SOULFLY has parted ways with the band's longtime bassist Mike Leon.

Leon, formerly of HAVOK, joined SOULFLY in September 2015 as the replacement for STATIC-X bassist Tony Campos, who left SOULFLY in May of that year.

Earlier today (Wednesday, April 9),SOULFLY released the following message via social media: "After many strong years together, SOULFLY is parting ways with bassist Mike Leon. The tribe are still performing at the upcoming Mexico City's Nu Metal Revolution on May 3rd with the Sorcerer, Igor Amadeus, of CAVALERA band, GO AHEAD AND DIE and HEALING MAGIC filling in.

"We're going in different directions now and we thank Mike for all the time spent with us rocking hard on stage!"

Leon added in a separate statement: "After an incredible 10 + year journey with SOULFLY/CAVALERA, the time has come to move on and pursue new opportunities.

"I'm deeply grateful for the experiences, the music, and the relationships built along the way — it's been an honor to grow alongside such dedicated fans.

"I've been proud to contribute to the music community through my work as Director of Artist Relations with ENKI Cases, supporting artists with industry leading gear protection, and will continue to do so.

"As I look ahead, I'm excited to focus on exploring and creating new musical opportunities!

"Thank you to everyone who's been part of the journey so far — here's to the next chapter!"

SOULFLY is continuing to tour in support of its latest album, "Totem", which came out in August 2022 via Nuclear Blast. The follow-up to 2018's "Ritual" was recorded at Platinum Underground in Mesa, Arizona by John Aquilino and Arthur Rizk with assistance from John Powers. Produced by Max Cavalera alongside Arthur Rizk (KREATOR, MUNICIPAL WASTE, CODE ORANGE),the LP boasts guest appearances from John Powers (ETERNAL CHAMPION),Chris Ulsh (POWER TRIP),and John Tardy (OBITUARY). Rizk was also responsible for playing lead guitar on the record. The artwork for the album was created by James Bousema.

In August 2021, SOULFLY parted ways with longtime guitarist Marc Rizzo due to personal differences. FEAR FACTORY's Dino Cazares played guitar for SOULFLY on the band's 2021 and 2022 run of shows.

Guitarist Mike DeLeon has been touring with SOULFLY for two years. Prior to hooking up with SOULFLY, DeLeon had been a member of PANTERA singer Philip Anselmo's solo band PHILIP H. ANSELMO & THE ILLEGALS, which he joined in 2015 as the replacement for Marzi Montazeri. More recently, Mike filled in for Zakk Wylde at the first rehearsal for the fall 2022 PANTERA shows.

In a November 2024 interview with Dave Rumbler of Metal-Roos, Max confirmed that he is working on the follow-up to "Totem" album for a tentative late 2025 release. Regarding the musical direction of the new SOULFLY material, he said: "[It will be] very tribal, back to basics. I'm gonna let SOULFLY be SOULFLY again. I kind of stopped SOULFLY from being SOULFLY for a couple of years, and I kind of regret that a little bit. But now that I have CAVALERA and GO AHEAD AND DIE and KILLER BE KILLED, I get to really let SOULFLY be SOULFLY. Let's go back to what it was in the beginning. It's that tribal groove power that people love. So I'm creating a record with that."

Max, who turned 55 years old in August 2024, went on to say that he has no plans of slowing down in the coming years. "I was put on this planet to do this, and that's all I wanna do," he said. "It's all I know how to do and it's all I wanna do… Of course, we change as people as we get older, but I think there's some things in me, they are the same as they were when I was 15 years old — my passion for metal, how I feel about going on the stage and the goosebumps, the excitement is like a drug. You can't really get that anywhere else except on the stage. And those things don't change. And I love that.

"To me, I'm always looking forward to whatever tour we're doing, whatever album we're making," he continued. "There are challenges, but at the same time, they are great life opportunities. And I live life for the moment. I'm not one of those guys that — I don't live thinking 10 years from now. I live for right now for this, 'cause I don't know what's 10 years from now. I live the moment, and in the moment, this is what's going on right now. I grab it with both hands, man, and enjoy. And I try to teach that to my kids — enjoy the moment. It's a great thing. It's good to be alive. It's good to share this feeling with people around you. It's incredible. It's an incredible thing."

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Last year, the reunited expanded classic lineup of German power metallers HELLOWEEN signed with Reigning Phoenix Music (RPM) for the release of their next studio album. The band entered the studio in the summer of 2024 to begin work on the follow-up to 2021's acclaimed self-titled effort, with plans to issue the LP later in 2025.

On Wednesday (April 9),HELLOWEEN guitarist/vocalist Kai Hansen shared a video message on his Instagram in which he said: " Hello, ladies and gentlemen. HELLOWEEN, the album is mixed. It's done. It's done. And I am very happy with the result… I think we got a great album together… So wait for it." Hansen also played snippets of a few songs that will appear on the effort. Check them out in his post below.

Last December, HELLOWEEN singer Andi Deris told Spain's MariskalRockTV about the musical direction of the new HELLOWEEN material: "I love two or three songs from Kai. [They're] super crazy, and I love 'em to death. Weiki [guitarist Michael Weikath] has a great song as well. My songs are certainly always good. [Laughs] [That's a] joke, joke, joke. But I think we have lots of great songs, definitely. Super-nice hooks, lots of positive sing-alongs. So, yeah, I think this is something that we probably may need in the times to come. [Laughs] Very positive, I have to say. So I would say 80 percent of the album is super positive. Sometimes very fast and heavy, but positive. Good, good mood. And we have a ballad. Finally, we have a ballad."

Earlier in December, Deris was asked by The Metal Command how the material for HELLOWEEN's next album compares to that on "Helloween". He said: "I'd say it's much more easy listening, because there's less constructed stuff on it. It's more flowing with the wind, so to say. It's very, very positive, so I would rather say it's more happy, happy HELLOWEEN than the other album. I think it's a bit more… yeah, the flow is, for my taste, not as edgy as the last album, which was cool — I like edgy stuff — but we should have more or less some counterpart to edgy, more exhausting things. The last album, for me, was great to listen through — it was edgy, it was heavy, it was complicated here and there — but after listening to it, then I needed a pause. It was exhausting. After [listening to 'Helloween'], I needed some break, put it that way. I loved it, and I still love it, but it's demanding. I think the next album will be much more easy listening, I think much more enjoyable to sing along [to]; there are lots of parts in there. So I would rather describe it as a more happy, happy HELLOWEEN album. That would be the best description."

Andi continued: "It's hard to describe, because there are lots of speedy and heavy things on it. But when I listen through it, I feel good. I mean, that's a good sign. Not that I felt bad when I listened to the last album — that's not what I mean. It's fun. I listen to it, and it's fun. Definitely."

Regarding what he and his HELLOWEEN bandmates learned from the making of "Helloween" that they improved upon this time around, Andi said: "Yeah, I think the main keyword would be confidence. The last album, we had to get to know each other in that new setup, lineup, how to work with [each other], how to work here and blah, blah, blah, and this time we just realized, okay, actually everybody has such great ideas; just don't control each other. We don't need to actually stick in a studio for pre-production for two months because everybody did it for himself. Let's just listen to it and say, 'Wow, cool.' So this time we've been some lazy backs, actually, and just said, you know, pre-production we just do ourselves back at home, everybody in his own studio, and we just take the technique we are given. Internet is great, and you can have live sessions online, and that made life so much easier because everybody is just relieved that you [are] still at home. You still work hard, but you're at home. And as we all know, when you're at home, work doesn't hurt that much as being back in the studio again somewhere in the world, but not with your family. And nowadays you can actually have your family life, you have your eight, nine hours per day in the studio, you yourself decide when you make a break or when you go and have a meal with your lady or go down to the beach, in my case. That makes life so much easier and much more enjoyable than sitting in a fricking studio again and again and again, each and every day for two months, just for a pre-production, which you could easily do at home together. So this time, I have to say there's confidence that we earned for each other that helped a lot to make things even more easygoing. And I think that's exactly what you listen, when you go through the songs and you listen to them — you feel that easiness: 'Wow. Wow. Okay, cool.' I love it. So that's the way to go."

He then clarified: "I don't wanna say that I want to be back at home when I'm on tour. So I hate the idea of laser shows or something like that. As long as I can walk, I want to be on stage. But production-wise, I have to say I love the technique we have nowadays."

Regarding how HELLOWEEN has managed to pull off the seemingly impossible by keeping all seven members of the band happy — returning singer Michael Kiske and guitarist/vocalist Kai Hansen along with Deris, guitarists Michael Weikath and Sascha Gerstner, bassist Markus Grosskopf and drummer Daniel Löble — Andi said: "I think the only thing you need to accept [is] that you are different people. I think that's the main problem we had back in the days because everybody actually expected the other to be and react and have the same opinion [as] yourself. And when you are realizing, okay, we are all different people, so you have to accept that everybody probably has a different point of view, at least a millimeter to the left or millimeter to right. And you have to sit down and actually find a compromise. If you accept that everybody is different, that's not a bad thing. You just have to accept that you yourself may fail here and there, and maybe the other one is right. And when you're getting older, you have decades of comparisons, and you realize, 'Okay, here I fucked up, there I fucked up, here I wasn't right, here I wasn't right.' You need that experience, and when you have that, you are a little bit more humble, because you know you did things wrong or you know you haven't been right back in the days here and there and blah, blah, blah. So, if you take that at a base, everything works out fine. And you just sit down with that knowledge and try to find a solution, which is good enough for all here in the room. And, yeah, that went down super the last few years, I mean, no problem at all. Even if somebody was pissed off, completely pissed off for whatever reason, again, that somebody did not react like he did back in the days, like with aggression or something like that, but in normal words and said, 'Hey, I have a little problem here. You said this and that and blah, blah, blah. And how did you mean that?' And then here comes the explanation and you go, like, 'Oh, okay, all good. Thanks.'"

Upon its release in June 2021, "Helloween" landed in the Top 10 in more than 10 countries, including Germany, Spain, Finland, Sweden, Switzerland and Austria. The cover artwork for the LP was painted by artist Eliran Kantor, who has previously worked with HATEBREED, SOULFLY, TESTAMENT, ICED EARTH and SODOM, among others.

Produced by Charlie Bauerfeind and Dennis Ward, the last HELLOWEEN LP was recorded in part at the H.O.M.E. Studios in Hamburg (where everything started in 1984). The same recording console used for such HELLOWEEN albums as "Master Of The Rings", "Time Of The Oath" and "Better Than Raw" was utilized to record the band's new material. The effort was mixed at the Valhalla Studios of Ronald Prent (IRON MAIDEN, DEF LEPPARD, RAMMSTEIN).

"Helloween" saw the legendary German power metallers going "back to the roots," with the band recording fully analog and Löble playing the drum kit previously used by HELLOWEEN's original drummer, the late Ingo Schwichtenberg, on the legendary "Keeper Of The Seven Keys" recordings.

HELLOWEEN released a new live album, "Live At Budokan", on December 13, 2024 via Reigning Phoenix Music (RPM). The colossal effort immortalized HELLOWEEN's September 16, 2023 performance at Tokyo's legendary Nippon Budokan.

"Live At Budokan" was made available in a plethora of formats: 2CD-digipak and 3LP vinyl in trifold with the first print run of both coming as "deluxe edition" including embossed cover artwork, as well as Blu-ray, DVD and digital. Each version is meticulously crafted to suit the metal community's diverse tastes, ensuring every fan can relive the raw, unfiltered energy of HELLOWEEN in their preferred medium.

This release celebrated the grand finale of HELLOWEEN's epic world tour from 2022 to 2023. Spanning over 30 countries on three continents, the tour was nothing short of a triumph, drawing massive crowds and showcasing the band's undying appeal, the sold-out concert in Tokyo is the crowning glory of the cycle.

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Longtime KISS lead guitarist Tommy Thayer will join the band's founding members Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley for a performance without makeup at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas as part of the three-day "KISS Army Storms Vegas" event, which runs from November 14 to November 16. Also newly added to the lineup of artists who will appear at the event are Thayer's former band BLACK 'N BLUE, as well as former SKID ROW frontman Sebastian Bach and the tribute acts MR. SPEED and KISS NATION: THE KISS TRIBUTE SHOW.

