on LP/CD/CS/Digital. Physical orders are available via Relapse.com. Digital downloads/streaming here.


Two Shadows is as unique as it is memorable and catchy. The record thrusts, retreats, and beguiles across its melody-powered and hook-driven expanse, with earworms “The Call,” “Guilty Ones,” and “The Knowing” serving as the album’s crucial lighthouses.





Tracklisting:


"Two Shadows"
"The Call"
"The Knowing"
"For Love"
"Grand Illusions"
"High Seas"
"Guilty Ones"
"Where Good Won’t Go"
"Forsaken"


Album stream:





"The Knowing" video:





"The Call" video:





"Guilty Ones" video:





(Photo - Shimon Karmel)

Long-running San Diego, California deathgrind outfit CATTLE DECAPITATION will release its tenth studio album, "Terrasite", on May 12 via Metal Blade Records. The follow-up to 2019's "Death Atlas" was once again produced by Dave Otero (ALLEGAEON, KHEMMIS, ARCHSPIRE),with artwork by longtime collaborator Wes Benscoter (VADER, KREATOR, BLOODBATH, HYPOCRISY).

Comments vocalist Travis Ryan: "We've all heard the old saying about how the cockroach is so pervasive... so invasive... so insidious... that they could survive a nuclear war... Our previous album, 'Death Atlas', left the world blackened and lifeless.. or so we thought. It turns out that the carbon-encrusted bodies that adorned the album's layout and music video (and that resemble the victims of Pompeii that were frozen in time by the Mt. Vesuvius disaster of 79 A.D.) were actually more of a cocoon stage for something much more vicious to come: Humanity 2.0.

"On the cover we see the terrasite, aka 'earth-eater,' molting from its ootheca. Having lived the tortuous existence of being a human, they have now re-emerged into a new world... saddened... confused... PISSED; rebirthed as a new variant of human disease, now adapted to continue and finish the utter ravaging of its home planet, Earth."

"Terrasite" track listing:

01. Terrasitic Adaptation
02. We Eat Our Young
03. Scourge Of The Offspring
04. The Insignificants
05. The Storm Upstairs
06. …And The World Will Go On Without You
07. A Photic Doom
08. Dead End Residents
09. Solastalgia
10. Just Another Body

CATTLE DECAPITATION is:

Travis Ryan - vocals
Josh Elmore - lead guitar
Belisario Dimuzio - rhythm guitar
Olivier Pinard - bass
David McGraw - drums

"Death Atlas" featured a number of guests: Laure Le Prunenec (IGORRR, RICINN),Riccardo Conforti (VOID OF SILENCE),Dis Pater (MIDNIGHT ODYSSEY),Jon Fishman (PHISH) — plus, brass instrumentalists from Ottone Pesante.

Ryan previously told New Noise about the CATTLE DECAPITATION songwriting process: "It's morphed from one or two people writing most of it to the process including everyone, even myself. I might not write any riffs, but arrangements change big time when I bring lyrics into play, and we've all adapted to writing catchier songs. They keep me in mind when writing choruses, and I keep in mind things I could be doing when they're writing, and it all ends up coming together, mostly in the studio. We're making honest-to-god albums now instead of collections of songs. Not to take anything away from the previous albums; it's just different. We're more experienced now."

According to Mirror, Ozzy Osbourne discussed his health struggles during a recent segment on his SiriusXM channel Ozzy's Boneyard. The legendary BLACK SABBATH singer has been recovering from a fall at home in January 2019, which dislodged rods in his back and neck.

He said: "That was nearly four years ago. It is really awful what is going on. It is a nightmare. Sometimes I forget. I am lying on the couch, go to get up and I cannot do that anymore. My sense of balance is all over the place. I have physical therapy and am trying to do things on my own. Progress is... fucking hell, you have no idea. The thing is my head is alright, my creativity is okay, my singing okay, but I just can’t fucking walk much now. But I am determined to be back on stage even if I am nailed to a board with wheels on it."

Last month, Ozzy was spotted leaning on a cane while shopping at the luxury supermarket Erewhon Market in Los Angeles. A female assistant helped him maneuver his shopping cart through the store. The 74-year-old is continuing to deal with health woes, including a serious spinal injury that has left him struggling to walk even six months after another surgery.

But he told SiriusXM: "I still have a lot in the tank. I'm determined to get back on the stage again. I'm still in recovery, and I have a goal. And my goal is to get back on stage. It's the driving force in me. I miss my audience. I miss doing gigs. I miss my crew. I miss my band. I miss the whole thing.

"My family has been so good," he added. "I am the man of the family, but I have never been this laid up in my life."

Three years ago, Ozzy publicly revealed his battle with Parkinson's disease. The singer was first diagnosed with the neurological disorder back in 2003, but he didn't disclose that he was stricken with the disease until a January 2020 appearance on "Good Morning America".

Eighteen years ago, Ozzy said that he had been diagnosed with Parkin syndrome, a genetic condition which has symptoms similar to that of Parkinson's disease, such as body shakes. At the time, he said that he was relieved his debilitating body tremors were from Parkin and not his lifetime of drug abuse.

Ozzy's "No More Tour 2" farewell tour kicked off in 2018 and has been on hold since then, with the next dates set for May 2023.

Photo credit: Ross Halfin

Former SCORPIONS and current KINGDOM COME drummer James Kottak says that he "really jacked" his left up last fall when he "tripped and fell on the pavement."

The 60-year-old musician, who missed some of KINGDOM COME's shows in September because he was dealing with "health issues", discussed his latest medical setback in a brand new interview with "Rimshots With Sean". Confirming that he was speaking from Louisville, Kentucky, where he was born and lived until 1987, Kottak said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I came over here [to Louisville], actually, at the very end of October [of 2022]. I was just coming to chill out and hang out with my brother and sister. I was gonna stay for a couple of weeks. But I tripped and fell and really jacked my left hip up. I couldn't believe it. I'd never broken anything in my life. So I ended up going to the hospital and I ended up staying at the hospital for five, six days. So after that, I came over here to my sister's house and I've been here since. And I've really been enjoying it. But I've been back to the doctor, like, three or four times, and they're, like, 'You know, it's probably not a good idea to travel.' I'm, like, 'Okay.' So I've just been here and been going back to my appointments. I had one yesterday. And things on the up and up."

Regarding how he is spending his time while recovering from his latest injury, Kottak said: "One of my endless tasks is staying in shape and exercising and that sort of thing. Right now I'm just doing a lot of stretching. And I'm just now able to walk about — probably do about eight hundred steps a day. And that may sound like a lot, but I'm normally used to doing a whole lot more. So I'm here in Louisville, like I said, and I'm just really laying low and enjoying the time over here at my sister's house. And my brother's hanging out. And I've got all kinds of friends here. But like I said, it's been really kind of quiet here. But once I get back to L.A., there's things planned and there's always something popping up… Now we're past the New Year. Somebody will call about this or that. And then we're also planning KINGDOM COME shows and stuff."

He continued: "Man, that COVID thing came, and for the year 2020, KINGDOM COME — we had about 40, 45 shows booked, and everything got wiped out, man, even the European stuff, 'cause we were going to Germany and all over the place, even Japan. Everything, because of that COVID thing, got totally postponed. And a lot of the stuff that was postponed to 2021 and even 2022 never happened, 'cause a lot of places shut down, a lot of promoters went out of business. It really hurt lots of people. So we're just kind of picking up now where we left off and [talking to] our agent and trying to book some shows."

