Veteran metallers METAL CHURCH have shared the first teaser for their upcoming album featuring the band's new vocalist Marc Lopes.

The ROSS THE BOSS and LET US PREY singer joined METAL CHURCH a few months ago following the passing of Mike Howe less than two years ago.

When Lopes's addition to METAL CHURCH was first announced in early February, METAL CHURCH guitarist Kurdt Vanderhoof wrote in a social media post: "We auditioned a handful of vocalists and while they were all great, Marc quickly became the clear choice.

"Both David Wayne and Mike Howe had a very unique, irreplaceable quality to their voices, so we were not looking for a clone of either. We wanted someone new, who could embrace the past, and also bring something fresh and exciting to the mix.

"Marc brings a very classic yet modern feel to the songs and we are looking forward to getting this new album out to you later this year [via Rat Pak Records]!"

Howe was found dead at his home in Eureka, California in July 2021. According to TMZ, Howe's official cause of death was determined to be asphyxia due to hanging. A spokesperson for the Humboldt County Sheriff's Dept. told the site authorities are calling it a suicide. He was only 55 years old.

Last September, Kurdt told Metal-Rules that he really hadn't processed Howe's death yet. "I can't," he said. "I can't imagine what it must feel like to feel that suicide is your only option. And because he was like my brother and to find out he was in such pain and it's too late to try and help is just something I cannot get my head around."

Kurdt went on to say that there will be a new METAL CHURCH album in 2023. "I had written a new record and Mike and I had just begun the process before he passed," he explained. "So I had a lot of material on hand. I also wanted to complete the album in honor of him. I have written a batch of additional material and it's going in a more aggressive direction."

At the time, Kurdt said that he and his METAL CHURCH bandmates were "keeping a lid" on the identity of their new singer. However, he revealed: "We didn't choose a Mike Howe clone or David Wayne clone. We decided to approach the future as a 'new' chapter in the band's career. I think the fans will really dig it."

When Mike's death was first announced, TMZ stated that cops in Eureka got a call just after 10 a.m. on July 26, 2021 reporting an unexpected death at a home. By the time deputies arrived, they found Howe dead at the scene.

According to police, drugs and alcohol are not believed to be factors in the death and no controlled substances or paraphernalia were located at the scene.

Four days after Howe's death, the surviving members of METAL CHURCH shared a statement on social media in which they blamed his suicide on the fact that he "was victimized by a failing health-care system and subsequently poisoned by the venom of Big Pharma," a term which refers collectively to the global pharmaceutical industry. "In short and in essence, he fell prey to the real 'Fake Healer'."

METAL CHURCH's statement was quickly met with criticism from some of the band's fans who felt that the long-running metal act was using Howe's death as a platform to assert its political views. As a result, METAL CHUCH pulled its original post from social media and replaced it with a revised version, in which the musicians said they were "in no way, shape or form referring to anything in relation to vaccinations, COVID or politics. We were saying our brother was hurting and while he was seeking medical care for it, the treatments he was utilizing did not protect him," they wrote. "Otherwise, he would still be with us today."

Howe, who fronted METAL CHURCH from 1988 until 1994, officially rejoined the band in April 2015.

Prior to joining METAL CHURCH more than three decades ago, Howe spent two years fronting California metal act HERETIC.

The reunion between Mike and METAL CHURCH was put in motion in July of 2014 when Mike started working with Vanderhoof on a side project Kurdt was forming with Nigel Glockler from SAXON. Through these initial conversations, Kurdt convinced Mike to ultimately return to METAL CHURCH. The idea was to see if they could recapture some of the magic from the three albums METAL CHURCH released in the late '80s: "The Human Factor", "Blessing In Disguise" and "Hanging In The Balance". Out of those sessions, 2016's "XI" was born and captured the sound that made the band fan favorites in the '80s and mixed it with a new, invigorated sound.

METAL CHURCH's latest release was "From The Vault", which arrived in April 2020 via Rat Pak Records. The effort was a special-edition compilation album that featured 14 previously unreleased songs from the Howe era, including four newly recorded studio tracks, among them a redux of the band's fan favorite classic "Conductor".

Howe is not the first singer of METAL CHURCH to die. David Wayne passed away in May 2005 from complications following a car crash. He was 47 years old.

Wayne sang on METAL CHURCH's first two classic offerings (1984's "Metal Church" and 1986's "The Dark") before leaving the group and being replaced by Howe.

Photo credit: Jeremy Belinfante / M-Theory Audio / Secret Service Publicity

In the 11-minute video below, drummer Jaska Raatikainen, bassist Henri "Henkka T. Blacksmith" Seppälä and keyboardist Janne Wirman walk you through the first official CHILDREN OF BODOM photo exhibition that took place in October 2022 at the Espoo Cultural Center in Espoo, Finland.

The "Strikes And Gutters, Ups And Downs" retrospective was created in close cooperation with late CHILDREN OF BODOM frontman Alexi Laiho's estate and the photographers whose images were displayed at the exhibition. "Strikes And Gutters, Ups And Downs" later moved permanently to the Bodom Bar & Sauna, which is also located in Espoo.

The pieces that were included in the retrospective are also for sale. Each piece comes with a numbered certificate signed by Janne, Jaska, Henkka and Alexi's sister Anna.

The shop and virtual gallery can be found at www.strikes-and-gutters.com.

Last month, Raatikainen, Seppälä and Wirman announced the launch of the first official CHILDREN OF BODOM book. Sign up at childrenofbodombook.com for the chance to get a name printed in the book, a special subscriber-only discount when preorder begins, and to hear all the news first.

Raatikainen, Seppälä and Wirman said in a statement: "Since we stopped making music and suffered the tragic loss of our brother Alexi [Laiho, CHILDREN OF BODOM frontman], we've been remembering so many great times that we had together. In 2023 it will be the thirty years since Alexi and Jaska formed a band, and the time is right for us to create a book which tells the story of CHILDREN OF BODOM in our own words and includes lots of photographs — many never published before — from our own collections."

As previously reported, CHILDREN OF BODOM's final concert, which took place on December 15, 2019 at the Black Box in Helsinki Ice Hall in Helsinki, Finland, will be released later this year as a live album.

Alexi passed away on December 29, 2020 in his home in Helsinki, Finland. He died of alcohol-induced degeneration of the liver and pancreas connective tissue. Furthermore, Laiho had a cocktail of painkillers, opioids and insomnia medication in his system. He had suffered from long-term health issues leading up to his death.

Laiho and Raatikainen founded CHILDREN OF BODOM in 1993, and the band was one of the most internationally acclaimed metal acts in Finland up until their very last farewell concert. In 2020, Alexi put together BODOM AFTER MIDNIGHT, which recorded three songs and shot one music video, all of which were released posthumously.

Besides CHILDREN OF BODOM, Laiho had played in such acts as WARMEN, SINERGY, KYLÄHULLUT and THE LOCAL BAND. Awarded with a Metal Hammer Golden God and several other international prizes, the guitarist was also the main star, leading a group of one hundred guitar players at the Helsinki Festival in 2015 in "100 Guitars From Hel" — a massive concert piece he composed.

Last year, Raatikainen, Seppälä and Wirman discussed publicly for the first time the circumstances that led to the band's split and ultimately Laiho's death. In an interview with Finland's Helsingin Sanomat, the three surviving members of CHILDREN OF BODOM said the real reason for the band's breakup was not that they wanted to stop touring in order to spend more time with their families, which is how Laiho explained it to Helsingin Sanomat in November 2019. Instead, what caused the group to split was Laiho's substance abuse, and that is also what eventually killed him a year after they went their separate ways.

OVERKILL singer Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth spoke to Canada's The Metal Voice about the band's upcoming twentieth studio album, "Scorched", which will be released on April 14 via Nuclear Blast Records. When interviewer Jimmy Kay suggested that the pandemic has been "good" to OVERKILL by giving the group a chance to focus on making a new LP without the distractions of being on the road, Bobby clarified (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It hasn't been good to us. We took advantage of the opportunity of the luxury of time. I think that that would probably be the best way to put it. It's directly responsible, I think, for the results, especially my results on it. I think the other guys, they tweaked and pushed and pulled and pinched and added things over that three-year period. But for me, I tore that record down a few times, just to make sure that it was a metal record worthy of the luxury of time, as opposed to a hit-and-run kind of a thing."

Ellsworth also spoke about the overall sound of "Scorched" and OVERKILL's mindset going into the recording process. He said: "We used [producer] Colin Richardson again. This is his fourth project with us. He's a friend. We trust the guy. He did a record for us from soup to nuts called 'Killbox [13]' [2003], and that is a heavy piece of real estate. I think it was just released in 2004 when the popularity of the genre was not way up there; it wasn't at its healthiest state. But that's one of the best-sounding fucking records we've ever done, and he's directly responsible for that. So when he did this mix, we didn't give him a lot of guidance. I mean, we did the production and kind of guided him along with regard to what our ideas were, but not generalization in sound. But I do remember saying to him — or D.D. [Verni, OVERKILL bassist] saying to him, rather; we agreed on this — we wanted a record that you could play really loud but it doesn't tire you out. Sometimes you get one of those records, you put on four tracks, you've got it on at nine, and you go, 'I've gotta take a break. I need a nap. It's heavy as fuck, but I need a nap.' And I think he did that. And the way he did it was that he used, for instance, some of the natural drum resonance from the room that he mixed in with whatever was digital. He did a throwback guitar back to the kind of early '90s. So it's like capturing two eras — it's like capturing something in the past and exactly the present, and listening to those two eras simultaneously."

Bobby also touched upon the musical direction of "Scorched", saying: "It's eclectic. It's diverse. It's got different dynamics and characteristics. How do you make that in an OVERKILL record? It's traditional heavy metal. It's got mellow sections. It's got groove. It's got thrash. It's got rock and roll. It's got blues. It's, like, all over the fucking map. But you have to sew those pieces together and then take the whole thing and try to make it — you know, put your brand on it. And I think that that's what we succeeded in doing. And what's directly responsible is the amount of time that we had."

"Scorched" offered a new recording environment for OVERKILL as all members were able to record on their own. The mixing of the record was handled by Richardson and his assistant engineer Chris Clancy. Johnny Rodd helped with producing vocals, and finally, Maor Appelbaum took over mastering and adding finishing touches. The band returned to artist Travis Smith to create the album cover art.

The official the visualizer for the LP's first single, "The Surgeon", can be seen below.

OVERKILL played another of the album's songs, "Wicked Place", live during its December 9, 2022 concert at the Ruhrpott Metal Meeting in Oberhausen, Germany. Fan-filmed video of that performance can be seen below.

