In a new interview with Jimmy Kay of Canada's The Metal Voice, founding METAL CHURCH guitarist Kurdt Vanderhoof spoke about the band's new lineup, in which he is joined by longtime guitarist Rick Van Zandt, bass icon David Ellefson (MEGADETH),powerhouse drummer Ken Mary (FLOTSAM AND JETSAM, FIFTH ANGEL, ALICE COOPER, HOUSE OF LORDS, TKO, CHASTAIN) and dynamic new vocalist Brian Allen (VICIOUS RUMORS). Regarding how the previous lineup of METAL CHURCH fell apart and the latest version of the band came to be, Kurdt said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET):"Well, we got back from [touring] Australia [in 2023]. Things got ugly. Things fell apart, and a lot of nasty stuff was going on. And the record company [Rat Pak] got done. They said, 'No, we're not doing this.' And I'm, like, 'I'm not having any fun. I'm done.' So I shut the band down. I let everybody know, 'I'm done. I'm shutting this down. We're done.' And I also made it very clear that 'I'm not gonna say anything derogatory about anybody, and I hope you do the same,' because if there's one thing that I can't stand is, in the world of social media, the 'he said, she said' bitch fight between former bandmembers and blah, blah, blah. I'm not playing that. So, obviously some people decided to go a different route. That's on them. That's fine. But I shut the band down. It was done. So when it started back up again, it wasn't by me starting it up. It was Brian Allen suddenly showed up via Todd La Torre from QUEENSRŸCHE. And [Todd] told Brian, 'Cut a couple of demos. Send it to Rat Pak.' And so he did. And, again, this was going on without — it was not solicited at all. So he sent it, and the next thing I know, I get a couple of MP3s of somebody singing a couple of old METAL CHURCH songs. And I was, like, 'Wow. Well, if I ever put the band together again or anything, this guy would be great.' I didn't know that I had known him before from his JUDAS PRIEST cover band, from many, many years ago. So then I left it at that. And then, because Dave Ellefson was working with Rat Pak on the ELLEFSON-SOTO project, he extended to Rat Pak as well that 'if METAL CHURCH wants to get back together, I'd love to be involved in that.' And I was [pleasantly surprised to hear that], 'cause Dave and I've known each other forever. And then, out of the blue, [former METAL CHURCH and current SAVATAGE drummer] Jeff Plate said he'd come back if we put it back together. So here I'm sitting here going, 'Well, this is awesome.' I really had no intentions. I didn't wanna go run auditions and put out and start looking [for new musicians]. I was done. It was, like, 'Another lineup? Another singer? Really? Come on. This is stupid.' But it just happened. So I went with it. And then, as it turns out, we started with Jeff, and he couldn't stay because of the SAVATAGE reunion. And that really took off, which is great for him. I'm really happy for those guys that they're doing that. And then within a few days, I was in touch with Ken Mary. So it just kept moving. So I'm, like, 'Well, I think there's something more going on than what I had intended.' So I just left it at that. And that was it. So I shut it down. A year and a half, two years later, I put it back together."

Kurdt also denied that now-former METAL CHURCH singer Marc Lopes — who sang on the band's 2023 album "Congregation Of Annihilation" — and drummer Stet Howland were blindsided by METAL CHURCH's split after the Australian tour and eventual reformation. "That's on them," Kurdt said. "I'm sure they think I could have done it differently. We had a big discussion about it, but there was no point. Enough was said. I'm, like, 'Okay.' I was clear. The label lost interest. They weren't interested in working with us anymore. So it was, like, 'Well, there's no point in going on. I'm done. I'm shutting this down. Best of luck to you.' There you go."

Lopes joined METAL CHURCH in the summer of 2022 as the replacement for Mike Howe, who tragically passed away in July of 2021. The band's lineup on "Congregation Of Annihilation" was rounded out by Vanderhoof, longtime guitarist Rick Van Zandt, bassist Steve Unger and Howland.

Last November, it was announced that METAL CHURCH was returning with a "revitalized" lineup consisting of Vanderhoof alongside Van Zandt, Ellefson, Mary and Allen (VICIOUS RUMORS). The announcement came nearly two years after METAL CHURCH canceled its 2024 tour dates due to "an ongoing back issue" suffered by Vanderhoof.

Reflecting on how he found out he was no longer a member of METAL CHURCH, Lopes told Scott Davidson of Chicago's Rebel Radio: "Yeah, we basically found out on the Internet, pretty much… When they announced that they had a new lineup and a new tune [was released], that was [when we first found out]."

Asked if he thought METAL CHURCH was broken up at that point, Marc said: "It's interesting. It depends on who you ask. My interpretation of it was there were definitely some issues going on business-wise that needed to be discussed. Certain people reacted in a certain way. At the time, it was just kind of, like, 'All right, let this thing simmer down and then have a conversation.' That was my take on it. And then when Kurdt canceled the tour, we went along with it, the reasonings that were said to the public, we went along with it in hopes of having conversations down the road — because [we] needed to. Anytime there's some kind of misunderstanding of something, you should have a conversation — whether things are gonna work or not, there needs to be some kind of finality to it. At the time, [Kurdt] was, like, I'm gonna put METAL CHURCH on [pause]… I'm just gonna stop doing this for right now,' or whatever the case may be. And believe me, when I was in the band, I heard threatening to fold the band about six times. Anytime there was a disagreement, it was, like, 'Let me take my ball and run.' It got a little annoying, so no one ever took it serious, because it never was. So when that was said, it was, like, 'All right, well, whatever. You guys can do whatever you need to do, and we'll talk.' But those talks never happened. And I constantly was always trying to reach out to find out — that was just from me. I mean, the other two guys, I don't speak to them, but I was just, like, 'What are we doing here? What's going on?' And no one would ever answer. And I was just, like, 'Well, that's kind of messed up. Why are we not having any kind of conversation?' So one year goes by and still nothing. And I'm, like, 'Wow, that's really weird.' I mean, I don't understand. At least go, 'Hey, you know what?! We're not doing this no more. We're gonna go in a different direction' or whatever. But not even that. So, I kept going on, and that was it. We just never had any kind of conversation. And about the two-year mark, when the album was at the two-year anniversary. I finally got a message back and it was, like, 'Yeah, you know…' I'm not gonna say what was said, but it was kind of, like, 'Good luck with everything,' or whatever. And I was, like, 'What?' There was no explanation for what was said. I was kind of, like, 'Well, what do you mean?' And I got no answer. [Laughs] So I was, like, 'Okay, this is kind of weird.' So I'm trying to get what's going on, and I was not getting any return calls, which — I'll be 100% honest — was super disrespectful, and that don't fly with me, man."

Lopes continued: "You know what?! If you don't wanna do it, that's cool. Whatever, man. You wanna be that way and take your ball and run into your little corner, that's cool, dude. But at least be man enough to say it. Let's have a man-to-man conversation. That's all I wanted. And I never got it. And I have every right to be annoyed by that. And that's what annoys me. And to have that all come out on the Internet, and then them B.S.ing in these interviews, it's just not cool, man. But it is what it is. It is what it is."

Marc went on to say that he doesn't "regret anything" about the time he spent as the frontman of METAL CHURCH. "It was awesome," he said. "We did a lot of cool stuff. We did more in seven months on the road than that band had done in years. And we were doing things different. Business was good. A lot of people didn't see the same way of things, and that's kind of where it fell apart.

"I think one of the things that really was most disrespectful was you have someone like Steve who was in the band for 22 years," Lopes added. "And he never got a phone call [letting him know he was no longer in the band]. That is not cool… Definitely some serious lack of communication, for sure. So that kind of thing, I just don't really think a lot about a person that does stuff like that. It's just not an honorable thing to do. And that's not how I function as a human. And I feel everyone deserves respect, whether you agree or not. So that's where any kind of animosity comes from, is that."

METAL CHURCH's new album, "Dead To Rights", will be released on April 10 via Rat Pak Records. The LP was produced by Vanderhoof and mixed and mastered by Chris "Zeuss" Harris at Planet Z.

METAL CHURCH plans to hit the road extensively this year on the "Dead To Rights" tour.

METAL CHURCH made its live debut with Lopes on June 3, 2023 at the Legions Of Metal festival at Reggies in Chicago, Illinois.

This past January, Lopes described METAL CHURCH as "a shit show" and blasted Vanderhoof over the way the band's recent lineup changes were handled. He went on to say that Kurdt had "no integrity" and accused the guitarist of displaying "cowardice" by "not confronting any of the issues, whether good or bad." He added that he had "to find out everything on the Internet" about what was actually going on with METAL CHURCH. "That was the ultimate 'fuck you'. And that does not bide well with me personally, which will be addressed in another time," he added.

Stet, an in-demand metal drummer who has also pounded the skins for W.A.S.P., BLACKFOOT and Lita Ford, briefly addressed his eight-year stint with METAL CHURCH in a social media post. He wrote in part: "After seeing recent [METAL CHURCH] interviews, Marc's statement, and Kurdt's response. There's clearly MANY things that need to be said. But in short, Marc was 100% accurate. Tho[ugh] he barely shared the tip of the iceberg of the bullshit, and he was much more kind than I'm going to be. There's truths that need to be told and facts that need to be shared. I'll be as kind as I can, but I'll be dissecting and explaining a shitshow."