James went on to say that he is "doing great" and is very optimistic about his recovery. "Another two weeks and I'll be almost back to normal," he predicted. "And that's not what they said. They go, 'Look, give it three to six months.' I'm, like, 'No, I'll be good after two months.' … I'll be up and running here in no time. This is probably the worst accident I've ever had. I just tripped and fell on the pavement. And I didn't feel like anything bad happened."

Last month, KINGDOM COME singer Keith St. John, who joined the band in 2018 as the replacement for original frontman Lenny Wolf, told the "Pat's Soundbytes Unplugged" podcast that "James has had some health issues in this last — [it's] going on for about two years, I would say, and creeping up. And now he's on a break for a little while until he gets recouped and recovered from everything. And my good friend who plays in '[Raiding The] Rock Vault' with me out here, Blas Elias, has stepped in — Blas Elias from SLAUGHTER; he stepped in to take over the drums for now."

KINGDOM COME played its first two shows with Elias in September in Texas.

Five months ago, Kottak announced that he wouldn't play with his KINGDOM COME bandmates at their concerts in Texas. In the early hours of August 21, 2022, James took to his Twitter to write: "I will not be at the Kingdom Come Plano or San Antonio shows so don't waste your time thanks jams k [sic]".

Last June, KINGDOM COME's appearance at Sweden Rock Festival was described by the popular Swedish site Rocknytt as the event's "biggest fuckup." Writer Peter Johansson singled out Kottak, saying that the drummer played "really badly, sluggishly" and at times failed to keep the tempo "worryingly throughout the concert". At the end of the show, Kottak "stumbled to the edge of the stage to bow with his bandmates," according to Rocknytt.

Also critical of KINGDOM COME's performance was renowned Swedish music journalist and guitar player Janne Stark, who took to his Facebook page to share a photo of the gig and he wrote in an accompanying caption: "I've never seen a drummer fall asleep on stage before but James Kottak is pretty damn close. Drunk? He slows down every song to half tempo. KINGDOM COME, sorry guys but this is SHIT!"

Kottak publicly discussed KINGDOM COME's performance at Sweden Rock for the first time in an interview with "This That & The Other With Troy Patrick Farrell" conducted just days after the concert. Regarding what caused the show to fall short of expectations, James said: "I wanna say about eight or nine days ago, maybe 10 days ago, in the middle of the night, like four o'clock in the morning, I was in a dead sleep and I just rolled off the bed and I cracked three ribs on my left side. And I went to my chiropractor guy and he says, 'Oh, you have hairline fractures.' And I'm, like, 'Oh, great.' And dude, it's just been non-stop pain. It's not just my ribs; it's head to toe. That's why things were a little bit slower. 'Cause I took ibuprofen and the usual, Aleve or whatever, but, man, it was an uphill battle from the time we started. And it was just — I mean, not pain; I'm talking pain-pain, big-time stuff. That's no excuse, because the show must go on. But, yeah, I was a little slower than usual. But also we [usually] have a click track, of course, 'cause we might have a little bit of playback. Something was up with that, so we were flying solo… And [when] you don't have it, you go, 'Oh-oh. Okay. We'll do this.' It was just an off day, and there's nothing you can do about it."

According to James, there was "definitely no drinking" involved prior to the KINGDOM COME mishap at Sweden Rock. "Because that with the medication, it doesn't go good together," he explained. "And it was just an off day, man. I did everything to [make it better] — tons of tea, this and that, and all the usual things that I do — but, man, it was just too soon after falling that we went to play this gig. But it's Sweden Rock, and you don't wanna bail out on that."

Asked if alcohol contributed to him falling out of bed prior to the Sweden Rock performance, Kottak said: "I always sleep on the left side of the bed, and I just somehow, in my sleep, rolled off the bed and landed on my left side. I mean, that's really it. I wasn't drinking — nothing like that. Yeah, I have a few white wines here and there, but nothing like that. I just rolled off the bed. And that's the first time in my life that's ever happened where I actually fell off. I woke up and saw stars. It took me 15 minutes to get off the floor. These things happen sometimes, and there's nothing you can do. With SCORPIONS, going up my riser to get to my drums, there were, like, 14 steps, and I fell down those stairs at least five times, if not six times. Because I was like a dummy — I was always spitting this water. And I'd finish a song and I'd come down not thinking, and, just, 'Whoop', right on my ass."

James also denied that his battle with alcoholism was the primary reason he was fired from the SCORPIONS in 2016. He has since been replaced by former MOTÖRHEAD drummer Mikkey Dee.

"I hate to say it, but Blabbermouth's kind of been the worst James basher," Kottak said. "They always say — any article about SCORPIONS, they say, 'Yeah, ever since James Kottak was released for alcohol abuse.' So I e-mailed them one day and said, 'Man, stop saying that.' We parted ways. It wasn't just from alcohol, dude. We went through five years of negotiations, 'cause the manager and tour manager both died within six months of each other. Then the band decided to self-manage, which is cool. But I'll tell you what, man — that's when it was a super-bumpy road and we were just not on the same page anymore. And that happens with bands."

Five years ago, SCORPIONS guitarist Matthias Jabs said that he and his bandmates "had to make" the decision to fire Kottak, explaining that they gave the drummer "all the chances" to get better. During an appearance on "Rock Talk With Mitch Lafon", the guitarist said: "James was a real good friend — and he still is — but we couldn't continue with him. We gave him all the chances, and 10 more. And it was something that developed over the years — the drinking habit. It came in waves — sometimes it was good for four weeks, and then [there] was drama, and if you know him, you know what that's like. Then if it affects the show, you have to go, 'Hmmm…' Because our drum riser goes up 21 feet, or 24 feet sometimes, if the venue allows it, and the production manager, or stage manager, goes, 'I can't have him go up there. It's too risky.' If you can't really walk down the stairs straight, you can't have that. So that affects your intro of the show, and that's not good — it's not professional."

He continued: "We were helping him — we were sending him to [the island of] Antigua [to Eric Clapton's Crossroads drug and alcohol treatment center], and we paid for it, and we did everything we could, because we are extremely loyal. It's always hard if you work with somebody for almost 20 years to say, 'Okay, you've gotta go.' We'd rather do the opposite and try to keep him and help him. But we reached the point — or he reached the point — where it was just not worth it. After three months or four months even — they gave him an extra month in Antigua, the rehab — he'd come home, we'd start again, and you can't even talk to him. So we had to make that decision. We had Mikkey on the road, so [James] didn't notice. So I rehearsed with [Mikkey] and Paweł [Mąciwoda, bass] in the afternoon, just a backup; that was the original plan. But then there was no way we could continue with James, so we started with Mikkey."

Three years ago, Kottak, who joined the SCORPIONS in 1996, told the SCORPIONS official fan club Crazyscorps about the circumstances that led to his departure from the legendary German hard rock band: "I always liked a drink here and there. And then I always also take a pain medication called Aleve. It's what all the baseball players take, all the footballers, and it works like a charm. You take those of those and you don't feel anything. But on top of that, I'm a rock drummer in a rock band, and you've got the green light to drink.

