NEVERMORE's founding bassist Jim Sheppard has blasted guitarist Jeff Loomis and drummer Van Williams's apparent decision to resurrect the band without "consulting" him, calling their plans "completely disrespectful".

On Friday (December 27),Loomis and Williams both shared a one-minute video teaser containing various NEVERMORE-related imagery and what appear to be the silhouettes of Loomis and Williams along with the text "Resurrecting The Dream". The teaser ends with the NEVERMORE logo along with the line "A New Chapter Rises" and the year "2025".

Two days later, Jim's wife Priscila Sheppard posted the following statement on her Facebook page: "Since I have been receiving a few messages from James fans regarding a post Van Williams made on social media, I feel I need to respond to you with an update.

"James has never been contacted about Van's plans with Jeff using the NEVERMORE name. I am sorry you think James is involved. We do not know about their plans, and it is completely disrespectful of them to use the name NEVERMORE without consulting Jim Sheppard, as he is one of the founders of the band.

"We are waiting for clarification on this alleged project and will proceed from there, whether or not clarification comes from them. No further comment for now. Thank you."

NEVERMORE effectively split up in 2011 when Loomis and Williams announced their departure from the band due to personal differences with singer Warrel Dane and Sheppard. Warrel later described NEVERMORE in an interview as "the greatest band that alcohol ever ruined."

Dane died in December 2017 in São Paulo, Brazil at the age of 56 while recording his posthumously released solo studio album, "Shadow Work". The musician reportedly had a heart attack during the night and could not be revived.

According to guitarist Johnny Moraes, who played in Warrel's solo band, Dane had a history of addiction and other health issues. "His health was already very weak because of his diabetes and his problems with alcoholism," he said.

The instrumental parts for Dane's follow-up to 2008's "Praises To The War Machine" solo album were almost completed and he had begun laying down his vocals shortly before his death.

In a 2019 interview with Metal Master Kingdom, Loomis was asked if there were any plans to resurrect NEVERMORE without Dane. Jeff responded: "It's one of those things where I think NEVERMORE had such a special sound and it was simply because of all the musicians that were in that at the time. Van, me, Warrel, Jim. We had numerous different guitarists in the band throughout the years. We had Chris Broderick, we had Tim Calvert, who sadly passed away. A lot of good players. Steve Smyth, Curran Murphy. All these guys were a part of NEVERMORE in the past. Honestly, in my vision, it's important that you move on in your life. I really would like to remember the spirit and the attitude that we had as a band with the music and just move on from there. Because without Warrel, it's just not feasible, in my mind. [He is] sadly missed. He was one of my best friends. Things like that happen and it's a very sad situation. It really was. But we have the music to remember it all by."

In 2018 interview with France's Loud TV, Loomis stated about Dane's passing: "It's a sad situation with one of my best friends that I grew up being in a band with. [He was] one of the best lyricists in metal, I believe, that was ever out there — a fabulous person. He was a troubled person too at the same time; he had some issues. We had many great times together in the past, and we had many bad times, but I would say that the good times outweighed the bad. And in the end, we were talking still as friends, and we talked in the end before he passed away. We were on good terms. It's a very sad loss to the music community and he'll be well remembered as one of the great vocalists of a metal era."

Loomis added that Warrel had been "struggling with drinking and things like this" for years before he died. "I'm not getting into too much detail there," he said. "He had some troubles. I'm gonna miss him a lot. He was a great friend of mine and he was a wonderful human being."

Asked if there was any talk of a NEVERMORE reunion before Warrel passed away, Jeff said: "I think that once you do something for such a long time and you make your mark in the music world, sometimes things do have to come to an end. And, unfortunately, with my situation with NEVERMORE, after 18 years of being in the band, it marked kind of an end of an area. And for me personally, it was kind of moving on to another chapter in my life. There was talks, like maybe [in late 2016] about maybe doing a reunion show, but it never happened, of course. Obviously, now it's not going to happen."

Loomis "amicably" left ARCH ENEMY in December 2023 and was replaced by Joey Concepcion.

Jeff, who was the main songwriter in NEVERMORE, joined ARCH ENEMY in late 2014, but was not involved in the writing for the latter act's last two albums, 2017's "Will To Power" and 2022's "Deceivers".

Since I have been receiving a few messages from James fans regarding a post Van Williams made on social media, I feel I...

Posted by Priscila Sheppard on Sunday, December 29, 2024

Lzzy Hale and Joe Hottinger of Grammy-winning hard rock band HALESTORM played a surprise acoustic set on December 27 at The Underdog in Nashville, Tennessee as the support act for THE DEAD DEADS. Video of the performance can be seen below.

Lzzy and Joe's setlist was as follows:

01. White Dress
02. Mz. Hyde
03. I Remember You (SKID ROW cover)
04. Familiar Taste Of Poison
05. I Like It Heavy (with "She Won't Mind")
06. Gold Dust Woman (FLEETWOOD MAC cover)
07. I Am The Fire

This past October, Lzzy and Joe announced an intimate tour featuring the two of them performing acoustic, stripped down versions of HALESTORM favorites and the music that has inspired the band. Dubbed "Halestorm's Lzzy And Joe: The Living Room Sessions", the tour consists of 12 dates in January 2025.

When the trek was first announced, Lzzy said in a statement: "With this tour, we're inviting our fans to experience what it would be like hanging with Joe and me in our living room: picking up instruments, telling stories, chatting about songs that helped shaped us as a band and brought us to where we are today."

Joe added: "Back when we decided to quit our day jobs and make music our full-time endeavor, Lzzy and I would play music wherever we could, and sometimes that meant playing acoustic covers in any bar or restaurant that would have us. That time really allowed us to develop our playing skills and dig into songwriting, and it really set the groundwork for what HALESTORM is today."

In a September 2024 interview with PK of Louisville, Kentucky's ALT 105.1 radio station, Lzzy spoke about the progress of the recording sessions for HALESTORM's follow-up to 2022's "Back From The Dead" album. Lzzy said: "We've had three separate sessions in the studio with — we're making a record with [producer] Dave Cobb. And he's actually a huge closet metal fan, and so he's really excited. And so we're making this great music, but we're constantly touring. So we've had, like, three different sessions in the studio. We're probably — what? — 70, 80, maybe, percent there. We have a studio in our house and so I'm doing a lot of the finishing touches on vocals and sewing everything up, doing solos and all that. And then we get back in in December to just say, 'Okay, this is good.' And then, yeah. And then there we are. So we're excited about it. We really are."

