ANTHRAX drummer Charlie Benante says that he enjoyed himself during PANTERA's first live performance in over 20 years, which took place last Friday (December 2) at Mexico's Hell & Heaven Metal Fest. Surviving members Rex Brown (bass) and Philip Anselmo (vocals) are joined in PANTERA's reformed lineup by guitarist Zakk Wylde (OZZY OSBOURNE, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY) and Charlie.

Earlier today (Tuesday, December 6), Benante reflected on the Hell & Heaven concert during an appearance on SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk". He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Basically, we get up there and there's a big kabuki curtain in front of us and the four of us just up there. And Philip came up to the drum riser and we just had this moment where we were shaking hands. We were so excited. And then I looked to Rex and I looked to Zakk, and the four of us just had this connection. And before I knew it — boom — we were right into playing 'A New Level'. And it was off from that point. And I was looking at the setlist, and I saw the next song coming up, and I was excited about that song. And then that song would finish, and I looked down, and I'm, like, 'Oh, I fucking love this song. Yeah!' It was that all night for me — just getting super hyped up about the next song and what was coming up. So I enjoyed myself."

He continued: "One thing I spoke to those guys about months ago, I said, 'Man, let's just try and be in the moment and just enjoy it.' And that's what we all did — we just kind of enjoyed it."

Speaking about how he and the members of PANTERA came up with the setlist for the Hell & Heaven performance, Charlie said: "Actually, Rex, myself and Philip, we were on a call and we basically came up with the setlist. And I remember saying to them, 'You guys are really close to this stuff. From my point of view, like a fan, man, these are the songs that, of course, must be played.' And, of course, they agreed with that. But then there were some deep cuts that we wanted to do too. And they were welcome to it. We even talked about adding more songs to the setlist for next year. So everybody's pretty much open. The way I kind of looked it is, 'Let's try and hit every record. Let's try and do a song from every record at least.' So that's what we're trying to do."

He added: "For this run here in South America, we're gonna keep [the setlist] as is, but next year I can see a song or two being dropped and replaced with another song. We already talked about that the other day."

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 other major festivals across North America, South 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.

Benante told "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" that Dimebag and Vinnie are a big part of the new PANTERA show.

"Before 'Planet Caravan' starts, we have this video that runs with a little piece of the song 'Cemetery Gates', and it's basically a tribute to Dime and Vinnie," he explained. "I mean, Dime and Vinnie are all over the place. They are on my drum kit. Zakk has patches with them. But even in spirit, they're there.

"Before we went on, Sterling Winfield, who was very close to Dime and Vinnie — he basically engineered the last three records that PANTERA did — he brought me a pair of Vinnie's old gloves, and he brought me one of Darrell's old wristbands that he wore," Benante added. "And I put the wristband on and I played the show with that wristband. And I put the gloves in my pocket. So I had both of them with me that night."

Regarding how he prepared for the PANTERA live performances, Charlie said: "When I talked to Philip back in — it was, like, the end of December [2021] about this, that day, I hung up the phone and I immediately started to get my head into PANTERA mode and just figure things out. Because I knew these songs, but I didn't know how to approach playing the songs, how I'm gonna do this. And the one thing I wanted to do is I just wanted to play it like Vinnie. When the fans hear it, when anybody heard it, I wanted them to be able to close their eyes and I wanted it to sound like Vinnie."

As for how he felt about his personal performance at Hell & Heaven, Benante said: "I felt good about it. There was a couple of things that I am going to just play a little differently. Not so much the parts, but I think we were all a little bit — the adrenaline was going, and I wanna just pull some songs back a bit. We're playing here [at Monterrey Metal Fest in Monterrey, Mexico] tonight, and I think I'm going to just kind of relax a little more and just kind of settle down. I mean, it was the first show, so it was expected. We're human. I'm not playing to a click track. So tonight I think I'm gonna lay back a little bit more."