"From 2008 to 2011, I didn't drink," he explained. "I just woke up one day and said, 'I just don't wanna drink anymore.' I didn't go to rehab; I didn't do any of that stuff. I just didn't wanna drink anymore.

"If you have any knowledge of A.A. [Alcoholics Anonymous] or any type of program or rehab, it only lasts so long and then you have what we call in recovery a relapse. I would go through these phases of a year or maybe two years of no drinking, and then you gradually…

"SCORPIONS, we play our show, we go back to the hotel, [and] 45 minutes later, we're all downstairs having dinner," he continued. "And everything's just the right price — free. All these flights back and forth from Europe, from L.A. — I was just flying constantly. Which I'm not complaining about, but it's always business or first class, and once again, all the booze is at the right price. I'm going, 'I've got the next two days off. I might as well have a drink.' And that's what triggered me to start drinking again sometimes.

"It's a typical alcoholic way of thinking: 'Well, I may as well have a drink. Why not?' And that's typical alcoholic disease thinking. 'Cause it is a disease."
I’m still in Louisville visiting family. My hip/leg are healing rapidly! Where are you and what’s up? pic.twitter.com/MkJmNXCz7f

— James Kottak (@JKottak) November 29, 2022


Another beautiful day in Louisville Ky…it is coooold…Wishing you all the best of health and wealth everyday ! pic.twitter.com/muDxCgDTMq

— James Kottak (@JKottak) December 1, 2022


Another beautiful day in Louisville! How is your day? pic.twitter.com/BqTGqElahS

— James Kottak (@JKottak) December 16, 2022


Overcast rainy day here in Louisville…we wait for days like this in LA LA. pic.twitter.com/zRn6bVyMwP

— James Kottak (@JKottak) December 29, 2022


Another beautiful day in Louisville! How is your day? pic.twitter.com/c2jUD3lKnl

— James Kottak (@JKottak) January 4, 2023

Sizzling, soulful and bewitching, Witchrot is gearing up for their latest offering Witchrot: Live In The Hammer, due out for its international release March 10, 2023. All sleaze and psych, Live In The Hammer has the fuzz fueled quartet playing in the grease trap of Ontario. Smoky vocals overtop mesmeric psychedelic doom fill the room to the brim. 


Pulling from the lost psychedelic masterpieces with fuzz erupting like a volcano and the ethereal shoegaze music of the late '80s and '90s, Witchrot has carved their own haunting path. The all-consuming wave of divine music that is terrifying by its sheer velocity and force rather than dissonance. 


Simultaneously beautiful and putrid, Live In The Hammer pays homage to the grime of the past, paved over by the glitz of the present. Live In The Hammer was recorded at Boxcar Sound in Hamilton, and mastered by Tony Reed at Heavy Head Recording.




The bubbling cauldron that is Live In The Hammer, serves as a bridge between Hollow and the band’s forthcoming next album, currently in the works. There’s no escaping the strange web of Witchrot. Fall into the chasm and embrace the dark. 





Tracklisting:


"Medley - Druid Smoke Part 1 (The Keeper) / Crypt Reaper / Burn Me Down"    
"Dug Your Grave / Strega"    
"Acedia"    
"Who Scared You"    
"Colder Hands"    
"Million Shattered Swords"





 

In a recent interview with United Rock Nations, guitarist Björn Gelotte of Swedish/American metallers IN FLAMES was asked how he and his bandmates find "the right balance" between making the kind of album they want and creating something that will please fans of their older material. Björn responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "You know [what] the interesting [thing] is? I don't think about that. But I can't. Because if I started thinking about what everybody else wanted with my music, or our music, I wouldn't have time to do what I wanna do. So it's never been about anybody else. Which might be egoistic, but it's very pure and it's very true and it's what we like. And if you have that mindset, you don't need to balance shit. The only thing you need to make sure is that we love it. And that's hard enough at times — agreeing. Just imagine having… It's five of us that need to be happy. But imagine trying to please a hundred people or a thousand people or a million people. It's impossible. So I don't care."

He continued: "It's not unfair, because it's us. But at the same time, it's possibly not the answer people wanna hear. But that's the reason why it's still fun — because we didn't make an album for somebody else; we made it for us. That's why no matter what people say, whatever they say, it doesn't matter. The proof is that people show up at the shows. It's the only proof we need that we're doing right by choosing our way of doing it. We might be extremely stubborn, and we also might go on a limb and some people might hate it, but — sorry. There's other records. And if you don't like our band, there's tons of other bands. And they're all fucking awesome."

Last November, Gelotte addressed the criticism he and his bandmates have faced for their musical evolution, which has seen them adopting a more alternative metal sound after starting out as melodic death metal act, during an appearance on THE HAUNTED guitarist Ola Englund's YouTube show "Coffee With Ola", He said: "You have to remember, and I think most people know — just they don't think about it when they say stuff like that — but this is all a matter of taste. I think every album that we've done, we've put in the hours, we have invested in the album, we've done the absolute best that we can and to our liking. That's all it is. And that's just how it works, because we need to be happy with what we're playing. We're not a cover band. And we're not a radio band. We make the music for us, because we know if we like it, we can actually be on stage and enjoy it. This is the most fun I ever had, is being on stage, so I need to like it. And we all need to like it. So having that mindset — do music that we like — we're kind of… I wouldn't say 'bulletproof', but we don't really care what people say. But one thing that is important is that people actually, in one way or the other, care. 'Cause if nobody had any opinion whatsoever or couldn't give a shit about it, then it would probably be more frustrating."

Björn went on to say that he is particularly bothered by the way people treat each other online, lashing out at others when they don't share their opinions.

"When it comes to attacks on other people… That's why I don't get it," he said. "I get it if people are not happy with a record, but if somebody posts that 'I really do like this record' or 'I like that one song' and then somebody else, just for the sake of picking a fight, attacks that guy…

"I'm fine with it. We write it, we record it and master it," he explained. "They press it, or whatever they do, and it's not ours anymore. We've done exactly what we wanted to do. After that, it's just a matter of taste. So that's fine. But people get picked on. And it's a really rough environment; 'toxic' is a good word. So I don't read any of it. I don't go to any forums. I don't read any of music outlets or anything, because I am so tired of the comments. And it's a bad thing, because a lot of times that's the only way to find out about certain tours and stuff. But I simply don't go there, because of that toxic environment."

Earlier in the month, IN FLAMES singer Anders Fridén told Czech Republic's Metalshop TV that he and his bandmates have been at the receiving end of criticism for their entire career.

"I've been in this band since late '95," he said. "My first album was 'Jester Race'. When we released 'Whoracle', there were people saying, 'It doesn't sound like 'The Jester Race'.' And then when did 'Colony', and people said, 'It doesn't sound like 'Whoracle'.' And then we did 'Clayman' and people said, 'It doesn't sound like…' So it's been like that all the time. And I'm happy that we can release albums that are challenging to people, that they don't know where to put it, but in time it will be a classic IN FLAMES album. And I think this new one is gonna surprise people, but in 10 years' time they're gonna say it's their favorite. So it changes.

"Every album is important to us. All the albums led up to where we are today. So if you take away one of them, we won't sound the same today. But yeah, people have opinions. But it's fine. That's music. It's a matter of taste. And we can't all have the same taste; that would be extremely boring. And it's cool. I like it."

IN FLAMES' fourteenth studio album, "Foregone", will arrive on February 10 via Nuclear Blast.

