In the Fender Guitars clip below, head into the studio with the legendary Jeff Beck as he discusses the magic of discovering new songs, the allure of vintage music. He also performs the once-banned Link Wray track "Rumble" on the new American Vintage II 1957 Stratocaster.


Link Wray & His Ray Men released "Rumble"on March 31st, 1958, as a single. The instrumental was banned in several US radio markets because the term "rumble" was a slang term for a gang fight, and it was feared that the piece's "harsh sound" glorified juvenile delinquency. The record is the only instrumental single ever banned from radio in the United States.


Learn more about American Vintage II here.







Jeff Beck and Johnny Depp recently sat down for a SiriusXM Town Hall special hosted by Stevie Van Zandt, on SiriusXM’s Underground Garage, where they spoke about their new music, being on the road together and answered SiriusXM subscriber questions.


During the exclusive Town Hall at SiriusXM’s NYC studios, Beck and Depp shared insight into their unique friendship and the making of their collaborative studio album, 18. 


In the video below, Beck recalls a funny memory about being treated coldly by The Beach Boys, in particular, Brian Wilson.





Johnny Depp is currently with Jeff Beck on his North American tour. All shows are on sale now with VIP packages also available here. The full itinerary is below with all dates subject to change.


The duo will highlight songs from their newly released musical collaboration, 18, and join forces with Beck’s current band (bassist Rhonda Smith, drummer Anika Nilles and keyboardist Robert Stevenson) to perform a lengthy set of tunes culled from throughout Beck’s iconic career.


Beck and Depp’s 13-track album, 18, debuted at #10 on both the Billboard Top Albums and Top Current Albums charts marking the first top 10 for both Beck and Depp on the 31-year-old Top Album Sales chart. The set is available on CD and digitally, with a 180-gram black vinyl version coming on September 30. The duo recently wrapped a successful European tour together on July 25 in Paris, France to much fan and critical acclaim with sold-out dates throughout northern Europe, Italy and France - including a stop at the revered Montreux Jazz Festival.





Jeff Beck found a kindred spirit in Johnny Depp when the two met in 2016. They bonded quickly over cars and guitars and spent most of their time together trying to make each other laugh. At the same time, Beck’s appreciation grew for Depp’s serious songwriting skills and his ear for music. That talent and their chemistry convinced Beck they should make an album together.


Depp agreed and they started in 2019. Over the next three years, they recorded a mix of Depp originals along with a wide range of covers that touches on everything from Celtic and Motown, to the Beach Boys and Killing Joke. “We were going to call the album ‘Kitchen Sink’ because we threw everything in it,” the two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Famer says with a laugh. “The only game plan we had was to play songs we like and see where they took us.”


Beck is universally acknowledged as one of the most talented and significant guitarists in the world and has played alongside some of the greatest artists of rock, blues, and jazz. Over the course of his distinguished 50+ music career, he has earned an incredible eight Grammy Awards, been ranked by Rolling Stone as one of the “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time,” and been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame twice – once as a member of the Yardbirds and again as a solo artist. In the summer of 2016, the guitar virtuoso celebrated his five decades of music with an extraordinary concert at the famous Hollywood Bowl with special guests including Buddy Guy, Steven Tyler, Beth Hart, Billy F. Gibbons and Jan Hammer.

Sabaton guitarist / Majestica frontman Tommy Johansson has shared his solo performance of the Skid Row classic "18 And Life". Check it out below.





Johansson recently shared his cover of the Twisted Sister classic, "The Price", taken from the 1984 album, Stay Hungry.




Johansson: "Video recorded during the North American tour with Sabaton and Epica 2022. Recorded in Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Graceland, Camden, Montreal CA, Minneapolis, Detroit, Richmond, Las Vegas, LA, Hollywood, Boston to name some of the places.


A big thanks to those who helped me film this video: Pablo Christlein, Jens De Vos, Matt Teixeira, Johan Bengs, and thanks to Hannes Van Dahl for your expertise!"

King Crimson founder Robert Fripp and his wife, Toyah Willcox, were back in the kitchen together this past weekend for another Sunday Lunch. Check out their rendition of The Sonics hit "Have Love, Will Travel".





A selection of Robert & Toyah's previous Sunday Lunch videos can be seen below:

Jazz Sabbath, the jazz trio helmed by Adam Wakeman (keys Black Sabbath, Ozzy Osbourne, performed at the Leverkusener Jazztage 2022 in Leverkusen, Germany on November 11th.


Below is the complete livestream of the show. The setlist was as follows:


"Fairies Wear Boots"
"Snowblind"
"Evil Woman"
"Behind The Wall Of Sleep"
"Rat Salad"
"Iron Man"
"Changes"
"N.I.B."
"Paranoid"
"Children Of The Grave"







Jazz Sabbath explores the boundaries between jazz and the songs that defined heavy metal. Echoing already present jazz riffs and discovering new ones in the process. Their latest album, Vol. 2, featured seven new jazz interpretations of Black Sabbath classics and peaked at #6 in the Billboard Jazz Albums chart.





Tour dates:


November
16 - London, UK - PizzaExpress Jazz Club (7pm, Sold Out)
16 - London, UK - PizzaExpress Jazz Club (10pm)
18 - Fletching, UK - Trading Boundaries
19 - Cranleigh, UK - Cranleigh Arts Centre
20 - Devizes, UK - Corn Exchange
21 - Cardiff, UK - Acapela Studio
22 - Dartmouth, UK - The Flavel
24 - Milton Keynes, UK - The Stables
26 - Birmingham, UK - The Crescent Theatre (XL show with special guests)


Get tickets here.


Adam has been in Ozzy Osbourne's band for nearly 20 years and was part of the Black Sabbath touring lineup since 2004. He recently reunited on stage with Ozzy Osbourne and Tony Iommi in Birmingham; performing together at the closing ceremony of the Commonwealth Games.

Italian black-thrash metal trailblazers Necrodeath have shared their new single "Oomny Ones". Watch the video below.


The clip was produced by Time To Kill Records / Morbid Vision Italy and directed by the band's frontman Flegias with the assistance of Merlin Music Management, BlåKläDer, and Midnight Club.


The song is inspired by Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange - the scene in which Alex, the protagonist, is seen regaining his leadership among his "droogs." In the video, the director (and singer of the band) elaborates this concept through the rivalry between two motorcycle gangs who meet to discuss the ownership of a territory. Those who are able to showcase a little (un)healthy ultra-violence will prevail. The video also shows the whole band drinking milk plus inside a replica of the famous Korova Milk Bar.







The band's new record, Singin' In The Pain, will be released via Time To Kill Records on November 28, 2022. Pre-orders can be placed now at this location.


Singin' In The Pain is a concept based on the movie A Clockwork Orange by Stanley Kubrick, where the band takes us on a one-way black-thrash journey, soaked in immorality and violence, and back to a vain attempt at redemption and normality.