Charlie also talked about his musical chemistry with Rex, saying: "That's the thing. I didn't know how we would kind of come together and when we would make the connection. But I've gotta be honest with you, when I went down to New Orleans in September and it was just me, Rex and Philip. And after the first day, Rex and I, we had such a connection, and he said to me, he was, like, 'Dude, when I close my eyes, I feel like it's Vinnie up there.' So that made me feel so good when he said that. And Philip said the same thing too. So I was so happy about that. Because, honestly, I really did my homework. We're talking these tiny little nuances — things that maybe people wouldn't hear — I'm putting 'em in there because it's important to me to deliver it just like Vinnie would."

As for his drum setup for the PANTERA show, Benante 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."

Charlie went on to say that he doesn't understand all the negative comments that have been directed at him and the other members of PANTERA for trying to keep the band's legacy alive.

"This was never a reunion," he explained. "How can it be a reunion without Vinnie and Dime here? Sometimes people will send me something, and I see things online, and it's so disrespectful to both Darrell and Vinnie, and it's totally disrespectful to us too. And it's just, like, 'Man, if you don't wanna come, you don't have to come.'

"One of the first things I said to Philip on the phone, I said, 'This, to me, is more on an emotional level than any other level.' This means a lot to me personally, to go out there and represent those guys and represent the PANTERA name," he continued. "And that's all I'd ever want for me. I don't care about it financially and stuff like that; this, to me, I had to do this. I didn't wanna see anybody else playing these songs but me up there."

Reflecting on his initial conversation with Anselmo about taking part in the reformed PANTERA, Charlie said: "I was so excited about it. I said, 'Thank you for thinking of me.' And they were, like, 'There was nobody else.' And that made me feel really good. Because they knew my relationship with Darrell and they knew my relationship with Vinnie. And I loved those guys, and I love these two guys just as much."

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

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

Vinnie passed away on June 22, 2018 at his other home in Las Vegas at the age of 54. He died of dilated cardiomyopathy, an enlarged heart, as well as severe coronary artery disease. His death was the result of chronic weakening of the heart muscle — basically meaning his heart couldn't pump blood as well as a healthy heart.
Clip of @skisum today on #trunknation talking 1st @Pantera show this past weekend.Full clip on my FB & IG. Full interview now on demand @SIRIUSXM app. Just enter Trunk Nation in search. Check out full interview. Great stuff & of course we talked @Anthrax too pic.twitter.com/OhbnZPosEp

— Eddie Trunk (@EddieTrunk) December 7, 2022

SKID ROW bassist Rachel Bolan has weighed in on bands who rely heavily on pre-recorded tracks during their live performances.

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

Speaking to The Rock Experience With Mike Brunn about some rock acts' reliance on pre-recorded tracks, Rachel said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We don't use 'em — SKID ROW doesn't use 'em. We never have. We'd rather sing a bad note. That's just us.

"If a band goes out and they need it… You know there's not an orchestra playing while KISS is doing 'Beth'; there never has been," he continued. "In [QUEEN's] 'Bohemian Rhapsody', that whole symphonic part, they walk offstage. No one's ever had a problem with it. Bands that enhance with… You have certain drum tracks — you're not gonna bring out another drummer if it's a different beat to a song, or just different sounds and everything. Who cares, man? Obviously, you're not gonna load up another bus full of musicians to come out and play one song. 'Oh, we need that violin with the timpani drum.' It's, like, no.

"I don't really care," Bolan added. "What I don't like is when I go to see a band and it's just so damn obvious they're either no singing, not playing, or there's just so much stuff or [they're] trying to fill it in, like more guitars. If it's another guitar, just get another guitar player. But if it's a whole bunch of stuff and basically a crowd is going and watching people move to listening to the record, that's when it starts to bother me. I just tend not to go see bands like that because it's just not my thing.

"SKID ROW, we never use tracks, Rachel repeated. "Well, for anyone that's gonna be technical, before 'I Remember You', we do run the sound of thunder in the beginning. It's not really thunder… But that's as far as it goes with us.