Mike Portnoy says that he regrets publicly voicing his "observation" about the drumming in the GUNS N' ROSES classic "November Rain", explaining that he wasn't "trying to insult another drummer."

Back in August 2012, Portnoy, who normally doesn't shy away from his two cents on any music-related discussion, took to his Twitter account to pose the question: "'November Rain' is an all-time classic song... but why on Earth did Matt Sorum play the SAME EXACT fill every 4 bars? (23 times, to be exact!)"

Two days later, Sorum finally replied to Portnoy, writing on Twitter, "That fill was Axl's [Rose, GUNS N' ROSES singer] idea as a musical phrase that carried on through the trilogy, 'Don't Cry' and 'Estranged'. Those albums, 'Use Your Illusion' [parts] 1 and 2 have sold 20 million combined."

He added, "Remember, kids, drumming isn't all about fancy drum fills and splash cymbals. Ask Charlie Watts, Ringo [Starr] and Phil Rudd."

Portnoy then replied, "Agree 1000%!! Ringo is one of my greatest heroes!! No disrespect meant, bro... Just making an observation of that song. Peace! : )"

Mike discussed his decade-old exchange with Matt during an appearance on the latest episode of the GUNS N' ROSES-centric "Appetite For Distortion" podcast. Speaking about how the supposed "feud" unfolded, Portnoy said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It was a misunderstanding. It was one of those Twitter wars that kept blowing up out of nowhere.

"'November Rain' came on wherever, and I heard the fill, and it dawned on me, 'Oh my God. It's literally happening every four bars or every eight bars.' And I counted them, and it was something like 37 times, the same fill.

"Look, I have nothing but respect for GUNS N' ROSESandMatt Sorum," Portnoy explained. "Matt's a great, great drummer and he's done amazing stuff both inside and outside of GUNS N' ROSES. So I never am trying to insult another drummer. I could find something impressive or inspiring from any musician out there, and I never wanna come down or insult any of 'em. But I just kind of randomly posted that random thought, like, 'Why is this same fill happening 37 times?' or whatever it was. And I regret that I did that 'cause it probably came off as an insult to Matt, and I did not mean for it to be. But he responded something to the effect of, 'Oh, at least I don't need a hundred-piece drum kit to play.' And then I was, like, 'Well, hey, you're talking to the biggest Ringo [Starr] and BEATLES fan of all time. Don't pull that card with me.' And we ended up privately e-mailing each other and I apologized and I said, 'Look, I really meant no disrespect whatsoever.' So I do regret that tweet and have learned to kind of be a little more careful about the observations I make online."

In a 2009 interview with Music Radar, Sorum spoke in more detail about his drumming approach on "November Rain", explaining, "The track I get the most amount of grief for, from drummers, is 'November Rain'. The reason I did that tom fill so many times is I felt it was a musical part. A lot of drummers were like, 'Why'd you play the same fill so much?!'

"Me and Axl were sitting in the studio late one night, having a couple of drinks and listening to Elton John, a song called 'Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me'.

"Axl goes, 'Do you hear that?' I'm like, 'Yeah, I love Nigel Olson, man'. He says, 'Do that on the song we're going to record tomorrow!' We'd rehearsed it but I didn't have all the fills and stuff, it was just a groove. In the end of 'November Rain', I get into that whole marching band trip."

Jonathan Cain says that he will be hitting the road with JOURNEY next month despite guitarist Neal Schon's suggestions to the contrary.

Last week, Schon hinted that JOURNEY's co-founder Gregg Rolie will make an appearance on the band's upcoming 50th-anniversary tour, presumably in the place of Cain, with whom Neal has been publicly feuding.

However, earlier today (Tuesday, January 10),Cain shared a photo of him and his wife, Paula White-Cain, hitting the ski slopes, apparently in Colorado, and he included the following message: "I feel very grateful and blessed to share this time on the slopes with my Baby before hitting the road with JOURNEY. #grateful #blessed #mountains #love #ski"

Earlier this month, Schon addressed Rolie's participation in JOURNEY's upcoming run of dates in a social media post. After Neal shared a graphic for JOURNEY's 50th anniversary on his Facebook page, a fan commented: "I am SO looking forward to this. Please tell me Gregg Rollie is coming along for the ride! He's the better keyboard player and a co-founder it only seems right. Timing couldn't be better either!!!!" In response, Neal wrote: "you'll be seeing him".

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

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

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

The latest legal move came a few weeks after Schon filed a lawsuit against Cain in California state court, alleging that Cain set up an American Express card without telling Schon and that "millions of JOURNEY funds have flowed through it." Cain, for his part, accused Schon of misusing the card, citing his "excessive spending and extravagant lifestyle."

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

Rolie was JOURNEY's first singer, though his role quickly diminished when Perry arrived in 1977. Gregg left JOURNEY in 1980, just before the band achieved its commercial heights.

JOURNEY's tour with TOTO will kick off on February 4 in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Presented by AEG Presents, the "Freedom Tour 2023" will make stops in Austin, Montreal and Memphis before wrapping April 25 at the brand-new Acrisure Arena in Palm Springs, California.

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

I feel very grateful and blessed to share this time on the slopes with my Baby before hitting the road with Journey❤️ #grateful #blessed #mountains #love #ski

Posted by Jonathan Cain on Tuesday, January 10, 2023

Former ICED EARTH singer Tim "Ripper" Owens says that Jon Schaffer will "regret" his role in the January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.

Owens, who joined ICED EARTH in 2003 and stayed in the group for four years before being fired in December 2007, addressed his time with the band in a new interview with "The Logan Show".

Asked if he was surprised to see Schaffer involved in the Capitol riot, Owens said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Yeah, I was. I'm not friends with Jon; we had a falling out 15 years ago or whatever it was.

"Listen, people do things and they regret it. And that's what he did; he's gonna regret it," Tim continued.

"I have nothing to do with Jon. It was surprising, though."

This past November, Owens was asked in an interview with The Shred Shack if he would ever consider rejoining ICED EARTH if he got the call. He responded: "No, no. And contrary to his issues he has… It wasn't a good falling out.

"People don't realize that it's been a long time since I was in ICED EARTH," Owens explained. "It wasn't a good ending. And career-wise, I've moved on, and I do my thing now.

"No, I would never do ICED EARTH again. No," Tim reiterated.

Owens previously reflected on his split with ICED EARTH in a December 2021 interview with Metal Mythos Aftershock. At the time, he said: "It wasn't a very good parting. I was leaving to go to [Jon's] house to record a new record. And I walked back into my house to grab something and I got an e-mail and I looked at it and it said, 'Brothers and sisters… You're fired,' or whatever. It's the same e-mail he sent Blabbermouth at the same time. And it wasn't a good falling out. It was two weeks before Christmas. It wasn't good."

Owens continued: "Two weeks before that, [Jon] sent me an e-mail saying, 'Listen, I really need to teach you how to be a frontman and teach you how to do things.' And Wendy Dio, who was my manager at the time, was beside herself. She kept saying, 'Get out of this thing, man. You've gotta get out of this thing.' And it was unfortunate that it ended like that — two weeks before Christmas with an e-mail that's the same e-mail he sends Blabbermouth. I was kind of sad, but life goes on, and you move on to the next thing. And I think two days later I was recording a new Yngwie [Malmsteen] record. So it's kind of, like, everything moves on for a reason."