"KISS Army Storms Vegas" celebrates the KISS fan club's 50th anniversary and will be the band's first live performance since Simmons, Stanley, Thayer and drummer Eric Singer wrapped up their "End Of The Road" farewell tour at Madison Square Garden in New York in December 2023.

There will also be question-and-answer sessions with Stanley and Simmons, as well as KISS's longtime manager Doc McGhee, where they will share stories, behind-the-scenes moments and answer fans' most burning questions. Also making special appearances will be Kiss Army founders Bill Starkey and Jay Evans. In addition, there will be a guest performance by former KISS guitarist Bruce Kulick.

"We will not do the makeup," Gene told Las Vegas Review-Journal about "KISS Army Storms Vegas". "We will hold true to the promise [of never playing another KISS show in makeup]. There's no stage show. There's no crew. We won't have 60 people levitating drum sets and all that stuff. This is more personal gathering of the tribes, where we meet them, greet them, maybe have a Q&A."

Regarding what else fans can expect from "KISS Army Storms Vegas", Simmons said: "There might be some KISS tribute bands, almost like a convention, if you will. So it's much more personal. And of course, we can't get by without playing, so we'll get up and do some tunes. What they are, how long, I don't know."

When KISS officially announced the "KISS Army Storms Vegas" event, the band said that Stanley and Simmons — along with "special guests" — would play at least one show "unmasked," meaning without their iconic makeup.

KISS had previously set a 12-show residency at Planet Hollywood Las Vegas in 2021 and 2022 but ultimately canceled all of the dates.

50 years ago in Terre Haute, Indiana, a small group of fans lit the spark that would become the loudest and proudest fan movement in rock history: the KISS Army. Now, five decades later — and 30 years since the first official KISS convention — KISS is cranking it up to 11 in Las Vegas for the ultimate celebration.

Head over to kissarmystormsvegas.com for more information.

Simmons told Rolling Stone in a November 2023 interview that the second Madison Square Garden "End Of The Road" concert would mark "the final KISS-in-makeup appearance."

Kulick was a member of KISS from 1984 until 1996.

According to Billboard, Kulick is one of only two musicians to have not worn makeup while a member of KISS, the other being Mark St. John.

Kulick had performed with the band again at their Kiss Kruise events in 2018 and 2021.

Simmons recently postponed nearly 20 dates on his forthcoming solo tour with the GENE SIMMONS BAND to 2026.

Image courtesy of Gibson TV

TOMMY THAYER, LEAD GUITARIST OF KISS, WILL JOIN GENE SIMMONS AND PAUL STANLEY FOR A ONE-OF-A-KIND KISS UNMASKED ELECTRIC...

Posted by KISS on Monday, April 7, 2025

In a new interview with the JJO Discover New Music Podcast, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE singer Jesse Leach spoke about the band's latest album, "This Consequence", which came out on February 21 via Metal Blade. "This Consequence" is KILLSWITCH ENGAGE's ninth LP overall, and sixth with Leach, who rejoined the band in 2012. Asked why now was the right time for KILLSWITCH ENGAGE to release a new record, Jesse said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I think the timing is perfect. It just feels like the world is in a state now where I feel like extreme music, metal music, has a real place in it. There's a lot of people who are frustrated and anxious and this type of music is therapeutic. So, to me, it's great. The gap, too, was admittedly working hard on the record, but also the pandemic took it out of us. During that time, it wasn't a very creative time for any of us. So, it just happened to work out in such a way where it's dropping, to me, at a perfect time."

Reflecting on the way the pandemic negatively affected his creativity, Jesse said: "We had just finished putting out our other record, [2019's] 'Atonement', and being shut down three days into the tour… So when you put that much effort into a creative project and then nothing happens — I had no creativity 'cause I'd put everything into that record, and my mindset was, like, 'Now we're gonna go on tour.' So when the pandemic hit, at first it was, like, 'Oh, we get a nice break. This is crazy. We haven't had a break in a long time.' And then it turned into, like, 'Wow, are we ever gonna do this again?' But I think for me it was a very meditative, sort of self-reflective time where creativity, especially with music, just kind of took a side seat to me, sort of like going deep within myself and, like, 'Who am I without this band?' It was definitely a huge question in my mind. But coming out of it and a lot of the thoughts that I had that stayed with me, this album helped me process that. It helped me filter out a lot of my frustrations and my anger, and I think that's what metal music and hardcore music should be. It's therapy."

Regarding the challenges he encountered finding inspiration for the new KILLSWITCH ENGAGE songs, Jesse said: "Yeah, I felt like I shed layers of my soul, for sure. Going into it, I feel like I didn't really have the voice that I eventually discovered. It was kind of a false start. We ended up throwing away, like, six or seven of my demos. 'Cause I think I just had to tap into that frustration that I keep bringing up because I think I suppressed it a lot. And I'm sure a lot of us went through weird frames of mind during the pandemic. I think for me it was getting back in touch with the reason why I even started doing this in the first place, is 'cause I wanted to have a voice for the voiceless. I wanted to speak about the problems of the world. I wanted to put it all out there. And I think when I started this album, it just felt like I didn't know what to say. I was still kind of numb about it. But through that process, I was able to tap back into that spirit, that revolutionary wanting to shake up the status quo and have people think for themselves and deliver a message that hopefully will help people."

KILLSWITCH ENGAGE kicked off its first tour of North America since late 2022 on March 5 at The Pinnacle in Nashville, Tennessee. The trek, featuring support from KUBLAI KHAN TX, FIT FOR A KING and FROZEN SOUL, will run through April 12 in Portland, Maine.

In a separate interview with United Rock Nations, Jesse was asked what the biggest challenge was in making "This Consequence". He said: "I think for me wanting to be, and I use this word loosely, relevant, but relevant to me and my bandmembers. I wanted what I had to say to excite them, but I also needed it to be genuine. I needed it to be something that when I looked at those lyrics, I thought, 'Yes. That's exactly what I wanna say.'

"I went through — I don't know — seven, eight songs where I was kind of just throwing it out to see what would stick," he continued. "And those guys were, like, 'This doesn't feel like you're really giving us your best.' So having that sort of rejection from them initially was very hard. It sort of felt like I was becoming insecure. I was wondering if I had it in me. But that turned into a determination to rediscover myself as a writer, to go deeper, to tap into things that I never tapped in before, and to sort of look outside of myself. I mean, after everything we've been through, there's so much to draw from. There's so much to pull from. So I started pulling from things that I was seeing on mainstream media. I started pulling from stories that I heard from people that they've been through. I started pulling from extreme relationships of abuse and just kind of dialing them all into a story — obviously coming from me and the way that I saw and felt about those things, but it ended up becoming much more of a worldview as opposed to just me going, 'I, me, I.' It was more about us — 'This is about us.' Hence the title 'This Consequence'. It's about us — all of us. How do you respond to these situations? How do you modify your behavior? What lessons have you learned? And realizing that with everything that you do, there's going to be a reaction.

"So, the big picture to me is what I was focusing on and how to how to heal our PTSD from everything we've gone through and realizing that we're still all going through it," Leach added. "We may not realize it, but we are. And how do we allow the outside sources that are constantly manipulating us to control our minds and to continue to keep us divided? The challenge was how do I crack that code? How do I get that message through to people? And I did the best I could. And I think I did pretty damn well."

Asked if writing about all those topics was a form of therapy for him, Leach said: "Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely, it is. And I think it's necessary. You can't avoid it. And I think I avoided it a lot during the pandemic. I wanted nothing to do with it, 'cause it was such a volatile time. I think we're all sort of coming down off that, and it's not so intense where people are actually open to discussions of, or maybe you weren't 100 percent accurate or correct in your belief. Maybe you have room to be wrong here, and if so, what did you learn from that? And how do you move forward without having that assumption being part of your vocabulary? I think all of that is very important. And as a writer, how do I write it in such a way where you as a listener can draw your own conclusion? So I'm not giving you the answer. I'm asking you to think about this thing. And then what do you think about that? You as the listener can sort of put the answer on that question. And that's really what I tried to do — writing with a broad enough brushstroke where the song can be yours. I penned the lyrics, but I very much want you to sort of take the torch and run with it."

Leach talked about the "dark", "angry" and "aggressive" nature of "This Consequence" with Joshua Toomey of the "Talk Toomey" podcast. He said: "Yeah, I think angry, dark and aggressive, for better or for worse, is kind of what the world needs right now, I think, therapeutically speaking. I think a lot of us can relate to frustration, anger, betrayal, all those things, and that's kind of what I highlighted lyrically with this album; I was really focusing on that stuff. But I will say this: if you really read into the lyrics, there's a positivity through a righteous anger, anger that wants to sort of wake people up and have people choose their own path instead of just the blind leading the blind, which is what we see so much in society and our governments and organized religion and all these things that control us as people. It's very much about breaking out of the matrix, if you will, and carving your own path. And there's a righteous anger underneath all of it, and that's where the positivity lies. But I think with metal music, the great thing about it is you can talk about dark stuff and it is therapeutic. That's why a lot of us get into this kind of music."

Elsewhere in the chat, Leach touched upon his growth as a vocalist since the release of 2019's "Atonement" LP, saying: "Truth be told, ['This Consequence'] was very difficult for me to write and sort of find my inspiration again. And even vocally, learning new techniques, like the vocal fry, and trying to add that into my old technique and still sound like me, it was a long, hard process.

"Especially after my vocal surgery in 2018, I relearned how to speak differently — I speak differently than I did," he explained. "I'm more measured; I make sure my voice is placed in the right place. And through that, it went into my vocals, my singing, especially. I was really focusing on my singing first and foremost to stay in key and not go flat or sharp. Then it was, like, my screams were — I was so paranoid. I was really worried about… We do three shows in a row. That fourth show, I'm, like, 'It's getting difficult. I can feel the swelling happening.' So I was really studying vocal fry, 'cause you can do a lot of cool stuff with fry, but me with my voice, it has such a signature sound to it, I guess, according to Adam [Dutkiewicz, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE guitarist and producer], at least, that if I just went into that new technique completely, the lows were missing something, my yelling. It different. So I was going into these demos just doing fry, saving my voice, especially thinking that, once I get to the studio, it's going to be fatiguing; we're doing four- or five-hour sessions. But I kept falling flat and the voice just didn't sound right. For some of the high stuff, it works, but for the lower, mid stuff and for the death metal growls, that's all old school… It's the old-school way, the way we all started doing it in the late '80s and early '90s. So I've learned, thankfully, through a lot of trial and error, and this album had a lot to do with it, to blend the styles. So I can do my old-school stuff, and then I can sort of blend in some of the vocal fry to hit those crazy, maniacal-sounding highs without it destroying my voice."

Relapse Records welcomes the blistering grindcore force, Chepang, with their label debut, Jhyappa.

Hailing from Queens, New York, by way of Kathmandu, Nepal, Chepang has never been your by-the-numbers band. They dub their music “immigrindcore”: They use samples from Nepali pop songs. They sing in Nepali. They embrace their immigrant identities. Chepang meld these elements together into an album about self immolation as a means of self preservation. Jhyappa touches on these philosophies through a ferocious grindcore attack that sounds as violent as the means through which the band wish to achieve redemption.

Today, Chepang share the official music video for the album’s opening tracks “Parichaya 2.0″ / “Shakti (Force)”. Watch the full video (directed by CHUM Media) below.

Chepang comment: “Chepang is really stoked and thankful to Relapse Records and everyone involved for taking us in as a part of their family and roster. We are looking forward to the future and carrying on this “pursuit of understanding one’s authentic self” through this video and the record.”

Jhyappa is out May 23 on LP/CD/CS/Digital. Pre-order here.

Jhyappa was recorded & mixed by Kevin Bernsten (Full Of Hell, Integrity, ILSA) at Developing Nations & The Magpie Cage Recording Studios (Drums Only) and Mastered by James Plotkin (Electric Wizard, Thou, Gridlink).

The lyrics on Jhyappa are “hardcore Nepalese,” guitarist Kshitiz Moktan says. “This record is more personal,” he says, about “trying to relearn everything about yourself, releasing all your negative energy inside you.” Jhyappa’s cover art (by Masato Chaos) is based on self-immolation. But not “about any religion or any government; it’s against yourself. Everyone has their struggles, in their own head and in life, but the only one that can fix that is yourself,” Moktan explains. “One has to be closer to one’s self spiritually to defeat this and come out victorious.”

