Progressive rock trio, Black Orchid Empire, have released a lyric video for "Scarlet Haze", the latest single from the band's new full-length, Tempus Veritas, out now via Season Of Mist.





Regarding the album, the Black Orchid Empire explains: "Interwoven with the fabric of our history as a species are countless opportunities for stories. Little pieces of imagined narrative, set within events we all collectively know as historical, that seek to explore what it means to be human - this is the idea behind Tempus Veritas. Whereas Semaphore looked to the future, this record reinvents the past, wondering what it was like to be inside the mind of a person living through times of consequence. Musically, we continue to seek the boundary between the savagely technical and the undeniably beautiful and attempt to push it as far as possible. We poured our entire creative beings into making this album - we sincerely hope you enjoy it."




Order at the Season Of Mist webshop.


Cover art by Black Orchid Empire and Ines Hernandez.





Tracklisting:


“Tempus Veritas”
“Hydrogen”
“The Raven”
“Last Ronin”
“Scarlet Haze”
“Deny The Sun”
“Glory To The King”
“Summit”
“Weakness”
“Vesuvius”
“Latimer”


“Glory To The King” lyric video:





“Deny The Sun” video:

San Francisco Bay Area thrash metal pioneers FORBIDDEN are reborn! FORBIDDEN's first and only European appearance this year will take place this August at Belgium's Alcatraz Metal Festival in August. The band is already laying the groundwork for some very exciting news and announcements, but right now they are focusing on Alcatraz and rehearsing to give Europe the very best performance possible.

FORBIDDEN's Craig Locicero states about the band's rebirth: "First off, I did NOT see this coming. When FORBIDDEN quietly disbanded the second time in 2012, I figured it was over. While I always apply the 'never say never' mantra to my life, Russ [Anderson, vocals] made it clear that he was completely finished with touring. My wingman and main dude from the conception of FORBIDDEN EVIL, Russ was my mentor and the guy who bought me beer when I was 15! I couldn't imagine FORBIDDEN without him, so I had little hope of a future with FORBIDDEN. Today Russ is happily retired and living the sober life. I have nothing but love for that and him. Everyone needs to respect his wishes like we do.

"So then ….. fast forward 11 years after our last show, Bay Area vocal talent Norman Skinner walks in to help us rehearse and sing a few thrash classics for the BAY AREA INTERTHRASHIONAL set at Dynamo MetalFest 2022. WHAMMO! That's when it all happened by accident. Truly. Then it happens AGAIN when Norman sings 'Chalice Of Blood' onstage alongside WARBRINGER at the one Bay Area show of BAY AREA INTERTHRASHIONAL. Holy fuck! We will go into detail thoroughly in the upcoming weeks. It's an amazing and organic progression story to tell.

"I now can announce that alongside my brothers Matt Camacho (bass) and Steve Smyth (guitar) we are officially introducing Norman Skinner (vocals) and Chris Kontos (drums) to the FORBIDDEN family. As far as Kontos goes, he's well known as one of the Bay's very best and most respected drummers. Chris's work in MACHINE HEAD and ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT alone are legendary. Historically he's sat behind the kit in with EXODUS, DEATH ANGEL, and TESTAMENT to name few. I've been lucky enough to play music with Chris in the past and present as well most recently with punk legends THE BONELESS ONES. We work amazingly well together and have remained great friends for over 30 years. In a long line of amazing drummers… Bostaph, Jacobs, Hoglan, Hernandez and Horn… Kontos is the perfect fit for FORBIDDEN. Having 5 people all moving the same direction with enthusiasm and positivity. It's all I've ever wanted with FORBIDDEN. Making the seemingly impossible, possible.

"This is not a reunion, it's a rebirth."

Originally founded in 1985 as FORBIDDEN EVIL by Anderson, guitarists Locicero and Robb Flynn, basses John Tegio and drummer Jim Pittman, the quintet started playing house parties and Bay Area clubs such as the legendary Ruthie's Inn soon after. After a couple of lineup changes (Paul Bostaph on drums and Matt Camacho on bass) in '86, the band quickly rose through the ranks of Bay Area thrash to gain a massive following and worldwide notoriety. In 1986, the band added Glen Alvelais as the second guitarist. It was this lineup that cemented itself into the Bay Area scene and soon after recorded 1988 release "Forbidden Evil" for Combat Records, changing the band's name to simply FORBIDDEN. In May of '89 while on a European tour with SACRED REICH, FORBIDDEN made their first appearance at the legendary Dynamo Open Air in Eindhoven, Netherlands. It was here that FORBIDDEN made their European mark and recorded the "Raw Evil" EP. The band returned Stateside and replaced Alvelais with Tim Calvert. Calvert was a missing ingredient that brought the band closer together as a team. They continued to tour the U.S. first with EXODUS and then again with SACRED REICH with Calvert on second guitar. The band went on to release "Twisted Into Form" in 1990, "Distortion" in 1994 and "Green" in 1996. However, the band, having gone though many lineup changes, disbanded in 1997.

In 2008 Craig being inspired at a screening of the movie "Get Thrashed", called the other members of the band and suggested getting back on stage to see if they could reignite the FORBIDDEN machine. With Anderson, Locicero, Camacho back in the mix along with new additions Glen Alvelais and Gene Hoglan they played two sold-out DEATH ANGEL shows in San Francisco. Steve Smyth came into the mix in place of Alvelais and Mark Hernandez took Hoglan's place. The band then released "Omega Wave", the fifth in the catalog and went on a U.S. tour with OVERKILL. European festivals were next but afterwards Hernandez had to walk away due to personal reasons leading to a tour cancelation. Sasha Horn was the answer to fill the drummer's spot.

After playing "Bonded By Baloff" with EXODUS and one Bay Area show, FORBIDDEN embarked for Chile to play the Metal Fest in Santiago. It was on this flight back home that Russ informed the band that he couldn't tour anymore because of the physical toll it was taking on him. With that, the band dissolved once again for 11 years.

Fast forward to 2023. The once improbable and impossible happened. FORBIDDEN is reforming with new blood! Locicero, Camacho and Smyth remain from the "Omega Wave" lineup.

New vocalist Norman Skinner will take the elite position that belonged to Russ Anderson. Norman shocked everyone who witnessed his performance of "Chalice Of Blood" with Los Angeles thrashers WARBRINGER accompanying him as the band. It was undeniable to all in attendance. Norman grew up in the Bay Area. His first thrash metal show was seeing FORBIDDEN at the Omni. Russ would point to Norman at shows and call him "Little Russ" on the mic. It could ONLY be Norman Skinner that fronts the band.

Florida death metal legends Hellwitch have released the video for “Delegated Disruption” taken from the forthcoming album Annihilational Intercention scheduled for a digital release on June 2 and on CD, vinyl , cassette on June 30.


Originally formed in 1984, old school Florida death metal legends, Hellwitch, are back with their unique brand of highly energetic, incisive, thrashing death metal. The band has always sounded insanely catchy, always balancing technicality to a great measure, Hellwitch have drafted some genuine classic songs over the years and their new album is a culmination of all such works and experience.


Band leader Pat Ranieri comments about the artwork for Annihilational Intercention: "The cover of Annihilational Intercention is what is coming in the future of mankind on this wretched planet. The Judge is in the final stages of administering punishment to our race, eradicating every last being. Having biologically and supernaturally evolved to possess otherworldly powers, his psychic assault is manifested in spears of burning energy and levitational force. His apocalyptic "Horsemen" look on with hatred, aiding the cause. The poisoned, decimated world that surrounds tells the tale of man left to his own devices."




Artwork by Khaos Dictator Design.





Annihilational Intercention tracklisting:


"Sollipsistic Immortality"
"Delegated Disruption"
"Megalopalypytic Confine"
"Sorcerous Imminence" (instrumental)
"Hellwitch"
"Epochal Cessation"
"Anthropophagi"
"At Rest"
"Torture Chamber"
"Sweet Home Alabama" (Lynyrd Skynyrd cover, vinyl only bonus track)


"Delegated Disruption" video:








Hellwitch tour dates:


June
5 - Milestone Club - Charlotte, NC
6 - Powers BMX Shop - Richmond, VA
7 - The Kennel at West York Inn - York, PA
8 - The Fire - Philadelphia, PA
9 - Pie Shop - Washington, DC
10 - Lurking Class Skate Shop - Salisbury, MD
11 - Saint Vitus Bar - Brooklyn, NY


November
3-5 - Mass Destruction Fest at The Loft - Atlanta, GA


More dates to be added soon.


Hellwitch lineup:


Pat Ranieri - Guitars, Vocals
J.P. Brown - Guitars
Brian Wilson - Drums


(Photo - Roberto Badillo)

Berlin-based atmospheric post metal collective The Ocean will return with the follow-up to their critically acclaimed Phanerozoic double album— Holocene— on May 19. On this new record, The Ocean are presenting a gear shift toward the electronic world while reaching new depths of heaviness at the same time. Preorder at the Pelagic Records webstore.


This heaviness is palpable on the band's new single "Subatlantic,” which starts off with trip-hop beats and dark psychedelia and slowly gains momentum to eventually culminate in an unexpectedly heavy grand finale of the album.  Intricate and heavy guitar riffs are built over a propulsive rhythm section and when vocalist Rossetti eventually screams "prepare for departure," it has become clear that this is the closing of not just a record, but a series of paleontology-inspired albums that the band started 16 years ago with their seminal Precambrian LP in 2007.