Owens had also discussed his departure from ICED EARTH in a 2012 interview with Australia's Loud. He said: "It was handled poorly, I think, the situation. It could've been handled good and everybody could've looked good in the situation. But it was handled poorly, I think… I started getting all the blame when things weren't the same. Or things weren't what Jon thought they could be. And then, of course, it all came down on me. None of the blame ever came down on Jon. I'm fine with that, but the funny thing is that nothing really changed when I left anyway. I read numbers and I talk to agents, and the crowds are the same or smaller now. I think it was also me wandering a bit, knowing that ICED EARTH was kind of like a solo project. It's really Schaffer's band, and I knew that. And I started having my own: I started doing BEYOND FEAR, and pushing BEYOND FEAR when probably I should have been talking about ICED EARTH. I think Jon read a lot of that and he read into it that my heart and soul wasn't into ICED EARTH."

Schaffer addressed Owens's exit from ICED EARTH in a 2008 interview with Metal Exiles. At the time, the guitarist said: "Tim was great to work with in the studio, and from a standpoint of performing live, he was great as far as being an incredible vocalist, but he was not a true believer in this band. It was a job for him, and ICED EARTH is not about that… He was more interested in doing his solo thing — that was where his head was at — and it was becoming more and more obvious. This band was a means to an end for him."

In April 2021, Schaffer pleaded guilty to his role in the U.S. Capitol riot. As part of the plea deal, Jon entered into a cooperation agreement with the government.

Following the initial reports that Schaffer was involved in the riot, his ICED EARTH bandmates distanced themselves from his actions. Singer Stu Block and bassist Luke Appleton later posted separate statements on social media announcing their resignations. BLIND GUARDIAN frontman Hansi Kürsch also quit DEMONS & WIZARDS, his long-running project with Schaffer. The allegations also apparently affected Schaffer's relationship with his longtime record label Century Media, which had released albums from both ICED EARTH and DEMONS & WIZARDS. As of mid-January 2021, the Century Media artist roster page did not list either band.

Iggy Pop was joined by Duff McKagan (GUNS N' ROSES),Chad Smith (RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS) and Josh Klinghoffer (RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS) for his performance on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" this past Monday (January 9).

After being introduced by host Jimmy Kimmel as IGGY POP AND THE LOSERS, the 75-year-old Pop and the other musicians performed "Frenzy", the first single from Iggy's latest album, "Every Loser".

"Every Loser" is Iggy's 19th solo album and his first to be released via the recently announced partnership between Atlantic Records and Gold Tooth Records, the new label founded by the album's Grammy Award-winning, multi-platinum executive producer Andrew Watt. Watt, who also performed with Iggy on "Kimmel" (on guitar),previously worked with Ozzy Osbourne on the metal icon's last two studio albums, including 2022's "Patient Number 9".

"I'm the guy with no shirt who rocks; Andrew and Gold Tooth get that," Pop previously said about his new LP. "We made a record together the old-fashioned way… The players are guys I've known since they were kids and the music will beat the shit out of you."

For his part, Watt said: "Iggy Pop is a fucking icon. A true original. The guy invented the stage dive... I still can't believe he let me make a record with him. I am honored. It doesn't get cooler. This album was created to be played as loud as your stereo will go… turn it up and hold on."

Widely acknowledged as one of the most influential artists and dynamic live performers of all time, Pop is a singer, songwriter, musician, author, record producer, DJ and actor whose epic body of work has earned him both worldwide critical acclaim and fanatic cult success. Beginning in 1967 with his era-defining group THE STOOGES, Pop merged primal rock, blues, and free jazz into something altogether dangerous and new, paving the way for punk, post-punk, hard rock, and grunge. His landmark solo career — which kicked off with 1977's David Bowie-produced "The Idiot" and "Lust For Life" — has seen Pop traverse a stunning span of musical genres, inspiring generation after generation of rock 'n rollers with his iconoclastic songcraft, uncompromising performance style, and one-of-a-kind charisma. Perhaps the greatest living embodiment of rock and roll, Pop has never slowed down, pushing the art form forward for more than half a century, including his 2019's contemplative, critically acclaimed "Free".

Influential punk band NOFX is known as one of the world’s most controversial and significant punk bands of their time. They are no strangers to pushing boundaries at their live shows, and their final tour will be no different. The dream team of NOFX and Cameron Collins from Brew Ha Ha Productions and the Punk In Drublic Craft Beer & Music Festival has reunited to curate the first wave of announced tour dates in the United States.

The forty-cities-around-the-world tour begins on April 22 in Austin, Texas and concludes in October 2024 in Los Angeles, California. NOFX will perform forty songs a night, including full albums and rarities, plus they will never repeat a setlist to ensure that each show is unique.

NOFX frontman Fat Mike says: "This is not a final tour like MÖTLEY CRÜE or BLACK SABBATH… These are the very last shows NOFX will ever be playing. We are gonna play with all our hearts…With all our joy…And then we are done. We are done done."

NOFX final tour commences with a massive 21+ punk rock and beer weekend camping festival at Carson Creek Ranch in Austin, Texas on April 22 and April 23 that will feature special guests PENNYWISE, CIRCLE JERKS, FACE TO FACE, RIVERBOAT GAMBLERS, CODEFENDANTS, GET DEAD, BAD COP BAD COP, THE BOMBPOPS, PEARS, PIÑATA PROTEST and more.

Tickets for these shows go on sale this Friday, January 13 at 10:00 a.m. PT at www.PunkInDrublicFest.com. Options include single day, the Bro Bundle, VIP, and more including a digital download of each show with ticket purchase.

Initial tour dates are as follows, with more European dates, venues, and lineups to be announced soon:

April 22- 23 - Austin, TX – Carson Creek Ranch (campout)
May 13 - San Diego, CA
May 19-20 - Barcelona, Spain
June 02 - Linz, Austria
June 24-25 - Columbus, OH (campout)
July 22- 23: Tacoma, WA
September 16 - San Francisco, CA
September 30 - St. Petersburg, FL

NOFX formed in Los Angeles back in 1983. They were forged in the same fiery furnaces of the L.A. hardcore scene that gave us BAD RELIGION, SUICIDAL TENDENCIES, THE GERMS and DESCENDENTS. NOFX sharpened their teeth in that tumultuous talent pool until they joined forces with Epitaph Records in 1989 and went on to release a string of crucial skate-punk albums. Their first major breakthrough came in the form of 1990's "Ribbed", still a fan favorite, they then followed up with now-classics "White Trash, Two Heebs And A Bean" and "Punk In Drublic", the latter selling well over a million copies. That was a wildly successful decade for NOFX as the band popularized the Warped Tour and was the flagship band for the skate/surf/snow culture of the 1990s.

NOFX's career-long ban on doing the mainstream press and media was lifted as they sought to actively share their dissent for the Bush administration and speak out against the invasion of Iraq. And once the floodgates were open, NOFX and their "Rock Against Bush" movement were everywhere: Newsweek, Rolling Stone, New York Times, Howard Stern and network television. All that high-profile interest and hype was reflected in the success of their 2003 record "The War On Errorism", which was the No. 1 independent record in the country at the time if its release and topped Billboard's indie chart.

