AC/DC released their latest studio album, Power Up, in November 2020. Frontman Brian Johnson is featured in a new interview with Cleveland.com, focusing on his memoir, The Lives Of Brian.


During the chat, Brian is asked if he thinks we’ll see more of AC/DC, on stage or with another album, to which he responds: "I would love to do music again, whether it’ll be guesting with somebody, whether it be actually playing live with the boys. I’ve heard that term “hell freezes over” a million times before with people saying “I’m not doing that again.” But I’d be up for it. I think everybody hopes to make more music. But I feel like now the next thing I’ve got is, I want to jump into my race car, put the helmet on and just go racing. It’s a bit like music, a bit like the start of a show - the flag drops and the bulls*** stops and it’s just you and lots of other people trying to go as fast as you can. I guess I’ve always liked that element of danger."


Read the full interview at Cleveland.com.




Dey Street Books recently released The Lives Of Brian in North America. The 384-page hardcover, written by Brian Johnson, hit store shelves in the UK back in October via Penguin Michael Joseph Books.





Originally scheduled for release a year earlier in October 2021, The Lives Of Brian is Brian Johnson’s memoir from growing up in a small town to starting his own band to ultimately replacing Bon Scott, the lead singer of one of the world biggest rock acts, AC/DC. They would record their first album together, the iconic Back In Black, which would become the biggest selling rock album of all time.


Brian Johnson was born to a steelworker and WWII veteran father and an Italian mother, growing up in New Castle Upon Tyne, England, a working-class town. He was musically inclined and sang with the church choir. By the early ’70s he performed with the glam rock band Geordie, and they had a couple of hits, but it was tough going. So tough that by 1976, they disbanded and Brian turned to a blue-collar life.


Then 1980 changed everything. Bon Scott, the lead singer and lyricist of the Australian rock band AC/DC died at age 33. The band auditioned singers, among them Johnson, whom Scott himself had seen perform and raved about. Within days, Johnson was in a studio with the band, working with founding members Angus and Malcolm Young, Cliff Williams, and Phil Rudd, along with producer Mutt Lange.


When the album, Back In Black, was released in July—a mere three months after Johnson had joined the band—it exploded, going on to sell 50 million copies worldwide, and triggering a years-long worldwide tour.  It has been declared “the biggest selling hard rock album ever made” and “the best-selling heavy metal album in history.”


The band toured the world for a full year to support the album, changing the face of rock music—and Brian Johnson’s life—forever.

Myles Goodwyn, singer, guitarist, writer, producer and leader of Canadian rock legends APRIL WINE, has announced his retirement from touring with the group. Goodwyn will continue to lead APRIL WINE and will still write new material for the band and produce their recordings.

Goodwyn's last live performance with APRIL WINE will take place on March 2, 2023, in Nova Scotia, where it all began.

Goodwyn says: "I've had a long career, happy, fulfilling. I've seen much of the world and I'm grateful to continuing support of radio and our fans worldwide, but touring has been very difficult in recent years because of my diabetes and my health comes first, so unfortunately, my touring days are officially over."

Goodwyn was the only remaining original member since the inception of APRIL WINE in 1969, selling over 10 million albums worldwide.

Replacing Goodwyn on guitar and vocals will be Marc Parent, who started classical guitar lessons in high school at the age of 14. But once he heard "Smoke On The Water" by DEEP PURPLE, the sounds of the electric guitar became his calling. In his 12th grade math class, Parent decided to become a professional musician. In the late 1980s, at the age of 22, Parent joined the very popular Ottawa band EIGHT SECONDS and lived the dream of being a rock star for two years. The band opened for major British stars such as David Bowie, DURAN DURAN, Paul Young, THE FIXX and toured North America with WANG CHUNG. After leaving the band in 1987, Parent moved to Montreal, finished his bachelor's degree in music, started his band WANG DANG DOODLE and travelled: first Senegal, Africa in 1989 with Freddy James playing hip-hop; then Tokyo in 1995 representing Canada at the Yamaha Music Quest international pop music contest with ROBERT AND THE RAINMAKERS; then Jakarta, Indonesia to play dance music with EL CHAKEH. Parent also toured extensively across Quebec as guitarist vocalist with French Canadian artists Breen Leboeuf, Luce Dufault and Marie Carmen.