Stet later opened up about his departure from METAL CHURCH in more detail, writing in a social media post in part: "[Kurdt is a] great riff writer, good hearted guy, total business disaster… And honestly, as amazing as the music was, business wise the whole thing was kind of a clown show behind the scenes. Not an ounce of good sense in play when I joined. I had to literally rebuild the entire business model. And now, with nobody to handle things, I can't wait to watch all this unfold. On the upside, there's lots of amazing talent in the new lineup. New stuff sounds great to me. Ken and Brian did a fantastic job, always loved Ken's work.

"I've always been a fan of the music, I wholeheartedly support these guys perpetuating the brand. And as disgusted as I am with the way things were handled business-wise.

"I've said this before. METAL CHURCH is about the music, not the faces. The faces will continue to change, that I assure you.

"I'm sad to say that the honor and integrity of the band was buried with Mike Howe. What remains today, now matter how wonderful it looks from the outside, is a rudderless mess."

In a new interview with Mexico's Summa Inferno, HALESTORM frontwoman Lzzy Hale spoke about how she and her bandmates manage to balance fearless experimentation with writing music rooted in their signature hard rock style. She said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I don't think we ever stray too far. There's always kind of this internal tug that keeps bringing us back. We're all very much rooted in rock and roll, but I do love experimenting. And a lot of times we say, 'Well, the weirder the idea, the better.' Because if you're trying to put yourself inside of a category or trying to fit in a nice little box, that's just no fun [laughs], and you end up kind of limiting yourselves. So, when we're creating, we remind ourselves that there are no actual rules when it comes to music. And also you don't have to try so hard to be rock and roll, if that is something that you exist to be in. If your heart is in the right place with that, the rock and roll will always find you. [Laughs] So, for us, it's more when we're creating, we're chasing after what gets us excited, whatever that is, and we listen to all sorts of music. My motto is kind of, like, if it's good, it's good; if it's great, it's great. I don't really care who it is. But you can garner inspiration from really anything. One thing that I like to do, and it definitely annoys my friends a little bit, is that if we go out somewhere, we're at a bar, I am a serial eavesdropper. I always have kind of like a notepad and a pen with me and I'll be kind of listening to people's conversations and say, 'Ooh, that's a good line. I'm writing that down.' [Laughs] And then sometimes my friends are, like, 'Are you putting that down? Is that gonna be in a song? Is that gonna be about me?' I'm, like, 'Maybe. Maybe not. I can't say right now.' [Laughs] But that kind stuff is fun too."

Asked what aspect of being a frontwoman has required the most discipline over HALESTORM's nearly three-decade existence, Lzzy said: "Well, performance-wise, I've worked very hard to be consistent, specifically with my vocals and making sure that I can do what I can do every single night in the same key that we recorded in. And so I'm very proud of working very hard for that, taking care of myself so that I'm able to give 110% every single night, because I don't think that I have it in me to just half-ass something. I can't just call in a show. It just doesn't work. When I step on stage, I am performing the show like this is the last show that I'm going to ever play. And in order to do that consistently, that takes a lot of discipline and a lot of work and a lot of trust in myself and my body. But also beyond the musical aspect of just making sure that we keep getting better. And I sit down at the drawing board with my guitar and be, like, 'Okay, I need to get better at that because we're moving in this direction' and trying to learn new things always. But beyond that, I think that one of the coolest things that I realized, and this was probably about seven to 10 years ago, was I was getting worried about being someone that is looked up to, I was worried about being a role model for young girls and I was trying very hard to put whatever this character that I had created up on a pedestal and try not to make mistakes and try not to show my weaker sides, or if I'm depressed, try not to show that. And what I realized after a while is that doesn't work. By pretending to be something that you're not or pretending to be more perfect than you actually are — because I am imperfect — it doesn't reach people in the same way that if you are just living unapologetically and coming to terms with the fact that you are a normal person. I just happen to be in a rock band. And so when I started opening up more about the things that scare me or my low points — I still suffer from anxiety and depression, and I have since I was a kid; the music has absolutely helped with that — but instead of trying to hide all of those things, I not only write about it, but I talk about it, to the fans and in interviews. And it's freeing because what ends up happening is that the fans that then look at me and say, 'Oh, okay, she is also somebody that is attainable. She's just like me. She has bad days. She's imperfect.' And so for me, that's a better way to go about being a role model than trying to hide behind a veil somewhere."

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

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

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

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

In a new interview with Finland's Chaoszine, Canadian visionary musician, composer, and producer Devin Townsend — who is promoting his upcoming rock opera "The Moth" — discussed his songwriting process, particularly as it relates to some of his recent releases. He said in part (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "This last year and a half was the most complicated my life has ever been on a personal level. So whatever the input is in my life, the output is going to mirror. I look forward to being able to make something that's calm and beautiful, because what that would suggest is that my life was calm and beautiful. But the most important part of the process to me at this stage in my career is just being honest with it. Like, 'This is what I hear, and this is how it goes.'

"I never know what I'm gonna write until I start writing," he explained. "And each time I start writing, the most surprised person of us all is me. I'm, like, 'Oh, shit. I guess this is what I'm writing now.' And then from there, the most important part of it's just doing it so that it's accurate to the original vision."

Asked if he feels that there is ever going to be anything that will alienate his fans or make them say that, 'Okay, Dev, you've gone too far,' he responded: "'The Moth'? How about 'The Moth'? I can't let that play into my process, man. I really can't. And I think that one of the reasons why the audience has been so tolerant is they probably know how I'm not a slave to it. 'Cause that, again, sounds way more dramatic than it is, because I do love it — I love aspects of it, let's say. But when I have an idea, I just feel like my role as an artist, quote-unquote, is I just have to try and do it properly. It's, like, I'll have a moment of creative compulsion a decade ago, and I'll be, like, 'Oh, it's an orchestral thing and it's super dark and it's super complicated and it has to be ugly and it has something to do with sex and it has something to do with transformation and confluence of power and fear in society and how that reflects on intimacy,' and whatever it is. It's, like, whatever the original idea is, I'm, like, 'Oh, I know what to do.' And then I just feel like my job as a creative is just to do it properly. And so I keep following it where it leads. I'll be, like, 'Oh, shit. It requires a really big orchestra.' 'Oh, shit. It requires a really big choir.' It's very intense on so many levels. And then I just do my best to make it accurate. And then my hope is that the audience that has been supportive of me is just, like, 'Well, that's what he does. He can't help it. So here's the next one.' And my hope is that I can just keep making them."

Regarding how his various projects influence each other in terms of their overall musical and lyrical vision, Devin said: "It all bleeds into each other. That's just how it goes. The reaction to one often defines the nature of the next one. Whatever I've done, the next thing is gonna be either the opposite of it or, again, a reflection of what I learned as a result of going through the process.

"How does 'The Moth' inform everything going forward? Personally, I feel that there's gonna be a before and an after with this part of my work," he revealed. "There's gonna be a before I did 'The Moth' and there's gonna be an after I did 'The Moth'. And you could say that about every record, but I think just psychologically, it's like a big shift that has occurred as a result of doing this one. And maybe that shift is just the ramifications of being willing to face it, to be willing to get into the mud with myself and look at the less pleasant parts of my personality and then come to some sort of conclusions from that. I think what that yielded for me, if I can be so bold, is a sense of perspective on who I actually am versus who I would like to portray myself as, and that will affect myself moving forward, I think, in the ways that I probably will care less about whether or not the ideas that I have moving forward might not appeal to people. I don't know. I have no idea, brother. All I do is hope that what I'm doing is enough to allow me to keep going."

An album over a decade in the making, "The Moth" will finally arrive on May 29, 2026. This 24-track record began as a vague vision more than a decade ago. It existed in the back of Devin Townsend's mind as his "life's work". Then, about six years ago, after an acoustic show in Amsterdam, Townsend was approached by the head of the Noord Nederlands Orkest (North Netherlands Symphony Orchestra) with an offer: bring orchestral grandeur to Devin's extensive discography.

"The Moth" constitutes three distinct parts across its release. In addition to the main album, "The Moth - The Afterlife" highlights the grandeur of the orchestra and choir, in what might be considered a more pure version of "The Moth" experience. "The Moth - The War" is a recording of the live musical debut that took place in March 2025 in The Netherlands, showcasing the raw emotion of performing "The Moth" for the very first time.

"The Moth" will be available on several formats, including limited deluxe 3CD+Blu-ray artbook that includes the album on CD1, "The Moth - The Afterlife" on CD2 and "The Moth - The War (Live)" on CD3. The Blu-ray includes the full "The Moth - The War" live film, as well as Dolby Atmos and High Resolution Stereo mixes of "The Moth" and "The Moth - The Afterlife". It will also be available as limited 2CD edition (including "The Moth - The Afterlife" on CD2),standard CD jewelcase and as gatefold triple-gatefold 180g 2LP and fold-out LP booklet, as well as digitally.