Photo credit: Susan Moss Photography

Former THEATRE OF TRAGEDY and LEAVES' EYES frontwoman Liv Kristine will release her sixth solo album this spring via Metalville Records.

Liv started off in her enchanting style and angelic singing manner with five albums from THEATRE OF TRAGEDY (1993-2003); her own releases "Deus Ex Machina" (1998),"Enter My Religion" (2006),"Skintight" (2010),"Libertine" (2012) and "Vervain" (2014); as well as five LEAVES' EYES albums (2004-2015),which gained the bands worldwide attention and recognition.

In 1993, Kristine embarked on a unique and courageous musical path, exploring, redefining, making way, until she became one of the most recognizable voices within the worldwide female voice metal movement.

Her autodidactic way into music and career reflects her strong individuality and courage to create with a free artistic heart, inviting her audience to experience musical and tonal aesthetics on a highly individual and elevating level.

Liv rose to worldwide fame already in the early '90s with her Norwegian band THEATRE OF TRAGEDY, and then, moreover, as a solo artist, as well as with LEAVES' EYES and various projects. For more than 25 years, she's been, and still is, a fine inspiration for artists and bands worldwide within her authentic brand of goth, metal and rock. Her musical achievements are numerous: for example, a Grammy Award nomination for the song "Nymphetamine" in collaboration with CRADLE OF FILTH, 500,000 records sold with THEATRE OF TRAGEDY, touring more than 50 countries, including repeat hits in the official charts with her solo releases and her follow-up band LEAVES' EYES, as well as European club, DJ, dance, rock, and alternative charts. She also lent her voice to title tracks for popular TV series like "Tatort" and "Schimanski". Liv has released more than 15 full-length albums with her bands since 1995.

In a recent interview with Max Davallo of the "Sonic Dorms"music talk show, QUEENSRŸCHE guitarist Michael Wilton spoke about how the rise of grunge in the early 1990s forced most hard rock bands off the radio and MTV, with album and tour sales plummeting.

"I think as far as the metal, the progressive rock and the hard rock, we catapulted," he said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). "So I think we were kind of in our automatic way of existing. And it's something that you see technology changing, the dynamics of the record companies were changing, a new crowd was coming in and they wanted something of their own. And that all was great for all those bands, and especially all the bands from Seattle because we knew 'em all. For us, it was a time of just a shift in the industry. And I think we weathered it. We kind of went through some changes, probably like most bands do. I think we had such a solidified following that it really didn't matter. We just kept doing what we do. And then the whole grunge thing happened. That was really great. Music got stale, I guess, and this new music came in. But for us, it's always been about a certain way we do things. Whether trends and things happen, I don't think we follow trends. We just do what we do."

Wilton previously discussed grunge's impact on QUEENSRŸCHE's popularity in a March 2019 interview with the "Cobras & Fire" podcast. At the time, he said: "The grunge thing happened pretty much in the mid-to-late '90s, so we had already gone through that whole early-'90s explosion of rock videos on MTV and lots of record companies selling tons of CDs and albums and everything. It was a glorious time.

"I remember, I think we were playing in '96 or '97, and that's kind of when it all hit, right? It just kind of goes in cycles. There's a new generation coming in, and they want their own thing. And for us, we never fit into any concrete genre and we weren't a band that was on any trends. We were kind of oblivious to it all, and we just kept doing what we were doing. And lo and behold, look at us today — we're still going strong. And I think it's just because QUEENSRŸCHE's music is unique and it has its place. And it obviously, for the most part, can be timeless."

Six years ago, former QUEENSRŸCHE frontman Geoff Tate said that he was offended when his band started being compared to the so-called "hair metal" acts of the 1980s.

"When we started, genre wasn't really a thing in the business," the singer said. "Rock music was all encompassing. You had different bands doing different things and it was all totally fine.

"What happened was that the marketing mentality came into the business," he explained. "They started breaking everything down and putting music in boxes. At that point, writers began placing us in the same box as MÖTLEY CRÜE. It wasn't about the music — it was a selling technique.

"To be compared to MÖTLEY CRÜE… I took it as kind of an insult, frankly."

Last month, QUEENSRŸCHE announced an early 2023 U.S. tour in support of its sixteenth studio album, "Digital Noise Alliance". Direct support on the trek will come from former MEGADETH guitarist Marty Friedman, with TRAUMA opening each show.

"Digital Noise Alliance" came out on October 7 via Century Media. The record was once again helmed by Chris "Zeuss" Harris, who previously worked with QUEENSRŸCHE on 2015's "Condition Hüman" and 2019's "The Verdict" LPs.

Guitarist Mike Stone, who rejoined QUEENSRŸCHE in 2021, contributed guitar solos to the band's new studio album.

Since late May 2021, Stone has been handling second-guitar duties in QUEENSRŸCHE, which announced in July 2021 that longtime guitarist Parker Lundgren was exiting the group to focus on "other business ventures."

Stone originally joined QUEENSRŸCHE for the 2003 album "Tribe" and stayed with the band for six years before leaving the group.

For the past six years, drummer Casey Grillo has been filling in for original QUEENSRŸCHE drummer Scott Rockenfield, who stepped away from the band's touring activities in early 2017 to spend time with his young son.

In October 2021, Rockenfield filed a lawsuit against Wilton and Jackson, alleging, among other things, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty and wrongful discharge. A few months later, Wilton and bassist Eddie Jackson filed a countersuit against Rockenfield, accusing him of abandoning his position as a member of the band and misappropriating the group's assets to his own personal benefit.

In a recent interview with the Pod Scum podcast, Jimmy Bower, who has played with PANTERA singer Philip Anselmo in both DOWN and SUPERJOINT (formerly SUPERJOINT RITUAL),was asked about New Orleans-based thrash metal pioneers EXHORDER's supposed influence on PANTERA's decision to move from a power metal act to a more aggressive form of thrash. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It doesn't matter who came first or anything. EXHORDER and PANTERA were night and day, dude. EXHORDER was a band that just did really well here in New Orleans — I'm speaking from when we were all younger — and everybody in that band could play their ass off.

"Was Phil influenced by EXHORDER and maybe took that to PANTERA? Of course he was," Bower acknowledged. "But does that define who PANTERA is? Fuck no. I've seen all that written. And that's actually an old thing — from the '90s people have been saying that. I never got it because if that's the case, then EYEHATEGOD is nothing but a second-rate MELVINS. That's it.

"EXHORDER was a huge influence on everybody down here," Jimmy added.

Last November, EXHORDER vocalist Kyle Thomas told Heavy Culture about comparisons between his band and PANTERA: "PANTERA had an evolution. Early, they were kind of glam-ish, and I don't know if necessarily the music was as glam as maybe the appearance. But a lot of heavy metal bands… I mean, I played in heavy metal bands before I was in EXHORDER where I wore the spandex pants and black eyeliner. We all kind of did at some point — not everybody, but some people did. A lot of the thrash bands we love today — SLAYER, DESTRUCTION — they wore makeup and leather and spiked wristbands and stuff.

"PANTERA were very good before even, before Philip Anselmo joined them. They were very good and well established at what they did, a very hard-working band. Now, Phil is from New Orleans, like we are. We've known each other since we were teenagers. We've been friends for a very long time. In fact, that platinum album on [my] wall back there was a gift from Phil. That's for [PANTERA's] 'Far Beyond Driven' [album]. So, we've been friends for a long time.

