DEMONESSA announce their long-awaited debut album, entitled “Wild ‘N’ Loud”, coming out May 1st.

“Wild ‘N’ Loud” is a love letter to all the greatest hits from the ‘80s heavy metal scene with big, arena-shaking choruses, thundering drum beats and hard rocking guitar riffs that will inspire the next generation of rock ’n’ roll stars. The sound of the album is overall very reminiscent of that old school tone, but with a modern twist to it, so it doesn’t sound like it actually came out 40 years ago.

The band stated on the album:
“A few standout tracks for the members themselves have to be the opener “Till Death Do Us Part”, because it brings together everything we’ve learned to love about heavy metal music, “High Voltage Renegade”, the follow-up song with its fast-paced, hard-rocking energy that perfectly kicks off the rest of the album, “I Stand Alone” which will surely top the charts in 20 years, like any good old power ballad did back in the days and “We Rule the Night” simply for how much fun it is to play live.”

“The album was a long time coming, as we wanted to make sure everything was on point and everyone was fully behind the final result that would be the band’s first real introduction to the listeners. The music for the album was written by the guitarist John Creweholm, but every band member had a chance to add their own twists and turns for each song as they saw fit, while the vast majority of lyrics and vocal melodies were the singer, Senja’s, territory. The songs were recorded mainly in the band’s rehearsal room and mixed and mastered by the great Aleksis Pelli at Mix Studio 1101. One of our biggest challenges was getting the drums to sound just right, but with his magic touch they sound like cannons from hell with every beat, as they do live.”

A couple of ‘must-listen’ songs that define the album:

“Till Death Do Us Part” – The opening track, the bread and butter of the album, the song meant to hook listeners immediately. The song’s message can be interpreted as either a love story gone horribly wrong the toxic way or an addiction that will take you to your grave.
“I Stand Alone” – The token ballad of the album. A story about losing the people you love as time goes on and everyone starts going their own way, but you still have to stay strong, true to yourself and move on.
“A Knife to a Gunfight” – An explosive ending for the album that takes the listener on the ride of a lifetime with the amazing vocals, cool riffs, and crazy solos. It’s about falling in love with someone, when you’re not ready yet, and it feels unfair.

More on Demonessa:
Demonessa is a heavy metal band from Tampere, Finland, carving its path with pure power and attitude. Formed in 2019, the band combines the explosive force of 80’s heavy metal with the spectacle of glam metal creating an experience that must be witnessed live.

At this year's Hell's Heroes festival in Houston, Texas, vocalist Cam Pipes of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada-based metallers 3 INCHES OF BLOOD was asked by Loud & Clear With Belgian Jasper if there are any plans for the reunited band to write and record new music. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "There is a plan to write some songs. We are working on new stuff. When it will actually be unleashed on people's ears is another thing. But we're not gonna rush it. But there's lots of ideas in our camp with songwriting. So, the plan is spend most of this year kind of working those songs out and getting them good. 'Cause show-wise, we're not gonna be super busy this year — Hell's Heroes is one of our only shows we're doing this year — 2027 we're planning on being a lot busier. And then that's when we're gonna start trickling out some new music."

3 INCHES OF BLOOD effectively called it quits in 2015 after a five-album run. Nearly a decade later, the band played a hometown show in January 2024 as the first part of its "full-circle return." Additional reunion shows were later announced to celebrate the 20th anniversary of 3 INCHES OF BLOOD's second album, "Advance And Vanquish".

Asked by Loud & Clear With Belgian Jasper if there were any doubts about 3 INCHES OF BLOOD's decision to come back more than two years ago and how much that has changed now that he has seen the response of the people, Cam said: "I don't think we've doubted the motivation that we had necessarily. But we just kind of took our time discussing it, making sure we all sort of were on the same page with how we wanted to do it. And I think enough time had gone by that eventually someone proposed the question, 'Yeah, let's get the band back together,' that old cliché or whatever. But I think we were pretty confident that it would be well received. And we've been delighted by the response, even though… The reaction's been even better than we could have anticipated, so, obviously, we're elated about that. And we're just having fun with it, keeping our shared sort of plan with how we wanted to keep the band going at this rate and do what we wanna do but also give the people what they want, I guess."

At last year's Aftershock festival in Sacramento California, 3 INCHES OF BLOOD guitarist Shane Clark told Rock News Weekly about the possibility of new material from him and his bandmates: "We're gonna keep playing some fly-in gigs, but for the rest of the year we're just gonna write songs and kind of approach it the same way we approached getting back together. And that's just write some songs, see if it works. We're not gonna release stuff that we don't think is up to snuff. So we're just gonna sort of take our time with it, not rush it. — not be, like, 'Oh my God. We've gotta keep this momentum going.'"

Asked if 3 INCHES OF BLOOD is still signed to Roadrunner, Shane said: "No… After 'Fire Up The Blades' — so this is, I wanna say, 2008 — they wanted to re-negotiate our contract into a deal we were not into at all. Basically, long story short, we asked them, like, 'If we don't take this new contract, what's the deal?' They're, like, 'Well, we're gonna have to drop you.' And we were, like, 'Fucking right. Let's say no. Then we'll get dropped.' And then we had a really successful year being label-less. We toured Europe with EXODUS that year and had a really good, lucrative year. And then we got signed to Century Media. Century Media was really good, and we're technically still on Century Media. So whatever we decide to do, they have the option to release it for us."

As for how 3 INCHES OF BLOOD is planning on making new music available, Shane said: "We don't know if we're gonna do an album or a couple of singles. The landscape's different… It's super up in the air. I'm 50 years old, so I remember when you're budgeted for one CD every two weeks on a paycheck, and it's, like, you listen to the whole damn thing, even if you don't really like it. I don't know a whole lot of young people, but I'm not convinced that people listen to the back end of a record anymore — unless you're a diehard. If it's OBITUARY or — name your favorite band here — of course I'm gonna listen to the whole damn thing. But when you're garnering new fans, the musical landscape, how people consume music, it's singles. It's kind of back to the '50s. I think it's THE BEATLES that started releasing [full-length] records."

3 INCHES OF BLOOD announced its split in June 2015, sixteen years after the band's formation, writing in a social media statement: "Naturally, people will have questions as to why we have collectively made this decision. While our reasons are personal, just know we are all still good friends, but it is just time to move on."

Prior to January 2024, 3 INCHES OF BLOOD's last performance took place on November 7, 2015 at the Commodore Ballroom.

Formed in 1999, 3 INCHES OF BLOOD released five studio albums — 2002's "Battlecry Under A Wintersun", 2004's "Advance And Vanquish", 2007's "Fire Up The Blades", 2009's "Here Waits Thy Doom" and 2012's "Long Live Heavy Metal". They also issued three EPs — 2001's "Sect Of The White Worm", 2007's "Trial Of Champions" and 2011's "Anthems For The Victorious".

Craft Recordings celebrates the 25th anniversary of DROWNING POOL's platinum-selling debut, "Sinner", with a limited-edition vinyl reissue and expanded digital release. The 2001 album — the band's only record to feature their original frontman, Dave Williams — includes such favorites as "Tear Away", "Sinner" and DROWNING POOL's signature hit "Bodies". Arriving June 5 and available for pre-order today, this special anniversary edition of "Sinner" is pressed on sea ink swirl vinyl, while fans can also find exclusive pressings via Revolver (clear smoke vinyl) and through the band's official web site (purple smoke vinyl). The expanded digital release will be available on streaming sites, featuring "Bodies (Chris Vrenna's XXX Tweaker Mix)", "The Man Without Fear (feat. Rob Zombie)" and "Break You (Demo)", the former of which is available to stream now.

Best-selling nu-metal band DROWNING POOL was formed in Dallas in 1996 by guitarist C.J. Pierce, drummer Mike Luce and bassist Stevie Benton — originally as an instrumental trio. Three years later, with the addition of singer Dave Williams, the band solidified their signature blend of hard-hitting guitar riffs, searing drums, and moody lyricism. As a four-piece, the band found immediate success, and, after touring alongside the likes of SEVENDUST, KITTIE and (HED)P.E., they signed to Wind-up Records.

There, they entered the studio with producer Jay Baumgardner (SLIPKNOT, PAPA ROACH, GODSMACK) to work on their debut album. Focusing their songwriting around relationships and religion, the band found inspiration from the album's lively opener and title track, "Sinner". In an interview with MTV at the time, Williams shared: "It was just a natural progression that became the whole theme of the record. There are a lot of religious issues on the record and a lot of relationship issues. It just seemed like it would fit….We wanted to start with 'Sinner' and end with 'Sermon'. We covered all the bases...."

Other highlights include the emotive "Tear Away", in which the band writes about the importance of leaving behind the noise of others and focusing inward. "All Over Me", meanwhile, explores themes of regret and struggling with guilt. On the other end of the spectrum, DROWNING POOL channel the cathartic intensity of the mosh pit in the anthemic "Bodies". Built around the pummeling, chant-ready refrain "Let the bodies hit the floor," the song transforms raw aggression into collective release and would go on to become one of the most recognizable and widely used tracks of the nu-metal era, a fixture in sports arenas, film, and gaming. As Williams explained to Fuse TV, it's about "forgetting everything that has happened to you that week" (while staying true to an unspoken code): "If you push them down, you have to pick them back up. I'm not going to get behind the violence thing, it is violent, but there is a certain amount of respect."

Upon its release in June 2001, "Sinner" made an instant impact, debuting at No. 14 on the Billboard 200 and earning the band a platinum certification less than three months later. Driving the album's success was the platinum-certified lead single "Bodies", which landed in the Top 10 of Billboard's Mainstream Rock chart and peaked at No.12 on the Alternative Airplay chart. The song was also a Top 40 hit in the U.K. and a No.3 hit on their Rock & Metal chart. Over the years, the song has appeared in a variety of films, TV shows and viral online moments, while it has been used regularly in professional wrestling, appearing across WWE, ECW and AEW programming. "Tear Away" (which hit the Top 40 of Billboard's Alternative Airplay and Mainstream Rock charts) and "Sinner" were also embraced by the wrestling community and used as theme songs by the WWE.

The album, and its songs, have also long been embraced by the press. AllMusic praised "Sinner" as "a welcome breath of fresh air in the midst of all the so-called 'hardcore' that is on the airwaves today. A strong starting piece, 'Sinner' shows DROWNING POOL's great potential." The U.K.'s Q magazine hailed the album as "The point where old and nu-metal meet. The impeccable riffs and uncompromising rhythms are perfectly balanced by Dave Williams's fashionably angst-full lyrics." Rolling Stone declared, "DROWNING POOL keep the energy high throughout 'Sinner'…. ['Bodies'] is DROWNING POOL's finest moment on the disc and may well provide another rallying cry for alienated new-metal fans this summer." In 2017, Spin ranked "Bodies" No. 12 on their 30 Best Nu-Metal Songs round-up, while "Sinner" was included on Metal Descent's 25 Best Alternative Metal Albums ranking.

Tragically, "Sinner" would mark Dave Williams's final album with DROWNING POOL, following his sudden death in August 2002 from heart disease. The following years would find DROWNING POOL continuing with several different vocalists, including Ryan McCombs (of SOIL) and Jasen Moreno. To date, the band has released a total of seven studio albums, including "Desensitized" (2004),"Drowning Pool" (2010) and, most recently in 2022, "Strike A Nerve". DROWNING POOL is currently working on its eighth studio album (including the recent single, "The Wrong One"),while fans across the world can catch them on tour throughout the spring and summer.