Cobb has shared in nine Grammy wins, including four for "Best Americana Album" and three for "Best Country Album". He's also been named "Producer Of The Year" by the Country Music Awards, the Americana Music Association (twice) and the Music Row Awards, and has been a Grammy nominee in the category.

HALESTORM and I PREVAIL recently embarked on summer 2024 co-headlining tour. Produced by Live Nation, the trek kicked off on July 9 in Raleigh and ran through August 17 in Las Vegas. HOLLYWOOD UNDEAD and FIT FOR A KING served as support. The tour was also the catalyst and the creative spark for HALESTORM and I PREVAIL's collaborative track "Can U See Me In The Dark?", which was released in June.

"Back From The Dead" has tallied over 100 million streams worldwide. Rolling Stone called the title track "a biting but cathartic howler about overcoming all obstacles," and that song as well as "The Steeple" marked their fifth and sixth number ones at rock radio, respectively. Associated Press said the album "will definitely be in the running for best hard rock/metal album of the year." Their previous album, "Vicious", earned the band their second Grammy nomination, for "Best Hard Rock Performance" for the song "Uncomfortable", the band's fourth #1 at rock radio, and led Loudwire to name HALESTORM "Rock Artist Of The Decade" in 2019.

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

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During a recent appearance on the Bumping Into That Sound podcast, ex-MÖTLEY CRÜE frontman John Corabi, who joined the band in 1992 as the replacement for original singer Vince Neil, was asked if there has ever been a time when he thought to himself, 'That's it. I've made it. I can take the foot off the accelerator." He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "No. Well, let me say this. It depends on how you look at life. Now, I could sit here and pull my fucking hair out because my bank account doesn't look the same as [MÖTLEY CRÜE bassist] Nikki Sixx's or [AEROSMITH singer] Steven Tyler's. If that's how I'm judging it, then I've failed miserably. But the one thing that I will say, and it doesn't make me any less hungry, but I'm hungry for different things.

"I remember having a conversation with Nikki when we were sitting back and we were listening to the MÖTLEY record that I did — the main one — and we were just all sitting there, like, 'Fuck.' All of us felt like that record, it was just strong. And I made a comment, like, 'Well, fellas, whether this thing sells five copies or five million, we did a fucking great job.' And Nikki got pissed about that comment.

"I wasn't measuring [success] by album sales; I was measuring it by the quality of what I felt we achieved musically," he continued. "And Nikki took offense to it. 'That's a lame attitude to have.' And I go, 'No, it's not. I'm just saying from a musical point of view, I think we can did a pretty good job here.' Now, again, if I sat and I looked at it from a monetary thing, do I have the success that Nikki has? No. I don't live in a 10,000-square-foot mansion. I live in a 1,500-square-foot home that I feel is very comfortable. It's me and my wife. I've been married three times, so my kids are all grown up. They don't live here. It's me and my wife and three dogs. I have a cool caravan. I have a couple of cool Harley-Davidsons. We have Jeeps, a truck, and I have a huge backyard for the three dogs that I have to just go out and play and run and throw a ball to them and do my thing.

"Hey, look, would I love to be able to walk up to a fucking Maserati dealership and buy one? Yeah, sure. I mean, who wouldn't? But I'm not gonna let the money thing get me crazy.

"We own everything that I just said," Corabi added. "So I have a very comfortable life. I have a beautiful wife. Everybody's healthy. My kids are healthy. My grandkids are healthy. Everybody's good. So it all depends on how you measure success. Now, do I feel like…? I sit down and I listen to songs like [QUEEN's] 'Bohemian Rhapsody' or I listen to [LED ZEPPELIN's] 'Stairway To Heaven' or I listen to 'Still The Same' by Bob Seger, and I just listen to these brilliant songs and I go, 'Fuck. I still haven't written that song.' So I'm my own worst enemy. I listen to guys like Bob Seger and I go, 'Fuck, that guy's a genius lyrically. He's a genius as a songwriter.' I listen to, like I said, 'Bohemian Rhapsody'. I wanna dig [late QUEEN singer] Freddie Mercury up and punch him in the face and then put him back in the ground again. So there's that part of it that I'm driven by. I need to write what I consider that song, whatever it is. And it's always gonna be there. You're always moving hopefully up and forward, instead of backwards and down. So that part of it is how I measure success.

"I feel like this last DEAD DAISIES record we did [2024's 'Light 'Em Up'] is — there's a growth there. I feel like we're growing. We keep getting better. We keep getting better and faster in the studio. We know what we want. But I'm already looking forward to the next record, like, 'Okay, how can we top what we just did?', from a statement point of view. Financially, and especially now in this day and age with streaming and people not really buying records anymore, it's, like, fuck, who knows what's gonna happen? My chances of earning that MÖTLEY money or AEROSMITH money or ROLLING STONES money is slim to none. But who knows?"

With Corabi on vocals, MÖTLEY CRÜE released one critically acclaimed full-length CD, which ended up being a commercial failure in the wake of grunge despite a Top 10 placing on the album chart. When Neil returned to the fold in 1997, Corabi was left on his own and formed the band UNION with ex-KISS guitarist Bruce Kulick.

In February 2018, Corabi released a live album of his performance of MÖTLEY CRÜE's entire 1994 self-titled album, recorded on October 27, 2015 in Nashville, Tennessee. "Live '94: One Night In Nashville" documents the album in its entirety along with the bonus track "10,000 Miles", which was originally released as a bonus track on the Japanese version of the "Quaternary" EP.

Corabi's autobiography, "Horseshoes And Hand Grenades", was written with the help of MÖTLEY CRÜE historian/author Paul Miles, and was made available in June 2022 via Rare Bird Books.

Corabi was previously asked how he measures success in a January 2022 interview with The Rock Experience With Mike Brunn. He said at the time: "I learned a very hard, valuable lesson when I was in MÖTLEY. Obviously, everybody knows what the [1994 self-titled] record did or didn't do. The tour was a nightmare. I was the new ingredient, and then I left. And the one thing that I learned was when I left the band, my phone stopped ringing. And it was kind of a harsh reality. I was the guy that was invited to all the parties, the backstage things, 'Let's go in a limo,' 'Let's do this,' 'Let's go to the Playboy mansion,' 'Let's do that,' and then the minute they made the announcement that Vince [Neil, original MÖTLEY singer] was back, if I wanted to have a message on my answering machine, I had to call myself. And it's weird. I just sat there and I went, you know what? It's really just about waking up in the morning, the fact that you wake up and you open your eyes, it's a good day; it's a healthy day.