Last August, Ellsworth told Neuborn Open Air Festival about the way he and his OVERKILL bandmates approached the making of "Scorched": "Well, I wrote the record three times — my end of the record, I wrote it three times — and I destroyed the first two of them, because it was being influenced by the pandemic, and I don't think we've ever been those type of people. I started listening and I said… I'm not the most upbeat person when it comes to the presentation of music, but I think that if you compare OVERKILL to other bands in this scene, we don't always take the negative road; we try to take the positive road for things. And the pandemic led me to go on a different path, and I didn't wanna do that. So I tore the whole record down and rewrote it once I saw that stuff was opening… But it made me feel more comfortable with the fact that, okay, this is fresh, it's current. It's not something that was written in 2020. It was written in fucking '22, and it's gonna be recorded in '22. So it's a good feeling right now."

Richardson previously worked with OVERKILL on 1997's "From The Underground And Below", 2000's "Bloodletting" and the aforementioned "Killbox 13".

OVERKILL spent most of 2019 and early 2020 touring in support of its 19th studio LP, "The Wings Of War", which was released four years ago.

"The Wings Of War" marked OVERKILL's recording debut with drummer Jason Bittner (SHADOWS FALL, FLOTSAM AND JETSAM),who joined the band in 2017.

Menza Nation has released the video below, along with the following message:


"Watch Marty Friedman audition for Megadeth in 1989. Friedman is seen playing 'Wake Up Dead' with Mustaine, Ellefson and Menza, who would ultimately represent stability within the Megadeth lineup until 1998 when Menza left, followed by Friedman a year later. That lineup recorded four albums together, three of which were certified Platinum by the RIAA.


ITV UK rock show, Raw Power rare interview with Dave Mustaine and David Ellefson talking about tensions they had with Jeff Young and chuck Behler, the birth of the Rust In Peace lineup and how grateful, and excited to have Nick Menza & Marty Friedman join the band for what would turn out to be Megadeth's most successful lineup to date.




Prior to the departure of Jeff Young and Chuck Behler. The revamped lineup served up a lethal combination of aggression, energy and power...


In the 1980s, Megadeth's lineup was in constant turnover as Dave Mustaine and David Ellefson were unable to retain any one particular member for too long. By 1989, over a dozen other musicians had already been in and out of the band and in that same year, the thrashers auditioned Marty Friedman, who was making a name for himself as a hotshot guitar player in both Hawaii and Cacophony.


Megadeth's search for a new guitarist also found them auditioning members of bands from the local area Guns N' Roses, Heathen and Dark Angel, as well as members of Savatage, Annihilator and an 18-year-old Jeff Loomis, who would later join Sanctuary and then Nevermore.


Mustaine had even offered the gig to Dimebag Darrell of the then budding Pantera, who had yet to release Cowboys From Hell. Dime had one condition though that Megadeth also bring in his brother, drummer Vinnie Paul but declined because there were no spots for Pantera's drummer and Dimebag's brother Vinnie Paul."





For the first time in more than 23 years, Friedman joined Megadeth on stage as the special guest for a one-off global livestream from the legendary Budokan Arena in Tokyo, Japan.





Friedman joined the for three songs, "Countdown To Extinction", "Tornado Of Souls" and "Symphony Of Destruction". Fan-filmed video can be viewed below.


Setlist:


"Hangar 18"
"Dread And The Fugitive Mind"
"The Threat Is Real"
"Angry Again"
"Soldier On!"
"Sweating Bullets"
"Trust"
"Conquer Or Die!"
"Dystopia"
"À Tout Le Monde"
"Countdown To Extinction" (with Marty Friedman)
"Tornado Of Souls" (with Marty Friedman)
"Symphony Of Destruction" (with Marty Friedman)
"We'll Be Back"
"Peace Sells"


Encore:
"Holy Wars... The Punishment Due"

Paramount+ has announced that the second season of adult animated series "Mike Judge's Beavis And Butt-Head", about two cartoon teenagers famous for their nasally laughs and love of heavy metal, will premiere two episodes on the service Thursday, April 20 in the U.S. and Canada, and in Australia and the U.K. on Friday, April 21, with further international markets to follow.

In the second season of "Mike Judge's Beavis And Butt-Head", Beavis and Butt-Head triumphantly return as two guys who like things that are cool and don't like things that suck.

Created and voiced by writer, producer and director Mike Judge, the characters of Beavis and Butt-Head originated in Judge's 1992 short film "Frog Baseball", which was broadcast by MTV's animation showcase "Liquid Television". After MTV commissioned a full series around the characters, "Beavis And Butt-Head" ran for seven seasons, from March 8, 1993 to November 28, 1997. The series was revived in 2011 with an eighth season airing on MTV. During its initial run, "Beavis And Butt-Head" received widespread critical acclaim for its satirical, scathing commentary on society. The show's popularity spawned various related media, including the theatrical film "Beavis And Butt-Head Do America" in 1996.

"Mike Judge's Beavis And Butt-Head" is executive-produced by Mike Judge, Lew Morton and Michael Rotenberg, and Chris Prynoski, Shannon Prynoski, Ben Kalina and Antonio Canobbio for Titmouse.

Paramount+ also hosts the critically acclaimed Paramount+ original film "Beavis And Butt-Head Do The Universe", the 1996 classic movie "Beavis And Butt-Head Do America", as well as remastered versions of the classic series.

MEGADETH's Grammy-nominated, multi-platinum "Countdown To Extinction" album has been made available in full Dolby Atmos, submerging listeners in full 3D immersive sound with a new level a clarity and depth. In addition, "Countdown To Extinction" is also available newly remastered from the original 1992 stereo analog mix in hi res 96kHz/24-bit stereo. Both the Dolby Atmos mix and the long-awaited, remastered 1992 stereo mix are now available through digital platforms.

"Countdown To Extinction", MEGADETH's fifth studio album, was recorded in Los Angeles in 1992 as rioting raged across the city in response to the Rodney King trial verdicts. American tensions weren't limited to L.A., by any means, as the Gulf War was still fresh in people's minds, the state of the environment was becoming headline news, and President George H.W. Bush was seeking reelection in a heated campaign season.

Out of this turmoil, MEGADETH was inspired to create "Countdown To Extinction", considered by many to be the band's best and most accessible album. The group's previous albums, including "So Far, So Good…So What!" and "Rust In Peace", included songs that tackled topics like censorship and religious bloodletting in the Middle East. But none were as polemical as the sonic missiles launched by "Countdown". MEGADETH laced the songs with acid-tongued commentary about subjects ranging from the futility of war ("Architecture Of Aggression") to the senseless brutality of caged hunting ("Countdown To Extinction"). "Foreclosure Of A Dream" sampled George Bush's infamous "Read my lips" speech, making a statement about taxation endangering the American Dream.

Thanks to a perfect balance of hard-rock song structures, epic choruses, and fleet-fingered guitar work, "Countdown To Extinction" became an instant classic, benefiting from copious MTV and radio play. Spin magazine raved that "Countdown" "may just be the finest thrash-metal album ever made," and before long, songs like "Symphony Of Destruction", "Sweating Bullets" and "Skin O' My Teeth" had entered metal's canon of essential recordings. The album shot to No. 2 on the Billboard chart (it may have hit No. 1, if not for Billy Ray Cyrus' long chart-topping reign with "Some Gave All"),and it was certified double platinum in the U.S. within two years, with sales of more than two million copies.

MEGADETH was in top form, with Dave Mustaine, the band's then 31-year-old singer and guitarist leading the album's assault with lyrics like "You know your worth when your enemies praise your architecture of aggression," not to mention his venomous rhythm guitar attack. His band mates completed the picture, as lead guitarist Marty Friedman blazed with memorable solos, bassist David Ellefson jammed dizzying arrays of low-end thunder, and drummer Nick Menza attacked his kit. MEGADETH sounded hungry, and the band was rewarded when the album earned a Grammy Award nomination ("Best Metal Performance") and when its title cut garnered a Genesis Award from the Humane Society for raising awareness for animal rights issues.

WINGER has released the official music video for its new single, "Proud Desperado". The track is taken from the band's upcoming seventh studio album, "Seven" which is due on May 5 via Frontiers Music Srl. The 12-track album was produced by WINGER frontman Kip Winger and recorded in Nashville.

In January, WINGER shot music videos for three of the songs from "Seven".

Two months ago, WINGER guitarist John Roth told Sam Wall about the band's upcoming LP: "[There's] 12 songs on the album. One song's a pretty big surprise.

"To me at least, there's always a song on a WINGER album that comes at you from left field," he explained. "Like on 'Karma', we did a blues song — Kip [Winger, WINGER frontman] and I co-wrote a song called 'After All This Time'. On 'Better Days Comin'', the title track, 'Better Days Comin'', it's kind of funky and it's fun and it's different for WINGER; WINGER's a pretty heavier, darker, metal-ish kind of band. So there's a song on this album that's very different for the band, which is cool.

"It's meticulously produced and recorded, [with] tons of layers of background vocals," he added. "It's heavier lyrically, maybe. All of WINGER's records have a heavier overtone, because the guitars are tuned low; it's just more aggressive. And there's a little bit of a progressive flair on one of the songs. But I think people are gonna really enjoy the album. I hope it's well received."

Roth also spoke in more detail about the WINGER songwriting process, saying: "Well, Kip and Reb [Beach, guitar] are the primary songwriters of the band; they are the nucleus. But I did co-write one song on this album with Kip.

"With WINGER, it normally starts [as] the musical idea. A lot of people write from lyrics and melodies. Most of the songs I write, I have a melody or a lyric which is like the nucleus or the starting point for a song. But with WINGER, it's a riff, it's a musical idea.

"I remember when I was first co-writing with Kip on some songs on 'Better Days Comin'', we're not demoing the songs. We're writing 'em; we're recording the actual songs," he explained. "So, I'm looking at him, going, 'How do you know that you just want one more bar here?' He's, like, 'I hear where I wanna go with the lyrics.' And I'm, like, ''Cause you're making a lot of really big-time decisions for the arrangement,' and we're recording final guitar parts and the lyrics have to revolve around it.

"So everything starts with the music with WINGER," Roth added. "But as the songs are being written and the riffs are coming about, the melodies are in Kip's head. Kip's the maestro, you know? He's the maestro of the band. So he's thinking as we're writing — what the melodies are gonna [be], how they're gonna work around the riffs, and inevitably making final judgment calls on the arrangement as we're cutting the songs. [It] used to be you'd demo songs. You'd demo a song out, and sometimes you couldn't beat the demo. You'd be, like, 'There's a magic on the demo we cannot beat.' So WINGER really doesn't have that problem anymore 'cause as we're writing the songs, we're cutting the final parts."