"We appreciate all of our amazing fans that have stuck with us over the past 25 years!" the band enthusiastically shares. "We will be playing the 'Sinner' record in its entirety and other fan-favorite songs as well. Looking forward to seeing everyone and performing all these songs live again! Come celebrate 'Sinner' with us. See you at the shows!"

"Sinner" track listing (vinyl):

Side A:

01. Sinner
02. Bodies
03. Tear Away
04. All Over Me
05. Reminded
06. Pity

Side B:

01. Mute
02. I Am
03. Follow
04. Told You So
05. Sermon

"Sinner" track listing (expanded digital):

01. Sinner
02. Bodies
03. Tear Away
04. All Over Me
05. Reminded
06. Pity
07. Mute
08. I Am
09. Follow
10. Told You So
11. Sermon
12. Break You (Demo)*
13. The Man Without Fear (feat. Rob Zombie)*
14. Bodies (Chris Vrenna's XXX Tweaker Mix)*

* Bonus track

Finnish metallers AMORPHIS have shared the official video for "The Lantern", a centerpiece of their critically acclaimed fifteenth studio album "Borderland", out since September 2025 via Reigning Phoenix Music. Check it out below.

"Borderland" marks a milestone in AMORPHIS's 35‑year evolution, blending melodic depth and dynamic storytelling with a refreshed creative spark borne from their first collaboration with producer Jacob Hansen.

Drawing its imagery from mythic currents and nocturnal wanderers, "The Lantern" captures the haunting journey along Tuonela's black river.

AMORPHIS guitarist Esa Holopainen comments: "The song has a strong atmosphere and cinematic storytelling. It plays with classic elements, and you might even catch influences from Vangelis. Tomi Joutsen did an incredible job throughout the whole album, and on 'The Lantern' you can really hear how the vocals beautifully carry the song's dramatic arc. The working title was 'Jore', which doesn't really say anything about the track itself. But those who know, know."

He adds: "The atmosphere on 'The Lantern' is dramatic and evocative. From sonic depth to live energy, you can hear the emotional arcs and see them on stage in every frame." The live footage underscores that cinematic pulse — transforming raw performance into a visual odyssey.

"Borderland" has drawn attention from press worldwide for its melodic sensibilities and textural richness, with critics noting a potent blend of AMORPHIS's trademark atmospherics and a renewed clarity in songwriting.

AMORPHIS will take this momentum across Europe with festival appearances in Finland (Tuska, Rokki Raikaa, John Smith, Kuopiorock),Romania (Rockstadt Extreme Fest),Czech Republic (Brutal Assault, France (Sylak Open Air),Germany (Party.San Metal Open Air, Summer Breeze Open Air, Reload Festival),Belgium (Alcatraz Metal Festival) and Netherlands (Dynamo Metalfest). The band will also hit Japan later in the year with multiple club dates, followed by Australia and a full Latin America leg covering Mexico, Honduras, Costa Rica, Colombia, Chile, Argentina and Brazil.

The follow-up to 2022's "Halo", "Borderland" was recorded in late 2024 and early 2025 at Hansen Studios in Ribe, Denmark with producer Jacob Hansen. The cover artwork was designed by Dutch artist Marald Van Haasteren (METALLICA, BLACK SABBATH, KVELERTAK, ALCEST).

Since forming in Helsinki in 1990, the Finnish sextet — guitarists Esa Holopainen and Tomi Koivusaari, vocalist Tomi Joutsen, keyboardist Santeri Kallio, bassist Olli-Pekka Laine, and drummer Jan Rechberger — has fearlessly explored musical frontiers — from raw death metal roots to melodic, progressive and folk-tinged heavy rock, and far beyond. At every turn, AMORPHIS has expanded musical and lyrical boundaries without compromising their artistic identity.

AMORPHIS's fifteenth studio album marks both a continuation and a reinvention of the band's legacy. With acclaimed Danish producer Jacob Hansen (VOLBEAT, ARCH ENEMY, AMARANTHE) at the helm for the first time and a revitalized creative spark within the group, "Borderland" sees AMORPHIS fully embracing their melodic sensibilities while venturing into fresh, uncharted sonic landscapes.

"When the writing period began, there was no grand master plan," said Holopainen. "We ended up with 24 demo tracks, and Jacob helped us select the ones that felt the most vital. The end result is dynamic and diverse."

Kallio elaborated: "I feel there was a shared, almost subconscious desire to focus on rich atmosphere and strong melodies. Compared to the previous record 'Halo', the new album feels more organic and straightforward — and definitely catchier."

"It's more accessible than 'Halo' and has a modern and fresh feel — yet completely true to who we are," stated Rechberger. "The atmosphere in the studio was relaxed. The songs were pretty much finished when we arrived at Jacob's seaside recording facility, so we could focus on the interesting details and recording itself."

Koivusaari added: "Jacob had a vision for the big picture, but he gave us the space to bring our own strengths — and that freedom is reflected in the final result."

Joutsen's performance is nothing short of revelatory on "Borderland" — a career-defining vocal tour de force that ranks among his finest moments since joining the band 20 years ago.

"This was the most demanding AMORPHIS album I've ever recorded — at least in terms of work hours," he admitted. "Looking at the record now, one of my personal favorites is the title track 'Borderland'. Musically, it's classic AMORPHIS — delay-drenched guitars, melodic keyboards, and the interplay between clean and growled vocals."

With deep respect for the past and eyes firmly on the future, AMORPHIS continues to shape the landscape of heavy metal with grace, finesse and integrity.

"After three and half decades, we still follow our instincts," Koivusaari concluded. "And honestly, 'Borderland' might be the most AMORPHIS-sounding album we've ever made. After such a long and successful career, that feels pretty damn great!"

AMORPHIS is:

Tomi Joutsen - vocals
Esa Holopainen - guitars
Tomi Koivusaari - guitars
Olli-Pekka "Oppu" Laine - bass
Santeri Kallio - keys
Jan Rechberger - drums & percussion

Groove metal veterans DEVILDRIVER will release their eleventh full-length album, "Strike And Kill", on July 10 via Napalm Records. With the all-star lineup of frontman and mastermind Dez Fafara, virtuoso guitar duo of Alex Lee and Gabe Mangold, eruptive drummer Davier Ortega Perez, and the return of founding bass legend Jon Miller, "Strike And Kill" sees DEVILDRIVER return to its carnivorous origin, reigniting the incendiary sound that founded their legacy, a must listen for all fans of the genre.

Fafara comments on "Strike And Kill": "My headspace hasn't changed. I have not become complacent or soft in my view of the world or in my music. Metal is our outlet as listeners and writers, so on this record we focused on 'getting it all out' lyrically, and backing those lyrics with savage, relentless music that fuels the heavy California groove like no other. DEVILDRIVER has never sounded like any other band, we do our own thing in our own way, and I'm the most proud of that.

"I'm so proud of these musicians, this music, and the vibe around this record," he adds. "DEVILDRIVER sounds like no one else out there right now, we are here to strike and kill!"

Alongside today's announcement, they unleash the fierce album opener upon the masses. Debuting yesterday on SiriusXM's Liquid Metal, "Dig Your Own Grave" is a vitriolic onslaught of machine gun riffs and uncompromising aggression, lyrically lambasting fools responsible for their own undesirable fates. Full of piss and vinegar, this is DEVILDRIVER at maximum ferocity, giving listeners just a taste of the unspeakable carnage waiting within "Strike And Kill".

About the track, Fafara states: "'Dig Your Own Grave' is about how one wrong decision, one wrong move can see your whole world turned upside down, effectively 'digging' your own grave… it's that simple. It can also refer to how your decisions can fuck someone else. This is why there's the line 'Six feet ain't deep enough for you,' because only a deep, deep hole is fitting for what you've done or tried to do to others. Be careful when you choose to make decisions at midnight."

Following DEVILDRIVER's career-defining double album "Dealing With Demons Vol. 1 & 2" — with "Vol. 1" sitting at #1 at metal radio for a triumphant 15 weeks, and "Vol. 2" celebrated by internationally revered media like Metal Injection, Kerrang! and Blabbermouth, who lauded "you can't stop the unstoppable" — the band sets out on a rabid hunt with "Strike And Kill", holding the blade to your throat, and serving up that trademark DEVILDRIVER blend of melodeath elegance, blackened atmosphere, tectonic grooves, and Fafara's iconic visceral delivery.

Wasting no time, the album bursts open with the incendiary "Dig Your Own Grave", a flurry of assault rifle kicks and crunchy riffs encircle the listener casting them into the waiting abyss before transitioning into "Dead In The Water", showcasing the vibrant melodeath tapestries of master guitar duo Alex Lee and Gabe Mangold. "Sanctified In Scars" implements industrial pulsating beats and ethereal sonic textures, sanctifying Fafara's venomous voice with blackened tremolo excellence. The album’s title track, "Strike And Kill", is a reconciliation of hardships and lessons learned, built upon the backs of blisteringly technical riffage and dizzyingly swift drumming by Davier Perez. Tracks like "In The Moonlight" and "Never Coming Home" wrap listeners in serenely blissful guitarmonies, elevating the brutality with elegance and emotion. "Ride Or Die" unleashes pure metal inertia, pulling listeners in with unrelenting force. Exemplifying their technical edge with tracks like "Headed For The Fall" and "You're Just A Ghost", the band embraces mind-bendingly off-kilter patterns that spin listeners' heads. "Summoning Shadows" offers the albums longest respite from carnage, with textured acoustic guitars building tension before the band comes crashing back in with triumphant power. "Shut The Silence On" and "Oath Of Iron" get super thrashy with their ballsy riffage and blast beats, before "All Bets are Off" brings things to a cataclysmic conclusion.

"Strike And Kill" track listing:

01. Dig Your Own Grave
02. Dead In The Water
03. Sanctified In Scars
04. Strike And Kill
05. In The Moonlight
06. Ride Or Die
07. Headed For The Fall
08. Shut The Silence On
09. Never Coming Home
10. Summoning Shadows
11. You're Just A Ghost
12. Oath Of Iron
13. All Bets Are Off

Additionally, DEVILDRIVER will be touring across the western United States with UPON A BURNING BODY and OV SULFUR. Kicking off August 14 in San Diego, California, the "Strike And Kill" North American tour 2026 will hit a slew of major cities, including Dallas, Chicago, Salt Lake City, and Reno, before its thunderous conclusion on September 5 in Anaheim, California. Artist presale is live now, using the artist presale code: DYOG777.

DEVILDRIVER on tour:

Aug. 14 - San Diego, CA - Observatory North Park
Aug. 15 - Las Vegas, NV - Brooklyn Bowl
Aug. 16 - Phoenix, AZ - Marquee
Aug. 18 - San Antonio, TX - Aztec Theater
Aug. 19 - Austin, TX - Come and Take It Live
Aug. 20 - Houston, TX - House of Blues
Aug. 22 - Dallas, TX - House of Blues
Aug. 23 - Oklahoma City, OK - Diamond Ballroom
Aug. 25 - Chicago, IL - Bottom Lounge
Aug. 26 - Milwaukee, WI - The Rave
Aug. 29 - Colorado Springs, CO - Sunshine Studios
Aug. 30 - Salt Lake City, UT - The Depot
Sep. 01 - Boise, ID - Treefort Music Hall
Sep. 02 - Reno, NV - Club Underground
Sep. 03 - Sacramento, CA - Goldfield
Sep. 04 - San Jose, CA - The Ritz
Sep. 05 - Anaheim, CA - House of Blues

DEVILDRIVER is:

Dez Fafara - Vocals
Davier Ortega Perez - Drums
Jon Miller - Bass
Alex Lee - Guitar
Gabe Mangold - Guitar

Photo credit: Stephanie Cabral

ELECTRIC CALLBOY will release a new album, "Tanzneid", on August 7 via Century Media Records. At the same time, the band has joined forces with global gaming hit game "Brawl Stars" for ELECTRIC CALLBOY's explosive new single and video "Hypercharged", which also introduces the new character Damian to the "Brawl Stars" universe.