NYC is also referenced throughout the band’s output. “All of us have lived half of our lives here. We live here, we see everything, positive and negative, so we wanted to have some kind of New York”, Moktan says. On the streets and in the subways, the band always sees “many people of different colors and races with their own life and story to tell. These are dynamic cues in life and serve as a motivation and also pride to be a part of this big city where diversity is everything. A melting pot of cultures.” True to that mentality, Chepang has played the world over on the backs of their prior records; from playing Obscene Extreme in Czechia to tearing down the walls at Baltimore Soundstage as part of Maryland Deathfest, the band is poised to revisit the world-over once again with their unique grind.

Musically, the band decidedly wanted to call back to their first cult-collected 7” from 2016, Lathi Charge, and go full circle – old school Chepang. Although Jhyappa is similar to their first EP sonically and structurally, a new metallic edge has crept its way into the band’s playing and is now present throughout. Blast beats give way to crushing low end and no-frills, heavier-than-anything-else guitar passages. In true grindcore fashion, nine tracks stitch together a brutal package in under 20 minutes.



Jhyappa tracklist:

“Parichaya 2.0”
“Shakti (Force)”
“Gati Chada”
“Ek Hajar Jhut”
“Khel”
“Drivya Shakti”
“Spastata ko khoji ma”
“Nirnaya”
“Bidhai” (Outro)

“Parichaya 2.0″/”Shakti (Force)” video:

Billy Corgan, the frontman of the iconic rock band THE SMASHING PUMPKINS, has announced a new solo project titled BILLY CORGAN AND THE MACHINES OF GOD which will commemorate the anniversaries of the legendary albums with sets drawn from "Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness" and the double album "Machina/The Machines Of God" and "Machina II/The Friends & Enemies of Modern Music" as well as the 2024 release "Aghori Mhori Mei" with a national U.S. tour set to kick off this summer. The tour, titled "A Return To Zero", will launch on June 7 and feature the four piece group also embarking on previously confirmed festival shows.

The "A Return To Zero" tour will reintroduce a four-piece, two-set guitar lineup in which music from these seminal PUMPKINS albums were created. The shows will feature classic tracks and deep cuts from the highly acclaimed records. In addition to Corgan, THE MACHINES OF GOD will feature recently recruited SMASHING PUMPKINS guitarist Kiki Wong, drummer Jake Hayden and bassist Kid Tigrrr (Jenna Fournier).

Tickets for the upcoming tour will be available for artist presale beginning Tuesday, April 1 at 10:00 a.m. local time through Thursday, April 3 at 10:00 p.m. local time. Following the presale, the general onsale will begin Friday, April 4 at 10:00 a.m. local time.

Along with this touring announcement, THE SMASHING PUMPKINS have revealed the details of the long-awaited and reconstituted release of the 2000 concept albums "Machina/The Machines Of God" and its companion "Machina II/The Friends & Enemies Of Modern Music" which have been extensively remixed and remastered. Corgan's Madame Zuzu's tea shop in Highland Park, Illinois will exclusively offer this expansive 80-song box set; featuring a 48-track "Machina" plus an additional 32 bonus tracks of demos, outtakes, and live performances, marking the first time these two records will officially be united. Additionally, the rock band will release a 16-song reissue of the original "Machina/The Machines Of God" vinyl on August 22, and pre-orders will begin on June 27.

This year will also celebrate the 30th anniversary of THE SMASHING PUMPKINS' era-defining acclaimed album "Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness" which set the sound for a generation. To commemorate the album, Corgan has partnered with Chicago's Lyric Opera to world-premiere "A Night Of Mellon Collie And Infinite Sadness", a seven-series performance taking place November 21–30, 2025.

These noteworthy music announcements follow on the heels of an already exciting 2025 for Billy Corgan; earlier this year the rock legend also launched his applauded podcast series "The Magnificent Others".

Beyond these accomplishments, the Grammy Award-winning musician, versatile producer, songwriter, poet, also serves as the president of the National Wrestling Alliance, owns Madame Zuzu's, a beloved tea shop in Highland Park, Ilinois, and remains a devout philanthropist through varying initiatives focusing on animal advocacy and no-kill shelters.

Tour dates:

June 07 - Baltimore, MD @ Baltimore Soundstage
June 09 - Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club
June 11 - Muskoka, ON @ Kee to Bala
June 12 - Toronto, ON @ HISTORY
June 13 - Montreal QC @ Beanfield Theatre
June 15 - New York, NY @ Irving Plaza
June 16 - Philadelphia, PA @ Theatre of Living Arts
June 17 - Allentown, PA @ Archer Music Hall
June 19 - Detroit, MI @ St. Andrew’s Hall
June 20 - Joliet, IL @ Taste of Joliet*
June 21 - Grand Rapids, MI @ Intersection
June 23 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Roxian Theatre
June 25 - Cleveland, OH @ House of Blues Cleveland
June 26 - Cincinnati, OH @ Bogart’s
June 27 - Milwaukee, WI @ Summerfest*
June 29 - Minneapolis, MN @ Varsity Theater

* Festival performance

Photo credit: Joseph Cultice

In a new interview with Laura Steele Media, JETHRO TULL leader Ian Anderson spoke about the fact that fans have become increasingly unhinged, annoying and disrespectful while attending concerts in recent years. Asked about the "wide range" of behavior he has encountered at JETHRO TULL live shows, depending on which country he goes, to, Ian said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, I think it's always bad to stereotype audiences according to nationality, and I can give you an example of how in the London theater these days, I know many actors who are really upset. They walk on stage in a serious play, and there are people getting out their phones and trying to video it or taking selfies in the middle of a serious theatrical drama. And [the actors] get really upset, as I can well understand.

"Anything goes in some people's minds, but you've gotta have respect for the performers and the sensibility of the environment and what it's about," he continued. "So, sitting, eating popcorn during a Shakespeare play is really not a good thing to do, let alone getting your phone out and doing whatever. So it does happen, even in London and on the theater stage for serious, traditional and important drama. At concerts, it depends who the artist is and where it is.

"I tend to play seated audiences and I played in the [Royal] Albert Hall [in London] lots of times — I've never had people whistling or shouting or being obnoxious in the Albert Hall — but it changes with changing times and changing attitudes towards particularly the use of cell phones and particularly the degree to which people will make a noise of their own, especially in the quiet moments. Brazil, where I was in Brazil last year, and I've forgotten just how noisy the Brazilians are and sometimes not in a nice way. They'll whistle and hoot, and even if you play a song and somebody doesn't — just one person in the audience thinks, 'Oh, I don't like that one,' so they boo. But people will do that, and it's really, really not a nice thing to do.

"So I think having respect for the artist [is important]," Ian added. "If you go to see the very final BLACK SABBATH concert this summer where my old pal Tony Iommi will be playing, I expect the audience will be really noisy and loud and shouting, but that's okay. It's BLACK SABBATH, it's heavy metal. That's okay. But if you're coming to a JETHRO TULL concert, I think you should probably leave the phone at home or at least in your pocket."

Anderson previously expressed his dissatisfaction with rude audiences this past February in an interview with Barry Robinson of Classic Album Review. While speaking about the lyrical inspiration for the song "Puppet And The Puppet Master" from JETHRO TULL's latest studio album, "Curious Ruminant", he said in part: "I wanna be free of feeling that I am in any way having to comply with other people's wishes and other people's demands. And the more demanding an audience are, by the way, the less I enjoy it, because there are occasions where sometimes you get a volatile audience due to the cultural tendencies in particular places. I could name Brazil, for example, where audiences think it's okay to whistle and shout and boo and shout out the names of songs they wanna hear. I mean, I actually find it incredibly rude, and I really don't enjoy that. It's not every concert I've played in Brazil, but I encountered it a couple of times last year when I was on tour in Brazil, and that's the way they are. There are other national stereotypes where people do behave that way. You will encounter it sometimes in the USA, where people think it's okay to shout and whistle. It's not okay. I'm trying to concentrate on playing sometimes quite difficult music, and I don't like to be interfered with. I like to have the flexibility to be able to do that. And so if the audience set out to somehow manipulate you or influence your way of playing, that's not good. For me, it is absolutely sufficient, at the end of a song, to see smiles on faces and somebody applauding at the appropriate time. That means everything to me. I don't wanna be interrupted while I'm performing.

"I'm not complaining," he clarified. "Things are the way they are. If you're a performing musician, just as they would be if you were the prime minister at prime minister's questions — you have to accept that you're gonna get some bad behavior and some interfering kind of manipulative demands from the backbenchers. It's the way things are. We have to accept it. But sometimes, as in this case, it becomes a topic of a song, slightly tongue in cheek, and certainly not only applicable to me. It could apply to a ballet dancer or an opera singer or a thespian in the midst of a Shakespearean dramatic play. It happens to all of us. We are controlling, and yet in a funny kind of a way we're also being controlled by. And in a kind of sadomasochistic way, perhaps we, or at least some of us, might like that. They might like that feeling of having to work within the expectations of an audience and they want to satisfy that, particularly in more popular, big productions. They probably get a little cheesed off if the audience isn't jumping around and waving their hands in the air and taking selfies and doing whatever. They probably feel they're being ignored in some way, or it's not a responsive audience. But since 1969, when I first started playing in theaters in the U.K., I take a different tack. I like a respectful, relative silence until we get to the end of a song. Then it's time to applaud. And some people might find that difficult to understand or something they don't particularly like, that I would feel that way, but it's the way I've always been. And the way I am, on the rare occasions I go to a concert, I'm not gonna start whistling and shouting and calling out for songs that I wanna hear. Or booing. What's the point in doing that? You might as well just leave the venue and get to the pub early."

After Robinson noted that many of his concert experiences in recent years have been "completely ruined by the sea of iPhones that go straight up into the air as soon as the show begins," Anderson said: "The first time I encountered that, I suddenly flashed back to playing in a concrete amphitheater in the middle of the woods somewhere in the former East Germany that was actually built for Nazi rallies, and I just thought that it must be like that. There's suddenly this sea of arms shooting into the air, and you suddenly notice they've got phones on the end of them. But we, for some years, have made polite announcements to request that people restrain the use of their cameras and iPhones until the encore, and I get about a 95 percent compliance with that, which I'm grateful to see. Sometimes it is a hundred percent. In Brazil it was about a 50 percent. So, sometimes even with the translation into other languages and making it a little bit light-hearted, not making it sound threatening, but most people will go along with it. It usually gets a round of applause when they hear my voice saying that, because a lot of people feel the same way. They haven't come to a concert and paid good money for a ticket, only to have to stare at the screen of the person in front who's holding it up. I mean, I once went to a concert and left early, because after the fourth song, I think, I had to leave, 'cause I just couldn't face what I was being confronted with. It was embarrassing, because I'd been given tickets by the artist concerned, but I just couldn't I couldn't sit there and watch these tiny little figures on a screen and I couldn't see what was happening on the stage with all the arms in the way. So, yes, I find it particularly irritating."

"Curious Ruminant" consists of nine new tracks varying in length from two and half minutes to almost seventeen minutes. Among the musicians featured are former JETHRO TULL keyboardist Andrew Giddings and drummer James Duncan, along with the current bandmembers David Goodier, John O'Hara, Scott Hammond and, making his recording debut with JETHRO TULL, guitarist Jack Clark.

"Curious Ruminant" was made available on several different formats, including a limited deluxe ultra clear 180g 2LP + 2CD + Blu-ray artbook and limited deluxe 2CD+Blu-ray artbook. Both of these feature the main album, alternative stereo mixes and a Blu-ray containing Dolby Atmos and 5.1 Surround Sound (once again undertaken by Bruce Soord of THE PINEAPPLE THIEF),as well as exclusive interview material. The limited deluxe vinyl artbook also includes two exclusive art-prints. The album was also made available as a special edition CD digipak, gatefold 180g LP + LP booklet and as digital album (in both stereo and Dolby Atmos).