Subatlantic's brilliant new music video, once again directed by Drew Storcks, continues right where the previous album track, "Parabiosis" left off. In the new video, the doctor-protagonist whose patients signed up for a de-aging program and ended up in their own personal purgatories (pictured in the previous video) is being chased by an anonymous masked figure through rainforest and across tropical beaches. The clip was filmed on tour in Puerto Rico after the band's recent North American tour with Katatonia, with band members acting in the clip.







On the first half of "Subatlantic," The Ocean's Massive Attack influence is quite obvious and makes more sense than listeners could have ever guessed within the context of this band. 


The Ocean's Peter Voigtmann mentions: “We're all huge fans of 'Mezzanine,' which is still one of the best-produced albums to date. It has aged incredibly well. And for me it is an immensely heavy album too, a different kind of heaviness but one that somehow connects logically with what we've been doing with The Ocean over the course of the past two albums.”


(Photo: Geoffrey Wallang)

Venice, California crossover thrash/hardcore punk legends SUICIDAL TENDENCIES have parted ways with drummer Brandon Pertzborn and have replaced him with Greyson Nekrutman.

Pertzborn announced his exit from SUICIDAL TENDENCIES on Tuesday (April 18),writing on his Facebook page: "For the past (almost) two years, I've been so unbelievably fortunate to play with the almighty SUICIDAL TENDENCIES. Musically and personally, it's been some of the best times of my life. Every single person in the band/crew will be lifelong friends of mine and they have all filled my heart with joy these past couple years.

"I've learned so much during my time with ST — as a person, and as a musician. As a person, I can't say enough good things about everyone in this camp — it's a true family. As a musician, the amount of growth I've experienced is priceless. I mean, come on – you can't be in a band with Mike Muir and not end up being pushed as a musician and come out better than you were before.

"The thing about life is, there comes a time when you have to make decisions — hard decisions — and they're never based on one factor alone; they're based on many factors: where you are in life, where you've been, where you want to go, what's best for you at the time, what you think the future will look like, and so many other personal factors. And with this, I've made the difficult decision to leave SUICIDAL TENDENCIES.

"Rest assured, the band will still be firing on all cylinders. My boy, Greyson Nekrutman is an absolute monster and is going to KILL it with ST. They all have my full love and support.

"As for me, I'll have more news soon! I ain't stepping away from drumming anytime soon. In the meantime, I can't thank everyone involved enough in SUICIDAL TENDENCIES for everything. Man, what an honor it's been. I'll always look back on this time and smile."

In a separate post, Greyson wrote: "It's an absolute honor to fill such an iconic drum throne. It wouldn't be possible without my brother Brandon Pertzborn and I can't thank him enough for passing down the torch. He is an incredible role model and I am so excited for everyone to find out what he has next!"

SUICIDAL TENDENCIES frontman Mike Muir also commented on the drummer switch, writing: "Being in SUICIDAL I've had the honor of being on stage and recording with some absolutely amazing musicians. Having Brandon Pertzborn on drums the last couple of years has been such a pleasure. ST has had so many incredible drummers and he just STepped up and killed it behind the kit. But away from the drums he was such an absolute joy to work with and be around. Always a smile, no situation every got him done, always up for every challenge. I will definitely miss touring with him, but I'm extremely happy for him as he goes off to a new challenge.

"With that said, I'd like to thank him publicly for being such a great person, besides being a beaST on drums. We'll definitely cross musical paths in the future, but more importantly I'm happy to have him as a friend.

"So, that leads us to Greyson Nekrutman.

"Awhile back my good friend and killer bass player Josh Paul and I were discussing some young musicians for a project and Greyson was brought up. It was easy to do a little research and be blown away by his drum playing. Massively impressive. But awhile back I had the opportunity to talk to him for awhile on the phone and was even more impressed by him as a person and his takes on music and life. I already knew what an insanely talented drummer he was. But usually behind incredible talent is a hell of a lot of hard work, determination and conviction.

"SUICIDAL TENDENCIES is super excited to introduce Greyson as our new drummer. Starting next month at Welcome To Rockville, Greyson will be 'driving the bus' and we're all stoked to head on the ride together.

"We'll have more info on Greyson, ST and our plans going forward, but for now, please give a thank you to Brandon and a big ST welcome to Greyson!"

The 20-year-old Nekrutman is one of the most explosive young players in the drumming world, having garnered a legion of fans since bursting on to the international music scene just a few short years ago.

Greyson is featured on ALICE IN CHAINS vocalist William Duvall's "11.12.21 Live-In-Studio Nashville" CD, which came out last June. Nekrutman has also performed or recorded with Bakithi Kumalo, Darren Criss, Drumeo, Pearl Drums, Meinl Cymbals and has been featured in articles by Rolling Stone, Rhythm, Rhythm And Drum (Japan) and Sweetwater Music.

Photo courtesy of SUICIDAL TENDENCIES

For the past (almost) two years, I've been so unbelievably fortunate to play with the almighty Suicidal Tendencies....

Posted by Brandon Pertzborn on Tuesday, April 18, 2023

My next chapter. @suicidaltendencies

It’s an absolute honor to fill such an iconic drum throne. It wouldn’t be...

Posted by Greyson Nekrutman on Tuesday, April 18, 2023

Saturday night in Philadelphia headlining the Decibel Metal Fest was an absolute blast!
Lots of great times and...

Posted by Suicidal Tendencies on Wednesday, April 19, 2023

ANTHRAX has reportedly canceled all of its previously announced European festival appearances for this summer.

According to a post on the social media of Germany's Wacken Open Air, where ANTHRAX was scheduled to perform in early August, ANTHRAX scrapped the shows "due to logistics." Slovenia's MetalDays, Czech Republic's Brutal Assault and Belgium's Alcatraz festivals also confirmed ANTHRAX's cancelations.

ANTHRAX previously called off shows in continental Europe as part of its fall 2022 touring activities, citing "ongoing logistical issues" and "costs that are out of our control." The pioneering thrash metal band had been due to play numerous shows across Europe following their run of dates in the United Kingdom, which still took place between September 27, 2022 and October 8, 2022.

In an interview with Neil Jones of TotalRock, bassist Frank Bello elaborated on ANTHRAX's decision to scrap the European gigs and forge ahead with only the United Kingdom dates. Asked if it was "a Brexit thing" that caused the cancelations, Bello responded: "It's a human thing at this point, my God. I mean, it's a budgetary thing.

"When we originally planned everything, as we do — ANTHRAX has been in the U.K. and Europe forever, we have toured there; we have a great big fanbase there, and we love playing for them — we did a budget, as we do, the year before and before we put the shows on sale. After COVID, when everything went crazy, money-wise, financially it wasn't feasible to do it anymore," he explained. "When I saw the numbers, they were literally triple — triple to what they originally started at. We would be coming home at such a loss — you don't mind a little bit of a loss just to play to the fans — but such a loss, we would have been really bad off for a while. So it didn't make sense. When [we] looked at it, we said, 'All right. There's better times ahead.' And that's the way to look at it now. Look, heating costs and everybody's gotta put food on the table. I get it right now. So it's just a really hard time for everybody.

"I know we're gonna be back, and with a vengeance," Frank added. "So it's gonna be a lot of fun the next time around. I look forward to playing to all U.K. and Europe. We did a great U.K. run. I felt it was a little short, even though we did a lot of places. But I wanna come back and just play the way we should be playing."

Prior to scrapping the European shows, ANTHRAX had just wrapped a U.S. tour with BLACK LABEL SOCIETY. HATEBREED served as special guests.

When the European cancelation was first announced on social media, one fan in the comments section suggested that the cancelation could have been a result of low ticket sales. ANTHRAX replied: "Rest assured, there were zero issues with sales. Check out the news over there for a few minutes. We absolutely adore the European fans and love playing there and are very sad not to come. It doesn't work 'example' when tour buses double and triple in cost."

Bello previously discussed the decision to call off the European dates in September 2022 in an interview with BLABBERMOUTH.NET. At the time, he said: "When was the last time we canceled a European tour? We've never done it. The god's honest truth: Everything budgeting-wise is insane right now. We budgeted it last year and came back to this year with the gas lines and all the shit that's going on. It was three times the budget. We would have gone into a bad deficit, horrible. And the promoters are saying, 'It doesn't make sense for you guys to do it.' The buses, just life in general. It's horrible. We were able to salvage the U.K. But people know us. They know we'll be back. We love it there. I can't wait to go back. It's just a bummer that life is in the way of metal. [Laughs] What's going on in the world is in the way of metal and making people feel good with our music.

"We've been away," he continued. "We just did the BLACK LABEL SOCIETY and HATEBREED tour and we got the taste back. We were looking forward to the next leg, the U.K., then right into Europe. We're used to touring a few months at a time. Then our manager comes, 'We can't do this with the accounting.' It's like, 'What? How did this happen?' Then you read the papers and you understand. It's terrible."

ANTHRAX's latest album, "For All Kings", came out in February 2016 via Nuclear Blast.

ANTHRAX celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2021 with a number of special activities and events. Formed by guitarist Scott Ian and bassist Dan Lilker in Queens, New York on July 18, 1981, ANTHRAX was one of the first thrash metal bands to emerge from the East Coast and quickly became regarded as a leader in the genre alongside METALLICA, SLAYER and MEGADETH.

Active over the past five decades, ANTHRAX has released 11 studio albums, been awarded multiple gold and platinum certifications, received six Grammy nominations, toured the world since 1984 playing thousands of shows, including headlining Madison Square Garden and playing Yankee Stadium with the "Big Four".

"For All Kings" was called by some critics ANTHRAX's strongest album to date. Its arrival followed a five-year period during which the group experienced a rebirth of sorts, beginning with ANTHRAX's inclusion on the "Big Four" tour, and continuing with the release of comeback LP "Worship Music".

We sadly must announce today that the mighty Anthrax won’t make it to Europe and hence also not to the Holy Ground due...

Posted by Wacken Open Air on Wednesday, April 19, 2023

🇬🇧 ANTHRAX are unfortunately cancelling their entire summer European tour❗️
It will be difficult to find an suitable...

Posted by Brutal Assault on Wednesday, April 19, 2023

All European dates of ANTHRAX's summer tour have been cancelled.
We will do our best to fill their position as soon as...

Posted by MetalDays on Wednesday, April 19, 2023

🤘 FORBIDDEN TO PLAY AT #AOA23 🤘

We regret to inform you that Anthrax have just announced the cancellation of their...

Posted by ALCATRAZ MUSIC on Wednesday, April 19, 2023

Former DEEP PURPLE guitarist Steve Morse has reformed his STEVE MORSE BAND for a series of live appearances in April and May.

Reunited and performing together for the first time in over 10 years, the STEVE MORSE BAND returns with a long-awaited live set including fan favorites from the band's illustrious career. Featuring a trio of some of the world's most notable instrumentalists, this evening with the legendary act promises to be a must-see event in music history and a true testament to their status as the original gold standard in rock fusion.

The night brings together three icons, beginning with the band's namesake and Guitar Player Hall Of Famer Steve Morse, songwriter and bandleader of THE DIXIE DREGS, member of supergroup FLYING COLORS, as well as former guitarist of DEEP PURPLE, KANSAS and more. Morse's bandmates feature Dave LaRue, also of FLYING COLORS and THE DIXIE DREGS, as well as Van Romaine, one of the most in-demand percussionists throughout his extensive career playing live and recording with legendary names like BLOOD, SWEAT & TEARS, Billy Joel, NAUGHTY BY NATURE and many more.

"This mini tour is us getting back to what made us the happiest, musically," says Morse. "Working with friends you know and trust, playing snippets of the best part of your lives together is too much fun to call 'work'! We are very excited to be coming back and playing here, since we formed the foundation of the music touring and playing this town!"

In a can't-miss celebration of musical prowess and unparalleled instrumental songwriting, this evening's set from the inimitable trio is undoubtedly poised to be a music lover's dream come true. Morse brings back one of his original career-defining acts that introduced the world to his supreme virtuosity over 30 years ago. Still at the top of their musical game, the STEVE MORSE BAND have returned to showcase and share their genre-defining musicianship once again.

Tour dates:

April 22 - Annapolis, MD - Rams Head
April 23 - Glenside, PA - Keswick Theater
April 24 - Alexandria, VA - Birchmere -
May 25 - Homer, NY - Homer Center for the Arts
May 26 - Oakmont, PA - Oaks Theatre
May 27 - Lititz, PA - Mickey's Blackbox
May 28 - Cleveland, OH - Music Box Supper Club

Last July, Morse officially left PURPLE to care for his wife, Janine, who was battling cancer. He was replaced by Simon McBride.

Morse's announcement came four months after the guitarist said that he would be taking a hiatus from the band, in the hope of rejoining his bandmates once his wife's health improved.

Morse effectively took over Ritchie Blackmore's DEEP PURPLE slot in 1994 and had been in the group longer than Ritchie.

JETHRO TULL will release its 23rd studio album, "RökFlöte", on April 21 via InsideOut Music. Following 2022's "The Zealot Gene", the group's first LP in two decades, Ian Anderson and his bandmates are returning with a 12-track record based on the characters and roles of some of the principal gods of the old Norse paganism, and at the same time exploring the "RökFlöte" — rock flute — which JETHRO TULL has made iconic.

Asked in a new interview with Germany's Radio Bob! about the use of the umlauts in "RökFlöte" and how he would like people to pronounce the title of the new JETHRO TULL LP, Ian said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, I would probably prefer to stick with the typical Germanic-language pronunciation, but it's also the pronunciation in Icelandic from which I derived some of the ideas on the album, coming from the Poetic Edda of old Icelandic literature and the first attempt to write down the mythology and the beliefs of the old Norse world of paganism, adventure and so on and so forth. So it began, before I started work on the album, it had a working title of 'Rock Flute', in English, because I thought, 'I'm gonna make a rock album and it'll have a lot of flute on it.' So that was what was at the top of my page when I started work on January the 1st of 2022. And during the course of the day, I narrowed down my thoughts about the subject matter to deciding that I would write — focusing, really, on some of the Gods from Norse paganism, the polytheistic beliefs in Norse religion. And in a fanciful way I decided that perhaps the title should become not 'Rock' but 'Rök', which in old Icelandic means 'destiny', and 'Flöte', which is the German- and other Germanic-language pronunciation and spelling of flute, the instrument I play. So that's what it became. And I changed the heading at the top of my page of notes to reflect that and did a lot of research about the identity, characters and the roles of Norse Gods with a view to writing about them in, not in humorous way but in a light-hearted way to describe their characters and their personalities. And then, in the final 40 percent of each set of lyrics, the final two stanzas are bringing those characters and those roles into a context, into a parallel context of the world that I know today, or since I was born. And that was really the focus for the album, for all the tracks, partly looking at the historical, analytical side of it and partly creating a parallel set of analogies in the present day."

He added: "The umlauts are there for a legitimate reason because they are correct in the linguistic spelling, whereas the misappropriation of the umlaut at the hands of, for instance, MÖTLEY CRÜE or MOTÖRHEAD ought to make you either laugh or get angry, depending on your point of view."

MOTÖRHEAD leader Lemmy said that he "pinched" the idea for putting the umlaut on the second O of the band's name from his friends in BLUE ÖYSTER CULT. He later said that he "only put it there to look mean".

As for how the members of MÖTLEY CRÜE decided to add the umlauts to their name, singer Vince Neil recounted: "I can remember it like it was yesterday. We were drinking Löwenbräu, and when we decided to call ourselves MÖTLEY CRÜE, we put some umlauts in there because we thought it made us look European. We had no idea that it was a pronunciation thing. When we finally went to Germany, the crowds were chanting, 'Mutley Cruh! Mutley Cruh!' We couldn't figure out why the fuck they were doing that."

"RökFlöte" will be available on several different formats, including two limited deluxe formats that include bonus demo material, extensive liner notes and a Blu-ray featuring Dolby Atmos, 5.1 Surround Sound, alternative stereo mixes by Bruce Soord (THE PINEAPPLE THIEF),as well as a bonus track and in-depth interview with Anderson. The album will also be available digitally in the spatial audio formats Dolby Atmos and Sony 360 RA.

"The Zealot Gene", released in January 2022, was JETHRO TULL's 22nd studio album and it garnered critical acclaim across the board. Reaching No. 9 in the U.K. album charts, a feat the band hadn't reached since 1972, it also debuted at No. 4 in Germany, No. 3 in Switzerland, No. 5 in Austria, No. 8 in Finland, as well as top 10 in the U.S. album charts, Current Album charts and Rock Album charts.

With more than 30 albums to their credit and sales totaling more than 50 million, JETHRO TULL are one of the most successful rock bands of all-time with a catalog that contains classics that still resonate today. Led by Anderson, TULL continue to tour throughout the world, entertaining audiences of all ages.

The band consists of:

Ian Anderson - Concert and Alto flutes, Flute d'Amour, Irish whistle and vocals
David Goodier - Bass
John O'Hara - Piano, keyboards and Hammond Organ
Scott Hammond - Drums
Joe Parrish-James - Electric and acoustic guitars, mandolin

Fan-filmed video of the annual "Rock Meets Classic" tour performing this past Friday (April 14) at the Tectake Arena in Würzburg, Germany can be seen below.

This year's "Rock Meets Classic" is headlined by Joey Tempest (EUROPE),Dee Snider (TWISTED SISTER) and URIAH HEEP's Mick Box and Bernie Shaw, with additional guest appearances by Maggie Reilly (Mike Oldfield),Ronnie Romero (RAINBOW, MSG, ELEGANT WEAPONS) and Mike Tramp (WHITE LION).

"Rock Meets Classic" was postponed in 2021 and 2022 due to the global pandemic.

Prior to the launch of this year's trek, "Rock Meets Classic" co-organizer Manfred Hertlein said: "We are on cloud nine to present guitarist Mick Box and vocalist Bernie Shaw, of the great URIAH HEEP. The two were on the 'Rock Meets Classic' stage back in 2016, and wiped the audience of their feet with mega hits like 'Lady In Black'."

Among the songs being performed on this year's tour are "Final Countdown", "Rock The Night" and "Superstitious" from EUROPE, "We're Not Gonna Take It" and "The Price" from TWISTED SISTER, "Easy Livin'" from URIAH HEEP, "Long Live Rock 'N' Roll" from RAINBOW, and "Broken Heart", "Tell Me" and "When The Children Cry" from WHITE LION.

Remaining "Rock Meets Classic" 2023 tour dates:

April 16 - München Olympiahalle
April 18 - Ludwigsburg MHP Arena
April 20 - Ingolstadt Saturn Arena
April 21 - Frankfurt myticket Jahrhunderthalle
April 22 - Nürnberg Arena Nürnberger Versicherung
April 23 - Kempten bigBOX
April 25 - Oberhausen Rudolf Weber Arena

In a new interview with the Rock Legacy webzine, former JUDAS PRIEST and ICED EARTH singer Tim "Ripper" Owens was asked how he feels about his voice nowadays. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I feel great about my voice these days. I struggled for about six or seven years. It just wasn't the same, and I had to worry about my voice, and I had to be very careful. I was probably at 60 percent, maybe. But last year, before I did that Latin American tour… I remember I did, like, 16 shows in 18 days or something, and it was fantastic, man, and my voice was just — every night was on fire."

As for how he takes care of his voice, Owens said: "You know what? I just don't talk a lot. I don't go out and hang out with people. I'm not gonna go out there and be mingling with the fans, because I just can't talk. I have to rest it. So I just rest it a lot. I got some Retune singer spray that I have here that'll be my own brand pretty soon; my name will be on it… Don't buy it yet, though. I'll give you a link eventually, and you can buy it so I get money from it. But that stuff loosens it up in the studio. But I drink a lot of water and I take care of myself."

Owens recently released a solo EP, "Return To Death Row". The effort was produced by Jamey Jasta (HATEBREED) and Nick Bellmore (JASTA, DEE SNIDER). Players on the EP, which contain Owens's "heaviest songs yet," include Nick Bellmore, Charlie Bellmore (DEE SNIDER, ex-TOXIC HOLOCAUST) on guitar, and Chris Beaudette (JASTA, ENTEIRRO) on bass.

Owens is currently the frontman of KK'S PRIEST, featuring fellow former JUDAS PRIEST member K.K. Downing.

Owens joined PRIEST after being discovered when the band's drummer, Scott Travis, was given a videotape of him performing with the PRIEST cover act BRITISH STEEL. JUDAS PRIEST at the time was seeking a replacement for Rob Halford.

Owens recorded two studio albums with JUDAS PRIEST — 1997's "Jugulator" and 2001's "Demolition" — before the band reunited with Halford in 2003.

"Demolition" and "Jugulator" are included on "50 Heavy Metal Years Of Music", JUDAS PRIEST's 2021 limited-edition box set which contains every official live and studio album to date plus 13 unreleased discs.

Tim told The Metal Voice in 2016 that he "wouldn't have quit JUDAS PRIEST." He clarified: "I wanted to leave JUDAS PRIEST, 'cause I had already recorded the ICED EARTH record ['The Glorious Burden']. So I wanted out of JUDAS PRIEST, 'cause I wanted to do other stuff, but I never would have quit. 'Cause I was great friends with them, and I was the singer of JUDAS PRIEST. But to make more money and to do more things, I had to branch out and do other things."

In a separate interview, Owens defended himself against accusations by some JUDAS PRIEST fans of changing the band's sound to a more brutal, modern direction on "Jugulator". He explained: "Every record JUDAS PRIEST puts out is different. I mean, 'Nostradamus' sounds nothing like JUDAS PRIEST ever wrote, ever. 'Turbo' sounded nothing like JUDAS PRIEST. You know, JUDAS PRIEST changes. They wrote 'Painkiller', and 'Jugulator' was a transition; it was kind of following what was going on."

He continued: "You've gotta remember, JUDAS PRIEST always went with the times a little bit. Glenn [Tipton, guitar] started playing arpeggios. PANTERA was really big [at the time]. [On the] 'Painkiller' [tour], they toured with PANTERA; PANTERA opened for JUDAS PRIEST. 'Painkiller' was a heavy record, and this was a natural progression. The difference is I probably had a few more different layers to my voice that they could tap into — some deeper, death metal kind of undertones to do backups and some different types of voices that they might be able to try. But it was JUDAS PRIEST."

BraveWords is premiering Cruzados new video for "Land Of The Endless Sun", the title track of the band's new EP, produced by Bruce Witkin. Stream the EP here, and watch the video below.


"Recording our new 6-song EP Land Of The Endless Sun brought me back to our early days in the Cruzados. The guitar sounds we got thanks to Loren Molinare and Mark Tremalgia are tough as nails and set the mode for the entire EP. Ron Young belts out even stronger on this collection and the songs cover a wide range of classic Cruzados styles from the desert sound to 60s garage, all rounded out with a backbeat by drummer Rob Klonel that propels each track,” says Tony Marsico, co-founder/ bassist.


“This was a fun group of songs to record. It highlights so many of the band’s influences that we love to weave into our set. It keeps the Cruzados legacy going. Getting to work with our favorite Producer, Bruce Witkin again was also a blast as he makes us so comfortable all through the tracking that it makes the music flow out of us and he gets great performances from each of us," says lead singer Ron Young.







Tracklisting


"Dead Inside"
"Land Of The Endless Sun"
"Golden Child"
"A Little More Time"
"Queen Of The Quake"
"Johnny Pay To Play"


"Land Of The Endless Sun" video:



 
- Recorded at Unison Studios Feb 18-22, 2023
- Produced, Engineered and Mixed by Bruce Witkin
- All songs written by Marsico, Klonel, Molinare, Tremalgia, Young
- Additional Keyboards- Bruce Witkin
- Mastered by Dave Schultz at D2 Mastering


On the way from Cruzados is a collection of live music recorded in Europe from the band's 2022 tour. Live From Marseille is a full-length live album that contains performances of Cruzados band classics and some new tunes from 2022-2023. Further details to follow.


Cruzados' European tour kicks off this spring, April 27 through May 27 with stops in Spain, France, Belgium, and Germany.


Tour dates:


April
27 - Verviers, Belgium - Spirit Of 66
28 - Besançon, France - Bar De L’U
29 - Dortmund, Germany - Blue Notez


May
1 - Girona, Spain - Sala la Torrentera
3 - Madrid, Spain - Rockville
4 - Zaragoza, Spain - Rock & Blues
5 - Aviles, Spain - Sala Malecón
6 - Cangas, Spain - Salason
7 - A Coruña, Spain - Mardi Gras
8 - Leon, Spain - Babylon
11 - Orihuela, Spain - La Gramola
12 - Castellon de la Plana, Spain - Sala Because
13 - Barcelona, Spain - La Textil
14 - Vitoria, Spain - Urban Rock Concept
16 - Marseille, France - Cherrydon
17 - Chambéry, France - Brin De Zinc
19 - Kufstein, Austria - Fufa
20 - Lauchhammer, Germany - Real Music Club
22 - Norderstedt, Germany - MusicStar
23 - Bremen, Germany - Meisenfrei
26 - Krefeld, Germany - Kulturrampe
27 - Fürth, Germany - New Orleans Fest (Open Air)


Lineup:


Ron Young: Lead Vocals
Tony Marsico: Bass, Vocals
Rob Klonel: Drums
Mark Tremalgia: Guitar, Vocals
Loren Molinare: Guitar, Vocals


The Cruzados attracted national attention in the ‘80s with their stormy, Latin-inflected brand of post-punk hard rock. Signed to Clive Davis’ Arista Records, the quartet issued two albums, Cruzados (1985) and After Dark (1987). They also made a high-profile screen appearance in the 1989 cult classic Road House. However, familiar rock ‘n’ roll pressures capsized the band in 1991; guitarist Marshall Rohner died in 2005, and drummer Chalo “Charlie” Quintana died in 2018.


In the intervening years, Marsico worked on the debut album by Plugz and Cruzados singer-guitarist Tito Larriva’s band Tarantula, today based in Austin. He also carved out a notable career as a top session musician and touring sideman with such artists as Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Roger Daltrey, Marianne Faithfull, and Willie Nelson. The bassist’s studio and road stories are collected in two books, Late Nights with Bob Dylan (2009) and I’m Just Here for the Gig! (2020).


With the onset of the pandemic in 2020 and the enforced solitude that followed, Marsico began to contemplate a new project under the Cruzados handle.


“Being penned up with the pandemic at home for a year, I started questioning my mortality,” he says. “I felt like I got shortchanged with the Cruzados. We never got to put out a third album, due to a lot of crazy circumstances that cropped up. I wanted to do the band justice and go out on a high note. That was my goal, and to pay tribute to Chalo and Marshall.”


Material for a new Cruzados release came quickly. It didn’t take long for Marsico to decide on the right musicians to carry on the Cruzados’ legacy in the studio: He turned to singer Ron Young and guitarists Loren Molinare and Mark Tremalgia of Little Caesar, who were also active on the L.A. scene in the late ‘80s as a Geffen Records act. The core lineup was completed by drummer Ron Klonel, who has collaborated with Little Caesar in recent years.


“The Little Caesar guys were Chalo’s best friends – they were pals from back in the day,” Marsico says. “I had to find the best guy to be the lead singer. My tastes have changed a little – the influences are blues and rock ‘n’ roll. I knew that Ron Young from Little Caesar loved blues, and we got to talking and we hit it off with the same style of music. I knew that he could pull this off and get behind it.


“Loren Molinare was in the great ‘70s L.A. band the Dogs, of course, and I loved the Dogs, and Mark Tremalgia is a new guy I’ve been working with for a couple of years now. Rob Klonel is a great, solid rock ‘n’ roll drummer. It was really important for me to get someone who hit ‘em hard like Chalo. They were a perfect combination of guys, and they had a lot of enthusiasm.”


With Bruce Witkin engineering and producing, the new Cruzados set up shop at Unison Studios in L.A. Marsico recalls, “We did it all “old style “– we just set up in a room all together, like we used to do records before they started putting everybody in isolation booths and all that crap. We got the band together and rehearsed, and we went into the studio a week later. Before we knew it, we had the album. All live, no click tracks. We all played in our own little area, with our masks on. Set up, play, cut the songs, boom. It felt great to rock with a bunch of like-minded guys. With our special guests, half of them came to the studio, and half recorded their parts at home.”

Cherie Currie has once again said that a full reunion of iconic 1970s rockers THE RUNAWAYS will now probably never happen.

Speaking to Marko Syrjälä of Metal Rules and SySi Media, Currie outlined her relationships with fellow former bandmates Joan Jett, Lita Ford, Jackie Fox and Sandy West and the previous attempts to get the band back together.

"I played with all the girls," she said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). "I played with Lita… And just in the last decade. Lita, Joan… I always played with Sandy [who died of lung cancer in 2006 at the age of 47], God rest her soul. Jackie… I played with every member of THE RUNAWAYS individually. And even Lita will say, 'Oh, I can work with Cherie.' I mean, I'm easy to work with. I just wanna have fun. But they… Lita hates [Joan's longtime manager] Kenny Laguna; that's never gonna change."

Cherie explained that the chances of THE RUNAWAYS reuniting are very slim "because Lita and Joan don't see eye to eye." She added: "I really hoped it would happen, but now I absolutely believe it will not… Unless there's a miracle on Joan and Lita's side, which I doubt. But I can't control people. And it's too bad because it could have been great."

Currie reflected on the one time that a RUNAWAYS reunion almost happened more than 25 years ago, saying: Joan wanted to do it. Lita approached me and Sandy back in 1997 and had us get Joan on board, and Joan said, 'Okay. Let's do it.' And Kenny went out of his way, got a record deal; we were gonna book a tour. And then the first telephone conversation with all of us, Lita just went completely off the rails and said, 'Nah, I'm not doing this,' because she hates Kenny so much. And then they made me call Lita, and Lita just said, 'I'm a household name. I don't need this bullshit.' I said, 'Please do it for Sandy West, Lita. Do it for Sandy.' And she wouldn't. And for that I will never forgive Lita. Because Sandy really, really could have used a boost. But people are selfish in this life. I don't know why people are so self-consumed and so selfish. But Lita was very selfish when she did that and did not consider Sandy whatsoever. And here we lost her just seven years later."

When Syrjälä told Currie that Ford said in a previous interview that it was Jett who ultimately decided against a RUNAWAYS reunion, Cherie said: "No, she's wrong. It was [Lita who decided against it] first. She brought it all together. She stopped it. And then Joan didn't wanna do it [when it was brought up again later]. It's, like, you know what, Lita… Lita was the one that started the whole thing. She should have followed through, but she didn't. And so she can't blame Joan for that. Even though I'm not a hundred percent on the 'rah-rah, Joan' fan club anymore, I call it the way it is. And Lita really… She started it. We were there. And she walked. So she has no right to say anything anymore."

Two months ago, Currie told "Waste Some Time With Jason Green" about the possibility of a RUNAWAYS reunion: "Joan uses the excuse that we're not teenagers anymore, we're not THE RUNAWAYS anymore [as to why she doesn't want to do it]. But to me, I think it's incredibly selfish. You do things for the fans, and when you start thinking that you're doing things for yourself after all these years of being successful in this business… I really think that both Lita and Joan owe it to the fans. But that's just me."

Cherie went on to say that she has "always been ready" to take part in a RUNAWAYS reunion. "But I didn't even consider such a thing until Lita reached out to me in '97 and asked me and Sandy to talk Joan into it," she explained. "And we did. And then right when we had the record deal and the tour and everything that Kenny had put together, Lita walked. Just from one conversation. We had a conference call with me and Sandy and Joan and Lita and Kenny, and Lita just couldn't stand hearing the sound of Kenny's voice, and she just said, 'You know what? I'm out.' And that was it. And then she came back again after THE RUNAWAYS movie, [and then] Joan says, 'No. I don't wanna do it.' And it's just crazy, because it's the same bullshit that I went through with these girls when I was a teenager. It's just kind of, like, 'Wow.' I don't know what to say; I just don't. It's frustrating because I know it would have been amazing to do. And it's frustrating. You can't make people do something they don't wanna do."

Currie added: "I have stood on that stage as an adult in my late 50s… with Lita, and with Joan as well, and it was really like time had stopped every time I had gotten on stage with those two. It's just too bad we could never have done it together, 'cause it would have absolutely been amazing."

The first true girl band of the 1970s, THE RUNAWAYS toured internationally and made a dent in the charts before calling it quits at the end of that decade.

In November 2018, Ford told the Daily Mail that a reunion of THE RUNAWAYS will probably never happen. She explained: "Joan Jett is very much in 'Joan Jett land,' I guess you could say. Will she ever come out of Joan Jett land? I don't think so. I think her manager controls that and it's really up to him and her. It seems to me like Joan Jett's manager just runs her life in every way, shape, or form. He's very controlling and he has a real problem with me. He has a real issue with me. He sees me as a threat, which is ridiculous, because she's like my sister and I love Joan. It's ridiculous, it's uncalled for, and it's caused a little bit of rivalry between her and I, which is totally uncalled for. It's his fault."

Ford claimed that Jett's manager has prevented her from even talking about a RUNAWAYS reunion with Jett.

"The hard part is just trying to communicate with Joan without her manager involved," she added.

"We had dinner a couple of years ago, what was supposed to be a girl's night out, and she brought her manager with her.

"So it's like, "Dude, answer the question. I'm trying to ask you a question. Are you interested in putting THE RUNAWAYS back together?' She never answered the question."

In a 2015 interview with the WHMH (Rockin' 101) radio station, Lita explained that she decided against a possible RUNAWAYS reunion in the early '90s because "NIRVANA was just kicking in, and it was really bad timing; it wouldn't have worked. People would have just turned their nose up at it."

A movie about THE RUNAWAYS' brief history, starring Dakota Fanning as Currie and Kristin Stewart as Jett, came out in 2010.

In a new interview with Sense Music Media, ex-SLAYER drummer Dave Lombardo was asked if he still has the physical dexterity and stamina to play material from his former band. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I could still play it. I think I play music that's a little more difficult and challenging now than SLAYER. SLAYER's music is machine-like; it's like a locomotive — just go, go, go, go, go. Now I'm playing that, but the songs have a lot more changes. MR. BUNGLE's music, it's a little more complex than what SLAYER's was. And some other thrash bands I played recently with, the music has evolved to more complex rather than straightforward thrash."

He added: "So, to answer your question, I'm totally fine. I don't have any issues with my wrists, elbows, shoulders, joints. I hope it continues, 'cause I wanna play until I'm 90. I want them to take me from the wheelchair onto the throne. I play like a fucking madman and then back to the wheelchair, back to bed. [Laughs]"

Lombardo was effectively fired from SLAYER after sitting out the group's Australian tour in February/March 2013 due to a contract dispute with the other bandmembers. He was later replaced by Paul Bostaph, who was previously SLAYER's drummer from 1992 until 2001.

Shortly after his dismissal, Lombardo said that he discovered that 90 percent of SLAYER's tour income was being deducted as expenses, including fees to management, costing the band millions and leaving them with about 10 percent to split four ways. While he and bassist/vocalist Tom Araya hired auditors to figure out what had happened, Lombardo said he was never allowed to see any of the information obtained.

SLAYER played its last-ever show in November 2019 at The Forum in Los Angeles.

Lombardo will release his debut solo album, "Rites Of Percussion", on May 5 via Ipecac Recordings.

Dave is one of the busiest musicians working right now. Never one to rest on his laurels, the drumming pioneer recently released new albums with DEAD CROSS and VENAMORIS, performed with his other new band, EMPIRE STATE BASTARD (also featuring members of BIFFY CLYRO),and will soon hit the road with MR. BUNGLE, followed by dates with the resurrected punk icons MISFITS.

Oblivion Protocol recently announced their signing to Atomic Fire Records. Today, the new project led by Threshold keyboard player and songwriter Richard West unveils the first details of their debut album, The Fall Of The Shires, which will be released later this year.


The Fall Of The Shires was written as a sequel to Threshold's 2017 concept album, Legends Of The Shires, and delivers a dense, climactic sound somewhere between Rush, Steven Wilson, The Dark Side Of The Moon-era Pink Floyd, and hard rock masters Ghost, all the while providing the listener with clever little nods, bows, and references to the first installment.


Richard West comments, "When my Threshold bandmates decided not to record a sequel to the Legends Of The Shires story, I knew I wanted to stay in that world a little longer, so I wrote my own sequel called The Fall Of The Shires."




Oblivion Protocol's lineup is completed with three renowned musicians: guitarist Ruud Jolie (Within Temptation), bassist Simon Andersson (Darkwater), and drummer Darby Todd (Devin Townsend). Last but not least, Threshold's Karl Groom has also contributed some truly enthralling guitar solos to the record.


The album cover - designed by celebrated artist Thomas Ewerhard, who was responsible for so many of Threshold's classic covers such as Hypothetical and Subsurface - depicts the downfall of the world shown on Legends Of The Shires. The group's debut single, “Forests In The Fallout”, will be unveiled on May 26th alongside album pre-order options.





Tracklisting:


"The Fall (Part 1)"
"Tormented"
"Public Safety Broadcast"
"This Is Not A Test"
"Storm Warning"
"Vertigo"
"Forests In The Fallout"
"The Fall (Part 2)"


For further details, visit Oblivion Protocol on Facebook.


 

West Coast death metal trailblazers, Ripped To Shreds, have released a guitar playthrough video for "漢奸 (Race Traitor)", featured on their Relapse debut full-length 劇變 (Jubian), out now. Watch the clip below:





Physical orders for 劇變 (Jubian) on LP/CD/CS are available here. Digital downloads/streaming here.