"I think a lot of the controversy was media- and fan-driven more than anything," Kyle explained. "For me, I was friends with Darrell [Abbott, PANTERA guitarist] as well. I've been friendly with Rex [Brown, PANTERA bassist] a long, long time. I've known these guys for years.

"Were we doing what they ended up doing before they were? In a way, there was things that we were doing that they eventually did and we were doing them first. But that doesn't necessarily mean, I think, that there was any kind of blatant rip-off or anything.

"Phil almost joined EXHORDER for a minute. The band was reforming and I wasn't interested, so Phil was asked by the band if he wanted to sing, and he said yes. And when I found out Phil wanted my job, I took my job back. [Laughs] That's kind of how that went.

"There were a lot of bands interested in Phil at the time. I know METAL CHURCH was interested in Phil. So I think he went to the guys in PANTERA and he was, like, 'I'm really interested in doing something a little bit more than what we're doing right now. So y'all hear me out.' And I think they just kind of hashed it out.

"I know we were one of… We're still one of Phil's favorite bands," Kyle added. "He's told me this before, and people I know tell me the same thing. I know he's a huge fan, and he helped us tremendously build the underground in the Dallas/Fort Worth area when he was living out there with the PANTERA guys just building all that stuff.

"It's a frustrating thing to me, because I guess it's kind of like the poor man's version of METALLICA versus MEGADETH. I don't think it needs to be that big of a conversation anymore. Basically, we've reformed back in 2017, and we're still going strong, about to do our second album in that timeframe. And they're [PANTERA] putting some shows together with some friends to bring the band and songs back to life, which I think is a great thing. So there's room for both."

Back in 2013, Anselmo denied that EXHORDER was a major influence on PANTERA's sound, telling Examiner.com: "It's absolutely untrue. EXHORDER was a killer band, don't get me wrong. And for their time in the local scene in New Orleans in 1988, as far as skill level, they really upped the game for everyone. To this day, I'm still really good friends with their singer, who is now the singer for TROUBLE. Kyle and I come from the same school of heavy metal vocals — Rob Halford, Don Doty from DARK ANGEL, and Tom Araya — so there are similarities between us, but musically, I don't hear it at all."

In a 2007 interview with Midwest Metal, Kyle addressed the possibility that EXHORDER inspired PANTERA's more aggressive early 1990s approach, saying: "The thing I hate the most of this topic is just how handcuffed we are to their success. Did they rip us off? Possibly. Was it deliberate? Maybe. Were they influenced by us? Definitely. Did they work a helluva lot harder than we did? Absolutely. Case closed."

Thomas is now the sole remaining founding member of EXHORDER, which parted ways with original guitarist Vinnie LaBella in February 2020.

According to The Guardian, Norwegian black metal band TAAKE has had its previously announced tour of Australia canceled by the promoters.

The controversial outfit, which has long been plagued by accusations of anti-Muslim lyrics and Nazi sympathies, was scheduled to perform four shows Down Under in early February as part of the "Southern Funeral" tour with American band AKHLYS.

On Thursday (January 5),tour promoter Southern Extremeties announced the run "has been cancelled for reasons beyond our control".

"Apologies to ticket holders/people keen to see these 2 acts, you'll receive an update and full refund from your ticketing company," they added.

Before Southern Extremeties announced that the tour was being scrapped, two venues had already pulled out — University Of Sydney's Manning Bar, which reportedly made the decision following pressure from students, and Adelaide's Enigma Bar.

The latest cancelation comes five years after TAAKE called off a U.S. tour due an online campaign highlighting previous incidents, including a 2007 incident in which singer Hoest appeared onstage with a swastika painted on his chest.

The band later disavowed the image, saying it was a one-time lapse in judgment, and denied that its lyrics reflect any racist sentiments. "Many of these claims are just ludicrous," the band's manager, Bjørnar Erevik Nilsen, told Newsweek in 2018. "They are not into that kind of stuff at all."

Regarding the swastika, Nilsen told Newsweek: "It was a provocation. Not any kind of call for right-wing ideology… The band has also played concerts in Israel, which would be completely ludicrous if it were a Nazi band."

According to Pitchfork, Hoest performed in 2013 while wearing a shirt with an anti-Islamic symbol, plus an iron cross necklace.

Hoest has repeatedly denied claims of his band's ties to white nationalism. In an interview with Metal Insider, he said: "Presenting us as 'Neo Nazi,' 'openly racist,' 'wearing swastikas' (in plural, like it's a habit of mine),etc. are just plain lies. And 'islamophobic?' A phobia is an irrational mental illness. So quite the contrary, religion is an irrational mental illness."

Image courtesy of bisounours66

Hello Folks

The upcoming TAAKE/AKHLYS tour has been cancelled for reasons beyond our control.

Apologies to ticket...

Posted by Southern Extremeties Productions on Thursday, January 5, 2023

This past October, Italian heavy rockers LACUNA COIL released "Comalies XX", a "deconstructed" and "transported" version of their third studio album "Comalies".

Back in 2002, LACUNA COIL released an LP which is now undeniably an anthem-laden millennial classic that established them as a band with the stamina to go the distance. Now, 20 years later, the current lineup of LACUNA COIL decided to revisit the songs, but not to just re-record them as they were but deconstruct and transport them into 2022.

When asked in a new interview with Australia's Heavy why LACUNA COIL decided to rework "Comalies", vocalist Cristina Scabbia said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "The main reason is that it is the twentieth anniversary of this record. And we didn't want to simply do a remaster or a repackaging, because it's a record that means a lot to is. It's a record that made us level up in the game, that allowed us to make music as a full-time job. And we love the songs. So we started to ask ourselves, how would it sound if we were to write it in 2022? And the idea just started to develop and get more and more interesting. [And we thought] why don't we do it for real? In a moment in which we were starting to write again, after the pandemic, because [the pandemic] got us really not creative on a certain level. We didn't want any music to be connected with the pandemic because it was a very negative period. So we started to work on the songs, and they were sounding really good, because, of course, they came from the old ones, from the core of the old songs, but they were sounding really fresh, like we were writing a new record. And it's so cool that now a lot of fans are confused because they don't know anymore if they love more the original versions or these versions, which is a good sign."

Added co-vocalist Andrea Ferro: "We didn't know what to expect from the fans. When you're gonna touch classic records, it's always hard because some people get really attached because it's the first time they discovered the band, the first time they fell in love with the music. So it's always a gamble a little bit, but we thought we could pull it off because we've done it in the past [where] we rearranged some songs just for the live shows, without maybe doing as much of the rework that we've done now, but still making new sounds so that it would flow better with the rest of the songs in the setlist. Some of the tracks, for the keyboards, we were using [keyboards] from 2002, so they don't sound as good as the new ones, obviously. So we kind of needed to rearrange them and re-record them. And a lot of this stuff was on tape, 'cause we recorded analog back then. So Marco [Coti Zelati], our bass player, which is the main songwriter of the band, he had to go back and re-record the whole album, the original version, to find out all the parts, and then we re-recorded the vocals in the original version, and then rearranged everything and see what we could get and where we could progress and make it different."

Continued Cristina: "It was actually really stressful. Because when you write a new record, people don't know the songs, so you put them out there. Some people might love them; some people might not like them; but it's something new. When you put out something made out of something in a new version, it's always very challenging. It was stressful. But we're happy — we're really happy."