In a new interview with Scott Itter of Dr. Music, former WHITESNAKE and DIO and current THE DEAD DAISIES guitarist Doug Aldrich offered an update on his health, nearly seven months after he underwent a "very successful" surgery following a throat cancer diagnosis. Regarding how he is feeling at the moment, Doug said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET):  "I feel great. I'm doing really good. It's taking me time. I'm still getting there, because in certain situations, when they're working on your neck, you can't eat very good. And then, getting radiation, you're not hungry, really. They're frying your neck every day and eventually you lose your taste and you can't swallow so good. And so you lose weight. So I'm working on bulking back up a little bit. But, fortunately, my neck healed. The scar is good. Sometimes I got a few little issues, but I feel really good and I'm grateful.

"The silver lining is just — I was living pretty hard for a long time and I think that now I'm realizing I need to live a little more healthier," he explained. "So that's a good thing,

"I think before, when I was in my forties, it was easy [ to stay in shape]. 'Cause for people who are out there that are in their forties, that's like being in your twenties now. That's the way people come off. But eventually your body starts to slow down. You've gotta work a little harder at it. And it was harder, in the past couple of years, to really stay in shape. I tried to, but I wasn't living as… I was definitely drinking a lot and eating not good stuff. Obviously, since cancer, I've been a hundred percent trying to be better — not drink and eat cleaner and stuff like that. But the problem is that you lose weight with cancer most of the time, and so you've gotta find a way to build that back. So it just takes time.

"But anyway, I feel great, man. I'm grateful," he added. "And I would just stress to anybody, especially male listeners of yours in their fifties or sixties, going to the dentist is a good thing to do, overall wellness of your mouth and throat, because the dentist checks that every time before they do anything. And I wasn't going to the dentist. I would take my kids there, but I had no problem with my teeth. I was, like, 'Why spend the money?' But then this thing happened and I realized, well, had I gone to the dentist, they probably would've saved me a bunch of money in medical bills. Well, they would've caught it. And it would've been a matter of — when they catch stuff early, when it's cancer, they can just either do some type of minimal treatment or minimal surgery. But as it progresses, if you wait six months or a year or longer, and then you find it, then it progresses and it goes deeper into your body and it can go to your liver, it could go to your heart, whatever, your brain. So I recommend, in my situation for that kind of cancer, neck and throat, getting checked. It's worth it because even at 60-plus, there's a lot of time left to live, so you don't wanna be getting hammered by some health problem."

Two months ago, Doug told Ernest Skinner of Canada's Border City Rock Talk how he found out about the seriousness of his diagnosis: "Once I met with the oncologist, he said, 'Hey, this is very treatable. You're gonna be fine. It's gonna be a pain in the ass, but it's very treatable.' But prior to that — it was about two or three weeks [earlier] when I got the news that it was cancerous, it was definitely cancer — I didn't know what kind of cancer [it was] and how advanced it was. That's the scary part, because, man, I was, like… It was just a nerve-racking situation because I've got kids. I've lived a great life, I'm super blessed and lucky, and if it's my time, I'll go, but I don't wanna leave yet because I've gotta help my kids get through life a little bit."

Doug continued: "It was definitely a setback mentally. And I just had to kind of go, 'Look, I'm gonna leave it in God's hands and just whatever it is, it is, and I'll just deal with it my best I can.' And then the doctor said it was very treatable and it would be a pain in the ass. It would be a surgery and also radiation. And I thought, 'Okay, the surgery is the worst part of it,' but actually radiation is [the worst]… Fortunately, I didn't have to have chemo, so that was good. They took out my tonsil where it was, and then they took out a bunch of lymph nodes right here. And the scar is pretty good, actually."

Elaborating on the negative effects of his treatment, Aldrich said: "One of the biggest things was I lost all my taste, so you could smell stuff, but you couldn't taste it… On one side, for some reason, it was really metallic… I would gargle all day with salt water and baking soda, and that helped a bit with a lot of issues. But anyway, the bottom line is I got my blood test the other day and it's zero, whereas prior to my surgery, it was 277, whatever that is. Now it's zero. So that's good. I've still gotta get scanned on my full body to make sure there's no organs that got anything in 'em, but I think I'm pretty good. I'm hoping so."

He added: "Going through that treatment, I lost a bit of weight, and so I'm trying to build back a little bit without gaining in the other spots. I like that I lost some weight."

Earlier in February, Doug told Ralph Rasmussen of Radio Bypass that "everything" was "good" following his treatment. "I got done with all the radiation treatments in December, and then it's just been a quick six weeks or whatever," he said. "It's just flown by. But I've been feeling good. Everything's kind of getting back to normal. I'm starting to go to the gym a little bit and work on my muscles and stuff and getting going again like that. So I'm good. I've been playing a lot. There's a few little issues that pop up — I get some swelling sometimes. After they do that surgery on you, there's some restructuring of your nasal cavity and stuff like that in your throat. So there's a little bit to get used to, but I can't complain. I'm doing really good. And after what I went through, I'm definitely feeling blessed."

Doug went on to say that he felt some fatigue as a side effect of his radiation therapy. But "it went away pretty quick," he explained. "Literally, you would do radiation every day for 15 minutes and then they would give you Saturday and Sunday off, and, man, I was just so happy when it was Friday and I could look forward to Saturday just not having to go there. And then by Sunday, I'd start to feel a little better. I mean, I was definitely taking naps every day. But after a couple of weeks of being done with it, I feel my energy is back. I've been taking it easy in the gym 'cause I don't wanna strain anything. I've done that in the past where I was getting ready for a tour and I started to do some heavy weights and I'd pull something, and it's like I got an issue for six months for it to come back. So I'm taking it pretty easy. But I'm feeling good, and, yeah, overall, I can't complain at all."

Asked if he is now "clear" from cancer, Doug said: "I don't know if I'm clear. I guess it takes five or seven years before you're actually clear, but the doctors — the surgery was really good. Everything was positive, and they fried me really good for six weeks, so I'm pretty sure everything else that was left over is gone. But I got some blood work done last week. We'll see what that says. And then I've got to get a PET scan, and that's a full body scan again to determine if everything's good."

Asked if there was any damage to his vocal cords, Doug said: "No. I think I sound pretty similar to what I did. It was on my tonsil. So they removed my tonsil on one side and then the lymph nodes on the inside of my neck — they took 30 lymph nodes. But, yeah, my voice sounds pretty similar and I can sing — not that I do a lot of singing with THE DEAD DAISIES, but I can do it."

Aldrich previously discussed his cancer battle during an appearance on the December 16, 2024 episode of SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk". Regarding how he got diagnosed with throat cancer, Doug said: "I never thought I would get cancer. It just never occurred to me. I've always been super healthy and — knock on wood — I never had a major anything. And one day, I think it was in May, I was about to go on tour with THE DAISIES and I was shaving and I saw a little lump on my neck. And I was, like, 'Well, that looks when you're sick, you've got swollen glands or something.' It was on one side. And I thought, 'That doesn't hurt at all. My throat doesn't [hurt]. Nothing hurts.' And I went on tour, and I said, 'Hey, something like that could be a viral thing. Let it roll for a couple weeks, and if it doesn't change, then make an appointment to see your doctor.' And so I went and did the dates — it was, like, three weeks of dates or something in the U.S., I believe. And I got home and got an appointment. It took a little time. As you know, to get a doctor's appointment it takes a minute. So it was another few weeks before I got in. And immediately they looked at it in order for me to get a CT scan, [and] after reading that they were concerned there was something in there. It wasn't a major concern. Then I did a little MRI of the neck, and that's when they could measure the bump, and they realized that this was really concerning. [And they told me] I should go see an ear, nose and throat doctor. And my doctor was, like, 'Hey, it could be cancer. It could be cancerous, but it could be benign. It could be whatever. Don't worry about it yet.' But already my mind was starting to get a little bit nervous. So I go to the ear, nose and throat doctor, and he goes, 'I see it. It's on your tonsil. And if you don't mind, I'm gonna grab a piece of it with the tweezers and I'll send it in for a biopsy,' which, actually, just for those people that care about this stuff, you could go get a biopsy and it would cost you thousands of dollars or insurance or whatever. The way this guy did it was old school — he just ripped a chunk off my tonsil and sent it in and it saved me a ton of money to do that. So it came back positive for HPV 16 throat cancer. Definitely not good. So, right then you start freaking out, like, 'Oh, man. Okay, what stage is it?', whatever. And it's very difficult to get definitive answers on stuff, 'cause nobody really knows until you do all these tests and all this stuff. So there's probably three or four weeks before you find out what stage it is or whatever."

Doug continued: "So that's how it started. And then I went and started going through the process. By that time, I was doing a lot of tests and stuff. I have insurance for me and my family, and I maxed out my deductible. So that was good. But insurance is a whole another thing. Doctors' bills — you get bills; every day there's bills from this and that, and you don't know what to pay and what not to pay. It's very confusing. But anyway, that's how it started. That's how it was diagnosed. And I immediately got in with… My wife got me into a doctor at UCLA Medical Center, which is close in L.A. And then my sister's boyfriend is a plastic surgeon, and he got me in with a doctor for a second opinion from Cedar Sinai in L.A. And that's the guy I went with, a guy called Dr. Ho."

Asked by host Eddie Trunk to clarify that he "had no symptoms" beyond this little bump and that he wasn't "in pain or anything", Doug said: "Nothing. Sometimes people lose weight. I had no symptoms — nothing. It was just a bump, and it was not super noticeable, but then, of course, once you see it, you can't unsee it. And another thing that's important for people [to know] is that the most important thing you can do to protect yourself is get checked. Well, this particular cancer, it usually gets discovered by a dentist. But I don't have many problems with my teeth, and a dentist is expensive. So I would be, like, 'Look, my kids, I wanna make sure they're checked, and [they have] braces and whatever they need to do. That's what I'm gonna spend my money on.' I was, like, 'I don't need to go to the dentist. I just brush my teeth and floss. That's it.' But had I gone to the dentist, he would have seen this before it… It's called metastasizing when it switches from the actual tumor to a lymph node, and that's what my neck bump was; it was a lymph node that had gotten swollen. So a dentist would have seen that thing on my tonsil a lot sooner and it would have been much easier to deal with, or my treatment would have been much easier to deal with. But it got discovered when it was already metastasized in the lymph node and then the question was, what stage is it? How big is it? How far did it go?"

Doug added: "So the bottom line is you've gotta get diagnosed of where you're at, and you need to go to an oncologist. And I would recommend [for you to] go to a big hospital in your area and make an appointment, start making appointments with whoever you can. And that's what my wife did. She reached out to UCLA because we've used them before for kids and stuff. And so she got me that one. And the guy, he had been there a long time, had a great record, and UCLA is great and everything, but he said, 'We don't really do stages anymore. It's kind of an old thing that they did with cancer. They call it stage 1 through 4, whatever.' Basically, he goes, 'I don't know what yours is exactly. It could be 2, it could be 3, it could be 1 and a half, whatever. But you're gonna need surgery.'

"When it's in your throat, you've got all these things that are connected in there. So they're looking down your nose, looking in your throat, looking at X-rays and scans and all this stuff. And by the way, around that time too, the doctor ordered a PET scan, which is a full-on body [scan] to see if the cancer has spread to like your lungs or your liver or kidneys or whatever, and that's scary. When you start thinking, like, 'When is my appointment? Oh, it's in two weeks. It could be right now growing anywhere.' And you don't know, so you've gotta get this PET scan. But, fortunately, so far and at that time, I was all clear everywhere except for that spot. So he said, 'You've gotta operate,' and he goes, 'The good thing is I'm a great surgeon. I can do the outside part on your lymph nodes, but I can't do the inside, which is gonna be a robotic surgery. I need somebody else to do that.' And then when I met with Dr. Ho at Cedar Sinai, he was younger. He had probably had more up-to-date kind of training in terms of robotics. And he goes, 'I'm gonna do both surgeries myself.' And he was very confident."