Goodwyn says: "I know Marc personally, and I know he's the only person I feel extremely confident and comfortable with continuing the music and legacy of APRIL WINE. I can't wait for the fans to meet him and see him in concert. And of course, Brian Greenway, Richard Lanthier and Roy Nichol, are still in the band and excited about the future and the APRIL WINE legacy."

Goodwyn and the other members of APRIL WINE were inducted into the Canadian Music Hall Of Fame and received the Canadian Music Industry Lifetime award in 2010.

Goodwyn received the prestigious East Coast Music Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008 and the SOCAN National Achievement Award in 2002. In 2016, he released his memoir "Just Between You And Me", which became an instant bestseller on the Globe And Mail's "Non-Fiction" list. His second book, "Elvis And Tiger", was published in 2018.

The "Myles Goodwyn And Friends Of The Blues" recording released in 2018 earned international acclaim and a Juno nomination for "Blues Recording Of The Year" in 2019. The recording won the ECMA award for "Blues Recording Of The Year" 2019. His follow-up blues recording in 2019, "Myles Goodwyn And Friends Of The Blues 2", won the same blues category, in 2020. There will be a third blues solo released in 2023.

In 2022, Goodwyn was awarded the prestigious SIFA Award for "Best Social Impact Music/Art" for his song "For Ukraine".

POISON singer Bret Michaels spoke to 95.9 The River's Nick Jakusz about living with Type 1 diabetes and the ensuing challenges for a rock star on the road. Controlling his blood sugar is his primary concern throughout the day, which he monitors through diet and dedication to exercise.

Bret said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I've been a Type 1 diabetic since I've been six years old… The best lesson I got from my parents… A couple of things that my dad said and my mom said. They were, like, 'Look, this is the cards you were dealt. You don't have to love it, but you have to embrace this. You're either gonna be a victim or victorious; there's no in between. You're either gonna choose that you can do this… And we're gonna find a way for you to play football, way for you to play baseball, ride dirt bikes, play music, travel…' And that mentality is what got me through the '80s and '90s and right now in music."

Asked how he manages touring while dealing with the unique challenges that people with diabetes face, Bret said: "In POISON we [were] touring all the time, and solo, it's non-stop. What I've learned to do is… This is the truth… When they see me take a break and someone's doing a bit of a solo… They get a minute. We come out. C.C. DeVille [POISON guitarist] starts a solo. It's actually a chance for me to run back and check my blood sugar. And now with the technology, the constant glucose monitor, it's in my arm, it's injected into my arm. I can test it. I adjust my insulin intake. So I do about five injections a day of insulin, and I just adjust for it and I find my groove."

Michaels added: "I know that sounds crazy, but each diabetic has to find their own groove that keeps those levels controlled, because, if not, it can be devastating."

This past summer, Bret told USA Today that built a mobile gym for the endless hours of road travel between tour dates. He drilled a "big bolt" into the ceiling of his RV for triceps and back exercises and also bolted down a stationary bike, which he rides a couple of hours at a time.

"Rather than eating my way through an eight-hour drive, I put on a movie, lock the bike down, seat belt myself in and ride for the whole thing," he said. "I come from a family that likes to party, but as a diabetic, I have to find more balance."

Back in late June, Michaels pulled out of POISON's Nashville show after being hospitalized for an "unforeseen medical complication." He returned to the stage with his POISON bandmates a couple of days later but canceled his meet-and-greet with fans in order to "continue to rest and try to save all [his] energy" for the group's live performances.

Following his storied run on the highly successful "The Stadium Tour" this past summer, Michaels will embark on his select date "Parti-Gras" 2023 tour with Live Nation starting Thursday, July 13 in Detroit and the legendary Pine Knob Amphitheater. Additional dates include a stop at Michaels's former hometown amphitheater, The Pavilion at Star Lake in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania, as well as stops in Gilford, New Hampshire and Camden, New Jersey, to name a few.