Asked if he enjoys working that way, Roth said: "I like it. I like it, 'cause stuff moves fast. It's quick. It's exciting. Because a song can sit there when you're layering parts on a song for months at a time. It can get a little bit too thought out, you know what I mean? So when you're writing and you're creating the song, the final [album version], when you're writing [and recording it] instead of coming up with the demo [first], it's exciting. Things move fast."

WINGER's next LP will be the follow-up to 2014's "Better Days Comin'".

In December 2020, Beach described the new WINGER material to the 213Rock Podcast by saying: "It's WINGER — heavy riffs with big vocals. Very catchy songs and very heavy stuff — very progressive."

A month earlier, Beach told the "Pat's Soundbytes Unplugged" podcast that he and Kip had initially pieced together ideas for 11 tracks for WINGER's next album, but that Kip "threw away six of 'em, saying that this has to be like the first BOSTON record where every song is undeniable. And he just wants it to be progressive and like nothing he's hard before," he said. "I brought him these riffs that are just straight-ahead rock riffs, and he said, 'I already know what the next three chords are gonna be after I've heard three chords.'

"We're going for something that's poppy and sing-along stuff yet cool, heavy, progressive riffs — kind of like [2009's] 'Karma'," Reb explained. "That's what we're going for."

WINGER will hit the road beginning with a U.K. tour with STEEL PANTHER in May, followed by a U.S tour with the Tom Keifer in June. Additionally, the band will play a number of headlining shows throughout the summer.

In the spring of 2020, WINGER invited artists, friends and fans — including Alice Cooper and members of SCORPIONS, STEELHEART and WARRANT — to sing along to "Better Days Comin'", the title track of the band's sixth studio album. An official music video for the new version of the song was made available in late April of that year.

WINGER formed in the late 1980s and soared to immediate success with its 1988 self-titled release. The album spawned the hit singles "Seventeen" and "Headed For A Heartbreak" and achieved platinum sales status. "Winger" also stayed on The Billboard 200 chart for over 60 weeks where it peaked at #21. Their next album, "In The Heart Of The Young", also achieved platinum status behind the singles "Can't Get Enuff" and "Miles Away". The change in musical climate of the mid-'90s, compounded with unprovoked ridicule on MTV's popular "Beavis And Butt-Head" show, led the band to go on hiatus in 1994. In 2001, WINGER reunited and has not looked back since. Kip also earned a 2016 Grammy nomination for the classical album "C.F. Kip Winger: Conversations With Nijinsky", recorded with the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra.

Californian rockers BUCKCHERRY will release their tenth studio album, "Vol. 10", on June 2. The 11-song LP features 10 new BUCKCHERRY originals and, as a bonus track, a cover of the Bryan Adams classic "Summer Of 69". The album was produced by Marti Frederiksen and recorded at Sienna Studios in Nashville. The album will be released in North America by Round Hill Records, in Japan by Sony Japan, and by Earache Records for the rest of the world.

Premiering today is the video for the first single "Good Time", The clip, directed by Tom Flynn and Mike Watts, was shot in Los Angeles. Watch it below.

BUCKCHERRY vocalist Josh Todd told Australia's Silver Tiger Media about the band's upcoming LP: "It's just a new body of work. It's where we're at today. The songs are really well written, and I think people are gonna really, really love it. There is no overall [lyrical] theme… You'll enjoy it."

Regarding BUCKCKERRY's songwriting approach this time around, Todd said: "The formula for us is to have no fillers — having a great record from beginning to end. That's what we want — we want to be able to have these unforgettable songs and melodies. And if they don't sound great, we just don't put 'em on records."

Last August, BUCKCHERRY announced that Todd and guitarist Stevie Dacanay (a.k.a. Stevie D.) would head to Nashville in late September to finish the writing process for the band's tenth studio album. The band was scheduled to begin recording the effort on November 4, 2022.

Frederiksen previously produced 2021's "Hellbound" as well as BUCKCHERRY's fourth album, "Black Butterfly", and co-wrote "Sorry", among other songs, with the band.

In the summer of 2020, BUCKCHERRY recruited JETBOY's Billy Rowe as its new guitarist. He joined the group as the replacement for Kevin Roentgen, who left BUCKCHERRY in July of that year.

In 2019, BUCKCHERRY enlisted Francis Ruiz as its new drummer. He joined the group as the replacement for Sean Winchester, who exited BUCKCHERRY after laying down the drum tracks on "Warpaint".

After performing 238 shows in support of "Hellbound", the band is again preparing to hit the road in support of "Vol. 10". Touring kicked off last night (Thursday, March 9) in Bowler, Wisconsin, co-headlining with SKID ROW.

Earlier last year, Todd told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he and his bandmates have never had the luxury to slack off on their work habits, even during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

"When you're in a band, it's like it's your business. So if you just sit around and wait for people to tell you what to do, then you're not running a good business," Todd said. "We've always created opportunities within ourselves. We have to make schedules, we have to stick to them. We have to show up and work hard. We're so used to doing that because people have written this band off many times and we have many peaks and valleys in the BUCKCHERRY career. We have come back from a lot of adversity and had a lot of success. And we only did that by believing in ourselves and working hard because no one else is going to do that except us."

BUCKCHERRY burst on to the scene in 1999 with its now-classic self-titled debut album. Hit singles "Lit Up", "For The Movies", "Dead Again" and "Check Your Head" brought the celebration back to the party scene, recalling the gritty glam impact of MÖTLEY CRÜE but with a Gen X-demanded, modern self-awareness . Later albums continued to develop their reputation for volatile, mercurial themes and infectious hooks; such singles as "Crazy Bitch", "Everything", "Too Drunk" and "All Night Long" became screaming choruses for fans across the world. With their irreverent and bawdy lyrics, delivered with Todd's whisky weathered vocals, paired with filthy guitar riffs and high-energy, throbbing bass lines, BUCKCHERRY has sustained a hard-earned reputation as a not-to-be-missed live presence with regular touring schedules alongside such legends as MÖTLEY CRÜE and PAPA ROACH.

THE WHO guitarist Pete Townshend will release "Can't Outrun The Truth", his first solo single in 29 years, on March 24. The track was composed and produced by Rachel Fuller under her nom de plume Charlie Pepper, and all proceeds from vinyl sales plus at least 10p from every download will go to the Teenage Cancer Trust.

The song was inspired by the difficulties everyone had encountered emotionally due to the lack of human interaction caused by the pandemic. It also occurred to Rachel that young people undergoing cancer treatment may identify with these feelings of isolation.

Fuller states about the genesis of the song: "We'd just moved house, and Pete was as happy as Larry up in his studio, working every day, and I put my back out, I was just climbing the walls, I couldn't do any creative work and obviously, we couldn't go anywhere. And I really started to think about how unbelievably difficult this period of time was going to be for so many people. I wrote lyrics and then I sat at the piano and wrote the music, and then I thought, 'Oh, I really would like to record it,' because it's really not a bad song at all — and my singing days are long over. So, I asked Pete to record the demo."

Townshend says: "I've helped Rachel make the demos for several of her theatrical projects. She's a really a fast worker. It's not that you say to me, let's go into the studio for two weeks and work on this project. We do it two hours later, or an hour later, it's done. So it's easy to work with her."

"Can't Outrun The Truth" was recorded in Pete's home studio in September of 2021, with Pete playing lap steel guitar and violin and singing. Once it was recorded, the pair decided to release the track and raise funds for the Teenage Cancer Trust.

Townshend says: "The pandemic years were terrible for charities. The Teenage Cancer Trust was created in order to take the money from a series of concerts at the Albert Hall every year and various other things and that had all dropped out. So, the idea of doing this, which is it's something that has sprung out of lockdown about mental illness, but also for this particular charity. If you've got a scenario in which somebody in your family or a teenager has got cancer, they're being treated, lockdown hits, and you're not allowed to go and visit them. There's a poignancy to the whole thing about the song."

Rachel and Pete reached out to renowned British artist Damien Hirst to create an artwork for the track. The result is a unique one-off spin painting of Townshend, which adorns the sleeve of 200 12-inch singles of "Can't Outrun The Truth" (which also features Pete's solo classic "Let My Love Open The Door" on the B side). Pete has also signed each of the singles which are destined to become instant collector's pieces. The 12-inch singles will be available exclusively to fans in attendance at the Teenage Cancer Trust shows at the Royal Albert Hall from March 21 to March 26.

Not only is "Can't Outrun The Truth" Townshend's first solo single in 29 years, but his first solo video in 40 years accompanies it. The video was shot in a series of one-take performances by the creative team of directors, Michael Nunn and William Trevitt.

Summing up the song, Rachel says: "I think one of the things about the song is that it felt like we drew a line, and it was, okay, back to normal. Nobody's really talking about COVID anymore. There aren't stories in the papers, and no one wants to talk about those two years. And I think for so many people, there is a long tail, people really, really struggled and just because people are saying let's move on. I think a lot of people are still finding it really hard."

Townshend agrees: "Rachel is absolutely right; this is something that deserves to be carried in our daily life."

Posted by Pete Townshend on Monday, February 27, 2023

Progressive rock legends YES, who are Steve Howe, Geoff Downes, Jon Davison, Billy Sherwood and Jay Schellen, will release their new studio album, "Mirror To The Sky", on May 19 via InsideOut Music/Sony Music. The official music video for the LP's first singe, "Cut From The Stars", can be seen below.

"This is a very important album for the band," says Steve Howe, YES's longest-serving member, master guitarist, and producer of "Mirror To The Sky". "We kept the continuity in the approach we established on [2021's] 'The Quest', but we haven't repeated ourselves. That was the main thing. As YES did in the '70s from one album to another, we're growing and moving forward. In later years, YES often got going but then didn't do the next thing. This album is demonstrative of us growing and building again." For YES, that "next thing" is a collection of high-energy, intricate, lush and layered new studio songs for an album which adds to the band's much-heralded legacy, while charting a path to exciting future times ahead.

"Mirror To The Sky" will be available on several formats, all featuring artwork by longtime YES artist and collaborator Roger Dean:

* Limited deluxe electric blue 2LP+2CD+Blu-ray artbook with poster
* Limited deluxe 2cd+Blu-ray artbook
* Limited 2CD digipak
* Standard CD jewel case
* Gatefold 2LP+LP-booklet
* Digital album

The Blu-ray editions include the album as Dolby Atmos, 5.1 Surround Sound, instrumental versions and hi-res stereo mixes.