According to Aldrich, another issue had come up during that time which affected the way he went about his surgery. He explained to "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk": "There's a nerve in your neck that connects your shoulder that's involved in this area. And when they do the surgery, if they clip that nerve, then you're have a real hard time lifting your arm, which wouldn't affect my guitar playing, but I wouldn't be able to lift my arm up very well. And I'm thinking not just about playing guitar, but I'm thinking about, like, shooting a basketball with my kids or something. So I asked him about it, and he goes, 'We'll do our best. I think we can save that nerve.' And he did. So first thing [they did was the] surgery, and then after surgery, they decide what kind of treatments, whether they got it all and you don't need to do anything, or if you have to have radiation, or chemo, or both. And I had to get radiation."

Asked if he is now done with all the radiation, Doug said: "They told me that I needed radiation just to clear it up, because it had gone to the lymph nodes on my neck and it looked like it was pretty contained, but there might be a little piece or some fragments that would come off, so they need to zap them with radiation just to make sure. And I started reading about what radiation was gonna be like, and my wife did, and it's not fun any way you do it. It's basically frying certain parts of your body, and there's a lot of side effects that happen from that, so I wasn't looking forward to it. And I thought maybe because the surgeon did a good job, and I've got a lot of friends that have gone through [similar] stuff … I was hoping I could get a little bit of a less radiation than what I got. I got six weeks. But they said, 'Hey, you are eligible for a clinical trial where you could get three weeks radiation, but you've gotta get three doses of chemo as well. And it works out really well.' And I was excited about that, and I qualified for it, but the problem with the chemo when you're dealing with head and neck is it makes your ears ring and you can lose hearing. And I already got one ear that's ringing really bad with tinnitus or whatever you call it. So I wasn't a good candidate for that. So I went for the six weeks of radiation, which is five days a week. It takes 15 minutes under the microwave thing or whatever, the laser, whatever, that proton thing, and you do it five days a week. Then they need to give you two days to rest for six weeks. So I just wrapped up."

Asked if he has been given the "all clear" now, Doug said: "The biggest issue from the radiation was I'd get nauseated and major fatigue, and then little by little your neck on the outside starts to fry and my neck now is like baby skin. It's all brand new skin. And so I was lucky. I'm feeling great. I got done with it. I'm starting to think about getting to the gym. And I probably lost 10 pounds, which some people lose 40 or 50 or 100… So I just try to eat healthy and eat protein, and they just said, 'Keep your calories up.' And I've been really lucky, man, but there's a lot of side effects. There's a lot of stuff that's a pain in the ass. I still can't open my mouth to take a nice big bite of a hamburger, and then my jaw gets really tired, because… So I've got this fibrosis — it's like called TMJ or whatever — so I can't really eat; it's hard to eat, it's hard to chew. That's one thing. And then I've got no taste, because that radiation basically fries your taste buds. So that hopefully will come back. Because that's one of the things that's crazy, man, is without taste… When I got COVID a couple years ago, I didn't lose my taste, so I never knew what it was like."

"So to answer your earlier question [about whether I have been given the 'all clear'], I'm basically done with the treatment and the surgery and all that stuff," he continued. "Now I've gotta wait three months and they're gonna do a PET scan again and see if there's anything left. Chances are they got it all. If not, then I'll just deal with it, whatever it is. And you start getting freaked out about it, but there's so many people that go through various stages and things of cancer and they're still around and they're still fighting and kicking ass. And they really are warriors. The key is just to try and catch it early, if you can."

In late September 2024, Doug's wife Daniela "Danni" Aldrich said that his surgery, which she described as "five long hours of multiple steps", "went incredibly well", adding that "Doug pushed through like the fighter he is. Even the nurse called him a superhero for his strength and determination right after!" she wrote. "He is the strongest person I know."

As a result of Doug's surgery, he was not able to take part in THE DEAD DAISIES' recent European tour and was temporarily replaced by Reb Beach (WHITESNAKE, WINGER).

Aldrich played with DIO for a short period between 2002 and 2006. He was also a member of WHITESNAKE from 2002 to 2014 before leaving to spend more time with his family. The guitarist played on two WHITESNAKE studio albums, 2008's "Good To Be Bad" and 2011's "Forevermore", and appeared on several live releases, including 2013's "Made In Japan" and "Made In Britain/The World Records".

Aldrich left WHITESNAKE 10 years ago, saying in a statement that he "had several recording and live commitments," so he "needed a more flexible schedule to conclude these before going full force as normal." He added: "Unfortunately, my schedule was not workable."

The title track of METALLICA's "Master Of Puppets" album has surpassed one billion streams on Spotify.

METALLICA commented: "We're psyched to share that 'Master Of Puppets' has just made its way into Spotify's Billions Club - Thank you!"

Billions Club is a playlist first launched in 2020 which includes all of the songs on Spotify that have surpassed one billion streams on the platform. After the achievement, Spotify gifts artists the Billions Club plaque.

"Master Of Puppets" joins other tracks — including METALLICA's "Nothing Else Matters" and "Enter Sandman", AEROSMITH's "Dream On", SURVIVOR's "Eye Of The Tiger", ABBA's "Dancing Queen", PAPA ROACH's "Last Resort", GUNS N' ROSES' "Paradise City", EVANESCENCE's "Bring Me To Life" and Whitney Houston's "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" — to reach the achievement. The milestone has reportedly been achieved by nearly a thousand songs so far.

Three years ago, "Master Of Puppets" saw new life in the U.S. after its inclusion in season four of Netflix's hit series "Stranger Things". The popularity of the 1986 song brought it to the Billboard Hot 100 chart for the first time ever in the band's lengthy career.

In the season four finale of "Stranger Things", the Eddie Munson character performs what he calls "the most metal concert ever" — including shredding "Master Of Puppets" on his beloved Warlock guitar — in "Stranger Things"' "Upside Down" alternate universe during an attempt to help his friends vanquish the Big Bad of the season, a demon named Vecna.

METALLICA bassist Robert Trujillo later revealed that his then-17-year-old son Tye contributed "additional guitar tracks" to the version of "Master Of Puppets" which appears in "Stranger Things".

"Master Of Puppets" was released on February 24, 1986 and was the first album METALLICA recorded after signing a major label deal with Elektra Records.

The set only reached No. 29 on the Billboard album chart but has sold over six million copies in the U.S. since.

It is the last record to feature bassist Cliff Burton, who was killed later that year in a tour bus crash.

Several songs from the album are still staples of METALLICA's live set, including "Battery", "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)" and the title track.

Many fans consider it METALLICA's finest album, a fact that the band acknowledged by playing it in its entirety on a European tour in 2006.

"Master Of Puppets" continues to sell several thousand copies a week in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

In 2016, "Master Of Puppets" was among the albums that were selected for induction into the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry.

Several years ago, METALLICA collaborated with an author named Matt Taylor on a book about the making of "Master Of Puppets".
We’re psyched to share that “Master of Puppets” has just made its way into @Spotify’s Billions Club - Thank you!

Send it on its way to two billion, and listen to every member of the Billions Club at https://t.co/vLgkFPpLIR. pic.twitter.com/pjYPF2pvTB

— Metallica (@Metallica) April 3, 2025

In a new interview with Waste Some Time With Jason Green, Stephen Pearcy spoke about his reunion with his longtime RATT bandmate Warren DeMartini for a handful of shows this spring and summer. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It's always been going around, 'You guys should get together.' I believe I actually approached Warren a few years ago. I go, 'Hey, why don't we try doing this [Jimmy] Page-[Robert] Plant [-style] thing or something.' And nothing became of it. So, I'm, like, hey, well, he's grooving. He's still that guy — he's the lead guitar player in RATT, the guy who co-wrote those songs; he's the guy. So I went about my business, as you know, and do my solo thing. And I have great players, but this is the real deal.

"So what happened was, over seven years later here, we get a contact from a promoter at M3 [Rock Festival], and it was, like, 'Well, I have this idea. Maybe we can get you guys back together and you can headline one of these nights.' And I'm, like, 'Okay. Yeah, right. Okay, well, let's see what happens.' So anyway, long story short, I said, 'Hey, whatever it takes, I'm in. Let's see if we can make this happen.' Well, it just happened to be the right timing for Warren too, to go, 'Hey, why not? Let's play again.' And here we are."

Pearcy and DeMartini played their first reunion show last Saturday night (April 5) at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut. Playing alongside Pearcy and DeMartini were former RATT and QUIET RIOT guitarist Carlos Cavazo, former RATT and ROUGH CUTT bassist Matt "Thorr" Thorne and former SLAUGHTER drummer Blas Elias. Thorne and Elias are both current touring members of Pearcy's solo band.

"It was fucking amazing," Stephen told Waste Some Time With Jason Green about the Mohegan Sun show. "And we kind of blundered here and there and it's a given. We had a few rehearsals.

"The way Warren and I worked in RATT was we do like to be loosely tight," he explained. "We don't wanna be that technical out there when we play. So it kinda worked out the other day, like, 'Okay, we got our feet wet. Now we know what's happening.' So, some of those songs you may never hear us play again, that we played."

Asked if there are any other songs that he would like to perform at the future shows, Stephen said: "Oh, a hundred percent. And I think [Warren] would do it. I wanna play 'Eat Me Up Alive'. And that's a song Carlos and I wrote, so what the fuck? We played it before. That's a song I wanna do. I liked the couple songs Warren picked.

"For me, it's kind of cool, and even being this sobered up guy for years, is going out there and it's still the same as it was in '85, '86 with Warren up there," Pearcy added. "That's the vibe I got. I mean, we were able to sit there and chit-chat and didn't give a fuck on stage. 'Let's take a second out for us, dude. This is funny, huhThis is a trip, right?' That's our conversation up on stage."

Regarding the fact that drummer Bobby Blotzer and bassist Juan Croucier, who were both members of RATT's classic lineup, are not playing with Pearcy and DeMartini at the current shows, Stephen said: "People are already going, 'Oh, bring back the other guys.' Well, I don't really think they know how complicated it is or it would be, or if it even need be. Because the reason Warren and I are out here in the first place is to kick about the legacy of the music. Hey, we had great songs.

"It wouldn't have worked [with the other members], nor would I think I would've… Of course if you're really doing 'business business', you have to consider all aspects," he added. "But do I wanna fuck with our fans or our friends and go out there and pretend it's fucking cool and it's really not? You know what I mean? I mean, look, it took seven years for Warren and I [to play together again], and it was, like, 'Hey. Wow.' I never thought it would happen, but now we're talking about writing new music. So what the fuck?"

Asked if he thinks he will ever play under the RATT brand again, Stephen said: "Uh, well, I could say it would be cool, but I've proven it's not necessary right now. If you're doing 'business business', so to speak — but it's not necessary. That's why I've been out there busting ass for the last few years, is to establish that… It's irrelevant. I'm the guy who co-wrote or wrote those songs, created the band. Here I am — I'm singing. Because one day I'm gonna wake up and go, 'I don't wanna do this shit anymore.' And it happens… But, yeah, I think about that all the time. I mean, I'm fucking Evel Knievel right here, so I've gotta take it carefully.

Pearcy and DeMartini will also perform a set of RATT classics at the 2025 edition of the M3 Rock Festival, which will take place May 2-4 at the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland, and at Rock The Dam 8 in Beaver Dam, Kentucky, on July 26.

"It's all good," Stephen said. "And I'll tell you what we've decided to move forward and because of that show, because we were touchy- touchy, if we wanted to stay out. And so we're gonna entertain some more shows. It's by overwhelming demand. I mean, this might be it, the last you'll see of RATT, for all I know. I don't know. But I'm enjoying this shit. It's fun again. It's been fun for me for the last few years, and I'd like to keep it that way."

Pearcy and DeMartini will headline the final night of M3 Rock Festival on May 4.

During an appearance on the January 29 episode of SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", Stephen said about the lineup of his new band with DeMartini: "We're gonna have Carlos out there, which is cool. And I'm bringing in Matt Thorr on bass, who's pretty much an original RATT guy from 1981, '82, when Jake E. [Lee] and Warren pulled in. And then we're taking Blas Elias on drums from SLAUGHTER and my band. And we're ready to go."

Added Warren: "When I moved up to L.A. to join RATT, I stayed at a house with Jake E. Lee for a few months, and, it was like a three-bedroom [house], and Jake had one, and Matt had the other, and this other musician had the third. And I was on the couch. But Matt goes way back with [RATT]. I'm actually kind of looking forward to checking that out again. He was playing bass at the time I joined [RATT]."