"I have a small group — not a large group — but I have a small group of friends and family around me that are incredibly supportive of me, but they're also honest enough with me and just straightforward and we have a great relationship to the point where they can say to me, 'You know what, Crab? You're being a fucking idiot. Back the fuck up.' And I go, 'Okay. Mental check. Head check. Boom.' So I have a beautiful family around me."

He continued: "It's funny because sometimes I do look at things and I go, 'Okay, what am I doing wrong? Why can't I sell records? Why can't I be like Nikki Sixx? Or Steven Tyler? All these guys. Why am I not driving around in a Lamborghini?'

"I always tell everybody, if you can draw an imaginary straight, horizontal line and say everything above it is fame and everything below it is obscurity, I've literally been scraping my back on that line my whole career.

"But the MÖTLEY thing really made me look at the importance of, you know what? You do the best you can, fight for the things that you can change, fight for the things that you can make better, and then there's just some things, man, that are out of your control. You can't change it. I can't change the fact that when I was in [the pre-MÖTLEY band] THE SCREAM, I had no idea I was gonna get a call to join MÖTLEY. I had no idea that MÖTLEY was gonna bring Vince back. And I had no idea that my first record deal — and the MÖTLEY record — would come at the height of the music industry completely changing again."

Corabi added: "Honestly, it's the hand that I was dealt. I played it. I didn't win that hand. On to the next hand. And that's what I'm doing now, man. I just tell myself every day, I sit there and I go, 'You know what? Fuck, man. I've been doing this for 30-plus years.' There's guys that go through their whole life that don't get one record deal. I had one with THE SCREAM, one with MÖTLEY, one with UNION, THE DEAD DAISIES, even the solo [stuff]. So I'm, like, fuck, I've had five record deals and I'm still going, still releasing music, and people like you still wanna talk to me. So I went, 'You know what? Life's not that bad.'"

Guitarist/vocalist Patrizio "Patrick" Mameli of long-running Dutch progressive death metallers PESTILENCE has defended the use of artificial intelligence (A.I.). to create heavy metal album covers, explaining that it provides artists with unique and eye-catching pieces that can match their music while remaining easy and affordable.

Earlier today (Sunday, December 29),Mameli took to PESTILENCE's Facebook page to write: "I have to get something of my chest. This constant BS about metal bands using A.I. album covers more and more. There are a few reasons. First, huge budgets for real paintings are a thing of the past. Secondly, the idea of having mutilated bodies, zombies and extreme gore are also a thing of the past for PESTILENCE.

"When you want to survive in the nowadays industry you have to adapt and PESTILENCE has always been known to look ahead and never fall back into the old habits not just music style wise but every other new release has had a new approach to our own musically, unlike most acts that rely on their older legacy.
When we released [re-recorded best-of album] 'Levels Of Perception' that was aimed to revisited the demo style recording, that was asked for by many fans, they didn't like the production they asked for themselves. With [the upcoming PESTILENCE album] 'Portals' we will, again, follow our own path and you could really dig it. As an example this 'drawing' was considered to be amazing on my personal FB site. This is also A.I., and is an amazing piece of art. Not the album cover by the way!!!

"And now the real question: would you not buy and album with killer production and song just because a cover is A.I.? Then you are not listening to our compositions that are fully handmade. But rather are concerned with the 40× past you have been living in.

"Start embracing the future of music that is PESTILENCE."

"Levels Of Perception" was made available in April via Agonia Records. The LP features twelve tracks from across PESTILENCE's 38-year career.

PESTILENCE was established in the Netherlands in 1986 and is considered to be a progressive death metal phenom, labeled on the same genre-defying scale as DEATH, CYNIC and ATHEIST. The group is led by founder, guitarist and mastermind Mameli, who's been the band's binding factor through two breakups and reunions. Both a reinvention and a confirmation of everything the band has been standing for since 1986, PESTILENCE is more than ever breaking new grounds and exploring the further outposts of extreme metal on "Exitivm" (2021) — the band's most recent album, which landed on several Billboard charts. In 2023, the band remastered and reissued its classic catalog, and announced "Portals" to be the title of its next studio album, which is currently in the works.

I have to get something of my chest. This constant bs about metal bands using A.I. albumcovers more and more. There are...

Posted by Pestilence (official) on Sunday, December 29, 2024

On a recent episode of the "Talk Louder" podcast, hosted by veteran music journalist "Metal Dave" Glessner and lifelong hard rock/metal vocalist Jason McMaster (DANGEROUS TOYS),ACCEPT singer Mark Tornillo was asked if he is able to maintain an exercise routine while he is on tour. "I try to," Mark responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). "We try to book hotel rooms that have gyms, but otherwise I'll be down here on the floor later before I go to the gig, man, stretching and doing core."

Tornillo went on to say that he "just turned 70 in June" and added that he wears his age "like a badge at this point."

As for his vocal warm-up routing prior to performing live, Mark revealed that he sings into a rolled-up towel. He explained: "The way this started for me was way back in early '80s, I used to just scream my ass off, drink two six-packs in the dressing room before we would go on. And we were playing at a club called Soap Factory in New Jersey, and the dressing room was right next to the owner's office. And I'm in there screaming, yelling, 'Argh. Arghh,' just trying to get loosened up. The guy comes in and goes, 'You shut the hell up. I'm on the telephone. I can't even think.' I'm, like, 'Well, I've gotta warm up.' 'Well, stick something in your face. I don't know.' 'Hey, here's an idea.' I rolled up a towel and put it [over my mouth], and I've never not done it since. So I just do my warm-up — I have a proper exercise [routine] — and I just do it in the towel, though.

"When I first joined ACCEPT, I had sang hard on a consistent basis for a long time," he continued. "I was in a few cover bands in the '90s and the 2000s. But we wouldn't play all the time. So I said, 'Well, if I'm gonna do this night after night after night, I'd better go get some help, maybe, just see what I can find out.' I went to a guy who was recommended to me. His name is Mark Baxter in New York. He's worked with Steven Tyler… Well, that says it all right there. That's the only thing you need to know. And he says, 'Look, I can't teach you how to sing. You know how to sing. I can hear it. I listened to your records. I can hear you sing.' I said, 'Yeah, all right. What do you got'? And it's just a series of — it's scales, but it's all different positions of your tongue and your jaw and the vowels. Because vowels mean everything. If you change to go from an 'E' to a 'U' or something like that, it feels like you're in a different throat… And nobody knows why."