Alongside the announcement, ELECTRIC CALLBOY kicks off the "Tanzneid" pre-order with a range of exclusive collector's editions. The release will culminate in a major celebration at Escalation Fest 2026, where the band will perform the new album for the very first time, turning the festival into a one-of-a-kind live premiere, including an Electric Bassboy DJ Set with new remixes, a Loveboat, multiple guests besides Evil Jared and Krogi, an actual Tekkno Train and the performance at the Wuhlheide in Berlin.

ELECTRIC CALLBOY comments: "We've always been massive gaming fans, so teaming up with 'Brawl Stars' felt like a perfect match from the start. The track came together naturally, and we loved seeing it take shape as Damian's theme. Damian fits our sound like he was built for it. Heavy, explosive, and impossible to ignore. It's pressure, groove, and madness all at once. We love it!"

ELECTRIC CALLBOY adds about the upcoming album: "After our album 'Tekkno' and all the worldwide touring, 'Tanzneid' took everything out of us. It was intense, exhausting, but also exactly what we needed after all the incredible moments we shared during that era. With 'Tanzneid', we wanted to create something special, for our fans and for ourselves. Every track surges with energy. We took what we loved about 'Tekkno' and pushed it further, adding new elements, new sounds, and new extremes. Heavy beats, explosive drops, and moments that hit you right in the chest. The last singles 'Ratatata' and 'Hypercharged' were just the beginning. Now it's raw, loud, and alive, in every pulse, every scream, every melody. We wanted to match our music with your adrenaline, to create a record that pulls you onto the floor, makes your heart race, and doesn't let go. 'Tanzneid' is built for the stage. So turn it up, lose yourself, and dance like no one's watching."

ELECTRIC CALLBOY is in the middle of a global "Tanzneid" world tour, which continues in North America this April. With various festival appearances across Europe as well as tour schedules in Japan and Australia, the "Tanzneid" celebration will be everywhere, reaching its peak at their own Escalation Fest, together with PALEFACE SWISS, ALESTORM, HEAVYSAURUS, THE HARDKISS and more to be announced.

ELECTRIC CALLBOY — formerly known as ESKIMO CALLBOY — is nearly impossible to categorize, and that's exactly the point. Since forming in Germany in 2010, they've grown into a global force, driven by genre-defying hits like "Hypa Hypa", "We Got The Moves" and "Ratatata" (with BABYMETAL). Their 2022 album "Tekkno" amassed hundreds of millions of streams worldwide, cementing their place at the forefront of modern heavy music.

With "Tanzneid", the band push their sound even further, sharpening their signature mix of pop hooks, techno energy, and heavy breakdowns. Written in between relentless touring, across backstage areas, buses, and brief studio sessions, the album carries a raw sense of urgency, capturing the band at their most instinct-driven and immediate.

Built on contrast, ELECTRIC CALLBOY's strength lies in blending extremes into something that feels seamless. On "Tanzneid", that balance reaches a new level of precision, pairing high-impact energy with a more refined approach to songwriting and dynamics.

"Tanzneid" finds ELECTRIC CALLBOY at their most focused and fearless, driven by momentum, creative freedom, and a clear refusal to stand still.

Photo credit: Dajo Eberlei

During an April 14 appearance on SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", '80s hard rock queen Lita Ford spoke about the status of her long-awaited new studio album. Ford's upcoming follow-up to 2012's "Living Like A Runaway" was once again helmed by guitarist/producer Gary Hoey, who contributes some guitar playing to the disc. Asked for an update on her new music, Lita said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It's coming. It's coming soon. I'm hoping the fall. It's done. I did a really killer duet with [German metal singer] Doro Pesch. It's great. She nailed it, and the song is fantastic. So I'm excited for everybody to hear that. And then I did another track with [singer/songwriter/producer] Jean Beauvoir [CROWN OF THORNS, PLASMATICS]. We wrote a great song together. [He's] super talented, and the song is magic. And, of course, Gary Hoey produced it, and there's lots of guitar playing on it and stuff. [Legendary 1980s producer] Max Norman mixed it. So, it's badass."

After "Trunk Nation" host Eddie Trunk noted that "it's been a long time" since Ford's last release, Lita concurred. "It's been a while, but the music industry has changed so much, and I just wanted to put together a great team of people to promote this record," she explained. "I didn't wanna just give it to somebody and hope for the best. I wanted it to be a great team that's gonna support this record. And we got a great team now."

Referencing the way the music industry has changed in the past four decades, Ford added: "It's just different in this day and age. Everything is different. But I'm just grateful that we're still here, we're still rocking, we still have our great fans. And they're ready for some new rock and roll. So we're gonna give it to 'em."

This past January, Lita told Get On The Bus about her upcoming LP: "The whole album is a theme. And there are great songs on it, and it's, like, well, you could listen to this song or you could listen to this song, just like any album. Like your old favorite VAN HALEN records … you can put that record on and listen to the whole thing 'cause it's just badass. And I like those kind of records. I grew up on Alice Cooper's 'Welcome To My Nightmare', DEEP PURPLE 'In Rock'. I mean, these are full albums. And this is what I wanted to do and release, and this is what I'm hoping for coming up in 2026, is a full record. And if we have to do a couple of videos or we have to release a couple of singles, then I'm hoping that the real hardcore rock fans will stumble across the whole record."

Last August, Lita told the "Surviving Rocklahoma" podcast about her upcoming album: "I've had some trouble trying to get it out or it would've been released already — problems with record label stuff, but I think we might have gotten that under control now. And so we should have the record out hopefully by the beginning of 2026. I hope sooner, 'cause it's pretty much ready to go. But it's a dark fairytale record in kind of like [the animated film] 'Shrek', where Shrek meets [Princess] Fiona, but finds out that she's really an ogre. And it's, like, 'Ah', but it's cute, but it's dark. And at the same time, I think a lot of people will be able to relate to that. It's a concept record. It has a theme all the way through the record. It never lets up. There's lots of characters on the record, and it has some pretty amazing guitar riffs and guitar playing."

Asked about her collaboration with Hoey and producer Max Norman, best known for working with rock and metal artists such as Ozzy Osbourne and MEGADETH, Lita said: "Gary Hoey, first of all, has been with me for many years, and he has saved my life time and time again on different occasions. And so I always end up going, 'Hey, Gary, are you around next week? Can I come over and can we record?' He's got the greatest studio and a great guitar collection. And then I'll bring a few guitars, and we just have this really magical creative thing that happens between us. It's almost like I'll start a sentence and he finishes it, or vice versa — he'll start a sentence and I'll finish it. We make a good team in the studio. And so he produced this record. It took a long time to write it and record it, for multiple reasons. He's always on the road, I'm always on the road, and trying to get our time schedules together. One of our songwriting partners died in the process. And COVID shut everything down; COVID shut everything down for a year. 'Well, can we get in to do those drum tracks now?' 'No. It's COVID.' So it was a problem at the time, but we got around it, and all is good. Max Norman mixed the record. And Max's family — we all come from the same place in the rock music industry, and he did a fantastic job. I have Jean Beauvoir on one track, that wrote an amazing track, and he is such a great producer and just really brought that track to life. And now we have Adam Parsons Entertainment who's managing us, and we're gonna find this record a good home. We have a couple of possibilities now, so it's coming soon."

In June 2025, Lita confirmed to Dawn Osborne of TotalRock that her new album would include a collaboration with Pesch. "It's waiting to come out," Ford said. "And I'm dying. It's so good. It's not a ballad, and it's not a fast song. It's just a really powerful, mid-range song. And it will reduce you to tears."

As for how the song with Doro came about, Lita said: "When I ran into Doro, she was receiving an award in Los Angeles, and she says to me, 'Lita, we have to do a song together.' And I said, 'I've got it. I've got the title. I know what the title is.' Because sometimes you just grab titles, and you don't even know why. It's just something that sounds amazing. And so I wrote it down in my little book of titles. And soon after that, Doro had came along and she said, 'Let's write something.' And I got the title. So, I went ahead and wrote the song. And Doro did not write the song, but she sure sang the hell out of it. She came out and nailed it. So it was a great honor to work with Doro again."

In July 2024, Ford told Joe Rock of Long Island's rock station 102.3 WBAB about her upcoming LP: "The studio, for me, has always been trying to teach everybody what I wanna hear. And a lot of that is because they basically don't know themselves as a producer or an engineer. I've had some of the greatest engineers and I've had some of the greatest producers, and this album — we're finished with it now — [was produced by] Gary Hoey. Gary Hoey is a great musician, great guitar player. And Gary and I — I can throw any idea at Gary, and he would try and make it happen. And the thing about being in the studio is you try and make things happen, and if they don't happen, then they don't happen. You can only try. And so we got real creative with guitars and we played — there's a lot of great guitars on this new record. I'm really excited about it."

Lita went on to say that the creation of her new album was completely in her control. "There were no songwriters that I had to work with because somebody else wanted me to work with them," she explained. "This is strictly Lita and what Lita wanted to do. And it's a concept record. There's a big story behind it. And so it's gonna open a lot of doors for a lot of things. And a lot of people are gonna be able to relate to this record. And it has some great musicians. Bobby Rock played drums on it. Jean Beauvoir wrote one of the songs with me. And it's just a great record. And Gary Hoey, of course, produced it. Max Norman, who mixed it — Max Norman did a lot of stuff for Ozzy and MEGADETH, and he's just a metal guy. So it's all in the right hands. I've got all the badass people behind me. Got a new manager, and it's all good."

In May 2022, bassist Marten Andersson (STEELHEART, LIZZY BORDEN, LYNCH MOB) officially joined Lita's touring band. Andersson replaced Marty O'Brien who became the touring bassist for DAUGHTRY.

In a 2023 interview with "THAT Rocks!", the YouTube series hosted by Eddie Trunk, Jim Florentine and Don Jamieson, Lita stated about her next LP: "The problem is we've had so many things happen over the last few years. Our manager died; George Marshall died [in] '22. And then my songwriting partner died. And it's just been devastation. But we take all that pain and everything and we just put it right back into the album. And then we recorded the drum tracks in Minneapolis during Black Lives Matter and COVID. Everything was locked down and the place was boarded up and the guys had shotguns and Rottweilers. And then we went in and did drum tracks. And it was awesome. Just memories of just pure badassery."

Regarding what her plans are for live shows in support of her upcoming LP, Lita said: "Well, what I would like to do is put together a theatrical show, sort of like a rock guitar opera kind of thing. It's been done before and different bands have done it before, but I think in this case, it might be a little different and just to bring the whole show not to life just for audio, but for visual reasons also."

In January 2021, Lita told SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" that her new album contains "some of the best guitar playing" she has heard "in decades." She added: "And I'm not blowing smoke up my own ass, but Gary and I just nailed it with the guitar playing on this record.