劇變 (Jubian) tracklisting:


"Violent Compulsion For Conquest"
"Split Apart By Five Chariots"
"獨孤九劍 日月神教第三節 (In Solitude - Sun Moon Holy Cult Pt 3)"
"Harmonious Impiety"
"漢奸 (Race Traitor)"
"Reek Of Burning Freedom"
"Peregrination To The Unborn Eternal Mother"
"Scripture Containing The Supreme Internal Energy Arts That Render The Practitioner Invincible Throughout The Martial Realm"


Album stream:





“Violent Compulsion For Conquest” visualizer:





"Reek Of Burning Freedom" video:





(Photo - Greg Goudey)

Misfits guitarist Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein's band, Doyle, performed at the 2022 edition of Bloodstock Open Air. Professionally-filmed footage of the band's full set can be seen below:





The Original Misfits, one of the most influential, genre-defining bands to emerge from North America, have announced a limited run of shows for 2023 kicking off on June 24 in Tampa at MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre with Megadeth, hitting the band’s home turf of NJ at the Prudential Center in Newark on July 8 with fellow New Jersey natives The Gaslight Anthem, followed by a performance at Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre on July 15 in Phoenix with AFI. All three dates will also have support from Fear.




The tour will give fans the rare opportunity to see the horror punk pioneers in their fiendish glory, live on stage as well as mark the first time the reunited Original Misfits have visited the states of Florida and Arizona, featuring the classic lineup of original singer/songwriter Glenn Danzig and original bassist Jerry Only with longtime guitarist Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein.





Dates:


June
24 - Tampa, FL - MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre (Tickets)


July
8 - Newark, NJ - Prudential Center (Tickets)
15 - Phoeniz, AZ - Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre (Tickets)

QUEENSRŸCHE singer Todd La Torre sat behind the drum kit for Marty Friedman during the ex-MEGADETH guitarist's April 16 concert at Jannus Live in Saint Petersburg, Florida to perform the latter band's classic song "Tornado Of Souls". Check out fan-filmed video below.

Jannus Live was the final concert of QUEENSRŸCHE and Friedman's joint U.S. tour, which kicked off on March 3 at The Plaza Live in Orlando, Florida.

Earlier today (Tuesday, April 18),La Torre, who has played drums since the age of 13, tweeted out a photo of him playing with Marty and his band, and he included the following message: "What a great time drumming with one of my favorite guitarists and musicians of all time! #MartyFriedman".

Back in 2016, La Torre, who played drums on QUEENSRŸCHE's 2019 album "The Verdict", spoke to Rock Revolt Magazine about his early days as a musician. He said: "I've been really into drums since I was a little kid. And, that came much more naturally to me than anything. I've always liked singing, but I never tried singing for a band because I didn't think I was good enough… I was a drummer first… I was big Billy Joel fan, and I was always drumming or air drumming. Finally, when I was 13, my dad bought me my first drum set. My mom got me my first guitar when I was ten. And so, I have always been interested. And then I joined bands as a drummer. So, it's always been in my blood."

Asked if he had any desire to get behind the kit and do some side projects, Todd said: "I would love to drum again, too on the side. But, to have another band on the side for fun, that'd be cool, too. To be able to do that as a drummer, that'd be amazing. But QUEENSRŸCHE will always be my number one priority. I have a musicality to me beyond singing. And so it would be nice, while I have the health and the opportunity, to do those things. So, you never know what life will bring you."

Todd, who lives in St. Petersburg, Florida, joined his first band BLACKWELL as the drummer, performing in high school talent shows and entering into the club rock music scene in Tampa Bay, Florida. In 2009, Todd was suggested to CRIMSON GLORY guitarist Jon Drenning by a mutual friend to help with some vocal rehearsals in preparation for a CRIMSON GLORY memorial concert. This would pave the way for more collaborations with the band, eventually joining as the band’s new permanent vocalist. La Torre was the lead singer for CRIMSON GLORY from late 2010 until resigned from the band in early 2013. In 2012, Todd became a household name in the metal world when he officially became the new lead vocalist of QUEENSRŸCHE. The band immediately began touring globally and started writing new material for the self-titled 2013 album "Queensrÿche". To date, QUEENSRŸCHE has released four studio albums with La Torre: "Queensrÿche", "Condition Hüman" (2015),"The Verdict" (2019) and "Digital Noise Alliance" (2022).

La Torre's debut solo album, "Rejoice In The Suffering", was released in February 2021 via Rat Pak Records.
What a great time drumming with one of my favorite guitarists and musicians of all time!#MartyFriedmanpic.twitter.com/kPI1trG5EA

— Todd La Torre (@ToddLaTorre) April 18, 2023

During METALLICA's April 12 appearance on "The Howard Stern Show" at SiriusXM Studios in Los Angeles, California, the band's drummer Lars Ulrich showed host Howard Stern how quickly he moves his feet when he plays the drums. Check out the video below.

Earlier this month, Ulrich told Consequence that he prides himself on the ability to play what the song calls for, adding that a talented drummer will play what's best for the song and can perform simply, even though they are capable of doing more when needed.

"It's often easier to play fast than it is to play slow," Ulrich explained. "Or it's easier to sit down and figure out how to play 600 notes in a guitar solo than it is to play 20 that are tasty. You can learn the 600 notes from a book, but it's much harder to learn how, like a [Eric] Clapton or [Jimi] Hendrix or [Ritchie] Blackmore, some of these guys weave in and out of time signatures. That's not something that's so easy to write down. That's more feel, and feel is less easily definable in a book than is ability.

"I've said over the years, people like [AC/DC's] Phil Rudd, people like [THE ROLLING STONES'] Charlie Watts, or people like Clive Burr from IRON MAIDEN, guys who are [known for] swing and swagger, is as equal or more important."

He concluded: "I guess for me, I'm just more interested in landing where what the song needs than 'look at what I could do with backwards paradiddles standing on my head, dangling from the ceiling' or whatever."

Lars's latest comments come more than two years after he told METALLICA's So What! fan-club magazine that he is no longer bothered by people's criticism of his drumming abilities. At the time, the Danish-born musician said: "Unlike years ago, I basically don't read any of the interviews that the other guys [in METALLICA] do. 20 or 30 years ago, we would all sit and fucking read every page of Kerrang! and every page of Circus magazine, see what so-and-so's saying and what the other band members were saying, what James [Hetfield, METALLICA guitarist/vocalist] was saying about this and that. Now there's just none of that. I also don't really read what people say about METALLICA.

"I'll say that occasionally, once every six months or something like that, it's kind of fun to go through the trolling section just because of the ridiculousness of all of it, but it's not something that I do regularly anymore," he revealed. "20 years ago, it would've been, 'Oh, my God, somebody said something bad,' or, 'That person said a nasty comment in the comments section,' or whatever. Now, none of that really means anything to me."

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

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

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

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

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

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

Canadian all-star modern metal band Imonolith have checked in with the following update:


"Demoing is under way and things are getting heavy. That’s right, the machine doesn’t stop. We have a bunch of irons in the fire right now. Lots of exciting news to be announced soon, including touring. But for now, here’s a little hint of what we’re up to. Stay posted for much more..."







Imonolith released their latest album, Progressions, on May 20th, 2022. Following is a message from the band issued for the release:


"Imonolith are proud to give you a different type of album. It’s a mixture of new material, cover songs and some classic demos to show you how the band has progressed from the beginning to present times.


This may not be an album full of new original material but it is an album showing how we have progressed over the years to become the sound we are today and give you a hint of what to expect with our next full length album of all new original songs. It’ll be a crusher!!!


Thanks as always for your awesome support. We simply cannot do what we do with out all you amazing supporters. We look forward to seeing and meeting you all on tour very soon in support of Progressions and our first album, State of Being. Stay posted for a bunch of new updates, we plan on being very busy in the near future. For now, enjoy Progressions and stay metal and healthy our there."





Tracklist:


"Angevil"
"Army Of Me"
"The Lesson"
"The Reign" (Remix)
"Progressions"
"We're In This Together"
"Words In Silence"
"Instinct" (Demo Version)
"Breathe" (Demo Version)
"The Reign" (Demo Version)


Featuring drummer Ryan Van Poederooyen (Devin Townsend Project), vocalist Jon Howard (Threat Signal), guitarist Kai Huppunen (Methods of Mayhem, Noise Therapy) & Oswin Wong (Threat Signal) and Conan Freeman (Punchdrunk) on bass, Imonolith are a collective of heavy-hitting players at the top of their game. Their 2020 debut album State of Being features special guest appearances from Jens Kidman (Meshuggah) and famed Swedish vocalist Johannes Eckerström and is made up of 10 hook-laden, riff-heavy tracks that centre around the theme of how people deal with various stages of life.





Download and stream Progressions here.

Ulvedharr has released a video for “Wasteland”, third single taken from the new album Inferno XXXIII to be released on April 21 through Scarlet Records. Find the video below, and pre-order the album here.


Mixed and mastered by Stefano Morabito at 16th Cellar Studio (Fleshgod Apocalypse, Decrepit Birth, Hideous Divinity), Inferno XXXIII will be released in the following formats:


- vinyl (limited edition)
- jewel case CD
- digital







Tracklisting:


"A Full Reload Of Fear"
" Wasteland"
"Revenge Loop"
"Dagon"
"Master Liar"
"The Edge"
"Eternal Attack"
"Their Game"
"A New God"
"Oblivion"


"Wasteland" video:





"Dagon" video:





Ulvedharr lineup:


Ark Nattlig Ulv - vocals
Jack Draven - guitar
Magnus Frost - guitar
Markus Ener - bass
Mike Bald - drums


(Photo - Fabio Betelli)

Horror Pain Gore Death Productions are set to release the new album from US extreme metal titans Inferion. Inequity is up now for pre-order on Bandcamp and will be released May 19 on CD and Digital formats along with merch.


Following up on the epic 2014's full-length This Will Decay, 28-year US extreme metal titans Inferion re-emerge with their most extreme material to date. Inequity showcases 55+ minutes of melodic black/death metal desecration, with firmly-planted songwriting utilizing dual vocal stylings, heavily down-tuned guitars, grinding bass tones, and double-bass-oriented drum groove patterns sure to supplant the seasoned headbanger. 


Inferion have returned even closer to their roots, presenting an album full of angry, melodic, yet pensive atmosphere, including soaring instrumentals to hold listeners afloat before resubmerging them into the depths of existential high seas. With drum engineering courtesy of Studio Wormwood (Fires In The Distance, Stone Healer) and mixed/mastered by Robert Kukla of Obsidian Studiou (Aeon, Obscura, Hammerfall) in the famed Studio Fredman facility in Sweden, Inequity harkens back to the days of early Swedish death metal, yet delivered with state-of-the-art recording techniques of the modern day. 







Tracklisting:


“8 Minutes Ago”
“Son Of None”
“Grendel”
“Empty Heavens”
“Grief Demands An Answer”
“The Young Sapling Never Bends”
“Acquiesce”
“Silos”
“Colossus”
“Blood Is Black In Moonlight”


“Empty Heavens”:

Stratuz is an atmospheric death/doom metal band based in Venezuela and they have issued their new live video for “Back To The Sun“. The track comes off of their album Osculum Pacis, which was released in April 2022. Having disbanded in 2006, and reformed in 2019, this latest offering pushed them to increase the technicality of the playing and work harder in the studio. Many years away from the scene led them to experiment with other musical currents, nourish themselves, and create inspirational, gloomy, and engaging music. 


They comment on the single “Back To The Sun“:


“It could be said that it is a kind of ritual, where a living master who has left a deep mark among his followers through his teachings is bid farewell, and these, as a sign of respect, prepare his return home, the abode from which we all come. It is the closing of a cycle of transformation, transmutation, life and death or death and life.”




Stratuz invites you to become immersed in their universe of sound and delve into the themes of the human being from existential, philosophical, and religious points of view. Awaken your senses with eleven tracks that ebb and flow through dreary gutturals, majestic choruses, and heart-pumping riffs.


The band is currently preparing to continue promoting their latest album Osculum Pacis in Venezuela and other countries. Order the album on Bandcamp.


The live video for “Back To The Sun” was taken from their memorable performance this past March 10 in the Venezuelan city of Caracas, where they were accompanied by a string ensemble and a choir.

In advance of their upcoming US tour with Elder and labelmates Ruby The Hatchet, Nashville psych-metal power trio Howling Giant have released the soaring digital single “Sunken City” as a first taste of their sophomore full-length, which is scheduled for autumn this year.





"'Sunken City' was one of the first songs we wrote for our new record and we’re excited to play it live on tour with Elder and Ruby The Hatchet", drummer Zach Wheeler writes. "The track showcases some of our favorite riffs, licks, and songwriting to date, and we're very much looking forward to everyone coming out to hang with us on the road and hear 'Sunken City' live!"







Line-up
Tom Polzine – guitar, vocals
Zach Wheeler - drums, vocals
Sebastian Baltes – bass, vocals

NPR's Ailsa Chang recently spoke to METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich and bassist Robert Trujillo about their latest album, "72 Seasons", and the band's four decades of music making. You can now listen to the chat below.

Asked what parts of early METALLICA he and his bandmates have let go of as they have all evolved individually, Ulrich: "I guess the first things that come to mind is stuff around health. Just the late nights and the shenanigans, all that have pretty much all fallen to the wayside. The one thing that we also share is that, as we get older, we become very comfortable sharing who we are to the world. And I enjoy it because, when I am on stage or representing the band, you do feel good about what you're contributing, and you know you're not letting your brothers down."

Ulrich also talked about how the members of METALLICA sound compassionate when they talk about each other in interviews and how much they talk about loving each other and forgiving each other for mistakes now. Asked how he thinks that vulnerability fits into metal, Lars said: "Well, I don't look at it like vulnerability in metal. I look at it as four guys who are sharing an experience together and have been for the better part of 40 years. And we play music, first and foremost, that we really enjoy. We love each other endlessly, and we enjoy playing music together. And the vulnerability and that transparency that we're comfortable with, you know, is something that we're actually quite proud of."

METALLICA's eleventh studio album, "72 Seasons", was released on Friday (April 14) via METALLICA's own Blackened Recordings. Produced by Greg Fidelman with guitarist/vocalist James Hetfield and Ulrich, it is METALLICA's first full-length collection of new material since 2016's "Hardwired…To Self-Destruct".

In the seven years since the arrival of "Hardwired… To Self-Destruct", METALLICA has reissued some of its classic albums, released a second live album with the San Francisco Symphony, commissioned a covers album featuring the likes of GHOST, VOLBEAT, WEEZER, Corey Taylor and THE HU, and landed on the Billboard songs chart with "Master Of Puppets" after a prominent placement in the hit Netflix show "Stranger Things".

METALLICA's "M72" world tour will feature two-night stops in nearly two dozen cities. Presented worldwide by Liquid Death and Blackened American Whiskey (in North America only) and promoted by Live Nation, the 46-show trek will launch in Amsterdam on April 27 and will include shows all over Europe and North America through 2024. Each "No Repeat Weekend" on "M72" will feature two completely different setlists and support lineups. The "M72" tour will feature a bold new in-the-round stage design that relocates the famed METALLICA Snake Pit to center stage, as well as the "I Disappear" full-tour pass and the debut of discounted tickets for fans under 16 years of age. Opening acts for the tour include PANTERA, MAMMOTH WVH, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH, ICE NINE KILLS, ARCHITECTS, VOLBEAT and GRETA VAN FLEET.

For Rimouski, Quebec, Canada’s Vortex, delivering a story is of utmost importance and unsurprisingly their last two albums The Asylum (2016) and Lighthouse (2018) have been epic concept albums set to their signature orchestral blackened melodic death metal. The third installment in their discography is The Future Remains In Oblivion, which builds on their sound with added black metal influence, a heavy dose of aggressiveness and a buildup of intensity and emotion as the storyline progresses. 


The first single “First Blood”, premiered exclusively through BraveWords, is the sixth chapter, out of eight and the band shares what can be expected:


“The single is a war and survival song. It has aggressive black metal riffing and vocals in its verses, atmospheric orchestral melodic death in its choruses, huge choirs, epic soloing, it has all what Vortex does at its best. We can’t wait to show how we have evolved since the last album. This is war. The survivors of the cataclysm are coming again, but this time in greater numbers and much more prepared. ‘This battle brought us our first suffering. In this battle, our first blood, our first deaths’.”




Watch and draw "First Blood":





When it comes to writing, Vortex starts with the story first, something worth talking about. Each song becomes a chapter and then the music can start to form based on the feeling of the tale. That process is diversified, sometimes the orchestra is the backbone of the song and sometimes it’s added once the drums and guitars are all written. All the band members participate in different degrees to the writing process, bringing their own influences into the mix.


The songs you will encounter on this upcoming release are aggressive, but Vortex also has a strong melodic approach and a lot of orchestrations combined with guttural and black metal vocals, and diverse guitars that alternate between howling shreds and beautiful, emotional riffs. It is recommended for fans of Shadow Of Intent, Septicflesh and Dimmu Borgir. Find preorders here.


In additional news, Vortex will be performing in the Wacken Metal Battle Canada Eastern Final on Friday, April 21 in Montreal, QC at Piranha Bar alongside Fracturus (Montreal), Turbo (Halifax), Serene Dark (Ottawa) and Strigampire (Trois Rivieres).





Tracklisting:


“From The Sun”
“Downfall”
“The Fool”
“The Walls”
“Our Possible End”
“First Blood”
“The Future Remains In Oblivion”
“When No More Words Will Be Heard”


(Photo: Freeman)

Legendary AEROSMITH guitarist and songwriter Joe Perry kicked off a short U.S. tour with his THE JOE PERRY PROJECT last night (Saturday, April 15) at Foxwoods Casino Resort in Mashantucket, Connecticut.

Joining Joe in the 2023 lineup of THE JOE PERRY PROJECT are EXTREME's Gary Cherone on lead vocals, AEROSMITH backing singer Buck Johnson on keyboards and vocals, Jason Sutter (Cher, Chris Cornell) on drums and David Hull on bass.

The tour will make stops at the House of Blues in Boston on April 16 and New York City's Webster Hall on April 18 before concluding on April 22 in Pontiac, Michigan at The Crofoot Ballroom.

Fan-filmed video of the Mashantucket concert can be seen below (courtesy of the Toshi Aizawa YouTube channel).

Last week, Perry released a new single, "Fortunate One", featuring vocals from THE BLACK CROWES' Chris Robinson. Co-written and recorded in London with Joe's sons Tony and Roman, the song contains a bluesy riff that glides over raucous piano as Robinson's gritty delivery instantly takes hold. Reaching a climax, Joe's deft guitar playing gives way to an earworm of a solo.

Perry will release a new album, "Sweetzerland Manifesto MKII", on May 26 via Roman Records. The LP will be made available via all DSPs as well as on vinyl which was not the case when he dropped "Sweetzerland Manifesto" in 2018. The new LP includes six new tracks and alternate vocal appearances and mixes from the earlier version.

"Sweetzerland Manifesto MKII" serves as the perfect companion and spiritual successor to the original "Sweetzerland Manifesto". Joe wrote and recorded the bulk of the material for both versions at the Los Angeles home of fellow "Vampire" Johnny Depp back in 2017. During a few months at "Sweetzerland", he experienced a groundswell of creativity and welcomed various collaborators into the fold, including vocals courtesy of David Johansen (NEW YORK DOLLS, Buster Poindexter),Robin Zander (CHEAP TRICK) and Terry Reid. Johnny served as executive producer, while AEROSMITH's go-to producer Jack Douglas, Bruce Witkin and Joe's sons Tony and Roman also contributed to production.

Throughout his career, Perry has achieved permanent iconic stature in the pantheon of rock. He has helped to drive AEROSMITH, over the course of four decades, to sales of more than 150 million albums, critical acclaim, four Grammy Awards (one of which includes the guitar-based instrumental "Boogie Man") and induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. Perry's work with AEROSMITH has resulted in an unending array of accolades and honors. Beyond their Grammy Awards and Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction, other key milestones over the over-50-year history include: 12 MTV Video Awards; two People's Choice Awards; six Billboard Music Awards; eight American Music Awards; 23 Boston Music Awards; and an Academy Award nomination for "Best Song", "I Don't Want To Miss A Thing" (from the soundtrack to "Armageddon").

October 2014 saw the release of Perry's first book "Rocks: My Life In And Out Of Aerosmith", which debuted on the New York Times bestseller list at No. 8. Throughout the book, Perry reflected on his career with AEROSMITH and his life as a musician, husband and father.

Carmine Appice says that Mick Mars's lawsuit against MÖTLEY CRÜE "vindicates" him when it comes to his comments about the guitarist's exit from the legendary rock band.

When Mars, a co-founding member of MÖTLEY CRÜE, announced his retirement from touring with the group last October as a result of worsening health issues, he maintained that he would remain a member of the band, with John 5 taking his place on the road. However, in his lawsuit, which was filed on April 6 in Los Angeles County's Superior Court, the 71-year-old musician said that, after his announcement, the rest of CRÜE tried to remove him as a significant stakeholder in the group's corporation and business holdings via a shareholders' meeting. In his lawsuit, Mars also alleged that he was the only bandmember to play 100 percent live on their most recent tour, claiming MÖTLEY CRÜE bassist Nikki Sixx "did not play a single note on bass during the entire U.S. tour."

Mick's lawsuit came less than a month after Carmine told Ultimate Guitar that he had been talking to the guitarist about his exit from MÖTLEY CRÜE: "Mick told me, 'When I was on 'The Stadium Tour', I was not happy,'" Carmine said. "Basically, everything was on tape; it was all planned out and ultimately a lot of crap. And Mick is a pretty good player, and so to now let him loose and play the way he wants, that was never going to work for him. The truth is that everything has been weird for a while with MÖTLEY CRÜE, and Mick didn't like that everything was on tape. Mick told me that people that came to see it could tell that it was all pre-recorded and that everything was on tape.

"When you play in a stadium like that, you can hear a lot of things come to the monitors or what doesn't. And with Vince's [Neil] vocals, bass, drums, guitars, and all the other stuff, it was obvious that it was all on tape. And Mick was pissed off and said, 'I can play these things. I want to play them. I don't want to make believe I'm playing them.' So, I think that's one of the reasons why he said, 'I'm done.' Sure, the disease that he has doesn't help, and it doesn't make life easy on tour, but Mick can play all the licks, and he was allowed to."

When Ultimate Guitar asked Appice to clarify that "Mick wasn't getting along with the rest of" MÖTLEY CRÜE, Carmine said: No, he wasn't. He had his own means of travel and would travel alone on a bus while the other guys flew everywhere. He said, 'Man, these guys are pissing their money away, flying to every gig.' They were all busy still trying to be rock stars, and Mick just wanted to play the music. Mick wasn't interested in wasting time and money flying everywhere, so he traveled by bus. Their lifestyles are different than his, and so there were a lot of disagreements. I think he was just done. They were supposed to have done their last tour, and then they came back. Then they did 'The Stadium Tour', and that was apparently supposed to be the last. So, when they came back again, he said, 'You can do it. I'm not going out with you for this.'"

On March 15, Sixx, who has not given any interviews about Mars's departure from CRÜE, apparently responded directly to Appice's comments, writing in a tweet: "Love how people talk FOR us without talking TO us. This is why the media has lost credibility. Obviously by printing BS they make money off of advertising and we're not into that clickbait game. When the truth comes out it will be FROM üs."

He added later that same day: "A washed up drummer trying to speak for us? And bottom feeder media running with it to make money off of lies? Welcome to the sad new world of LOOK AT ME LOOK AT ME."

On March 17, Sixx took part in a Twitter question-and-answer session and was asked by one fan: "Is what Carmine Appice said true?" the CRÜE bassist replied: "A washed up drummer speaking for our band without any of the facts is as ridiculous as bottom feeder media running with stories without fact checking. When you hear the truth it will be from us."

Now, in a new interview with Goldmine, Carmine was asked if the reaction to his comments about Mick and MÖTLEY CRÜE surprised him. He responded: "Oh, it's been unbelievable. Did you see what came out since then between Mick and the rest of the band? I'm sure you did. It's all so sad, but it vindicates my story, which I never thought would start an entire viral Internet thing. The response that came out of it was amazing, and his [Nikki Sixx's] response of calling me a 'washed-up drummer' was pretty wild and pretty hurtful. But I got a great response from people through their comments, and a lot of people are behind me, so it's all good. That said, I did get a cease-and-desist letter from all these lawyers who work for MÖTLEY CRÜE, so I can't go into too much detail. I have to be careful with what I say, but then again, we're not really talking about details; we're just talking about what happened."

Carmine went on to say that he was "very surprised" by Nikki's reaction to his comments. "I didn't think he'd go there, all things considered," he said. "It really was a surprising thing because we were friends. And after the fact, I challenged Nikki Sixx to a jam-off, but I got no response. I'm not surprised, as I could jam circles around all of them. I'm sure of that. But yeah, what he said was sad because we were friends, but I guess we're not anymore. I got texts from Derek Sherinian saying, 'Man, what the hell is wrong with Nikki?' and Stephen Pearcy apparently said to Nikki, 'Dude, what the hell are you doing here? We're all friends.' And then I started to see a ton of responses from other musicians who said that they don't like Nikki, and the rest of those guys too much and that the fans have been getting on MÖTLEY a lot… I read that and was like, 'Oh, my God. I didn't know that.' I really didn't know about any of that stuff, so I had no way of knowing that this whole thing would get as big as it did."

In response to Mars's lawsuit, CRÜE's manager of 29 years, Allen Kovac, told Variety that Mars is coming out with a list of allegations "to gain leverage in a smear campaign on MÖTLEY. He's attacked the band, and he's done it in a slanderous way, with false accusations and misrepresenting the facts to the fans. Mick is not the victim. The victims are MÖTLEY CRÜE and the brand, which Mick is so prideful of." But, he added, "What's upsetting to me is not Mick, but his representatives, who have guided Mick to say and do harmful things to the brand he cares about so much, MÖTLEY CRÜE. He has a degenerative disease and people are taking advantage of him. It's called elder abuse."

Kovac continued: "Mick's representatives have no idea what they've created, but I've stopped the band from speaking about this, so they're not gonna turn the fans against Mick. But I am going to make sure that people understand that Mick hasn't been treated badly. In fact, he was treated better than anyone else in the band, and they carried him and they saved his life."

Mars suffers from Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS),a chronic and inflammatory form of arthritis that mainly affects the spine and pelvis. After years of performing through the pain, he informed the other members of MÖTLEY CRÜE last summer that he could no longer tour with them but would still be open to recording new music or performing at residencies that did not require much travel.

Regarding Mick's claim that he was the only CRÜE member to play 100 percent live on their most recent tour, Kovac told Variety: "Everything is live with Nikki's bass playing and Tommy's drum playing. When they've used loops, they're still playing. There are augmented vocals, which were (recorded) in the studio and are backgrounds behind the two ladies who are singing and (other background vocals by) John 5 and Nikki Sixx, and before that Mick and Nikki." He described the pre-recorded vocal layering as where "you multi-track and you do gang vocals with, like, 20 people, just like all the other bands do with background vocals. They've got background vocals in the mix. That's the truth.

"But Nikki played his bass and always has," Kovac continued. "Vince was singing better than he was before (on the latest tour). That was in reviews. Now, John 5 is playing like who John 5 is. I've heard John 5 perform and I heard Mick perform. Both are great guitar players. Unfortunately, Mick is not the same. He hasn't been the same for a long time. Which was in reviews! You see that the professionals knew. DEF LEPPARD (which alternated headlining spots on tour) knew. And (Mars) caused a train wreck up there, because he would play the wrong songs and the wrong parts, even with the guide tracks. When he played the wrong song, it wasn't Nikki Sixx that had a tape; it was the soundman bringing it into the mix so the audience could hear a song, even though the guitar player was playing a different song." He says audiences "would hear it at first, but (sound engineers) would fix it so that we could keep the song going. I heard it. I'd go to the sound board."