The album is conceived in nine tracks, linked together by the narrating voice of Tony Dolan of Venom Inc. and supported in the finale by the presence of Eric Forrest of E-Force (ex-Voivod).





Tracklisting:


"Gang Fight" 
"Transformer Treatment" 
"The Sweet Up And Down" 
"Redemperdition" 
"Delicious Milk Plus" 
"655321" 
"The (In)sane Ultraviolence" 
"Oomny-Ones" 
"Anti-Hero" 


"Transformer Treatment" lyric video:





 

Following the critically acclaimed debut album Divine Judgement (2020), today Swiss thrash metal legion, Gomorra, announce the release of the band's sophomore full-length record, Dealer Of Souls, out on December 9 via Noble Demon.


With their blend of insanely fast and groovy riffs full of thrash metal perfection, dynamics and energy, with their latest record Gomorra have undoubtedly made a lasting impression on critics and fans alike. Dealer Of Souls takes it even a step further and with eleven brand new tracks by the band around Damir Eskic, who is also part of German thrash metal legends Destruction, Gomorra showcases the absolute finest from the worlds of heavy, power and thrash metal.


Following the previously-released, first two singles "War Of Control" and "Stand United"(feat. Laura Guldemond of Burning Witches) today, Gomorra have shared the brand new track "Rule of Fear".




Damir Eskic (Gomorra / Destruction) comments:


"‘Rule Of Fear’ is a reflection of the present time, which is constantly changing and readapting for almost 3 years, or has to readapt. A strong and epic song that will get under the skin of any metalhead!"


Dealer Of Souls was recorded by V.O. Pulver at Little Creek Studio, Switzerland and mixed/mastered by V.O. Pulver, Damir Eskic and Schmier (Destruction). The stunning album artwork was designed by Gyula Havancsak. Dealer Of Souls is available for pre-order here.





Tracklisting:


"Reflections Of Souls"
"War Of Control"
"A Chance For The Better"
"Stand United"
"Dealer"
"Isolation"
"Green Gold"
"Lost In Darkness"
"Rule Of Fear"
"All Is Lost"
"End Of The World"


"Rule Of Fear":





"War Of Control" lyric video:





Gomorra are:


Jonas Ambühl - Vocals
Damir Eskic - Lead/Solo Guitars
Dominic Blum - Lead/Solo Guitars
Nico Ardüser - Bass Guitar
Stefan Hösli - Drums

Cracow, Poland’s Sewer Dwellers has issued their new single “The Cassandra Complex”.


The name Sewer Dwellers derives from an English expression used to describe residents of sewers in Bucharest since 1989. 


The band says: “We embody a fresh perspective on the modern blend of deathcore and death metal along with some symphonic elements. We draw inspiration from a variety of bands across the world such as Thy Art Is Murder, Fit For An Autopsy and Shadow of Intent. The idea behind the band was born a couple years back in the minds of our founding members - Grzesiek and Tomek. With time we grew in numbers and managed to put out the album Fate Of A Maggot late in 2019. During the pandemic we focused mostly on writing new material which will be released as a series of singles in the near future. The first one of them is 'The Cassandra Complex'.”

Brutal Spanish death metallers Bonecarver celebrated the November 11th release of their new album, Carnage Funeral, out via Unique Leader Records, with the release of their blistering new single "The Reckoning".


Bonecarver commented on the new single: "Inspired by the film of Robert Eggers 'The Northman', 'The Reckoning' is a story that talks about the feelings surrounding the wrath that we fill when we pursue vengeance. Apart from horror and gore movies, we also love superhero movies so we thought that the video for 'The Reckoning' is the perfect mix, as well as being the song with the most crushing riff on the album." 







Continuing on about their album release: "Our new album Carnage Funeral is here!  We want to thank all the people who have supported us since our name was Cannibal Grandpa until today's release. From our family and friends to the people who have been listening to us all this time around the world. We do exactly what we like and we do it for you, so we hope you enjoy it as much as we do. Don't forget to add us to your playlists and spread the word!" 


Carnage Funeral artwork and tracklisting:





"Carnage Funeral"
"Ancient Atrocity"
"The Reckoning"
"Thorned"
"Pillars Of Tragedy"
"Morgue Desecrator"
"The Red Wake"
"Horror Disorder"
"Bereavement"


"Carnage Funeral" video:





"Ancient Atrocity" video:





 

Dark Star Records has announced that Conquest have released their new single and lyric video for the song “Man On The Silver Mountain”. The song was originally made famous by the band Rainbow fronted by the legendary Ronnie James Dio.





This version of the classic song is a slightly heavier version and features Derrick Brumley on guitar and lead vocals, Mike Crook on guitar and vocals, Rob Boyer on bass and vocals, Lee Skyles on drums and vocals.




The lyric video “Man On The Silver Mountain” is Available in 4K on YouTube and the single is out now on all major streaming platforms like Spotify, Apple Music and more. Stream on songwhip.com.

Los Angeles-based Desert Dragon has released their new album, This Side of Heaven on all digital and retail platforms. Along with the album release the band is also premiering the video for the song “Lock And Load.”





Desert Dragon vocalist St John is well known in the rock world for his time in Montrose, Lynch Mob, and currently, Kingdom Come, Burning Rain, and the Raiding the Rock Vault production on the Las Vegas strip. St John co-wrote and coproduced the This Side Of Heaven album with Patnode and Smith and considers this record to be "au natural and straight from the heart."







The band has been making a name for themselves with their multi-rock sound which includes a mix of classic rock, blues rock, country rock, and progressive rock. This Side of Heaven features ten new songs that highlight a different side of the band's talents on every track, while they salute good old fashion rock. On the album violinist Adel Eskander (Page and Plant No Quarter Tour) lends his talents to the song “Southside Of Heaven”.


Since their debut in 2011, the band has independently released the EP Desolation which was produced by the legendary Ron Nevison (Led Zeppelin, Bad Company, The Faces, Heart, Lynyrd Skynyrd) and featured Billboard charting singles “Darkness Shines” and “Miles Away”. For their album Before The Storm, the band worked with producer/mixer James “Jimbo” Barton (Queensrÿche, Rush, Metallica) with the song “Save My World” garnering Best Rock Song at the Malibu Music Awards.





Desert Dragon has also toured relentlessly including an opening slot for Blue Oyster Cult and a capacity show at SXSW. When asked about the name Patnode explains, “Desert comes from the Judas Priest song Desert Plain and Dragon was inspired by Jimmy Page’s iconic dragon pants.”

Maceration's comeback album It Never Ends... to be released on November 25 featuring death metal legend Dan Swanö – Edge Of Sanity, Bloodbath – as a vocalist.