The track listing is as follows:

CD1:

01. Cut From The Stars 05:27
02. All Connected 09:02
03. Luminosity 09:04
04. Living Out Their Dream 04:45
05. Mirror To The Sky 13:53
06. Circles Of Time 04:59

CD2:

01. Unknown Place 08:15
02. One Second Is Enough 04:04
03. Magic Potion 04:08

As they were wrapping up "The Quest", YES found themselves with song sketches, structures, and ideas that were demanding attention. YES received unconditional support from InsideOut boss Thomas Waber, who encouraged them to keep going in the studio, months before "The Quest" would even be released. It was like throwing gasoline on their creative fire.

"When we delivered everything, and they were just getting the vinyl and everything into production for manufacturing, we were still very much in that creative zone," explains Steve Howe. "That belief that Thomas had in us really meant a lot," he says.

"We truly get along as people," says Jon Davison. "I feel like everyone's focused inward to the greater circle, concentric to the core of highest standards that define YES. It's a wonderful thing to witness and of which to play a part. I believe this reflects vibrantly in the music and the creative input that each one is willing to apply, not for the benefit of the individual, but for the greater whole that is YES."

"There was a lot of material floating around because the band hadn't done anything in the studio for so long. Ideas were just copious," says bassist Billy Sherwood. "The pace of it was fast. As soon as we were finished with 'The Quest', and the mix had come out, we took a couple of little breaks there to catch our breath. But there was still music flowing around in the loop. It was just constantly being looked at and worked on. As we were all home and in that mode, things started progressing quite swiftly. We just went one album into another without really announcing, ‘Hey, we're working on a second record right now.' We just continued to work on material. It came about pretty naturally, and then we refined it as the process went on. But the initial bursts — there was a lot of material around!"

Much to everyone's delight, including that of longtime fan Thomas Waber, YES have pushed into territory they practically invented — the prog rock epic — albeit in a thoroughly new and modern way.

"I always felt that it would be great to have stuff that's a little bit more epic," he says, although he resisted the temptation to push for something that would be too formatted and could come off as contrived. He just gave the band space to do what they do and let things develop. "They were so excited by 'The Quest' and the momentum they had that they went straight back into the studio. What they were writing, even early on, was obviously headed in that epic direction — what YES music really is to me. It is almost a genre onto itself. It is 'YES Music.' 'Mirror To The Sky' certainly is YES Music."

"Mirror To The Sky" features not one, but four tracks clocking in at over eight minutes, with the sweeping and cinematic title track coming in just shy of fourteen minutes. What's more, the tracks, like YES's best, take the listener on a wide dynamically ranging journey of soundscapes which also showcase Steve Howe's dazzling guitars, keyboard wizard Geoff Downes's impeccable sounds, exquisite melodies and fills, Jon Davison's angelic, crystalline vocals, Billy Sherwood's deftly dancing bass and Jay Schellen's masterfully controlled explosions on drums.

Schellen, who has been touring with the band since 2016, was hand-picked to step into his mentor and friend Alan White's role when White sadly passed away in 2022.

"I had done the 2016 'Topographic Drama' tour on my own for Alan," says Jay. "From late 2017 onwards, we had a partnership, and a beautiful partnership, I might add. I learned so much, and discovered so much about Alan's style, and why it was the way it was. It fit his personality so perfectly. This album has Alan's presence all over it. It is inside of us. So this is still, in my heart, Alan just being present and with us, and with me, in a big way."

Photo credit: Gottlieb Bros.

New York City's Tanith - Russ Tippins (guitars, vocals), Cindy Maynard (bass, vocals), and Keith Robinson (drums) - have announced their new album, Voyage, out April 21 via Metal Blade.


The album was recorded and mastered on 24-track analog tape and has never been digitized from recording to pressing. Also, fans will recognize Tippins from NWOBHM legends, Satan.


Today, the band has shared the video for first single "Snow Tiger." Watch below.




"We are super stoked for everyone to hear this track, as it's one of our favorites from the album," the band shares. "We really tried to up the ante with this one. As for the video, we wanted to share a glimpse of how we made this record. It really captures the spirit of our entire time in the studio."





The record will be available digitally, on CD, and via multiple vinyl variants. Pre-order here.





Tracklisting:


"Snow Tiger"    
"Falling Wizard"    
"Olympus by Dawn"    
"Architects of Time"    
"Adrasteia"    
"Mother of Exile"    
"Seven Moons (Galantia Part 2)"
"Flame"    
"Never Look Back"


"Snow Tiger" video:

Guitarist and founding member of British heavy metal legends SAXON, Paul Quinn has decided to "step back from touring" with the band. As a result of his decision, SAXON has canceled its April 2023 South American tour as well as the appearance at the Monsters Of Rock cruise.

Earlier today, SAXON released the following statement: "After much soul searching our great friend and fellow warrior Paul Quinn has decided to step back from touring with SAXON. After many years on the road, with the subsequent stress and tiredness that accompany long tour schedules, Paul doesn't want his performance to suffer and let his fellow band mates and fans down. Paul will continue to record with the band and may play select special shows in the future.

"SAXON stand by Paul's decision and will keep you all informed regarding our next journey.

The current run of March shows in Europe will continue as is but the band will be cancelling their April dates in South America and the MOR Cruise to give time to re-group. These territories will be re-booked as soon as time permits. All summer festivals will continue as booked.

"Keep the faith!"

Quinn alluded to his decision early yesterday morning in a since-deleted Facebook post. He wrote: "You need to know I will miss you & my SAXON co-workers for the great times on and off stage, so with regret I will leave while I can still hold my head high and not worry about my fingers or brain forgetting riffs, keys or stumbling over licks, as they do occasionally. I am not taking this lightly, and I want to do SAXON proud, whilst continuing to love and play music with THE CARDS and other projects."

THE CARDS is a classic rock trio which Quinn founded in 2016 with DORO/U.D.O. alumnus Harrison Young, and VANDENBERG drummer Koen Herfst. They are currently poised to release their second album this year.

Four years ago, the now-71-year-old Quinn reflected on over four decades of being in the group in an interview with HeadBangers LifeStyle. He said: "Lots of road miles and air miles. It feels great to be relevant still. We always have a blast and I think the audience know that we are one of them. We are one of those party bands that they like. That always helped to get the message across, and Biff [Byford, vocals] shouting at them occasionally. We've always had good members and good songwriters. The present band is included, and we’ve made some good stuff together, I think."

SAXON's new album, "More Inspirations", will arrive on March 24 via Silver Lining Music. Following the release of "Inspirations" in 2021, "More Inspirations" is the second "deep dish" serving of the influences which have fed SAXON's immensely successful 40-plus-year career.

Produced by Biff, with Seb Byford helping record the music alongside mixing engineer Jacky Lehmann, "More Inspirations" includes takes on RAINBOW, ZZ TOP and CREAM, as well as "Razamanaz" by NAZARETH, THE WHO's "Substitute", and URIAH HEEP's "Gypsy".

Byford and Quinn are the sole remaining original members in SAXON's current lineup.

Originally from South Yorkshire, England, SAXON has gone on to sell about 23 million albums and has produced such classic songs as "Denim And Leather", "Princess Of The Night", "Wheels Of Steel" and "Power And Glory".

Posted by Saxon on Friday, March 10, 2023

MÖTLEY CRÜE played its sixth concert with guitarist John 5 on February 28 at Estadio San Marcos in Lima, Peru. The show also marked the sixth date of the band's 2023 "The World Tour" with DEF LEPPARD, following two intimate gigs in Atlantic City, New Jersey and concerts in Mexico City, Mexico; Monterrey, Mexico; and Bogota, Colombia. Fan-filmed video of the entire Lima concert is available below.

Featured songs:

0:00 - Intro: Requiem in D minor, K. 626
5:09 - Intro: Breaking News Report
7:32 - Wild Side
13:17 - Shout At The Devil Version 97'
17:19 - Too Fast For Love
21:48 - Don't Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)
26:34 - Saints Of Los Angeles
30:15 - Live Wire
35:14 - Looks That Kill
39:52 - The Dirt (Est. 1981)
43:51 - Nikki Sixx greets the audience
46:46 - John 5 guitar solo
Medley:
49:29 - Rock And Roll, Part 2
50:10 - Smokin' In The Boys Room
51:21 - Helter Skelter
52:26 - Anarchy In The U.K.
54:21 - Blitzkrieg Bop
56:26 - Tommy Lee greets the audience and play the piano
59:34 - Home Sweet Home
1:03:16 - T.N.T. (Terror 'N Tinseltown)
1:04:09 - Dr. Feelgood
1:10:38 - Same Ol' Situation (S.O.S.)
1:15:38 - Girls, Girls, Girls
1:20:57 - Primal Scream
1:26:52 - Kickstart My Heart
1:32:28 - (End)

MÖTLEY CRÜE held its first rehearsal with the former ROB ZOMBIE and MARILYN MANSON guitarist on January 23 in preparation for the band's shows with DEF LEPPARD. A short time later, MÖTLEY CRÜE bassist Nikki Sixx took to his Twitter to write: "Well that was fucking epic.

"@john5guitarist walks into rehearsal and we just rip the set from top to bottom seamlessly. That took 90 minute's and then the next few hours we just laughed and told dumb rockstar war stories.

"@MotleyCrue DAY 1".

He followed that up with an Instagram Story post thanking the band's crew and gushing that "today sounded insane."

John 5 joined CRÜE as the replacement for founding guitarist Mick Mars, who announced last October he would no longer tour with the legendary rock act because of his long struggles with degenerative disease ankylosing spondylitis. Ankylosing spondylitis is a type of arthritis that causes inflammation in the spine joints and ligaments and can lead to stiffness over time, according to the National Institute Of Arthritis And Musculoskeletal And Skin Diseases.

In October, Sixx praised John 5, saying he "checks all the boxes" as Mars's replacement following the latter's decision to retire from touring. Sixx commented on John 5's addition to CRÜE while answering fan questions on Twitter. Asked why the band chose John 5, who is one of the credited co-writers on the three original songs on CRÜE's "The Dirt" soundtrack, Sixx said: "He checks all the boxes. He's a insane player. Has respect for our music, is funny as fuck and has history with us and we've written some pretty big hits together."

Sixx also addressed Mars's announcement that he was retiring from touring, saying: "He's been a soldier along with us for 4 decades. We will continue to carrying our legacy to Generations of fans and honor Micks request for us to keep touring as Motley Crue."

In addition to co-writing the three songs on "The Dirt", John 5 collaborated with Sixx and Desmond Child on Meat Loaf's "The Monster Is Loose". In 2021, Sixx and John 5 launched the L.A. RATS supergroup in which they were joined by Rob Zombie and drummer Tommy Clufetos.

The 71-year-old Mars — whose real name is Robert Alan Deal — served as MÖTLEY CRÜE's lead guitarist since the band's inception in 1981.

In his statement, Mick said that he had decided to step back from live shows due to his "ongoing painful struggle" with ankylosing spondylitis and while he will continue to be a member of the band, he cannot "handle the rigors" of touring life.

Speculation about John 5 replacing Mars gained strength after the longtime ROB ZOMBIE guitarist failed to appear with the shock rocker at last year's Aftershock festival in Sacramento. Rob was instead joined on stage by returning guitarist Mike Riggs for the first time since 2006.

MÖTLEY CRÜE's "The Stadium Tour" with DEF LEPPARD, POISON and JOAN JETT & THE BLACKHEARTS was originally scheduled to take place in the summer of 2020 but ended up being pushed back to 2021, and then to 2022, due to the coronavirus pandemic.

After selling more than 1.3 million tickets in 2022, MÖTLEY CRÜE and DEF LEPPARD and are going global in 2023 with their co-headline "The World Tour" along with special guest Alice Cooper. After the launch of European and Latin American dates, additional U.S. shows will take place in August.

Produced by Live Nation, the U.S. leg of the world tour kicks off on August 5 in Syracuse, New York. The bands will bring their electrifying stage shows across America throughout the month of August, including the first-ever show at the H.A. Chapman Stadium in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Swedish modern sci-fi metal outfit Curse Of Cain, who recently joined the Atomic Fire Records roster and released a music video for their single "Embrace Your Darkness", have now released an official live video for the track. Watch below:





"Embrace Your Darkness" will be featured on the band's upcoming self-title album, out on May 12 and available for pre-order here.




Get ready for some movie metal with a dark touch! The stories of Curse Of Cain are set in a dystopian futuristic world and circle around a band of Misfits, who travel the world and play shows to keep their main goal unnoticed: Save the world and keep it clean from parasites that infect humans - here in this dark future of the year 2076…


This unique project creates a full cinematic universe with many special characters that tell us omnious cyberpunk tales in music, film and pictures. The music tells the tales of a character named Cain and his life. We enter the story after the Red War in the year 2076 and there we get to follow The Band and Cain's struggles in this world.


This debut album, mixed and mastered by Alexander Backlund, focuses on the question how Cain became who he is, and the struggles in the long life he had.





Tracklisting:


"The Mark"
"Alive"
"Embrace Your Darkness"
"Blame"
"Hurt"
"Never See The Light Again"
"The Ground"
"Dead And Buried"
"Blood The End"


"Embrace Your Darkness" video:





“Alive” video:





Curse Of Cain is:


Soulkeeper - vocals
Rainbow - vocals, percussion
The Pirate - bass, vocals
Timekeeper - guitars
Mechanic - drums

Poison Ruïn have released their latest single, “Resurrection II” - a cathartic tale of the undead rising to take revenge upon those who have unknowingly wronged them. It’s full revenge fantasy with melodic rocking, equally split between surf motifs and new wave of British Heavy heavy metal riffing. Watch the clip below.


Evoking a rich tapestry of ice-caked forests, metaphoric peasant revolts and silent knights, Poison Ruïn stab at the pulsing heart of what it means to live under the permanent midnight of contemporary life. Their forthcoming album Harvest gazes at the world with a sense of grave seriousness, its stare softened only by the alluring seduction of a dream world’s open-ended possibility. These songs move with a type of uncanny confidence, assembling an array of references to past styles and sensibilities that collapse in on one another, congealing into a truly unique sonic landscape.


With Harvest, Poison Ruïn aligns their sonic palette to their godless, medieval-inflected aesthetic symbolism, creating a record which strikes with an assured sense of blackened harmony.




“I’ve always found fantasy tropes to be incredibly evocative,” vocalist/guitarist Mac Kennedy notes, “that said, even though they are a set of symbols that seem to speak to most people of our generation, they are often either apolitical or co-opted for incredibly backwards politics.”


With Harvest’s lyrics and imagery, Kennedy reworks fantasy imagery as a series of totems for the downtrodden, stripping it of its escapist tendencies and retooling it as a rich metaphor for the collective struggle over our shared reality: “Instead of knights in shining armor and dragons, it’s a peasant revolt,” he explains, “I’m all for protest songs, but with this band I’ve found that sometimes your message can reach a greater audience if you imbue it with a certain interactive, almost magical realist element.”


These are not superficial or self-aggrandizing political statements. Rather, Poison Ruïn stares into the abyss of present-day life with a sober and empathetic outlook, portraying our cracked reality as a complex and difficult to parse miasma of competing desires.





Härvest tracklisting:


"Pinnacle Of Ecstasy"
"Tome Of Illusion"
"Torture Chamber"
"Härvest"
"Frozen Blood"
"Resurrection I"
"Resurrection II"
"Augur Die"
"Blighted Quarter"
"Bastard’s Dance"
"Slowly Through The Dark"





(Photo - Cecil Shang Whaley)

Today, Hideous Divinity returns with a new standalone single and video, "Mysterium Tremendum". Stream the track here; the video (directed by Dema Novakova and produced by Eclypso Studio) can be seen below.





Hideous Divinity comments: "It is time for Hideous Divinity to face a new monster. A predator that brings extinction, both impersonal and horrific. He is the 'world-not-for-us' that we must acknowledge in horror. 'Mysterium Tremendum' introduces a new chapter in the life of Hideous Divinity. A new concept, under the sign of Werner Herzog and Eugene Thacker."







Based in Rome and featuring members of Aborted, Hideous Divinity deliver death metal that is crushing, rooted in the old school, while also technical - with an added blackened feel. "Mysterium Tremendum" is the first taste of what's to come from the band this year; hear this new single on stages across Europe, starting today, as part of "The Devils European Aufmarsch 2023 tour", also featuring Belphegor, Kampfar, and others.


Hideous Divinity lineup:


Enrico Schettino - Guitars
Enrico "H." Di Lorenzo - Vocals
Giulio Galati - Drums
Stefano Franceschini - Bass


(Photo - Novakova Photographer)

2023 will mark the final chapter in the long history of Germany’s legendary thrash metal act, Holy Moses, celebrated with the bands upcoming new studio album Invisible Queen (available April 14) and a last run of live shows.


Today, the band releases their new single and video clip for the song "Cult Of The Machine".


Sabina Classen: "The song alludes to The New Machine of Liechtenstein. A fanatical cult has formed around the machine, which is now finally being smashed and destroyed in order to bring humanity out of the darkness again."




Download or stream the single via digital platforms found here. Check out the official video below.








Holy Moses have kicked off the pre-sale for the album, which will be released on the following formats:


- 1CD Jewelcase
- 2CD Digipak incl. 12-Track Bonus CD "Invincible Friends"
- 1LP in red/black marbled (lt. 500 pieces) and white/black marbled (ltd. 500 pieces)
- Digital


At the Atomic Fire Records webshop you can get a strictly limited (200 pieces) boxset including the 2CD digipak, a flag with the cover art, logo-patch, lanyard and a signed foto-card by all members. Get your version here:


On the CD bonus album, Invincible Friends, you get all album tracks in special versions, featuring various well-known guest singers.





Tracklisting (bonus album guests in brackets):


"Downfall Of Mankind" (Feat. Marloes Voskuil – Haliphron)
"Cult Of The Machine" (Feat. Bobby Ellsworth – Overkill)
"Order Out Of Chaos" (Feat. Diva Satanica – ex-Nervosa / Bloodhunter)
"Invisible Queen" (Feat. Ingo Bajonczak – Assassin / Bonded)
"Alternative Reality" (Feat. Tom Angelripper – Sodom)
"The New Norm" (Feat. Chris Staubach – Courageous)
"Visions In Red" (Feat. Rægina – Dæmonesq)
"Outcasts" (Feat. Leif Jensen – Dew-Scented)
"Forces Great And Hidden" (Feat. Gerre – Tankard)
"Too Far Gone" (Feat. Jens Kidman – Meshuggah)
"Depersonalized" (Feat. Daniela Karrer – Headshot)
"Through The Veils Of Sleep" (Feat. Ryker’s)


"Invisible Queen" video:





"My farewell album for the Final Reign Tour contains everything that made Holy Moses special in the past 43 years. Vocally, I was overflowing with energy and felt like I was transported back to the 80s. We have always written songs that we ourselves like and never compromised on trends or conceded to wrong expectations, especially with this final album. We aren’t out to please everyone; we are our own brand and have our own sound, which includes odd meters, technically demanding passages, and unusual chord structures as well as interesting lyrics that deal with the dark side of humanity and the human psyche", comments Sabina Classen.


Tour dates:


April
28-29 - Kirchdorf, Germany - No Playback Festival


May
19-20 - Kirchdorf, Germany - Bavarian Battle Open Air
20-21 - Ostend, Belgium - Huginns Awakening Fest VII
26-28 - Gelsenkirchen, Germany - Rock Hard Festival


June
8-10 - Frýdek-Místek, Czech Republic - HellPdays Festival 2023
8-10 - Büßfeld, Germany - M:O:A - M.I.S.E. Open Air
15-18 - Clisson, France - Hellfest


July
5-9 - Trutnov, Czech Republic - Obscene Extreme Festival
13-15 - Torgau / Entenfang, Germany - In Flammen Open Air
25-29 - Tolmin, Slovenia - Tolminator


August
2-5 - Wacken, Germany - Wacken Open Air
11-13 - Kortrijk, Belgium - Alcatraz Festival
15-20 - Kiel, Germany - Full Metal Cruise X Part I


November
18 - Zwickau, Germany - Club Seilerstraße


December
8-9 - Eindhoven, Netherlands - Eindhoven Metal Meeting
16 - Übach-Palenberg, Germany - Rockfabrik Club


Many other special farewell shows to be announced soon.


(Photo - Axel Jusseit)

In a new interview with the YouTube channel of Brazilian music journalist Igor Miranda, ex-YNGWIE MALMSTEEN singer Jeff Scott Soto, who has had an acrimonious relationship with the legendary Swedish guitarist in recent years, reflected on his claim that Yngwie threatened to cancel his concert in May 2022 in Agoura Hills, California after finding out his former bandmate was in attendance. Jeff said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I thought it was kind of funny. I mean, when I posted about it [on social media] that night, I was doing it because it was so unbelievable, I was laughing. I was, like, 'I have to share this because it's so silly.' But then to be called a liar about it, it made it even more funny to me, because why would I lie about something about that? Why would I even care to go to any extreme to go see somebody who doesn't wanna see me or doesn't want me around them? Of course I was there to see my friends' band playing. They invited me. It's a place that I go to all the time. I didn't feel there was any harm gonna be done if I just kind of stayed in the corner. And, of course, when the word was out that I was there, I was told if I'm gonna remain in the building, the show would be canceled. It's a thousand, one billion percent truth behind that. Two guys came up to me that work there, that I know that work there, they said, 'I don't know what this is about, Jeff, but I'm sorry to tell you that we've been informed if you don't leave, the show's gonna be canceled.' And I was gonna leave anyways. I was there to watch my friends' band. When they were finished, I was paying my bill to the bartender, who's also a very good friend of mine, and everybody watched that happening, and we were just, like, 'Can you believe this?'"

