In a new interview with "The Mistress Carrie Podcast", DISTURBED frontman David Draiman spoke about the band's plans to hit the road in support of its latest album, "Divisive". He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We've had to be very choosy, whether we like it or not. It's a weird environment right now. It is very difficult. Between inflation and everybody running out to go tour out of the gate the minute the gates opened, and the fact that we lost 60 percent of our labor force during the pandemic. All the techs, all the roadies, all the engineers that were a part of it, a lot of 'em couldn't wait two and a half years, three years to go back to work, and they went and did other things. And so now there's less people available to work; fuel costs are through the roof; busing costs are through the roof; trucking costs are through the roof. We have colleagues of ours calling off tours after they've already been on sale because they're looking at the financial repercussions and realizing they're gonna come back with a huge loss and realizing they can't do it. So we don't wanna end up throwing something out there once again, like what happened with 'The Sickness' anniversary tour. That was out of our control, but I hate that shit. I don't wanna have to throw dates up and then maybe not be able to complete them. So we're trying to make sure that everything is as sound as possible and as confirmed as possible before we go forward.

"It's weird. There's also… We don't have the desire to… As much as we missed touring and as much as we missed being out there, it's not gonna be the frequency — it simply can't be at the frequency that it used to be anymore," he explained. "We're all older. God knows I am. This shit does not get any easier as you get older.

"So the plan right now is to start up in the spring and be done by the end of summer, to do a big U.S. run, to do some of the European festivals. And then we'll see. I'm sure that we'll get some asks for another festival or two here and there in the States, and whatnot, and I always enjoy doing stuff like that. But we're not going to tour as frantically as we used to in the past. That's for sure. So when we do come around, people need to kind of take advantage of it, just like we are. It's a rarer occurrence than it used to be."

Draiman previously talked about DISTURBED's touring plans earlier in the month in a new interview with Andy Hall of the Des Moines, Iowa radio station Lazer 103.3. At the time, he said: "We're planning on starting up in the spring. We've already announced a few shows here and there. We're trying to finalize all of our plans. But DISTURBED performances will be getting more and more infrequent. We'll start up in the spring. We'll finish in the fall. There will be a full U.S. run. Exactly when we're going where, I don't know yet; it's still a moving target. I know we're planning to do a European festival run as well; a couple of those dates have been announced already. But it's tough to navigate the waters right now. So we're doing the best we can. Hopefully we'll be able to announce more as soon as it's able to be announced."

In a separate chat with HardDrive Radio, Draiman elaborated on some of the challenges DISTURBED has encountered trying to book a pandemic-era tour. He said: "Figuring things out is almost like a fluid thing. Literally just last week I thought we had a solidified schedule and where we were stopping and starting. And we've had to switch gears because things changed again. You roll with the punches. The idea is for us to start in the spring and to do a full-blown summer tour of some kind. [Laughs] And we were planning on going to do some of the European festivals. What actually ends up solidifying and happening, other than what's already been announced, your guess is as good as mine, because there's so much in flux right now. But that at least is the intention. We'll see what happens."

"Divisive" arrived on November 18 via Reprise. The LP was recorded earlier this year with producer Drew Fulk (MOTIONLESS IN WHITE, LIL PEEP, HIGHLY SUSPECT) in Nashville, Tennessee. The follow-up to 2018's "Evolution" includes the three recently released singles "Hey You", "Unstoppable" and "Divisive".

Guitarist Dan 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. Clean guitar soundtracks the story of a long-term relationship in the middle of its last gasp. David and Ann engage in a call-and-response before locking into a skyscraping harmony as the solo reaches for the heavens.

On December 3rd, Judas Priest performed at the Hell & Heaven Metal Fest 2022 in Toluca, Mexico. Fan-filmed video from their show can be viewed below.


The setlist was as follows:


"The Hellion / Electric Eye"
"Riding on the Wind"
"You've Got Another Thing Comin'"
"Jawbreaker"
"Firepower"
"Judas Rising"
"Devil's Child"
"Turbo Lover"
"Genocide"
"Steeler"
"Between The Hammer And The Anvil"
"Halls Of Valhalla"
"The Green Manalishi (With The Two Prong Crown)"
"Screaming For Vengeance"
"Painkiller"




Encore:
"Breaking The Law"
"Living After Midnight"

On Saturday, December 3rd, Alabama Thunderpussy reunited and took to the stage for the first time since 2007. Vocalist Kyle Thomas, guitarists Erik Larson and Ryan Lake, bassist Sam Krivanec, and drummer Bryan Cox ripped the roof off of Richmond Music Hall in the band’s hometown of Richmond, Virginia.


Fan-filmed footage of this special performance has since surfaced online:










The setlist was as follows;


"Dry Spell"
"The Cleansing" 
"Void Of Harmony"
"Victory Through Defeat"
"Crying Out Loud"
"A Dreamer's Fortune"
"Motor-Ready"
"The Beggar"
"Middle Finger Salute"
"Wage Slave"
"Words Of The Dying Man"
"None Shall Return"
"Esteem Fiend"
"Greed"
"Open Fire"
"Rockin' Is Ma' Business" (The Four Horseman cover)





  

New, previously unreleased, re-edited enhanced drum playthrough video of late Megadeth drummer Nick Menza playing along to the band's classic song "Holy Wars... The Punishment Due" can be seen below.


The HD video, shot in a five-camera-angle mix, was filmed in March 2014 at Uberbeatz Studios in Seattle, Washington and is believed to be some of the final studio drum recordings of Menza before he passed away more than two years later. The audio was mixed by Richard Easterling / KRM Studios.







The footage was supposed to be used for the late drummer's first-ever instructional DVD, "Intense Mega Drumming", that was to feature 10 re-recorded classic Megadeth drum tracks with tons of tips and tricks from Menza's arsenal to help teach anybody out there become a better player. The DVD, which was produced and directed by Kari Pearson and edited by Menza's manager, Robert Bolger, has since been shelved.


The unreleased video footage from the session will be a featured highlight in the recently announced official Menza documentary film, This Was My Life - The Story Of Nick Menza. It is described in a press release as, "An unflinching exploration into the life of one of the most successful thrash-metal drummers of all time, authorized by the Menza family. From his childhood all the way through to the end of his life, including a true blow-by-blow account of the repeated failed attempts of the classic Rust In Peace lineup."


This Was My Life will feature rare and never-before-seen photos and video footage from Nick's archived VHS tape collection, personally filmed by Menza himself from 1988 through 1991. Included will be exclusive content showcasing Nick working at the studio, personal home movies, casual time and party time with his fellow bandmembers, as well as other well-known artists of the era that Nick toured with.


This Was My Life - The Story of Nick Menza is being produced / directed and edited by Holly Mollohan from Screaming Butterfly Entertainment and expected to arrive in 2023.


David Ellefson has signed on as a co-producer of the film, and also will provide narration to guide the viewer through the exploration of the late Megadeth drummer's life.





The cover photo for the film was shot by Los Angeles music photographer Alex Solca and designed by Brazilian artwork designer Alcides Burn of Burn Artworks.


Nick rightfully earned his place as one of heavy metal's fiercest drummers during Megadeth's 10-year commercial peak. The highlight of his career, Nick said, was playing Rock In Rio before more than 100,000 people. The lowest point was being fired by Megadeth mainman Dave Mustaine while he was still in a hospital bed after surgery to remove what doctors feared was a cancerous growth.


Late in the evening on May 21, 2016, Nick collapsed after suffering a heart attack during a concert with Chris Poland and Robertino "Pag" Pagliari in their band OHM: at The Baked Potato in Studio City, California and was pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital. The Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner said Menza died of hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.





 

On November 30th, the East Coast company of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra brought The Ghosts Of Christmas Eve 2022 Tour to the SNHU Arena in Manchester, NH. During their set, they performed the Savatage classic "If I Go Away", taken from the Streets album, dedicating it to the memory of TSO co-founder Paul O'Neill and Savatage guitarist Criss Oliva.


Line-up:


Guitars - Chris Caffery & Joel Hoekstra 
Drums- Jeff Plate
Bass - Tony Dickinson 
Violin - Roddy Chong
Keyboards - Derek Wieland & Mee Eun Kim
Narrator - Bryan Hicks
Vocals - Natalya Rose, Georgia Napolitano, Erika Jerry, Gabbie Rae, Kayla Reeves, Zak Stevens, John Brink, Robin Borneman, Caleb Johnson, Russell Allen










After its first year off the road in more than two decades, TSO made a triumphant return to touring in 2021 with a 25th anniversary celebration of Christmas Eve and Other Stories. For 2022, TSO brings a completely updated presentation of the unforgettable, multi-generational holiday tradition, “The Ghosts Of Christmas Eve,” to 60 cities across the nation.  This year’s tour kicked off on Wednesday, November 16 with performances in Green Bay and Council Bluffs, and will conclude after 101 shows on Friday, December 30 (see full itinerary below).


Keeping with the O'Neill's vision (Paul O’Neill, and his wife Desi), TSO remains one of rock’s most charitable bands. Once again, thankfully, TSO will give at least $1 from every ticket sold to charity. To date, approximately $18 million has been donated by the group. Desi O’Neill said, “we want to thank the fans so much for the kindness they showed in coming out last year. It meant the world to our family. Moreover, the credit for any charitable donation is due to you not us. The only way we are able to help all is because of you.”


A product of the imagination of TSO’s late founder Paul O’Neill and his wife Desi, and based on TSO’s multi-platinum CD and TV special, “The Ghosts Of Christmas Eve,” the rock opera features such enduring fan-favorites as "Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24," "O’ Come All Ye Faithful," "Good King Joy," "Christmas Canon," "Music Box Blues," "Promises To Keep," and "This Christmas Day." 2022’s tour will also boast a rousing second set containing more of TSO’s greatest hits and fan-pleasers including “Wizards In Winter,” “A Mad Russian’s Christmas,” and many more.


“It was so special to be back playing live last year. When you love something as much as we do and it's taken away, it made us super thankful to be back. I look forward to seeing all our ‘repeat offenders’ and all our new friends when we hit the road,” said TSO’s music director and lead guitarist Al Pitrelli. “I love all of Paul’s stories, but ‘The Ghosts of Christmas Eve’ is one of my favorites and can’t wait to unveil this incredibly amazing new show for everyone. We know some people may be having tough times, so we worked hard with the local promoters and arenas to have a low priced $29 ticket to do our part in helping out. God Bless all of you and see you in November and December when we celebrate in-person once again.”


For more details on tour dates and ticket sales, visit trans-siberian.com.





Remaining tour dates:


December
4 - Phoenix, AZ - Footprint Center (Matinee & Evening)
4 - Grand Rapids, MI - Van Andel Arena (Matinee & Evening)
7 - Austin, TX - Moody Center (Evening)
7 - Lexington, KY - Rupp Arena (Evening)
8 - Oklahoma City, OK - Paycom Center (Evening)
8 - Knoxville, TN - Thompson-Boling Arena (Evening)
9 - Little Rock, AR - Simmons Bank Arena  (Evening)
9 - Greenville, SC - Bon Secours Wellness Arena (Matinee & Evening)
10 - St Louis, MO - Enterprise Center (Matinee & Evening)
10 - Charlotte, NC - Spectrum Center (Matinee & Evening)
11 - Indianapolis, IN - Gainbridge Fieldhouse (Matinee & Evening)
11 - Atlanta, GA - Gas South Arena (Matinee & Evening)
14 - Nashville, TN - Bridgestone Arena (Evening)
14 - Raleigh, NC - PNC Arena  (Evening)
15 - Birmingham, AL - BJCC (Evening)
15 - Charlottesville, VA - John Paul Jones Arena (Evening)
16 - Jacksonville, FL - VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena (Evening)
16 - Allentown, PA - PPL Center (Matinee & Evening)
17 - Orlando, FL - Amway Center (Matinee & Evening)
17 - Pittsburgh, PA -  PPG Paints Arena  (Matinee & Evening)
18 - Tampa, FL - Amalie Arena (Matinee & Evening)
18 - Philadelphia, PA - Wells Fargo Center (Matinee & Evening)
21 - Chicago, IL - Allstate Arena (Matinee & Evening)
21 - Hershey, PA - Giant Center (Matinee & Evening)
22 - Milwaukee, WI - Fiserv Forum  (Matinee & Evening)
22 - Buffalo, NY - KeyBank Center (Matinee & Evening)
23 - St Paul, MN - Xcel Energy Center  (Matinee & Evening)
23 - Columbus, OH - Nationwide (Matinee & Evening)
26 - Kansas City, MO - T-Mobile Center (Matinee & Evening)
26 - Washington, D.C. - Capital One Arena (Matinee & Evening)
27 - Newark, NJ - Prudential Center (Matinee & Evening)
28 - Dallas, TX - American Airlines Center (Matinee & Evening)
29 - Houston, TX - Toyota Center (Matinee & Evening)
29 - Detroit, MI - Little Caesars Arena  (Matinee & Evening)
30 - Cleveland, OH - Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse (Matinee & Evening)
30 - San Antonio, TX - AT&T Center (Matinee & Evening)


Since its touring debut, TSO has played more than 2,000 Winter Tour shows to approximately 18 million fans, with tour grosses of more than $725 million, and has sold more than 12 million albums and DVDs. Year-after-year TSO hits the upper reaches of the domestic and worldwide tour charts. Recently, Pollstar published its compiled touring charts for the past 40 years. TSO ranked #11 in Tickets Sold and #21 in Top Box Office Grosses. In June, Billboard placed TSO at #9 on its Mid-Year Boxscore Report, based on concerts from November 1, 2021, through April 30, 2022. Previously, TSO placed #31 on Billboard’s “Top Touring Artists of the Decade (2010s).” Additionally, at the close of the aughts, the group was ranked at #20 on Pollstar’s “Top Tour(s) of the Decade” and #25 on Billboard’s “Top Touring Artists of the Decade.”

Powerhouse vocalist, Les Carlsen, is the lead singer/co-founder of Bloodgood, the legendary Christian Heavy Metal band and inductee into the Christian Music Hall of Fame. Over the past three decades, his songs such as, "Crucify", "Messiah", and "Lamb of God" have reached hundreds of thousands of people with the gospel message and remain classics in the Christian rock / metal genre to this day. 


 


He carries on his passion for music and his calling for ministry wuth his new solo album, He’s Coming. It represents what Les has always wanted to do in his music: soulful rhythms, vocal riffs and fills, big chorus harmonies, theatrical drama, shredding, soaring, screaming guitars, and… you can actually dance to this music! 




 





 


Tracklist:


 


"I Wanna Know You" (Re-mastered)


"Scars"


"Judas Is Dead"


"The Jesus Freak Show"


"Faith Is Tested"


"How Long"


"River"


"River (Radio Edit)"


"He's Coming (Remastered)"


"Return Me To the Fire"


 


"He's Coming" lyric video


 





 


Back in July, word came down that Christian hard rock / metal bassist and founder of Bloodgood, Michael Bloodgood, had passed away. The band issued the following statement:
 



 



"Dear, Friends – It’s with a heavy heart we share that we lost our beloved, Michael Bloodgood at 8:15am Central this morning (July 30th). After a gallant fight that began with a severe hemorrhagic stroke in February 2022 he’s gone home to be with our Heavenly Father. We’ll cherish Michael’s generous spirit, off-beat sense of humor, and musical soul. His devotion to the Lord and sharing of the Gospel through his ministry as a pastor and musician touched countless lives. Our hearts go out to his family and friends during this unimaginable time. He is survived by his cherished wife of 46 years, Marilyn, three sons, and two grandchildren."



 



Stryper frontman Michael Sweet paid tribute to Michael Bloodgood with the following message:



 



"My heartfelt condolences, thoughts and prayers go out to the entire Bloodgood Family, friend and fans worldwide. We lost Michael Bloodgood yesterday morning here on earth but we believe undeniably, that we will see him again in heaven.



 



I met Michael back in 1985, in Seattle when Stryper performed with Bloodgood. Michael was so gracious, humble and as always, smiling. The Light shined in and through Michael eyes everytime I saw him and he was the perfect representative of The Lord. His vision and his band Bloodgood helped shape and pave the road ahead for Christian metal musicians around the globe. His legacy and life will never be forgotten.



 



May God bless the Bloodgood family as they navigate through this storm. We love you Michael and will always miss you. Thank you for being such an inspiration.



 



Love & Respect eternally."



 




 
 
 



 



Bloodgood formed in Seattle, Washington in 1984. By 1988, they represented one of the four largest Christian metal bands (excluding the mainstream success of Stryper) alongside Barren Cross, Leviticus, and Whitecross. They released six studio albums: Bloodgood (1986) Detonation (1987) Rock In A Hard Place (1988) Out Of The Darkness (1989) All Stand Together (1991) and Dangerously Close (2013).



 

Fan-filmed video footage of Geoff Tate's December 4 performance at Arcada Theatre in Saint Charles, Illinois can be seen below (courtesy of YouTube channel MusicJunkie422). The show saw Tate playing many of QUEENSRŸCHE's biggest songs, including early classic "Queen Of The Reich", which originally appeared on the band's debut EP.

Tate had previously expressed his reluctance to perform "Queen Of The Reich" at his live concerts, telling Rock Show Critique in a 2012 interview: "It's funny, actually — a lot of people don't know about that song. A lot of people don't care about that song. It's an early song that was written and it shows. It's funny the reaction you get, because it's a lot of blank stares. In fact, it's the same stare you get when you play a new song that nobody's heard before. People just aren't that familiar with it. Given there are a few hardcore fans that might know that song, or like that song, and know what it is, but the majority of the people there don't. So it's not really a song that I enjoy singing, strictly because, lyrically, it's pretty adolescent. It was the first song written thirty-some-odd years ago and obviously I cannot relate to it anymore. I think, for performance, it's always best for the performer to really believe in the material they're singing or playing. If you don't believe in it, it's really difficult to get behind a song, do it well and do it at a level that comes across with any kind of believability. For me, I honestly can't relate to the whole dungeons-and-dragons lyrical content of that song; it's really cartoonish and juvenile to me."

Tate's current tour is celebrating the 30th anniversary of QUEENSRŸCHE's "Empire" and "Rage For Order" albums.

1986's "Rage For Order" introduced a much more polished look and sound for QUEENSRŸCHE. The album featured keyboards as prominently as guitars, and the group adopted an image more closely associated with glam rock or glam metal than with heavy metal (of which glam metal was a subgenre). A video was filmed for the song "Gonna Get Close to You", originally recorded in 1984 by DALBELLO.

Released in 1990, "Empire" included the hit ballad "Silent Lucidity", which reached No. 9 on the Billboard singles chart, helped propel "Empire" to No. 7 on the album chart and earned two Grammy Award nominations.

Prior to the launch of the trek in early 2020, Tate told MisplacedStraws.com that he would take the "Empire 30th Anniversary Tour" to "as many countries as I can and playing the album in its entirety, which I've never done before. So that'll be real fun. In fact, I think there's some songs on that album that I've never, ever played live before, so it'll be a treat — for me, as well, I think, for the audience too," the former QUEENSRŸCHE singer said. "I'm really looking forward to that."

Tate told Eonmusic that one song from "Empire" that was rarely performed live is "Anybody Listening?" "When QUEENSRŸCHE was together, we never really put that song in our set," he said. "We just had a hard time playing it, for some reason; it just never jelled or felt right. And I'd really like to play that song again, and play it right."

In April 2014, Tate and QUEENSRŸCHE announced that a settlement had been reached after a nearly two-year legal battle where the singer sued over the rights to the QUEENSRŸCHE name after being fired in 2012. Original QUEENSRŸCHE members Michael Wilton (guitar),Scott Rockenfield (drums) and Eddie Jackson (bass) responded with a countersuit. The settlement included an agreement that Wilton, Rockenfield and Jackson would continue as QUEENSRŸCHE, while Tate would have the sole right to perform the albums "Operation: Mindcrime" and "Operation: Mindcrime II" in their entirety live.

Tate was replaced in QUEENSRŸCHE by former CRIMSON GLORY singer Todd La Torre.

Geoff previously celebrated the 30th anniversary of "Operation: Mindcrime" on European and U.S. tours.

Geoff Tate's Big Rock Show Geoff Tate still sounds just as awesome as he did he did on all the Queensryche albums to me!! What a great show!

Posted by Mark Drabicki on Monday, December 5, 2022

Geoff Tate is here tonight! 😈 Come out to hear the vocalist of Queensrych rock out with this HEAVY, LOUD and BIG...

Posted by Arcada Theatre on Sunday, December 4, 2022

Hansi Kürsch says that ICED EARTH's Jon Schaffer "deserves the right to explain his side", nearly two years after the BLIND GUARDIAN frontman quit their collaborative side project, DEMONS & WIZARDS.

Kürsch announced his departure from DEMONS & WIZARDS two weeks after Schaffer was arrested for his involvement in the January 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. The now-54-year-old ICED EARTH guitarist has since pleaded guilty to his role in the Capitol riot and is continuing to cooperate with authorities while on pre-sentencing release.

In a new interview with Metal Hammer magazine to promote BLIND GUARDIAN's latest album, "The God Machine", Hansi declined to discuss DEMONS & WIZARDS, saying: "It's an open case. I believe [Jon] deserves the right to express himself, to explain his side, and we wouldn't want to interfere with that."

When Hansi announced his exit from DEMONS & WIZARDS in February 2021, he said in a statement: "I notified Jon and Century Media [DEMONS & WIZARDS' then-record label] on Monday that I was leaving the DEMONS & WIZARDS project with immediate effect. My collaboration with Jon in DEMONS & WIZARDS is over."

DEMONS & WIZARDS released its third studio album, "III", in February 2020 via Century Media Records. The LP marked the band's first collection of new material in 15 years.

In a 2019 interview with The Greene Room Magazine, Hansi stated about how DEMONS & WIZARDS was formed: "It started with a friendship. [Jon and I] met each other for the first time in 1991 when we toured together with ICED EARTH and BLIND GUARDIAN, and an immediate friendship came to happen because we were alike — in many ways, spiritual brothers from the beginning. And that goes for the two of us, but also for the two bands in general. We had a blast, and ever since, we established a very close friendship. We were not even talking about making music together. By whatsoever reason, more or less seven years later, Jon came to visit me, and we had a hangover morning he started playing guitar. I started humming to it, and we thought, 'Well, that might be the creepy melody to work on. Let's go to the BLIND GUARDIAN rehearsal room and try to do something with it.' Then we called it a song within a short amount of time; it was maybe three, four hours. That song was 'My Last Sunrise' which ended up on the very first album. When doing this song, we just recognized that there's not only a friendship, but a strong spiritual, creative chemistry between the two of us. We said, 'We may want to use that later on for whatever reason or purpose.' We thought about it for a while, and then we said, 'Well, let's use that creativity and do an album.' Then we started working on DEMONS & WIZARDS."

Schaffer talked about his collaboration with Kürsch in a 2020 interview with Myglobalmind. He said: "This is an exercise in brotherhood first and foremost. Hansi and I were very dear friends before we realized that we could write songs together. Writing together actually happened by accident. When it happened, the next question was, what are we going to do with it? The first song we wrote was 'My Last Sunrise' and it was the last song on the first DEMONS album. Initially, we talked about BLIND GUARDIAN and ICED EARTH, each doing a version, but at some point, I just said to Hansi, 'Let's just do our own thing and write a bunch more together.' It has always been about having fun and spending time together, but we do hold the pressure to ourselves in delivering something we are happy with. Nine times out of ten, the fans will be right on board. It's all about satisfying yourself as an artist first; then we let the dice roll."

Although Schaffer was initially charged with six crimes, including engaging in an act of physical violence and targeting police with bear spray, he pleaded guilty to only two charges: obstruction of an official proceeding of Congress; and trespassing on restricted grounds of the Capitol while armed with a deadly or dangerous weapon. The first charge is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, while the second carries up to a 10-year prison term.

In his plea agreement, Schaffer acknowledged that on January 6, 2021 he was in Washington to attend the "Stop The Steal" rally at the Ellipse in Washington, D.C. to protest the results of the presidential election, which he believed were fraudulent. Schaffer wore a tactical vest and carried bear spray, a dangerous weapon and chemical irritant used to ward off bears. When the rally finished, Schaffer joined a large crowd that marched from the Ellipse to the Capitol, where a joint session of Congress, presided over by then-Vice President Michael Pence, was in session to certify the electoral college vote results. Shortly after 2:00 p.m., members of the mob forced entry into the Capitol building, disrupting the joint session and causing members of Congress and the Vice President to be evacuated from the House and Senate chambers.

In his plea agreement, Schaffer admitted that after arriving on Capitol grounds, he walked past barriers intended to restrict access to the public and to a set of locked doors on the Capitol's west side. At approximately 2:40 p.m., Schaffer positioned himself at the front of a crowd that broke open a set of doors being guarded by four U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) officers wearing riot gear. Schaffer admitted to being among the first individuals to push past the damaged doors and into the Capitol building, forcing officers to retreat. Schaffer and others advanced toward five or six backpedaling USCP officers while members of the mob swelled inside of the Capitol and overwhelmed the officers. The officers ultimately deployed a chemical irritant to disperse the mob. Schaffer was among the people who were sprayed in the face, after which he exited while holding his own bear spray in his hands.

As part of the plea deal, Schaffer agreed to cooperate with investigators and potentially testify in related criminal cases, according to CNN. In return for Schaffer's assistance, the Justice Department might later urge the judge to show leniency during his sentencing.

Also as part of the agreement, the Justice Department has offered to sponsor Schaffer for the witness protection program.

Jon was the first Capitol riot defendant to reach a plea deal.

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

The DeftonesLive YouTube channel has uploaded video of SOULFLY's Max Cavalera joining DEFTONES on stage last night (Sunday, December 4) in Brisbane, Australia to perform the song "Headup". Check it out below.

DEFTONES singer Chino Moreno and his bandmates were indirectly responsible for the name of Max's post-SEPULTURA project. Fresh off his December 1996 split with SEPULTURA, Max spent the better part of 1997 trying to assemble a new group while guesting on "Headup", which appeared on the Sacramento alt-metallers' "Around The Fur" studio album. Cavalera was struggling to find a name for his new act, going as far as to consult with the leader of the Brazilian Xavantes tribe, who played an integral role in shaping SEPULTURA's "Roots" album. Remembering the made-up word "soulfly" from "Headup", Cavalera found the right name for his post-SEPULTURA band, subsequently revealing it in a surprise announcement on live French television in 1997.

In a 2019 interview with Asgard Video Channel, Cavalera admitted that the SOULFLY moniker was initially not to the liking of his then-label Roadrunner Records.

"It started with the song 'Headup' with the DEFTONES," he said. "I recorded with them and in the song, I said 'soulfly'. When I recorded with the DEFTONES, which was in '97, I didn't have SOULFLY until '98. For a whole year, I was looking for another name. I had a whole list of Brazilian names. I even had a guy from the tribe in Brazil [Xavantes] that we recorded the 'Roots' record, even he gave me a list of names. That's how deep it was to search for a name. It was right in front of me the whole time. I just didn't look hard enough. One day, it finally clicked, like 'Hey man: The DEFTONES song. 'Headup'. 'SOULFLY is great.' It's a made-up word.

"I like made-up words like 'Straighthate', when you put two words together," he continued. "We mentioned, I think we mentioned to the label [Roadrunner] and they didn't like it. I don't know if that was the case or I didn't mention it all and when I was in France and I was on TV and I said it. [Roadrunner] didn't like it. They said at the time, 'We need a cool name like LIMP BIZKIT or KORN.' I was, like, 'I don't have one of those. I have SOULFLY. Fuck it.' They didn't like it. I was, like, 'Fuck it. I don't care if they like it or not. It's my thing, it's my band.' I went on TV in France and I announced it: 'The name of my new band is SOULFLY.' It's a big channel called Canal Plus. They did a lot of stuff and I was playing live, I think with the DEFTONES, actually. I was doing 'Headup'. I just blurted it out: 'SOULFLY is the name of the new band.' I think that was pre-Internet. If it was today, it would be a lot more shocking. It would be all over the news: 'Max announces the name of his new band.' At that time, the Internet wasn't pumping like it is now. It's still cool."

According to Max, the SOULFLY name is based on "a tribal belief." He explained: "Many tribes — I did this research — in South America and Africa and even North America, believe when they make music, they are evoking the spirits of their ancestors through the music and their souls are flying around them when they are playing their instruments. A lot of them even believe — this is where it gets really crazy — the animal sacrificed to make skins for the drums, even the spirits of the animals get out through the drumming. It's really deep. It's a cool name; it's a positive name. I wanted to do something different. Like I said, I tried for a year to find a name and I had all these names that sounded like SEPULTURA, but it would just be a copy. I just went the other way. SOULFLY is as different of a name as it can get from SEPULTURA. I've tried to do things in a little bit of a different way and that's how it turned out."

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On Saturday, December 3, IRON MAIDEN drummer Nicko McBrain performed a set of MAIDEN classics with TITANIUM TART at the 13th-anniversary celebration for Rock N Roll Ribs, the barbecue restaurant owned by McBrain and close friend Mitch Tanne, in Coral Springs, Florida. Also appearing at the event were KINLIN, ANGELS OF WAR, CHILDREN OF THE GRAVE, SCHOOL OF ROCK, JETTER and METALUSCIOUS. There were also appearances by special guests, ex-JUDAS PRIEST singer Tim "Ripper" Owens and legendary drummer Carmine Appice. Photos and video can be found below.

A barbecue joint with a musical bent, Rock N Roll Ribs showcases its love for smokey Southern cooking with food like barbecued pork and chicken and clever takes on MAIDEN songs, like "Final Frontier" dog, "Moonchild Mahi" sandwich and "Aces High" fries.

"It's not just MAIDEN fans that come in," McBrain said about the restaurant in a 2010 interview. "We do get a lot of pilgrimages, people come in and look at all the stuff on the walls, but most people that come in always come out satisfied. And it's not major expensive. A rack of ribs is [$20], and you get a pound and a quarter to a pound and a half of ribs."

Asked if he has always been a BBQ fan, McBrain told Broward Palm Beach New Times back in 2013: "Yeah! You know, I'm a Brit, and we don't have a very long summer, so it's very few and far between people get out and do a barbie in the backyard. Touring around America, I always used to love buying a rack of baby backs and some cole slaw and French Fries, and that was my main BBQ experience, the baby backs. Then a friend of mine taught me how to make the ribs we make in the restaurant, and I started to make some sauce, and it was very successful and people liked it, and that's where Rock N Roll Ribs was born, really. It was a dream we had and it finally came into fruition. I've got to be honest, it's not a business that's making a lot of money for us, but we make a lot of people smile and a lot of people happy. I'm very happy, it's great! I love it when I meet people and they say things like, 'these are the ribs I've ever had,' or, 'Your pulled pork is to die for,' and it warms the cockles of me heart!"

Rock N Roll Ribs
4651 State Rd. 7 (US441)
Coral Springs, FL 33073
954-345-RIBZ (7429)

Joining Nicko in TITANIUM TART are Rob Stokes on bass, Eldad Kira on keyboards, Mike Rivera and Mitch Tanne on guitar, and Paolo Velazquez on vocals.

McBrain was born in Hackney, East London, on June 5, 1952. His first experience of music came via his father's love of traditional jazz. Young Nicko's hero was Joe Morello, the late, great drummer with the legendary THE DAVE BRUBECK QUARTET. Nicko would often take to the kitchen, using forks and knives to beat on anything he could find at home. Fed up with him bashing up the kitchen utensils, his parents finally bought him his first drum kit when he was 12.

By the time he left school at 15, he was already a veteran of several part-time pub groups. Musically, however, his tastes had broadened to include more contemporary sixties sounds from THE SHADOWS, THE ANIMALS, THE BEATLES and THE ROLLING STONES. On the recommendation of another drummer he knew, he began to take on session work, playing on countless different recordings.

In 1975, Nicko joined STREETWALKERS, the band formed by ex-FAMILY members, vocalist Roger Chapman and guitarist Charlie Whitney. From the late seventies until 1982 when he joined IRON MAIDEN, Nicko had spent his time in session work, most memorably with the PAT TRAVERS BAND on their 1976 "Makin' Magic" album, and also appeared in the band MCKITTY in the early 1980's. It was during a MCKITTY gig in Belgium that he first met IRON MAIDEN bassist Steve Harris.

He officially joined IRON MAIDEN in December 1982 for the 1983 "Piece Of Mind" album and tour, replacing Clive Burr, after McBrain's previous band TRUST had supported IRON MAIDEN during the U.K. leg of the "Killers" tour in 1981.

With 14 studio and eight live albums currently under his belt with MAIDEN, Nicko's role as the driving force behind the band's sound has served as a major influence to many of today's top drummers and solidified his place in music history.

McBrain and his wife still live in the same Boca Raton, Florida home they bought in 1989 when Nicko relocated from England.



A very long winded Nicko McBrain.

Posted by Terry Johnson on Saturday, December 3, 2022



Nicko McBrain's Speech

Posted by Randy Rock on Saturday, December 3, 2022



Nicko McBrain's Titanium Tart - The Number Of The Beast - at Rock N Roll Ribs.13th Anniversary Party Celebration, Coconut Creek South Sunshine State, 12/3/22 \m/

Posted by Randy Rock on Saturday, December 3, 2022

Titanium Tart tonight at 6:00! Rock-n-Roll Ribs 13th Annual Anniversary Party! Come have some fun! 🤘🏽💜🤘🏽

Posted by Titanium Tart on Saturday, December 3, 2022

At @rockandrollribs by Iron Maiden’s drummer Nicko McBrain. Met the drummer of @waspnationofficial and the bassist of @...

Posted by Anisha Saikia on Saturday, December 3, 2022

More from Nicko Mcbrain Rock n Roll Ribs bash.

Posted by Ryan Bales on Sunday, December 4, 2022

So last night I got to share a stage with these two legends. Somebody pinch me! So blessed! 🙏🤘🎹❤️
Carmine Appice Nicko Mcbrain

Great capture, Susie Levin Fineberg!

Posted by Eldad Kira on Sunday, December 4, 2022

Carmine Appice and Nicko McBrain tonight at the Rock n Roll Ribs 13th Annual Anniversary Party in Coral Springs.

Posted by Dave Lawrence on Saturday, December 3, 2022

Nicko McBrain the drummer of IRON MAIDEN (for my friends that don't know) always nice to meet this guy.

Posted by Terry Johnson on Saturday, December 3, 2022

Happy 13th Anniversary Rock n Roll Ribs with Nicko Mcbrain of IRON MAIDEN.

Posted by Kyle K Cook on Saturday, December 3, 2022

Quick phone pic from behind Nicko Mcbrain of Iron Maiden while he plays with his band, Titanium Tart. #ironmaiden #ivanromerophotography #RocknRollRibs #nickomcbrain #titaniumtart

Posted by Ivan Romero Photography on Saturday, December 3, 2022

Nicko, Carmine Appicce and Tim Riper singing autographs at Rock N Roll Ribs Annual Party in Boca Raton Florida! ...

Posted by Maiden Mania Iron Maiden Tribute Band on Saturday, December 3, 2022

Nicko Mcbrain of Iron Maiden hosting the 2022 Anniversary Party at Rock n Roll Ribs in Coral Springs, Fl. #rocknrollribs #ironmaiden #nickomcbrain #ivanromerophotography

Posted by Ivan Romero Photography on Saturday, December 3, 2022

Just two days after performing with the newly reformed PANTERA at Mexico's Hell & Heaven Metal Fest, Zakk Wylde took part in a special Jimi Hendrix 80th-birthday concert event at Austin City Limits Live's Moody Theater. The December 4 concert featured BAND OF GYPSYS and JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE member Billy Cox anchoring the rhythm section, along with additional appearances by Kenny Wayne Shepherd, LOS LOBOS' David Hidalgo and Cesar Rosas, Dweezil Zappa, Eric Johnson, Doyle Bramhall II and Chris Layton (from STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN AND DOUBLE TROUBLE),SLIDE BROTHERS and Mato Nanji of INDIGENOUS, among others. Fan-filmed video of Zakk's performance can be seen below.

In a November 2013 interview with Music Radar, Wylde stated about his involvement with the "Experience Hendrix" tour: "I'm totally honored to be part of it, just because of my love for Jimi Hendrix, for one."

He continued: "My guitar teacher, LeRoy Wright, was a huge Hendrix guy, so he turned me on to Jimi. As a kid, I was coming more from BLACK SABBATH and stuff like that — that's what I was into at first. I dug Hendrix, and I totally got that he's the messiah; he's the Jesus Christ of the electric guitar. One of the first tunes LeRoy showed me was 'Hey Joe', and that was C, G, D, A and then E major. Eventually, he taught me the little lick in the beginning, which I couldn't get at first. I was happy right off with playing the chords. [Laughs]

"Through Hendrix, I discovered guys like Robin Trower and Frank Marino. It's interesting, though: I'll hear Stevie Ray Vaughan play the blues, or when I go and listen to Hendrix... It's blues licks, but the way they twist them and bend them and interpret them changes everything. It's like they're making a new recipe from this thing called the blues. If you were cooking chicken, depending on which spices and sauces you used, you'd be like, 'Wow, that tastes like Frank Marino,' or 'That takes like Robin Trower, and that takes like Stevie Ray Vaughan.'

"Jimi didn't start the whole thing — he got it from Buddy Miles and BB King and all the blues guys that he dug — but he put his own spin on it. A pretty serious spin. [Laughs] It's amazing how you can tell these guys apart, though. You can't tell everybody apart, but the guys I mentioned, and especially Hendrix, of course, you can pick them out from everybody else. Hendrix you can pick out from a mile away. His sound, his execution — he was about as unique as it gets."

PANTERA will next co-headline the Monterrey Metal Fest on Tuesday, December 6 at Arena Monterrey in Monterrey, Mexico.



Zakk Wylde at Experience Hendrix last night in Austin, texas. #sdmf 🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻🎸🎸❤️❤️

Posted by Erin Patty on Monday, December 5, 2022

EXPERIENCE HENDRIX LIVE IN AUSTIN,12/4/2022(ZAKK WYLDE,ERIC JOHNSON,KENNY WAYNE SHEPHERD)

Posted by Cleiton Uliana on Sunday, December 4, 2022

TONIGHT!!! CELEBRATING ST.JIMI’s 8Oth B-DAY w/My EXPERIENCE HENDRIX FAMILY & The AUSTIN,TX CHAPTER!!! tBLSt SDMF @experiencehendrix #experiencehendrix

Posted by Zakk Wylde on Sunday, December 4, 2022

Multi-camera fan-filmed video of PANTERA's first live performance in over 20 years, which took place last Friday (December 2) at Mexico's Hell & Heaven Metal Fest, can be seen below. The show featured PANTERA's reformed lineup, consisting of surviving members Rex Brown (bass) and Philip Anselmo (vocals) along with guitarist Zakk Wylde (OZZY OSBOURNE, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY) and drummer Charlie Benante (ANTHRAX).

Featured songs:

Intro 00:00
* A New Level 05:13
* Mouth For War 09:42
* Strength Beyond Strength 14:05
* Becoming (with "Throes Of Rejection" outro) 18:57
* I'm Broken (with "By Demons Be Driven" outro) 23:04
* Use My Third Arm 28:50
(Duplicated Clips — Skip This) 33:48 - 47:59
* 5 Minutes Alone 48:44
* This Love 55:10
* Yesterday Don't Mean Shit 01:06:59
* Fucking Hostile 01:12:10
* Dimebag and Vinnie tribute 01:15:46
* Planet Caravan (BLACK SABBATH cover) 01:17:19
* Walk 01:23:49
* Cowboys From Hell 01:29:14
* Domination / Hollow 01:36:39

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.

PANTERA will play one more show in Mexico this week —Monterrey Metal Fest on Tuesday (December 6) — followed by appearances at three Knotfest festivals in South America. There will also be a one-off show with JUDAS PRIEST in São Paulo, Brazil and a headlining concert in Santiago.

Regarding the criticism floating around social media about relaunching the PANTERA name more than two decades since the group played their last show, and all the chatter about it not being a true reunion without Vinnie and Dime, Benante told Metal Edge: "First off, it's not a reunion. It's a celebration of the music. If you saw the thing that went out, it was like, 'PANTERA featuring…' the four of us. Those two guys are a part of this and who else is there? Vinnie and Dime are not here, so, Philip and Rex, they were that band, too. [They] deserve to be there as much as anybody. I see the negative stuff sometimes, and I'm just like, ‘This is so ridiculous, man.' Just enjoy hearing those songs again."

Benante told SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" about how he planned to approach the PANTERA gig: "I can't go do this as the drummer from ANTHRAX because it would be a different sound completely. So the way I'm gonna do that is if you close your eyes, it's gonna sound like it's Vinnie, basically. And that's how it's gonna be. The sound is gonna sound exactly like him."

Wylde said that he had a similar mindset. "You approach it the same way as you do when I'm playing with Ozzy," he said. "Obviously I've gotta learn [Randy] Rhoads's stuff and I've gotta learn Jake's [E. Lee] stuff, and when I was doing the [BLACK] SABBATH stuff, you learn it and do it as faithful as you can. Charlie's gotta learn all of Vinnie's parts. You approach it as if you're in a cover band. When we do the ZAKK SABBATH stuff," referring to his BLACK SABBATH cover band, "I don't start changing lyrics midway through 'War Pigs'. You learn the songs — so that's what you do."

A year ago, Anselmo said that he was up for reuniting with Brown for a special tour celebrating the music of PANTERA. The 54-year-old singer, who has spent the past few years playing a PANTERA-centric set with his solo band, THE ILLEGALS, discussed the possibility of re-teaming with his former PANTERA bandmate during an interview with Brazil's Inside With Paulo Baron. Asked if he and Rex would be open to playing some shows in celebration of PANTERA's legacy, Anselmo said: "If Rex and I had a show to play, or we were ever gonna be on stage again together, I would welcome it with open arms. I love Rex. And he'd be the same way. We're brothers forever. So playing on stage together, or doing some shows together, is not out of the question. It could happen."

In April 2021, Rex told Eonmusic that he and Philip still get offers for a PANTERA tribute tour. "But if you don't have the other guys in the band, it's not going to sound the same," he said. "If we were ever to do something like that, it would have to be spot-on, or I wouldn't do it. It would be a tribute."

Talk about a possible PANTERA "reunion" intensified when Anselmo regularly joined Wylde's BLACK LABEL SOCIETY to perform PANTERA's song "I'm Broken" during DOWN's 2014 stint on the "Revolver Golden Gods Tour". That buzz only got stronger after Brown joined the jam on May 23, 2014 when the tour swung through Texas.

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.

During an appearance on SiriusXM's "The Howard Stern Show" this past Monday (November 28),METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich reflected on his participation in the Taylor Hawkins tribute shows in September. He said: "The one thing in this band is the four of us don't stray a lot. And I think a big part of the fact that METALLICA, 41 years in, is still as functional as we are is because we just haven't strayed a lot. Of course, Kirk [Hammett, METALLICA guitarist] has gone and done his solo stuff, and James [Hetfield, METALLICA frontman] did something with one of the Waylon Jennings kids a few years ago, and I've done one or two things, and [Robert] Trujillo [METALLICA bassist] goes back to SUICIDAL [TENDENCIES] occasionally and INFECTIOUS GROOVES, but we don't stray a lot.

"Dave Grohl [FOO FIGHTERS leader] called me three or four months ago and asked me if I would partake in the Taylor Hawkins tribute shows at Wembley and at the L.A. Forum, and, obviously, before he was done explaining it, I just said, 'Yes, Dave. I'll be there. Just tell me what you want and I'll show up with bells and whistles on."

Ulrich continued: "Straying outside of the METALLICA world is not the most comfortable thing for me. I think a big part of why we just love staying inside the METALLICA universe is because there's that safety in numbers, and we just support each other and have that thing. But playing with Grohl and the other three FOO FIGHTER guys, and then at Wembley we did, with Brian Johnson, the AC/DC singer, we did an AC/DC set, and it was so much fucking fun to play."

When host Howard Stern noted that there is a special kind of energy when musicians from different background play together, Lars said: "For me, and I use the word 'wheelhouse' a lot, playing those AC/DC songs is right in my wheelhouse. If they had said — I mean, I love RUSH — [but] If they had said, 'Come up and play '2112' with Alex [Lifeson] and Geddy [Lee], I'd go, 'I think there's somebody more qualified to do that than me.' But playing those AC/DC songs with the four FOO FIGHTERS guys and Brian was just a fucking next-level magical experience. And then in L.A., a couple of weeks later, we did a BLACK SABBATH medley with Geezer Butler, O.G. bass player and absolutely one of the geniuses of the early days of hard rock and metal, we did a couple of BLACK SABBATH songs. So it was great fun to go do that.

Pressed about whether he could play a RUSH song with Lee and Lifeson if asked, Ulrich said: "Could I do it? Obviously, playing with Alex and Geddy would be incredible. Some of the guys, Chad Smith played and Dave played a couple of songs [with Geddy and Alex]. It would be an uphill thing. It would take a lot of rehearsal, a lot of prep. '2112' would probably be too much of a bite of the apple for me. But in terms of just feeling comfortable, and kind of doing the thing that exists sort of where I am, that AC/DC stuff is right in my fucking pocket. And I love that so much."

After Stern said that Ulrich could probably play some of the LED ZEPPELIN material with Robert Plant and Jimmy Page if he wanted to, Lars said: "I could do some of that, yeah. I could do the DEEP PURPLE stuff, definitely do the SABBATH stuff. Obviously, I've studied all three of those for close to 50 years now, so that's definitely in the wheelhouse… The first band I ever saw was DEEP PURPLE. When I was nine years old, I went and bought a DEEP PURPLE album the next morning. And BLACK SABBATH came soon after. ZEPPELIN was there also, but primarily DEEP PURPLE and SABBATH. So when I say I've studied it, it's just been there for 45, 50 years for me."

In 2020, Ulrich said that he is no longer bothered by people's criticism of his drumming abilities. Speaking to METALLICA's So What! fan-club magazine, the Danish-born musician said: "I've got to tell you, 20 years later, 30 years later, it just doesn't register anymore. I am so comfortable with who I am, I'm so comfortable with who METALLICA is, I'm so comfortable with our place in all of it. I've got an incredible wife, three great kids, my dad and [his partner] Molly, incredible friends, and lots of cool acquaintances. It's all good. I've got nothing left to prove, so it just doesn't register anymore."

Back in 2016, Ulrich, who has gotten a lot of flak over the years from people who accused him of being a poor drummer, told the "Talk Is Jericho" podcast that he went through a period in the mid-1980s "that probably culminated in the '…[And] Justice [For All]' album where I felt sort of compelled to try to show ability."

According to Lars, part of the reason for him feeling insecure about his abilities was the increased competition from some of his peers.

"Listen, when you've got Dave Lombardo and Charlie Benante breathing down your back, it was, like, 'Okay, I've gotta…' I tried to step it up a little bit and tried to do my own thing and do all this crazy shit," he said. "I was trying really hard to push the drums kind of into the foreground. And then, after like a year or two of that, I was, like, 'Okay. Seriously? Just do your thing. Chill out. Support the riffs. Do what's best for the song.' So since around I guess the late '80s — so I guess it's been, like, 25 years now — the only thing that's really interested me is just doing the best thing for the song."

Asked in a 2008 interview with U.K.'s Rhythm magazine if he was troubled by the fact that he's gotten a lot of flak over the years from people who accused him of being a poor drummer, Lars said: "It used to, back in the day — and I spent a lot of time overcompensating for that on the early records. But then you wake up one day and you're like, whatever. It hasn't bothered me for [many] years. I'm no Joey Jordison, I'm no Mike Portnoy, and I have nothing but love and respect and admiration for all those guys. When I hear some of the young dudes, they blow my mind with what they can do with their feet and stuff — but it's not something that makes me go, 'I need to feel better about myself so I'm gonna learn how to do what they do with my feet.' I'm not a particularly accomplished drummer but I am very, very, very good at understanding the role of the drums next to James Hetfield's rhythm guitar. I guarantee you I'm the best guy in the world for that, and that's enough for me!"

Ulrich stated about his playing ability in a 2012 interview with DRUM! magazine: "I usually feel like I've regressed. [Laughs] I'm like, 'Why can't I do that anymore?'" He continued: "I can't say that I necessarily sit down to practice, like, 'I'm going to play and practice so I can get better.' What happens is that I just sit down and kind of play to just more stay in shape."

Ulrich added: "You know, METALLICA was up to two or three months off [in 2011], and I would sit down, I have an iPod next to my drums so I can play along to all kind of crazy stuff, and try to see if I can land in the same zip code of some of that stuff occasionally. But I can't say that I sit down to necessarily practice to sort of get better. For most of my stuff, it's about listening and about interpreting stuff that I'm listening to. So all the kind of sitting down and, you know, 'Now I'm going to do thirty-second-note paradiddles standing on my head — you know what I mean? I don't do that kind of stuff so much. For me it's more about the regimen of staying in shape, running every day, eating healthy, you know, being on top of that side of it."

In a new interview with Tom Power, host of "Q" on Canada's CBC Radio One, NICKELBACK guitarist Ryan Peake talked about the metal overtones in the band's music, particularly in the initial teaser that was released for the group's latest album, "Get Rollin'", which some fans thought featured a more "metalcore" sound than was the case with NICKELBACK's previous outings. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Speaking as a metal listener…. I grew up listening to metal… I grew up initially with pop, but then, when I started playing guitar, it was metal — ANTHRAX and TESTAMENT… I loved metal growing up… But what I just find interesting — and this is more of an observation — is if you say [about a NICKELBACK song], 'Okay, this sounds a bit metal,' I can just hear all the metalheads just [getting all worked up about it]: 'Are you kidding me? Are you kidding me?' Because I come from that initially, and I understand there's some kind of protective nature in the metal audience. And it's weird, because if you play a rock song — like a really heavy rock song — to an audience that likes the more melodic stuff, they're kind of taken aback, maybe not expecting it, but they'll still — live especially — they'll get it and they'll be accepting, or they'll just go, 'Oh. Maybe not for me.' Metalheads? They'll be just, like, 'They're not metal,' and they'll just drag you through the mud for even suggesting that. It's really interesting. They're really protective of their genre. And if you dip your toe in there without fully being metal, you're just gonna get tore up."

Earlier in the month, Peake spoke to RockSverige about NICKELBACK bassist Mike Kroeger's comment about three years ago that he wanted to make a SLAYER covers album. Asked if that is something all four members of NICKELBACK could agree on doing and whether it's even a possibility for NICKELBACK to make a record like that, Ryan laughed and said: "I don't know if it would be something we all could agree on because we are all have our different likes and dislikes when it comes to music. Mike's is really heavy, and I like SLAYER, so I get that. I think we could probably agree on doing a heavy covers album or something like that."

He continued: "I got kicked out of Ryan Vikedal's [former NICKELBACK drummer] garage for playing [SLAYER's] 'South Of Heaven'. I went down to see him before he was actually in the band and I was just kind of jamming with him. We grew up with that."

Circling back to the idea of NICKELBACK making a SLAYER covers album, Ryan said: "I don't know. This is what I like about this band. I don't think anything's going to be so crazy to hear from us. I think if a metal band went and made a full-on country album, it might be, like, 'What are you doing? You've got nine metal albums, and now this?'

"We've kind of dipped our toes in a lot of different music, I feel, and especially with 'No Fixed Address', where we kind of tried to stretch our legs a bit, that it's maybe believable.

"I love metal stuff, I love pop stuff, I love some country, for sure. Chris Stapleton is unreal. He is singlehandedly saving country music. I grew up with country music, but I haven't been listening to it in years until I heard him do something with an acoustic and another guy with an upright bass and his wife singing harmony. That was it. I had goosebumps like crazy, and I love when music does that. And it doesn't matter where it comes from.

"Maybe [we can] do a TESTAMENT, SLAYER, MESHUGGAH album? I don't know. [Laughs]"

In January 2019, Mike told Australia's Wall Of Sound that metal is "what I listen to without fail," adding that "if we could actually sink in and do a metal album, all four of us would love it. I know that we're all — on differing scales — metalheads at our core. We all know everything about the 'Big Four' — METALLICA, MEGADETH, ANTHRAX and SLAYER. I would do a SLAYER cover album if I could. That's where my heart lies. There are just never enough hours in the day to do everything, but let's just say I wouldn't count it out."

But six months later, Kroeger offered a different take on the possibility of recording a SLAYER covers album, telling the New Hampshire Union Leader that he never said NICKELBACK as a band would partake in such a project.

"As a journalist yourself, you realize the importance of context and how context can be manipulated," Mike said. "I can't remember who I was talking to, but I know this got somewhat distorted, and then it was put on a wire and then everybody got it.

"I said this in an interview with somebody in, I think, Australia, and then it got regurgitated and switched around and then reformatted it into this clickbait form," he continued. "What I said was, 'I would like to make a SLAYER cover record or have a SLAYER cover band or make a metal album.' I didn't say [it involved] NICKELBACK … Like, 'Hey, everybody, be outraged because NICKELBACK wants to make a heavy metal album.'"

According to Mike, he still has a passion for the heavier forms of music and he often entertains the idea of dabbling in the more extreme styles than NICKELBACK is known for.

"I'm a metalhead, love metal music, love SLAYER in particular; they're one of my favorites," he said. "And I would love to play that music, but I couldn't speak for NICKELBACK in saying that we want to do a SLAYER cover band or make a death-metal record.

"I know that the drummer, Daniel [Adair], he's a big fan of metal. I don't know if he wants to be in a metal band. He might. I know Chad [Kroeger, guitar/vocals] and Ryan both like heavy metal, but I don't know if they wanna make a record of it or play in a band that plays SLAYER covers. I sincerely doubt it."

Asked if SLAYER was the first metal band he really got into, Mike said: "I remember particular moments in my life when I heard a kind of music or a band for the first time, and I remember exactly where I was and what I was doing. SLAYER's one of those. I was skateboarding with friends and we had a little boombox with us. And I remember one of the guys put on a cassette tape … [I] put on a cassette tape of the 'Reign In Blood' album. I just sat down and I was' like, 'What on earth is that? What, what is this? I need to know what this is.' And it just got me. That's one in particular that I remember distinctly socking me right between the eyes."

Anders Fridén, frontman of Swedish melodic death metal band IN FLAMES, recently spoke to France's Loud TV about how the state of the world has changed more than two years into the coronavirus pandemic. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It is a scary place we live in. What I was hoping, after the pandemic, the pause that we all had, that we would come out and be nicer and show more respect and love, between people, between nations and stuff like that, but it seems like it's more hostile than ever. And now we have a war here [in Europe] that's going on for a while. I don't understand the way we treat each other. And the language that's happening online, with social media and stuff. We're pointing fingers left and right. There's not a debate even anymore. If I don't agree with you, then I hate you, which is just so weird. I'm, like, what is that? There's no 'agree to disagree' anymore — it's just full of anger, and, like I said, pointed fingers. And 'you're wrong' and 'you're wrong' and a bunch of fucking opinions left and right. And we treat opinions like they're facts, which they are not."

He added: "I mean, we have to have hope — we can't just give up — but we have to start talking to each other on a good level and be nicer and kinder to each other."

Last month, Fridén spoke to Czech Republic's Metalshop TV about the criticism he and his IN FLAMES bandmates have faced for their musical evolution, which has seen them adopting a more alternative metal sound after starting out as melodic death metal act

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

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

IN FLAMES' fourteenth studio album, "Foregone", will arrive on February 10, 2023 via Nuclear Blast.

Canada's The Metal Voice recently spoke to Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame inductee Les Binks, former drummer for Judas Priest.


In the chat, Binks spoke about his current tour plans with Les Binks' Priesthood, getting inducted in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, and the extent of his participation in KK's Priest potential tour. Watch the full chat below.


On whether he was part of the upcoming KK's Priest studio album




Binks: "I chatted to him (K.K. Downing) about this, and I think there was problems regarding getting (KK's) management sorted out and getting tour dates set up, so he just decided to press on with (KK's Priest) album Number Two. Now, the thing is that there's another drummer involved in the band, so I presume he's played on this album as well. The only time that I would be involved would be through a live situation as a guest performer. So as I say, until there's some dates that are like actually confirmed I'll have to wait and see what develops there."


Bibnks was initially due to perform on the debut album, Sermons Of The Sinner, but had to bow out due to an injury. Drum tracks were recorded instead by Sean Elg from Cage and Deathriders


Binks joined the up-and-coming Judas Priest in March 1977 for their world tour and remained with the band for two and a half years, until July 1979, recording the studio albums Stained Class and Killing Machine, and the live album Unleashed In The East. Binks received a writing credit for the song "Beyond The Realms Of Death" from Stained Class. Binks was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame this year as a member of Judas Priest via the Award For Musical Excellence.





On November 11, 2022, former Judas Priest guitarist and recent inductee into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame K.K. Downing was at his club, KK's Steel Mill in Wolverhampton, UK to catch Ugly Kid Joe's headlining set.


Just prior to UKJ taking the stage, K.K. Downing spoke to Danny Stoakes about the current status of the second KK's Priest album (the audio can be heard below). Downing commented: "It's imminent, for sure. Everything's gonna be sticky-taped and glued together, and we'll fire it out very soon. It's more than well on the way; we're in the mixing process. It's great. I can't wait. It's so frustrating. You just want it out now. But it will happen. So I'm looking forward to that."





Playing alongside Downing in KK's Priest is vocalist Tim "Ripper" Owens (Judas Priest, Iced Earth), guitarist A.J. Mills (Hostile), bassist Tony Newton (Voodoo Six), and drummer Sean Elg (Deathriders, Cage).


KK's Priest released their debut album, Sermons Of The Sinner, in October 2021 via Explorer1 Music Group/EX1 Records.





Tracklist:


"Incarnation"
"Hellfire Thunderbolt"
"Sermons Of The Sinner"
"Sacerdote Y Diablo"
"Raise Your Fists"
"Brothers Of The Road"
"Metal Through And Through"
"Wild And Free"
"Hail For The Priest"
"Return Of The Sentinel"


"Return Of The Sentinel" video:





“Raise Your Fists” video:





"Sermons Of The Sinner" video:





"Hellfire Thunderbolt" video:

This past July in Toronto at The Rockpile, Canadian thrashers Korrosive were opening support for legendary speed metal maniacs Exciter. During this epic show night, the band took the opportunity to capture the whole live experience for their fans. There were no corrections, overdubs, or tweaks made to the video. It is Korrosive being pure, raw, and unfiltered.


The band comments:


"We like to thank our guitarist Jack Neila for directing and editing the video. He used five cameras to capture the whole show in glorious 4K, complete with stage diving, windmilling, and a massive wall-of-death. We like to also thank Jake Disman for recording the audio directly from the soundboard, and our producer Ben Erikson (he did both our albums) for the mix. The sound is crisp, clear, and heavy. Enjoy the headbanging!"







Korrosive recently released their latest album, Toxic Apokalypse, via CDN Records (digital and CD) along with vinyl and cassette coming in 2023 (release date to be determined).


 


Toxic Apokalypse follows their first full-length 2021's Kaustic Hordes and the 2019 EP Melting From Within. Featuring eight assaulting bangers, each song on the album is quite different in a way from each other, and yet, still uniquely Korrosive. They push each track with speed and extremity, from “Fatal Strike” that has a ton of blast beats and solos, yet is still unmistakably thrash, to “Radioaktive Scourge”, filled with pure aggression, unlike anything they’ve released before. From its speed, the lyrics, and the sheer intensity, this song may be the shortest track on the record, but makes the largest impact and it’s over before you know it. And also strongly recommended is “Hail The Hellfire”, perhaps the band's anthem to the entire Toxic Apokalypse album. Written as a reflection of the period when the full-length was being composed, this track discusses the brutality of war and the end result of each and every individual involved in its cause, regardless of side.


 


 


The band adds:


 


 


"Diabolical, fast, unforgiving Armageddon. From slow passages, mid-tempo bangers, hyper-fast blast beats, and the occasional odd-time signature, it’s a ride in extreme thrash unlike anything before. Toxic Apokalypse is an album that will hit you hard, fast, and leave you with a 'what the f*ck just happened?' feeling."


 


 





 


 


Lyrically, the music sets the overall tone for how the lyrics are written and substance. Songs deal with topics of science fiction, Armageddon, and “what if” scenarios. The album art was created by the infamous Ed Repka (Dark Angel, Death, Hirax, Megadeth, Suicidal Angels, Venom).


 


 


"Typically, the way we write songs is to have each song done or be in the middle of the writing process, and I would create something out of that. It is rare for us that lyrics get written first before the song is made," adds Zarei.


 


 


One thing that the mosh pit can always expect from Korrosive is the energy they bring to their shows.


 


 


"I always think of a show, regardless of venue, as a performance that is meant to capture the crowd. And as a band, Korrosive always exudes that level of intensity during our shows."


 


 


Recommended for fans of Sodom, Kreator, Death, and Sepultura, Toxic Apokalypse was produced by Ben Erikson with mastering done by Arthur Rizk (Power Trip, Kreator, Cro-Mags, Municipal Waste, Soulfly).


 


 


“Radioaktive Scourge” lyric video:


 


 





 


 


(Photo – Michael Jari Davidson)


 

Accept bassist Martin Motnik recently released his second solo album, Dream Chaser. He has checked in with the following update:


"It's been an amazing year, and it's going out with another bang: my album is finally available on vinyl! Thanks to the generous help by Craig Lindsley of Lindsley Records I've been able to put this bass-heavy music on heavy 180g vinyl records, for best audio quality! High fidelity for low frequencies!


And right now I'm offering to make customized shirts that were previously reserved for my amazing crowdfunding supporters. I will personally customize your shirt with your name so you can tell the world that you're a Dream Chaser too!"




Go to this location to purchase Dream Chaser on vinyl LP and the customized shirts.





Dream Chaser consists of 10 bass-centric songs, with each song featuring a solo by a prolific guest musician. Artists joining Mornik on the record include Joe Satriani, Wolf Hoffmann (Accept), Bruce Kulick (ex-KISS, Grand Funk Railroad), Frank Gambale (Chick Corea), Trev Lukather (Steve Lukather's son) Andy Timmons (ex-Danger Danger), Mattias IA Eklundh (Freak Kitchen), Tim Tucker (United States Marine Band), Jennifer Batten (Michael Jackson, Jeff Beck), and Derek Sherinian (ex-Dream Theater, Sons Of Apollo).


 


 


Like on his first solo album, Bass Invader, with Gregg Bissonette (Ringo Starr All-Star Band, David Lee Roth), Motnik is again relying on world-class drumming, this time by Christopher Williams (Accept, Gene Simmons, Ace Frehley), Walfredo Reyes Jr. (Carlos Santana, Chicago, Steve Winwood), Joe Babiak (Michael Angelo Batio, Attitudes & Altitude) and Bissonette.


 


 


Motnik: "On my new album I thought that every song should feature a guest solo, ideally each one played by a different guest. That artist should also be someone who was influential to my musical development or who meant a lot to me on a musical or personal level. Basically, I wanted to have an album where I’m playing with my heroes."


 


 


Motnik released the album on his own record label, Kintom Music. Stay tuned for updates.


 


 





 


 

Classless Act, one of rock’s most buzzed-about new bands, launches a brand new acoustic music video for the LP track, “All That We Are”. The video, which provides an all-acoustic take on the amped-up, energetic original track, was shot earlier this year, live with no overdubs, at Hollywood’s Sunset Sound, the studio where the band recorded most of its debut album, Welcome to The Show (Better Noise Music).





“All That We Are” is one of the five unplugged song/video collection, due out December 16, that also includes acoustic versions of the album’s stand-out singles, “Classless Act, “This Is For You,” Time To Bleed,” and “Storm Before The Calm.”  You can check out the “All That We Are” unplugged video below.




Said vocalist Derek Day, "'All That We Are’ - is it enough for us to survive? This is a question, a concept we found ourselves asking after all we have been through over the past two and a half years. Hell, the past seven or so years. We’ve been in a wee bit of a less-than-sunny time in our history. So what are we gonna do? Grow or go? Everyone needs to decide. We’ve got a show tonight, so I know what we’re doing!"





2022 has been a true breakthrough year for Classless Act, from having their second-ever road trek be supporting Mötley Crüe and Def Leppard on 2022’s biggest tour, the $173.5M grossing Stadium Tour, receiving over-the-top reviews for their debut album and live shows in North America, breaking into international markets with feature coverage in major music publications in Italy, the UK, Brazil, Australia, Finland, Poland, France, Spain, Romania, Russia, Czech Republic, and more, and having their vocalist, Derek Day, invited to perform two songs with Foo Fighters, Tommy Lee and Nikki Sixx at the L.A. Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concert.


Classless Act - vocalist Day, guitarists Dane Pieper and Griffin Tucker, bassist Franco Gravante, and drummer Chuck McKissock - is currently wrapping up 2022 with a 19-city tour comprised of support dates with Giovanni & The Hired Guns, and headline shows; upcoming dates are below.


December
2 - Destin, FL - Club LA
4 - Jacksonville, FL - Underbelly*
7 - Orlando, FL - House Of Blues
8 - Chattanooga, TN - Barrelhouse Ballroom
9 - Louisville, KY - Mercury Ballroom
10 - Johnson City, TN - Capone’s
11 - Washington, DC - Songbyrd Music House*
13 - Baltimore, MD - Baltimore Soundstage
14 - Asbury Park, NJ - Wonder Bar
16 - Syracuse, NY - Lost Horizon
17 - Harrisburg, PA - Stage On Herr
18 - Richmond, VA - The Broadberry
21 - Kansas City, MO - Lucia*
22 - Colorado Springs, CO - The Black Sheep*
30 - North Hollywood, CA - Knitting Factory*
31 - San Diego, CA - Beaumont’s*


* Headline Shows


(Photo - Travis Shinn)

Japanese power/speed metal sensations Lovebites, with the new formation welcoming new bassist Fami, will release its fourth original album on Wednesday, February 22, 2023 via Victor Records.


The new album, entitled Judgement Day, which seems to hint something, will contain ten new songs, and was mixed and mastered by Finnish masterminds, Mikko Karmila and Mika Jussila, who have worked on all of the band's previous studio albums.


The cover art of the album features the wolf, which has appeared on all previous albums as the incarnation of the band, again on this album.







The limited editions A and B will have a documentary video of the auditions including an interview with the band on the day of the bassist auditions and an interview with Fami, who was still one of the finalists then. They will also include the four full studio sessions of "The Hammer Of Wrath," "Golden Destination," and "Shadowmaker," as well as "Bravehearted," the first song the five members played together after Fami joined the band. The limited edition C is a two-disc set with a CD containing instrumental versions of ten songs. The standard edition will also include one of a total of six illustration stickers, one for each member plus a secret one, at random.


And the first live concert with its new line-up will be held on Saturday, March 11 and Sunday, March 12, 2023, right after the release of the album, at EX Theater Roppongi in Tokyo for two days.

In 2010 the Rikets world collapsed as vocalist Scott Rose's health had suddenly took a turn for the worse, and he eventually "took his ball and went home.”


Initially penned in 2014, the concept of "Misery" was born and then left to sit on a hard drive, unmixed and left in oblivion. Fast forward to 2020, losing family and friends during the pandemic, Scott felt it was time to fire up the writing machine and deliver the goods once again.







Going thru the pandemic as a frontliner, Rose had become increasingly pissed off, and one phone call with good friend Nic Bell inspired Rose to team up and get back in the studio along with Ben Schigel (Spider Studios) yet again. They re-recorded "Misery" to its final state, as well as the base skeletons for 5 more songs slated to be released thru Godsize Records.


With "Misery" being the first piece of metal music Scott had written in 10 years, he felt there was more to say and more creative doors needed to be opened.


"'Misery' is a journey into chaos and love lost coupled with a creepy sci-fi tale of how man and machine are fused together in bastard form," says Rose. "The transhumanism agenda is ruining our society"


The lyric "I am just bile, wires and disgust", is not far off from Rose's everyday reality, as he is constantly hooked into IV machines, and has been brought back to life not once, but multiple times now.


Today, "Misery" finally sees the light of day, as Rikets prepares for more blistering single releases leading up to a fire breathing new E.P., ironically titled Tales From The Construct Alpha.


Rikets embarks on a new chapter of dark synthwave, fused with alt-metal, which is right in line with the bands signature sound. The All American Death Cult once again has re-emerged, with explosive new material set to infect the masses in 2023.

Invictus, the solo project led by Maurizio Iacono, have released a video for "Eagles", featured on the band's debut full-length, Unstoppable, out now via MNRK Heavy.


Comments Iacono of the band’s latest video, “‘Eagles’ is one of the first songs that me and Chris Clancy wrote. It was put together during the baby stages of this band’s life, so it's an important track. The theme around it is about the military doing their duty for our country and our mistakes of not taking good care of these heroes when they get back home. Most of them need help and we just don't do enough to deliver proper care.”







The sound of Invictus resonates deeply with all those who forged themselves in the fire of life’s obstacles. Conceived as an unflinching examination of fury and determination, Invictus explores the depths of struggle, frustration, and perseverance that shaped Iacono into the man he is today.


Well-respected as the singer of Kataklysm and Ex Deo, head of Hard Impact Artist Management, founder of Distortion Music Group, and co-owner of hard-and-heavy booking agency Continental Touring, Iacono delivers dynamic new layers of heaviness and melody with his latest creative vehicle. A Latin epithet for various Roman deities, “Invictus” translates to “unconquered” or “invincible,” a theme put forward throughout Iacono’s latest output. The 11 songs that comprise Unstoppable offer an unflinching view of an unbreakable spirit, examined through the lens of ambitious, unapologetic heavy music. Iacono executed his vision alongside longtime collaborator J-F Dagenais (guitarist for Kataklysm and Ex Deo) and producer/main songwriter Chris Clancy (Mutiny Within). Powerhouse drummer Jeramie Kling (Venom Inc., Inhuman Condition) rounded out the record with a blistering performance. Iacono got to know Clancy, who often works alongside Colin Richardson and Andy Sneap, while making Kataklysm’s fourteenth album, 2020’s Unconquered.


Lyrically, the self-made, free-thinking singer reached further inward for Invictus, summoning a fearless power destined to provoke and inspire those disenfranchised by modern times. Invictus acts as armor against manipulation and disinformation from a stance more personal than political.


“It’s a record about everyday struggle because I’ve always been a fighter,” Iacono reasons. “It’s about the emotional impact of everything happening in our world, which inspired this anger in me and a need to express the importance of standing for what we know is true in our hearts. It’s a hybrid between that and revisiting things from my childhood that built me as a person.”


Unstoppable can be ordered here.





Unstoppable tracklisting:


"You Will Know Who I Am"
"Eagles"
"Bleed Me Out"
"Exiled"
"Get Up"
"Weaponized"
"3656"
"Ghost Of My Father"
"Darkest Of Enemies"
"American Outcast"
"Keeping The Wolves At Bay"


"Bleed Me Out" lyric video:





"Get Up" video:





"Exiled” video:





(Photo - Deidra Kling)

On March 10, the 25th anniversary edition of Blackmore's Night's Shadow Of The Moon will be released via earMusic. This incredible album was lovingly restored, remastered and remixed after the original master tapes were discovered. Find a lyric video for "Shadow Of The Moon" (Ritchie & Candice Anniversary Home Session) below.


Released back in 1997, it was a groundbreaking, radical departure from Ritchie Blackmore's previous work, but ultimately became something of a milestone in his career. Candice Night's beautiful voice and gift for storytelling complement the music perfectly, creating a timeless album.


Blackmore’s Night were founded in 1997 by legendary guitarist Ritchie Blackmore and award-winning lyricist and singer Candice Night to stage and explore their love for traditional Medieval and folk-rock music. Together, they created a band that like very few others is a prime example of truthfulness and creative integrity.




The band’s debut album Shadow Of The Moon (1997) was not only Blackmore’s deliberate radical cut from his previous life as celebrated rockstar in Deep Purple and Rainbow; it was a ground-breaking statement of his artistic ideals: mainly acoustic music, influenced by the songs of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance with a touch of genius that made them sound contemporary. Shadow Of The Moon was a milestone album. It encompasses everything that Blackmore’s Night stand for to this day: beautiful melodies and warm atmospheres that are able to reach the soul as well as joyful songs to dance to and to celebrate.


The 25th Anniversary Edition of Shadow Of The Moon was converted in HD audio from the original recording, and it has been fully remixed, allowing the original performance to shine in its original glory. The original iconic artwork has been refreshed and reworked to celebrate the anniversary. Two previously unreleased acoustic recordings will be part of this reissue: “Spirit Of The Sea” and “Shadow Of The Moon”, both recorded in an intimate home session by Candice and Ritchie in 2022. All physical first print editions will also carry an exclusive “Shadow Of The Moon” documentary on DVD as bonus.


“It’s hard to believe that 25 years have gone by since the snowy nights spent by the fireplace writing these songs. Much has changed since those early days, but the magic of the music still shines as brightly as it did back then. We feel truly blessed to have been able to bring these songs to the world, and do so again, in this remixed reissue proving they truly do stand the test of time. For 25 years we have graced historical venues stages worldwide and now we are able to revisit again, with you, this beautiful version of “Shadow Of The Moon”. We hope you enjoy it as much as we enjoyed revisiting those early days. We find that the songs are still timeless...” - Candice Night & Ritchie Blackmore





CD tracklisting:


"Shadow Of The Moon" (25th Anniversary New Mix)
"The Clock Ticks On" (25th Anniversary New Mix)
"Be Mine Tonight" (25th Anniversary New Mix)
"Play Minstrel Play" (25th Anniversary New Mix)
"Ocean Gypsy" (25th Anniversary New Mix)
"Minstrel Hall" (25th Anniversary New Mix)
"Magical World" (25th Anniversary New Mix)
"Writing On The Wall" (25th Anniversary New Mix)
"Renaissance Faire" (25th Anniversary New Mix)
"Memmingen" (25th Anniversary New Mix)
"No Second Chance" (25th Anniversary New Mix)
"Mond Tanz" (25th Anniversary New Mix)
"Spirit Of The Sea" (25th Anniversary New Mix)
"Greensleeves" (25th Anniversary New Mix)
"Wish You Were Here" (25th Anniversary New Mix)
"Shadow Of The Moon" (Ritchie & Candice Anniversary Home Session)
"Spirit Of The Sea" (Ritchie & Candice Anniversary Home Session)


Bonus-DVD:


- Documentary: The story of “Shadow Of The Moon” (30 min)
- Music Video Clips “Shadow Of The Moon”, “No Second Chance” & “Renaissance Faire” (with optional audio commentary by Candice Night & Ritchie Blackmore)


"Shadow Of The Moon" (Ritchie & Candice Anniversary Home Session) lyric video:





"Shadow Of The Moon" (25th Anniversary New Mix) lyric video:





Trailer:

In a new interview with Conversaciones Necias, former QUEENSRŸCHE vocalist Geoff Tate was asked if he has given any thought to his eventual retirement. He responded: "I think I'll keep traveling and singing songs until I can't do it anymore. I really enjoy it. It's a wonderful lifestyle, and I'm very fortunate and very blessed to still be in good health and able to do it.

"People say to me all the time, 'When are you gonna get a real job?'" he lauched. "This is my job."

Three years ago, Tate appeared to be more open to the idea of someday retiring from recording and performing live. At the time, he told Brickhouse TV: "If and when I can retire at some point, what I'd like to do with my time [is] just spend it in the vineyard. There's a point where you've got to kind of hang up your rock n' roll shoes and only come out on occasion. I've got 19 albums, and I really want to do at least 20, so I think I have one more album in me, maybe two."

But in early 2021, Geoff seemingly had a change of heart, telling Aftershocks TV: "I can't imagine stopping — I really can't. I love traveling and I love performing, so I've got the perfect gig. [Laughs] I can't think of anything else I'd rather do than play music. So I guess as long as I'm still healthy and can still sing [the songs], I'll continue to do it."

Earlier this month, Geoff said that he had still not completely recovered after recently undergoing an unspecified heart procedure.

The 63-year-old musician discussed his health in an interview with Tulsa Music Stream. Asked if he was feeling back to a hundred percent nearly six months after going under the knife, Geoff said: "Yeah, I think I'm — I don't know if I'd say 'a hundred percent', but I think after the New Year I'll be approaching that number. It was a really difficult few months there. [I'd] never been [seriously] ill in my life — I'd never actually been in a hospital ever — so this was something that was quite a bit different to get used to."

This past August, Tate said that "it took about a month" before he "could make a sound" and eventually regain his singing voice.

"I'd never been in a hospital before in my life, or I'd never had anything wrong with me, and this was the first experience for me," he explained to in Ritchie Birnie. "And I was just amazed at how much it took out of me. I've always been a pretty physical, pretty strong person, but, man, when I came out of the hospital, I was weak. I could barely walk."

On July 3, Tate took to his Facebook page to share a photo of him with Dr. Sami Kueri from the department of cardiovascular surgery at the Universitäts-Herzzentrum Freiburg-Bad Krozingen (University Heart Center Freiburg) in Bad Krozingen, Germany, and he included the following message: "All my gratitude to the talented Dr. Sami Kueri for giving me a healthy heart!! Feeling so much better each day!"

In June, Tate said that he would take a few months off the road as he recovered from a medical procedure.

On June 13, Geoff, who fronted QUEENSRŸCHE for 30 years — from the band's inception through 2012 — took to his social media to write: "I am having a medical procedure and my health professionals want me to recover over the Summer. I will be back and rocking South America in January. Looking forward to seeing everyone on the road."

Tate's recent tour celebrated the 30th anniversary of QUEENSRŸCHE's "Empire" and "Rage For Order" albums.

In April 2014, Tate and QUEENSRŸCHE announced that a settlement had been reached after a nearly two-year legal battle where the singer sued over the rights to the QUEENSRŸCHE name after being fired in 2012. Fellow original QUEENSRŸCHE members Michael Wilton (guitar),Scott Rockenfield (drums) and Eddie Jackson (bass) responded with a countersuit. The settlement included an agreement that Wilton, Rockenfield and Jackson would continue as QUEENSRŸCHE, while Tate would have the sole right to perform the albums "Operation: Mindcrime" and "Operation: Mindcrime II" in their entirety live.

Tate was replaced in QUEENSRŸCHE by former CRIMSON GLORY singer Todd La Torre.

Geoff will embark on a tour in 2023 to celebrate the 35th anniversary of "Operation: Mindcrime".

Gibson TV, the iconic, American-made guitar maker's first-ever, award-winning, worldwide online network, has released a trailer for the next episode of "Icons", a longform interview series featuring some of the most iconic artists, producers and music business pioneers in the world. In the next episode of "Icons", PANTERA bassist Rex Brown sits down to discuss his childhood years in Texas, the band's formation and the legacy of the hardest-hitting metal group from the Lone Star State.

"I knew about those boys," Rex says in the trailer, referencing PANTERA's founding members, guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott and drummer Vinnie Paul Abbott. "I lived really close to them. Their middle school was, like, a mile and a half away. The summer of '81, [Dime] went into his bedroom with [OZZY OSBOURNE's] 'Diary Of A Madman' and probably the VAN HALEN collection, and Dime comes out this protégé dude that, I'd never heard anything like it. When he came out of that room, it just inspired me to just… 'Oh, my God. I've gotta keep up with this guy.' That was the choice I had to make. And it was because of those brothers. Absolutely."

Brown and his Texas brethren forged a blueprint with PANTERA that's been studied by nearly every metal act that followed. Dimebag is rightly immortalized as a good-natured, guitar-shredding legend. The rhythmic punch forged by Rex and Vinnie Paul has yet to be outdone. Along with singer Philip H. Anselmo, hailed as one of the greatest frontmen of all time, the self-described Cowboys From Hell PANTERA sparked a movement that reinvigorated heavy metal, inspired countless bands, and is memorialized in tattooed skin around the world, representing the five groundbreaking multi-platinum albums unleashed between 1990 to 2000 with billions of music streams annually.

This past summer, Gibson unveiled the Rex Brown Signature Thunderbird Bass. Rex worked closely with Gibson luthiers for two and a half years to create the Thunderbird bass that can fulfill any level of a player's ability. A striking new Bass model in Ebony, with Gold accents the Rex Brown Signature Thunderbird Bass is available now at select global dealers and on Gibson.com.

"Before meeting up in Nashville for a tour of Gibson USA, I got to meet the whole team at Gibson," said Rex. "Cesar Gueikian [Gibson brand president] and I forged a strong bond that day that I can only describe as 'long-lost brothers'. He invited me to his home that night and we played music into the wee hours.

"Gibson has come so far, in such a short amount of time, and I'm beyond delighted to be in cahoots with this extraordinary bunch of music professionals. This new Thunderbird with Gibson is a life-long dream."

The Gibson Rex Brown Signature Thunderbird Bass features a mahogany neck and body, with a slimmer neck profile, and gold hardware with a Hipshot bridge and tuners, including a Drop D Xtender. A pair of powerful Rexbucker T-bird pickups provide plenty of output and low-end punch. A master tone control is equipped with a push/pull switch that puts the pickups into passive mode when it is pulled out. Rex's signature is reproduced on the truss rod cover, and the backplate is embellished with a Rex Brown self-portrait sketch. A Modern series hardshell case is included. With enough case candy to make you lick your boots, Rex and Gibson have built the ultimate Thunderbird to sling low and watch it go.

Plenty of folks who've accomplished a lot less are fine to rest on past achievements, but Brown is forever charging forward. With music influences from John Paul Jones, Pino Palladino, Jaco Pastorius, Tom Hamilton, Pete Way and Geddy Lee, Rex's boots are firmly planted on the foundation of his storied past, while both eyes maintain a steely and steadfast gaze upon the future horizon.

As previously reported, the reformed PANTERA — featuring Brown and Anselmo along with guitarist Zakk Wylde (OZZY OSBOURNE, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY) and drummer Charlie Benante (ANTHRAX) — will headline a number of major festivals across North America, South America and Europe and stage some of their own headline concerts starting in December 2022.

In a new interview with LA Lloyd, GUNS N' ROSES guitarist Slash was asked how many guitars he normally takes out on the road with him. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I tour consistently with two bands. So with GUNS N' ROSES, we take two rigs out to do international [dates]. So we'll be playing in the States, and then I have a rig that's already in Europe for when we get over there. And then that first rig will go to, say, somewhere like Australia. It's cost effective and it's less time consuming and so on."

He continued: "I've got about 15 guitars in each rig. So that's 30 right there. When I'm out with [SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY AND] THE CONSPIRATORS, I've got about eight guitars in each rig."

This past August, Gibson Brands announced the launch of Gibson Publishing in partnership with Slash. Gibson Publishing's first release, "The Collection: Slash", is a stunning, premium coffee-table book that explores in unprecedented detail the instruments Slash has used on countless hit records and on stages worldwide in front of millions of fans. Due in January 2023, "The Collection: Slash" will be published in hardcover in two editions, Custom and Deluxe via Gibson Publishing and is available for pre-order now via Gibson.com.

Gibson Publishing marks the next major step in the evolution of Gibson Brands' media platform and promoting music experiences to fans worldwide. As with the recently launched music label Gibson Records — which released SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY & THE CONSPIRATORS' acclaimed new album titled "4" this year — the first project for Gibson Publishing is a premium book with Gibson global brand ambassador and rock legend Slash.

"It's been a blast working with Gibson to create a platform for me to talk about my favorite thing, guitars," said Slash. "This book is a great exposé of all the great guitars I've collected over many years."

Slash is featured in a recent episode of Gibson TV's popular interview series of the same name, "The Collection", which takes viewers on a deep dive into the extraordinary, personal guitar collections of music's biggest artists. Slash and Mark Agnesi (Gibson TV host and director of brand experience) sit down to discuss the never-before-told stories behind his holy grail vintage pieces, to prototype Gibson signature models, drool-worthy Gibson Les Pauls, Flying Vs, and more. Watch as Slash and Mark cover a wide range of Slash's staggering collection of around 400 instruments.

Over 300 pages in length, "The Collection: Slash" is a lavishly illustrated, rare and collectible book with numerous photos of the guitarist and his impressive guitar collection, shot by the Gibson team and legendary rock photographer Ross Halfin, whose relationship with Slash extends back to an early GUNS N' ROSES portrait session from 1986. Accompanying the imagery are insights drawn from the new, exclusive interviews with Slash himself. Written and edited by Gibson editor-in-chief Chris Vinnicombe, "The Collection: Slash" is a must-have for both Slash fans and those who admire fine and rare guitars.

"Launching Gibson Publishing in partnership with Slash for our debut book 'The Collection: Slash' marks an important milestone for all of us at Gibson Brands," said Cesar Gueikian, brand president of Gibson Brands. "We continue to leverage our iconic past and lean into the future creating more opportunities for music fans around the world to experience original storytelling. With Gibson TV, Gibson Records and now Gibson Publishing, we are organically growing our own media platform that continues to create compelling original content. I am proud of what our media team led by Beth Heidt, Mark Agnesi, Todd Harapiak, Lee Bartram, and Chris Vinnicombe have accomplished together with the extended team. And I am grateful to Slash and his team's partnership for our debut publication."

"The Collection: Slash" Custom edition measures 297 x 420 mm (11.69 x 16.54") and comes in a deluxe clamshell box with premium case candy. The Custom edition includes an Axe Heaven Appetite Les Paul miniature, an exclusive Slash bandana, a guitar pick tin with Dunlop guitar picks, a cover poster, four guitar art prints, and a certificate of authenticity. The Custom Edition is hand-signed by Slash and is limited to 500 copies worldwide.

"The Collection: Slash" Deluxe edition is presented in a Les Paul slipcase and measures 240 x 340 mm (9.45 x 13.39"). It includes a cover poster, four guitar art prints, and a certificate of authenticity. The initial print run of the Deluxe edition is hand-signed by Slash and is limited to 1,000 copies worldwide.