Photo credit: Tom Hawkins

In a new interview with Mark Strigl, TRIXTER guitarist/singer, producer and songwriter Steve Brown spoke about his new BON JOVI tribute band ALWAYS JOVI which is scheduled to make its live debut on April 18 at BMI Event Center in Versailles, Ohio. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It's a tribute like no other.

"I think a lot of people know, over my career, I've always done numerous things outside of TRIXTER. Sadly, being in a band like TRIXTER, I wish I made a couple hundred thousand dollars a year off of it, but I don't," he explained. "That's the reality. P.J. [Farley, TRIXTER bassist] and I, and a lot of musicians, we all have to do multiple things, and I've played in different tribute bands over the last 20 years to make ends meet.

"And so what had happened was, back [when I was doing] the DEF LEPPARD [fill-in guitarist] gig, Phil [Collen, DEF LEPPARD guitarist] and Joe [Elliott, DEF LEPPARD singer] would always make reference to how much I sounded like Jon [Bon Jovi, BON JOVI frontman] and even like a combination of Jon and Richie [Sambora, original BON JOVI guitarist], because they were such a huge influence on me. But I have this crazy ability to where my voice sounds just like Jon at his prime.

"So, last year my good friend Greg Smith from TOKYO MOTOR FIST and THE WIZARDS OF WINTER, he's in a great JOURNEY tribute band with Robby Hoffman, EXTREME's manager, called VOYAGE. And they were changing their singer, and I was sort of on the road with Greg, hearing all the ins and outs and listening to different singers. And it kind of got in my head, 'Cause the BON JOVI thing was always on my mind that I'm gonna do this. And I was, like, 'You know what, man? I gotta do this.' Especially when I started hearing some of the numbers about how much money some of these tribute bands are making. My other buds are in a great band called MAGICAL MYSTERY DOORS, and my friend Tommy Zamp's in GET THE LED OUT, which is the number one [LED] ZEPPELIN tribute band.

"So I put this band together," Steve continued. "And it's a unique lineup. We have [my bandmate from] THE WIZARDS OF WINTER, Fred [Gorhau] on guitar, Kevin Humphris on bass. Joey Cassata, who you know now is the new TWISTED SISTER drummer. He's on drums, and he's gonna be doing some of the shows. We have a guy, Frankie D'Esposito from HOLY MOTHER, is gonna be the fill-in drummer for Joey while he's out on the road. Chris McCoy, who played with TOKYO MOTOR FIST, on keyboards. And then the X factor of the band is our female singer, Devon Marie, who was in a bunch of things with me, my country live tribute. And people ask me, like, 'Why do you have a girl in the band?' Well, one of BON JOVI's biggest hits over the last 20 years was 'Who Says You Can't Go Home' [one version of which was a duet with Jennifer Nettles of the American duo SUGARLAND]. So, again, we're able to do songs and it adds a different element, of course, a different visual element."

Regarding what separates ALWAYS JOVI from the other BON JOVI tribute acts, Steve said: "I looked at all the BON JOVI bands around the world and around the country. Some of my friends are in SLIPPERY WHEN WET —great guys. They do more of the lookalike thing, if you will, the wigs — I don't know if there are wigs involved — but the costumes. That's not what my thing is. My thing is very much rooted in the GET THE LED OUT. There's a guy, Marc Martel, the ONE VISION OF QUEEN guy. He does a QUEEN show where the music is the star of the show. It's not about costumes. Yeah, we dress up in rock stuff. We put on a great show. I have a whole video wall and this incredible content that me and my partner Nick — he's in the band THAT ARENA ROCK SHOW — he's my partner and co-manager in this band, and he's been such an incredible help. But we've put together this incredible production."

As for his motivation in paying tribute to BON JOVI, Steve said: "Most importantly, for me, BON JOVI has always been one of my biggest influences and inspirations. So to do this at a level to where it's pitch perfect, album perfect, and we're incorporating some of the live show elements, man, 'cause, again, one of the most important shows I ever saw as a kid was BON JOVI, 1985 at the Meadowlands Arena [in New Jersey], when they opened up for RATT. And it was my first time seeing them. And when I saw them, and it was also the night they got their gold records, so, of course, Jersey pride. We were, like, 'Yeah,' the hometown boys getting their gold records.' And I remember seeing them and just going, 'This is the coolest band. This is the new VAN HALEN,' because they looked amazing. They sounded so cool. They were having fun. Wow. Smiling. Jon was arguably, at that point, the best-looking, coolest frontman that I had seen since David Lee Roth. But the X factor for me in that show was seeing Richie Sambora. And that was the night that I saw him as a guitarist-performer, but most importantly as a lead singer-guitar player who, he could sing better than Jon. And I think most people know that, most real fans and stuff. I mean, Richie's voice is ungodly. And he was so great. And that was the night I said, 'Man, I need to stop worrying about playing all these guitar solos and focus more on singing.' And that's what I did… Again, it's one of those things to where all I wanna do is honor the music and my friends."

Detailing his personal connection to BON JOVI, Steve said: "Jon Bon Jovi, I don't know if you know, he was the first guy back in 1986 to get behind TRIXTER. We gave him our first demo tape before 'Slippery When Wet' blew up. He called us and he was a mentor, especially for me, because I would send him songs as we were going on. And he would always call me up and say, 'No, you need to do this. You need to do that.' And Jon introduced us to the SKID ROW guys. Jon was a huge, huge help. And coincidentally, the night we found out our record went gold, we were on tour with the SCORPIONS in L.A., and the day we found out, man — I grabbed Jon; he was backstage with us. And I said, 'Dude, we just found out our record went gold.' And he goes, 'I always knew you guys were gonna do it.' And I said, 'Guess what? We're gonna get our gold records at the Meadowlands just like you.' And I said, 'You better be there for us, man.' He didn't make it.'

Referencing the fact that BON JOVI is scheduled to return to the road in July for the band's first shows since Jon Bon Jovi's 2022 vocal cord surgery, Steve said: "We're all pulling for Jon. I gotta say I've reached out to him numerous times to try to help him with his voice, 'cause I don't know if you know, but I had vocal surgery about 15 years ago on my voice. And I'm kind of an expert at vocal sort of performing and keeping your voice together. And I've reached out to him. I texted him and e-mailed him and reached out to a bunch of people in his camp because I would love to be able to help him. And I jammed with Dave Bryan [BON JOVI keyboardist] in December, down in Nashville, and I told Dave the same thing. I said, 'Man, I love Jon. I love you guys.' No one wants to see Jon go out there and crush it like the old days more than me. I think we all do. 'Cause seeing what he's been through over the last 10 years or so with his voice, it's really, really rough. And I'm pulling for him. I'm hoping that these shows go well over the summer. And Jon, if you're listening, brother, you got the text and the e-mail. Call me back, man. I'm always here to help. I love you, man. And I want your voice to come back."

ALWAYS JOVI is:

Steve Brown - Vocals, Guitar
Joey Cassata - Drums
Devon Marie - Vocals, Percussion
Kevin Humphris - Bass, Vocals
Fred Gorhau - Guitar, Vocals
Chris McCoy - Keyboards & Vocals

SiriusXM radio personality Eddie Trunk commented: "As someone who grew up in New Jersey and saw BON JOVI on their earliest days, I can tell you that ALWAYS JOVI captures the true spirit and energy of the band they are paying tribute to. Steve Brown nails it vocally, as does the rest of the band. With the original [BON JOVI] band not being active currently, ALWAYS JOVI is the next best thing!"

Brown was born and raised in New Jersey destined to live a life submersed in music. The mostly self-taught artist picked up his first guitar at nine years old and never looked back. Steve began his lifelong love affair with live performing at the ripe old age of 12, when he became a regular on the voltaic New Jersey rock scene of the 1980s. At 12 years old, he began writing music, lyrics and founded his first band, TRIXTER. It wasn't long before Steve led the mighty TRIXTER to a record deal with MCA, sold out arena tours and lived every aspect of the rock and roll dream.

In his 40-plus-year career, Steve has sold millions of records worldwide (RIAA certified gold album),written three Billboard Top 100 singles, starred in three No. 1 MTV videos, and shared the stage with the likes of KISS, JOURNEY, Alice Cooper, SCORPIONS, POISON, CHEAP TRICK, STYX, BOSTON, NIGHT RANGER, Rick Springfield and TESLA. As not only a master guitarist, but as an accomplished songwriter, singer, engineer, producer, and performer. Steve has become one of the music industry's most sought-after and entrusted talents. From personal endorsements by Eddie Van Halen to churning out original music for some of television’s most popular hits, to regularly hitting the stage with an ever-growing list of rock and roll greats, Steve Brown is in constant demand.