Jeff continued: "I wasn't there for the Yngwie show. I wasn't planning to stay. I didn't sneak in — none of that. Of course, it was so silly to me, it was so hilarious to me. But it's unfortunate that it has to be that, because I'm not looking to keep talking about this or to keep elevating it or to keep getting news from it. I want peace from everybody in my life. Anybody that has any issues with me, I would love to just give them a hug and move on with life and leave this world, leave this planet with no enemies. But, unfortunately, that's not the case on that side."

When Soto first posted about the Agoura Hills concert last May, he wrote: "Hey my peeps, here's a fun little diddy for ya! I went to the Canyon Club tonight, my local watering hole for the past 21 years, it's like my Cheers where everybody knows my name...I actually went to see one of the support bands who were killer btw, I hesitated on going because my former ahem 'boss' was headlining but I was not planning to stay anyway...well, word got to him I was in the house and I was kindly told as long as I am present, the show would be cancelled... Now I've seen it all!

"I left as planned but it's kind of funny, I just had to share the ludicrousness (not a real word but seems to fit the detail) that continues in 2022, I laughed all the way home!' Jeff added. "I'm sure this will be shared like crazy but I couldn't help but sharing it with you all, good times!"

The following day, Malmsteen disputed Soto's account of what happened in Agoura Hills, writing on his Facebook page: " Hmmmm…. I think some people are making up stories to be in the media again. Kids, don't believe made up BS from people who are trying to stay relevant! He's not important for me to cancel my show to my fans. On the other hand I was told by my agent that he snuck in there without paying so the security threw him out. Certain people make up stories… turn up at my show, get kicked out by security because they snuck in the venue WITHOUT PAYING, then turn around make up a story to try and grab media attention… some people are sick. STOP stalking me and get help ".

When one fan questioned Yngwie about his claim that Jeff has to struggle to appear relevant on the scene today and challenged Malmsteen to "compare audience response to said projects and releases to what [Yngwie has] accomplished during the same period," Malmsteen responded: "Hmmm Let me think In the last 15/ 20 years … I have been on the American billboard chart every single time I have released a record including my last one! being playing theaters, promoters are happy. On top of that I have made mega deals including signature models with Major companies such as Marshall, Fender, ovation, Dunlop, Seymour Duncan, Lewitt microphones and the list goes on. On top of that I have won awards for the most magazine covers ever in the history of certain guitar magazines. Would you like me to carry-on?!? None of this matters to me, however what does matter is an intent to smear an attack me and my reputation for the last 40 years. Everything this man says is a lie with the intent to do damage. I have not once spoken about him and nor have any interest to simply because he’s not important to me. And yet he can’t stop talking about me on a regular basis! Making up stories because he has not had any relevant success on his own he tailgates on other people. He needs to just MoveOn and stop stalking me. Oohh I almost forgot I have over HALF A MILLION listeners on Spotify every month alone! His let me look it up… oh no ONLY 40k! Yep he needs to keep slandering me a bit more."

Soto later returned to social media to respond to Yngwie with the following missive: "I will put this to rest after clarifying a few things.

"God forbid ANYONE thinks I am trying to drum up press, especially by berating someone in the process.

"I post my past on social media to celebrate and share the pride I have for my musical endeavors the past 4 decades. I don't and don't need to ride anyone's coattails, stalk or trying to drum up press for myself, I have my music and the current things I partake in to do this. Everything else I share is a celebration, nothing more, nothing less.

"I went out to a venue I frequent for the past 21 years, I have played this venue more times than I can remember or count and know all that have been and still there since I walked through those doors the 1st time in 2001. I have not 'snuck in' to a show since 1988 when I heard of an intimate jam Prince was throwing at an undisclosed location which I found out about and finally made it in 15 min before he was done playing. That said, if I have to sneak in to a venue or not pay to get into one for ANYONE, I simply would not even be near the building, I am 56, not 16!

"Lastly, I went to this venue to see someone play who is very near and dear to me. When I found out who the headliner was, I decided it best not to go as I didn't wanna ruffle any feathers in any way. Then I decided I will go but leave before said headliner begins as I had no interest in seeing that part of the evening anyway.

"If anyone has been paying attention to interviews, award speeches and even my own social media where I have stated numerous times all I want in my life is peace, no enemies, no animosity ESPECIALLY with ANYONE in my past, they will know my intent is ONLY about leaving this planet with no water under the bridge. I extend olive branches, continue to celebrate my past with a positive spin and make sure everyone knows I wanna hug it out with anyone who has or has had any issue with me. If this is 'sick' then institutionalize me immediately!"

Six years ago, Soto, who sang on Yngwie's first two albums, 1984's "Rising Force" and 1985's "Marching Out", engaged in a war of words with the Swedish guitarist over the fact that Malmsteen claimed in an interview that he "always wrote everything," including the lyrics and melodies, and simply hired various vocalists to sing his material.

Back in 2017, Soto told the "US American Made Guitars" show that "it's false information" to suggest that he contributed nothing to Yngwie's early albums "because we co-wrote [some of] those songs together. I actually authored those songs," he said. "For him to say, 'I wrote every lyric, every melody,' it's absolute falsity. And he's speaking out of whatever anger or whatever throwaway conversation he might be having, but when it's put on text, it comes across as very crude and very arrogant. So, of course, I don't take that kind of stuff too personally."

The singer went on to say that faulty memory may be at least partly to blame for Yngwie's comments. "Yngwie's written so much of his own stuff, he's written so much on his own when it comes to lyrics and melodies through the years," he said. "Maybe the past eight albums… I don't even know how many albums he's put out, but for that many albums he's put out, clearly his memory is fogged on the albums that he wasn't doing all of that."

He continued: "Joe Lynn [Turner] was a very strong collaborator on the album ['Odyssey'] with he did with Yngwie, as was I, as were some of the other singers that were involved with him. Maybe later on that changed and the other guys were basically just used to sing his words. And I was as well on some songs. I mean, 'I Am A Viking', I didn't write one word or one melody on it. But the stuff that we did together, that's stuff that we did together. And there's some stuff I did on my own that's on there — he didn't add or remove one single thing from it. So, again, it's selective memory. It could be he doesn't wanna talk about me, he's got a bad taste in his mouth about me, so he's gonna do everything in his power to make sure that everybody knows how downplayed my role was in his life and his career."

As for why he thinks Malmsteen has been making disparaging comments about him and other former singers in the press, Soto told "US American Made Guitars": "If anybody knows anything about Yngwie's… the business end of things, his wife is managing him. And through the years, she's gotten more control over the people in his life, the people that were in his life, and it's really sad to see that a lot us have been kind of locked out. Slowly but surely, everybody that was in his past, including his band, including myself who actually retained a great friendship and relationship with him, were just dialed out. And we were just kind of pushed to the wayside for whatever reason, whatever paranoias there are. I really don't understand it. I actually had a great relationship with both of them, and I just saw more and more that they were just pushing everybody away. They wanted their inner circle to be so small, and I never did anything to interrupt that circle. But there were others around that I'm very close to, and was very close to, one of them being Marcel Jacob, who was the bass player that was in [Yngwie's] band when I was in the band. We had a band together called TALISMAN for about nineteen years until [Marcel] took his own life back in 2009. But he and Yngwie had a bit of a conflict and they dangled that over my head for a couple of years until Marcel actually passed away in 2009. When that happened, I assumed, like everyone else that knew Marcel, the guys in the band EUROPE, so many people, whether they were big or small, acknowledged Marcel's passing. Everyone expected Yngwie to do the same, and when he didn't, it rubbed everyone the wrong way, including myself. We tried to at least just get a statement or an acknowledgement of it, and when he was not only not doing that but actually hanging up on people, blocking them or changing his number so nobody can reach him anymore about it, to me… I made a statement, and that probably got back to their camp, that said, 'To me, Yngwie is dead.' I don't wanna know or hear from him."

Soto added: "Marcel was one of my best friends, and if you can't put water under the bridge when somebody has passed, to me, that's just the weakest, juvenile way of dealing with life. And it must have gotten back to his camp, 'cause all of a sudden I was cut out."

In the days after Yngwie's original interview with Metal Wani was published on BLABBERMOUTH.NET, several of the guitarist's other former singers — including Joe Lynn Turner and Tim "Ripper" Owens — responded on social media, with Turner describing Malmsteen's statements as "the rantings of a megalomaniac desperately trying to justify his own insecurity." This was followed by a retort from a member of Yngwie's management team, who wrote on Malmsteen's Facebook page that the three vocalists "came out enraged, spitting insults and profanities" at the guitarist because "Yngwie said something that they didn't like." The management representative added: " It's very unfortunate that these past hired vocalists must resort to mudslinging and insults to elicit any kind of media attention towards them. Such classless, puerile words are ungentlemanly at best and absolutely disgraceful at worst."

Hey my peeps, here's a fun little diddy for ya! I went to the Canyon Club tonight, my local watering hole for the past...

Posted by Jeff Scott Soto on Thursday, May 19, 2022

Hmmmm…. I think some people are making up stories to be in the media again 🤨 Kids, don’t believe made up BS from people...

Posted by Official Yngwie Malmsteen on Friday, May 20, 2022
So I have heard from many people that a certain person also stalks Neal Schon, oooffff… Get help and leave us alone!

On a nicer note, let's celebrate hitting more than half a million listeners on Spotify alone 🙏🏻🔥 https://t.co/nDddlw6vCf

— Yngwie Malmsteen (@OfficialYJM) May 20, 2022



I will put this to rest after clarifying a few things, God forbid ANYONE thinks I am trying to drum up press, especially...

Posted by Jeff Scott Soto on Friday, May 20, 2022

Rising modern symphonic metal stars, Ad Infinitum, recently released their latest single, "From The Ashes". The track marks the next offering, cut from their upcoming third album, Chapter III - Downfall, set to be released on March 31


Drummer Niklas Müller has shared a playthrough video of the song. Check it out below.







Chapter III - Downfall, bewitches with an innovative sound full of soaring melodic splendor juxtaposed against brooding, dark and even gothic heaviness. Exploring concepts of Ancient Egyptian history and mythology, Ad Infinitum melds a perfect balance of storytelling and technically sophisticated songwriting, spreading their wings in both areas of production and lyricism. Charging instrumentals, pounding drums, chunky, grooving riffs, mind-boggling solos and enchanting orchestrations build the band's unique world of sound as frontwoman-to-watch Melissa Bonny’s soul-stirring cleans and haunting growls put her incredible vocal range on display - dropping jaws with each line.


Produced by Ad Infinitum and Jacob Hansen at Hansen Studios, Chapter III - Downfall showcases that this up-and-coming quartet can effortlessly turn the genre upside down, gracing it with contemporary vibes without forgoing their signature metal origins, and thrilling all metal fans as they rise to the top!


Ad Infinitum add: “The word is out, Chapter III - Downfall is on its way! For this album, we explored stories and legends of Ancient Egypt with, as star character and main inspiration, Cleopatra. We added some extra dimension and sounds to our signature Ad Infinitum sound to create an extra dimension, transporting the listener to mystical landscapes of another era. We are beyond excited to start to unveil this new record!“





Chapter III - Downfall will be available in the following formats:


- 1 CD Digipak
- CD Digipak + Shirt Bundle
- 1 LP Gatefold CURACAO - limited to 300 copies worldwide
- 1 LP Gatefold Black
- Digital Album


Pre-order here.





Tracklisting:


"Eternal Rains"
"Upside Down"
"Seth"
"From The Ashes"
"Somewhere Better"
"The Underworld"
"Ravenous"
"Under The Burning Skies"
"Architect Of Paradise"
"The Serpent's Downfall"
"New Dawn"
"Legends" (featuring Chrigel Glanzmann)


"From The Ashes"





"Seth" video:





"Somewhere Better" video:





"Upside Down" video:





Lineup:


Melissa Bonny - Vocals
Adrian Thessenvitz - Guitars
Korbinian Benedict - Bass
Niklas Müller - Drums

For much of the past couple of years, George Lynch has been rejoining DOKKEN on stage at various shows to perform three of the band's classic songs: "Kiss Of Death", "When Heaven Comes Down" and "Tooth And Nail". Asked in a new interview with TotalRock's Neil Jones what the experience has been like for him, George said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "For one thing, I can do it with one arm tied behind my back in my sleep. It's songs I wrote — what? — 40, 45 years ago, whatever, and I played them thousands of times. So it's easy, in a sense, but it also feels like going back home. So that's nice. And the best thing about it is Don and I get along great. The band's great. Everybody's happy. Our band is opening up, so I'm playing twice that night. We do a lot of that. These are packed houses, and everybody loves it. The whole audience is with us, and this is kind of what they're waiting for, and it's just a beautiful moment. Not a self-congratulatory moment, but just kind of an acknowledgement of the history and the power of the songs and good songwriting. It's songs that people — it marks time for them, and it's meaningful for them. And so it is a beautiful moment for all of us that we all get to share."

As for the possibility of a "full-blown reunion" of DOKKEN's classic lineup, George said: "I pretty much doubt it. Mick [Brown, former DOKKEN drummer] has quit playing drums, sold his kit. He's not a drummer anymore. His brother Steve, who's very similar to him, does play with [me and former DOKKEN bassist Jeff Pilson] in THE END MACHINE. Mick played on the first THE END MACHINE record. We [use] Steve Brown now. So Steve Brown would be a natural fit for a DOKKEN reunion. But Jeff's been in FOREIGNER for 14 years. I've got nine different bands. We're all older guys. And, really, to put a DOKKEN reunion together would be very, very difficult — politically, personally. And then we have to ask ourselves the honest question: would it just be a money grab or would it be a great record; would it be a great book end? We've got 'Breaking The Chains' and 'Tooth And Nail' and 'Under Lock And Key' and 'Back For The Attack'. Is it gonna hold up to that, or are we just too far past that? And the answer is I think that ship has sort of already left the harbor."

In October 2016, the classic lineup of DOKKEN — Don, George, Jeff and Mick — reunited to play the Loud Park festival in Japan. Fortunately for fans outside of Japan, cameras were there to capture the performance and Frontiers Music Srl issued "Return To The East Live 2016" in April 2018. In addition to the Japanese performance, the set featured footage from the classic lineup's only U.S. show in September 2016 at Badlands in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The package also included a new song called "It's Just Another Day", the first DOKKEN track featuring the group's classic lineup since 1997's "Shadowlife", and two acoustic re-workings of classic tracks.

Since completing the Japanese reunion dates, DOKKEN has continued to perform with the group's current lineup — including bassist Chris McCarvill, guitarist Jon Levin and drummer BJ Zampa (HOUSE OF LORDS).

In January 2022 interview with SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", George was asked why he only performs three songs with DOKKEN as opposed to playing the entire set. George said: "Well, that's probably an economic issue on Don's side. I mean, Don owns the name of the band. It works on me on all levels at this point, and obviously it works for Don, so if it's not broken, why fix it? And I don't know… I would just be speculating that he's concerned maybe that something could pop up if he gets in bed with me and then now he doesn't have what he's built over all these years. So there's that. And maybe financially it would be not as — I don't know — not as [much of] a positive outcome for him. I'm not sure; we haven't talked about it. But what we're doing now works. Obviously, what you just brought up is something that everybody's thinking about, but, hey, it's not up to me to decide. But I certainly feel that would probably make sense [for me to play the whole set]; I could see that making sense. I'm already there — why don't I just go out and finish playing the rest of the songs that are part of my legacy? People would like that. There's a lot of different ways to think about that. There's what we do as a business, and I'm not ashamed of that. I don't think it's a bad thing to talk about the business side of music. It doesn't take away from the art; it doesn't take away from the creative part of it. Those are two different sides of the same coin. We all need to make a living. But you have to have that balance of appreciating and producing music that you love and that people enjoy, and at the same time, it has to make sense financially. So I'm not sure which one that is, as to why we're not back together on a more complete basis, where I'm playing the whole set, but I've got a feeling it's probably financial."

DOKKEN recently finished recording a new studio album, tentatively due later this year via Silver Lining Music, the label owned by Thomas Jensen, one of the founders of Germany's Wacken Open Air festival. It will mark the group's first disc since 2012's "Broken Bones".

In a new interview with Czech Republic's Metalshop TV, former HIM frontman Ville Valo was asked if he felt "free", like after a divorce, when the band officially called it quits in 2017. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I've never gone through a divorce, so I'm not sure how that feels, if you truly feel… Maybe if you have a prenup, then you would feel free.

"No, I felt a sense of relief, because we'd done HIM for about 25 years and we went through downhills and uphills and whatever; we had quite a rollercoaster ride," he explained. "And I was happy that we ended it the way we ended it, which was that we still remained friends and everybody was in good spirits and our last tour in 2017 went great. So it was a good way of ending it. But although I had a sense of relief, I did feel a bit empty; I didn't know what to do."

Ville added: "Before we ended HIM, I didn't know how I'd be feeling, if I would feel like I would have lost a leg, because HIM was there since I've been 13 or 14 years old, so it's a long time to be in a band and growing up with that band. Yeah, it was weird for a while."

Last month, Ville told Czech TV Česká Televize about the possibility of a reunion of HIM: "It would have to be for a good reason. There would have to be some new music or whatever. Just playing the old songs wouldn't make any sense. Maybe one day. But I said… I felt that that's done and dusted with. It was a good part of my life, and it was a great that we ended it. And it would be risky to try it again."

In January, Ville discussed the factors that contributed to HIM's breakup in an interview with Scott Penfold of Loaded Radio. At the time, he said: "I think it was just that we were a bit worn out. We lost the spark. We all loved touring, but the spark wasn't there when we started working on new material. We didn't think it sounded great. And when you'd been with a band for such a long time, and we considered that what we had done, that we had done great things, at least great things for ourselves, things that we really enjoyed and things that really made a difference for ourselves, it was quite sad to all of a sudden realize that the new stuff is not up to par and it just doesn't feel right. It took a while for us to actually make that call, to be able to say that 'let's be done with it.' Because it had been such a big part of everybody's life. Since we were kids — I knew the guitar player and the bass player, Migé [Mikko Paananen, bass] and Linde [Mikko Lindström, guitar], I knew them since I was maybe 10 years old or so. So we literally grew up together, with having HIM as sort of the soundtrack and the backbone for our lives. It was sad, but then yet at the same time I'm quite proud of the fact that we ended on good terms, because that's quite rare in the world of music."

He continued: "It seemed that we had lost interest — as simple as it is. I think that we had come to the end of that journey. It felt that we played all the songs we were made to play. So it was quite simple, but yeah, it was quite dark for a bit. The brain didn't compute. It was weird. And also it was quite scary because I didn't know what was gonna happen, and neither did the rest of the guys. How it was gonna feel after the band was done with. 'Cause I thought that it might be that I feel like a completely different person or I feel that I've just lost a leg, that there was gonna be a lot of phantom pain. But there was none. There was just a great wave of relief, to be honest with you. And it felt really good."

Asked if that means that the door is at least slightly open for HIM to return at some point in the future, Ville said: "It'd be lovely to play with some of the lads, especially Migé, the bass player. He's one of the guys who also was here at my home studio, when 'Neon Noir' [my solo album] was born, every couple of months he came over to listen to where I was at with the album. He was my Rick Rubin — this guru who didn't say much but whose opinions anyway matter the most. He's a lovely chap and a really, really good friend. He helped me out once again to get myself out of this whole…

"I never say never — definitely," he said in regards to the possibility of a HIM reunion. "If there's good reason and if there's good timing, it'd be great. They're great musicians and they're great guys — we shared a lot of good things, both on a personal level and a musical level — but at this moment in time, none whatsoever. I'm not interested at all. 'Cause it doesn't make any sense. It's only been a few years since we disbanded. It's getting close to six years now. So it hasn't been long. And I think there's also the danger of rehashing something and messing it up royally. We ended on a high note, so that's quite nice. At the end of the day, we did end the band for a good reason. It was quite painful being with the band that you love to death and at the same time realize that things are not working out, and no matter what you do, the love is not there anymore. So I'd be very wary of trying to reanimate that because it might end up being that sort of Frankenstein monster that nobody wants to really meet."

Valo previously discussed the possibility of a HIM reunion during an appearance on a November 2022 episode of "The James McMahon Music Podcast". At the time, he said: "Never say never, I'd say. HIM was so much more than just a band to me. I met Migé, the bass player, when I was about 12. I met Linde, the guitar player, when I was maybe 13 or 14. So we grew up together and went through so many different phases in our lives anyway together, with HIM providing the soundtrack for it and the focus or being the focal point. And it's so much more than about just monetary things.

"If there would be a good reason, good sort of idea or good cause, or if, all of a sudden, everybody would start to gravitate towards each other, I think that would be the best thing," he continued. "[If] all of a sudden everybody in their own lives just start[ed] to… where it would make sense [to get back together] after all this time. 'Cause you need to take breaks.

"[Toward the end of HIM], it wasn't necessarily fizzling out, but we had definitely lost the spark regarding creating new music. We tried to work it out, but it didn't sound good. It started to feel like a day job, and when it starts to feel like that, it's definitely time to end it, in the world of rock and roll, I think. Or in our world of rock and roll. So I cannot tell you whether we're gonna feel like that in the future. I wouldn't mind, but I don't wanna do it right now. It's not something I will think about constantly, or ever, to be honest with you."

Asked if he ever had people suggesting to him during his time with HIM to pursue a solo career or whether he had those aspirations himself, Ville said: "It was a weird existence, because I did write most of the songs [in HIM], and a lot of people, when we started out, they thought it was a solo project, also because it was called 'HIM'. It was a weird combo. So all those 25 years I had to fight for the guys to get some recognition, saying that I do write the songs, I sing the songs, but we are childhood mates and that the sound and the way they play their instruments, it makes a big difference; it cannot be just whomever. So I'm actually glad not to talk about that at all [when it comes to my solo project]; I don't have to, 'cause I played all the stuff by myself and I'm the one to carry the blame or the good and the bad and the ugly."

HIM completed a farewell tour in 2017, closing the final chapter on the band's 26-year career.

Four months ago, Ville told Radio Bob! about HIM's split: "I think it was the right call to call it a day with HIM. We'd done it for a long, long time and it started to sort of, like, wither away a bit. It was maybe our interest and maybe just sign of the times. We'd been together for such a long time that we were ourselves really surprised that it lasted for such a long time."

"Neon Noir" came out on January 13 via Heartagram Records, distributed by UMG/Spinefarm.

Ville's headline tour dates will take place this spring across Europe and North America.

TESLA guitarist Frank Hannon spoke to Christian Bladt of "The Bladtcast" about the band's upcoming live album, "Full Throttle Live!". Due this summer, the LP will include the band's latest single, "Time To Rock!", plus other songs, all recorded last August at Full Throttle Saloon in Sturgis, South Dakota. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "The live album is just about 99 percent done. The artwork, all of it, is created. We're just putting the finishing touches on it now, and then we'll put it out as soon as the computer distribution, all of that stuff, can be lined up.

"It's gonna be mostly rocking tracks. And it's gonna have our new songs 'Cold Blue Steel' on it, and 'Time To Rock!', our latest rocking song. And all the other songs on it are the more deeper tracks. There's no 'Signs' or 'Love Song' on it. It's got heavy songs on it, like 'Miles Away' and 'Breakin' Free', and stuff that we've never released live versions of until now."

Last month, Hannon told Ernest Skinner of Border City Rock Talk that "Full Throttle Live!" will also include a cover of AEROSMITH's "S.O.S. (Too Bad)" as a "bonus track."

Back in July 2022, TESLA vocalist Jeff Keith told "The Chuck Shute Podcast" about "Time To Rock!": "Like with all TESLA songs, we like to have that raw, live feel, and this song has totally just got that raw and live feel."

Regarding the lyrical inspiration for "Time To Rock!", Jeff said: "It's that kind of song that just, you know, everything you might have going on when you go to a concert, you wanna just kind of let your hair down and this song is exactly about that. Just not let things go, but just drop 'em down and still hold 'em in your hands tight, but just let things go and let your hair down for four and a half minutes. Time to rock!"

Keith previously discussed "Time To Rock!" that same month in an interview with the "Metal From The Inside" podcast. Regarding the band's decision to debut the track during a live performance in early June 2022 — weeks before the song's official release — he said: "We wanted to play it live for our hometown crowd. We played Thunder Valley [Casino], which is right down the street from our houses in Sacramento; it's actually in Lincoln, California. But we wanted to play it for our hometown crowd first. So we thought we'd play it for our hometown crowd, and we're having so much fun with it, we're playing it for every crowd — some new material — and we're excited about that."

As for whether TESLA fans can eventually expect to see a new full-length album from the group, Jeff said: "Right now, the way things work — the guys were explaining to me — 'cause usually that's all you did was made a record, since I've been in the band. And they go, now, with social media or whatever you call it — Spotify, whatever the names are; I don't go on the Internet, but it's a wonderful tool to have these iPhones and you can release a single without making a [full] record. So so far we've just put out some singles. But probably in the next year — no more than two years — we're gonna go and say, 'Let's make a whole record again.' But right now, it's very convenient because you can just download a single. And the guys were explaining to me, they go, 'Jeff, it's just like back when THE BEATLES, and before that when people would put out a single on a 45 record. Like Hank Williams, he'd do something live and just put it out as a single. Back in the day, they used to just put out singles, and then, of course, they would records too. So we're kind of in that mode. And now, instead of it being on a 45 record, it's on a digital form that you can have people download. I don't know — it's the best I can understand it."

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

TESLA will celebrate 36 years of entertaining audiences around the world with a five-night residency at the House Of Blues in Las Vegas, Nevada. The residency will begin on Friday, March 17.

Veteran US heavy metallers, Jag Panzer, have announced that their new studio album, The Hallowed, will be released on June 23 via Atomic Fire Records. The concept album will be available as double vinyl, CD and digital download/stream.





The first single promoting the album is entitled "Onward We Toil", and will be released on March 24. It tells the story of the people and animals, in the concept pushing through adversity to reach their goal of finding ″The Hallowed″. The creatures known as ″The Jaw″ can be heard in the beginning of the song. The epic chorus illustrates the team working together as one.




Pre-save the "Onward We Toil" single here.





A message from the band: "In case you missed the news, we will co-headline Blades Of Steel Festival in Madison, WI in September, and earlier, in the summer, we are coming back to Europe! Except playing at festivals such as Wacken Open Air, Alcatraz or Headbangers Open Air, we will also play few selected club shows, so stay tuned!"


Jag Panzer are:


Harry Conklin - vocals
Mark Briody - guitars
Ken Rodarte - guitars
John Tetley - bass
Rikard Stjernquist - drums


(Photo - Randall Fishburn Jr)

Menza Nation has uploaded rare video footage of late Megadeth drummer, Nick Menza, performing "In My Darkest Hour" on September 13, 1990 at Ventura Theater in Ventura, California. Check it out below:





A first glimpse of the official limited edition Nick Menza "Atomic Disintegrator" action figure collectible can be seen in the promotional trailer below.




Handmade by 4.Fans.Figurines and authorized by the Menza family, the official "Atomic Disintegrator" action figure will arrive on May 21, which will mark the 7th anniversary of the late Megadeth drummer's death. A limited of 50 pre-orders are exclusively available here.


Each figure is hand-painted, numbered and comes with a certificate of authenticity. The full body resin action figure stands on a 9.5cm x 7.5cm base and is crafted in 19.4cm tall with 7.50cm crossed drumsticks. This is officially a limited edition collectible with only 250 made. Once they are gone, they will never be available again. "Atomic Disintegrator" is the name of a musical project / graphic novel Menza created and started working on in 2013. In a 2013 video interview, conducted by rock journalist Lucas H. Gordon, Menza stated about the "Atomic Disintegrator" musical direction: "It's very heavy and I'm very pumped, but more contemporary style like Meshuggah-type, Opeth, Gojira. I'm making some progress with finding some other players ‘cause right now it's just me doing everything and I can't very well tour on that by myself. But I can definitely release a couple of tracks and see where it goes from there."


He continued: "I'm trying to do a cartoon with it for TV and a comic book and it's really cool. The concept got some governmental, conspiracy, alien stuff in it. It's mostly about current stuff that's going on in the world. The idea is to release a episode for each song."It's a rad graphic novel based upon a heavy metal drummer named "Atomic Disintegrator" with superpowers that are superhuman and supernatural abilities who tours the world in effort to eliminate terrorist threats, biological weapons, and nuclear arsenals."


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


Menza joined Megadeth for the 1989 recording Rust In Peace and for the next nine years became associated with the band's "classic" and most profitable era. Late drummer rightfully earned his place as heavy metal's fiercest drummer during Megadeth's 10-year peak at the top. The highlight of his career, Nick said, was playing Rock In Rio before more than 100,000 people. The lowest point was being fired by Megadeth mainman Dave Mustaine while he was still in a hospital bed after surgery to remove what doctors feared was a cancerous growth.

Sammy Hagar has launched the new video series, "Storytime With Sammy", with seven clips already available.


The first video, "Pre-Red Rocker Jobs", is a YouTube Short, and can be found here.


Realizing When You've Become Famous: Storytime With Sammy #2:







First Musical Influences - Storytime With Sammy #3:





Crazy Wedding Gig Story - Storytime With Sammy #4:





My Favorite Venue - Storytime With Sammy #5 is another YouTube Short. Watch here.


First Time Tasting Rum - Storytime With Sammy #6:





Cars Cars Cars! - Storytime With Sammy #7:

Former Foreigner singer, Lou Gramm, performed on Rock Legends Cruise X on February 16, and YouTube user, David Huras, has uploaded video footage from Gramm's set. Watch him perform a number of Foreigner classics below.


Lou Gramm's setlist:


"Long, Long Way From Home"
"Head Games"
"That Was Yesterday"
"Blue Morning, Blue Day"
"Double Vision"
"Cold As Ice"
"Feels Like The First Time"
"Just Between You And Me"
"Midnight Blue"
"I Want To Know What Love Is"
"Juke Box Hero"
"Urgent"
"Hot Blooded"

Former White Lion singer, Mike Tramp, will release Songs Of White Lion on April 14. Check out a new, official teaser video below:





Pre-order/save Songs Of White Lion on CD/LP/Digital here. Please note, due to ongoing lengthy vinyl manufacturing wait time, the LP version will be released on July 14.




Additionally, Tramp will be embarking on a Songs Of White Lion US tour in May, as well as participating in the The Original Rock Meets Classic Tour in Germany this April. A full list of dates can be found on Tramp's website, here.


As the title implies, the album sees Tramp re-imagining select cuts from his former band White Lion's catalog.





Songs Of White Lion tracklisting:


"Lady Of The Valley"
"Little Fighter"
"Broken Heart"
"Love Don't Come Easy"
"Hungry"
"Cry For Freedom"
"Going Home Tonight"
"Wait"
"All The Fallen Men"
"Living On The Edge"
"Tell Me"
"When The Children Cry"


"Little Fighter":





"Cry For Freedom":





Official Teaser, Part 1:





Lineup:


Mike Tramp - Vocals
Marcus Nand - Guitars
Claus Langeskov - Bass
Alan Tschicaja - Drums
Sebastian Groset - Keyboard
Christoffer Stjerne - Harmonies


Produced by: Soren Andersen & Mike Tramp