"We were doing the song 'Tear It Down' off the new record, and there's a lot of backing vocals on that that we tracked — gang vocals. And when we were doing 'em live, it didn't sound like enough. So we have two guys on our road crew that sing really, really good and are really good musicians, so we put them on the side of the stage with the mic, made no bones about it and they helped us with the gang vocals and the singing.

"For SKID ROW, we wanna give the best experience a fan can have within what we can do without relying on stuff like that," Rachel added. "But if you use it and you need it, I don't care. Do it. I'm not gonna hate a guy for doing it.

"It's the entertainment business. That's what we do. It's the entertainment business."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tobias Forge, who fronted a pre-GHOST death metal outfit called REPUGNANT, was asked in a new interview with Loudwire if he could ever see GHOST writing and recording a death metal song. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "No, I don't think so. I believe that it would be… Because I've tried to build this world where there were no obvious rules, still there's a certain… It's kind of like making a timepiece film where if it's about Vikings, you can't wear a Casio digital watch. And I think there are elements in music that just might become that sort of digital watch or a 'Transformer' toy that just comes in and just screws up the picture in a way that… I would rather entertain writing death metal with everything that comes with that… If death metal is this bubble here, GHOST can be this, and maybe there's this little passage where they can sort of meet, where there are elements from that that leak through. But playing a straight death metal beat would just feel strange, I think, in that setting."

Pressed about whether he still gets the urge to pursue death metal in some fashion, Tobias said: "All the time. I love that stuff. I listen to it a lot. I'm still obsessing over it from a collecting point of view. That's very much where my adolescent heart is. I grew up with a lot of music, but my adolescence was completely immersed and completely swamped with that impression.

"I still get the same kick out of things that I liked as a — not even a teenager; as an 11-year-, 12-year-old, when I really started listening to that and when death metal was this really dangerous animal that you can just go to this one store to find," he continued. "And I'm still sort of chasing that.

"I have my safe spot inside where all that is, and, of course, it's materialized in a lot of physical things that I'm collecting. But I still feel that sort of urge to, in some way or form, partake in it. But I don't know in what form it will materialize.

"I think that there's another conflict… Since I never really did it professionally… Or let's be real — I never did it professionally; it was very unprofessional in every way," Forge added. "That is not exactly what I wanna do. I don't wanna have sort of messed up rehearsals where we end up drinking instead and you end up coming to a show with a plastic bag and a broken pedal and you have to borrow cords from other bands and then you end up playing a really drunk show in front of 20 friends. Which is fun as fuck, but as a grown-up… It's kind of like in 'Comfortably Numb' where he sings, 'That child is gone. I can't feel that way.' I can't paraphrase what he's singing in that, but he says it in such a great way where you know it's there, but it will never feel the same. You can never be revirginized [laughs] for real. But I live on hope. So I think that there will be a time for that rockage too. But it will not necessarily be the way it was."

Forge formed REPUGNANT in 1998 and performed under the name "Mary Goore", eventually releasing a few demos and an EP before recording their lone full-length "Epitome Of Darkness" in 2002. REPUGNANT called it quits in 2004, with Dutch independent Soulseller Records releasing "Epitome Of Darkness" two years later. The album — a veritable concoction of vintage Stockholm death metal with obscure, eerie melodies — had only mild impact upon its release but appears to have preceded the current crop of death metal bands who have parlayed largely the same formula to greater underground metal notoriety.