LACUNA COIL celebrated the 20th anniversary of "Comalies" by performing it in its entirety at a one-night-only concert on October 15, 2022 at Fabrique in Milano.

"Comalies" was originally released on October 29, 2002 through Century Media Records. The LP, which featured the band's breakthrough single "Heaven's A Lie", has reportedly gone on to sell over 300,000 copies in the United States alone.

Regarding the "Comalies" title, Scabbia said: "[During the album's recording], we had a sort of creative explosion. We were working in a coma, sort of like in a different dimension. First of all we just wanted to use the word 'coma' but there was something missing so we played with the two words 'coma' and 'lies'."

The "Comalies" song "Swamped" was previously made available as a downloadable track for the music video game series "Rock Band" and also appeared in the 2004 video game "Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines".

Video of METALLICA's entire concert on November 6, 2022 at the 7,000-seat Hard Rock Live at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida can be seen below. The show, which celebrated the life, legacy and achievements of Megaforce Records founder Jon "Jonny Z" Zazula and his wife Marsha Zazula, saw the Bay Area metal legends play songs exclusively from their first two albums, 1983's "Kill 'Em All" and 1984's "Ride The Lightning", both of which were originally released on Megaforce. Support at the gig came from British/American metallers RAVEN, who were also originally signed to Megaforce.

METALLICA's setlist was as follows:

01. Creeping Death
02. Ride The Lightning
03. Motorbreath
04. No Remorse
05. Trapped Under Ice
06. The Call Of Ktulu
07. Phantom Lord
08. Am I Evil?
09. Metal Militia
10. For Whom The Bell Tolls
11. Whiplash
12. Fade To Black
13. Seek & Destroy

Encore:

14. Fight Fire With Fire
15. Blitzkrieg
16. Hit The Lights

When the concert was first announced in September, METALLICA said in a statement: "Jonny gave us our first break in New York, released our first albums on his Megaforce Records label, and put us out on the road for our first real tour. With Marsha by his side, Jonny was a mentor, a manager, a label head, and a father figure to us all.... we would not be where we are today without the two of them. Sadly, we recently lost both Jonny and Marsha, just a little more than a year apart.

"We'll be cooking up a special setlist for you full of songs from our days with Jonny and Marsha at Megaforce. Our main touring partner from that time, RAVEN, will be joining us to add to the celebration and bring back the memories."

A portion of the proceeds from this show are being donated in Jonny and Marsha's name to MusiCares, a safety net supporting the health and welfare of the music community offering preventive, emergency, and recovery programs to musicians and industry professionals. Additionally, All Within My Hands once again supported Feeding South Florida with a donation following the show.

Jonny Z died in February 2022 at the age of 69. Jonny died of complications of the rare neuropathic disorder chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP),chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and osteopenia, his family said. Marsha passed away of cancer in January of 2021.

Megaforce is widely credited for launching the career of METALLICA by releasing the band's first two albums, 1983's "Kill 'Em All" and 1984's "Ride The Lightning", before METALLICA landed a major label deal with Elektra. Megaforce's roster has also included such artists as ANTHRAX, TESTAMENT, OVERKILL, Ace Frehley, MINISTRY, KING'S X, STORMTROOPERS OF DEATH and RAVEN.

Born in 1952, Jonny began his extraordinary journey as a renegade youth who went from living on the streets of the Bronx in New York City, to later working on Wall Street, and eventually (and unexpectedly) transitioning into the music business and discovering METALLICA, ANTHRAX and others.

After Wall Street, Jonny Z began selling records at a flea market store in 1981 to put food on the table for his family. Dubbed Rock N' Roll Heaven, the store eventually blossomed into a major record store that influenced the heavy metal movement as we know it today. In the winter of 1982, Jonny Z received an unexpected demo tape from unsigned underground band called METALLICA. Eager and determined to have the music heard by the entire world, Jonny and Marsha founded Megaforce the following year and released "Kill 'Em All". Through this release, Megaforce cemented its position as the de-facto music label in America for heavy metal.

Jon's acclaimed autobiography, "Heavy Tales: The Metal. The Music. The Madness. As Lived By Jon Zazula", was released in October 2019. The book tells the story of how the Zazulas ended up signing a band that shaped the sound of heavy metal for decades to come.

"It's all a blessing when you work hard and you stay smart and you go into the game and then eventually something comes your way and you're ready for it. And you're able to jump upon it and ride it," Jonny told Variety. "We were very fortunate, Marsha and I, that we have them to choose as a band that became the biggest band in the world. Not to mention a bunch of other great bands that made history."

PRONG has premiered an unrelentingly heavy brand new song, titled "Breaking Point", marking the band's first new music since 2019's "Age Of Defiance" EP.

PRONG leader Tommy Victor commented: "The origins of the song happened during the waning part of the pandemic. I have to admit that I came up with the main riff while we were out on the BLACK LABEL SOCIETY tour. I guess that would make sense to some. There was so much insecurity going on. What we were told kept changing. The crowds on that tour were so intense. It seemed like everyone was just sweating out all this frustration. Everyone was just fed up. I think that sentiment has remained and even grown with a lot of people. It's a 'general frustration in the world'-type song."

He added about the track's sound: "I've been getting back into these heavy, solid, mean riffs. I think moving back to New York has helped with these. I'm really happy where I'm at all around. I think it's coming across in the new songs and showing a rejuvenated attitude."

Three months ago, Victor confirmed to Heavy New York that he and his bandmates were hard at work on the long-awaited follow-up to 2017's "Zero Days" album. "I can tell you the single will be out, the digital single, in January," he said. "'Cause the record is almost done. So for our European tour with LIFE OF AGONY in January, the single will be out. And the [full-length] record [will be out in], I guess, April or something. It depends on when the pressing plant can do it. It's on Steamhammer/SPV again, the same label. All the basic tracks are done. I've just gotta do vocals and solos now."

Speaking about his approach for the upcoming LP, which was produced by Steve Evetts, who previously helmed 2012's "Carved Into Stone" and 2014's "Ruining Lives", Tommy said: "This one is special because it's the first record I've written since I moved back to New York, [to] Amityville. So that concept is there, where it's, like, you know what? This is where the early PRONG stuff was written. I wrote it in my apartment in Amityville, and it's killer. So that's the concept, is that it's written back where I'm from. It's very hardcore, it's really heavy, but PRONG has to have the hooks, so it's still in there too. There's a lot of good choruses and understandable lyrics."

PRONG's latest release was the aforementioned "Age Of Defiance", which came out in November 2019 via SPV/Steamhammer. The effort, which was produced by Chris Collier, included two new studio songs, the title cut and "End Of Sanity", along with live recordings of three tracks: "Rude Awakening", "Cut-Rate" and "Another Worldly Device".

As previously reported, PRONG has recruited Jason Bittner (OVERKILL, SHADOWS FALL) to play drums for the band on its upcoming European tour as the support act for LIFE OF AGONY.

The first leg of LIFE OF AGONY's "30 Years Of River Runs Red" tour will kick off in Europe on January 13 in Bochum, Germany and end in Milton Keynes, England on February 11. Additional support will come from MADBALL (on U.K. dates only),with rock duo TARAH WHO? opening all shows.

Photo credit: Nathaniel Shannon