"I'm a huge fan of people like Dick Wagner and Steve Hunter from Alice Cooper's 'Welcome To My Nightmare'. I mean, there's some really great duo guitar players — [JUDAS PRIEST's] Glenn Tipton, K.K. Downing… Those guitar players don't exist anymore — they just don't exist. If you wanna hear them, you have to go back in time a little bit and dig them up into your favorite library, favorite music catalog. But I think Gary and I really nailed it on this next record. It's, like, oh my God. I'm crying — I'm just, like, crying listening to this stuff. It's so badass."

Ford's last release was 2016's "Time Capsule", a collection of songs that were recorded by Lita in the past, but never before made available.

Ten years ago, Lita released an autobiography, "Living Like A Runaway: A Memoir", via Dey Street Books (formerly It Books),an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

American hard rockers TESLA will release their new album, "Homage", on July 17, 2026, via Frontiers Music Srl.

Marking a full-circle moment in their storied career, the LP finds TESLA returning to its roots with a collection of covers honoring some of rock’s most timeless hits.

To offer fans a taste of what to expect on "Homage", TESLA has shared its cover of CLIMAX BLUES BAND's iconic track "I Love You" (2026 version). The new single arrives alongside an official video, available to view below.

TESLA comments: "'I Love You', like all the tracks on 'Homage', not only pays tribute to legends but gives us a chance to showcase our lead singer’s diversity as well as the musical dynamics we learned as a band many years ago."

It is remarkable to reflect on the more than 40 years since TESLA began as a cover band performing in California nightclubs before going on to write and record original material and sell millions of albums.

Much like their musical heroes — THE BEATLES and THE ROLLING STONES — artists who honed their craft by performing songs from those who came before them, TESLA followed a similar path in their early years and continues to embrace the tradition of paying tribute through cover songs today.

"Homage" not only honors legendary artists but also provides an opportunity to showcase TESLA lead singer Jeff Keith's vocal diversity. The album stands as a thank-you expressed through music, an offering to the iconic voices and songs that shaped the band’s influences and, ultimately, their own songwriting.

"Homage" is not about imitation, but acknowledgment, tracing the line from influence to identity, from listening to becoming. The project also arrives more than 20 years after the "Real To Reel" series, a release that helped inspire the creation of a new original TESLA song, "Never Alone".

The selected songs on "Homage" were chosen for a variety of reasons, primarily representing some of the greatest vocalists of all time, including Elvis Presley, Freddie Mercury, Sam Cooke, David Ruffin, Etta James and James Brown. Additional selections reflect songs the band grew up hearing on the radio and on their turntables.

On the upcoming album, TESLA shares: "Our new album 'Homage' is a thank-you note written in sound. An offering to the great singers and songs that shaped the music we grew up listening to, and the songs we would eventually write. We hope you all enjoy this as much as we did making it. Thank you for all the years — keep it real and keep on rockin'!"

"Homage" track listing:

01. Never Alone (original song)
02. Bring It On Home (Sam Cooke cover)
03. Spread Your Wings (QUEEN cover)
04. I Wish It Would Rain (THE TEMPTATIONS cover)
05. Night Moves (Bob Seger cover)
06. If I Can Dream (Elvis Presley cover)
07. Come And Get It (BADFINGER cover)
08. I Got You (James Brown cover)
09. Give A Little Bit (SUPERTRAMP cover)
10. I Love You (2026 Version) (CLIMAX BLUES BAND cover)
11. The Ballad Of Curtis Loew (LYNYRD SKYNYRD cover)
12. Have You Ever Seen The Rain (CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL cover)
13. I'd Rather Go Blind (Etta James cover)
14. Mind Your Own Business (Hank Williams Sr. cover)

TESLA will hit the road this summer on "The Return Of The Carnival Of Sins" tour with MÖTLEY CRÜE and EXTREME. The trek begins on July 17 in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania, and winds its way through the United States before concluding on September 26 in Ridgefield, Washington.

Last October, TESLA completed a five-song Las Vegas residency at the House Of Blues Las Vegas inside Mandalay Bay Resort And Casino. During this exclusive run of shows, TESLA touched all sides of its unique discography, including the heavier edge of electric songs like "Modern Day Cowboy", "Hang Tough" and "Edison's Medicine", as well as the band's acoustic-driven songs such as "Signs" and "Love Song" (two Top 10 Billboard-charting hits).

TESLA previously held a residency at the House Of Blues in April 2024.

TESLA's latest six-song EP, "All About Love", was released in November 2024. The EP included four versions of "All About Love" (acoustic, electric, hybrid, live); a live version of "Walk Away", a concert favorite from "Reel To Real, Vol. 1"; and another new song, "From The Heart", an instrumental track by Hannon.

Some fans criticized TESLA for adopting a 1980s-style polished production for its latest album, 2019's "Shock". The follow-up to June 2014's "Simplicity" was helmed by DEF LEPPARD guitarist Phil Collen, whose own group is no stranger to slicked-up, glossy-sounding recordings.

In September 2023, TESLA released the official music video for its cover of AEROSMITH's "S.O.S. (Too Bad)". The song was a bonus track on TESLA's live album, "Full Throttle Live!", which arrived in May 2023. The LP included the band's "Time To Rock!" single, plus other songs, all recorded in August 2022 at Full Throttle Saloon in Sturgis, South Dakota.

In September 2021, original TESLA drummer Troy Luccketta announced that he would "take a little time from the road" to spend with family and friends. He has since been replaced at TESLA's gigs and in the recording studio by Steve Brown, the younger brother of former DOKKEN drummer Mick Brown.

TESLA's debut album, 1986's "Mechanical Resonance", went platinum on the strength of the hits "Modern Day Cowboy" and "Little Suzi". The 1989 follow-up album, "The Great Radio Controversy", produced five hits, including "Heaven's Trail (No Way Out)" and "Love Song", which hit the pop Top Ten.

Press photo credit: Brandon Gullion

T3RMINAL, the new band featuring TESLA bassist and founding member Brian Wheat, original TESLA guitarist Tommy Skeoch, former W.A.S.P. guitarist Chris Holmes and original SALIVA singer Josey Scott, is currently in the studio working on its debut full-length album, expected to be released in late 2026 or early 2027. Playing drums for T3RMINAL in the studio is Sal Giancarelli, who entered the world of touring in October of 1999 as the drum tech for STAIND before becoming the drummer for STAIND in 2011.

Asked in a new interview with The Adventures Of Pipeman when fans can expect to hear the first music from T3RMINAL, Brian said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET):  "Well, right now we're in the writing process. Josey's just now getting ready to go out and play some dates… I've got some work with TESLA. Obviously I got this TESLA/MÖTLEY CRÜE tour this summer. Chris is taking care of some personal issues in Paris. But we're getting together again in a couple weeks — me, Tommy and Josey. So it's kind of an ongoing process. I would say realistically by the end of the year we should have a single out. I mean, people are calling me — someone called me yesterday, 'Hey, when can T3RMINAL come and play?' And I said, 'Soon.' But right now we've got things we are doing."

Wheat continued: "The beauty of this thing is that all of us have other things that we do, but we connect in the T3RMINAL. And T3RMINAL is me, Josey, Tommy and Chris. We get together and that's where the magic happens."

Regarding the T3RMINAL sound and how it differs from that of the various bands the members have previously been involved with, Josey said: "You'd be surprised how well we have jelled together in the studio. I think the natural TESLA sound that Brian and Tommy have lends itself perfectly to what Chris does with his sexy '80s, go-go dancer-type guitar riffs. And then I just come in and lay down — like Brian says, this is what I do. This is all I know how to do, is come in and sing my heart. Write about whatever's going on around us. I've written some songs about the different characters that I'm in a band with in T3RMINAL, and I've written some things about life and about heartbreak. God knows we've all been through enough heartbreak for 10 albums and 10 lifetimes."

Scott continued: "At the end of the day, you can want to be in a band all you want to and it not jell or not come together. And this has surprisingly just really jelled and come together perfectly in this pot of stew that we're making that's T3RMINAL.

"I think people are gonna be really surprised," Josey added. "I don't wanna give it away. There's more I'd like to say on it, but I would want you to hear it first."

Brian chimed in: "Let me elaborate a little bit on that… I'll tell you what it doesn't sound like. It doesn't sound like TESLA. It doesn't sound like W.A.S.P. And Josey, like any band — like the voice of TESLA is Jeff Keith. The voice of SALIVA is Josey Scott. The voice of W.A.S.P. was Blackie [Lawless]. It doesn't sound like TESLA or W.A.S.P. And it doesn't sound like SALIVA outside of it's Josey singing. I will say it's got a modern rock sound to it. We don't wanna give too much away, like Josey says, but if you're expecting to hear, like, 'Oh, that reminds me of TESLA,' it doesn't have that sound… 'Cause there's already a TESLA. And there's already a W.A.S.P. There's already Josey Scott's SALIVA. But what this is, is all those guys coming together with everything they know and everything they grew up and everything they were inspired by and putting it together. And that's why it's called T3RMINAL. Because what happens in a terminal? At an airport terminal, you got people coming and going from all different places, all over the world, and they all meet at the terminal to go somewhere else on a journey."

After host Pipeman noted that TESLA, SALIVA and W.A.S.P. are all drastically different-sounding bands, Brian concurred. "And even in TESLA, me and Tommy were both from different places," he explained. "Tommy had the real heavy stuff, and I would write the more pop song[-oriented material], like 'Call It What You Want' or 'Paradise' or something like that, where he would write 'Heaven's Trail' or something. So that was a combination. So you take that element of Tom, who, he's into newer heavy music, and I listen to Miley Cyrus. I listen to pop music. So we just take all these influences. And no one's got any egos — there's no bullshit like that to deal with — and we all contribute and we try to make the best song, because Josey will tell you, it's about the songs. But you'll hear this guitar army of Tommy Skeoch and Chris Holmes. That's there, man. And they work so well together. And you wanna hear Josey Scott? You're gonna hear Josey Scott as you wanna hear Josey Scott. And I do what I do, man. I'm that guy that plays that bass thing… I only know four notes, but I play the fuck out of these four notes."

A video of T3RMINAL in the studio can be seen below.

T3RMINAL is:

Josey Scott (ex-SALIVA) - Vocals
Brian Wheat (TESLA) - Bass
Tommy Skeoch (BAD MARRIAGE, ex-TESLA) - Guitar
Chris Holmes (ex-W.A.S.P.) - Guitar
Sal Giancarelli (STAIND) - Drums (studio)

Regarding how T3RMINAL came together, Holmes told Jimmy Kay of Canada's The Metal Voice in a recent interview: "In 2022 I played on the Monsters [Of Rock] cruise, and before we played, I ran into the Brian, and I talked to him. And we were on the boat, and we became pretty close friends. You can tell if you're gonna like somebody in about 10 minutes, 20 minutes of meeting somebody. When you're around 'em, you usually can tell if they're compatible with your personality. So he's got a house in Italy by where I live in France. I live in the south of France and right by Monaco, by Nice, and he has a place down by Florence. And he said, 'Hey, come down here.' And then when I went and visited him, he was, like, 'I've been wanting to put a band together.' He has a few other projects going. He's got one called VIOLET BREED. He's got that, but he talking to me about putting a project together. I go, 'Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.' And I gave him a few ideas of songs and whatever, and we're taking the steps and putting this project together. We've got the people together; it's just we've gotta finish the songs."