In 2013, Steve was invited to be the temporary replacement guitarist for Vivian Campbell of the legendary DEF LEPPARD, which led to him joining the band at the historic Wembley Stadium along with other arena and stadium shows throughout North America. In May of 2018 he pulled off a job never done before when he was called in with 24 hours' notice to fill in Phil Collen for three shows, thus giving him the distinct honor of covering duties for both DEF LEPPARD guitarists.

ALWAYS JOVI photo courtesy of Steve Brown / bio courtesy of Headrush

Posted by Always Jovi on Wednesday, August 13, 2025

In a new interview with Ruben Theodor Kovalsky of Czech Republic's Spark magazine, former QUEENSRŸCHE singer Geoff Tate spoke about the never-materialized project called THE THREE TREMORS which was supposed to feature Tate, IRON MAIDEN singer Bruce Dickinson and JUDAS PRIEST frontman Rob Halford. Asked how far the project went before it was aborted, Tate said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Not far at all. I don't know what was happening in Bruce's mind at the time, or Rob, what was going on with him. But, yeah, from my perspective, it didn't progress very far at all. We were all busy doing different things, and it was impossible to get us all in one place."

Back in January 2018, Tate spoke to the"Talking Metal" podcast about how the idea for THE THREE TREMORS came about. He said: "As far as I remember, the three of us were all touring together at the time: QUEENSRŸCHE, IRON MAIDEN and Rob Halford's solo project. And we were all at dinner one night, and Rod Smallwood, the manager of IRON MAIDEN, stood up after… now, this is many rounds of drinks by this time — we're past dessert-menu time. He stands up and he goes, 'I think that we should have a band of Bruce and Geoff and Rob and we should call it THE THREE TREMORS. What do you think?' And this was based upon his previous conversation with the waiter who told him that the album that we were listening to on the stereo system at the Italian restaurant was THE THREE TENORS opera group. So I thought, and everyone around me thought, that he was sort of making fun of the situation. Anyway, in just good-nature tour fashion, we all stood up and toasted the idea and then we drank more rounds. [Laughs] And that's as far as it ever got, as far as I remember."

According to Tate, the "funny" thing about THE THREE TREMORS is that "every round of interviews I've done with every release since around that time has asked me that question about the project: When's it gonna come out? It's never coming out, 'cause it was never done. Nothing ever happened," he said.

Despite the fact that the proposed THE THREE TREMORS album never saw the light of day, Tate told "Talking Metal" that "it was flattering that [Bruce] was very much into the 'Operation: Mindcrime' album at the time. And I remember Eddie Jackson, [the QUEENSRŸCHE] bass player, coming into some place we were — I can't remember where we were at the time — but he had a magazine in his hand and there was a picture of Steve Harris, the bass player of IRON MAIDEN, and Steve was wearing a QUEENSRŸCHE tour t-shirt. And Eddie was all happy about that, because he was a fan of Steve Harris's work, so he was very happy about that."

In an interview with the "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" show, Dickinson said that Ronnie James Dio was his original choice for the third-singer slot in THE THREE TREMORS project. "I was, like, 'I am not gonna do this without Ronnie,'" Bruce recalled. "And Rod was, like, 'I don't wanna use Ronnie. He's too old.' I said, 'What do you mean too old? Are you kidding me?' I said, 'He's a legend.' He said, 'No. We should use Geoff Tate.' And then we had a meeting with Geoff Tate, and then I said, 'No. It's not gonna work.' And so that was that."

According to Dickinson, concert promoters showed great interest in booking THE THREE TREMORS before a single note had even been recorded. "I could see the money in their eyes, thinking, 'Oh, this would be great. We could sell this every which way all over the place as a package,'" Dickinson said. "And I went, 'Yeah, you could, but what are we actually gonna do? There's gonna be three of us on stage. What are we gonna do that's actually different that's really cool?'"

Dickinson also went on to reveal that the title track of his 2005 solo album, "Tyranny Of Souls", was composed specifically for THE THREE TREMORS project. "[It] was the only song that I wrote for which was designed for three voices, and the demo of it, I actually did almost impressions of a Rob version, the Geoff Tate bit and my bit and split them up," Dickinson said. "And we'd go into the big chorus of [singing] 'Tyranny Of Souls', obviously all three of us would be singing together, like a big choir. And doing that song, I thought, 'Yeah, that would kind of work.' But I need another twelve songs like that to do a whole performance, 'cause otherwise it's just a novelty thing. You can't do things just 'cause of the novelty value. You should do things because musically they're real."

Before Dickinson's proposed collaboration with Halford and Tate was officially scrapped, the name THE THREE TREMORS was changed to TRINITY because "we figured they would sue our ass if we called it THE THREE TREMORS," Bruce explained in an interview several years ago.

Dickinson previously said that he and Roy wrote "about three songs" for THE THREE TREMORS during a session in Los Angeles before he "realized it was going to take us a lot longer than three weeks to write a project with three singers that would work."

He explained: "We wanted to make each song designed to be sung by three different characters as an integral part of the song, not something like, 'You sing the first verse, I'll sing the second verse, and he'll sing the chorus.' That would be a crap way to do it."

Dickinson added: "It's a bloody difficult thing to do, to try to make a song with three different voices to get the full benefit out of it. And it takes longer than three weeks, and we didn't have longer than that to do it, so I canned it in the end.

"It's a great idea; everybody loves the idea… We had marketing people salivating about the idea of a TRINITY project," he said. "But the bottom line is, the thing that is gonna sink it is if the music sucks. So I thought we should can the idea for now since we don't have time to do it. Rob was in the studio doing his album ['Crucible'] and Geoff was writing a new QUEENSRŸCHE album, so that was it. It is an interesting idea, and I'm sure the live show would be really interesting."

Ryan Spencer Cook, a member of Ace Frehley's solo band, has responded to apparent criticism from Scot Coogan, Ace Frehley's longest-serving solo-band drummer and lead vocalist since 2006, over the fact that Ryan and three other musicians Ace handpicked for his Australian tour in 2018 — Philip Shouse on bass, Jeremy Asbrock on guitar/vocals, and Christopher Williams on drums — will honor the legendary original KISS guitarist by playing a series of shows where they will perform Frehley's 1978 solo album in full, along with KISS classics.

On April 1, Scot issued a statement in which he said that he had "remained silent intentionally — to give my crew, management, and most importantly Ace's family the time and respect they deserve to grieve without noise, speculation, or opportunism." He added: "I personally feel it is far too soon to perform Ace's music, and I have absolutely no interest in profiting from his name, likeness, or legacy. When the time comes to honor Ace's contributions to rock and roll, it will not be rushed, and it will not be exploited. It will be done the only way that matters — with dignity, respect, and real love."

Earlier today (Friday, April 3), Ryan shared a statement on his social media in apparent direct response to Coogan's post. He wrote: "Grief recognizes neither time nor space. One cannot place a time limit on grief… it's different for everyone. While some are able to navigate through its murky waters quicker than others, some never recover from it at all. But… do you know what DOES in fact have an expiration date? The time that we have here on this Earth. And if you'd like to celebrate something or someone, you do what is right for you. Please… don't let anyone tell you when it's safe, too soon or too late to celebrate someone's life, love and legacy. If your heart's in the right place when doing so, it's a beautiful thing."

In 2018, Asbrock, Cook, Shouse and Williams performed with KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons as the GENE SIMMONS BAND. The foursome were then invited to join Ace's band as Simmons was scheduled to return to KISS to prepare for the "End Of The Road" tour. Asbrock, Cook and Shouse accepted the invitation, but Willams could not do so due to a prior commitment with the German metal band ACCEPT.

"Gene [told Ace], 'If it's okay with them, it's okay with me,'" Asbrock, who played with Frehley for seven years, recalled in an October 2025 interview with Rolling Stone. "Later on, Gene pulled me into his dressing room, and the KISS Kruise was coming up, and he told us that Ace was going to ask us to do the cruise. Then we went to Japan from there with Ace and he asked us to be the band. I joined in September of 2018, so I've held the guitar-player position longer than any musician he's had, consecutively."

Shouse, who played bass in Frehley's solo band from 2018 to 2022 until he took a full-time gig as the guitar player in ACCEPT, told Rolling Stone about the KISS guitar legend: "Ace taught me how to play lead guitar. I was taking guitar lessons and learning the scales, but nothing sounded like music to me. It never made sense until I heard Ace, and that was in 10th grade. When I heard his solos, it all clicked."

Frehley passed away last October at the age of 74. The founding KISS guitarist died of blunt-trauma injuries to his head due to a fall, the Morris County Medical Examiner confirmed in a report. The manner of death was ruled an accident.

According to the report, a CT scan of Frehley's head revealed multiple contusions, bone fractures to the back of his skull, hemorrhages, and a subdural hematoma (the type of bleeding that occurs in a person's brain after a head injury). Additional bruises were found on the musician's hip, thigh, and abdomen. The report also noted that Frehley had suffered a stroke.

A separate toxicology report on Frehley's blood at the time of his death has not yet been released.

Frehley's longtime manager John Ostrosky confirmed to the New York Post that the late KISS icon was laid to rest at Woodlawn Cemetery in Bronx, New York.