ACCEPT will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2025-2026. To mark this mammoth milestone, ACCEPT will ring in the band's golden birthday with a very unique anniversary tour at the end of 2025. An anniversary album will be released early 2026.

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

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

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

ACCEPT and KK'S PRIEST recently joined forces for a summer/fall 2024 North American tour. The run began on August 31 in Los Angeles, California, visiting a slew of major cities in the USA and Canada — such as Toronto, Montreal, New York and Nashville — before coming to an end in San Francisco, California on October 7.

Tornillo joined ACCEPT in 2009 as the replacement for Udo Dirkschneider, who was the band's original lead singer. Mark can be heard on ACCEPT's last six studio albums, "Blood Of The Nations" (2010),"Stalingrad" (2012),"Blind Rage" (2014),"The Rise Of Chaos" (2017),2021's "Too Mean To Die" and 2024's "Humanoid".

Rock Duck Radio producer Mark Christopher Garrett has shared the Savatahe song "Stare Into The Sun" featuring Jon Oliva on vocals. Written by Oliva and the late Paul O'Neill for Savatage's 1994 album, Handful Of Rain, the song originally featured current Savatage vocalist Zak Stevens.


Handful of Rain was released in August 1994, and is the band's first record without founding guitarist Criss Oliva, who was killed in a car accident in 1993. He contributed to writing the songs "Taunting Cobras" and "Nothing's Going On" before his death.










The legendary Savatage (Johnny Lee Middleton - bass, Chris Caffery - guitars, Al Pitrelli - guitars, Jeff Plate - drums, and Zak Stevens - vocals) have announced tour dates across Europe for summer 2025, with a mix of festival appearances and headline shows.


Says Zak Stevens: "As you can imagine, there are so many special things about these shows that are racing through my mind. We get to play a series of headline shows for the first time in over twenty years that will put us right back in front of all of the unbelievable fans who have given us so many unforgettable memories over the last three decades. Here’s our chance to directly give back to everyone who’s been there supporting us all these years! All the great festival shows are going to be off-the-charts amazing. It’s even hard to imagine the scale of excitement that’s going to take place with those shows."


Savatage mastermind Jon Oliva expressed his disappointment at not being able to join the band for the shows, but shared his excitement, stating: "I am very excited for the guys to be doing some shows. Unfortunately, due to health issues, I will not be able to join th

;A Poison To The Firmament"; New EP To Be Unleashed On New Year's Day">
The Kovenant / ex-Cradle Of Filth backing vocalist Sarah Jezebel Deva has checked in with the following update:


"As most are aware, I am also extremely lucky to be involved with the amazing Heljarmadr, the lead singer of Dark Funeral. Sometimes I really do forget how fortunate I am that strangers take chances on me. Heljarmadr has premiered new music. 


I want to also add the line up is also a talented and stunning one. I am so proud, so click the link and please support these amazing musicians and music."

Swedish rockers Royal Republic have shared a pro-shot video from their Pol'And Rock 2023, featuring their encore medley of Metallica's "Battery" and Motörhead's "Ace Of Spades". Check it out below.





Motörhead legend Lemmy Kilmister has taken up full-time residence at one of his favourite places to relax and socialize – Stringfellows Gentleman’s Club in London. It is a place which holds many Lemmy memories for friends and associates, as it became one of his favourite places to go after it opened in 1980.




A celebration recently took place, and among Lemmy's friends and associates was Motörhead guitarist Phil Campbell, who was on hand to say a few words and place his dear friend’s ashes behind the bar. Some video and photos from the event can be found below.


Owned by Peter Stringfellow – who in the 1960s booked some of the era’s biggest acts such as The Beatles, The Who, Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd, and others - Stringfellows became a hot spot for celebrities and rock stars alike. It was quickly an established fact among those who knew him that if Lemmy was in London, odds were good that you would find him at Stringfellows.


Lemmy and Peter Stringfellow subsequently developed a good friendship with both appreciating the rock’n’roll lifestyle as well as enjoying a great environment in which to relax. Even after moving to West Hollywood, every year when the band ended their European tour dates (usually in December), Lemmy would be sure to spend time at Stringfellows before flying back home.


“Stringfellows always held a special place in Lemmy’s heart. He loved the rock’n’roll spirit Peter brought to the club, he loved the relaxed environment, and he certainly loved the view. I know he’s relieved he can get back to enjoying one of his favorite places on the planet!,” said Motörhead’s manager Todd Singerman.


It is therefore fitting that Lemmy is back at the world famous club permanently, the latest in a series of Lemmy For

In a recent interview with RapidMetalFire, bassist/vocalist Thomas "Angelripper" Such of German thrash metal veterans SODOM was asked for his opinion on expensive VIP concert packages which offer fans such perks as great seats, autographs, face time with the band, exclusive access to a private pre-show soundcheck and a backstage tour. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I hate it. I don't want it. We had it when we played with KREATOR at the 'Klash Of The Ruhrpott' festival [at Amphitheater Gelsenkirchen in Gelsenkirchen, Germany in July 2024], with DESTRUCTION and TANKARD. They did it. If they're gonna do a signing session, [fans] have to pay for it.

"In my opinion, it's not my way," he continued. "When I do a signing session, I do it for free. I don't want money from it. Or I stay in a hotel, whatever. But I never came up with the idea of taking money for a signing session or taking money for a stage walk. You know what is a stage walk? People pay money to get on the stage. I'd say, 'Okay, here's a drum kit. Here's the guitar amp. Here's a backline.'

"I hate it. This has nothing to do with metal. Some bands sell backstage tickets, so [fans] get the chance to say hello to the musician or get a plaque or whatever, and pay 500 euros, whatever. With KISS, they're gonna do it. And if you get one one photo with KISS, you pay $2,000, and [they] to go the next [fan]. This has nothing to do with heavy metal. This is not what I have learned in the metal scene."

Angelripper went on to say that he always signs autographs for fans and takes photos with them. "And we're gonna stay till the last one [gets what he or she wants]," he said. "Sometimes we just have a half an hour, an hour [to sign stuff and take pictures]… [Sometimes] there [are] hundreds of people coming for signing sessions, for autographs, make a picture, and we say, 'Okay, make a picture, go,' because we wanna get everyone get this autograph in the end, but I never take money for it. That's stupid.

"The people, they're gonna buy the tickets, they're gonna buy the new album, they pay the price, and they don't need to pay [me] when I sign [something] or make a handy picture [with them]. We wanna give something back. That is very important.

"SODOM is the only metal band who would never make money with signing sessions or photo sessions," Angelripper added.