It’s official. Maceration hiatus is over and the Danish death metal band will release their new album It Never Ends... November 25. This happens 30 years after the release of their debut and only studio album this far. The Danish band played a pivotal role in the local death metal scene, being among the pioneers of the style in Denmark. Their A Serenade Of Agony album, also with Dan Swanö on vocals and members of pioneers Invocator, paved the way for a whole generation of Danish death metal bands to follow. 


“We are back with our second album. A perfect timing, 30 years, after the debut album, and of course very important for us that the album again is featuring Dan Swanö on lead vocals. It has been a very exciting experience to record this album and get to be working with Dan again. I think this is actually the first time Dan is back growling on an album since the Edge of Sanity days, so this is very special,” says Jakob Schultz, guitarist, ex-Invocator, and one of the original members of Maceration. 







This year, in the frenzy of the A Serenade Of Agony re-release, the live album Live Disfigurements (recovering long, historical concerts recordings) and the book “Incombustible Remains” (telling the story of the band’s first concert, opening for Darkthrone), Maceration reformed and are back in business. The band already played important festivals in Denmark such as Metal Magic and Death Coast. And still got time to write and record a new album. In this album, to be released this fall via Emanzipation, to which Maceration just signed a record deal, Dan Swanö (ex-Edge Of Sanity, Bloodbath) is back as a session lead vocalist, just as on the debut album, and also as the producer. The album is mixed and mastered by Dan Swanö in his own Unisound studio, where he also recorded the vocals. 


“At the time of the initial request I had given up singing all together, and especially growling, but since Maceration was the first album session job I ever did as a vocalist, back in 1991, I felt that I needed to be on this album, so I decided to sign on for the growling duties, as well as the sound duties, and pay my respects not only to the band for choosing me to sing on their first album, but also to finally singing on a full-on top notch HM-2 death metal release”, Dan Swanö says about his role as session vocalist and producer on the upcoming album. “I must say that that it sounds so much better than I ever thought possible, given that I really haven’t used this particular style of growling since the mid 90’s and combined with the awesome riffing and the world-class drumming, it sometimes teleported me back to the vibe I had when I recorded the vocals for Edge Of Sanity’s Unorthodox back in 1991,” Swanö explains. 


The cover artwork for It Never Ends... was done by the Swedish artist Ola Larsson, also known for his work for bands like Sulphur Aeon, Temple Of Void and Disma. His creation for Maceration’s new album sums of the atmosphere of diabolical forces from the underworlds beyond in a very unique and intense way, combining the grotesque with the darkest corners of your mind. 


The live Maceration lineup is comprised of original Maceration members, lead guitarist Jakob Schultz (ex-Invocator) and rhythm guitarist Lars Bangsholt. The new line-up features also bass player Robert Tengs, drummer Rasmus Schmidt (Illdisposed, ex- Myrkur) and singer Jan Bergmann Jepsen (ex-Cor Vacante), who also sings on the album, on the title track and on the song “Tender Twigs Of Innocence”, together with Swanö. 


It Never Ends… will be released on digital, CD and LP (black and white vinyls, each limited to 300 units) on November 25, 2022. Preorder at targetshop.dk.

Metal Blade Records announces that Cleveland death metal quartet, 200 Stab Wounds, is officially part of the label's roster.


Says the band: "200 Stab Wounds is proud to announce we've joined forces with Metal Blade Records. The label's legacy speaks for itself, so all we can say is we are very excited to leave our mark in the catalog!"


The new single "Masters Of Morbidity" was produced by Mark Lewis (The Black Dahlia Murder, Nile, Deicide, Krisiun, Whitechapel, Fallujah). Check it out below, and make sure to catch the band live while they tour the US on a co-headline tour with Undeath with support coming from Enforced and Phobophilic.




The band add: "'Masters Of Morbidity' marks a whole new level for us as a band. Having fun writing and being open to incorporating some different things into our music that maybe we wouldn't have done a year or 2 ago. We're very happy with what we've put together and can't wait to get more out to the masses. See you on the road!"





(Photo - Alec Basse)

Christian metallers Stryper performed the first of two shows at the Whisky-A-Go-Go in Hollywood, CA on November 4th. Fan-filmed video of the entire show can be viewed below.


The setlist was as follows:


"In God We Trust"
"Revelation"
"The Rock That Makes Me Roll"
"More Than a Man"
"Surrender"
"Calling On You"
"Free"
"Sorry"
"Honestly"
"All For One"
"Always There For You"
"Divider"
"The Valley"
"Yahweh"
"Soldiers Under Command"
"To Hell With The Devil"







Frontiers Music Srl has released Stryper's new album, The Final Battle. To mark the occasion, a lyric video for the song, "Ashes To Ashes", can be found below.


The Final Battle is available on CD, LP (multiple color variants available), & digital. In addition to CDs and LPs, new t-shirt designs are available from the band's store and the label stores. Order/save here.





Tracklisting:


"Transgressor"
"See No Evil, Hear No Evil"
"Same Old Story"
"Heart & Soul"
"Near"
"Out, Up & In"
"Rise To The Call"
"The Way, The Truth, The Life"
"No Rest For The Wicked"
"Till Death Do Us Part"
"Ashes To Ashes"


"Ashes To Ashes" lyric video:





"Same Old Story" video:





"Transgressor" video:





"Rise To The Call" lyric video:





"See No Evil, Hear No Evil":

Robert DeLeo, bassist and principal songwriter of the iconic band STONE TEMPLE PILOTS, released his first solo album, "Lessons Learned", on October 21. The official music video for the debut single, "Love Is Not Made Of Gold", directed by DeLeo and Ryan Williams, can be seen below.

If you've been paying attention since the 1990s, you already know that DeLeo's range was always there in the hints of sophistication sparkling beneath the surface of the sound that cemented STP's place as one of the defining bands of their era. Now for the first time, he's pulling back the curtain to reveal the full breadth of his range. "Lessons Learned" bears many shades of DeLeo in his full glory as a multi-instrumentalist.

STP listeners will recognize the signature chord changes right away, with new songs like "She Brings The Rain", "What Will Be" and "What'll I Do", shifting course and ascending ever so gracefully to the upper ozone of the musical spectrum, where gorgeous hummable melodies spill over into an array of reflective moods.

"The past few years of life have revealed many changes," says Robert. "This collection of songs represents what has transpired. The journey and gift of songwriting has played such an important role for me. It's been a close companion throughout my life."

Robert played virtually all the instruments on the album, complemented by guest musicians and vocalists, all of which lend to the undeniable intimacy of the music. "Love Is Not Made Of Gold" features vocalist Jimmy Gnecco.

"I needed to confess my feelings on that ever so mystical word…LOVE," says Robert. "I wanted this song to come across in such a way that really hits where it hurts."

Like so much of DeLeo's body of work, "Lessons Learned" is the kind of record that feels so alive in the present and instantly soundtracks the moment for the listener.

"The path of love is unknown," Robert concludes. "Your heart leads you in many different directions. These are my lessons learned."

"Lessons Learned" track listing:

01. Big Sky Woman (feat. Pete Shoulder)
02. She Brings The Rain (feat. Tim Bluhm)
03. Love Is Not Made Of Gold (feat. Jimmy Gnecco)
04. Anew (feat. Kara Britz) 03:41
05. Put Aside Your Sorrows (feat. Pete Shoulder) 03:18
06. Lessons Learned (feat. Tim Bluhm) 03:18
07. What Will Be (feat. Jimmy Gnecco) 03:03
08. Everything (feat. Kara Britz) 04:04
09. What'll I Do (feat. Johnny Irion) 04:17
10. Is This Goodbye 03:44

This past March, Robert spoke to AXS TV's "At Home And Social With" about his upcoming solo album. The 56-year-old musician said: "Through this pandemic, there's been a lot of time and a lot of free time. And it gave me a chance to pick up all my acoustic instruments and kind of talk to them a little bit and see what they had to say back. And before I knew it, I had a bunch of songs together of my own — acoustic-based songs. And I had some friends of mine, who are very talented, do some vocal stuff. So I have different vocalists — about five different vocalists — through the record, and great, great, very talented people helping me out with this."

In February, DeLeo revealed on his Instagram that his solo album would include a guest appearance by Kara Britz, who has worked as a backing singer on NBC's "The Voice" and has backed up country artist Blake Shelton, as well as piano playing by producer, engineer and mixer Bill Appleberry and cello playing of Dave Eggar.

In the summer of 2021, DeLeo discussed his solo album in an interview with Bass Player magazine. At the time, he stated about the set: "It's all acoustic bass, and I got a chance to sharpen up my acoustic guitar skills too. I wound up finding a guitarrón — you know, the Mexican bass? I found one that was converted to four strings and it was fretted, and it sounds unbelievable. I've reached out to people that I really wanted to write and collaborate with."

DeLeo has been discussing the possibility of releasing a solo album for at least the last two decades. Back in 2002, he said that he was "compiling a number of songs" that had not made their way on to STP records, "not because they're bad songs, [but] just because they never found a place. Though they're different from STP, they still mean a lot to me," he explained.

STONE TEMPLE PILOTS features three original members — Robert DeLeo, guitarist Dean DeLeo and drummer Eric Kretz.

Singer Jeff Gutt, a 46-year-old Michigan native who spent time in the early-2000s nu-metal act DRY CELL, among other bands, and was a contestant on "The X Factor", joined STONE TEMPLE PILOTS after beating out roughly 15,000 hopefuls during an extended search that began more than a year earlier.

Original STONE TEMPLE PILOTS singer Scott Weiland, who reunited with the group in 2010 after an eight-year hiatus but was dismissed in 2013, died in December 2015 of a drug overdose.

Chester Bennington, who joined STP in early 2013, departed nearly three years later to spend more time with his main band LINKIN PARK. Bennington committed suicide in July 2017.

STONE TEMPLE PILOTS released their first all-acoustic album, titled "Perdida", in February 2020. The disc was Gutt's second with STP. His recording debut with the group was on its self-titled seventh album, which arrived in March 2018.

Photo credit: Duke DeLeo

Queen have set November 18 as the release date for The Miracle Collector's Edition. To celebrate the upcoming release of Queen's hit 1989 album,  the YouTube series Queen The Greatest returns to pull back the curtain on how the album originated. With archive interview material from all four members of the band and behind the scenes footage, we discover what made this such a unique Queen record.





33 years later Queen deliver the long lost original LP cut of the classic 1989 album. The 8-Disc Box Set: Vinyl LP/5CD/DVD/Blu-ray is available for pre-order here. Watch an unboxing video below:







Widely recognized as Queen’s strongest album of the 80’s and one of their most inspired, the 1989 released The Miracle was a global success reaching No. 1 in the UK and several major European markets, even re-establishing the band in the US where it delivered a gold album. Brian May has often cited the title track as his favourite Queen song of all time.


The hugely prolific sessions for The Miracle began in December 1987 and stretched out to March 1989. It was to be one of the most consequential periods in Queen’s history. Fifteen months previously, on August 9, 1986, Queen’s mighty Europe Magic Tour had ended on a high, before an estimated audience of more than 160,000 at Knebworth Park in Britain. As the band left the stage that night – toasting the flagship show of their biggest tour to date – they could hardly have foreseen that Knebworth marked a line in the sand. This would be Queen’s final live show with Freddie and the first in a chain of pivotal moments that would lead towards a lengthy separation for the band.   


It would take 15 months and a radical restructuring of internal band dynamics before Queen regrouped in London’s Townhouse Studios on December 3rd, 1987, to start work on their thirteenth studio album. For the first time, Queen would share songwriting credits equally, regardless of who conceived each song, a consensus of opinion that was to have fertile results. “Splitting the credits was a very important decision for us. We left our egos outside the studio door,” says Brian, “and worked together as a real band – something that wasn’t always the case. I wish we’d done it 15 years before.”


Said Roger: “Decisions are made on artistic merit, so ‘Everybody wrote everything’ is the line, rather than ego or anything else getting in the way. We seem to work together better now than we did before. We’re fairly up-and-down characters. We have different tastes in many ways. We used to have lots of arguments in the studio, but this time we decided to share all the songwriting, which I think was very democratic and a good idea.”


This show of unity was elegantly conveyed by band art director Richard Gray’s cover for The Miracle, which depicts Queen’s four faces merged into one. “The cover art represents the unity of the group at the time: a seamless merging of four people becoming one,” May has said. “We were also dealing with Freddie’s deteriorating health and pulling together to support him.”


While Freddie could no longer tour, Queen remained a band of staggering creative resourcefulness. As John Deacon implied, they instead channelled their live chemistry into the studio: “In the first few weeks of recording we did a lot of live material, a lot of songs, some jamming, and ideas came up.”


‘Party’ and raw rock ‘Khashoggi’s Ship’ “evolved naturally, straight away,” said Freddie. Inspired by something Anita Dobson would say, and later adopted for anti-apartheid protests, the massive ‘I Want It All’ was – though written before the band went into the studio – a forceful expression of Queen’s concert-honed heavy-rock powers. “We were never able to perform this song live with Freddie,” said May. “It would have become something of a staple core of the Queen show, I’m sure, because it was very participative – designed for the audience to sing along to – very anthemic.”


Says Roger: “Lots of the [Miracle] tracks have first-take stuff in them; we tried to preserve that freshness. We tried to capture all the enthusiasm that we had from playing together as a band.”


Queen’s writing also reflected their personal circumstances. The torn-from-the-headlines drama of ‘Scandal’ was May’s personal swipe at the press intrusion into the bandmembers’ respective personal affairs. Singled out by Deacon for praise, Freddie’s soaring album closer, ‘Was It All Worth It’, has in retrospect been interpreted as a reflection on the singer’s health.


One further ingredient in the mix was David Richards, who had worked with Queen since his billing as assistant engineer on Live Killers. After further credits on A Kind of Magic and Live Magic, Richards stepped up to co-produce The Miracle, praised by May for his “whizz kid” technical prowess.


The months in the studio birthed 30-plus songs, more than Queen could possibly need for one album. Ten tracks were selected to form the release, with others later appearing as B-sides or solo tracks, or carried over to the Innuendo and Made in Heaven albums. Five hit singles supported the album.


Says Brian: “We had all these bits and pieces of tracks, and some of them were half-finished, some of them were just an idea, and some of them were nearly finished, and it sort of happened on its own really. There are some tracks which you always want to get out and work on, and so they get finished, and there are some tracks which you think, ‘Oh that’s great, but I don’t really know what to do with it at this moment’, so they naturally get left by the wayside.”


Most of these left-over session tracks remained undisturbed in the Queen archives for the past 33 years.





For the Queen hardcore, meanwhile, one of the most highly anticipated elements of the new box set is The Miracle Sessions CD featuring original takes, demos, and rough takes of the full album plus six additional previously never before heard tracks including two featuring Brian on vocals.


Tantalizing enough that this hour-plus disc offers the first official airing of such near-mythical songs as "Dog With A Bone", "I Guess We’re Falling Out", "You Know You Belong To Me", and the poignant "Face It Alone". Add to that, the trove of sunken treasure spanning from original takes and demos to rough cuts that signpost the album The Miracle would become.


But perhaps the real gemstones of The Miracle Sessions CD are the spoken segments that bookend the musical takes. As the studio tape keeps rolling in London and Montreux, the four members are caught at their most candid, giving listeners the uncanny fly-on-the wall experience of standing amongst Freddie, Brian, John and Roger as they banter, debate, swap jokes and show both joy and occasional frustration.


With the band arriving at the studio with scarce mapped-out material these sessions found Queen at their most inspired and impulsive, and that atmosphere is mirrored in not just the music but the familial exchanges that punctuate it. As Freddie said: “I think it’s the closest we’ve ever been in terms of actually writing together.”


Find complete details here.











Queen recently released the rediscovered track, "Face It Alone", featuring the band's late and legendary frontman, Freddie Mercury. The digital/streaming single is available now, with a 7” single set for release on November 18.


Listen / pre-order here, and watch an official music video below:





Watch a lyric video for "Face It Alone":

Puscifer’s companion soundtracks to their recently streamed concert films: V Is For Versatile: A Puscifer Concert Film featuring music from the V Is for… era and Parole Violator: A Puscifer Concert Film featuring Conditions of My Parole, are available now via the various digital streaming providers.


The albums, titled V is for Versatile and Parole Violator, feature re-imagined versions of the music from both the band’s debut release, V is for Va****, singles from the outfit’s earliest days, and Puscifer’s 2011 album, Conditions of My Parole.


Physical releases (vinyl, CD, CD/Blu-Ray) arrive Dec. 9 and are available for pre-order via Puscifer.com. Watch the video for "Indigo Children" below.







V is for Versatile tracklisting:


"Queen B"
"DoZo"
"Va**** Mine"
"Momma Sed"
"The Mission"
"The Undertaker"
"Trekka"
"Indigo Children"
"Potions"
"Dear Brother"
" Breathe"
"The Humbling River"





Puscifer are currently out on the North American Existential Reckoning tour. The trek follows the band’s spring 2022 leg, which saw the Maynard James Keenan, Mat Mitchell and Carina Round led troupe perform their biggest shows to date including dates at the Greek Theatre (Los Angeles), Brooklyn’s Kings Theater and the state-of-the-art Mission Ballroom in Denver.





Existential Reckoning tour dates:


November
11 - Louisville, KY - Louisville Palace
12 - Indianapolis, IN - Murat Theatre at Old National Centre
13 - Madison, WI - The Orpheum Theater
15 - Grand Rapids, MI - DeVos Performance Hall
17 - St. Louis, MO - The Factory
18 - Kansas City, MO - The Midland Theatre
19 - Tulsa, OK - Tulsa Theater
22 - Prescott, AZ - Yavapai College Performing Arts Center


Tickets on-sale at Puscifer.com. Night Club opens on all dates.

EPICA has just released "The Alchemy Project", a unique collaboration featuring 13 bands and musicians who co-wrote and performed the seven new tracks with the Dutch symphonic metal titans.

The official Patric Ullaeus-directed music video for a hauntingly dark track with a majestic chorus "Sirens - Of Blood And Water", co-written and performed by EPICA singer Simone Simons with melodic metal queen Charlotte Wessels (ex-DELAIN) and folk/black metal pioneer Myrkur, can be seen below.

Simone said: "Charlotte and I go back many years, but we never really worked on music together. Since she started releasing her solo songs, I became an admirer of her work and reached out to her to create a song for 'The Alchemy Project'. That collaboration resulted in the beautiful haunting song, 'Sirens - Of Blood And Water'. We both have a fascination for mermaids, the fairytale from H.C. Andersen and wanted to write a song from the perspective of the sisters of the little mermaid. I loved how our creative minds flowed into the song and having Myrkur, who happens to be Danish just like the author of the tale, add her unique voice to the song was the perfect match that we needed to complete the story."

"The Alchemy Project" arrived on November 11 through Atomic Fire Records.

In the 20 years of their existence, EPICA has never shied away from challenges, twists and turns, weathering every storm and pushing the symphonic metal genre to heights no one even dared to believe in. Since 2002, the band featuring singer Simone Simons and her longtime musical partner Mark Jansen has released eight highly innovative and cinematic albums, has toured the world over and has left its mark as one of metal’s most prolific, most cherished and most admired success stories forever.

With "The Alchemy Project", EPICA sets another highlight in the band's 20th-anniversary year. Graced by a vivid and witty artwork by graphic wizard Heilemania, visual partner in crime for more that 15 years, EPICA embarks on a journey through seven extraordinary new songs. Co-written and performed with diverse guests ranging from extremists like FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE, Niilo Sevänen (INSOMNIUM) and Björn "Speed" Strid (SOILWORK) via melodic masters like Tommy Karevik (KAMELOT),keyboard legend Phil Lanzon (URIAH HEEP) and Roel Van Helden (POWERWOLF) to a once-in-a-lifetime song with Simons, Wessels and Myrkur, the EPICA members have really outdone themselves once again. The result is a mind-bending EP that even surpasses the usual broad scope of an EPICA record.

The first song they wrote for this seven-track offering was "The Final Lullaby", a fast-paced, intense clash between EPICA and the avant-garde rock of Norwegian legends SHINING (with saxophone!),graced with one of the biggest refrains you will hear all year.

"I've been a big fan of SHINING since the first time I heard them," bassist Rob Van Der Loo says. "Our intention with 'The Final Lullaby' was to make a mash-up between EPICA and SHINING so we thought it would be a good idea if I would come up with some riffs that would be typical SHINING and they would do the complete opposite."

The seven songs on "The Alchemy Project" were co-written and performed with the following renowned guest musicians:

01. The Great Tribulation [feat. FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE]
02. Wake The World [feat. Phil Lanzon (URIAH HEEP) & Tommy Karevik (KAMELOT)]
03. The Final Lullaby [feat. SHINING]
04. Sirens - Of Blood And Water [feat. Charlotte Wessels & Myrkur]
05. Death Is Not The End [feat. Frank Schiphorst (MAYAN) & Björn "Speed" Strid (SOILWORK)]
06. Human Devastation [feat. Henri Sattler (GOD DETHRONED),Sven de Caluwé (ABORTED)]
07. The Miner [feat. Asim Searah (DAMNATION PLAN),Niilo Sevänen (INSOMNIUM),Roel Van Helden (POWERWOLF)]

Just one day after the release of its anniversary reissues "We Still Take You With Us" and "Live At Paradiso", EPICA celebrated 20 years of existence live on September 3 at 013 in Tilburg, Netherlands, the same place where they played their first show (supporting ANATHEMA) back in 2002.

EPICA was formed by composer Mark Jansen after leaving AFTER FOREVER in 2002, and the band quickly gained attention outside their home country, taking big steps towards becoming the leading symphonic metal superpower they have long proven to be. After their ambitious debut "The Phantom Agony" (2002) and the surprisingly eclectic sophomore work "Consign To Oblivion" (2005),the road took them to new heights via their first concept masterpiece "The Divine Conspiracy" (2007) and their global breakthrough "Design Your Universe" (2009). 2012's opus "Requiem For The Indifferent", 2014's bedazzling "The Quantum Enigma" and "The Holographic Principle" (2016),cemented their reputation as not only one of the hardest-working metal bands in the business but also as one of the best. With 2021's "Omega", the final part of the metaphysical trilogy they began with "The Quantum Enigma", they reclaimed the throne without so much as the blink of an eye, amassing three million-plus streams during the first week of the album's release.

This past May, former IRON MAIDEN singer Paul Di'Anno came face to face with MAIDEN bassist Steve Harris for the first time in three decades before the band's concert in Croatia.

Harris, whose group kicked off the 2022 leg of its "Legacy Of The Beast" world tour at the 22,000-capacity Arena Zagreb, came out before the show to greet a wheelchair-bound Di'Anno and chat with him for a few minutes. Di'Anno also had a short discussion with MAIDEN's longtime manager Rod Smallwood, who was traveling with the group.

After his friendly meeting with Harris, Di'Anno stuck around long enough to watch some of MAIDEN's performance before leaving near the end of the set to avoid a huge traffic jam after the show.

Asked in a new interview with Sakis Fragos of Greece's Rock Hard magazine why he would take the time to meet with Harris and Smallwood when he had been critical of the two of them in the past, referring to Smallwood as "Rod Smallwallet" and comparing Steve to Adolf Hitler, Di'Anno responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I never called [Rod] Rod Smallwallet. A journalist called him Rod Smallwallet, and we thought it was all funny, so everybody in IRON MAIDEN called him that, 'cause it used to piss him off. So that's the end of that one.

"I did call Steve Hitler once. [Laughs] Because of the way he runs [the band]," Paul explained. "It's like a fucking army. He's so focused. And I couldn't think of another one person to [compare him to]. I said 'Hitler' [but] I didn't mean it in that way."

Looking back on the circumstances that led to his departure from MAIDEN and whether it's true that it has something to do with his vocal performance, Paul said: "My record stands for itself. I've played more shows than IRON MAIDEN have ever played… They play a lot of concerts, but I played a hell of a lot more than they ever had. So it was nothing to do with my voice. It was nothing to do with that. I was just upset about certain things, which were private things in the band. And the way I dealt with them maybe was not right, but I dealt with them. And that's the end of it. And that's as much as I'm gonna say."

Di'Anno, who had been receiving physiotherapy and lymphatic drainage treatments in Croatia, finally underwent his knee surgery on September 12. Asked if the MAIDEN camp assisted him with any of the costs involved with his medical treatment, Paul said: "Yes, they did. Towards the end. It was very kind of them. What happened was we were almost there, but there was quite a bit of more money needed for surgeries. 'Cause it's all privately done as well; that's how you get better attention. And IRON MAIDEN just called in, their administration called in, and said, 'We're gonna take over the rest of it now. So we'll pay for the final parts.' And all of it is important, but obviously the final part is the final part. There's still a few more little issues to deal with, but [we're almost there]. [So] thank you, IRON MAIDEN, and most of all, thank you to the fans."

Pressed about whether it's true that he wasn't properly compensated for his work on the first two IRON MAIDEN albums, Paul said: "I have nothing to comment on that at all, because, to be honest with you, it's nobody's damn business. I got paid very well. I'm very happy with that. See, if I try to say, 'Oh, IRON MAIDEN didn't pay me enough money,' it's a bad reflection on IRON MAIDEN. And I'm not taking that. I got paid very well. They looked after me. End of story."

Di'Anno recorded two classic albums with IRON MAIDEN — a self-titled effort in 1980 and "Killers" in 1981 — before being fired and replaced by Bruce Dickinson. He went on to front a number of other bands, including KILLERS and BATTLEZONE, and released several solo records.

Di'Anno made the aforementioned "Hitler" comment during a 2009 press conference in Argentina where he was asked about the rumors that his drug use had something to do with his split with MAIDEN. "Where the fuck do you people get this from?" he asked. "I left IRON MAIDEN because they were going too heavy metal, and IRON MAIDEN is a money-making machine, and I don't give a fuck about it. It was not about drugs; it was nothing like that. Me and Steve... I [wrote] the song 'Killers'. Steve had [what he thought] were better songs. I thought his songs were shit. Nothing to do with drugs; nothing whatsoever. Check your facts or otherwise this interview is over... I hate that! I fucking hate that! Because people... You say something but you don't know. Well, I'm telling you. IRON MAIDEN is Steve Harris's band. It doesn't matter about anybody else — whether it's Dave Murray, Clive [Burr], me... it's Steve Harris's band and all it is is money, money, money, money — nobody else counts. And I wrote fuckin' 20-times better songs than his, but I only got one song on the 'Killers' album because it's Steve's — he must have this. Fuckin' Adolf Hitler. I'm not interested. So there you go. But you need to take drugs when you're with IRON MAIDEN because they're so fucking boring. And the only drugs were aspirin, because Steve [making hand gesture as if someone is speaking into his ear]... Fuckin' headache."

More than a decade and a half ago, Di'Anno told The Jerusalem Post that leaving the MAIDEN juggernaut behind was the best thing that ever happened to him, and that he had no bitter feelings toward his former bandmates. "I absolutely have no regrets about leaving MAIDEN — I wasn't right in the head at that time to be in the middle of all that," he said. "I was fed up and disillusioned; it would have been cheating the fans and myself if I had stayed. It was easy to walk away from, and I'm very happy the band got bigger and bigger."

Several years ago, Di'Anno told Metal Thunder Radio that he wasn't as involved with MAIDEN's songwriting as he would have liked. "Steve had most of the words and the lyrics [to the band's first album] all written. That was some of the bones of contention that we had in the band — that I didn't get to write as much as I wanted to. 'Cause I am actually quite a prolific writer, but a lot of my songs were not accepted. 'Cause it's Steve's band, obviously."

He continued: "That first album was a revelation, I've gotta tell you. It was amazing. And the second album, for me, not so much. That's when I started to lose interest a little bit. But [we] still [had] great times — really great times."

In May, Paul played his first full solo concert in seven years at the Bikers Beer Factory in Zagreb. The show was filmed and parts of it will be included in a documentary about Di'Anno, to be directed by Wes Orshoski, co-director and producer of the acclaimed 2010 film "Lemmy" about the MOTÖRHEAD icon.

The Zagreb concert was free to attend and was held as a way of thanking Paul's fans for their help during the most difficult time of his recovery. The show took place just a day before the IRON MAIDEN's gig at the Zagreb Arena.

Di'Anno recently teamed up with several Croatian musicians to form a new project called WARHORSE. WARHORSE entered the studio to record three songs, two of which — "Stop The War" and "The Doubt Within" — have been released as a special limited-edition DVD single.

Photo credit: Wes Orshoski / Stjepan Juras

In a new interview with Germany's Rock Antenne, DISTURBED frontman David Draiman was asked if the title of the band's new album, "Divisive", is a reference to "current society." He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Absolutely. In every way. I think that the two years-plus of the pandemic that the world went through made everybody lose their damn minds. I think that with being shut inside for so long and having the Internet as this limitless rabbit hole of potential information to sink yourself into, people lost themselves in other really, really bad habits. And one of those bad habits was outrage addiction — people searching online to find new and more compelling reasons to be pissed off at someone for something. And it's sad what we've become. It's sad that people in positions of power pit us against one another for their own gain. It's sad that we don't realize we're being manipulated. It's a very scary time. I can't recall ever seeing things this bad before in terms of 'it's either you're on my team or you're the enemy' in my lifetime. It's pretty crazy."

As for what solution he suggests for this divisive situation, Draiman said: "I think that people need to start focusing on what we have in common that unites us as opposed to how we differ from another and what separates us. I think people need to enjoy the simpler things in life.

"I love — we love — that one of the most unifying experiences that you can participate in in this world is going to a concert, going to a live performance," he continued. "And everybody, no matter what walk of life you come from and no matter how rich or poor you may be and no matter where your politics may lie, you share a common unified love of the art that you're witnessing. It hits you, a person who's, let's say, a Republican the same way as it does a Democrat or a liberal and conservative and vice versa. We still all have that same ability to feel the same level of emotion and for it to affect us in different ways. That's part of the beauty of being human.

"We don't have any delusions of grandeur," Draiman added. "We know that we're not, like [the 1989 American comedy] 'Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure', we're not WYLD STALLYNS [the fictional band from 'Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure'] and our music is going to save the world or anything like that. I wish it could.

"I think that people need a good, stern reality check and for people to recognize we've gone way, way, way too far with this."

Pressed about whether he is still feeling "optimistic" about humanity's ability to come together and solve global challenges, Draiman said: "I don't necessarily have the highest level of optimism. I hope. Like I said, I've never seen it this bad. And we don't do anything to inhibit its growth. We feed it — over and over and over again. We can't help ourselves. So, I don't know. [Laughs] I worry for the world that my son has to grow up in. I truly do. He has challenges that I never would have dreamt of growing up myself."

"Divisive" will arrive on November 18 via Reprise. Over the last year, the quartet cut these ten tracks with producer Drew Fulk (MOTIONLESS IN WHITE, LIL PEEP, HIGHLY SUSPECT) in Nashville, Tennessee.

Guitarist Dan Donegan previously stated about the "Divisive" title: "Whatever it takes, we've got to pull it together. We've always tried to take negative topics and spin them in a positive light. From touring around the world, we've seen the power of music as the universal language to bring everyone together from all walks of life. We can still play songs to unite people, and it's a pretty powerful feeling."

DISTURBED initially set the stage for the record with "Hey You", which came out in July. The song spread like wildfire across airwaves, emerging as the band's 15th No. 1 single at rock radio.

Thus far, DISTURBED has notched five consecutive No. 1 debuts on the Billboard 200, occupying rarified air alongside METALLICA — the only other hard rock group to accomplish this feat. Since their influential five-times-platinum debut "The Sickness" in 2000, they have built a bulletproof catalog highlighted by a procession of smashes, including the platinum "Stupify", "Inside The Fire" and "Land Of Confusion", two-times-platinum "Stricken", six-times-platinum "Down With The Sickness" and seven-times-platinum "The Sound Of Silence", to name a few. The latter notably received a Grammy Award nomination in the category of "Best Rock Performance" as the band earned "Best Rock Artist" at the 2017 iHeartRadioMusic Awards.

During a "VIP Experience" question-and-answer session at a recent W.A.S.P. concert, frontman Blackie Lawless spoke about why he went back to playing guitar in the band after handling the bass duties on W.A.S.P.'s first couple of albums. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I had a chemistry between Chris [Holmes, guitar] and Randy [Piper, guitar] — andTony [Richards, drums]. Tony was stunning as a drummer and performer. Tony was one of those five-point guys. He looked great, looked great in photos, performed great, could sing his ass off, performed his butt off. When we lost him, we were mortally wounded and we knew it. But the other two, I knew they were never gonna play bass. So I go, 'Well, I've got the chemistry with the guys to make it work. I'll do it.' I'm a team player; I don't care how the job gets done, just get it done. So when I had the opportunity to go back, I took it."

Asked by one fan if Tony Richards is still around, Blackie said: "I hear his name pop up from time to time. People ask, 'You've got any regrets?' There was nothing we could do about it, but losing Tony, like I said, we were mortally wounded. I'll give you an example. You look at that first album, it's all four of us on the cover. The second and third album, it's just me, and that was a conscious decision we made, because when Tony was gone, we were not the same band anymore, and we knew it. In the early days, we promoted ourselves as a band, and we felt when Tony was gone, we didn't have that strength anymore, so we used me for the first two covers after that, but if you think back, no bandmember has appeared on any cover since. And I'm not blamingTony for that — it's unfortunate what happened — but I never felt that we had the strength of a band as a unit like we had in the beginning. So, like I said, you look at every record we've done since, no one is on that cover anymore. And that's the reason for it. 'Cause I remember what we were. And I had my memory refreshed over the summer, listening to that stuff. 'Cause I got to hear outtakes, and I got to hear individual tracks that I hadn't heard, and I'm listening to Randy and Tony sing. They were singing their asses off. Those suckers were good. And I listened to it, and it kind of made me sick to my stomach, because I remembered by listening to it how good we were… Those guys were badasses."

Last year, Holmes discussed his tenure with W.A.S.P. in an interview with TotalRock Radio. He said: "Blackie, while I was in the band, made some really bad decisions — really bad decisions — that killed the band.

"I've known him since I was 18, 17 — when he supposedly got done playing with the [NEW YORK] DOLLS or whatever; I knew him them. And not in my farthest dream could I think in the first album that that would have happened with him. It got so unbearably about him than anything else. It was radical. The band was four people when it started; that's what made us. And then with Tony gone; [Blackie] has to be on the cover [of W.A.S.P.'s second album, 1985's 'The Last Command']. His idol was Muhammad Ali. And that's only one person; it's not a team. That's what he wants. On the road, he's made some bad decisions. And I even would tell him about it, and he wouldn't listen to me.

"W.A.S.P. could have been a good band if he could have kept all the people together. I guess it's a good band now."

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

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

W.A.S.P.'s first live performance since December 2019 took place on July 23 at Skansen in Stockholm, Sweden. A week later (July 30),W.A.S.P. also played at Skogsröjet festival in Rejmyre, Sweden.

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

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

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

Jayne Andrews, who has been managing JUDAS PRIEST for 36 years, was a guest on a recent episode of "Gabbing With Girlfriends", the new podcast hosted by Gloria Butler, wife and manager of BLACK SABBATH bassist Geezer Butler. During the chat, which can be seen below, Andrews spoke about the fact that current PRIEST guitarist Richie Faulkner wasn't one of the bandmembers who were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame at this year's event, which was held on November 5 in Los Angeles. The PRIEST members that got inducted include current members Rob Halford (vocals),Ian Hill (bass),Glenn Tipton (guitar) and Scott Travis (drums),along with former members K.K. Downing (guitar),Les Binks (drums) and late drummer Dave Holland.

"I did try and get [Richie] to be inducted, but it's all down to how long you've been in the band, and it revolves around a classic album, an iconic album, and he wasn't on that album," Jayne said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). "I kind of questioned a couple of people, I said, 'Well, he wasn't in that band that long, and Richie's been in longer than he was in when he got inducted.' What I was told was it's to do with some of the classic, iconic albums, the artists who were on there… There's Rob, Glenn, Ian, Scott, and then K.K. and Les Binks. 'Cause I was saying, 'Well, Les Binks was only in the band for two years. Richie's been in it 12 years.' But [Les] was on 'Screaming For Vengeance'; he was on one of the classic albums," she added, apparently meaning to say "Stained Class" instead. "So that's why he's being inducted. So that does actually make sense, when you kind of think of that, really. As they said, 'You look at some bands. They've got so many different lineups, different members.' They said, 'We can't induct everybody.' Once they explained that, then it did make sense."

Back in 2014, Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Foundation CEO Joel Peresman said that the decision about which members to induct from any band is made by the Rock Hall's nominating committee as well as an adjunct group of "scholars and historians" familiar with specific inductees and genres. Groups get picked for induction for different reasons, he told USA Today, which means the Hall's nominating committee will use different standards when deciding which bandmates to include. "Sometimes, it's the overall body of work; sometimes, it's a specific period in time and the people who comprised the band that put them on the map and gave them that influence and created that legacy," he said.

Although the Rock Hall has historically tended to choose a band's "classic" lineup for induction practically everyone who ever played with THE GRATEFUL DEAD was included when the group went into the hall in 1994. METALLICA and the RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS also have relatively inclusive Hall memberships, with bassist Robert Trujillo getting inducted as a member of METALLICA in 2009 when he had only been in the group for six years and played on one studio album, 2008's "Death Magnetic". Other induction lineups — like those for LYNYRD SKYNYRD and KISS — left out members who sang or played with the group for many years.

Last month, Hill was asked in an interview with Rock 100.5 The KATT if JUDAS PRIEST was involved in the decision-making process about who gets inducted into the Rock Hall, Hill said: "No. That's all the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame people. They induct who they think is worthy [laughs], for want of a better word. So Ken's [K.K.] gonna be there. He's been a huge part of the band from its inception right up until he left about 10 years now. And, of course, Les Binks is gonna be there as well. And it's a shame poor old Dave Holland, he didn't make it. He's being inducted [as well]. Unfortunately, he died a couple of years ago now, which is a shame, really. But, yeah, everybody that's up there deserves it greatly."

Pressed about whether he would personally do it differently, if he could, and make sure that Faulkner and former PRIEST singer Tim "Ripper" Owens were also being inducted, Ian said: "Richie's gonna be there anyway. He's gonna be up on stage; he's gonna be playing with us anyway.

"I think one of the parameters is you have to have played for the band for 25 years or something like that, or over the last 25 years," Ian said. "And it's got nothing to do with us. If it was up to us, we probably would have inducted [Richie and] Ripper. But it's not up to us. We had no say, really. Pity, but it is what it is."

JUDAS PRIEST was on the ballot for Rock Hall induction in 2020, but failed to receive enough votes to make that year's class.

Having been eligible for induction since 1999, PRIEST was also on the ballot for the 2018 class of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, but was ultimately left out of the inductee list.

Ultimate Guitar's David Slavković recebtly got the chance to speak to guitarist Jennifer Batten - known for her work with Michael Jackson - about her career. An excerpt from the interview is available below.


UG: The landscape of the music industry today is a bit different back compared to when you were in Michael Jackson's band. And, of course, it was a man's game, and you also talked about some of the challenges that you faced back in the day. What was, if you could single out one biggest challenge in this regard, what would it be? The one that you faced as a female guitar player back in the day?


Jennifer Batten: "I've gotten comments over the years. A lot of guys will say you, 'You play pretty good for a girl.' Or, the best one, this guy said, 'You play just like a boy.' What does that even mean? Yeah, millions of male guitar players, some are great and some suck, so it has no meaning. But you kind of have to look at the energy that's coming at you, and he meant it as a positive thing.




I remember, specifically, before the Jackson thing came up, I was trying to get an audition with Ozzy Osbourne. And they were of auditioning everybody in LA at the time. And I know my audio got to the right people, and I didn't even get a chance. Looking back, it's a super macho gig, and they probably wouldn't even consider a female for that. Having said that, if it was the same thing today, I think it'd be a whole different story. You get somebody like Nili Brosh - you could slay in a gig like that. She has incredible chops, great tone, great attitude, everything. It's a different world. It is a very different world now."


Read more here. Go to this location for Batten's current tour schedule.