The legendary musician was buried on October 22 following a private memorial on October 21 at Sinatra Memorial Home in Yonkers, New York.

Frehley, whose real name was Paul Daniel Frehley, passed away peacefully surrounded by family in Morristown, New Jersey. He reportedly died nearly two weeks after a second fall at his home, which led to him being placed on life support after a brain bleed. The musician's family made the heartbreaking decision to take him off the ventilator.

Frehley's family confirmed his death, writing in a statement: "We are completely devastated and heartbroken. In his last moments, we were fortunate enough to have been able to surround him with loving, caring, peaceful words, thoughts, prayers and intentions as he left this earth.

"We cherish all of his finest memories, his laughter, and celebrate his strengths and kindness that he bestowed upon others. The magnitude of his passing is of epic proportions, and beyond comprehension. Reflecting on all of his incredible life achievements, Ace's memory will continue to live on forever!"

Ace co-founded KISS with guitarist/vocalist Paul Stanley, Gene and drummer Peter Criss in New York City in 1973. Frehley appeared on KISS's first nine albums, and returned for the band's 1998 reunion album, "Psycho Circus", only to leave again. He was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame with the rest of KISS's original lineup in 2014.

Frehley first left KISS in 1982. He rejoined in 1996 and parted ways with the band once again in 2002 after the conclusion of KISS's first "farewell tour." Since his departure, guitarist Tommy Thayer had assumed the role of the Spaceman.

Earlier in October, Frehley scrapped the remainder of his previously announced 2025 tour dates due to unspecified "medical issues".

The legendary rocker announced the cancelation two weeks after he pulled out of the Antelope Valley Fair in Lancaster, California after sustaining minor injuries in a fall at his home.

Frehley had a rocky relationship with Simmons and Stanley whom he blamed for exacerbating his abuse of drugs and alcohol because they allegedly minimized his contributions to KISS.

In 2019, Simmons told Guitar World that Frehley and Criss had exited KISS three times, in part because they "weren't carrying their load" and weren't dependable onstage. In response, Frehley called Simmons and Stanley "control freaks, untrustworthy and… too difficult to work with."

Ace said in a 2024 interview that he got sober in 2006 after "10 car accidents" and credited his daughter Monique with inspiring him to give up drinking in 2006.

"My daughter calls me up and goes, 'Dad, I'm not hearing good things about you.' I looked in the mirror and just said, 'Shit — she's right,'" he said. "That evening, I called my sponsor and he took me to an AA meeting, and I've been sober ever since."

Frehley married Jeanette Trerotola in 1978 before they legally separated seven years later but remained married. She survives him, along with their daughter Monique, brother Charles, sister Nancy Salvner, and a number of nieces, nephews and extended family members.

Posted by Ryan Spencer Cook on Friday, April 3, 2026

According to the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet, a woman in her 40s has been charged with harassment after allegedly sending repeated messages, payment requests and letters to GHOST frontman Tobias Forge between July and October last year. She continued contacting him through different means after being blocked, including sending registered letters — one of which contained a mobile phone. Forge later handed the device over to the police.

The woman allegedly sent long messages of praise to Forge via text and WhatsApp. When he blocked her number, she began sending him registered letters. Tobias never picked up the letters sent to him, except for the most recent one. It contained a phone that, according to him, did not look like it was factory-packaged.

In his testimony, he described the situation as "intrusive" and "threatening,", stating that this crossed a personal boundary.

"I didn't want to keep [the phone] in my home so I put it on the balcony before I handed it in to the police," Tobias is quoted as saying in the preliminary investigation report (translated from Swedish). "I feel quite reserved around people trying to contact me, but over the years I've had about a dozen stalkers. However, no one has done anything as invasive and downright threatening as sending a mobile phone. It wouldn't have been so good if I lived at a secret address, for example. With that phone, I reached my limit."

He added: "I've had devoted pursuers before, most of them are pretty harmless, but there's something about this that's odd."

The woman has also sent several Swish requests (a mobile payment system in Sweden) for 5,000 kronor (approximately $530) to Forge.

The woman, for her part, claimed that she and Tobias first met 16 years ago, that they were in contact every day via messaging apps and that they have been engaged since September last year. However, she did not want to share their chats with the police.

Tobias denies knowing the woman or having any connection. He is not seeking compensation and stated he only wants to be left alone.

"I don't want to make her life worse," he said. "I just want her to leave me alone and not hurt anyone else."

The woman reportedly also faces additional charges involving other individuals.

Forge formed GHOST in Linköping, Sweden in 2006. He worked anonymously until 2017, when a lawsuit from four of the band's former "nameless ghouls" lifted the lid on his identity.

In a new interview with Jaqueline Souza of Brazil's Heavy Metal On Line, former ACCEPT and current U.D.O. and DIRKSCHNEIDER frontman Udo Dirkschneider was asked if he is the kind performer who gets annoyed by fans in the audience holding up their phones and taking pictures and videos of the band's concerts. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "What can you do against this? Sometimes I don't understand — they're holding the hold the mobile phone for two hours. It's, like, come on — enjoy the show. But some bands now — GHOST, I was, months ago, on a concert here in Germany with GHOST, and there was no mobile phones allowed. If somebody [was] using the phone and recording everything [during the GHOST show], they [were directed] out of the hall. It's very interesting. Also, I heard IRON MAIDEN also, they started [asking their fans], 'Please don't use the mobile phone anymore during the concert.'"

Udo continued: "But it's hard [to decide] how you wanna handle this. Then you need a lot of people [checking] when the people come into the hall to get the phones and then where they put the phones. In a way I can live with that. And it's also good, maybe the bands have to play really good [if they know they are being recorded]. Otherwise [people] see [fan-filmed videos] on YouTube, and if they don't play really good, then it's, like, 'Eh.' Okay. So that means it gives you also a push, 'Don't do any mistakes or whatever, and keep going.' So I don't care about this."

IRON MAIDEN asked fans to put their phones away while attending concerts on the British heavy metal legends' recently launched "Run For Your Lives" world tour. Other acts, such as TOOL, have also employed a similar approach, requesting fans stay off their phones until the final song of their set. Meanwhile, Swedish metallers GHOST have made their entire 2025 and 2026 tours phone-free experiences — with attendees maintaining possession of their phones at all times, secured in Yondr pouches — after playing a pair of phone-free shows in Los Angeles in 2023 for the filming of the "Rite Here Rite Now" concert film.

Last month, Udo told Brazil's Headbangers News that U.D.O. has completed work on the follow-up to the "Touchdown" album, which came out in August 2023 through Atomic Fire Records. The new effort is tentatively due in early 2027.

Udo went on to say that his former ACCEPT bandmate Peter Baltes, who officially joined U.D.O. and DIRKSCHNEIDER as the two bands' bassist in 2023, "was very much involved" in the songwriting for the new U.D.O. album. "And I'm really happy to have him back," Dirkschneider said.

Asked if any of the songwriting chemistry of the classic ACCEPT albums like 1982's "Restless And Wild Return" returned instantly once he and Peter started working on music for the upcoming U.D.O. album, Dirkschneider said: "We never sit down and say, 'Okay, we have to do songs like this and this and this way.' It's new stuff coming up. Of course it has a little bit of [the flavor] of the older ACCEPT stuff. Of course, two people [from the classic ACCEPT lineup] are there [in U.D.O. now] — the singer and the bass player. And Peter was also very much involved in songwriting in ACCEPT, and also when ACCEPT did the reunion [more than 15 years ago]. So, yeah, there is a [touch] of [the ACCEPT sound], but I think it's definitely U.D.O. and it's a really straightforward album."

"Touchdown" was recorded at various locations with producer Martin "Mattes" Pfeiffer and was mixed at Redhead Studio (Wilhelmshaven, Germany) while the mastering was handled by Stefan Kaufmann at ROXX Studio (Solingen, Germany). The record included a guest appearance by violinist Stefan Pintev on the title track, and bass tracks were recorded by Baltes. Artwork was provided by Martin Häusler who was also responsible for shooting band photos in support of the album campaign.

In April 2023, Baltes officially joined U.D.O. and DIRKSCHNEIDER. The former ACCEPT bassist had been playing bass for U.D.O. since September 2022, initially as a temporary replacement for U.D.O.'s then-bassist Tilen Hudrap who was hospitalized after the band's show in Munich, Germany.

DIRKSCHNEIDER is the name of Udo's band which performs ACCEPT material exclusively.

Although Udo announced 11 years ago that his initial DIRKSCHNEIDER tour would mark his final time performing ACCEPT songs, he has continued to play select shows under the DIRKSCHNEIDER banner for more than a decade.

DIRKSCHNEIDER recently reimagined ACCEPT's iconic album "Balls To The Wall" to celebrate the LP's 40th anniversary. The band, which also features Udo's son Sven Dirkschneider on drums and the guitar duo of Alen Brentini and Fabian "Dee" Dammers, celebrated the 40th anniversary of "Balls To The Wall", which was originally released in late 1983 and is the most commercially successful and best-known album by ACCEPT, by performing the LP in its entirety on recent tours of South America, North America and Europe.