Regarding why they are not playing the M3 show under the RATT banner, Pearcy said: "Well, I'll tell you right straight up — it's not about RATT. It's about the legacy of our music. And who better to deliver it, because we don't have all the proper original elements, which would include [late RATT guitarist] Robbin [Crosby]. So we just decided — no. This is great. This is perfect. I mean, we don't wanna hit a brick wall. We want this nice and smooth. So that's what we intend to do. It's not about that — it's about the legacy of RATT. Period."

DeMartini went on to say that he was open to playing more shows with Pearcy in the future, assuming that everything goes will with the M3 gig.

"Since we announced the M3 show, other stuff has come up," he revealed. "When this [M3 concert] came up, I was treating it as a one-off, but everything has a momentum, or it can have a momentum. And in this case, it just feels better and better.

"I've always wanted to play these songs to the people, like we always have," he added. "So I'm totally game to doing more."

Asked if Blotzer and Croucier would have any involvement in M3 and other gigs Pearcy and DeMartini plan to play together, Stephen said: "No, no, no. Not on this. No. Like I say, we wanted it to be about the music and Warren and myself delivering it, because it is gonna be a little different. If you were to throw the other guys in the mix, it wouldn't be exactly what it is now, the opportunity."

On the topic of what he has been doing in the seven years since he last played with Stephen, Warren said: "What I always did and what I always do. When I'm not sort of dealing with all the stuff that we deal with in life, I drift back into the studio and either start working on something that I hear in my head or refining something that I have going. So it's been a really nice thing to be able to do all this time, because basically since Stephen and Robbin and I wrote 'Round And Round', it's, like, 'Okay, you can be a writer if you wanna be,' so that's what I do, basically."

Asked if he missed being on stage and being in front of an audience, Warren said: "Oh, of course. It's hard to find words to describe the kind of energy that we have with our audience. It's just fantastic… I did do some gigs with some friends, like the last one was with Billy Gibbons and Sebastian Bach, and we would all play each other's songs. It was two or three songs each. And stuff like that kind of kept it burning, but this is the real fire."

Last year, Pearcy celebrated the 40th anniversary of RATT's classic debut album, "Out Of The Cellar", by performing it in its entirety and in sequence for the first time.

RATT exploded on to the national scene in 1984 with the release of "Out Of The Cellar". Featuring an undeniable hook and legendary music video, lead single "Round And Round" hit No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100, while "Out Of The Cellar" reached No. 7 on the Billboard Top 200 and was certified triple platinum. Two more charting singles followed with "Back For More" and "Wanted Man". RATT started the tour as an opening act, but by the end of the tour had climbed to arena headliner.

RATT returned in 1985 with its second full-length album, "Invasion Of Your Privacy". Certified double platinum and also reaching No. 7 on the Billboard 200, "Invasion Of Your Privacy" also featured the classics "Lay It Down" (No. 40 on Billboard Hot 100) and "You're In Love".

"Dancing Undercover" followed in 1986 as RATT toured North America with a then-brand new Los Angeles band called POISON as the opening act. Lead single "Dance" hit the Billboard Hot 100 and spawned another music video hit with "Slip Of The Lip", while "Body Talk" was featured in a key scene in the Eddie Murphy film "The Golden Child". "Dancing Undercover" became RATT's third consecutive platinum album and reached No. 26 on the Billboard 200.

1988's "Reach For The Sky" saw RATT return to the Top 20 of the Billboard 200 album charts, peaking at No. 17. Driven by the bluesy hit and MTV favorite "Way Cool Jr.", "Reach For The Sky" was also certified platinum and became RATT's fourth album in a row to move well over a million copies. "I Want A Woman" was also a successful single and the video captured the excitement and energy of RATT live.

RATT released its last full-length record of the Atlantic era, "Detonator", in 1990. Music was changing, but "Detonator" was still a success, peaking at No. 23 on the Billboard 200 and going gold. It was the first RATT album to feature major outside songwriting contributions (Desmond Child, Diane Warren) and guests (Jon Bon Jovi, Michael Schenker). Lead single "Lovin' You's A Dirty Job" hit No. 18 on the rock chart while the power ballad "Givin' Yourself Away" reached No. 39.

In 1991, they released the single "Nobody Rides For Free" from the hit film "Point Break", starring Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze.

In January 2021, Pearcy told SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" that he was open to the idea of making a new RATT album with all the surviving members of the band's classic lineup.

RATT hasn't released any new music since 2010's "Infestation" LP.

"Round and Round," to Mohegan Sun! Pearcy and DeMartini Performing RATT with special guest Vixen are coming to Mohegan...

Posted by Mohegan Sun on Monday, February 24, 2025

ALICE IN CHAINS guitarist/vocalist Jerry Cantrell spoke to Alejandrosis about his latest album, "I Want Blood", which came out last October via Double J Music. The LP, co-produced by Cantrell and Joe Barresi (TOOL, QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE, MELVINS),was recorded at Barresi's JHOC Studio in Pasadena, California. The album features contributions from bass heavyweights Duff McKagan (GUNS N' ROSES) and Robert Trujillo (METALLICA),drummers Gil Sharone (TEAM SLEEP, STOLEN BABIES) and Mike Bordin (FAITH NO MORE),and backing vocals from Lola Colette and Greg Puciato (BETTER LOVERS, ex-THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN). Asked if it's fair to say that "I Want Blood" features social commentary regarding current issues, including politics, Jerry said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I don't think the whole record's about that. [Laughs] I'm a citizen of the world, just like you are, man. And a lot of great music is made through really trying times, and I draw on elements of all sorts of things.

"I wouldn't say it's a political record at all, but politics and technology are part of the world. They're part of my world; they have been since the get-go.

"I don't know. I think it's a little too oversimplified to say it's a political record. I don't think so. I think it's a very human record, is what I think it is."

Regarding how he goes about deciding which piece of music to use for ALICE IN CHAINS and which to set aside for his solo project, Cantrell said: " I guess I don't really think about it. Whatever project I'm working on, I throw myself into 100 percent. And I can always count on the fact that I'm gonna sound like me, so I don't have to worry about that. [Laughs] That's a quality problem not to have: 'Shit, man, I've gotta try to sound like myself.' [Laughs]

"I do have a way of going about things, and there's a lot of variety and musical kind of styles and landscapes I can operate in," he explained. "But I like to think that my voice is unique enough that it's gonna bleed through wherever the music takes me. So I don't really have to worry about it. I don't spend a whole lot of time worrying about if I sound too much like myself [laughs] or if I don't sound enough like myself. I just do my thing. If I'm doing it with ALICE, then it's an ALICE record. If I'm doing it on my own, then it's not an ALICE record. So I don't really know how to answer that question other than that."

Ahead of "I Want Blood"'s release, Cantrell was featured on the cover of Revolver, participated in a career-spanning conversation with Rick Beato, and received widespread praise album for the collection's heavier sound. Metal Hammer described "I Want Blood" as having an "iconic sound, sludgy guitars and soulful vocals."

"I Want Blood" was recently reimagined as a spoken-word series, featuring video animations by Boy Tillekens. Additional collaborators on the project include Barresi, Greg Puciato (BETTER LOVERS, THE BLACK QUEEN),Roy Mayorga (MINISTRY),Gil Sharone (STOLEN BABIES, TEAM SLEEP),Rani Sharone (STOLEN BABIES),George Adrian (THE MAYBIRDS),composer Vincent Jones, and producer Michael Rozon.

Cantrell's first headlining tour supporting "I Want Blood" kicked off on January 31 in Niagara Falls, with FILTER opening on all dates.

Cantrell's previous solo album, "Brighten", came out in October 2021. The LP was Jerry's first project without ALICE IN CHAINS in 19 years.

Jerry's career outside of ALICE IN CHAINS has consisted of two other solo albums and contributions to major film soundtracks. Cantrell's first solo album, "Boggy Depot", was released in 1998, followed by his second album, "Degradation Trip". In addition to his solo artist work, Jerry has released music on soundtracks for several films, including "Spider-Man", "The Cable Guy", "John Wick 2", "Last Action Hero" and "The Punisher".

ALICE IN CHAINS regrouped in 2006 with DuVall joining the band, and released its third LP with DuVall in the lineup, "Rainier Fog", in August 2018.

Photo credit: Darren Craig

In a new interview with The Rock Hard Radio Show With Kim Rennie, GHOST mastermind Tobias Forge spoke about the band's new single "Satanized", which came out last month. The track is taken from GHOST's upcoming album, "Skeletá", which will arrive on April 25 via Loma Vista Recordings. Asked if "Satanized" represents a change in his songwriting style compared to 2022's "Impera" album. Tobias said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). " Possibly. I don't know. Maybe. I've tried to create a different record than 'Impera'. One simple fact was that on all the previous records, there's always been a certain degree of instrumental tracks that were purely instrumental. And in this case, it turned out to be 10 vocal tracks. So what I felt I wanted to do in order to make a record that had more flavor and balance was to write certain songs deliberately a little bit more excursive and I don't wanna say 'experimental' because it sounds like I'm… I mean, it's not freeform jazz we're talking about, but it's definitely straying from your verse, chorus, verse, chorus, solo, chorus, chorus, chorus."

When Rennie noted that "Skeletá" sounds "harder, music-wise" and "more difficult to approach" than "Impera", Forge said: "Yeah, possibly. Just because you mentioned radio and I'm obviously talking on the radio right now, and I must underline, underscore that I grew up with a radio on, so I have nothing against the format. I am also a songwriter and I'm also very, very interested in the art of writing hit music. So there's nothing bad about that. But for as long as we have, with GHOST, experienced some sort of what you might call mainstream success, where radio has been an element through which greater success could be achieved, it has been a little bit of a question mark, exactly what are the elements needed in order to succeed? And I think that the biggest element of surprise was some years ago when I had written a song that, according to the lore, of course, was written 50 years ago, but was a song that I had written and recorded, and I showed it to the label and I was, like, 'How about that?' And they were, like, 'What?' 'It's pretty good. My kid likes it.' And they were, like, 'Okay, it's a good song, but it's like a B-side. It's not meant for…' It was just like a question mark. 'What do you mean? It's like an old song, right?' I was, like, 'It doesn't matter. It's a good song. Okay, regardless, I'm gonna play it live.' So we started playing that immediately, the moment it came out. And I felt like, 'Wow, that's amazing. One of the best songs I've ever written is like just a B-side. Fine.' A few years later, it turned out that was gonna be, so far, the biggest song of my career. That turned a lot of heads within the label world because they were, like, 'Oh, we didn't know.'"

Tobias added: "What it told me was just like, we have no plan — I have no plan — so I'm not gonna chase that. I am gonna write songs — I'm gonna write the best songs I can ever write — and we'll see what happens with them because there's no clear way of telling exactly how it's gonna materialize to a song that is worth anything from a hit point of view. And I felt that is not even a bad thing, because I'm in a great spot anyway. I can make a record filled with songs that are maybe too hard or maybe too this or too little of that or just thematically sits together. If it's a hit, it will show itself, it will materialize. If it's not a hit, that's fine. We can play the other hits too. We're blessed, for lack of a better, more fitting word, to be able to go out on tour. And we have a lot of fans and we have a lot of support anyway, and that, to me, actually alleviated me from a little bit of that stress because I'm, like, 'I'm not gonna chase another big hit.'"

The "Satanized" music video introduces the new character who will be fronting GHOST for its 2025 touring cycle: Papa V Perpetua.

GHOST's sixth psalm, "Skeletá", is its most unflinchingly introspective work to date. Where previous GHOST albums dealt largely with chronicling and/or observing outward facing subject matter — such as "Impera"'s meditations on the rise and fall of empires and its predecessor "Prequelle"'s evocations of the ravages of era-defining plagues — "Skeletá"'s lyrics render the distinct individual emotional vistas of each of its 10 songs in one-on-one fashion, at times as if in a dialogue with oneself in a mirror. The end result is a singular collection of timeless, universal sentiments, all filtered through a prism of a uniquely personal point of view.

GHOST has also launched an interactive element dubbed The Satanizer, a first-of-its-kind music video experience for fans who wish to be "Satanized." Developed in partnership with Jason Zada (Elf Yourself),The Satanizer will morph its users into characters featured in the song's melodramatic video. With a quick upload of your photo, The Satanizer will send out a personalized music video clip featuring the participant, who can in turn share via social media that they too have been "Satanized."

Forge performed as a "new" Papa Emeritus on each of the band's first three LPs, with each version of Papa replacing the one that came before it. Papa Emeritus III was retired in favor of Cardinal Copia before the release of 2018's "Prequelle". In March 2020, at final show of GHOST's "Prequelle" tour in Mexico City, Mexico, the band officially introduced Papa Emeritus IV, the character who fronted the act for its "Impera" (2022) album phase.

As previously reported, GHOST will embark on a world tour in 2025. The European leg of the trek will kick off on April 15 in Manchester, United Kingdom and conclude on May 24 in Oslo, Norway. The North American leg of GHOST's 2025 tour will launch on July 9 in Baltimore, Maryland and wrap up on August 16 in Houston, Texas.

The physical home video of GHOST's worldwide Top 10 box office smash feature film debut "Rite Here Rite Now" was made available on December 6, 2024.

In a new interview with Bruno Sutter of the "Bem Que Se Kiss" program on Brazil's Rádio Kiss FM 92.5, Kerry King was asked what the difference is between being a member of a band like SLAYER and being "the total leader" of his eponymously named solo act. Kerry responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I still think of myself as a bandmember. Believe it or not, I never wanted to call [my new band] my name. I wanted to have a band name, but let me tell you something — you try to get a band name, see how far you get. I worked on it for years — years I had — and I couldn't do it. I couldn't do it. And then it became time to announce some of our first shows, and we had to call it something. So, everybody knew my name, the logo's pretty cool, so we went with it.

"I still wish I could come up with a band name and maybe do like a RITCHIE BLACKMORE'S RAINBOW, because it's really awkward for me when five of us are on stage and they're just shouting for me… It's weird. It's weird," he continued. "I'm not that kind of guy. I'm not that dude that needs my ego filled. I don't need that at all. I want everybody else to get recognition too."

Asked what he thinks when some people describe "From Hell I Rise", his debut solo album, as "SLAYER on steroids", Kerry responded: "I appreciate that. I didn't go out of my way to outdo SLAYER. To me, it was honestly the next 12 or 13 songs, the ones we finished, the ones we felt good about. I do think that record's got teeth. It's fierce; it just rips out of the speakers. I never set out to do anything better than SLAYER. I just wanted my next thing to be good."

As for people who say that he should have done something different with his solo project and not pursued exactly the same musical direction as that of SLAYER, Kerry said: "The only thing I have to say to something like that, and it makes perfect sense — I want AC/DC to be AC/DC. I want JUDAS PRIEST to be JUDAS PRIEST. People want Kerry King to be Kerry King, I think. To me, it's people that are just haters on the Internet. They have an opinion about everything, and no one gives a shit about their opinion."

Joining Kerry in his new band are singer Mark Osegueda (DEATH ANGEL),guitarist Phil Demmel (MACHINE HEAD, VIO-LENCE),Kyle Sanders (bass; HELLYEAH) and drummer Paul Bostaph (SLAYER).

All material for "From Hell I Rise" was written by the 60-year-old SLAYER guitarist. Helming the sessions at Henson Recording Studios in Los Angeles in 2023 was producer Josh Wilbur, who has previously worked with KORN, LAMB OF GOD, AVENGED SEVENFOLD and BAD RELIGION, among others.

King authored all the lyrics, mainly for logistical reasons. "I finished everything before Mark knew he had the gig," he explained. "But that's not to say he will or won't write on record two." Circumstances dictated that King sing on all "From Hell I Rise" demos. "I did scratch vocals on everything," King said, adding, "I'm not a singer. I'm a guitar player. I've got conviction when I sing, but I have no range, and I need some distortion to help me out a little bit. There was always, 'I got this if whatever we're looking for doesn't work.' Luckily, we didn't have to go that route."

Last year, Kerry said that he knew people would compare "From Hell I Rise" to SLAYER. "I'm not afraid of that because I think it stands up to anything we've done in our history, musically, performance-wise," he said. But he was quick to add: "There will be people complaining, 'Why does it sound like SLAYER?' And 'why doesn't it sound more like SLAYER? That's just what people do."

This past February, Kerry told Sylvia Alvarado of the Las Vegas radio station KOMP 92.3 about his plans for a follow-up to "From Hell I Rise": "Me and Paul have got 10, 12 songs demoed already. I've just gotta get off my butt and write lyrics for 'em.

"None of us are young. We wanna keep going," he explained. "We want the machine to roll. We don't want five-year gaps.

"As soon as album one cycle is done, which looks like it's gonna be — I don't know — September maybe, we wanna jump into rehearsal or jump right into the studio and take the momentum of the tour, so we can have another two-week recording cycle. And then get that to the record company, and when that comes out, start record cycle two. You'll see us again."

Asked if fans can expect the second Kerry King solo album in early 2026, Kerry said: "That's a realistic goal, and I wanna achieve that, for sure."

King kicked off his first-ever headlining tour on January 15 at the Regency Ballroom in San Francisco, California.

With MUNICIPAL WASTE as special guest and ALIEN WEAPONRY supporting, the tour wrapped at House of Blues in Las Vegas on February 22.

In early May 2024, the KERRY KING band performed its first live show at Reggies in Chicago. In the days following, the band went from playing an intimate venue to performing at the huge U.S. festivals Welcome To Rockville (Florida) and Sonic Temple (Ohio).

KERRY KING launched a European tour on June 3, 2024 — King's 60th birthday – in Tilburg, The Netherlands. The trek combined headline shows in the U.K., The Netherlands, Germany, Italy and Spain but also festival appearances such as Rock Am Ring, Hellfest, Tuska, Download, Sweden Rock Festival and many more.

The SLAYER guitarist's solo band played its first concert as the support act for LAMB OF GOD and MASTODON on July 19, 2024 at the Texas Trust CU Theatre in Grand Prairie, Texas. The six-week "Ashes Of Leviathan" tour wrapped on August 31, 2024 in Omaha, Nebraska.

In a new interview with São Paulo, Brazil's 89 FM A Rádio Rock radio station, P.O.D. frontman Paul "Sonny" Sandoval was asked how he feels about the supposed nu-metal resurgence in recent years, partly thanks to a whole new wave of exciting revivalists. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I think that's cool. I think nu metal for back then, I love that era of music because every band was doing their own thing. When you heard KORN, you knew that was KORN. The DEFTONES, SYSTEM OF A DOWN — you knew that these bands were who they were. RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE. P.O.D., I believe when you hear P.O.D., it's, like, 'Oh, that's P.O.D.' Whereas now there's just so many bands and they've all collided and they're doing what's popular or what's trendy. But for us it was more of a lifestyle."

He continued: "I don't think it was around long enough. It was such an inspiring era of music, where everybody was their own. But then once people tried to copy it, then it got watered down and then people kind of forgot about it. But it seemed to have made its way around the sun, and here it is, it's back again. And so I think it's cool that younger people are getting into it."

Nu metal thrived during the remarkable decade from 1994 to 2004 when mainstream charts, magazines, radio and TV were all taken over by a host of diverse artists performing their own brands of hard rock, hip-hop and heavy metal.

Essentially a fusion of rap and alternative rock (arguably born out of RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE),nu metal inexplicably swept the airwaves and peaked for a brief period, with Gregory Heaney of AllMusic describing the genre as "one of metal's more unfortunate pushes into the mainstream." Along the way, several bands associated with nu metal, including KORN, DEFTONES and SLIPKNOT, took a somewhat defensive stance against being labeled as such. Even those less apologetic nu metal groups eventually changed their sound, effectively disowning the genre that they helped pioneer.

In his recently released book, "Son of Southtown: My Life Between Two Worlds", Sonny talks about walking a unique path between being in a world-famous rock band and his long-held faith as a born-again Christian.

"Son of Southtown: My Life Between Two Worlds" was released on February 25 via Baker Books.

Sandoval is the lead singer and lyricist of the multi-platinum band P.O.D. (PAYABLE ON DEATH) and cofounder of THE WHOSOEVERS. He is a product of Southtown, the southern part of San Diego that approaches the border with Mexico. He is the founder and president of the Youth Of The Nation Foundation, which reaches out to children from underprivileged neighborhoods and gives them the opportunity to find their self-worth and value. Sonny is married to his high school sweetheart, Shannon, and they have three children.

Artist and designer Ioannis, known for creating iconic album art for Dream Theater, Voivod, Sepultura, and more has died.

The official Facebook page for Ioannis has made the announcement with the following statement:

“We announce with heavy hearts the passing of Ioannis, our beloved artist, husband, father, brother, grandfather, uncle, and friend. He has left us for the great beyond. We find comfort in knowing he is reunited with his father, mother, family, and friends.

“Ioannis was an internationally renowned artist and designer born in Athens, Greece. Arriving in the US in 1967, he grew up influenced by comic books, animation, fantasy art, and music. Music inspired his admiration of album cover art, specifically of Roger Dean and Storm Thorgerson (Hipgnosis). While he was in college, he created his first record cover and art directed the music video for the group Art in America, an MTV video breakout in 1983. The cover would later be featured in the book ‘1000 Record Covers’ by Michael Ochs. Ioannis’s work was featured in the books ‘Fade To Black’ with Martin Popoff and ‘Get the Led Out’ written by Denny Somach with a foreword by Carol Miller.

“Over the years, he created award-winning campaigns, logos, and art for his clients. These included Universal Music, Sony Music, Starz, IFC Films, EMI, Virgin, and XM Satellite Radio. Ioannis also has designed over 350 record covers and merchandise for groups like Deep Purple, Allman Brothers, Bon Jovi, Uriah Heep, Styx, Blue Oyster Cult, Dream Theater, King Crimson, Bob Weir, Alan Parsons Project, Starship, Yngwie Malmsteen, VoiVod, Biohazard, Sepultura, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Fates Warning, Quiet Riot, Johnny Winter, Extreme, Jon Anderson (YES), Michael Bolton, and more.

“He had several shows of his works throughout the US and continued selling his artwork worldwide until his passing.

“Ioannis is survived by his wife Lisa, daughter Maria, son-in-law Conor, grandchildren Henry and Jack, brother George, sister-in-law Gaylene, niece Sophia, and sister Elizabeth.

“The outpouring of love for Ioannis and his work is a great comfort. Ioannis wanted to do so many new things, and as a family, we have been tasked with continuing his work. His energy will live on through his incredible art. His bright smile and child-like excitement live on in his works. Ioannis will undoubtedly be remembered as one of rock’s all-time great artists.”

Iron Lung unleash their vital 64-second onslaught, “Cog II”. The single “grapples with how the governing bodies view their citizenry in a time of crisis. People are treated as an expendable resource not unlike gasoline, compost or potable water. To achieve their ends, they take what they want from us and throw the rest away. So wasteful and inhumane,” Iron Lung express. “To the powers that control existence, human life is worthless. We’re used and discarded, treated like human garbage. They’re waiting for the breakdown. We’re fertilizer. We are worth absolutely nothing. Totally expendable. The process of being replaced has begun again.”

Its arresting video presents a patient being prepped and processed for Electro Shock Therapy treatment in 1941 at the University of Nebraska-Omaha, sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Watch below”

On Adapting // Crawling, the first new album in 12 years from hardcore / DIY vets Iron Lung, duo Jensen Ward and Jon Kortland take head shots at mental health with specific emphasis on the exacting tolls the past five years have taken on humanity. From the beginning, Iron Lung have ethically / sonically approached the world: Do It Yourself, obscure, extreme, maladjusted and utterly free from the constraints of “music” or, more widely, rules in general. Each record has been written around a concept.

Adapting // Crawling acts as a sliced cadaver with each song a newly peeled layer exposing the corrosive effects of deep depression, a failed healthcare system, heavy grief from multiple friends/family deaths, paranoia and distrust of government, meaningless existence and loss. So much loss. When time disappeared between 2020 and 2023, the loss of function, of relation, of drive, of everything was incalculable. Life goes on but we lose a little more each day. To help cope with that crushing reality, Iron Lung finally sat down and wrote about their pain.