In November 2023, SODOM released a new EP, "1982", via SPV/Steamhammer.

SODOM's 40th-anniversary album, "40 Years At War - The Greatest Hell Of Sodom", arrived in October 2022 through Steamhammer/SPV. The LP included one song from each of the previous studio albums receiving a re-recorded treatment from SODOM's current lineup. The CD and vinyl double LP with their martial cover artwork penned by Eliran Kantor (KREATOR, TESTAMENT, GWAR, among others) contain 17 tracks, all newly recorded by Such, Frank Blackfire (guitar),Yorck Segatz (guitar) and Toni Merkel (drums).

SODOM's latest studio album, "Genesis XIX", came out in November 2020 via Entertainment One (eOne) in North America and Steamhammer/SPV in Europe. The disc was recorded by Siggi Bemm and mastered by Patrick W. Engel and comes shrouded in the cover art of Joe Petagno of MOTÖRHEAD fame.

Angelripper previously described "Genesis XIX" as "one of the toughest and most diverse studio recordings that SODOM have ever released."

In a new interview with "Chase The Heat With Johnny Scoville", former GUNS N' ROSES guitarist Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal spoke about how streaming services have significantly changed the role of record labels in the music industry, shifting their primary revenue source from selling physical albums to earning royalties through streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music. He also discussed the advances in technology which have made high-quality recording equipment more accessible than ever, enabling musicians and producers to create professional-grade music from the comfort of their homes. He said in part (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "The record company, they loaned you at a 900 percent interest rate, the money to go into the studio, which now you could do on your laptop, but at the time it was a lot of money and a lot of everything. Everything was very expensive. So all the numbers had a couple of extra zeros on them. So the label gives you half a million dollars. Sounds like a lot of money, but by the time you're done with the studio and paying the engineer and the producer and all the expenses that are incurred to go along with it and everything, there's not very much there. You don't really get to put anything in your pocket, and you owe that money back. So now you have to work it off. That's how it used to be. So now you have to pay it all back, and you do that through record sales and through whatever else you can do that's gonna incur money to pay it back. And really, it was record sales, was the main thing. If you had a bad deal and they owned a piece of your publishing, then any radio play, they'd be getting a cut instead of the songwriters or the publishing administrators and all of that. I mean, it's a very complicated, convoluted thing, but it all has to get paid back. And the way the labels used to do it is, let's say they sold half a million dollars' worth of albums. They wouldn't say, 'Okay, you're paid off.' They would say, 'Well, you were getting a dollar out of 10 dollars. So out of this half a million, you only really paid us back 50,000, and you owe us the other nine dollars per album.' Yeah, there was a lot of things that went on. Plus, you only get paid on 90 percent of the albums 'cause they assume that 10 percent are gonna break as they're delivered to the record stores. There was all kinds of stuff in there. And then your manager that's taking care of everything for you, he is getting 15 or 20 percent. And he gets it — maybe, if you have a bad deal, he's getting it gross and not net. He's not in the trenches with you. So he's sitting back collecting money while you're out there working hard. So, everyone could work out bad deals for you. And if they're getting gross receipts and not net, they're not on the team. They're not in the trenches with you. So it doesn't matter to them. So there's a lot of bad managers that would just send you off to do your thing, and they're making way more money than any bandmembers are, pretty much just not doing a lot — just saying, 'Oh, this person called.' 'Oh, okay.' 'Call them back.' So there was a lot of that kind of stuff. These days it's different. It's more about a direct relationship with the people who like your music or want your music. So it's very direct between you and them, which is good."

Thal's new instrumental album, "Bumblefoot ...Returns!", is set for release on January 24, 2025. "Bumblefoot ...Returns!" will arrive 30 years after Thal's debut solo instrumental album. On the new LP, Bumblefoot revisits his roots with a 14-track masterpiece that spans genres from metal to orchestral to blues.

The album's opening track, "Simon In Space", serves as its first single, delivering an electrifying ride through chaos and intensity. In addition to the single, an animated music video created by Bumblefoot and animator Radek Grabinski is also available, as well as a retro-inspired video game, which is coming soon.

"Bumblefoot ...Returns!" features collaborations with iconic musicians, including Brian May, Steve Vai, Guthrie Govan, Derek Sherinian, Jerry Gaskill and others, showcasing Bumblefoot's innovative guitar techniques, such as his signature fretless guitar and "thimble technique."

On the album, Bumblefoot shared: "It's been 30 years since releasing the debut 'Adventures Of Bumblefoot' on Shrapnel Records, and I haven't done a fully instrumental album since. Writing during the pandemic, these songs became a soundtrack to my life — from heavy fretless growls to bluesy tributes to legends like Lonnie Johnson. It's a reflection of the moments that shaped me."

He added: "Working on WHOM GODS DESTROY's album inspired growling heavy fretless parts like 'Simon In Space'. Watching a blues documentary inspired 'Moonshine Hootenanny'. Losing loved ones led to writing 'Funeral March'. Songs become a soundtrack to our lives."

The album is available for pre-order now on vinyl, CD, and cassette, with exclusive merch bundles at bumblefoot.com.

Thal joined GUNS N' ROSES in 2006 and appeared on 2008's "Chinese Democracy", an effort which contained music that had been written before he came into the group. The disc took 13 years to make and was only a modest seller, moving just around half a million copies.

Thal never officially announced his departure from the GN'R, but a source confirmed to Detroit music writer Gary Graff back in 2015 that the guitarist had been out since the end of the band's second Las Vegas residency in 2014.

Thal later revealed that he was focusing on his solo career and other projects after spending eight years playing in GUNS.

Thal spent a few years recording and touring with SONS OF APOLLO, which also featured drummer Mike Portnoy, keyboardist Derek Sherinian and bassist Billy Sheehan. SONS OF APOLLO released its second studio album, "MMXX" (pronounced: 20/20),in January 2020 via InsideOut Music/Sony.

Thal is also a member of ART OF ANARCHY, which released its third studio album, "Let There Be Anarchy", in February 2024 via Pavement Music.

Joining founding ART OF ANARCHY members Jon Votta (guitar),Vince Votta (drums) and Thal in the band's new lineup are vocalist Jeff Scott Soto (YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, JOURNEY, SONS OF APOLLO) and bassist Tony Dickinson (SOTO, TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA).