Guitarist Wolf Hoffmann is the sole remaining original member of ACCEPT, which he formed in 1976 in the town of Solingen, Germany with Dirkschneider and Baltes.

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.

Hal Patino has commented on the launch of LEX LEGION, the new band featuring four-fifths of KING DIAMOND's classic late '80s lineup.

The group, in which Hal (bass) is joined by fellow members of KING DIAMOND's classic lineup Mikkey Dee (drums),Andy La Rocque (guitar),Pete Blakk (guitar),alongside vocalist Nils K. Rue (PAGAN'S MIND) released the official music video for its debut single, "Sleep Eternally", on Tuesday, March 31. The clip was directed by Patric Ullaeus of the rEvolver Film Company and can be seen below.

Hal said: "We've been recording this album on and off over the past few years, staying in close contact throughout the entire process.

"It's been 37 years since the four of us last made an album together, 'Conspiracy', and 38 years since we recorded and toured together on the 'Them' tour in 1988. In fact, it's exactly 38 years ago that we recorded 'Them', between March and May of that year.

"Walking on to the film set for our new video single 'Sleep Eternally', which was filmed back in December, was the first time all four of us had been in the same room together since then. And honestly, it felt like no time had passed. The same stupid jokes, the same way of picking on each other… just like back in the day.

"It's a great feeling, and we're still the best of friends. The four of us have been through a lot together, and that kind of bond doesn't break. It really feels like we're picking up right where we left off, and that same spark is still there — and you can hear it in the music as well.

"It's fucking awesome being back together again, now with our incredible new voice, Nils K. Rue.

"We'll be releasing another single ahead of the full-length album, which is set to drop in June. There are also some more exciting things in the works right now."

Formed by Dee and Blakk and completed by longtime collaborators and friends, LEX LEGION is built on both legacy and longevity. What began as a long-discussed idea between close-knit musicians has evolved into a serious project, fueled by over 40 years of shared history and a renewed creative focus free from the constraints of their earlier careers.

LEX LEGION's self-titled debut arrives in June 2026 via MNRK Music Group, channeling a deliberate throwback to the band's roots while sounding fresh and immediate. Built on lean arrangements, strong melodies, and virtuoso performances, the album reflects the band's commitment to writing music on their own terms.

The first single "Sleep Eternally", sets the tone instantly, while follow-up "Gypsy Tears" continues the momentum with a mix of atmosphere and drive. With a sound shaped by classic influences but sharpened by decades of experience, LEX LEGION aim to fill a gap in modern metal — and signal that their long-awaited arrival has been worth the wait.

LEX LEGION is a brand-new band comprised of old friends with incredible heavy metal pedigree. Comprising four-fifths of the classic late 1980s KING DIAMOND lineup infused with the jaw-dropping vocals of Nils K. Rue, LEX LEGION's eponymous debut album is a single-minded, future-facing alchemy of world-class hard rock/metal music distinguished by tasteful, lean arrangements, virtuoso musicianship, and unabated melody and harmony.

In 2026, LEX LEGION's members find themselves more musically accomplished than ever, whilst also being more comfortable with themselves and each other than ever before. As well as vocalist Rue, LEX LEGION is comprised of former KING DIAMOND guitarist Pete Blakk and bassist Hal Patino, guitarist/producer Andy La Rocque, a KING DIAMOND constant since 1985 who also played on DEATH's seminal "Individual Thought Patterns", and drummer extraordinaire Mikkey Dee, who was in MOTÖRHEAD for over two decades and has been in the SCORPIONS for 10 years. All remained close and have long discussed reuniting, with everyone knowing Rue from prior projects and his five acclaimed albums with PAGAN'S MIND. Add to this the weight of hope and expectation from KING DIAMOND fans, and it's clear that LEX LEGION's time is now.

This is music for fans of heyday IRON MAIDEN, QUEENSRŸCHE, ACCEPT and, yes, KING DIAMOND (the four LEX LEGION instrumentalists appeared together on KING DIAMOND's "Them" and "Conspiracy" albums),but with a freshness and sense of excitement that only debut albums capture. Within the first few seconds of album opener and first single "Sleep Eternally", LEX LEGION unequivocally confirm that fact.

"There's elements of everything on the album," said La Rocque. "The right tempo and the right kind of vocals, both starting out like a fist in your face!" Rue's soaring pipes and ominous harmonies are framed by Dee's unmistakable powerhouse drumming, a clutch of imaginative leads from both guitarists, and shifts of pace and tempo that will satiate KING DIAMOND fans. Second track and follow-up single "Gypsy Tears" seals the deal; eerie and rapturous, otherworldly and propulsive, evocative and a straight-up headbanger which leaves the listener in no doubt as the thunderous treasures within.

The pride LEX LEGION have in the record is fierce and unequivocal.

"This is totally unique. No one is writing this kind of music and there's a big hole for us to fill," states La Rocque. "The album is a journey and every song is like the beat of a movie. I want listeners to travel back."

"The song style is different (to KING DIAMOND) but still from the same era," mulled La Rocque from his studio in Varberg, Sweden. "The riffs are different and the arrangements are a little less progressive and a little more straightforward."

"LEX LEGION is totally written the way we thought in the '80s," says Dee. "We wrote what we wanted, and if you liked it, that was a great bonus. If you didn't like it, that was fine with us, too!"

"Lex Legion" will be released by MNRK Music Group in June 2026, with touring beginning the following year.

As Dee says, grinning, "Enjoy it or fuck off!"

"Lex Legion" track listing:

01. Sleep Eternally (3:56)
02. Gypsy Tears (3:57)
03. When The Stars Align (3:52)
04. (I Am) The Resurrected (4:27)
05. Lost Inside (3:33)
06. Darkness (4:28)
07. Saviours (4:03)
08. Life Eternal (3:25)
09. Far Away (2:58)

Image courtesy of Hal Patino / Prescott Talent Agency

Oakland death metal trio NECROT has signed with Metal Blade Records, marking a powerful new chapter for one of the underground's most distinguished death metal bands. The signing coincides with the band's upcoming appearance on the 2026 Decibel Magazine Tour.

NECROT comments: "It is extremely exciting to announce that NECROT has signed with Metal Blade Records!

"We've been a band for 15 years making death metal the way we want to and Metal Blade has been here for almost 45 years supporting extreme metal bands from all over the world. We feel confident that this new chapter will be great for us and we can't wait to show you what we've been working on for our next album!

"We are looking forward to seeing you guys on our upcoming tour, 30 dates across the USA and Canada…and, of course, stay tuned for more announcements from NECROT and Metal Blade!"

NECROT will take part in the 2026 Decibel Magazine Tour, joining technical death metal pioneers CRYPTOPSY, Italy's brutal death metallers FULCI and new death/grinders BLOOD MONOLITH for a devastating run across North America.

Formed in 2011 in Oakland, California, NECROT features former members of Bay Area acts ACEPHALIX, VASTUMA and SAVIOURS. The band's debut LP, "Blood Offerings", reached No. 29 on the Billboard Hard Rock chart and No. 4 on Decibel magazine's Top 40 Albums of 2017. They've toured the world with such acts as CANNIBAL CORPSE, CARCASS, MUNICIPAL WASTE and many more, solidifying their place in the modern metal scene.

NECROT is:

Luca Indrio - Vocals/Bass
Chad Gailey - Drums
Sonny Reinhardt - Guitar

Photo credit: Chris Johnston

In a new interview with Talking The Talk With Don, VENOM INC. bassist/vocalist Tony "Demolition Man" Dolan spoke about plans for the band to release a follow-up to its second album, "There's Only Black", which came out in 2022. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, I'm trying to put out two live albums out [in the meantime]. At the minute we're mixing the one [of them], which we did recordings from South America, from the tour we did with POSSESSED. So I've got recordings of every live show… And so we wanted to say a thank you 'cause we had such a spectacular time on that run. So we're put a live album together specifically for them. Obviously we wanna do a new record, but in the meantime, it was suggested that we did a single. I thought, 'Well, let's do more than a single. Let's do it like an EP or something.' So we decided we'll do four tracks, maybe five, [with] a bonus track on there, a hidden bonus track. And that will be like a mini album. And that will have two new songs, two re-recordings and a surprise song. And in the meantime, when we were in São Paulo [Brazil], we were invited to [the Brazilian radio station] Kiss FM, where they do a live-in-the-studio session. So they do an interview, you play as many songs as you wanna play, and then they do an interview and they intercut that and it goes up on YouTube and it's played on Kiss FM throughout Brazil. So we did five songs for the show. My voice was fucked, my voice had been really fucked, 'cause I'd been a bit too excited and talking too much… But anyway, we did the session and I thought, 'Oh, yeah. It was okay. Let's have a listen back.' So they put it up, and I was, like, 'Holy fuck. Is that what we sound like?' It sounded amazing. So I've done a deal where it'll go up on to YouTube, but we're getting the audio posted. And there's five songs. We're gonna put that on as a special release. So there'll be the live album, then there'll be the mini album, then there'll be this Kiss FM live session, and then the new album."