In order to not be consumed by it, they built a wall around themselves utilizing an “us versus them” modality in the lyrics. All of the band’s points of view are from the “we” stance and are funnelled through their long established lens of antiquated medical procedures and devices. The only times that mode breaks is when quoting an outsider view before rejecting and destroying it. The power belongs to Iron Lung and by association, to the allied listener.

Adapting // Crawling arrives April 18 via the band’s own esteemed imprint, Iron Lung Records. Pre-order here, pre-save here.



Adapting // Crawling tracklisting:

“Adapting”
“Internal Monologue”
“Lifeless Life”
“Shift Work”
“Poisoned Sand”
“Everything Is A Void” (Album Version)
“A Veiled Eye”
“Perfect Ending”
“A Loving Act”
“Purgatory Dust”
“Virus”
“Purgatory Dust (Finale)”
“Acres Of Skin”
“Hospital Tile”
“Cog II”
“HeLa Cells”
“Failure”
“Survived By…

In a new interview with United Rock Nations, Mark Morton, guitarist and songwriter for the five-time Grammy-nominated, platinum-selling band LAMB OF GOD, was asked about his recent comment that he had been "waiting [his] whole life" to make his upcoming solo album, "Without The Pain". Asked why it took him so long to finally write and record the effort, Morton said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET):  "Well, I think it's been a process for me to kind of get to the point where I've felt the confidence and the independence to make this kind of record. I made my first solo LP, 'Anesthetic', which came out in 2019, I think, and that was like my first published work outside of LAMB OF GOD as a solo artist. And while it was very different than LAMB OF GOD and that was the point, I think it was still kind of tied to metal roots and metal influences. And having had the experience of making that record and gaining the confidence in my ability and in learning that my audience was willing to go there with me, I think it gave me this sort of creative freedom to feel like I could lean into what is truly the music that I'm a fan of and the kind of music that I listen to, and have been a fan of, really, my whole life and that's kind of, really, at the foundation of my playing as a guitar player. I've always felt like I'm a blues player first. That's just the way I feel about it. So for me, it wasn't really uncomfortable at all to pursue this kind of music. It was more [that] it felt like something I finally could do after waiting for a long time to get the opportunity."

Asked if making a really personal album like "Without The Pain" is a form of therapy for him, Mark said: "I think some of it's personal, some of it's not at all. I think the songs are just the songs. I think sometimes there are songs that wind up being really personal. The last song on the record, 'Home', is extremely personal. There are components of 'Brother' that are lived experience and 'Without The Pain' has references to parts of my life. But then songs like 'Hell & Back' are really just a cool kind of story. And 'Come December' is not a personal experience; it's a story. That one's cool. 'Nocturnal Sun' is just very abstract. 'Forever In The Light' is pretty abstract as well. So I don't think they're all like directly autobiographical in a sense like that."

Mark continued: "Songwriting is such a strange thing because sometimes there are lines in a song that are lived experience, and they may appear in a song that isn't entirely autobiographical. So just because a part of a song is directly related to something from a songwriter's life — there's songs that are collaborative, so different people adding different things. And really it becomes more about the song than it does what maybe inspired one or another part of it. It's a weird kind of thing. But in the end, it becomes this unique thing and when it works best is someone listens to it and they make it about their own story, and that's when it works best. And how genuine or authentic it is to a direct lived experience is less important than it being a genuine and authentic representation of a feeling or an emotion."

"Without The Pain" is set for release on April 11 via Snakefarm.

"Brother" was written by Mark, Cody and country artist Travis Denning. The song's poignant lyrics explore themes of regret, reconciliation, and personal accountability, set against a backdrop of southern rock and bluesy guitar riffs. The track is a deeply emotional reflection on the complexities of family relationships and the scars of unresolved conflict.

"On a long bus ride, somewhere in the middle of a LAMB OF GOD tour, I scribbled some lyrics down in my notebook," Mark previously said. "Sometime after, having paired them with a simple chord progression, I presented my idea to Cody Jinks and Travis Denning during a writing session in Nashville. Three hours later, we walked out with 'Brother'."

"'Brother' is a deeply personal song that speaks directly to the theme of family separation and estrangement. I have learned through observation and my own lived experience that it is a universal and all too common phenomenon. We all poured a lot of ourselves into this song and I'm grateful to Cody for singing on it with me. I hope you'll enjoy listening to it as much as we enjoyed making it."

In addition to the release of the song, fans can also experience the official music video for "Brother", which brings the track's raw emotion to life with a cinematic visual representation. The video serves as a perfect complement to the song's message, illustrating the themes of separation and longing that permeate the lyrics.

The upcoming album, "Without The Pain", marks a significant departure from Mark's work with LAMB OF GOD, diving into his southern roots and leaning heavily into the southern rock lane. The album features collaborations with artists like Cody Jinks, Jaren Johnston (THE CADILLAC THREE),Charlie Starr (BLACKBERRY SMOKE),TYLER BRYANT AND THE SHAKEDOWN, Travis Denning plus guitar solos from Grace Bowers, Jason Isbell, and more, making it a unique and exciting project that blends blues, southern rock, Americana and outlaw country influences with Mark's signature guitar work.

"Without The Pain" track listing:

01. Hell & Back feat. Jaren Johnston of THE CADILLAC THREE (Mark Morton, Jaren Johnston, Josh Wilbur)
02. Brother feat. Cody Jinks (Mark Morton, Cody Jinks, Travis Denning)
03. Without The Pain feat. Matt James of Blacktop Mojo (Mark Morton, Jaren Johnston, Josh Wilbur)
04. Kite String feat. Travis Denning (Mark Morton, Travis Denning)
05. Come December feat. Charlie Starr of Blackberry Smoke & Jason Isbell (Mark Morton, Charlie Gray, Matt Connor)
06. Dust feat. Cody Jinks & Grace Bowers (Mark Morton, Jaren Johnston, Cody Jinks)
07. Forever In The Light feat. Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown (Mark Morton, Tyler Bryant, Caleb Crosby)
08. Nocturnal Sun feat. Troy Sanders & Jared James Nichols (Mark Morton, Josh Wilbur)
09. The Needle And The Spoon feat. Neil Fallon of Clutch (Allen Collins, Ronald W Vanzant)
10. Home feat. Travis Denning (Mark Morton, Travis Denning, Josh Wilbur)

Mark co-wrote every song on "Without The Pain" except for the track "The Needle And The Spoon", which is a cover of the iconic LYNYRD SKYNYRD song. Throughout the album, Mark's songwriting explores themes of healing, growth, and self-reflection, with each track reflecting his journey of personal evolution. Drawing from his deep southern roots, Mark embraces the sounds of southern rock, blues, and outlaw country, while maintaining his signature edge — blending honest, raw lyricism with intricate guitar work. This album represents a true reinvention for Mark, as he embraces a more introspective and reflective phase in his career, marking his second solo release after his critically acclaimed debut.

The themes explored on "Without The Pain" are a natural progression from Mark's deeply personal autobiography, "Desolation: A Heavy Metal Memoir". In the book, Mark delves into his struggles with addiction, mental health, and the toll of his heavy metal career, offering a raw, unfiltered look at his life and the journey toward finding peace and redemption. "Without The Pain" picks up where the memoir left off, providing a soundtrack to Mark's continuing journey of growth and reconciliation.

Former MOTÖRHEAD and current SCORPIONS drummer Mikkey Dee appeared at this year's edition of The Europe Drum Show, a two-day event dedicated entirely to the art of drumming and percussion, on March 29 in Friedrichshafen, Germany. Video of his appearance can be seen below.

A Swede of Greek descent, Dee has been known for his speed and precision since his mid-1980s stint with KING DIAMOND. After moving to Copenhagen to play with GEISHA in 1985, Dee joined KING DIAMOND, who were looking for additional members to complete their lineup. After their release of the "Conspiracy" album (1989),Dee decided to leave the band, as he felt he was becoming more of a back-up musician, rather than an equal contributing songwriter. Dee played on the KING DIAMOND recordings "Abigail" (1987) and "Them", which followed 1988, and continued to play as a session drummer for the recording sessions of the "Conspiracy" album (1989),after which he was replaced.

Dee joined Don Dokken for his solo album, "Up From The Ashes" (1990),with the music videos for the songs "Stay" and "Mirror Mirror" receiving airplay on MTV's "Headbangers Ball". The band headlined their own tour, as well as opened for JUDAS PRIEST. During this time, Dee also filled in a short time playing for WORLD WAR THREE (WWIII).

Lemmy had been repeatedly asking Mikkey to join MOTÖRHEAD since 1985, and in 1992, when asked once again, Dee accepted the offer, replacing Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor. Dee's first gig with the band was on August 30, 1992 at Saratoga Performing Arts Center.

Dee joined THIN LIZZY to play on their anniversary shows in January 2016. However, on April 19 of that year, it was announced that he would not be participating. Subsequently, it was announced that Dee would be filling in for James Kottak on the SCORPIONS' 12 North American headlining dates, including a run of shows at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas. Dee later joined the band permanently.

SCORPIONS performed live for the first time in more than seven months on March 15 at the 25th edition of the Vive Latino festival at the Estadio GNP Seguros (formerly Foro Sol) in Mexico City, Mexico. The show, which was streamed for free on Amazon Music, marked the band's debut live appearance since Dee's near-death experience following a sepsis diagnosis. Filling in for Mikkey for a couple of songs at the Mexico City show was his son Marcus.

Formed in 2019, French progressive metal band, Altesia, have built a loyal following with the acclaimed albums Paragon Circus (2019) and Embryo (2021). Now, the band presents its most ambitious work to date with the exciting, immersive, and visceral third album, The Somnambulist,’out June 13.

The band has long embraced the idea of playing music without labels or boundaries, but The Somnambulist is undoubtedly the album that best embodies this vision.

“This album is undoubtedly our most accomplished, collective, and diverse work to date. Every note, every interpretation, every silence, has been thought out and discussed. It marks a turning point in our history as it allowed us to rethink the way we composed music until now, and it lays the groundwork for years to come,” says Clément Darrieu (vocals, guitar).

The band are pleased to share the first single, “Her Ghost in Limbo”. You can watch the video, directed by Yann Evrard, below.

While the musical atmosphere of a song usually influences its lyrics, the band pushed itself to innovate in its compositional approach. “We gathered to write the concept of the album in a sequenced manner, each song acting as a chapter in the story and embodying an emotion, a mindset of the character at that particular moment. For the first time, it was the theme of each song that influenced the music, and this new approach turned out to be thrilling,” adds Clément Darrieu.

“All five of us listen to a lot of different genres, and it’s natural for us to incorporate our various influences into our music. The prog side allows us to bridge all these universes, even if some are completely different. For example, on ‘The Somnambulist Pt.2’, you’ll find black metal transitioning into bluegrass, Latin sounds, and many other things. We have a blast playing this music without imposing any limits on ourselves to push our creative boundaries,” concludes Darrieu.

Pre-orders will begin mid-April.



Tracklisting:

“The Somnambulist Pt.1”
“Her Ghost In Limbo”
“Anomaly Of One”
“Sepia Cathedral”
“Visceral”
“Of Guilt And Blood”
“The Somnambulist Pt.2”
“Post-Mortem”

In a thunderous collision of Belgian and Thai extreme metal sensibilities, enigmatic blackened death metal project, YHWH, has inked a devastating deal with Wormholedeath, preparing to unleash their debut EP, Tetragrammaton, on April 25.

Forged in the shadowy depths of underground metal, YHWH emerges as a cryptic musical entity led by composer Schem HaMephorash and her sister C. Bones, with S.M. Goat Ritual joining their ritualistic sonic assault in June 2024. Their debut EP represents a raw, uncompromising exploration of extreme metal’s most primal instincts.

“These tracks are eight years in the making,” the band cryptically reveals. “No overarching concept—just a relentless progression of sonic brutality inspired by the most extreme metal pioneers.”

“Tetragrammaton” promises to be an unfiltered descent into the most visceral realms of blackened death metal, drawing inspiration from the genre’s most relentless predecessors.

To get a taste of what’s to come, check out the trailer for Tetragrammaton below.



Tetragrammaton tracklisting:

“Realm Of Darkness”
“Majestic Hatred”
“Police Bastard”
“Burden Of Flesh”