In a recent interview with Jorge Botas of Portugal's Metal Global, legendary German guitarist Michael Schenker was asked if he still doesn't listen to any new bands or pay attention to what is happening in the rock world. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Yeah, I did [in the past]. In the beginning, when I was jumpstarted, [I was] inspired by all the late '60s guitarists. But then, [when I was] 15 years old, I already subconsciously knew that that was something I wanted to do. And when I was 18, I made that decision to stay away from [listening to new] music to self-express. Because when I heard the guitarists in the late '60s, they all had their own style. And it was really good — everything was, like, 'Wow, this is great. Oh, this is great.' All different. But [in] the '80s, everything was the same. And that was basically watered-down '70s; [they] made it simple and commercialized it [to] make money. But the '70s [and] late '60s guitarists, it was art; [they were] pure artists."

Earlier this year, Schenker told Classic Rock magazine that he doesn't listen to other people's music. "Never," he said. "I have never had a record player, nothing. I just watch the news and that's it. Listening to music would be poison for me. I need to be completely empty in order to create what I need to create."

In a 2019 interview with Decibel magazine, Michael was asked for his initial impression of Eddie Van Halen. Schenker replied: "I haven't listened to any music for half a century now, because my vision was pure self-expression and still is, and I don't listen to music so I don't get tired of it and get consumed. I knew intuitively what I had to do in order to keep fresh for as long as possible. By writing from within, I'm not part of any trend. Just the opposite: I'm a trend maker. In the '70s, that was my assignment. I created a trend for the '80s. But I must tell you one thing: When VAN HALEN did the first album, I couldn't ignore it. Eddie Van Halen, I never knew him until he made the first album, and I was blown away by it. Of course I didn't know he had a special technique of tapping. [Laughs] I didn't know what that was, so I was quite confused about how he was making that noise with a [guitar] pick. That was obviously very confusing for many people. How can he sound like this? But even regardless of a tapping technique, he is a very melodic, fantastic player, and one of my favorites, actually. And I cannot compare him to many people, because I never listened to anybody.

"The only other person I couldn't help but overhear was Yngwie Malmsteen, because he was playing faster than lightning — faster than the speed of light — and that was sensational. Based on that, I had to pay attention to him, but I found out very quickly that it was very repetitive. Those are the only two guitarists on my whole journey of 50 years that I paid attention to other than, of course, the people that I looked up to and that inspired me like Jeff Beck and Leslie West, all the great guitarists from the late '60s.

"I used to go guitar hunting, trying to discover new guitar riffs — something extraordinary. Then when I turned 17, I stopped listening to music altogether. I knew I had to do it the way I see it, so I did it from within. As a result, it turned out unique, because nobody knows what goes on in somebody else's head. Each one of us holds very unique ideas that are not known to other people until we release them. I somehow knew intuitively that that's what I needed to do. So, whatever came out of me, it was very attractive to other musicians or other people, because it was always something, like, 'I never heard that before. What is this?'"

Michael Schenker first appeared on SCORPIONS' 1972 album "Lonesome Crow", earned acclaim in the 1970s on classic UFO albums such as "Phenomenon" and "Lights Out" before rejoining SCORPIONS for 1979's "Lovedrive". He departed soon thereafter to launch MICHAEL SCHENKER GROUP. And while his sometimes-erratic behavior have derailed parts of his career, Schenker remains one of hard rock and metal's most influential axemen.

Schenker recently announced a spring 2025 European tour in support of his "My Years With UFO" album celebrating the 50th anniversary of Michael's years with UFO. Joining him on the trek will be former SKID ROW frontman Erik Grönwall, who is the featured singer on the "Mother Mary" song on "My Years With UFO", which also includes a guest appearance by GUNS N' ROSES' Slash on guitar.

Andrew Freeman, who sang for GREAT WHITE for only five months, once again discussed his short tenure with the band in a recent interview with Edd Bazaar of Live Guitar Solos. Regarding how he landed the gig, the Las Vegas-based musician said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I got friendly with those guys, mostly with [GREAT WHITE rhythm guitarist and keyboardist] Michael Lardie, who I still like to this day. I think he's a nice guy. He just was in a bad situation. I may have done an interview or two about it where I was a little pissed about it, about how it went down, because the whole thing kind of went down sneaky — it was a sneaky thing, how I was dismissed from the band. So I reacted.

"They contacted me because they were really… And nothing against him either, 'cause I like him as well. Mitch Malloy was a guy I replaced, who's great; he's fantastic," Andrew continued. "And I've known about Mitch since I was a teenager. He was always this rock star guy. So when those guys got together, I was happy for them. I thought, 'Wow, that's a really good idea.' People know who he is and he's been around for as long as those guys have been around and it's a good fit. And he looks great. He's not a young dude and he looks fantastic and looked great with the band and all that. So they contacted me and they said… It was through the singer from TRIXTER. Pete [Loran] contacted me and he said, 'Hey, GREAT WHITE needs a guy to fill in for [Mitch]. Are you interested?' He's, like, 'They called me. I can't do it.' I said, 'Yeah, sure.' They had a gig with FOREIGNER; they were opening for FOREIGNER up in Northern California. And I guess Mitch couldn't do it. It was a rescheduled thing from the pandemic. So Mitch had another date. So, 'Hey, can you cover?' 'Yep. No problem.' So I went ahead and did that date. And then Lardie and I started just talking about, 'Oh, we'd love to get you in the band,' blah, blah, blah. And I'm, like, 'Yeah, well, we can talk about that. That's cool.' And they had called me again and I was away doing something and Mitch got sick and I could have canceled my weekend — me and my son were doing something — but I didn't. I just said, 'You know what? I'm getting tired of being a fill-in,' 'cause I had just done one for FIREHOUSE the year before, filling in for C.J. [Snare], and I just was getting tired of getting called at the last minute, canceling plans with family and all that. So I said no. I said, 'When you guys are ready to commit, if you guys want me to come in, I'd be happy to, but until then, I'm good. I'm not gonna come in and be the cover guy.' So, anyway, they were really chomping at the bit to replace Mitch. They had a bunch of summer shows and I said, 'Sure.' So I went in and joined them in June [of 2022] and I think I was out by October [of that same year]. [Laughs] But they were good shows."