Tony continued: "So, yeah, I'm just trying to keep it as exciting as possible and to put music out. The whole point is I want to the two live things — the session and the live album — to capture what we are, the essence of what we are live. And, of course, there's an opportunity with the two new songs on the mini album and then the album full to be us, 'cause we've been together for now two years, played a gazillion shows and we're ready to record the three of us as a band. So it's very exciting. It's very exciting. I mean, to have this amount of interest in the band from the industry, but also from inside, from the guys inside, is wonderful. It's wonderful."

VENOM INC.'s current lineup consists of "Demolition Man" Dolan alongside drummer Marc Jackson and guitarist Curran Murphy.

In December 2024, it was announced that former NEVERMORE and ANNIHILATOR guitarist Curran Murphy had officially joined VENOM INC. as the replacement for the band's founding guitarist Jeff "Mantas" Dunn. The news of Murphy's addition to VENOM INC. came less than a month after Mantas announced that he was leaving the band in order to focus on his "health and well-being" after suffering two heart attacks in the space of four years, as well as to care for his wife, who was battling cancer.

There are now three different bands using variations of the VENOM name for their live shows. In addition to the new collaboration between Dunn and Anthony "Abaddon" Bray, VENOM's iconic co-founders — who recently announced that they will celebrate the 45th anniversary of VENOM's classic debut album, 1981's "Welcome To Hell", at various festivals in 2026, including Germany's Keep It True — there is the Conrad "Cronos" Lant-fronted version of VENOM, in which he is the sole remaining member from the band's classic era, and there is VENOM INC., which is led by Dolan, who was a member of VENOM between 1989 and 1992, appearing on the albums "Prime Evil" (1989),"Temples Of Ice" (1991) and "The Waste Lands" (1992).

In June 2024, Cronos filed a lawsuit against Abaddon and Plastic Head Music Distribution Ltd in which he accused the distributor of selling merchandise with Lant's copyrighted VENOM designs and Bray of approving the infringement through a licensing agreement. The dispute revolved around the fact that both parties were licensing and selling official VENOM merchandise featuring the contested designs.

According to Law360.com, Lant testified in court last year that he joined VENOM in late 1979 and came up with the Satanic-themed designs used in the band's logo and album covers, which included goat heads, pentagrams and inverted crosses. Bray filed a counterclaim for infringement against Lant and Lant's distributor, Razmataz.com Ltd., arguing that Bray was the real author of the works. Because Lant was able to produce numerous sketches which demonstrated his design process and Bray was unable to do the same, Bray was deemed the owner of the original logo, while Lant was found to be the creator and copyright owner of all but one of the other artistic works in dispute.

VENOM's classic lineup trio of Dunn, Lant and Bray recorded four studio LPs, "Welcome To Hell" (1981),"Black Metal" (1982),"At War With Satan" (1984) and "Possessed" (1985),and live album, "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik" (1986). Often cited by bands such as METALLICA, BEHEMOTH, CELTIC FROST and MAYHEM as major influences, they are one of the most revered bands of their generation.

In a new interview with Brian Haddad and Kenzie Roman of Chicago's Q101 radio station, SMASHING PUMPKINS frontman Billy Corgan was asked why he thinks so many younger rock music fans are connecting with the band's classic songs today. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, there's two general theories that people seem to bandy about, and I can't say this tells the whole story, but it seems to tell a lot of it, which is — one, streaming, even though it takes a lot of stick, particularly for musicians who are not getting paid in streaming like they should. I think young people are finding, through recommendation, bands that maybe they wouldn't necessarily hear of or they don't necessarily — I don't know; they don't find it in the traditional ways. Maybe [they find it through] recommendations or something. The other thing seems to be that this particular young generation coming in is really looking for authenticity, and that's a very broad word as it's applied. In the '90s, it was kind of specific — it was like you're either authentic or you've sold out. I think authenticity means you just do your thing, which is why, I think, you've seen a band like THE CURE having, in many ways, some of their biggest years. Because there's only one CURE. There's only one DEPECHE MODE. And I think fans are, like, 'Well, what is that? How does that exist?' And it doesn't seem to fit so comfortably into the pop world that they've been told is the world.

Billy continued: "Somewhere about 15 years ago, I really noticed it in, particularly Pitchfork was the main offender. Pitchfork was representative of, let's call it alternative culture early two thousands: 'We decide the cool record and we decide the non-cool record.' They didn't like me very much, so I'm gonna put that out there, if they think I have an agenda. And then, all of a sudden, they started covering pop stars like alternative stars.

"In the world we grew up in, Bjork was a huge alternative star because there's only one Bjork. Well, now suddenly Bjork's competing with Beyoncé and Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga, and it was, like, 'Well, wait a second. Those people play by different rules for different reasons.' Bjork, [who has] a highly authentic audience, wouldn't necessarily do a deal with a perfume company or be sponsored by a credit card company. These are different politics and different setups, so it really put the alternative musicians at a disadvantage. And in many ways the things that we represent, which is our culture, our community, our way of life, our way of thinking, and let's call it a personal type of politic about art and how art intersects commerce, including radio, as you know, not every alternative artist wants to be promoted the same way as a pop star would. I mean, that's simple math. Suddenly all those alternative artists were put in the position of, like, 'Well, if you don't do it this new clickbait way, you're out.' So that pushed all these artists basically to the edges of the Internet. And I think the last 15 years, those younger artists have figured out new ways to communicate and get their music heard by younger people. And then I think somehow that's connected to, 'Well, this looks a lot like how it used to be' — fanzines and word of mouth and club dates. And 'I'm sorry, I'm just not gonna do it the way that the people on television do it.'"

Beyond founding and fronting THE SMASHING PUMPKINS, Billy stands out as a solo artist, producer, songwriter, poet, wrestling promoter, podcast host, and café owner. His solo catalog comprises "TheFutureEmbrace" (2005),"Aegea" (2014),"Ogilala" (2017) and, most recently, "Cotillions" (2019). In the studio, he has notably collaborated with everyone from Tony Iommi of BLACK SABBATH, Rick Ocasek, CHEAP TRICK, Ray Davies, NEW ORDER, Marianne Faithful, and SCORPIONS to KORN, PHANTOGRAM, THE VERONICAS and CODE ORANGE. He has also contributed music to soundtracks such as "Ransom", directed by Academy Award winner Ron Howard, "Stigmata" and "Spun", to name a few. He released his first poetry book, "Blinking With Fists", in 2004. A lifelong wrestling aficionado, he owns and serves as president of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) — home to a dynamic roster and bombastic pay-per-view spectacles. He notably owns Madame ZuZu's Tea House in Highland Park, where he often performs intimate surprise sets. Corgan also remains a staunch animal advocate who supports no-kill shelters such as PAWS Chicago. The Chicago native is constantly writing and recording new music.

METALLICA's All Within My Hands foundation has donated $125,000 to flood relief efforts in Hawaii through three local organizations: the Hawaiian Council, the Lāhui Foundation and Hui O He'e Nalu.

Says METALLICA: "Hawaii is facing the worst flooding it's seen in more than two decades, leaving the islands suffering an estimated US$1B in damage statewide. The subtropical weather systems — called kona lows near Hawaii — siphoned moisture from the tropics, fueling slow-moving thunderstorms with torrential, destructive rains. The soil became saturated, and the rivers surged to record levels as the rains continued. So far, hundreds of homes in O'ahu have sustained damage, in addition to millions of dollars in damage to farms across the island. As many as 115,000 O'ahu residents faced power outages in the storm's aftermath. While the heaviest rains have passed, flash floods remain possible in the coming days.

"With strong ties to Hawaii, members of the AWMH Board reached out to identify ways to support the community, and we learned that a friend of the Foundation, Jason Momoa, was already there working with local organizations. AWMH is proud to join Jason and the many organizations and individuals working to provide critical relief and recovery assistance to the islands.

"AWMH is granting US$50K to the Hawaiian Council (Formerly Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement),US$50K to the Lāhui Foundation, and US$25K to Hui O He'e Nalu.

"If you'd like to contribute, the buttons [here] will direct you to the flood relief funds accepting donations. The Hawaiian Council is matching every dollar up to $325K donated to its Kāko'o O'ahu: Emergency Relief for O'ahu Flooding."

Hawaii's the worst flooding in 20 years has left thousands of people facing the monumental task of cleaning up their damaged homes.

The storms have moved out of the area and the damage they left behind is being uncovered.

More than a foot of rain fell in some communities, causing flooding which swept homes off their foundations, floated cars out of driveways and left floors, walls and counters covered in thick, reddish volcanic mud. Hundreds of homes have been damaged, along with some schools and a hospital.