In a 2018 interview with BLABBERMOUTH.NET's David E. Gehlke, Forge was asked whether his success with GHOST ever made him reflect about his time with REPUGNANT. He said: "The one thing I don't think was very evident just because of how things played out with REPUGNANT, was that, if you asked me in 1999 or 2000 or 2001, I really wanted REPUGNANT to be signed up by a Roadrunner or Nuclear Blast or a big label. I wanted to be super-professional with the band. At the time, we were very unfashionable. It was just not asked for in that sort of realm and had things been played out differently or maybe I played my cards differently, because if I look back on how I did things, it was unprofessional and I didn't really have the foresight, I guess. I had the dream, but I didn't have the foresight. We were picked up by a real label at the time and got a manager and had everyone kept their ducks in a row, I would have loved to have that band, the closest example of a band like that could be comparable is like AMON AMARTH. A real band that was out touring. I always wanted that. I really wanted to become a big band. I wanted that, but I couldn't. I don't know if we were good enough or whatever. Now, knowing a lot of the things that is required, how many stars that need to align and all the decisions you have to make, I can definitely look back on myself as a 21-year-old and quickly see why I didn't achieve that with REPUGNANT. I wasn't mature. I wasn't thinking. I wasn't there yet."

The last-known lineup of REPUGNANT included current and former members of IN SOLITUDE, TRIBULATION and WATAIN, providing a mish-mash of some of Swedish metal's most critically acclaimed bands of the last decade. Forge said that he had repaired the relationship with his former bandmates after the split but warned against the idea of a full-blown REPUGNANT reunion. "I think the band that was REPUGNANT on 'Epitome Of Darkness', I think we are now better friends than we've been over the last ten years, at least, ten, fifteen years," he said. "We had various degrees of falling out for different reasons. It just sputtered out. We've had our disagreements and whatnot, the same shit that everybody goes through. But, nowadays, we don't really have much to do with each other anymore, but we're just friends. We're all, except for one of us, we all have kids, we're all married. We're old dudes. [Laughs] I don't feel very old. We're a little bit wiser now and maybe that alone gives us a reason to not sort of resuscitate that corpse again. Just let it lie."

In a new interview with Baltimore's 98 Rock radio station, NICKELBACK frontman Chad Kroeger was asked why it took so long for him and his bandmates to release the follow-up to 2017's "Feed The Machine" album. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "[We were just] taking a break. We're not managing ourselves now. We were managing ourselves at the time. And time management was not something we were exceling at. [Laughs] 'Cause our entire career, for 20 years, we had somebody behind us cracking the whip. You've got management, you've got a record company, you've got your booking agent that wants you to tour incessantly. And so you've got all these people behind you with a stopwatch, going, 'Guys! Guys! C'mon. We've gotta go. We've gotta go.' And this was the first time ever that we've just been able to work on a song and then just go take off for two or three weeks and then come back and work on another song. There was no hurry because there was a giant 'pause' button that got pressed on the planet."

NICKELBACK's history dates back to 1995 in Hanna, Alberta, where they got their start playing covers in a band called VILLAGE IDIOT, a nod to the small-town nature where they played and grew up. In 1996, Chad, alongside guitarist Ryan Peake, made the 10-hour trek west to follow bassist Mike Kroeger to Vancouver, British Columbia, where the band still resides and continues to make music today.

The band's numerous smash hits, coupled with worldwide sales of over 50 million albums sold, seals their status as one of the top-selling acts of all time and the second best-selling foreign act of the 2000s in the U.S., behind only THE BEATLES. The wildly popular smash hit "How You Remind Me" was named Billboard's "Top Rock Song Of The Decade", which was a contributing factor in the publication's decision to crown NICKELBACK "Top Rock Group Of The Decade" shortly after.

Beyond their Juno Awards, the group has received nine Grammy Award nominations, three American Music Awards, a World Music Award, a People's Choice Award and seven MuchMusic Video Awards. They were inducted into Canada's Walk Of Fame in 2007.

NICKELBACK's tenth studio album, titled "Get Rollin'", was released on November 18.

As part of Jonathan Montenegro's "My 3 Questions To" series, former MEGADETH guitarist Marty Friedman was asked which guitar player — Jimi Hendrix or Eddie Van Halen — he would choose to receive a guitar lesson from, if he could go back in time, and why. Marty responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I get guitar lessons from everybody. One of my favorite things to do is to ask people, 'Show me stuff.'

"I'm very, very fortunate that I've been able to play with so many great musicians — not only guitarists, but every instrument. I always, always am that annoying guy who says, 'Dude, show me that. Show me that thing you just played. What was that first phrase in that solo that you just played? How did you end it? Why did you do this?' I'm always getting lessons from everybody, and I've done that ever since I was a kid. I'd see a band in a bar even, and I'd ask the guitar player, 'How do you play that third song?' It's just a habit. You pick up so many things along the way — whenever you see something interesting, you just pick it up.

"So, to your question, I would definitely go to Eddie Van Halen," Friedman added. "And why, is because he's just a fantastic guitar player with a really, really good, juicy soulful way of playing, and rhythmic and flashy and melodic, and he always plays in tune, and just really nice. I really, really like Eddie Van Halen's playing a lot, so I would definitely ask him to show me a thing or two."

Marty's latest album, "Tokyo Jukebox 3", came out in April 2021 via The Players Club/Mascot Label Group. The record, which was made available in Japan in October 2020, is the third in a series that began with "Tokyo Jukebox" in 2009, and then "Tokyo Jukebox 2" following in 2011. The trilogy presents Friedman's inspired performances to Japanese repertoire he's chosen to cover.

Marty's presence in the world of music, the world of guitar and Japanese pop culture is mystifying, bizarre, and nothing short of inspiring. His first major impact in music was in the game-changing guitar duo CACOPHONY, which he founded with equally enigmatic and now-legendary guitarist Jason Becker. He then spent 10 years as lead guitarist in the genre-defining thrash metal act MEGADETH before moving to Tokyo due to his love for Japanese music, language, and culture.

Following his move, he landed a starring role for a new TV comedy "Hebimeta-san" ("Mr. Heavy Metal") and its spinoff, "Rock Fujiyama", which ran for six seasons and propelled him into the living rooms of Japan's mainstream. He has since appeared in over 800 TV shows, movies and commercials, including a two-year campaign with Coca-Cola for Fanta, authored two best-selling novels and was the first-ever foreigner to be appointed as an ambassador of Japan heritage and perform at the opening ceremony for the Tokyo Marathon in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2022.

At the same time, Marty has continued his career in music with several solo albums in addition to writing and performing with the top artists in Japanese music, racking up countless chart hits, including a No. 1 with SMAP, two No. 2 songs with MOMOIRO CLOVER, a No. 2 with SOUND HORIZON — just to name a few.

In a recent interview with the 100.3 The X Rocks radio station, DISTURBED drummer Mike Wengren was asked how he and his bandmates, who recently released their eighth studio album, "Divisive", have managed to stay together for so long. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Respect. We are all four — we're brothers, but we're all different individuals as well. And we pool off of each other's strengths. We have a tremendous team in the four of us, but also in the people that work behind the scenes as well — our crew, our management, record label; I mean, the list goes on and on — we have a tremendous team. But as far as the four of us are concerned, it really just comes down to mutual respect. We actually like each other. [Laughs] We check in with each other."

He continued: "It was so funny because during the pandemic, living in different states, [we] couldn't see each other for a while. And when we wrapped up in October of '19, was the last show we did, me and Danny [Dan Donegan, guitar] actually took a trip. David [Draiman, vocals] was living in Hawaii at the time, and we went out there to go stay with him and his wife and son and just chill out for a little bit. The thought was maybe when we got home, we would start writing again, and blah blah blah. And lo and behold, just about — what? maybe two months later, everything was shut down and almost two years later we finally see each other. It was almost like [scene in the movie] 'Chariots Of Fire' on the beach — we all ran into each other's arms practically. Like, 'Hey…'"

"Divisive" was recorded earlier this year with producer Drew Fulk (MOTIONLESS IN WHITE, LIL PEEP, HIGHLY SUSPECT) in Nashville, Tennessee.

Donegan's divorce inspired the "Divisive" song "Don't Tell Me", which is a duet with HEART's Ann Wilson. In two decades, it breaks ground as the first-ever guest collaboration on a DISTURBED record.

According to Billboard, "Divisive" sold 26,000 equivalent album units in its first week of release, with 22,000 units via album sales.

On the all-format Billboard 200 chart, "Divisive" debuted at No. 13.

DISTURBED has had five No. 1s on the all-genre chart, beginning with "Believe" in 2002.

In a new interview with Heavy Culture, vocalist Kyle Thomas of New Orleans-based thrash metal pioneers EXHORDER was once again asked about his band'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): "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 [singer] 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.

During a "VIP Experience" question-and-answer session before W.A.S.P.'s December 9 concert at The Regency Ballroom in San Francisco, California, frontman Blackie Lawless was asked how he initially felt about the prospect of holding meet-and-greets with W.A.S.P. fans for the first time ever on the band's current U.S. tour. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Uncertainty. Because we didn't know how to do this; we'd never done it before. [We] didn't know what to do. So we looked at other people's web sites; we saw what they were offering.

"Quite honestly, the idea of charging people money to sign autographs, I detest that," he continued. "Now, I'm not gonna tell you that it's wrong for everybody to do. If that's what somebody wants to do, and they're happy with it, that's their business. I just don't like the idea of it personally. For me to wanna do this, I had to have something else that motivated me. So we came up with the idea of doing this. When we sat down here, the first thing I said to you guys was, 'This is the fun part' — for me at least… Because we didn't know what anybody else was doing. We thought, 'Okay, let's try to humanize this as much as we can.'

"One of the things we have heard over and over and over, which was news to us, 'This is the best meet-and-greet we've ever done,' 'cause no one has ever taken the time to do this," Lawless added. "But we didn't know that. So we were doing what we thought you should do. So the ignorance on our part ended up being a really good thing, I guess, because we didn't have any preconceived notions of what they should be.

"Look, [when] a bunch of people [are] coming up to you on the street, you can't address them, and that's frustrating. But this is organized, and we can have some dialogue back and forth, which, for me, is what it's all about. So to not be able to have that dialogue is frustrating to me."

W.A.S.P.'s first U.S. tour in a decade kicked off in late October. The trek coincides with the band's 40th anniversary and includes support from ARMORED SAINT and MICHAEL SCHENKER on select shows.

Lawless has led W.A.S.P. as its lead vocalist and primary songwriter since its beginning. His unique brand of visual, social and political comment took the group to worldwide heights and sold millions of records alongside a legacy of sold-out shows across the globe for four decades. He is joined by bassist Mike Duda and guitarist Doug Blair, whose tenures in the band span 26 and 18 years respectively, along with drummer extraordinaire Aquiles Priester.

W.A.S.P. recently postponed its European 40th-anniversary tour, originally scheduled for spring of 2022, until the spring of 2023. The new dates will take place in March, April and May of 2023. All tickets previously purchased for the 2022 tour will be valid at the rescheduled 2023 shows.

W.A.S.P.'s latest release was "ReIdolized (The Soundtrack To The Crimson Idol)", which came out in February 2018. It was a new version of the band's classic 1992 album "The Crimson Idol", which was re-recorded to accompany the movie of the same name to mark the 25th anniversary of the original LP's release. The re-recorded version also features four songs missing from the original album.

W.A.S.P.'s most recent studio album of all-new original material was 2015's "Golgotha".

W.A.S.P.'s first live performance since December 2019 took place on July 23 at Skansen in Stockholm, Sweden.

From British Columbia's Okanagan Valley in Canada, Nomad has been making a name for themselves locally for the last several years, playing at local fests and supporting big-name acts in the extreme metal scene. Now they have their debut album The Mountain ready for consumption and their blend of progressive, groovy death metal is sure to impress existing fans and entice new listeners. Their first single “Burning Alive” was the first song they wrote together, pieced together at their very first jam. The lyrics were inspired by the heat of that day, and the careless ignition of forest fires. They added blazing riffs, smokey vocals, and smooth bass lines to round it out, making it an impressive introduction to Nomad. 


They share their thoughts on the album:


“We’re hoping that it fills the need for a little groove in the metal scene. We’ve spoken to many people in the audience after playing a show that say there are not enough bands like Nomad out there that like to slow it down and catch you with a good hook once in a while. We feel that many emotions and influences can be felt throughout this album and are sure to keep the listeners engaged and entertained with heavy riffs, blasting beats, and dynamic vocals.”




There have been a few lineup changes in Nomad since their inception and each one of those members has left their mark on the band’s music. They've always worked collaboratively, one member bringing in the skeleton of a song and it being workshopped until it meets everyone’s standard. This had led to masterful consistency, present in every groovy riff, every chunky chord, and throughout the blasting of drums.


The single “Burning Alive” can be heard via its premiere on BraveWords; listen below:





The Mountain was mixed by drummer Bretton Melanson and mastered by Christian Donaldson (Cryptopsy). It is recommended for fans of Gojira, Lamb of God, and Pantera.


Preorder the album on Bandcamp.





Tracklisting:


“Burning Alive”
“Haunted”
“Revolution”
“Relentless”
“A Lonely Wanderer”
“Blood Moon”
“Rise In The Fall”
“Processor”
“Choke”


(Photo – Chris Geistlinger)

Italian fantasy power metallers, RuinThrone, will be releasing their new J.R.R. Tolkien-inspired album, The Unconscious Mind Of Arda, in January via Rockshots Records. The band have released a music video for the new single, "I Am The Night". Watch below.


In this song, the band recounts the right support brought by those who dare to go in the opposite direction. The song is dedicated to those who carry a difference, to those who have the courage to be a dissonant voice. Morgoth is the symbol of it all; in the theme of Iluvatar he refused to play a music that needed to be well-tuned with the others, instead he played a dissonant melody. This bold action will be a messenger of new creations. Banded in the void, alone, the song imagines Morgoth laughing at his punishments as he completes his work.


The band adds about the song: "Talking about which song any of us would have chosen as a single, everyone agreed that at least one had to be a good power metal song. That kind of song that, when played live, you can see people flying into the bar and headbanging until the end. So the choice was between this and 'Blessed By Loneliness.' It wasn’t an easy choice, but in the end we chose 'I Am The Night'. The chorus is so epic, Haedus reaches the higher notes of his vocal range and is also easy to sing for the audience. Guitar and keyboard solos are so cool and fast, the double case, the length of the song.. no other choice but this."







The album itself has been composed of stories inspired by Tolkien’s poems, his “Legendarium”. The band hopes the concepts they wrote can be “messengers” of reflection for their listeners, turning in a better awareness of their daily life.


"With this album, we think we reached our own identity. Back in the early years, we started with a classic German power metal style, but year by year we changed and matured musically. This is why we use 7-string guitars with 1/2 step-down tuning, extreme vocals, etc. For this new record, we also focused on an alternative point of view of some stories written by Tolkien. We thought it would have been interesting to explore not only some interesting characters and heroes but also the mind of the main villains," adds guitarist Nicolò de Maria.


The Unconscious Mind Of Arda is mixed and mastered by Giuseppe Orlando (sound tech for Rhapsody of Fire) at the Outer Sound Studios. Preorder at the Rockshots Records webshop.





Tracklisting:


“Prologue”
“The Dreamweaver”
“I Am The Night”
“Earendil”
“The Past Is Yet To Come”
“Where Wise Men Stop”
“In Penumbra”
“The Eldest”
“Blessed By Loneliness”
“For Those Who Remain”
“Where You Belong”


"Earendil" video:





RuinThrone are:


Vocals: Haedus
Drums: Francesco Comerci
Guitar: Nicolò de Maria
Guitar: Luca Grossi
Bass: Alessandro Finocchiaro
Keyboard: Giorgio Mannucci