Brian added: "So what happened was this: we were on the [Monsters Of Rock] boat in 2022, but I had seen Chris's documentary, the 'Mean Man' documentary, and a friend of mine said, 'You gotta watch this, this dude in W.A.S.P.,' which was Chris. I said, 'Yeah, I met that cat a long time ago.' So I watched it and I really connected to him and his story. So when he was on the boat, when we were on the boat, I said, 'I wanna meet the guy.' So I went up to him and I introduced myself to him. I said, 'Hey, man, I'm Brian from TESLA. Nice to meet you. I saw your documentary.' And we just kind of hit it off. He said, 'Hey, let's have coffee or lunch' or whatever. We were eating at the buffet, and we were talking, and I said to Chris, 'Chris, all those years you were in W.A.S.P. Why didn't you join some other band after you were out of W.A.S.P.?' And he said, 'Well, no one wanted to play you in a band with me.' So I said, 'Well, fuck, I'll play in a band with you, man.' And that's kind of what happened. And then what happened from there was we just started hanging out. And they live in France, and I have a house in Italy, and they came and visited me. And we were talking on the phone and stuff. And on paper, I went, 'Oh, this would be cool.' So I knew me and Chris could get along. So that's that. So me and Chris said [to each other], 'Well, I'll be in a band with you.' And we're just talking. Me and Tommy, before that, had reconnected after all our years in TESLA and all the shit we went through and all the shit that people who interview us say and all kinds of shit, 'cause they like to pit us against each other, and we reconnected. So I thought to myself, I said, 'Man, Chris Holmes…'"

Wheat continued: "Now, when I first heard of Chris Holmes and W.A.S.P., it was from Tom. I was into Paul McCartney and WINGS. I am a pop guy, if you wanna say pop or melodic, whatever. I'm that guy. I'm THE BEATLES guy. So I said to myself, 'Fuck, Tommy and Chris would be great together. That would be a great combination.' So I said to Chris, 'Chris, what do you think about Tommy Skeoch, the original guitar player in TESLA? He would be perfect as a second guitar player, and we'll all work together.' And he said, 'Yeah, that's cool. Would he be into it?' I said, 'Well, I don't know. I'll call him and I'll ask him.' So then I called Tommy and said, 'Hey, would you be into fucking playing with me and Chris Holmes [in the band] we [are] putting together?' He said, 'Oh, I'd love that.' So I said, 'Yeah, Chris, he'd be into that.' So that's kind of how this came together. And then it's, like, 'Well, we've gotta have a singer.' And we talked about a few different singers and stuff. And Josey was the guy that came to my mind. [He is] easy to get along with, [and from] a different generation. 'Cause Chris was before me and Tommy. His generation was pre-TESLA. TESLA and the generation after TESLA was SALIVA. So you've got Josey. So I asked, same thing, [I] called Josey. 'What do you think?' 'Yeah, cool.' I sent him a couple of early little sketch demos that me and Chris did. He went, 'Yeah, I can sing to that.' And that's what's brought us to where we are now."

Asked about T3RMINAL's musical direction, Tommy said: "[We] just kind of come in and see what we all kind of bring to it. And that's kind of what we're doing and what's happening. And it's pretty rocking, but it's got even [more melodic] elements in it and different things."

Brian chimed in: "When you asked Tommy, 'What are you looking for [when it comes to T3RMINAL's sound]?', he's right. We don't know what we're looking for, because whatever the sound is of me, my poppy BEATLES thing, Tom's heavy edge, [Chris's] heavy metal stuff, you put it all together and then what Josey sings, that's gonna be the sound. I can't define what the sound's gonna be."

When Wheat announced T3RMINAL's formation in September 2025, he wrote: "We look forward to presenting you with our new brand of music." He then clarified: "No, I am not leaving TESLA. I'm just starting another new band with my old friend."

In July 2025, Wheat joined BAD MARRIAGE on stage in Webster, New York, marking the first time in nearly 20 years that Wheat and Skeoch — who is also BAD MARRIAGE lead guitarist — had performed live together. Wheat, Skeoch and the rest of BAD MARRIAGE ripped through the TESLA classics "Rock Me To The Top" and "Little Suzi".

Skeoch was a founding member of TESLA and played on the Sacramento five-piece defining albums, including 1986 debut "Mechanical Resonance" and 1990's "Five Man Acoustical Jam".

Tommy, who was fired due to substance abuse issues in 1994, rejoined when TESLA reformed more than two and a half decades ago following a brief hiatus. His latest exit from TESLA came in 2006.

In a new interview with Dream Theater Argentina, DREAM THEATER guitarist John Petrucci spoke about the band's ongoing "An Evening With Dream Theater" tour, which sees him, James LaBrie (vocals),John Myung (bass),Jordan Rudess (keyboards) and Mike Portnoy (drums) perform their latest, 16th studio album, "Parasomnia", in its entirety, as well as the entire seven-movement masterpiece "A Change Of Seasons", for the first time since Portnoy's return to the band in October 2023, in addition to other classics and fan favorites from DREAM THEATER's catalog. Asked how the tour has been going so far, Petrucci said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Yeah, well, we started the 'Parasomnia' leg after the summer in the U.S., in the fall. And it's been great. It's been a lot of fun doing something different and creating a visual world of 'Parasomnia'. We really try to make it so that the fans that come to the shows are really transported into the world of 'Parasomnia'. And it's been a blast being able to play it in its entirety. And it's cool. I mean, it might be a little self-indulgent [laughs] — it's a whole new album — but, to us, [it's been a lot of] fun."

Petrucci went on to say that the reaction from the DREAM THEATER fans to the current tour has "been fantastic. It's been great. We just played Friday night in Mexico City to a big, big arena crowd there, and we opened that show with the 'Parasomnia' album," John said. "And it's essentially all new music, and the fan reaction was incredible. It was over the top. It was just as if we were playing deep cuts. So, very satisfying. Yeah. Very, very cool feeling."

Petrucci also talked about DREAM THEATER's recent announcement that the band's April 22, 2026 concert at Movistar Arena in Santiago, Chile will be professionally recorded and filmed for an upcoming Blu-ray. Asked how his preparation shifts when he knows the cameras and microphones are rolling versus just playing a regular gig, Petrucci said: "Well, really, the best thing is if it doesn't shift at all. You have to sort of approach it like… First of all, every show, we try to put everything into it, put our best, have our best performance. For me, the best mentality is it's just another show. Don't get too worked up about it. Don't get too anxious about it. That's the best approach. Because otherwise, yeah, you can kind of drive yourself a little crazy."

Petrucci continued: "Something keeps happening to me, which is a bit annoying, that I keep getting the worst-timed illness right before we film. Yeah, it happened to me many times. I'll never forget the 'Score' DVD from Radio City [Music Hall], I was sick as a dog. And then the Paris Blu-ray ['Quarantième: Live À Paris'], I got something horrible a couple of days before. I was on stage with a fever, but… I don't know why that [always happen]. [But] it's, like, the show must go on, right? So hopefully for Chile I will be okay."

Last November, DREAM THEATER released "Quarantième: Live À Paris" via the band's longtime label partner Inside Out Music/Sony Music. "Quarantième: Live À Paris" documented DREAM THEATER's November 23, 2024 concert at Adidas Arena in Paris, France during the band's 40th-anniversary headlining tour of Europe. The effort contained a setlist that spanned the band's entire career with classics like "Metropolis Pt. 1", "Panic Attack", "Octavarium" and "Pull Me Under" represented among other fan favorites.

DREAM THEATER played its first concert with Portnoy in 14 years on October 20, 2024 at the O2 Arena in London, United Kingdom. The drummer, who co-founded DREAM THEATER, played on 10 of the band's albums over a 20-year period, from 1989's "When Dream And Day Unite" through 2009's "Black Clouds & Silver Linings", before exiting the group in 2010. Portnoy returned to DREAM THEATER in October 2023 after being replaced by Mike Mangini, who played with DREAM THEATER across five studio albums and accompanying world tours.

This past December, Portnoy spoke to Australia's May The Rock Be With You about DREAM THEATER's 40th-anniversary tour, which launched in late 2024. Asked if the milestone put more "pressure" on him and his bandmates or if they treated the tour as "more of a celebration", Mike said: "It's a celebration. There's no pressure. I mean, for me, it's surreal that it's been 40 years since we started this band. We were teenagers at college, Berklee College Of Music, back in 1985, and here we are 40 years later. We've been around the world dozens and dozens of times, and it's just been quite a journey and quite a trip. And if anything, it's just more surreal than anything. It's just hard to believe how quickly time has flown."

On the topic of the "discussions" which take place between him and his DREAM THEATER bandmates about putting together a setlist for the current tour, Mike said: "Well, there's not really any discussions. Those guys trust that in my lap. I've always been the guy that wrote the setlist in the band, at least in my time here, and for me, writing the setlist for this 40th-anniversary tour was actually easier than you would think. Coming back to the band after not having been in the band for over 15 years, whatever it's been, it was all a fresh, clean slate for me to work with. It wasn't like, 'Oh, I played this song a billion times over the last couple years.' I hadn't played any of these songs in so long. So for me, I was able to write with a clean slate."

"Parasomnia" came out on February 7, 2025 via InsideOut Music. The LP was produced by Petrucci, engineered by James "Jimmy T" Meslin, and mixed by Andy Sneap. Hugh Syme returned once again to lend his creative vision to the cover art.

"Parasomnia" is an eight-song, 71-minute set which was recorded at DREAM THEATER's DTHQ studio on Long Island, New York. It is the follow-up to 2021's "A View From The Top Of The World", which debuted at in the top 10 of Billboard's Top Hard Rock Albums, Top Rock Albums and Independent Albums charts. Six songs on "Parasomnia" are over seven minutes and the closing epic "The Shadow Man Incident" clocks in at nearly 20 minutes.

Portnoy, Petrucci and Myung started DREAM THEATER as MAJESTY in 1985, after meeting at the Berklee College Of Music in Boston. LaBrie came on board in 1991, while Rudess joined in 1999.

Prior to Portnoy's return to DREAM THEATER, the drummer and Petrucci worked together on the latter's 2020 solo album, "Terminal Velocity", and toured together. Portnoy and Petrucci also joined Rudess and bassist Tony Levin for a third studio album as LIQUID TENSION EXPERIMENT in 2021.

NINE INCH NOIZE, the collaboration between recent "Peel It Back" tourmates NINE INCH NAILS and Boys Noize, the Berlin-based electronic music record producer, songwriter and DJ whose real name is Alexander Ridha, will release its debut album, "Nine Inch Nails - Nine Inch Noize", this Friday, April 17 via Interscope Records.

About NINE INCH NAILS' work with Boys Noize and this album, NIN leader Trent Reznor said: "The creative fulfillment of working on the 'Challengers' and 'Tron' scores with Boys Noize led me to think that including him in the 'Peel It Back' tour could be an interesting way to express NIN in more purely electronic terms live — a concept I've wanted to explore for some time. The result was so much fun for us we felt it was worth expanding and formalizing in some way.

"On a whim I mentioned it would be cool to play a whole set as NINE INCH NOIZE in the Sahara tent at Coachella. Careful what you wish for…the next thing I knew we were designing a whole new show to present in the way it deserved.

"There's no surprise tour announcement — this Saturday is it. I'm taking Sunday off and excited to be working on new NINE INCH NAILS music Monday — I'll see you when I come up for air.

"We recorded this album all over the place — some of it's live, some in studios, hotels, planes, etc. We had a lot of fun revisiting these songs and hope you enjoy. Listen LOUD."

Praising last weekend's NINE INCH NOIZE set, Consequence said, "With Mariqueen Maandig also part of the live configuration, the performance felt even more immersive and fully realized than a side-project detour might have suggested. It was a display of cathartic intensity, and a potent showcase for Reznor and company's singular gift for controlled chaos… NINE INCH NOIZE delivered one of Coachella 2026's most memorable performances." Rolling Stone hailed it as "a phenomenal production that feels of its time…" Brooklyn Vegan said, "It was a desert epic — 'Dune'-esque — with a trio core." SF Gate observed, "the group's Saturday night set at the Sahara stage seems primed to go down as one of the festival's greatest performances of all time."

Named "Live Act Of The Year" in 2025 by Consequence, NINE INCH NAILS drew more than 700,000 fans on 2025/26's sold-out "Peel It Back" tour across Europe and North America. The outing featured NINE INCH NAILS performing on two stages — the main stage and the smaller B-stage, located in the crowd. Each concert included an interlude where NINE INCH NAILS were joined by Boys Noize on the B-stage. Together, they reimagined select songs from NINE INCH NAILS, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross's award-winning score compositions and their HOW TO DESTROY ANGELS project.

"Nine Inch Nails - Nine Inch Noize" includes reworkings of nine NINE INCH NAILS songs, including "Closer" and "As Alive As You Need Me To Be", the Grammy-winning hit from "Tron: Ares (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)" — and "Parasite", by HOW TO DESTROY ANGELS. See below for track listing.

Founded in 1988 by Reznor, NINE INCH NAILS is widely considered one of the most innovative, influential acts in modern music. Known for fusing industrial, electronic, rock and ambient sounds into emotionally raw and sonically aggressive compositions, the Grammy-winning, Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame inductees have redefined the boundaries of what mainstream music could be, selling over 20 million records worldwide, including over 11 million albums in the United States alone. Reznor and Ross have composed 20 scores, winning two Oscars, three Golden Globes, two Grammy Awards and an Emmy in the process.

Track listing for "Nine Inch Nails - Nine Inch Noize":

01. Intro (Nine Inch Noize Version)
02. Vessel (Nine Inch Noize Version)
03. She's Gone Away (Nine Inch Noize Version)
04. Heresy (Nine Inch Noize Version)
05. Parasite (Nine Inch Noize Version)
06. Copy Of A (Nine Inch Noize Version)
07. Me I'm Not (Nine Inch Noize Version)
08. Closer (Nine Inch Noize Version)
09. The Warning (Nine Inch Noize Version)
10. Memorabilia (Nine Inch Noize Version)
11. Came Back Haunted (Nine Inch Noize Version)
12. As Alive As You Need Me To Be (Nine Inch Noize Version)

Photo credit: John Crawford (courtesy of Interscope)

In a new interview with Ronni Hunter of the 99.7 The Blitz radio station, drummer Stix Zadinia of California glam metal jokesters STEEL PANTHER was asked to name the secret to the band's longevity. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Complete and total ignorance. We are myopic in our vision and our quest to bring heavy metal back. And I swear, if all of a sudden somebody declared heavy metal was the international law, we would still do what we do because we're oblivious to everything. All we wanna do is play heavy metal and rock and party. And for real, that's been the mission since day one. And it's the same exact mission today. And what's funny is everything around us has changed except for us. So this situation, the way that the world is now, however you feel about it — I'm not picking a side; I'm not saying one way or the other — but however you feel about the world, however one of your listeners may feel about the world, you can take comfort in knowing that when you come to a STEEL PANTHER show, you're gonna enter a time capsule. You're going to be in a place where everybody is all about just having the greatest time of their lives. And because of some of the chaos that's happening in the world, I think that there's never been a more important time for such an unimportant band… We're like actual MDMA in human form. We are just gonna make you feel good all the time."

On the topic of what "the unspoken rule" is that keeps STEEL PANTHER from imploding, Stix said: "You wanna know the real answer to that? Communication. I'm married to three middle-aged men, is basically what it comes down to. And we learned literally decades ago that if we don't communicate, things build up, resentments build up. If you're upset with somebody and you don't talk about it, it festers and then all of a sudden somebody drops a fork and then all hell breaks loose. But what we do is we communicate so regularly. I don't think people would know this about STEEL PANTHER, but we actually make the time to have a meeting before and after every show, because we wanna make sure that everybody's cool and ready to rock. Because if you're not, we gotta all know about it. And that way your dudes will have your back instead of going, 'What's with him, man? He's being a jerk.' If everybody lets everybody know what's going on, instead of, like, 'What's with him?', we'll know what's with him, and we got his back and we're gonna support him. It always makes the shows great."

Asked if he and the other members of STEEL PANTHER all live close to each other, Stix said: "No, we don't. We used to — we used to all live really close to each other, and then, as we all got older and circumstances changed, we don't live close to each other. So, when it's time to go on tour, it's, like, 'All right, I'm gonna fly out of this airport. You're gonna fly out of that airport. We're gonna meet at the same airport, or I'll see you at the hotel, or I'll see you at the venue the next day,' or whatever it is. 'I'll see you on the bus at bus call.' And we don't rehearse, because we, we tour so much and everybody is very, very experienced on their instruments. So we go, 'Okay, what do we wanna do? What's the set gonna be?' And you better have your act together before you show up, 'cause it's trial by fire. And if you don't have it prepared and you get on that stage on that first night, you don't wanna let the dudes down. So everybody comes ready to rock."

Last year STEEL PANTHER entered Dave Grohl's Studio 606 with longtime producer Jay Ruston to begin recording the band's first new music since 2023's "On The Prowl" album.

In October 2024, STEEL PANTHER's debut album, "Feel The Steel", was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for sales in excess of 100,000 copies in the United Kingdom.

"Feel The Steel - 15th Anniversary Edition" was released worldwide on November 15, 2024. The 15th-anniversary edition features two tracks that were only released on the original Japanese import: "You Don't Make Me Feel Dumb" and "I Want Your Tits". The album was produced by Jay Ruston (ANTHRAX, COREY TAYLOR).

Formed in 2000, STEEL PANTHER specializes in imitating and exaggerating the less flattering aspects of 1980s hair metal, with unrepentantly crude, non-PC sexual content as a favorite lyrical theme.

The group's music has been described as "VAN HALEN meets MÖTLEY CRÜE meets RATT meets 'Wayne's World', complete with operatic shrieks, misogyny, shredding guitar solos and libidinal overdrive."

Eighteen years ago, STEEL PANTHER changed its name from METAL SKOOL to its current moniker and shifted the focus of its act from '80s metal covers to originals.

STEEL PANTHER's sixth studio album, "On The Prowl", was released in February 2023.

In September 2022, STEEL PANTHER announced the addition of Spyder as the band's new bassist.

Photo credit: David Jackson

In a new interview with Thomann's Drum Bash, former SEPULTURA drummer Eloy Casagrande explained how he came to join SLIPKNOT in early 2024 prior to the launch of the heavy metal giants' 25th-anniversary North American tour. Reflecting on how he approached his first jam with the other SLIPKNOT musicians, Eloy said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "When I was invited to do the audition for SLIPKNOT, I didn't know how the guys wanted the drums to sound like, what they were looking for, if they wanted just a replacement for [original SLIPKNOT drummer] Joey [Jordison], for [more recent former SLIPKNOT drummer] Jay [Weinberg], or if they wanted a new, a different personality on the drums. So that was my biggest concern at the beginning — how I'm gonna approach the songs. Can I put myself into the music, or I have to respect all the original recordings, the original drummers? So when I went to the audition, I knew all the songs, but I knew also things that I could change by myself. But at the beginning, I was trying just to be the most respectful that I could be for the original arrangements. Don't change the music, don't change the songs. And then from time, like after a few months, I was able to change a few things. The band liked that. They also wanted to have a different personality on the drums. They wanted to have myself, Eloy, on the drums and not any previous member playing the drums."

Elaborating on how much freedom he had to express himself on the drums during his SLIPKNOT audition, Eloy said: "It depends a lot on the gig that you're gonna get. But the best thing that you can do is to talk to people, talk to the other musicians. Don't try to guess what they want from you, what they expect from you. So if you get a new gig, just go there and talk to the other musicians, what they are looking for, what they expect. And then you can prepare yourself. And in my case, I didn't have the chance to talk to SLIPKNOT before I went for the audition. I just met the guys on the first day of the audition, so I had to be prepared for everything. But I had that mentality — if you don't know how it's gonna be, just be prepared the best you can in different perspectives."

Asked if he feels comfortable in gigs where there's no place for him to be himself and where he is expected to only replicate the parts that were previously recorded and performed by another drummer, Eloy said: "Oh, yes. I did that a few times in my life. And some of the arrangements that I had to play either with SLIPKNOT or with SEPULTURA, I had to respect the original arrangement. Some of this stuff is very classic; you're not supposed to change that. There are just a few things, small details that I can change, some drum fills, but the structure of the song, the soul, the meaning, you cannot change that. But also if I had to play exactly the same thing, I wanna be able to do that, I was able to do that. But I feel a lot more comfortable if I have my freedom of speech, my freedom of musicality, if I can be myself at least a little bit. And that's something that I have always been concerned [about] in my life — to be in a band, to be in a place that I can express myself, that I'm not gonna be just a hired gun, a hired musician playing whatever they want me to play. And I was lucky enough to play in bands that the guys, the other musicians, they wanted me to be myself. They wanted me to have my perspective regarding music. So I'm very lucky regarding that. But in the past, yes, when I was a teenager and I was playing professionally, doing some pop gigs, country gigs in Brazil, a lot of recording sessions, I was just doing what the producer wanted me to do, or the band wanted me to do. I was having fun either way because I was playing the drums by the end of the day, but it's different when you can just sit and the people wanna listen to you. I'm very grateful for that."

Back in October 2024, Eloy told ProMark Drumsticks about how he came to join SLIPKNOT: "I just got a call from the manager. He asked me if I was interested in doing an audition for the band. So I came here to the U.S. I spent 10 days with the band. We were just jamming so we could check if there was some kind of chemistry between us. We spent, like, four or five days just recording new stuff. I think they wanted to check if I was able to compose some drum parts and to check if I was also able to record drums in the studio, because that's a whole different universe. So that was a very complete audition. And after those same days, I went back to Brazil. And they gave me a call two days later saying that I was in the band, that I made it. That was super cool."

Reflecting in more detail on his SLIPKNOT audition, Eloy said: "I had, like, 15 days to learn the songs; they gave me a big list of songs that I was supposed to learn. Every day in the rehearsal, we were trying different songs, picking different stuff from different albums. But, of course, I already knew how to play some of their songs.

"I remember the first day that I was there. I was warming up in the studio. I had, like, my pad, drumsticks, pedals. And the guys from the band, they started arriving at the studio, and I was in shock. When we played the first song, I did several mistakes, because I was so in shock to see everybody in front of me. And I couldn't think. I couldn't even breathe. But they were, like, 'Okay, we understand that you're in a difficult situation right now. We understand your side. So just relax, have fun. We're just here to see the vibe.' And then from the second day, I think everything got better. I was more relaxed to play the drums and just let the music flow."

Casagrande said that it was a huge honor and a dream come true for him to be an official member of SLIPKNOT.

"I have been listening to SLIPKNOT since I was a teenager, and it was very important to my musical formation," he said. "And here we are now, after a couple of months, we're here. When I was — I don't know— 12 years old, watching them on MTV playing 'Duality', that blew my mind. It's such an honor to be here now.

"Now, I never imagined that this was something possible," he added. "There is the difference of countries — I live in Brazil; it's an American band. We don't forget that I was lucky to be at the right moment in the right spot. So, I was invited to be here."

In an interview with Tone-Talk, SLIPKNOT guitarist Jim Root spoke about how Casagrande came to join SLIPKNOT and his impact on the band's overall sound. He said: "We didn't even try anybody else. Eloy's name came up. He contacted us, actually, about wanting to be a part of it and started sending a bunch of videos in. I think him and our bass player [Alessandro 'Vman' Venturella] might've had a little bit of a relationship before. I think they knew each other. They had mutual friends. And Vman's really in tune with a lot of really great, proggy, heavy musicians that are passionate about their instruments. And it just seemed like a no-brainer. And he's really respectful of the legacy of Joey, and Joey was a huge influence on him. And he's so humble. The dude has so much humility. And you could tell he just lives and breathes his craft, to the point where I see his passion and it ignites my passion for my instrument. And Brazilians, South Americans in general, are so passionate about what they do. Our manager told me, he was out to dinner with four or five promoters from South America, and they were all really stoked. They're all, like, 'It's so good you've got a Brazilian drummer in SLIPKNOT now. We kind of feel like we've won the World Cup.' It's a cool feeling. And God, he just fits in so well. I don't know, man. I mean, there's a lot of things I can say about it. I'm just glad it happened when it did. And we're lucky to have him — we are really lucky to have that dude."

After parting ways with Jay Weinberg in November 2023, SLIPKNOT teased fans with a hint about a new drummer in March 2024, posting a photo of a single broken drumstick online with the caption "Rehearsal."

The band explained in a statement that the split with Weinberg was a creative decision. Jay followed up with a statement of his own, saying that he was "heartbroken and blindsided" by his dismissal.

Casagrande abruptly quit SEPULTURA in February 2024, shortly before he was supposed to begin rehearsals for the band's recently launched 40th-anniversary farewell tour.

"February 6th, a few days prior to the first rehearsal, drummer Eloy Casagrande informed the band that he was leaving SEPULTURA to pursue a career in another project," the band said in a statement.

Casagrande joined SEPULTURA more than 14 years ago as the replacement for Jean Dolabella.

SLIPKNOT's latest album "The End, So Far", arrived in August 2022. It marked the band's the last full-length LP before the departure of both keyboardist Craig Jones, who left the group in June 2023, and Weinberg.

SLAYER's iconic second studio album, "Hell Awaits", will receive a 40th-anniversary-edition reissue via Metal Blade Records on May 15. An unboxing video for the three-LP vinyl box set can be seen below.

Formed in 1981, SLAYER assaulted the world with a new hybrid of metal and punk — heavier, faster, and darker than the rest — and set a new standard, defining not only a genre, but an attitude. Throughout SLAYER's history, the band never faltered in unleashing their extreme and focused aural assault, and repudiating temptations, SLAYER always chose to remain crushing and brutal, steadfastly refusing to cater to the mainstream.

"It's the record where SLAYER became SLAYER." That's what Kerry King says about "Hell Awaits". And he knows of what he speaks. As the band's guitarist, co-songwriter, and co-lyricist, he was in the trenches with vocalist/bassist Tom Araya, guitarist Jeff Hanneman (R.I.P.),and drummer Dave Lombardo, creating what has become one of heavy metal's greatest albums.

A significant departure from SLAYER's 1983 debut, "Show No Mercy" — and every SLAYER album that came after it — "Hell Awaits" is both an outlier and a solidification of form. "Show No Mercy" was the mission statement, but "Hell Awaits" is a more developed and intricate execution of SLAYER's speed, chops, and aggression.

Released in April of 1985 by Metal Blade Records, "Hell Awaits" was the pinnacle of an action-packed thrash year that saw debut albums from the likes of MEGADETH, EXODUS, KREATOR, POSSESSED, DESTRUCTION, HIRAX and OVERKILL. Heavily influenced by MERCYFUL FATE, the longer, more progressive arrangements on "Hell Awaits" marked a new era for SLAYER. Whereas most of the songs on "Show No Mercy" were less than four minutes long, three of "Hell Awaits"'s seven tracks go beyond the six-minute mark.

"Jeff and I were still trying to figure out who we were as musicians, and we were both infatuated with MERCYFUL FATE's 'Melissa' album during the writing process for 'Hell Awaits'," King says. "That's why there's so few songs and most of 'em are pretty long. That's the only time anything like that ever happened with us."

Tom Araya's performance is similarly impressive. The vocalist spat lyrics a mile a minute on the likes of "Kill Again" and "Praise Of Death".

"I don't recall the songs being hard to sing," he says. "Singing fast and clearly has always been something that I strived for."

The reissue arrives May 15, 2026 in three physical formats and digitally. Preorders are available now at metalblade.com/slayer.

Vinyl box set:

3 LPs total: Seven-track "Hell Awaits" + 18-track live bonus audio ("Live From Bochum 1985")

- 60-page book (12" size)
- "Hell Awaits" album (in gatefold sleeve, 1xLP) mastered and restored from original 1985 production tapes by Patrick W. Engel at Temple Of Disharmony in February 2025. Vinyl color = Fire Splatter
- "Live From Bochum 1985" (in gatefold sleeve, 2xLP) - 18 live tracks never before released physically or digitally
- Replica ticket from the Bochum show
- Replica "Hell Awaits" tour laminate
- "Hell Awaits" tour poster (German dates)
- Slipmat
- Band posters
- Replica merch flyer
- Replica Satanic Wehrmacht newsletter
- 2 flyers

"Blood" Filled Liquid Vinyl (SLAYER store exclusive – limited to 666 worldwide):

Seven-track "Hell Awaits" album mastered and restored from original 1985 production tapes by Patrick W. Engel at Temple Of Disharmony in February 2025

- "Blood" filled liquid vinyl - gatefoldCD Earbook:

Earbook includes 3xCDs — seven-track "Hell Awaits" CD + 18-track live bonus audio (Live From Bochum 1985):

- "Hell Awaits" album (1xCD) mastered and restored from original 1985 production tapes by Patrick W. Engel at Temple Of Disharmony in February 2025
- Live From Bochum 1985 (2x CD) 18 live tracks never before released physically or digitally
- 60-page 11" book
- Poster

Digital:

Includes seven-track "Hell Awaits" + 18-track live bonus audio (Live From Bochum 1985)

"Hell Awaits (40th Anniversary)" track listing:

01. Hell Awaits
02. Kill Again
03. At Dawn They Sleep
04. Praise Of Death
05. Necrophiliac
06. Crypts Of Eternity
07. Hardening Of The Arteries
08. Hell Awaits (Live From Bochum 1985)
09. Aggressive Perfector (Live From Bochum 1985)
10. Captor Of Sin (Live From Bochum 1985)
11. The Final Command (Live From Bochum 1985)
12. Kill Again (Live From Bochum 1985)
13. Crypts Of Eternity (Live From Bochum 1985)
14. Fight Till Death (Live From Bochum 1985)
15. Necrophiliac (Live From Bochum 1985)
16. Haunting The Chapel (Live From Bochum 1985)
17. Hardening Of The Arteries (Live From Bochum 1985)
18. Black Magic (Live From Bochum 1985)
19. Die By The Sword (Live From Bochum 1985)
20. The Antichrist (Live From Bochum 1985)
21. At Dawn They Sleep (Live From Bochum 1985)
22. Show No Mercy (Live From Bochum 1985)
23. Evil Has No Boundaries (Live From Bochum 1985)
24. Chemical Warfare (Live From Bochum 1985)
25. Praise Of Death (Live From Bochum 1985)

For more than four decades, SLAYER's onslaught has proved the band to be the supreme thrash-metal band on the planet, the band that other heavy acts are still measured against and aspire to. Their membership in "The Big Four" — METALLICA, SLAYER, MEGADETH and ANTHRAX, the four bands that defined the thrash/metal genre — secures their place in music history.

The five-time nominated, two-time Grammy winners have also accumulated an abundance of certified gold albums along with "Best..." awards from media outlets all over the world, including Kerrang!, SPIN, Metal Hammer, Revolver and Esquire. Throughout SLAYER's history, the band never faltered in unleashing its extreme and focused sonic assault, and, unlike many of its contemporaries who commercialized their sound, SLAYER remained crushing and brutal, steadfastly refusing to cater to the mainstream. SLAYER's founding member, guitarist Jeff Hanneman passed in 2013, and EXODUS guitarist Gary Holt has been filling that spot since. Paul Bostaph, who was SLAYER's drummer from 1994 to 2001, rejoined bassist/vocalist Tom Araya and guitarist Kerry King in 2013, and remains back behind the kit.

In January 2018, SLAYER announced they were calling it a day and would be doing one final world tour to thank its fans for their support over the years. Launched on May 10, 2018, by the time the 18-month tour wrapped on November 30, 2019, SLAYER had played 148 shows, performing in 34 countries and 146 cities around the world, and in 40 U.S. states. In February 2024, SLAYER surprised fans with the news that they would headline three major summer/fall U.S. festivals that year — Riot Fest, Louder Than Life and Aftershock.

While SLAYER has no plans to do any extensive touring, the band will likely continue to play some one-off shows.

The Native Howl is a genre-defying quartet hailing from Leonard, Michigan. They’ve coined their fast-tempo music “Thrash Grass”, as it combines the aggression and intensity of thrash metal with the precision and melodicism of bluegrass.

On this Easter Sunday, The Native Howl vocalist/guitarist Alex Holycross delivered an unexpected egg via the following announcement:

“With this joyous day comes some beautiful truths, and some harsh realities. Doing music as a career is difficult. Touring is difficult. Being away from loved ones is difficult. Being creative and jamming tunes under the umbrella of a business is difficult. Trailblazing a new genre is difficult.

Mark Chandler and Zachary Bolling have weathered every storm with me (for 11 years and 7 years, respectively), and we have shared so much triumph and accomplished so much together. I’ve known them as friends and brothers for over 20 years now! They both have decided to step back from the touring lifestyle to focus on family, other pursuits/interests, and a change of pace; and I respect their decisions, just as I know all you Howlers will. I cannot express how much I love these boys, and how proud of how far we’ve come together, thus far. It goes without saying that we all love each other and want nothing but the best for each other. And if you want to keep up with Zach-o and Chan-man’s other music, please check out Ancient Chaos for some good ol’ fashioned classic Heavy Metal!

My dear banjo-slingin’ brother Jacob Panic and I are officially calling out for auditions for touring and potentially full-time band bassists and drummers! To start the process, please message The Native Howl or email us at:

alexholycross@thenativehowl.com
jacobpanic@thenativehowl.com

We love you all! And to Chan and Zach, we love you, and you’ll always be Howl family!

Jacob and I look forward to holding auditions, and to this next chapter in Howl History!
Happy Easter!”



Drummer Zach Bolling commented:

“It’s been a wild 6 (more like 7) years full of highs and lows, with thankfully more highs. As time passes in such an uncertain industry that’s so full of sacrifices in every day life, I’ve made the difficult decision to step away from the band. Thank you so much to everyone who bought an album, shirt or even just came to see us and listen. I’ll still be playing and creating music, but more so just for myself. Moving forward my focus will be enjoying time at home and spending time with my wonderful wife, family and friends.

I love the fellas dearly and look forward to seeing and hearing the future of The Howl!”

Bassist Mark Chandler shared his thoughts:

“What a ride and a journey it has been. I fell in love with music at the age of 10 and found the thing that would change my life forever. Never have I felt so alive as when all the elements align and a song hits you in the feels just right or when onstage playing with my bandmates and the potion is concocted perfectly. If you haven’t felt that, it’s hard to put into words but it does feel like magic in that moment. I’ve always thought that touring in essence is problem solving because there are inevitable issues that arise time and time again and you have to just figure it out. It has built all of us many life skills that I would have never even considered along the way.

The reality is that stepping down is the hardest decision I have ever made. I mulled it over for a long time and came to the decision I know is correct in my heart and gut. At this point in my life, it’s time for a change and I’m actually really excited and hopeful about the future, though I still don’t know what I am going to do yet. I’m working on that process a lot every day right now and it feels good to get back in touch with myself without this heavy weight on my shoulders.

I am so grateful to all of our friends we have met along the way on this journey. I’m also thankful to FM Music Management, Sound Talent Booking Agency, all of our crew members through the years, musicians who’ve filled in for us, our long list of touring mates and friends, our families, and our amazing fans that have always been so hardcore in their support for us and have done as much for us as I feel we have for them in many ways. Their kindness knows no bounds. And lastly, to my bandmates whom I love deeply. I’ll always cherish the memories we made together, the crazy times we went through with each other, and the music that tied us all together and was the engine to the whole machine. I wish all of the boys nothing but happiness and success in whatever they do, and to Alex and Jacob as they continue to carry on this genre we created.

Who knows what the future holds? I’ve already lived one life so it’s time for another! I will of course keep playing and writing so that will always be a huge part of my life and I eventually want to get back onstage and perform for the pure love of the game. Keep spreading the gospel of Thrash Grass!”

The Native Howl released their last album, Sons Of Destruction, in October 2024 via Sumerian Records.



Tracklisting:

Can’t Sleep
Mercy (feat. Lzzy Hale)
B.O.G.
Sons Of Destruction
Waco
No True Scotsman
In Death
Stockholm Syndrome
Wide Is The River
God’s Gonna Cut You Down
Devil I’ve Become

Lockhart is a new melodic rock/AOR band from Canada, fusing synthesizer-fueled eighties arena rock with classic hard rock. The trio consists of Devon Kerr (vocals, guitars, keyboards), Jason Junop (bass) and Fabio Alessandrini (drums). Jason is best known for his work in Cauldron and Goat Horn. Devon’s main band is Axxion, and Fabio plays or has played in Bonfire, Enforcer, Annihilator, Hardline and many others.

Lockhart issued their debut EP “No Chance” in 2022, followed by the single “City Pulse” in 2025. The band has signed with High Roller Records, and their first full-length album, City Pulse, is now ready to be unleashed to the public.

It’s hard to describe the specific sound of Lockhart in all its details but on City Pulse you will certainly hear a lot of Journey, Boston, Toto, Foreigner, REO Speedwagon, and maybe even some Starcastle.

“The influences are endless,” comments the vocalist, guitarist and keyboard player Devon Kerr, “and they go deep. I appreciate the comparisons. These bands are monumental. Lockhart has a sound of its own though. Bands that existed during the times you mentioned definitely provide influence! However, if you look past the surface (overdriven guitars and old synthesizers), you’ll hear influences from 50s doo wop, legends like Brian Wilson, and straight up choral music, too.”

Compositions such as “The Dose That Made You Poison”, “Under Fire”, “Before The Fall’” or “Together As One” are very well constructed and flawlessly performed.

“For me, songwriting is a deliberate process,” explains Kerr. “I set out a time and carve out the songs. Lyrics are written last. Once the song is ready, it undergoes hours of polishing to mold the perfect choir parts, guitar leads, and so on. Everything is very deliberate and carefully selected. Nothing was written by accident.”

You can clearly hear that on City Pulse.

With their melodic, at times even poppy approach Lockhart may stand out a bit on High Roller Records. Devon Kerr: “Our music has so many elements that traditional metal fans value, but with something very different, too. Something that might be new for some of the High Roller Records fanbase. I mean for those unsure, we’ve got Nick from Municipal Waste shredding guitar leads on ‘You Wouldn’t Know Love’, and Ian from Cauldron on ‘Can’t Shake It.’”

Pre-order the album here, and listen to the single “Togther As None,” below.



Tracklisting:

“City Pulse”
“Can’t Shake It”
“The Dose That Made You Poison”
“Together As None”
“Under Fire”
“Just Can’t Wait”
“You Wouldn’t Know Love”
“Before The Fall”
“No Chance in Heaven”

Former MEGADETH drummer Shawn Drover will join ACCEPT as a "special guest artist" at the German/American metallers' first three 50th-anniversary concerts next month:

May 01 - Kopervik, Norway @ Karmøygeddon Metal Festival
May 03 - Gothenburg, Sweden @ Filmstudion
May 06 - Stockholm, Sweden @ Cirkus

ACCEPT said in a statement: "The one and only drummer Shawn Drover (ex-MEGADETH) will be the first special guest artist for ACCEPT's 50th-anniversary celebrations LIVE! Joining the band for the first three shows in May. An absolute legend and beast of a drummer, we are thrilled to have him join us on stage as part of this very special and unique year.

"Join us today, reserve your place to metal's biggest party of 2026."

As previously reported, ACCEPT will celebrate its 50th anniversary with an extensive European tour in late 2026, marking a major milestone in the band's extraordinary five-decade career at the forefront of heavy metal. The dates form part of ACCEPT's 50th-anniversary tour, comprising 24 headline shows across 11 European countries.

The tour will see the band bring half a century of metal history to stages across Europe, performing for fans in major cities throughout Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic.

ACCEPT guitarist Wolf Hoffmann said: "It's incredible to be celebrating 50 years of ACCEPT, and taking this anniversary tour across Europe makes it even more special. The support from our fans over the decades has been overwhelming, and we can't wait to bring these shows to so many countries and celebrate this milestone together."

Special guests on the tour will be Swedish metallers DYNAZTY and U.K. up-and-comers TAILGUNNER.

Since joining ACCEPT in 1976 at the age of just 16, Wolf played a central role in the band. His instantly recognizable and signature guitar style not only created the ACCEPT "sound" but influenced a plethora of other highly successful bands and guitarists. Because of Wolf's unflinching dedication, ACCEPT has become one of the most significant bands in heavy metal. Not only did he lay the musical foundations for the band, he also carried it through both the highs and lows of an extraordinary 50-year career.

Alongside the anniversary tour, ACCEPT will release a special 50th-anniversary album later this year, featuring newly re-recorded classics, rare tracks and guest appearances.

Last September, ANTHRAX bassist Frank Bello and MR. BIG bassist Billy Sheehan revealed that they both recorded separate guest appearances on ACCEPT's upcoming 50th-anniversary album.

In 2024, Hoffmann told Metal Journal about ACCEPT's upcoming 50th-anniversary LP: "I can't tell you anything yet, because it's way too early. I can just tell you it's gonna be a massive thing. And I don't really wanna get into it yet because I'm not really here to talk specifics about it. It's still in the planning stages. It's gonna be amazing. I think it's gonna be some really big names that are gonna be participating in that. And you'll have to wait. Sorry. It's just too early."

As for whether ACCEPT had already "selected" the guest musicians who would appear on the album, Wolf said at the time: "Yes, we have selected a lot of it. Not all of it, but we have selected a lot."

Back in April 2025, Wolf revealed to Mark Strigl, that longtime ACCEPT producer Andy Sneap would not be involved with the band's upcoming 50th-anniversary album. "He will not be on this one, because he asked for a year off from us," Wolf said. "I asked him, I begged him to produce his album, but then we found a good buddy of his. His name is Zeuss [Chris Harris]. He's producing it."

Hoffmann continued: "[Andy is] kind of part of the family now, but he's been touring so much with [JUDAS] PRIEST [as that band's touring guitarist], and he's been working so much in the studio last year. I think he did SAXON, he did PRIEST, he also did DREAM THEATER — he's done a bunch of stuff. So when I said, 'Hey, can we work this year again?' He said, 'Man, can I please have a year off?', which is understandable."

Regarding ACCEPT's upcoming 50th-anniversary tour, Wolf said: "It's gonna be a retrospective of the whole 50-year career and, of course, it's gonna feature a lot of the important stuff from the '80s and some deeper cuts. And we're gonna perform with guest singers and guest players, and it's gonna be super exciting, like a once-in-a-lifetime thing. You only have one shot at a 50-year anniversary… I don't think we'll get a chance for another one."

Sneap produced ACCEPT's last six studio albums: "Blood Of The Nations" (2010),"Stalingrad" (2012),"Blind Rage" (2014),"The Rise Of Chaos" (2017),"Too Mean To Die" (2021) and "Humanoid" (2024).

Zeuss has previously worked with ROB ZOMBIE, HATEBREED, QUEENSRŸCHE, SHADOWS FALL, DEMON HUNTER, OVERKILL and REVOCATION, among many others.

In February 2025, Hoffmann told Metal Talks about ACCEPT's 50th anniversary: "Yeah, it's a funny thing. I joined this band when I was 16 and just never left. And here I am all these all these years later, coming on a 50th anniversary, which is crazy. But yeah, it's definitely something that we're very proud of. And not every band is lucky enough to be around for this long and to still be in the business and to still be touring to still have fans.

"I think ACCEPT, we're very fortunate in the way that we achieved the impossible," he continued. "We had a change of lead singers 15 years ago with Mark Tornillo, and things are better than they've ever been for us. I mean, the last few albums have been phenomenal, the touring is going great, we have sold-out shows everywhere. So, I mean, we are really, really fortunate, and I'm fully aware of that. And yeah, to mark the occasion, we're gonna have a special tour. We're gonna release a new album with — we're gonna re-record some of the old classics and some of the deeper-cut songs from back then with guest people, guest singers, guest guitar players, and we're gonna bring this out on the road in '26. So we're working on that for the next year or so.

"This is a milestone that needs to be celebrated properly, and what better [way to do it]?" Hoffmann added. "I mean, we only have one chance for a 50th anniversary. I don't think I'll get another one. With all optimism, I don't think I'll be around 50 years from now, or the fans will be, so we might as well have this opportunity and make use of it. And it's gonna be fantastic. I know it. We're gonna play some songs we've never played before, and it's gonna be great."

Over the past five decades, ACCEPT has sold millions of albums and inspired countless musicians. Their energetic live performances and iconic albums such as "Balls To The Wall", "Restless And Wild" and "Metal Heart" have left a lasting mark on the heavy metal genre. Hoffmann's guitar style and musical vision have made the band one of the most respected on the heavy metal scene.

After a hiatus in the band's career, Wolf was introduced to New Jersey singer Mark Tornillo in 2009. The chemistry and fit between them was so remarkable, ACCEPT reformed and almost immediately rose to global success with chart-topping albums. ACCEPT continues to be celebrated for each of their new records with Mark, who is now the longest-reigning frontman of ACCEPT, placing the Hoffmann-Tornillo partnership firmly in the Metal Hall Of Fame.

For decades, ACCEPT has been recognized as a guarantee of high quality and each of their albums has reached the top of the charts, delivering energy, melodies, killer riffs and an impressively powerful stage presence for 50 years.

Tornillo joined ACCEPT in 2009 as the replacement for Dirkschneider, who was the band's original lead singer. Mark can be heard on ACCEPT's last six studio albums.

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Posted by ACCEPT on Wednesday, April 15, 2026