David Lee Roth says his working relationship with Eddie Van Halen was "better than any love affair" he ever had.

The 68-year-old VAN HALEN singer touched upon his songwriting partnership with the legendary guitarist in the first episode of the latest season of his "The Roth Show" podcast, which was released earlier this week.

"My dear departed Ed," Roth said about his longtime bandmate who died in October 2020. "Boy, I miss him. I had a ball with Ed. Walt Disney once said, 'You know what? My love affair with Mickey Mouse was better than any love affair with a woman I ever had.' I've gotta tell ya: playing with Ed, writing songs with Ed, presenting those songs with Ed was better than any love affair I ever had. And some of those songs, I think, might last forever — or until the last syllable of time, like Shakespeare said. They became anthems. Where are they playing 'Jump' right now?"

Roth also reflected on the fact that "Jump" featured Eddie playing the synthesizer, a move which was seen as controversial among fans because Eddie was best known for his dazzling guitar solos.

"I remember when he played it on the keyboard downstairs. I said, 'No,'" David laughed. "Well, we reflect the times, and the times at that time was guitars, guitars, guitars; and 'Jump' was one of those hybrids."

VAN HALEN scored its first number one single in 1984 with "Jump". According to Billboard, the track debuted at No. 47 on the Hot 100 chart in January 1984 and reached No. 1 just six weeks later, an unusually quick ascent for the time, holding at the top spot for five weeks.

Eddie passed away at the age of 65 after a years-long battle with cancer. His death was announced by his son Wolfgang.

Roth, who performed with VAN HALEN for the last time in 2015, tweeted shortly after Eddie's death: "What a long great trip it's been."

Three months before Eddie's death, David said that he didn't know if Van Halen would ever tour again. He told The New York Times: "I don't even want to say I've waited — I've supported for five years. Because what I do is physical as well as musical and spiritual — you can't take five years off from the ring. But I did. And I do not regret a second of it. He's a bandmate. We had a colleague down. And he's down now for enough time that I don't know that he's going to be coming back out on the road. You want to hear the classics? You're talking to him."

VAN HALEN was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2007.

Drum-cam footage of SLAYER drummer Paul Bostaph performing the song "Raining Blood" during the band's November 3, 2018 concert at Wembley SSE Arena in London, England can be seen below.

In August 2020, Bostaph confirmed that he is involved in a brand new project headed up by his SLAYER bandmate Kerry King. The duo has spent the last couple of years working on music with the hopes of recording it properly once the coronavirus pandemic has subsided.

The drummer opened up about his latest collaboration with King in an interview with Australia's Riff Crew. Asked to describe the musical direction of the music he has been working on with the founding SLAYER guitarist, Bostaph said: "I guess the best way to put it is Kerry writes what he writes. Is this gonna be a rock and roll record? No. Is it gonna be what you want it to be? Yes. Is it gonna be what you expect it to be? Yes. It's not gonna be some rehashed stuff… It's gonna sound like SLAYER without it being SLAYER — but not intentionally so. I mean, Kerry's been writing songs in SLAYER his entire career, and he has a style. And that style, as a songwriter, you just don't change your style because your band is done. But that's what you love to write.

"Are things gonna maybe morph over time? Yeah. I would imagine so," he continued. "I don't think the first song Kerry wrote as a kid is the same as the last song he wrote for [SLAYER's final album, 2015's] 'Repentless'. Songwriters do change over time based on their influences and how they feel at the time.

"Kerry's on fire right now. So, all I can say is if you like heavy music and you like SLAYER, you'll like this. Is it gonna be SLAYER? It's not gonna be SLAYER — SLAYER is done; they retired…

"The thing about it is that we don't wanna sound like 'Baby SLAYER,' you know what I mean?" he added. "There is SLAYER. But it's gonna be good — it's gonna be really good. I've been listening to the music and I just cannot wait to get into the room and start jamming with Kerry.