Andrew went on to say that GREAT WHITE was "not my favorite band musically. I did like their first record, but even proficiently, two of the guys in the band are really great musicians and two of the guys aren't," he explained. "So that was a bit of a challenge, but the checks were nice. It was good, steady work all summer, and I had nothing going on. But I did have LAST IN LINE dates that I told them about. And we just made a handshake agreement. They wanted to get through the summer and I was available. I said, 'If it doesn't work out, we'll just shake hands and part ways.' And it turned into a… What happened? They were plotting… I couldn't do a show. They changed the date. It was on one of my LAST IN LINE dates that they knew about. There was a communication issue between the agent and the band, and then the one guy in the band and the other guy in the band. And that was it. So, they tried to pull something on me. I kind of caught him in the act, and I said… on the Sunday, I said, 'You'd better get somebody else to do Friday 'cause I'm not coming.' I know they say that they fired me, and they were planning to fire me, but I kind of cut them off at the pass. 'Cause I sent them a text message saying, 'Hey, if this is my last gig, I'd like to know now.' 'Cause I was bringing my son on the road with me. We were doing something that weekend and they were planning on firing me with my son at the show. You know, like one of those, 'Hey, it's been fun. Here's a beer. We're not using you anymore.' Like, 'Well, that would that would really go bad for you. If you did that, that would go really bad for you. So if your [new] guy's ready to go, you can bring him in on Friday 'cause I'm not coming.' And it didn't have to end that badly because, again, I like those guys are nice. The majority of 'em are nice guys. But, yeah, I did it for a few months and sang all the tunes. And now I'm the the guy who didn't work out, or however they spun it. Every Blabbermouth story is, 'Oh, this guy replaced this guy,' and I'm, like, dude, it wasn't that dramatic. I came in, I did the job they asked me to do, and then that was it. They decided to go a different direction."

Freeman previously discussed his exit from GREAT WHITE in a March 2023 interview with the "This That & The Other With Troy Patrick Farrell" podcast. He stated at the time: "I was never a big fan of GREAT WHITE. So when I went in there, there was a couple of songs that I liked. I love their first album. But I wasn't a fan of certain elements of that. So when I went in there, I went in as like a blues guy. A lot of those songs are very bluesy and they have a very hard blues element to them, so I wanted to bring out that blues element to it. So I kind of approached it as HUMBLE PIE — kind of where they were influenced from — HUMBLE PIE or LED ZEPPELIN instead of coming like a student of [original GREAT WHITE singer] Jack Russell or a student of [RATT's] Stephen Pearcy or a student of '80s singers. I wanted to come in as a student of what inspired that music."

Regarding the circumstances that led to his split with GREAT WHITE, Andrew — who has spent more than a decade playing in LAST IN LINE, which also features DEF LEPPARD guitarist Vivian Campbell and former BLACK SABBATH and DIO drummer Vinny Appice — said: "I don't wanna get these bands more press from what I'm doing. Because a lot of these guys — and I'm not talking about anybody specifically — but a lot of these bands that are trying to keep the lights on and keep their brand name out there, when I join a band, they get a lot of press because it's connected to DIO, it's connected to DEF LEPPARD, it's connected to BLACK SABBATH, it's connected to all the guys that I play with.

"Our LAST IN LINE band is cool in the sense — it's frustrating for me sometimes — but it's cool in the sense that we don't overplay; we're not oversaturated," Freeman explained. "Some years we've done a lot of shows, and we have put records out, and they're usually — nine times out of ten — rated very well. So I kind of know where I stand as far as where I am in the public eye, I guess, in the small public eye that we exist in. So when I start talking about these huge bands from back in the day, about what happened with me and them, it just brings more press to them… So I don't wanna get them any more press than the argument between Jack Russell and the other guy [GREAT WHITE guitarist Mark Kendall]. 'Is Jack coming back to sing for you guys?' 'Never' 'I don't know why they threw me out.' 'Well, you're a drug addict.' I don't have any fucking stake in that fight; I have no skin in that game. So for me to go, 'Oh, this is why they threw me out'… I was only in the band for four months, five months, so why the fuck does it matter? Why does it matter? Because they're just gonna take it, and he's gonna say something about me, and then I'm gonna say something about him, and then he's gonna see me out and he's [gonna be], like, 'Hey, bro. How's it going?', and it's gonna be just a fake fucking thing that I don't really have any interest in."

Andrew added: "They were in a situation where they needed someone to come in, because they were not happy with their old singer, and I said, 'I have these dates, and I have this band. And I'm not gonna quit, but I'm sure we can coordinate it.' And what it came down to was my manager, for LAST IN LINE, and their agent, for GREAT WHITE, didn't talk to each other. And I did all the work to try to get them to talk to each other to make it work, but it just didn't work out because nobody wanted to budge. I said to them, at the beginning of the whole thing, that 'I have these dates,' and they said, 'Okay. Cool. We'll try to work around them.' And then they made a mistake on the booking and they decided to find somebody else. So that's how it worked out. And good for them, because they're probably happier."

Elaborating on the specific episode that eventually caused him to get booted from GREAT WHITE, Freeman said: "There was a gig that I had booked, and I gave all the information to everybody when I joined; it was back in June [of 2022]. And somebody didn't write it down. [Laughs] I spoke to the agent. I spoke to the band — the band representative, when I thought the band communicated with each other. But they don't have great communication. Nothing against them personally; they just don't have great communication. The show got moved to a date that I had — and it was in Vegas — a show that I had booked already. They knew. And we went through all the rigmarole of that, of trying to figure that out. And I personally called 12 singers to cover the show, that I knew [or that were] friends of mine. I personally tried to get it covered for them, because, basically, they screwed up; their agent screwed up. And then I had three weeks booked in November [of 2022] with LAST IN LINE. And they also had that, and they booked a second show on that date, and I said, 'I can't do it.' And, of course, there was another show I wanted to do; it was right down the street from where my dad lives in Florida. So I was, like, 'Oh, great.' But then a week of the LAST IN LINE tour got canceled, so it was a non-issue. And I kind of figured out that they were gonna get rid of me before they knew.

"I had actually quit [GREAT WHITE] back in September, because of the first conflict," Freeman revealed. "Somebody got a little mouthy with me over e-mail, got a little nasty over e-mail. And I said, 'You know what? I don't really need this gig. I wish you the best. And why don't you get somebody else? I'll finish up what you have, and get somebody else.' And then it was, like, 'Woah! Woah! Woah' Woah!' The phone started ringing. And I didn't answer it… That's usually how it works: when you tell somebody to fuck themselves and you have value, then they're gonna call you. But at that point they didn't have anybody… And listen, I'm just as replaceable as the next guy. Everybody is.