In 2017, METALLICA established All Within My Hands to give back to communities that have supported the band. Since its inception, All Within My Hands' collective efforts have raised more than $20 million. The foundation has provided $11.4 million in grants for workforce education, $7.4 million to fight hunger globally, and $5.2 million donated to critical local services worldwide. 100% of donations go directly to local organizations that the Foundation supports. As always, METALLICA covers all administrative costs. Please visit AllWithinMyHands.org for more information.

LAMB OF GOD vocalist Randy Blythe and guitarist Mark Morton recently sat down with Revolver magazine to address the fans' burning questions — about everything from sobriety and long-term band goals to side projects, death metal and BLACK SABBATH.

Asked about the possibility of LAMB OF GOD retiring at some point in the next five, ten or twenty years, Randy said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): " Well, I'll never retire. I personally will never retire. I will write. I hope to make music and shoot photographs until they chuck me in the grave.

"LAMB OF GOD is my job," he explained. "It is my job, and it is a huge part of my life, but it is not my sole identity. It's just not. A much broader aspect of my identity is being an artist. It is how I interface with the world. It is how I try and make sense of my own life. So in some way or the other, I will be creating art until I die, 'cause that's the only way I can function as a human being.

"We're gonna be around for another five years — for sure we're gonna be playing shows," Blythe added. "In 10 years, I'll be 65. That's an interesting question. However, Mark and I were discussing this in the interview the other day. I don't think we're ever gonna break up. I don't think we're ever gonna break up. I am fine with dying as a member of the band, because the band — once again, I'm not in any hurry to do it — but like all of us can be 95 years old and still in LAMB OF GOD. Because for us, LAMB OF GOD is not just the music that we make. We've been together for 30 years in this relationship. It's something outside of just the music for us. It's its own thing. It's a relationship. And so I hope that relationship continues until we all either develop dementia and wander the earth bearded and insane, or we pass away peacefully in our sleep or whatever."

Added Mark: "There have been times along the way where I thought, 'Well, I think I'd like to be done with this whole project, winding down, when I'm, like, 50 or 55.' Well, I'm 53 now, and I'm not done. I do like the notion of slowing down the touring a bit, frankly. We've just been touring a long time, and I've got children, I've got young children, and I'm getting older. And it's hard to be away… When you're away for two months at a time, it takes its toll. And the way the industry is, you kind of have to do it at those lengths of time because things are so expensive. But I will say this: as I get older, I would like to tour in shorter lengths of time. And I've done the time. I feel like I can reward myself with shorter tours now that I'm in middle age. But I don't put a goalpost on, like, 'I gotta be out when I'm 60.'

"Randy and I talk about very often — we never have to break up," Morton continued. "This band never has to break up. We just can decide what we wanna do and how often we wanna do it, because we really, really like being around each other. We really like each other, and we laugh so much — more now than ever. That's just the thing. There were times when we used to be very combative, and amongst the fanbase that's pretty widely known. It was part of the deal — we were drunk and fighting and yelling and it was funny. But as older gentlemen, I'm glad we don't live that way anymore. Now we just laugh a lot, and it's great fun to be around these guys. And I love making music, and I still think we're making good, good music. So I don't see any reason to stop. We just might take longer breaks."

Back in 2022, Blythe, who had admitted to fantasizing about retiring from the band in the past, spoke about his post-LAMB OF GOD future in an interview with Metal Hammer magazine. He said: "I haven't seen that exit ramp yet. That's very specific to LAMB OF GOD too — not to music in general, as I plan on making music for as long as I possibly can. But nobody needs to see 70-year-old Randy Blythe up onstage jumping around and yelling 'this is a motherfucking invitation."

The now-55-year-old Richmond, Virginia-based musician continued: "I'm such a physical performer; that's what it is for me. Total physical immersion in our music. I don't know how long I'll be able to do that. I know for a fact that, unless something horrible happens, if we make it to 2025, that'll be 30 years of the band. I gotta make it to 30 years, and I think my body can take that."

Blythe, who published his first book, "Dark Days: A Memoir", in 2015, previously discussed his retirement from LAMB OF GOD during a 2016 appearance on "The MetalSucks Podcast". At the time he said: "I think I'm a better writer than I am a musician. And I'm not gonna be in LAMB OF GOD when I'm 70 years old. But hopefully I'll still be writing books."

He continued: "I will bet you every penny in my bank account that you will not see a 60-year-old Randy hopping around, screaming 'walk me in hell.' Fuck that. That's not gonna happen… It's not gonna happen. God, that would be atrocious. No one needs to witness that.

"Can you imagine me at 60? I'm skinny enough as it is. By then I'll have a little gut. I'll look like a toothpick that swallowed a bowling ball, probably bald… My throat will probably fall out if I do that by then."

In 2015, Blythe told Revolver magazine that he didn't think it was possible for him and his LAMB OF GOD bandmates to play extreme music into their 60s.

"I'm not going to be doing this when I'm fucking 60 — no fucking way," he said. "We're not THE [ROLLING] STONES."

He added: "I'm always going to be doing music, but not something quite so aggressive, I'm sure.

"I don't think LAMB OF GOD ever has to break up," he clarified. "I think we can, like, gracefully move out to pasture."

LAMB OF GOD's latest album, "Into Oblivion", came out on March 13 via Epic in the U.S. and Century Media in Europe.

Produced and mixed by longtime studio collaborator Josh Wilbur, "Into Oblivion" was recorded across multiple locations tied closely to the band's identity. Drums were tracked in Richmond, Virginia, with guitars and bass recorded at Morton's home studio. Blythe recorded his vocals at the legendary Total Access studio in Redondo Beach, California, the birthplace of seminal punk records by BLACK FLAG, HÜSKER DÜ and DESCENDENTS.

Photo credit: Travis Shinn

In a new interview with Harley Roxx of Florida's Rock It 100.5 radio station, former SKID ROW singer Sebastian Bach was asked if he has any new music in the works as a follow-up to his 2024 album "Child Within The Man". He responded:  "I'm starting to get that itch to do a new album. But the last one we did in the pandemic, and it was very easy to focus on it because there was no concerts or touring. It's really hard for me to concentrate on making a new album when I'm playing every night. So I don't know when this is gonna stop, but it's not anytime soon."

He added: "I do enjoy [performing live], but I also really enjoy making records. So I enjoy both of them."

Last month, Bach told This Day In Metal that he needed to make a Christmas album at some point in his life. "I love Christmas music, and I know exactly the kind of Christmas record I would make," he said. "It's not gonna be 'Jingle Bells' with electric guitars. It's gonna be a traditional piano, organ-based record of vocals of songs that I did in the church when I was in Peterborough, Ontario at Anglican Church — All Saints, I think it was called. So that's what I want. I need to do that at some point."

Bach recently launched a 2026 North American headlining tour, "The Party Never Ends". Joining the tour as direct support is STITCHED UP HEART, handpicked by Bach for his 2020 tour celebrating the debut SKID ROW album. That tour was ultimately cancelled due to COVID, making this long-awaited pairing finally come full circle.

Sebastian performed SKID ROW's classic debut album in its entirety during his recently completed Australian tour.

Bach's current touring band includes his son Paris Bach on drums, "Bruiser" Brody DeRozie on guitar, and Fede Delfino on bass.

"Child Within The Man" — the singer, songwriter, author, Broadway star and actor's first album in more than 10 years — was well-received, with Associated Press saying "…it shows a fierce performer in prime fighting form…his vocals remain sharp and his songwriting talents as cunning as ever," while Ultimate Classic Rock noted: "Bach's voice has lost none of its rage or range, even in the highest registers…" In addition, the album's "(Hold On) To The Dream" track was included in Consequence's "30 Best Metal & Hard Rock Songs Of 2024" which described the song as "...a late-career masterpiece from the former SKID ROW singer. Baz hits some of the highest notes of his career on the sweeping ballad, an inspiring anthem about perseverance."

"Child Within The Man" yielded the following singles/videos, all of which have impacted the rock charts: "Freedom", "What Do I Got To Lose?", "Everybody Bleeds" and "(Hold On) To The Dream" (along with the "(Hold On) To The Dream" alternate video),"Future Of Youth" and "To Live Again".

"Child Within The Man" was recorded in Orlando, Florida; produced and mixed by Michael "Elvis" Baskette; engineered by Jef Moll, assistant engineered by Josh Saldate and mastered by Robert Ludwig of Gateway Mastering. Bach wrote or co-wrote all the album's 11 tracks and sang all lead and backing vocals.

"Child Within The Man" features guest appearances from John 5 (MÖTLEY CRÜE, ROB ZOMBIE, MARILYN MANSON),Steve Stevens (BILLY IDOL) and Orianthi (ALICE COOPER, MICHAEL JACKSON) — who all co-wrote their respective tracks with Bach — and two tracks co-written with ALTER BRIDGE's Myles Kennedy ("What Do I Got to Lose?" and "To Live Again"). Devin Bronson (guitars),Todd Kerns (bass) and Jeremy Colson (drums) round out the players on the album.

Prior to "Child Within The Man"'s arrival, Bach hadn't released a full-length disc since "Give 'Em Hell", which came out in March 2014.