"Part of it for me is that I don't have to… And this is not an insult; it's definitely a compliment… I don't have to drum under the show of [original SLAYER drummer] Dave's [Lombardo] drumming badassery. That's a good thing to do, but I might be able to stretch out a little bit and do some things that I like to do and still make it fit within the framework of what we're doing. I'm looking forward to trying some things that I've wanted to try within SLAYER but couldn't, just because I didn't have it developed well enough. And we'll see if I can make some of that stick in some of the new music."

Asked if his songwriting approach with King has changed compared to how it was within the confines of SLAYER, Bostaph said: "Right now, the formula's gonna be the same. I know how Kerry writes.

"When I first joined SLAYER, before we did [1994's] 'Divine Intervention', Kerry and I were roommates, and we barely knew each other," he explained. "And we spent a lot of time together, on a friendship level and jamming musically. I know what he wants out of a song, and we have that formula, and it's a good formula that works, and we're not gonna change it. If it's not broke, don't fix it. You know what I mean?"

Bostaph, who was previously SLAYER's drummer from 1992 until 2001 and recorded four albums with the band, rejoined SLAYER in 2013 after the group's original drummer, Dave Lombardo, was effectively fired from the band due to a contract dispute with the other members of the veteran California-based thrash metal act.

In an interview with Fuse, King stated about Bostaph: "Paul, I mean, he's a machine. I don't worry about him at all. He never would have been out of SLAYER if he didn't quit twice. It was never over anything personal — he was always my friend — so it was very easy for him to come back and be a part again."

SLAYER played the final show of its farewell tour in November 2019 at the Forum in Los Angeles. One day later, Kerry's wife, Ayesha King, said that there is "not a chance in hell" that the thrash metal icons will reunite for more live appearances.

When SLAYER first announced that it was embarking on its final tour back in January 2018, Ayesha assured fans that they would "always get music" from her husband.

King has said in previous interviews that his post-SLAYER musical efforts would not be much different from the sound fans have grown accustomed to hearing from him.

"If someone quit, I'm not going to go around with a made-up SLAYER," he told AZCentral.com back in 2010. "But my next band would sound like SLAYER, that's all I know."

As part of Jonathan Montenegro's "My 3 Questions To" series, Randy Blythe was asked what "the most complicated part" has been of being in a band like LAMB OF GOD. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I think the most complicated part of it is not really anything within the band. It's trying to make sense of how this has become a career, really. 'Cause we just did it for the love of it. That's why we started the band. I never thought it would be a job. I was never, like, 'Oh, we're gonna be rock stars,' or whatever.

"I think the really complicated part of it for me has been navigating the fact that something that I would be doing anyway, which is making music, is navigating how that has become a business," he continued. "And it's not something I'm always entirely comfortable with, to tell you the truth, 'cause I'm just a regular dude. That's why we have management, though; I don't handle the business. But I think that has really been the most complicated thing for me, is realizing that it's a business at this point. Because we employ a lot of people. People were able to buy their families Christmas gifts this year because we employ 'em. [Laughs] It's definitely a band that, it's our art and we love it, but it is a business, and for me, accepting that is strange — it's strange. 'Cause I don't come from the business world. I never had any money. I'm not a rich kid or anything weird like that."

Blythe added: "Just learning to be a professional musician, I guess, is the most complicated part. Writing the music and touring and playing shows and all that shit, that's fun. That's easy for me. Learning the business has been complicated."

LAMB OF GOD's latest album, "Omens", was released in October. The LP is the follow-up to the band's self-titled album, which arrived in June 2020. That effort marked LAMB OF GOD's first recordings with drummer Art Cruz, who joined the band in July 2019 as the replacement for the group's founding drummer, Chris Adler.

LAMB OF GOD's Live Nation-produced summer/fall 2022 U.S. headlining tour featured special guests KILLSWITCH ENGAGE on all dates. Different legs also saw support from BARONESS, MOTIONLESS IN WHITE, SPIRITBOX, ANIMALS AS LEADERS as well as SUICIDE SILENCE and FIT FOR AN AUTOPSY. The tour kicked off September 9 in Brooklyn and ran through October 20.

Earlier this month, LAMB OF GOD and KREATOR announced MUNICIPAL WASTE as support for their "State Of Unrest 2023" European co-headline tour.

"State Of Unrest" was originally scheduled to take place in 2020, but ended up getting postponed, first to 2021 and then to 2022, due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Most recently, the trek was supposed to launch on November 18 in Copenhagen, Denmark and conclude on December 21 in Zurich, Switzerland.

MVD Marquee Collection has set a January 20, 2023 release date for the "Ultimate Edition" Blu-ray and "Standard Edition" DVD of ANVIL's acclaimed documentary, "Anvil! The Story Of Anvil".

The new version of the film will arrive in time for its 13th anniversary and will feature remastered picture and sound, as well as a new exclusive epilogue interview with director Sacha Gervasi and ANVIL frontman Steve "Lips" Kudlow and drummer Robb Reiner moderated by former MTV host Matt Pinfield.

The remastered "Anvil! The Story Of Anvil" received its premiere in conjunction with Beyond Fest on September 22 in Los Angeles at the Saban Theater, where ANVIL also performed. This was followed by a question-and-answer session with Kudlow, Reiner, producer Rebecca Yeldham and Gervasi, moderated by Steve-O from "Jackass".

Ultimate Edition Blu-Ray (pre-order) - Special Features:

- NEW! 2022 audio commentary with director Sacha Gervasi
- 2008 audio commentary by director Sacha Gervasi and bandmembers Steve "Lips" Kudlow and Robb Reiner
- 2008 audio commentary by director Sacha Gervasi, producer Rebecca Yeldham and editor Andrew Dickler
- NEW! 2022 video commentary with director Sacha Gervasi and the band
- NEW! 2022 video commentary with director Sacha Gervasi and producer Rebecca Yeldham
- NEW! ANVIL Q&A at Saban Theater with moderator Steve-O
- Interview with Steve "Lips" Kudlow, Robb Reiner and director Sacha Gervasi moderated by Matt Pinfield (93 minutes)
- Rich Roll video podcast interview with director Sacha Gervasi and the band
- 1981 interview with Maor Applebaum (mastering engineer)
- 1981 interview with Steve "Lips" Kudlow
- 1981 Backstage interview with Robb and Steve
- Q&A with director Sacha Gervasi, the band, and Peter Dinklage
- Three deleted scenes: "Choice Children's Catering Extended Scene" (7:14),"Former Band Members" (2:39),"Lips's Brother" (2:11)
- "Interview With Lars Ulrich" featurette (30:06)
- 'Where Are They Now?" featurette (3:10)
- "This Feels Good" featurette ( 12:37)
- "School Love" Sacha Gervasi rocks with ANVIL live performance (4:17)
- Theatrical teaser
- Original theatrical trailer

Standard Edition DVD (pre-order) - Special Features:

- NEW! 2022 audio commentary with director Sacha Gervasi
- NEW! ANVIL Q&A at Saban Theater with moderator Steve-O
- Three deleted scenes: "Choice Children's Catering Extended Scene" (7:14),"Former Band Members" (2:39),"Lips's Brother" (2:11)
- Theatrical teaser
- Original theatrical trailer

"Anvil! The Story of Anvil" was named one of 2009's best documentaries by a slew of film critics associations across the continent, including critics in Chicago, San Francisco, Toronto, and Las Vegas, as well as the International Documentary Association, the Online Film Critics Society, and the National Society of Film Critics. It also made the year-end Top 10 lists in publications such as the New York Times, Washington Post, Newsweek, and Village Voice.

"Anvil! The Story of Anvil" was the directorial debut of screenwriter Gervasi and was produced by Yeldham ("The Kite Runner" and "The Motorcycle Diaries"). The film follows Kudlow and Reiner and their band, ANVIL, which released one of the heaviest albums in metal history, 1982's "Metal on Metal". The album influenced an entire musical generation of rock bands, including METALLICA, SLAYER, and ANTHRAX, who all went on to sell millions of records. ANVIL, on the other hand, took a different path — straight to obscurity. The film was both entertaining and touching as it followed their last-ditch quest for the fame and fortune that has been so elusive to them.

This past April, Lips said that he didn't expect the proposed follow-up to "Anvil! The Story Of Anvil" to ever see the light of day. He told Friday 13th Metal: "I don't suspect there will be [another movie], because I think it's a little late on. There's really no point at this point. To a great degree, the people who knew about the movie knew about it, and today it's kind of faded back; it's not as prominent today. That could change. You never know."

As for what he attributed the film's overwhelming success to, Lips said: "It's hard to compete with reality, isn't it? People try to make documentaries, but it's not the same as actually filming things in real time. It's not the same, man. You can do a retrospective and show pictures of the band in the old days and all that — talk about the old days, the old days, the old days — but everybody's seen the old days. What about tomorrow? What are we gonna film tomorrow? What are you doing tomorrow? What do you hope to happen tomorrow? How are you gonna make what's gonna happen tomorrow, put it into motions so we can see it happen? That's what the ANVIL movie did. It's off the hook in that regard. You can't beat the spontaneity. I mean, there's pure spontaneity — as things are going on. You can't make shit like that up."

Back in 2017, Lips said that there was "forty minutes of probably good footage" already shot for a follow-up ANVIL film, but he didn't "really expect anything to ever come of it." He explained: "[Gervasi] paid for that movie ['Anvil! The Story of Anvil'] himself. He doesn't wanna do that again… You never make back all your money. But what it did for his career… like what he did for our career — same thing. He's got a career, and then some. But it's just a question of, will a movie company wanna buy it, wanna finance it? And it's not cheap. It won't be like a blockbuster — it's not gonna cost three hundred million dollars. You're talking about probably less than a million to make a documentary. I don't get paid. Documentary subjects never get paid. I'm not an actor. And it's doing my career such a huge favor, I haven't really got the right to go, 'Hey, why don't you pay me too? You're making the biggest advertising campaign that ever existed? Now why don't you pay me?' It's, like, that doesn't make sense. And he'd say 'no' and I wouldn't get the movie made."

Lips added: "So that's the big question: will there or will there not be? Who knows? I'm not gonna discount it. I'm not gonna say 'no.' I don't know enough. I'm not in that stream of the business, so I really don't know how to answer it. Now, having said that, the ANVIL movie did extraordinarily well, so it would be in their best interest [to finance the movie]. And it's, like, if you guys are lacking stories out there and storytellers and writers, here's something that's a natural, living, breathing fucking story. Why not continue it? You've got an automatic audience from all the people that saw it the first time. So it's got all those positive aspects going for it. But it's just a question of who's gonna open their wallet. [Laughs]"

ANVIL's latest album, "Impact Is Imminent", arrived on May 20 via AFM Records.

Like its three predecessors, "Anvil Is Anvil" (2016),"Pounding The Pavement" (2018) and "Legal At Last" (2019),"Impact Is Imminent" was produced by Martin "Mattes" Pfeiffer and Jörg Uken at Uken's Soundlodge studios in Germany.

Coming to Blu-ray and DVD January 20th from the MVD Marquee Collection

ANVIL! THE STORY OF ANVIL

Forming the band...

Posted by Anvil on Wednesday, December 28, 2022

PANTERA drummer Charlie Benante has shared an eight-minute compilation of video clips filmed at all seven shows of the reformed band's December 2022 Mexican and South American tour. Check it out below.

In a message accompanying the YouTube release of the video, Benante wrote: "Here is our view of some clips Compiled by techs, friends and Family members of our first tour as PANTERA. I was blown away by the reaction from the audiences , there were times I wanted to stop playing and just enjoy the sea of passion. The fans down there are a different kind, they get involved and they even put their phones down at times."

On December 13, Benante shared a few photos of the drum kit that he is using for the PANTERA comeback shows. He posted the pictures on his social media and he included the following message: "Drum post- a lot of people have been asking about the kit for this tour and here it is- it's a @officialtamadrums kit. The tom's and floor tom's gong drum are Star maple shells and the kicks are star bubinga - the snares are my signature snare and a starclassic G-maple. The cymbals are @paistecymbals and as you can see a mix of Rudes and 2002s. Sticks are my signature @vicfirth , heads are @evansdrumheads , @rolandglobal provided the td50x module with their triggers @porter_and_davies thumper and that sums it up."

The reformed PANTERA played its fourth concert without bassist Rex Brown on December 18 at Knotfest Brasil at Sambódromo Do Anhembi in São Paulo, Brazil. The Knotfest Brasil gig took place six days after Rex confirmed that a positive COVID-19 test forced him to miss PANTERA's performance at Knotfest Chile. Filling in for him at Knotfest Brasil gig — and other recent shows — was CATTLE DECAPITATION bassist Derek Engemann, who also plays with PANTERA singer Philip Anselmo in both PHILIP H. ANSELMO & THE ILLEGALS and SCOUR.

Joining surviving members Brown and Anselmo in PANTERA's reformed lineup are guitarist Zakk Wylde (OZZY OSBOURNE, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY) and Benante (ANTHRAX).

The new PANTERA lineup made its live debut on December 2 at Mexico's Hell & Heaven Metal Fest and also performed on December 6 at Monterrey Metal Fest in Monterrey, Mexico.

It was first reported in July that Anselmo and Brown would unite with Wylde and Benante for a world tour under the PANTERA banner.

The band will headline a number of major festivals across North America and Europe and stage some of their own headline concerts. They will also support METALLICA on a massive North American stadium tour in 2023 and 2024.

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

Charlie discussed his drum setup for the PANTERA shows in an interview earlier in the month with SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk". He said: "It's a totally different configuration [to what I play with ANTHRAX]. I'm playing more like Vinnie's kit, the way Vinnie played it. I wanted to play a kit like that because it gave me a bit more of a challenge. And I can't add more drums to it, because I just wanted to have the two toms in the front — floor toms — so I'm just sticking totally to the way he had it, and I wanna play it exactly like he had it and it sounds exactly how he had it too. So that's how I approach this."

Cyhra, featuring former Amaranthe vocalist Jake E, ex-In Flames guitarist Jesper Strömblad, and Kamelot drummer Alex Landenburg, are gearing up for a tour of Japan in January. Jake is featured in a new interview with Roppongi Rocks. An excerpt is available below.


Q: Following two fab Cyhra albums, Letters To Myself (2017) and No Halos In Hell (2019), you will release the band’s third album in 2023. What can fans expect from your forthcoming album? 


Jake: "After we released Letters to Myself, I never thought that I could outdo myself as a songwriter ever again. At the time, I thought that that was the best album that I’d ever been part of. Then we released No Halos In Hell and I thought that, damn, this holds the same kind of standards and we’re finally starting to set the trademark of what the band is all about. With the band’s third album, I’ve realised that we are here to stay! Cyhra as an entry is a phenomenal bunch of people that have been shown to be not only amazing musicians but also amazing friends to be around. I’ve never had so much fun on stage in my whole life and I am so proud of us as an entity. I am extremely excited to see what the fans are going to think about it because it’s Cyhra all over it and you will directly hear that it’s a Cyhra album from the first time you hit the play button. It might be so that this album is a bit more modern. You have great lyrics and great hooky choruses. Any fan out there won’t be disappointed. I think that we’ve created a monster and I can’t wait for the world to hear it."




Q: Guitarist Marcus Sunesson (Engel, ex-The Haunted) has been playing live with Cyhra for the past few years as founding guitarist Jesper Strömblad has not been touring with the band. Is Marcus now a proper band member or is he about to become one? Has he been contributing in the studio as well?


Jake: "Yes, absolutely. Marcus is a full-time member since 2019 and Jesper is still a full-time member as well. It’s just so that Jesper has decided that for the time being, he’s not touring with either Cyhra or The Halo Effect. But Jesper has been a big part of the new album. It’s of course sad that he won’t join us for the Japanese tour dates but he is working on himself and he’s getting better every day. So, when the time comes Jesper and Marcus will be on stage together and that’s going to be fantastic."


Read the complete interview here.


The band's Japan tour schedule is now as follows:


January
19 - Duo Music Exchange - Shibuya City, Tokyo, Japan
20 - Duo Music Exchange - Shibuya City, Tokyo, Japan
21 - Imaike Huck Finn - Nagoya, Japan
22 - Am Hall - Osaka, Japan
24 - Varon - Osaka, Japan
25 - Imaike Huck Finn - Nagoya, Japan
26 - Space Odd - Shibuya City, Tokyo, Japan
27 - Space Odd - Shibuya City, Tokyo, Japan
28 - Koenji High - Suginami City, Tokyo, Japan





Cyhra recently released a new single, "Ready To Rumble". Check out the official video below, stream and purchase the song here.


The song will appear on the band's new studio album, due to be released in 2023.





Photo by Linda Florin

Synth-rock pioneers of India, Arogya release “Desire”, the second single off their upcoming album SuperNatural. "Desire" is a dark rock song with a touch of power ballad, infused with Oriental scales to give it a melodious tinge of Eastern flavour. Arogya is known for being the first-ever synth-rock band to emerge from India, and the first band from Northeast India to sign with an international record label. The new Arogya album is set for a worldwide release in 2023. 


"Our second single is named 'Desire'. Have you ever had such strong intense feelings of wanting, a deep aching of longing, a bottomless hole of emptiness in your heart that no one else but a special One could fill it. This song is about that passionate craving for that One in your dreams beyond your grasp, igniting a fire so fierce inside that will make you defy destiny and challenge fate." - Arogya










Visual Kei elements bring even more playful lightness to the colorful potpourri of Arogya's sound worlds, and the profound lyrics, sometimes shouted in a soulful clear voice, but also sometimes in a heavy metal style and evil growls, deal with love, pain, transience, hope and the effort to escape the inner darkness, as does life as such.


"Our first single 'Supernatural' is about an encounter with a Supernatural being / Deity and how humans tend to worship the divine and powerful, the allure and temptation of the mystic and mysterious; to pin their hopes, wants and wishes on the Supernatural which may not always turn out to be good or with the right intentions. This song has a dark melancholic vibe to it and we hope it will connect to our fans and new audiences alike." - Arogya








 

In the video below, courtesy of Drumeo, former Ozzy Osbourne drummer Tommy Aldridge shows you how he played "Crazy Train" live. And it's not what you'd expect!


"If anyone led me up the primrose path, it was Randy Rhoads.”


Tommy is known for many things - playing with Whitesnake, Motörhead, and Yngwie Malmsteen to name a few - but he arguably made some of his biggest impressions backing Ozzy Osbourne in the '80s, joining Ozzy's band for the 1981 Blizzard Of Ozz tour and tracking drums on 1983's Bark At The Moon and several live recordings.




A heavy-hitting rock guru through and through, you can imagine how Tommy translated Ozzy's songs to the stage.





 

Clutch performed at the 2022 edition of Germany's Wacken Open Air festival. Watch the band perform "Immortal", "Electric Worry", and "The Face", below:





Clutch released their new album, Sunrise On Slaughter Beach, back in September. The band's thirteenth studio album is a slamming summary of everything that makes the band great and another giant leap forward into career longevity. Order here.







Tracklisting:


"Red Alert (Boss Metal Zone)"
"Slaughter Beach"
"Mountain Of Bone"
"Nosferatu Madre"
"Mercy Brown"
"We Strive For Excellence"
"Skeletons On Mars"
"Three Golden Horns"
"Jackhammer Our Names"


"Slaughter Beach" video:





"Red Alert (Boss Metal Zone)" video:





"We Strive For Excellence"





Lineup:


Neil Fallon - Vocals
Tim Sult - Guitar
Dan Maines - Bass
Jean-Paul Gaster - Drums