"People say, 'Oh, they're gonna be terrible without you,' blah blah blah. I'm sure they're fine," Andrew added. "I don't even know who the guy is that they've got now. But I didn't think there was really anything wrong with [former GREAT WHITE singer Mitch Malloy]. Mitch was great. Mitch has got a great persona; he looks great. I remember when he joined the band, I was, like, 'Wow. This is a really good move for them.' 'Cause he's got a name. He's known in that community. But that's their deal."

Brett Carlisle was officially named GREAT WHITE's new vocalist in October 2022.

In the fall of 2022, before Carlisle's addition to GREAT WHITE was officially announced, Kendall addressed Freeman's Facebook comment that the singer "wouldn't give a fuck if" GREAT WHITE threatened to fire him over his touring commitments with LAST IN LINE. Mark said: "That's okay. I still have respect for him because of his loyalty to his band. There's gotta be something to say about that. If he made a comment that was kind of rude, I'm sure it was just to kind of save face or something. He's a great guy, and man, he can sing too. He was a joy to be around. I was really sad that he did multiple projects.

"If we were a different situation that we were used to just having random singers every gig… It's just too much work to do that, because when somebody has to cancel a show, then we've gotta audition people," Kendall added. "And we don't wanna go out there with a different singer every time. But I thought Andrew was really gonna work out, and then, all of a sudden [LAST IN LINE] get this tour. We were really in a tough spot. And we're really happy that things worked out with Brett, 'cause he's dynamite, man."

In May 2022, GREAT WHITE announced that it had parted ways with Malloy and had replaced him with Freeman. Malloy had been in GREAT WHITE for nearly four years, having joined the group in 2018 following the departure of Terry Ilous.

Ilous, frontman of '80s L.A. hard rockers XYZ, joined GREAT WHITE in 2010 after stepping in for touring vocalist Jani Lane (WARRANT).

The Ilous-led GREAT WHITE released two albums, 2012's "Elation" and 2017's "Full Circle", before Terry was dismissed from the group.

HighVoltageRockNRoll has shared fan-filmed video of AC/DC performing at Nippon Seinenkan in Tokyo, Japan on February 5, 1981. Check out the entire show below.  


Setlist:


"Hells Bells"
"Shot Down in Flames"
"Sin City"
"Back in Black"
"Bad Boy Boogie"
"The Jack"
"What Do You Do For Money Honey"
"Highway to Hell"
"High Voltage"
"Whole Lotta Rosie"
"Rocker"




Encore:
"You Shook Me All Night Long"
"T.N.T."
"Let There Be Rock"





AC/DC return to the road in North America for the first time in nine years on the 2025 Power Up North American Tour.


Much to the delight of millions of fans across North America, the legendary Grammy Award-winning Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame-inducted band will perform in 13 stadiums coast-to-coast next spring. This run kicks off on April 10 in Minneapolis, MN at US Bank Stadium, canvases the continent, and concludes on May 28 in Cleveland, OH at Huntington Bank Field. Along the way, they will play some of the most iconic and historic stadiums in the world, including the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA on April 18 and Soldier Field in Chicago, IL on May 24.


Tickets for all shows, featuring support from The Pretty Reckless, are on sale now, here.


The tour shares its name with their 2020 album, Power Up, which bowed at #1 in 21 countries. In 2024, AC/DC completed a European leg of the Power Up Tour, packing the biggest stadiums on the continent in the process. Power Up notably notched their third #1 debut on the Billboard 200 and exploded as one of the best-selling albums of 2020 worldwide. Plus, it garnered Grammy Award nominations in the categories of “Best Rock Album” and “Best Rock Performance” and “Best Music Video” for “Shot In The Dark.” Power Up is available here.


AC/DC played their very first show on the 31st December 1973 at Chequers Nightclub in Sydney, Australia. They are one of the most influential rock bands in history, with over 200 million albums sold worldwide. The band’s Back In Black LP is the “bestselling album by any band ever” and the “third bestselling album by any artist” with global sales of 50 million and counting. AC/DC was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2003. The band continue selling out stadiums on multiple continents, sell millions of albums annually and generate streams in the billions.


To continue their reign as the world’

Aerosmith were featured on the Dutch television show, 2 Meter Sessions, in 1997 and played four songs: "Rats In The Cellar", "Love In An Elevator", "Taste Of India" and "Pink". Check out the pro-shot video below.





In a recent interview with Bass Player, Aerosmith bassist, Tom Hamilton, discusses how close the band came to missing out on "Sweet Emotion", his near-grudge over "Janie’s Got a Gun", why he was glad Joe Perry quit, the development of his video screen bass, and more. And excerpt from the feature follows.




Bass Player: Many say Rocks is Aerosmith’s best album – do you agree?


Tom Hamilton: “I’d have to agree it’s the album that defines us. I’d say it’s virtually neck and neck with Toys. Both of those albums were a friggin’ blast to put together. Working with Jack was really fun and exciting. He and the band were very much into experimentation, and you can really hear that with those records.”


Bass Player: How do you look back on the tough period of the late ’70s?


Hamilton: “By the time we started work on Draw The Line, drugs were becoming more destructive. I don’t consider that a great Aerosmith album, although a lot of people really like it. It definitely has some great moments on it. Then came Night In The Ruts. It was actually a step in the right direction, but by that time, the band was starting to fall apart. We were only partway finished with that record and we had to go on the road. A tour had already been booked and we couldn’t put it off.

Rockshots Records is thrilled to announce the release of Finnish avant-garde band Aitheer’s debut full-length album, The Serpent, coming February 21.


Building on the introspective vibes of their 2020 Sleeper EP, The Serpent represents a bold evolution for this Finnish progressive metal band. Formed in 2017, Aitheer has transitioned from a cover and jam project to a pioneering force in the music scene, now ready to take you on a dynamic 32-minute musical voyage.


This album explores new sonic territories, blending progressive metal with rock, jazz, classical, and ambient influences, creating a theatrical and cinematic experience. The meticulously crafted arrangements, recorded at Studio UG in Kerava, Finland, feature talented musicians, including session drummer Toni Paananen.




The title track, “The Serpent”, drops today. It’s an experimental piece combining groovy bass lines with psychedelic and cinematic elements, embodying the album’s spirit of pushing musical boundaries. This

"Blood And Teeth", the new single from the American hard rock trio, Inside The Trojan Horse, opens with an intimate vocal revealing a dark connection with an unseen force, "When the hammer strikes the needle, we go down, yes we do." The hypnotic pulse creeps and crawls, taunting the vocal to reveal clues to the crime, eventually building into a frenzy of explosive howling redemption, "You'll never break me of my will, so don't even waste your time."





Listen to "Blood And Teeth" here, and watch the official video below: