David Lee Roth, the 71-year-old lead singer for the rock band VAN HALEN, kicked off his 2026 solo tour Thursday night (Apri l16) at Spokane Live! at Spokane Tribe Casino in Airway Heights, Washington.

Roth's setlist was as follows:

01. Panama (VAN HALEN song)
02. Drop Dead Legs (VAN HALEN song)
03. Romeo Delight (VAN HALEN song)
04. Little Dreamer (VAN HALEN song) (first time since 2003)
05. Blues (Acoustic)
06. I'm The One (VAN HALEN song)
07. Dance The Night Away (VAN HALEN song)
08. Ice Cream Man (John Brim cover) (first time since 2020)
09. You Really Got Me (THE KINKS cover)
10. Jamie's Cryin' (VAN HALEN song)
11. Unchained (VAN HALEN song)
12. New York State Of Mind (Billy Joel cover) (Live debut)
13. Mean Street (VAN HALEN song)
14. Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love (VAN HALEN song)
15. Hot For Teacher (VAN HALEN song)
16. Everybody Wants Some!! (VAN HALEN song)
17. Jump (VAN HALEN song)

Fan-filmed video of the concert can be seen below.

As previously reported, Roth made a surprise appearance at the Coachella Valley Music And Arts Festival in Indio, California on April 10, joining singer Teddy Swims for a rendition of VAN HALEN classic song "Jump".

Earlier this year, Roth announced a 30-date solo tour of North America. The 71-year-old former VAN HALEN singer will visit California, Arizona and Texas later in the month before playing in Tennessee, Florida, North Carolina and Ontario, among others, in May. June will see Roth hit New York, New Jersey, Ohio, Minnesota and Wisconsin, among other states. In August, David will play at the Sturgis Buffalo Chip in Sturgis, South Dakota.

Last year, Roth reversed his decision to retire from the touring circuit, announcing a U.S. tour which took place over the 2025 summer.

Roth's solo shows in 2025 saw him backed by Al Estrada on guitar, Ryan Wheeler on bass, Francisco Valentino on drums and Danny Wagner on keyboards.

Roth's summer 2025 U.S. tour concluded on September 14 in Napa, California.

Roth played his first full solo concert in more than five years on May 3 at the 2025 edition of the M3 Rock Festival at the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland.

Roth originally left VAN HALEN to pursue a solo career following the success of the band's album "1984", but he returned for a stint in 1996 and then took over as VAN HALEN's frontman again from 2007 until 2020, although the band had not toured since 2015.

In early 2021, Roth announced that he would be officially retiring following a residency at Las Vegas's House Of Blues at Mandalay Bay in 2022. "I am throwing in the shoes. I'm retiring," Roth said at the time. "This is the first, and only, official announcement. You've got the news. Share it with the world."

"I'm not going to explain the statement," he added. "The explanation is in a safe. These are my last five shows."

Roth's 2022 Las Vegas residency was eventually canceled because of "circumstances related to COVID".

Legendary David Lee Roth is coming to Spokane LIVE! 🤘🔥

Jump · Runnin' With the Devil · Panama and every high-kickin'...

Posted by Spokane Tribe Resort & Casino on Monday, January 5, 2026

Southern rock takes on a heartfelt tone as BROTHER CANE teams up with LYNYRD SKYNYRD's Johnny Van Zant and Rickey Medlocke for their new single, "Prince Charming". The collaboration delivers a track that feels both nostalgic and deeply meaningful.

"Prince Charming" stands as a powerful tribute to late LYNYRD SKYNYRD guitarist Gary Rossington, pairing timeless rock influences with a deeply personal message. The song reflects on legacy, loss, and the enduring impact of those who shape both music and life.

BROTHER CANE guitarist Damon Johnson, who has been filling in for Rossington in LYNYRD SKYNYRD since 2021, commented: "Gary Rossington was a hero for me that later became a friend and a mentor. Something magical happened the day after his funeral in March of 2023 when this song arrived to me fully formed and literally perfect. And the magic continued with the band's performance and the participation from Johnny, Rickey, Carol Chase and Stacy Michelle from my LYNYRD SKYNYRD family."

In addition to the single, BROTHER CANE has released its first new album in 27 years, "Magnolia Medicine", on Double Dragon Records, distributed by Virgin Music Group.

The album opens with "If This Means War", a fierce, no-apologies anthem that makes it clear this is no tentative reunion. BROTHER CANE's return is bold, soulful, and fully committed. This record isn't easing back into rock and roll; it's kicking the door wide open.

BROTHER CANE is an American rock band originally from Birmingham, Alabama. Formed by Johnson and bassist Glenn Maxey in 1991, the group released three studio albums, charting several singles, including three No. 1s and five top 10 hits.

"Magnolia Medicine" reunites Johnson with Marti Frederiksen, a songwriter-for-hire who has previously collaborated with AEROSMITH, DEF LEPPARD, Jonny Lang and Sheryl Crow, among many others, rekindling the creative spark that powered BROTHER CANE's legacy and redefining it for a new era.

Damon says: "We all need a little help from time to time. Writing these songs has helped me work through some challenges, both personal and professional. And to reconnect creatively with Marti Frederiksen was a gift to the band and certainly to this moment in BROTHER CANE's history."

During his career, Johnson has also played guitar with Alice Cooper and THIN LIZZY and co-written songs recorded by such artists as Stevie Nicks, Sammy Hagar and SANTANA. He is currently playing guitar for LYNYRD SKYNYRD, having been handpicked by Rossington as his replacement prior to Gary's passing in March 2023 at the age of 71. It was while touring with SKYNYRD that Johnson was pleasantly surprised at how many fans not only remembered BROTHER CANE, but shared their stories on how much the band and those songs meant to them.

BROTHER CANE returned to performing in 2022, released two brand new songs in October 2023, and continues to schedule shows around Johnson's now full-time commitment to SKYNYRD.

BROTHER CANE's current lineup also includes AEROSMITH keyboardist/backing vocalist Buck Johnson, plus guitarist Tony Higbee and drummer Jarred Pope, both from CINDERELLA frontman Tom Keifer's solo band.

"I'm just over the moon about this," Johnson previously said. "BROTHER CANE fans are some of the most passionate that I've encountered in all of my travels."

He added: "I'm certainly proud of all these songs, and the guys and I are energized to be bringing them to the people once again."

BROTHER CANE found immediate success with the July 1993 release of its self-titled debut album, which delivered three singles: "Got No Shame", "That Don't Satisfy Me" and "Hard Act To Follow". "Got No Shame" reached No. 1 on the Mainstream Rock charts and garnered the band U.S. tours with AEROSMITH, Robert Plant and LYNYRD SKYNYRD. The band's next album, "Seeds" (1995),yielded another No. 1 rock track, the haunting and swampy "And Fools Shine On". This hit led to a lengthy and successful tour in support of the mighty VAN HALEN. Three years later saw the release of "Wishpool" (1998) and BROTHER CANE's third No. 1 song at rock radio, "I Lie In The Bed I Make". After major personnel changes at Virgin Records (the band's label),as well as a major shift in style at rock and alternative radio formats, the band laid down their instruments and called it a day in 2000.

Photo credit: Stephen Jensen

In a new interview with music journalist Matt Mills of the Heavy Stories podcast, HALESTORM frontwoman Lzzy Hale reflected on the group's early days in the late 1990s when the music she and her bandmates created was described by the Patriot-News as "classic rock" with "a wholesome message for the American teenager, driven by faith in God". She said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Since I was little, we would go to church — we would go to Presbyterian church. Our parents wanted us to have good morals and all. And we did that up until — I think right after the band started. We kind of lost our taste in religion — not our faith in [the belief that] there is something out there that is out of our control and feeling that type of spiritual presence."

She continued: "I was going to a Christian school at the time, shortly after we started the band. And I would get so much… I got called in the principal's office because I was sharing our songs and they didn't say 'Jesus' on it enough — that kind of thing. And we were getting so much hell from not even — the kids were bad enough, but the adults were really just kind of bugging us with this. And when I started seeing some of the hypocrisy that goes into religion versus wanting to follow the 10 Commandments, it started kind of clicking something in my brain where, like, there's something more than we as humans believe is religion or that blanket of that. And so we kind of stopped doing that. But then there would be church gigs that we would do that maybe weren't necessarily our community, but, like, 'Hey, they want you to play these three songs. We'll give you free lunch and 50 bucks,' that kind of thing… We kind of got ourselves out of that community, but it kind of followed us around for a while."

Asked if it was a hard transition getting out of that community and transitioning to doing different types of gigs, including country fairs, Lzzy said: "Yeah. I think that we knew we were getting ourselves out of certain circles and losing some friends because of it, that kind of thing. But for whatever reason, the magic of music was so important to us, it was something that probably brought me closer to a God than when I was in church. And so I think it was one of those things where it's, 'I have to follow this through because it's helping me learn more about myself than Bible study does.' And so, yeah, I wanted to follow that rabbit hole and see where that went."

After Mills noted that HALESTORM is still occasionally called a "Christian rock" band in some circles, Lzzy said: "It's so funny you said that, because for the first time in a while I was reminded of that. My friend called me up. She's, like, 'I just put on Pandora and I'm with a bunch of the moms and the church friends. So I'm, like, 'Hey, Siri, play Christian music.'' And she said [HALESTORM's] 'Freak Like Me' came on. And I've known this friend for years. She's, like, 'Did you guys use to be a Christian band?' It is funny how that still follows me around."

Lzzy continued: "I'm not ashamed of that, I'm not denying that. I think that I very much enjoy being able to live on both sides of the coin, in both a religious upbringing and into a spiritual upbringing, in the secular world. And I love having both of those perspectives because I believe that a lot of the things that I learned were very good ideas. It's when man's hands kind of get all into it and start twisting into greed or gain versus, 'Hey, loving one another is a really good idea.'"

HALESTORM's sixth full-length studio album, "Everest", came out last August via Atlantic Records. HALESTORM worked with producer Dave Cobb, after making three records with Nick Raskulinecz.

Fronted by Lzzy with her brother, drummer Arejay Hale, guitarist Joe Hottinger and bassist Josh Smith, HALESTORM's music has earned multiple platinum and gold certifications from the RIAA, and the band has earned a reputation as a powerful live music force, headlining sold-out shows and topping festival bills around the world, and sharing the stage with icons including HEAVEN & HELL, Alice Cooper, Joan Jett and JUDAS PRIEST. Additionally, Lzzy was named the first female brand ambassador for Gibson and served as host of AXS TV's "A Year In Music".

"Love Bites (So Do I)", from HALESTORM's second album in 2012, won the Grammy Award that year for "Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance".

In 2019, HALESTORM was nominated for "Best Rock Performance" Grammy for the song "Uncomfortable".

Photo credit: Jimmy Fontaine (courtesy of Atlantic)

Podcast Rock City Live has uploaded video of KISS drummer Eric Singer's entire April 12 question-and-answer session at the Indy KISS Fan Expo at the Embassy Suites by Hilton in Indianapolis, Indiana. You can now watch it below.

Asked if he ever thought he would play with KISS again when the first reunion of the band's original lineup took place in 1996, Eric replied (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "No. Well, you don't know what in life's gonna happen, so I didn't think so. And I didn't do anything that whole year, in '96. I just stayed home. [KISS leaders] Gene [Simmons] and Paul [Stanley] were nice enough — they actually paid Bruce [Kulick, then-KISS guitarist] and I [and they] kept on on a retainer for that whole year. 'Cause they didn't know if their tour was gonna be successful or what was gonna happen. So they just thought, 'Okay, let's just go and see what happens. And if it doesn't work out with the reunion, we still have a band and we'll just continue on.' I'm guessing that was their mindset. So they were nice enough to do that. They didn't have to. And in fact, I was offered to play with [MÖTLEY CRÜE singer] Vince Neil to join his solo band that summer, but I didn't do it because I thought, 'I don't know what's gonna happen with KISS, so I should just kind of bide my time.'"

Singer continued: "At that time, rock and roll and the kind of music most of us probably like was not really all that popular. Grunge took over by '92. I mean, I played with Alice Cooper '90 and '91. After '91 Alice didn't tour until 1997. He didn't tour for six years 'cause there was no market for it. Eventually things kind of turned around. And then Alice asked me to come back and play with him in '98. Then I toured with [QUEEN guitarist] Brian May that year too. And then, all of a sudden, they called me up to come back and play with KISS. And I was playing with Alice at the time. From '98 to 2008, I still played with Alice and I was doing both gigs for a while. But then KISS actually got busy and wound up touring more starting in 2008. And that was it. Then we were off and running until the end of the touring in 2023."

Three decades ago, KISS did a full-on reunion with the original lineup that included drummer Peter Criss and guitarist Ace Frehley.

After Criss returned and left again, Singer rejoined the lineup in 2004.

The most recent KISS lineup, as it has been since Singer returned, consisted of Stanley, Simmons, Singer and former BLACK 'N BLUE guitarist Tommy Thayer, whom Singer has known since the mid-1980s.

Back in 2015, Singer was asked by MichaelCavacini.com what it was like coming back to the band as the replacement for Criss during the "farewell tour." He said: "At that point, I was still playing with Alice Cooper. When they did the reunion tour, I didn't have much contact with anyone in the band for a while. It was hugely successful, and I was back playing with Alice Cooper. Then Paul called me up and told me that they wanted me to come tour with them in Australia and Japan. He told me they were making a change because things weren't working out with Peter. I was actually out of the country when I got the call. My lawyer contacted me, saying KISS reached out to him and that they wanted me in the band. I didn't know what was going on at the time regarding the makeup. My lawyer said, 'They're going to have you wear makeup, but they're not sure what they're going to do yet.' By the time I got back, they decided they wanted me to wear the Catman makeup."

He continued: "I was back in the band for a little over a year, and then Ace decided he didn't want to be in the band. He was becoming less and less reliable. Every time we tried to do something, it would become difficult because we wouldn't know if he'd make it or not. One minute he'd say, 'Yes.' Then the next minute he'd say, 'No.'

"I remember that summer, the summer of 2001, when I first came back, our manager booked a European tour three times and had to cancel it each time. The reason why is because Ace would commit to it and then change his mind."

Singer added: "Just so I'm clear, the band did everything in their power to keep Ace in KISS. But he's the one that made it more and more difficult. And eventually, we did a show, a private party, and Ace didn't want to show up in L.A. to do rehearsals. We had already committed to doing the show, so we had Tommy Thayer step in and do the show. And that was it. From that point on, Tommy was the guitar player."

Eric also talked about the fact that some KISS fans still couldn't accept him and Thayer as members of the band because they were wearing the classic makeup that Ace and Peter used to wear.

"If a band can't continue on because somebody quits, can't play anymore, whatever the reason is, that shouldn't prevent the remaining members from continuing on if that's what they want to do," Eric said. "STYX is a good example. I'm really good friends with Ricky Phillips, their bass player. I saw STYX in their heyday back in the '70s, but I think they're every bit as good now, if not better. The same thing applies to FOREIGNER. They're another great band that no longer features all of the classic or original members, but they sound fantastic. To me, that's what it's all about. As long as the members of the band are doing the music justice and paying respect to its origins, then I'm fine with it. That's what it's all about. If a band gets new members and they aren't very good, then you have the right to complain."

He continued: "The way people look at the makeup situation is interesting to me. I don't play any different in makeup than I do out of makeup, yet people perceive that there is a difference. I do have a more toned-down approach than I did when I first joined the band, but that's because I believe that's what the music dictates and needs."

Eric went on to say: "I've heard people say that I was told to sing, play and act like Peter Criss. That's completely ridiculous. I've never once been told to do that. Never. So, when people say that, it's totally ridiculous. Look at any of the shows I've done since being in the band after Peter. I don't play anything like Peter Criss."

Eric Q&A!

Posted by Fans of Eric Singer on Monday, April 13, 2026

In a new interview with Finland's Chaoszine, Anette Olzon spoke about her upcoming summer 2026 European tour which will be dedicated to the acclaimed albums she recorded with NIGHTWISH, "Dark Passion Play" (2007) and "Imaginaerum" (2011). Asked if her views on her time with NIGHTWISH have changed in the decade and a half since she exited the band, Anette responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Yes, it has, actually. I don't feel any bitterness or anger towards them. And I actually e-mailed Tuomas [Holopainen, NIGHTWISH keyboardist and main songwriter] when I was on the [fall 2025 South American] tour, just saying, 'I hope it's fine that I sing these [NIGHTWISH] songs.' No, I feel really good."

She continued: "I think when I came out, it was such heavy years to tour that heavily as we did. And the ending was not nice for either of us. But now it's been so many years and I don't have any resentment towards the band. I hope we can see each other one day and just, like, 'Okay, we had good times too.' So, for me, no, I just feel no anger at all."

Anette added: "You have to move on. You shouldn't be holding a grudge, I think. And I think the older you get, you know that. So you should just forgive and forget."

Asked what the future holds for her after the European tour, Anette said: "Well, I can say that THE DARK ELEMENT [project with former SONATA ARCTICA guitarist Jani Liimatainen], Jani moved to Brazil, and I haven't heard from him. I know that he's fine, so I just wanna say, because I have friends there. But I think he doesn't wanna do music at the time. So, we'll see. When he wants to do it, I will be there. [The third album from] ALLEN/OLZON [the collaborative project with SYMPHONY X singer Russell Allen] is actually recorded, so it will be out. I don't know exactly when, but it's been mixed and stuff. So maybe this year. Solo, I haven't planned anything because I think I will focus on singing live now. So it's the Europe tour for a month, and then it's South America with an orchestra in October, doing some new countries there. And then maybe next year USA. And, yeah, I would like to go to Japan too. And maybe some festivals, if there will be someone who wants us next summer. So, yeah, I'd say that [the next] two years I will play live, because I'm getting older too. I'm 55 this year. But as long as it's fun and the family agrees with me going away, I will do it."

Last fall Anette celebrated the two albums she recorded with NIGHTWISH on a special tour of Brazil. The trek marked the first time Anette performed live, as a solo artist, the iconic songs from her era of NIGHTWISH.

The Swedish-born singer originally joined NIGHTWISH in 2007 and recorded two studio LPs with the band before being dismissed in 2012 in the middle of the group's North American tour. She was replaced by former AFTER FOREVER frontwoman Floor Jansen.

Olzon previously reflected on her time with NIGHTWISH in a 2021 interview with Chaoszine. Asked how she looked back on the entire five-year experience, she said: "Well, it's mixed emotions. It was a hell of a ride. You know how it was with the media in Finland. And for me, I didn't understand what was happening because I didn't know how big the band was, since I don't live in Finland. So it was really fun the first years with everything and also crazy. I wasn't home a lot. They did their heaviest touring when I joined. All of a sudden, they wanted to do so many long weeks [on the road]. I remember just that I had a five-year-old son [and] I came home after five weeks. I was home one week. I didn't almost have time to unpack my bags before I went off again for four weeks. So I don't remember everything, to be honest. There are so many things that I don't remember. And also, of course, the last years where it wasn't such a nice atmosphere between us. And I had my third child, and things happened.

"So I remember it both with really happy, happy feelings, but also with very, very negative and sad feelings," she explained. "But, of course, it was an amazing experience, and it was my dream that came true to be a full-time singer in an amazing big band. And they are a super-good band. So I bless the albums that we did and will always cherish that time, of course."

Not long after Olzon was fired from NIGHTWISH 15 years ago, she claimed that an argument arose between her and NIGHTWISH when she asked for an Australian tour to be postponed during her pregnancy. Holopainen suggested that Jansen should front the band on a temporary basis, but Olzon said no.

Anette explained in a 2014 interview: "I would have been too pregnant to go to Australia, so I wanted to push the dates back, but Tuomas didn't want that. Discussions about a substitute came up, and at first, I was, like, 'Yeah, well, okay.' But when they mentioned Floor, it was an automatic 'no' from me. I didn't think it was a good idea, because I knew what would happen — I knew the fans would love Floor, because she's a metal singer and I'm a pop singer, and I wanted to keep my job."

A year after NIGHTWISH fired Olzon, the band released a statement denying that she was dismissed because of pregnancy or illness. "We discovered her personality didn't fit this work community, and was even detrimental to it," the group said. NIGHTWISH went on to say that Anette was initially receptive to the idea of hiring a temporary replacement if she couldn't "manage everything," but that she later "took back her decision, and the difficulties really started. Fear of losing money and position seemed obvious." The band also insisted that "Anette and her company" were "paid a fifth of everything that was done during her time" with NIGHTWISH.

Since the end of her stint with NIGHTWISH, Olzon also formed THE DARK ELEMENT with Liimatainen. The group's self-titled debut album was released in 2017; a follow-up, "Songs The Night Sings", came out in 2019.

Olzon and Allen released a collaborative album under the moniker ALLEN/OLZON titled "Worlds Apart" in March 2020 via Frontiers Music Srl. A follow-up LP, "Army Of Dreamers", arrived in 2022.

Anette's third solo album, "Rapture", came out in 2024.

Cleopatra Records has set a June 19 release date for "Ride The Rainbow - The Ultimate Tribute To Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow".

The mighty RAINBOW, Ritchie Blackmore's post-DEEP PURPLE juggernaut, receives its full flowers on this star-studded tribute album. It features appearances by no fewer than six RAINBOW alumni — Bob Daisley, Graham Bonnet, Don Airey, Joe Lynn Turner, Doogie White and Ronnie Romero. There are also epic contributions from rock/metal luminaries Sebastian Bach (formerly of SKID ROW),Steve Morse (formerly of DEEP PURPLE),glam heroes ANGEL, WHITE LION's Mike Tramp, Rick Wakeman (formerly of YES) and more, plus a very special appearance from Ritchie's wife and BLACKMORE'S NIGHT vocalist Candice Night.

The full liner notes for "Ride The Rainbow - The Ultimate Tribute To Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow" were written by Jason Myers of classic metal revivalists ICARUS WITCH.

Track listing:

01. Long Live Rock 'N' Roll - Bob Daisley, Graham Bonnet, Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal, Carmine Appice, Don Airey
02. Man On The Silver Mountain - Sebastian Bach, Doug Aldrich, Bob Daisley, Carmine Appice, Mick Box, Jonathan Cain
03. Stargazer - Derek Sherinian, Marty Friedman, Vinny Appice, Jürgen Engler, Joe Bouchard, Ronnie Romero
04. Lady Of The Lake - ANGEL
05. Rainbow Eyes - Mike Tramp
06. Since You Been Gone - Marty Friedman, Vinny Appice, Graham Bonnet, Jürgen Engler
07. Kill The King - Rick Wakeman, Bob Daisley, Vinnie Moore, Marc Lopes, Chris Adler
08. The Temple Of The King - Steve Morse, Phil Soussan, Ronnie Romero, Simon Wright, Jonathan Cain, Kevin James Morse
09. Jealous Lover - George Lynch, Vinny Appice, Andrew Freeman, David Ellefson, Jonathan Cain
10. I Surrender - Eric Gales, Tim "Ripper" Owens, Phil Soussan, Don Airey, Chris Adler
11. Catch The Rainbow - Doogie White, Derek Sherinian, Chris Poland, Vinny Appice, Bob Daisley
12. Street Of Dreams - Paul Shortino, Joel Hoekstra, Joe Bouchard, Fred Aching, Jonathan Cain
13. Stone Cold - Vivian Campbell, Joe Lynn Turner
14. I Surrender - Marcus Nand, Candice Night

RAINBOW, led by Ritchie Blackmore, became synonymous with some of the most well regarded and popular charting rock songs of the 1970s and 1980s. From "Stargazer" and "Man On A Silver Mountain" to "All Night Long", "Long Live Rock 'N' Roll" and "Since You Been Gone", each year in the decade of RAINBOW was marked by some of the best songs and performances captured both on record and in concert.

Passing through the band were some of the best the genre had to offer. Vocalists Ronnie James Dio and Graham Bonnet, bass player and producer Roger Glover and drummer Cozy Powell, each brought their individual talent to the table to record some of rock's best-loved hard rock on those albums and singles.

Romero, who is originally from Chile but is now settled in Romania after living in Madrid, Spain for a number of years, made his live debut with RAINBOW in June 2016 after he was selected to front the latest version of the band Ritchie Blackmore had formed after quitting DEEP PURPLE.

In addition to Romero and Blackmore, the most recent incarnation of RAINBOW included STRATOVARIUS keyboardist Jens Johansson, BLACKMORE'S NIGHT drummer David Keith, bassist Bob Nouveau (a.k.a. Robert "Bob" Curiano, ex-BLACKMORE'S NIGHT),and backing singers Candice Night and Lady Lynn.

The two shows RAINBOW played in Germany in June 2016 were caught on camera to produce "Memories In Rock - Live In Germany", which was released in November 2016 via Eagle Rock Entertainment on DVD+2CD, Blu-ray+2CD, and digital formats.

Norwegian progressive metal pioneers RAM-ZET release their highly anticipated new album “Sapien” today, out worldwide via ViciSolum Productions on double vinyl, CD, and digital.

After thirteen years of silence since their last full-length release, RAM-ZET formally release their return, reigniting the distinctive fusion of progressive and avant-garde metal that has defined their sound. What began as a spark of renewed inspiration has grown into a full-scale comeback for one of Norway’s most forward-thinking and unconventional metal acts.

Henning Ramseth about “Sapien”: “There has been a long break without new music from us, since we released ‘Freaks in Wonderland’ in 2012. There has never been a doubt in my mind that there was going to be a new album by Ram-Zet, but it has been somehow hard to keep track of the development in the music industry, and I really needed to find the right motivation to start the process. But in 2020, I decided to collect all ideas, and start the real job, writing all material for a new Ram-Zet album, and during the process, we started to rehearse again, and felt the old spirit come back to us.

The writing did not stop until 9 new songs were done, and the recording could take place. Still, it took some years to complete the album, because all members had other projects going on, and we needed to re-write our schedule. Also, Miriam (sfinx) got pregnant during the process (yes, it is her ‘real baby’ on our cover) and we also had to plan some of the recording around that.

Also, we have spent a lot more time on the arrangements of the songs but still recorded everything with a much more live in studio approach, which makes this album, in my ears, more organic, than ever before.

It is some kind of a cliche to say that ‘the new album is our best’ but I swear that this album really feels like a big step further for the band. All fans of Ram-Zet will recognize both our sound, and my songwriting, and I could not be prouder than I am over this album“.


Tracklist:

Zerocane
Cranium
Sleepers
Bozzadevil
Peace25?
As Worlds Collide
Psychosis
In The Mirror
Catching Flies
Hangmans Jazz
With “Sapien”, RAM-ZET deliver their trademark fusion of intensity, complexity, and atmosphere, infused with renewed focus, energy, and vision. The band’s next chapter begins now.

In a new interview with Jimmy Kay of Canada's The Metal Voice, former ANTHRAX and current ARMORED SAINT frontman John Bush spoke about his three December 2025 "Celebrating The Songs Of Anthrax" shows where he performed songs spanning all four albums he recorded with ANTHRAX: "Sound Of White Noise", "Stomp 442", "Volume 8: The Threat Is Real" and "We've Come For You All". John was joined by his CATEGORY 7 bandmates Phil Demmel (guitar),Mike Orlando (guitar) and Jason Bittner (drums),along with his longtime ARMORED SAINT partner and best friend Joey Vera on bass (CATEGORY 7 bassist Jack Gibson had a schedule conflict and was unable to make the gig). CATEGORY 7 also opened the show before returning as John's backing band for the ANTHRAX material.

Asked if he was happy with how the "Celebrating The Songs Of Anthrax" shows went, John told The Metal Voice (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Yeah, it was awesome. The shows were amazing. All three of 'em were great. It was a lot of fun. I got pretty favorable reviews from people. It was cool for me to hear those songs live as well as to hear all those guys in [CATEGORY 7] play them so well. And I think for the fans, a lot of those people probably felt like they may never hear those songs live again. And so there was a lot of emotion in the crowd from hearing those tunes. It was really, really cool. So it was all a big giant plus, and I'm glad I finally did it. And I wanna do more. It's just gotta fit in with my schedule. I am playing Milwaukee Metal Fest with it, and so is ARMORED SAINT the day before, so that should be fun. But there's a lot of territories I would like to play with. It just has to coincide with my life right now. I'm kind of focused on SAINT, and we have a new record coming out. So, I'm kind of distracted, but, yeah, we'll see."

Bush continued: "It's old material, so it's not going anywhere — let's face it. And I don't think there's an urgency to have to do it, because I waited so long to do it. So, I think if there's any urgency connected to it, it's mostly just because the songs are demanding, so they're not easy to do. And, unfortunately, with every passing minute. I'm getting older. So it's more about just being able to do it. And if I'm able to do it physically, then I don't really have to feel like I have to do it or else I can't."

Asked if all the preparation for the three shows was it worth it at the end of the day, John said: "It was worth it. It was worth it, for sure. I mean, this isn't just some big cash cow that I'm making a bunch of money on. I didn't wanna lose money, of course. It paid for itself. And I think that was the key thing. And I sold a lot of records. I actually contacted Megaforce and [ordered copies of the ANTHRAX albums to sell at the gigs]… I sold all the vinyl — all of it. 'Cause Megaforce re-released those records. So I sold all the vinyl, I didn't sell all the CDs, but I ended up buying them anyway. And I have 'em because I signed them. Eventually I'll sign 'em [and] I'll sell 'em somewhere. But, yeah, it was pretty amazing that I actually sold all the records."

Asked if he would be open to embarking on a special celebratory tour that would include him, former ANTHRAX singer Neil Turbin and current ANTHRAX vocalist Joey Belladonna performing a short set of songs from each singer's era of the band — similar to what HELLOWEEN has been doing for much of the past decade — Bush said: "I think it was really cool what HELLOWEEN did with all that. I think it's a very creative, and it was something that I think I would like to do that. I think that probably the person that would have to be convinced would be Joey, quite frankly. And I understand whatever his perspective is on it, whether he doesn't or does wanna do it. It's up to him, really. And the band, of course. But I think everybody would have to feel like 'I'm in'. Or not. And if you're not, then don't do it by any means."

ANTHRAX has had a number of vocalists — including Turbin, Belladonna, Dan Nelson and Bush — over the last 45 years, with guitarist Scott Ian and drummer Charlie Benante remaining the sole bandmembers who have appeared on every one of the group's studio albums.

Turbin sang on ANTHRAX's debut LP, 1984's "Fistful Of Metal", before getting booted and being replaced by Belladonna. Belladonna performed on four ANTHRAX albums, including the fan favorite "Among The Living" (1987) before he himself was fired over creative and stylistic differences. Bush fronted ANTHRAX between 1992 and 2005 but was sidelined when the band reunited with Belladonna for a 20th-anniversary tour. When that collapsed, and relationships disintegrated with next frontman Nelson, Bush returned for a time before Belladonna took the job back in 2010.

Several years ago, Ian was asked by "The Jasta Show" if ANTHRAX could ever embark on a special celebratory tour that would include Turbin, Belladonna and Bush performing a short set of songs from each singer's era of the band. Ian responded, in part: "Could we? If everyone's alive, yes, the answer would be we could. But — and that's a huge 'but' with two Ts — do we want to? That's more the question to ask.

"I'll admit — that thought, in my lifetime, has crossed my mind, this idea of imagine doing a career retrospective kind of a thing," he continued. "And, of course, it's possible, but I don't know that's something — me, personally; speaking specifically for me, not anyone else in the band or any other singers that aren't in the band anymore — it's not something I would wanna do.

"Depending on the scenario and how we did it, where maybe — let's just say, could you imagine, so you start with 'Fistful' and you do a short set of that, and then maybe there's, not an intermission but there's a break with some kind of a set change. Maybe in the set change, there's some type of video montage showing what happened between 'Fistful' and 'Spreading The Disease', if that footage even exists; I'm just totally spitballing here. Then we come out and we do that era, and so on and so on. And, of course, it could be an unbelievable thing if it was produced properly and it all worked, and from a creative standpoint, it could be something amazing and I'm sure the fans that got to see it would be blown away. I don't necessarily see it as something that could be done as a tour. That sounds like something you set up in one spot and you do maybe multiple shows at a theater somewhere in New York, and then you move it to another city and do a few. But it's not something you can schlep around on a tour bus."

Turbin later addressed Ian's comments in an interview with The Metal Voice. Speaking about the possibility of sharing the stage with Bush and Belladonna, Turbin said: "John Bush is great; I love John Bush. It was really super cool of John to give me an interview [for The Metal Voice] the first time I met him in person [in 2020]. I've met other members of ARMORED SAINT and they've always been cool; we've always been friendly with one another. And having the opportunity to meet John and speak with him was really quite awesome. He's a great singer and a great guy — very cool. We discussed about some things off camera as well, so it was really cool to meet John. I'd love to do shows with John. He is a super dynamic person and, obviously, a great singer. And, obviously, ARMORED SAINT is a very well-respected, legendary band. And personally, I'd love to have the opportunity to do shows with John and with ARMORED SAINT; if that opportunity arises, I'd certainly be open to that."

Turbin went on to bring up MICHAEL SCHENKER FEST and HELLOWEEN as examples of bands who have been able to tour and record in recent years with two or more singers performing alongside each other.

"As far as what MICHAEL SCHENKER FEST did and what HELLOWEEN did, I think what those bands have done and the way they approached things, I think they've done things with class and with respect for the bands," he said. "So, yeah, there is certainly a value to presenting something like that. However, I think it really boils down to, what do the fans want? It's what the fans want that matters. If that's something that would bring the fans out, I think it's something that's interesting about a band.

"People are gonna have differences in life," Turbin added. "That doesn't mean people are gonna agree, especially on issues or personalities or whatever it might be. To me, it just shows a side of the band that they're capable of doing that. And I respect MICHAEL SHENKER FEST, I respect the fact that Graham Bonnet and Michael Schenker would even set foot back on stage [with each other considering their past issues]. I think it's great, 'cause these are strong personalities, and to get 'em to come together, I think it's great that they were able to do that. Not everybody on this planet is gonna play nice together."

Neil circled back to the idea of him performing with ANTHRAX again, saying: "If that's something to consider, I would be open to considering that. But there's a lot of moving parts, and there's a lot of things to consider." He then clarified: "Not to be misinterpreted by the media, I have my own bands that I'm involved with, I have musical things that I'm working on and songwriting that I'm working on in different genres, so I'm not really looking to join any band that I used to be in — I'm not really looking for that; that's not my expectation. And in fact, I've not been approached and I haven't had a conversation or a discussion or heard anything about anything like that. So it's not really something that is a plan of any sort. However, just making that statement, I think it would be up to the fans."

Turbin performed and recorded with ANTHRAX on the original demo recordings and "Fistful Of Metal". He wrote the lyrics to all songs on that LP with exception of the cover of Alice Cooper's "I'm Eighteen", and also has writing credits on five of the seven songs on the band's "Armed And Dangerous" EP, as well as two songs on "Spreading The Disease".

Legendary rocker Alice Cooper kicked off the spring 2026 leg of his "Alice's Attic" U.S. tour Tuesday night (April 14) at the Majestic Theatre in San Antonio, Texas. Fan-filmed video of the concert can be seen below.

Earlier this month, Alice introduced British guitarist Anna Cara in place of his longtime guitarist Nita Strauss, who announced earlier this year that she was taking a break to welcome her first child this summer.

22-year-old Anna, from Newcastle, England, has previously worked with Marc Storace (from the Swiss band KROKUS) and Tommy Henriksen (guitarist with both Alice and the HOLLYWOOD VAMPIRES). She has built an Instagram following with her videos.

Anna made her live debut with Alice at his special "Welcome To Our Nightmare" shows on April 2-4 in Las Vegas. These unique shows were a collaboration with illusionist Criss Angel and took place in his theatre at Planet Hollywood.

Alice's "Alice's Attic" tour will run through May 9, after which he will return to Las Vegas May 22-24 for three more "Welcome To Our Nightmare" shows with Criss Angel. Keeping his usual busy schedule, Alice then has a European "Alice's Attic" tour June 13-July 12, and promises more shows in the fall.

Said Alice: "Nita found a brilliant British female guitarist to fill in for her while she is on maternity leave. Anna Cara is a beautiful dynamic shredder in the vein of Nita but with a style of her own. She will fit in with our gang perfectly while Nita is away and we can't wait for the sick things to meet her. Welcome to the show, Anna!"

Anna, for her part, said, "This is like a dream come true, to join Alice and his great band. Back when I started playing guitar at 14, I was watching Alice Cooper live shows on YouTube dreaming of joining one day! Nita Strauss is a tough act to follow, and she's been so encouraging to me this past month, so I am looking forward to showing everyone who I am and what I can do."

Nita said: "When I was asked in an interview who I thought was the best up-and-coming guitarist, I had no hesitation in answering 'Anna Cara.' Anna's precision and soulful, emotional playing will make her an amazing asset to the Cooper tour!

"Working with Alice for 12 years has been the experience of a lifetime and I look forward to seeing you all back on the road (with a +1 along for the ride!) Until that time comes, I know that the show is in good hands and the fans are in for a treat!"

Strauss has been playing with Cooper since 2014 when she replaced Australian musician and former Michael Jackson player Orianthi. She joined Alice in time for a mammoth MÖTLEY CRÜE tour. She was recommended to Cooper by the legendary rocker's former bass player and WINGER frontman Kip Winger.

Alice Cooper announces new 2026 Tour Dates. Wander into Alice’s Attic – a realm of insanity… if you dare…
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Posted by Alice Cooper on Monday, January 26, 2026

In a new interview with Dales Rock Interviews and Metalliville-zine online magazine, British heavy metal vocalist Blaze Bayley, who fronted IRON MAIDEN more than 25 years ago, explained his recent announcement that he will stop doing "meet-and-greets and signing" sessions at his solo concerts. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "The first thing is my health, because I've got bigger and more popular, and so it's gone from meeting 30, 40, even 50 fans to a hundred fans each time. So what happens is I can't talk. I can't use my voice, so I can't get into conversations. Especially if we've got two or three, four, five, six gigs in a row, I can't talk, so then I've gotta sign on this 'I can't talk'. Whereas in the old days, I could say hello to everybody and meet them properly. But now I can't talk before the gig. Then it takes so long to do the meet-and-greet, I don't get a chance to warm up before the show and check in, like, is my heart okay? I've got diabetes as well. I didn't put that in the press release. But I've found out, at the time of my heart attack, they tested me. I'm diabetic. I didn't know that before, so I've gotta watch that as well."

Blaze continued: "The thing is, normally I would want 45 minutes to warm up to prepare from nothing to going on stage and singing. Well, I wasn't getting that. I wasn't hardly getting any time to warm up. I wasn't getting the time to warm up. I can't check in with myself. Is my diabetes okay? Is my heart okay? And, of course, I'm much more tired now. It's a normal thing with people who have a quadruple or triple bypass operation, heart surgery. You're just more tired. You don't have the energy levels. So all of that was, 'Okay, this has gotta stop.'

"It was a huge effort to do it," Bayley added. "I loved meeting my fans and [hearing] a lot of the wonderful stories about when they first got into music. And then to see I've given up my warmup time, really put myself out to see that it's been abused by someone with a picture of me signing the thing that's [being sold] on [eBay] for two hundred quid or three hundred quid. That's really wrong. And this is a problem that didn't exist when I started. Hardly anybody did that. So it was all people who were keeping things for their own memorabilia. It's a thing that's happened over the last five years, and a lot more, I think, over the last three years."

Blaze noted that he isn't the only rock or metal artist who has opted out of giving autographs to fans. "[There are a lot of] people that don't sign," he said. "So it's not like, oh, suddenly I am this unusual thing. No, it's more common not to sign. Alice Cooper doesn't sign anything, and he's been around a lot longer than me. He's a much bigger artist than I am. Dave Grohl doesn't sign anything. There's lots of people. Paul McCartney, he's an icon of British music. He doesn't sign anything. So I just thought, 'You know what I'm going to do then? If my signature is so valuable, I'm gonna save it for charity, for the causes that I support.' So you will see signed stuff by me, but you'll see it where all the proceeds go to charity."

Circling back to why he no longer holds meet-and-greets and signing sessions at his solo concerts, Bayley added: "The meet-and-greet was never really free. It was always included. 'Cause it's inside the venue, and you've bought your ticket. So it's been included. So I'm stopping the meet-and-greet. That's it. I'm not going, 'Oh, I'm stopping the free meet-and-greet.' I'm stopping the meet-and-greet, so I can look after my health. And you know what? It's been really difficult, because I miss my fans and meeting my fans, but my performance and my voice and my confidence level has just gone up so much. 'Cause, again, my warmup time, which I haven't had for quite a few years — unless you're on a festival or something, where you don't have a normal meet-and-greet. So, that's it. So, my performance has improved so much because I've got the proper time to warm up, get ready for the show and everything. That's it. So I think it is time. I've been doing it for over 25 years."

Last spring Blaze embarked on a European tour celebrating the 25th anniversary of his first post-MAIDEN release, "Silicon Messiah". On this tour, Blaze played songs from "Silicon Messiah", previously unperformed songs from his most recent album "Circle Of Stone" and classic IRON MAIDEN songs from his era with the band. Blaze gave free meet-and-greets at the merchandise stand before the shows began for all ticket holders.

Bayley fronted IRON MAIDEN from 1994 until 1999. The two MAIDEN albums he appeared on, "The X Factor" and "Virtual XI", sold considerably less than the band's prior releases and were their lowest-charting titles in the group's home country since 1981's "Killers".

Since leaving IRON MAIDEN in 1999, Bayley has released a number of albums, including several under the moniker BLAZE and more than a handful under his own name. He also appeared on 2012's "Wolfsbane Saves The World", the first album of new material by WOLFSBANE since the group's self-titled 1994 effort, and a follow-up LP, 2022's "Genius".

Last year WOLFSBANE released "Live Faster", a full-throttle reinvention of the band's iconic debut, "Live Fast, Die Fast", which was originally produced by Rick Rubin and released on Def American Recordings in 1989.

Bayley's latest solo album, "Circle Of Stone", came out in February 2024.

In a new interview with Argentina's Rock & Pop 95.9 radio station, IRON MAIDEN guitarist Adrian Smith spoke about the band's 50th-anniversary "Run For Your Lives" world tour, which kicked off in Europe in 2025 and will continue in 2026 with a North American leg. Speaking about the fact that MAIDEN is now officially five decades old, Adrian said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It's incredible, isn't it? 50 years. I joined the band when I was 24 years old, and it just seems like a few months ago. It's incredible. It's gone so quickly, really. But we've done such a lot. It's been an incredible journey, incredible journey. And I think with this anniversary tour, we're just trying to — we start off with some old songs from the 'Killers' album, and it's wonderful to go back and revisit those songs 'cause they're good songs, I think. And they fit in — they sound fresh today, and they're great fun to play. And I think the audience likes to hear it, as well as we'll be playing some newer stuff. But, of course, it's quite emotional. 50 years — I mean, incredible, isn't it? They say that when you're having fun, time goes quicker, doesn't it? Yeah. it seems quick, but when you look back to all the tours and all the shows and the albums, it's a long time. And like I say, it's an incredible journey."

In celebration of its 50th anniversary, IRON MAIDEN will perform at stadiums and major amphitheaters across the United States and Canada, allowing fans the chance to witness the brand new, state-of-the-art production, on the scale it is intended for — huge stages in outdoor venues, to accompany the once-in-a-lifetime setlist of songs from the band's groundbreaking first nine albums. The trek opens at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, and includes performances at TD Garden in Boston, Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre just outside of Chicago, Louder Than Life festival in Louisville, BMO Stadium in Los Angeles, and more before concluding September 29 in San Antonio, Texas. Joining MAIDEN on tour are thrash metal pioneers MEGADETH and ANTHRAX, depending on the date.

These upcoming tour dates will mark 45 years since IRON MAIDEN first visited Canada and the USA on the 1981 "Killer" world tour, and feature some of the biggest shows the band has ever played there. The return to BMO Stadium in Los Angeles will be the 25th and 26th time the band has played in the City of Angels.

The first European leg of "Run For Your Lives" took place this past summer. A second European leg will run from May through July 2026.

For MAIDEN's European tour in 2025, the band requested that fans "severely limit their use of phones at our concerts, ideally just keeping it in their pockets the whole time, especially in those standing areas in front of the stage."

Smith was born in Hackney, East London, on February 27, 1957. He joined IRON MAIDEN at the end of 1980. Adrian is the bandmember who has collaborated on the most side projects outside of IRON MAIDEN, as well as writing and recording a series of albums in the early '90s, before rejoining the band. IRON MAIDEN has sold 100 million albums, and tours the world playing to millions of fans. Onstage, Adrian uses Jackson and Gibson guitars. Offstage, he is an avid tennis player. However, his main hobby is fishing.

IRON MAIDEN is among the artists who will be inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame this year. The ceremony will take place on November 14 at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. It will air on ABC and Disney+ the following month.

IRON MAIDEN will be in the middle of an Australian tour on November 14, with dates booked for November 13 in Melbourne and November 15 in Sydney.

The new lineup of NEVERMORE made its live debut on April 1 at IF Performance Hall Beşiktaş in Istanbul, Turkey.

A mix of board audio with video footage taken by crew and fans of the song "Born" from the Istanbul concert can be seen below.

Joining guitarist Jeff Loomis and drummer Van Williams in NEVERMORE's current incarnation are the band's latest additions, Jack Cattoi on guitar, Semir Özerkan on bass, and new vocalist Berzan Önen.

In a recent interview with Brazil's Headbangers News, Loomis stated about how the new NEVERMORE lineup came together:  "It definitely took — it took some doing. It took a while to get everything finetuned to the way we liked it, to make sure that it was even going to be possible. And that happened with finding the right people to complete the job. And we had to audition quite a few people to make sure that we found the right people that could actually do it. So, we're very, very fortunate that we have Mr. Berzan Önen on vocals, Mr. Semir Özerkan on bass, and Mr. Jack Cattoi on guitar. So these are the three new members. And, of course, it's still me and Van — me on guitar and Van on drums. And, yes, we just had our first show just a few days ago in Istanbul. And it went really, really well. The crowd was phenomenal. They sang along to all the songs and really just made us feel welcome. And now we're coming down to South America to do some more shows. So we're really, really excited."

Addressing the fact that NEVERMORE's current lineup doesn't include singer Warrel Dane, who died in 2017, Jeff said: "The initial talks, back when Van and I first started talking about [putting NEVERMORE back together], was, can it be done? And I think so. If you can find the right people that can perform the songs in the correct way, it can be done. We weren't looking for a Warrel Dane clone either. We were looking for somebody that could still sing the songs, but also had his own personal style. So that's what we were looking for from the very beginning, and that's what I believe we found. And we're very happy."

Asked how the involvement of three new musicians will affect NEVERMORE's overall sound going forward, Loomis said: "The core of the NEVERMORE sound is not ever really going to go away. And I think that the core, you could say that that would be me and Van, where we're writing in the style of NEVERMORE and it's still holding its own weight there. But I think when it comes down to longevity in bands, you'll always notice that everybody contributes. Like a band like RUSH, for instance — everybody's contributing something in that band. And we don't wanna have NEVERMORE just be the Van-and-Jeff show. We wanna have the other guys contribute as well. We wanna have Berzan contribute lyrics. We want him to contribute lyric melodies. We want Jack and Semir to contribute riffs. So, will that change the core sound of NEVERMORE? I don't really think so. I think it's just gonna add to the dynamic and make it cooler, 'cause there's gonna be other little elements of cool musical passages that are gonna be available now to use. And I think it's just gonna be that much more interesting for the listener. It'll still have the same core elements as it did back in the day, but it'll be new and interesting with a new vibe, so to speak. And that's kind of what we're looking for for the new NEVERMORE."

Loomis also talked about the possibility of fans hearing some new NEVERMORE material in the not-too-distant future, after it was recently announced that the band has signed a deal with Reigning Phoenix Music. He said: "Now we're just focusing on new music. So, we're gonna spend much of May and June and July putting the new record together. And we're hoping by the first quarter of '27 we'll have new music done and ready for people to hear, if not just a new single, at least. So that's what we're working on right now."

Forged in the aftermath of SANCTUARY, NEVERMORE carved out a sound defined by precision musicianship, fearless songwriting, and emotional intensity. From their self-titled debut in 1995 through landmark releases such as "Dead Heart In A Dead World" and "This Godless Endeavor", NEVERMORE built a global following and a reputation as one of modern metal's most distinctive voices.

Following the band's disbandment, Jeff released the acclaimed solo albums "Zero Order Phase" and "Plains Of Oblivion", co-founded CONQUERING DYSTOPIA and spent nearly a decade as a member of ARCH ENEMY, contributing to releases, including "Will To Power" and "Deceivers". Van remained active through projects such as ASHES OF ARES and GHOST SHIP OCTAVIUS. Dane continued creating until his passing in 2017, leaving behind a body of work that continues to inspire musicians and fans worldwide.

Dane died in in December 2017 in São Paulo, Brazil while recording his posthumously released solo studio album, "Shadow Work". The musician reportedly had a heart attack during the night and could not be revived.

According to guitarist Johnny Moraes, who played in Warrel's solo band, Dane had a history of addiction and other health issues. "His health was already very weak because of his diabetes and his problems with alcoholism," he said.

The instrumental parts for Dane's follow-up to 2008's "Praises To The War Machine" solo album were almost completed and he had begun laying down his vocals shortly before his death.

Photo credit: Cüneyt Özer

Nuclear Blast Records has announced a remastered edition of "Over The Under" from American heavy metal supergroup DOWN.

Initially released in the fall of 2007, DOWN's third studio album was produced by Warren Riker and served as a true moment in time delivering over 60 heartfelt minutes of sonic frustration with songs addressing the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and personal turmoil. MetalSucks observed a "snapshot of a band doing what they do best, and doing it honestly and sincerely, egged on by unfortunate catastrophe," while Punk News lauded a release that encompassed "everything fans praise about these musicians and about the South's influence on metal and rock. The atmospherics are tense and hellraising as well as hardening, melancholic, and introspective." The record would earn top slots on year-end lists both Stateside and abroad, including in such esteemed outlets as Revolver, Metal Hammer and Rolling Stone.

The 2026 edition of "Over The Under" features remastered audio by Eric Koondel (SOILWORK, CYNIC, MALEVOLENT CREATION, DEATH) and marks the first time the LP will be officially available in the U.S. market. Additionally, the CD and digital versions include bonus track "Invest In Fear" (the first time the track will be available on a U.S. physical release and on digital service providers worldwide).

In celebration of the release, DOWN presents the remastered version of "N.O.D.", now streaming below.

DOWN's "Over The Under" remaster will be available on CD, LP and digital formats on June 19.

"Over The Under" remastered track listing:

01. Three Suns And One Star
02. The Path
03. N.O.D.
04. I Scream
05. On March The Saints
06. Never Try
07. Mourn
08. Beneath The Tides
09. His Majesty The Desert
10. Pillamyd
11. In The Thrall Of It All
12. Nothing In Return (Walk Away)
13. Invest In Fear * (CD/digital bonus track)

You know it's DOWN as soon as you hear them. Currently featuring vocalist Philip H. Anselmo, guitarists Pepper Keenan and Kirk Windstein, drummer Jimmy Bower and bassist Pat Bruders, there's no mistaking those gargantuan riffs, swamp blues leads, crashing drums, and hypnotic howls for absolutely anybody else under the sun. The band upholds a certain tradition that countless fans celebrate, expanding their own musical mythos as they leave its pillars intact and untouched. With a collective resume encompassing PANTERA, CORROSION OF CONFORMITY, CROWBAR and EYEHATEGOD, the quintet puffed out its first haze of sonic smoke from the belly of gritty old New Orleans on the 1995 platinum-selling classic "NOLA". At that moment, they naturally summoned something akin to a ritual, continually partaking in it with critically revered offerings — "Down II: A Bustle In Your Hedgerow" in 2002, "Down III: Over The Under" in 2007, "Down IV - Part One" in 2012, and "Down IV - Part Two" in 2014. Their shows built a certain live lore with unforgettable runs alongside METALLICA and HEAVEN & HELL, as well as coveted spots on iconic festivals like Download, Soundwave, Ozzfest and so many others, forever delivering passionate, powerful, pure heavy music you can feel deep down in your soul.

In a new interview with Billboard, Joe Perry spoke about the possibility of AEROSMITH playing live again, less than two years after the legendary rockers announced that they were officially retiring from touring due to singer Steven Tyler's vocal injury. AEROSMITH made the announcement on August 2, 2024 — nearly one year after the now-78-year-old singer fractured his larynx during a September 2023 show. Perry said about the likelihood of another AEROSMITH show: "The band is still kind of definitely not in touring mode, but there are certainly other options, so we stay in touch.

"You just never know," Perry added about future AEROSMITH activities. "It's just been in the last six months that Steven's started to get comfortable with singing; he literally had to take a year off before he was able to start stretching his vocal cords, and you're always worried about reinjuring it. I learned a long time ago that everything we do is fragile… so we just take it day by day. You hope for the best. You just have to have the confidence and have that vision of positive in front of you. You can't do it unless you envision it."

Perry and Tyler performed together for the first time in nearly two years at a private concert the singer hosted on April 30, 2025 in San Francisco, California. The event was a benefit for Janie's Fund, the initiative Tyler created in order to bring hope and healing to girls and young women who have experienced trauma.

AEROSMITH's "Peace Out" tour came to a halt after what turned out to be a final gig in Elmont, New York on September 9, 2023. That show came just three dates into the trek, which was supposed to last through February 2024. Tyler said in a statement at the time that the injury caused bleeding but that he hoped he and his AEROSMITH bandmates would be back on the road after postponing a few shows.

The rescheduled "Peace Out" tour was due to begin September 20, 2024 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with special guests THE BLACK CROWES.

Last November, Perry and Tyler released "One More Time", a five-song EP in collaboration with British rocker Yungblud (real name Dominic Harrison).

Tyler and Yungblud both wound up performing at the "Back To The Beginning" concert for Ozzy Osbourne and BLACK SABBATH on July 5, 2025 in Birmingham, England.

This summer, Perry will hit the road in Europe with HOLLYWOOD VAMPIRES, the rock and roll supergroup in which he is joined by Alice Cooper, Cooper guitarist Tommy Henriksen and actor Johnny Depp.

Earlier today (Tuesday, April 14),KISS principals Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley, along with longtime manager Doc McGhee of McGhee Entertainment, participated in a panel discussion titled "KISS Forever: How Pophouse Defines The Next Era Of KISS in Vegas" during the Pollstar Live! Conference at the Loews Hollywood Hotel in Los Angeles, California. The conversation was moderated by Jessica Koravos, the CEO of Pophouse Entertainment, the Sweden-based music investment firm co-founded by ABBA's Björn Ulvaeus that acquired the KISS catalog in 2024. Some excerpts appear below (as transcribed by Clay Marshall for BLABBERMOUTH.NET):

On the KISS avatar show, which will premiere in Las Vegas in 2028:

Paul: "KISS has always been interactive. As fit as we might be, we don't get younger, but those iconic characters can last forever. The idea was to take that and transform [via] all the technology that has become available. What we've created and what we're in the works of creating for the avatar show is going to be something that is dependent on you as an audience member and upon the iconic characters, the personas. It's not going to be a concert, so to speak. Basically, we're there as travel guides as KISS goes through KISS worlds, as opposed to being limited to this stage."

On how the avatar show will extend the band's legacy:

Gene: "We did this the right way, instead of staying on stage too long. There are some artists that should really call it quits. Get off stage while you still look good, while you can still stand up straight instead of [using] walkers. That's not what you want to do. Quit while you're on top. We're so fortunate to have found Pophouse. Jessica and her team are here to take KISS to levels we never imagined."

On why the band preferred the avatar concept over Las Vegas's famed Sphere venue:

Paul: "Towards the end of the ['End Of The Road' farewell] tour, people were saying, 'Why don't you play the Sphere?' The truth of it is, the Sphere minimizes a band. It makes a band miniature. You're not going there to see a band — you're going to see screens. We wanted to incorporate the highest of technology, but we want to be the center of it. It's a very, very different experience than going to see a postage stamp with a band on it. This is the antithesis of that — it's 180 degrees from that. The show is going to be spectacular, but it's only as good as what you put into it. The personas are there and acknowledge you, so it's very different than anything that's been out there. It's hard to comprehend, but if you've seen the ABBA show ['ABBA Voyage', also produced by Pophouse], everybody who's there is having an amazing time. You become immersed in those four people on stage. This takes it even further."

On the to-be-constructed Las Vegas venue that will host the avatar show:

Paul: "Theater is almost an understatement. It's more an arena of sorts, where every seat is a perfect-view seat. It's being designed so that every seat is a great seat. That's critical with the technology. With flat-screen TVs, you have a limited area where you get the whole experience. This arena is designed as the environment, and the whole experience will start when you first come through the door of the building. The whole building is a KISS building, so you'll experience the whole band, the museum, all the curios, all the artifacts. It's 'KISS World'."

On how they think the avatar show will be received:

Paul: "I think the most important thing about this avatar show is KISS fans will love it, but it's not directed solely toward them. This is a show, an experience, that people who don't like the band will come and see just because of the mind-boggling technology. It's true to the band. It's bombastic. People talk about technology, and that it loses heart. This doesn't. This is a new representation of us, but it has the heart and soul of who we are… We're not only the band — we're fans of the band. We love the band, and we hold it in reverence. The show is about, what would the ultimate KISS fan want to see?"

Gene: "When our experiential show opens, I want to take my kids, and I'm sure Paul is exactly the same. There's a sense of pride when you do something well, you want your family first to experience it and love it. You want your kids to be proud of it, and then, the most important people, the fans — you want them to come in and gape and awe and tell everybody else, 'You can't believe it.' That's going to be our best public relations thing. When the fans see this, they're going to be so proud — 'I stuck by these guys for decades and decades. Look what they gave me back.' It's fan and band. It's electric church."

On their working relationship with Pophouse:

Paul: "You're only as good as the people you surround yourself with, and Pophouse was a group that we had faith in to really take our baby, something that we've nurtured for 50 years, and say, 'What can you do?' There are things we don't have expertise in, but nobody knows KISS better than we do. We felt comfortable in that we could hand it over to Pophouse and still be involved. We are very much a part of it. It's not something we've cut ourselves off from, and Pophouse has been admirably smart enough to keep us involved, so we're involved every step of the way, and constantly meeting and [giving] feedback for what we think is right and what we don't. It's incredibly exciting."

On the future of the KISS Kruise, which will return to Las Vegas for another "Land-Locked" event this fall:

Paul: "KISS Kruise started out as an idea to have a boat for KISS fans to celebrate the tribe, so to speak. The first year we did it, honestly, I went, 'Who's going to come on a KISS cruise?' [As] it turned out, people from 33 countries. We did 12 cruises, and during that time, it became such a popular thing that everybody started doing it. For the last few years, we haven't been able to get a ship, so we've taken over the Virgin Hotel in Vegas. Brand recognition is everything as we know from KISS, so KISS Kruise was not something we wanted to give up, so we called it 'KISS Kruise: Land-Locked In Vegas'."

On the origins and inspirations behind their "Starchild" and "Demon" personas:

Paul: "My thought was to be on stage and be a ringleader, an evangelical preacher preaching rock n' roll, a game show host — somebody who would acknowledge the audience and also make the audience participate in what we do. That's always been my role. The star came about because early on, I realized that so much of the star quality was lost when we started out. You were seeing people who were famous who looked like your neighbor. I was longing for a time where you had the Cary Grants, the Marilyn Monroes — people who looked like stars. I painted one on [one] side of my face, and then I got a little lazy and didn't have time to put it on [the other]. That's basically how that started. My character, it's really an extension of a part of me. I think some other bands who try to emulate or replicate what we've done missed the point, because it was never about dressing up and putting on a costume. It was about finding a part of yourself and putting it out for people to see. It was never hollow. It stayed true to this day. Those figures at this point have become iconic to the point where who's behind it is not as relevant as the image. The heart and soul of it is a human being, but what it represents is those four personas in KISS."

Gene: "Imagine [if] I, at the beginning, wanted that extension of who I am — the persona — to look like Paul: ruby red lips, the star. I wouldn't be convincing, because it wouldn't connect with me. As a kid, I couldn't speak English. When I came to America, I was fascinated by television. When I saw the first imagery on TV, they used to have 'Million Dollar Movie' — 'King Kong' and 'The Cabinet Of Dr. Caligari' and especially 'Phantom Of The Opera', the original silent film. The German silent expressionist films, it's more interesting when there's shadows instead of this brunt California daylight. There's no oomph, no gravitas. I was always drawn to these films that played around with good and evil and shadows and things like that. The extension, the makeup — we all basically created our own personas. All four of us were up in this rat-infested loft, and one day, one of us said, 'Let's go downstairs to Woolworth's and see what's going on. Let's buy makeup.' We didn't have a clue what we were doing. We went downstairs and bought Clown White. Then I bought some Clown Black stick. Paul bought red lipstick. Nobody knew what they were doing. We went upstairs and bought cheap $15 mirrors and leaned them against the wall of this loft we were rehearsing in. Each of us are busy putting on the makeup and designing what became iconic imagery. Scientists call it a singularity. It just happened. No experience, no resume, no nothing. Then we started looking at each other and kind of getting off on it — like, 'Wow, this is kind of cool.' We didn't know what it meant or anything. Pretty closely, the makeup that we put on is the makeup that has lasted."

The KISS avatar show is expected to open in Las Vegas in 2028. Koravos said the company hopes to subsequently take the show on "tour." "The goal in this process is that eventually, we will crack the touring side of avatar shows, and when we launch in Las Vegas, we will eventually be able to take the show on the road and hopefully figure out a way to get into arenas," she explained.

More information on the 2026 edition of "KISS Kruise: Land-Locked In Vegas" is expected to be revealed in the coming weeks.

Launched in 2014, Pophouse closed its debut fund, Pophouse Fund I, in March 2025, raising over $1.3 billion to invest in music catalogs and IP. KISS's deal with Pophouse, reported to be worth over $300 million, saw the company acquire the band's song catalog, name, image and likeness rights — including their iconic face paint designs — and their artist share of master recordings and publishing rights.

Unlike the "ABBA Voyage" show, which recreates a 1970s-era ABBA concert in a custom-built London arena, KISS's avatars that appeared at the band's final concert in New York on December 2, 2023 were not as grounded in reality as ABBA's digital replicas. Instead, according to BBC News, the KISS avatars that were previewed at Madison Square Garden band appeared as fantasy-based superheroes who are eight feet tall, breathing fire and shooting electricity from their fingers, while floating above the audience.

Earlier this month, Koravos told Pollstar magazine writer Katherine Turman: "What the crowd got to see at MSG was an early prototype of the KISS avatar concept. A lot has evolved since then — both in terms of creative concept for the show and avatar technology. We are now deep in development with a top-flight creative team headed by Thierry Coup — the team was on set last week testing out pyro effects against a new generation of LED screens to make sure we max out the KISS signature flame throwing. The show concept is a crazy 4D roller coaster ride through the hits, the comic book worlds and personas of KISS."

KISS will reportedly become the first American band to go fully virtual and stage its own avatar show.

Back in December 2023, Simmons said that "about 200 million" dollars was being invested into the KISS avatar show.

More than four million people have attended the "ABBA Voyage" show since it launched in 2022. The groundbreaking concert residency sees digital CGI versions of the four members of ABBA performing in the purpose-built ABBA Arena in East London.

To date, 1,415 "ABBA Voyage" concerts have taken place, with audiences collectively spending over 141,500 hours at the show, a total of 7,075 costume changes taking place, and ABBA's smash hit song "Dancing Queen" alone playing for 4,800 minutes.

Last year saw the "ABBA Voyage" setlist switched up for the first time, with the introductions of the songs "Take A Chance On Me", "Super Trouper" and "The Name Of The Game".

Photo by Clay Marshall for BLABBERMOUTH.NET