ANNIHILATOR guitarist Jeff Waters recently answered a number of fan-submitted questions for a Q&A video series for the Rock Kommander YouTube channel. He reflected on his past projects, shared insights on his upcoming trilogy album and teased what's next. Plus, hear how he's bringing his music into the gaming world, starring as a playable character with his own game mode in "Rock Kommander".

Asked if he thinks ANNIHILATOR's debut album, 1989's "Alice In Hell", influenced MEGADETH's classic fourth LP, "Rust In Peace", which came out a year later, Waters said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Okay, so Dave Ellefson and Dave Mustaine, the MEGADETH guys, not all of 'em but some of 'em, have been my friends for a while. And I talked to Dave Mustaine ever since 1989. He asked me to join the band in '89. I didn't. And they went on to do the amazing 'Rust In Peace' with Marty Friedman, and we continued touring with TESTAMENT and doing our first record. But, yeah, you're saying you hear some 'Alice In Hell' in the 'Rust In Peace' album the year later. So there is absolute truth to that, believe it or not."

He continued: "A lot of MEGADETH fans don't realize it, is that David Ellefson had told, I guess Blabbermouth, the online metal news place, years ago, maybe 10 years, 15 years ago, I'm not sure when, that while MEGADETH was driving to the rehearsals and the writing and recording for the 'Rust In Peace' MEGADETH album, they would listen to ANNIHILATOR's 'Alice In Hell' and sing it and drive to the studio every day listening to that record.

"So I had always heard the 'Rust In Peace' album and thought it was awesome and Marty Friedman was doing these amazing guitar solos, but I always thought there's some parts of Marty Friedman where you hear a blues style, 'cause he's not a blues guitarist; he has blues and many other styles. But he had a little blues stuff in his solos. And I always thought that maybe he and I had the same influences. And David Ellefson and Nick Menza said that, 'No, no, no. We listened to your stuff for a whole year on the way to those sessions.' So I was, like, 'Hang on, I was like a 20-year-old kid, and I had a little influence on your best album.'

"So, that I can say now is true," Jeff added. "You can ask Dave Ellefson or any of those guys. So I will take some credit in the sense that I'm honored that they would be listening and singing my music on the way to record their music and write their music. Fuckin' awesome. Yeah, that'll go down as my top-ten thing in my life that was really cool."

In 2008, Ellefson said that he had been a "hugeANNIHILATOR fan over the years" and added that "Nick and I used to drive to 'Rust In Peace' rehearsals in the early '90s thrashing out to the 'Alice In Hell' and 'Never, Neverland' albums."

In October 2005, Waters shared a video of him playing the solo to the MEGADETH track "Symphony of Destruction". In a post on ANNIHILATOR's official web site, Jeff described the circumstances that led him to make the video and talked in greater detail about his friendship with MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine. He wrote: "Well, since I'm still getting hounded by these really old MEGADETH questions and rumors, I shall gladly oblige and set the records straight!

"I was a MEGADETH fan right from the start. 'Killing…', 'Peace Sells…', 'Rust…' and 'Countdown…' rule. So does Dave.

"Back in 1989, when ANNIHILATOR's first CD, 'Alice In Hell', was out, we were touring with TESTAMENT throughout the USA/Canada. Chuck (Billy, TESTAMENT frontman) walked through the door of my hotel room one night and told me 'Mustaine is on the phone for you.' I thought he was kidding. He wasn't. I remember Dave asking me to learn the b-side of 'Peace Sells…' and that he would consider letting MEGADETH re-record the song 'Crystal Ann' (a little classical guitar piece of mine that opened the 'Alice' record). I told him that it was an honor to be asked my him to audition but that I had my own things happening. (my first record, good deal with Roadrunner Records, I was in the middle of touring, etc...). Besides, he obviously made the best choice for MEGADETH in Marty Friedman.

"Never spoke with Dave again for 14 years.

"Back when Dave was recording his [then-]most recent CD ['The System Has Failed'], I'd sent Dave a note that I had used his ESP guitars (killer V guitars they make!) to record my most-recent ANNIHILATOR CD. Dave and I e-mailed a few times and he later mentioned that he was looking for a touring guitarist. After some good talks with Dave, we talked about me joining MEGADETH.

"I think things happen for a reason anyway; ANNIHILATOR's sales and popularity have been climbing in recent years and things are going really well for me and the band. So being a hired touring guitarist is cool but when you have your own, well-established band, it would not be a simple matter to just drop it, to be a hired gun.

"So again the right guy for Dave got the job! And again, on my new CD, 'Schizo Deluxe', I use an all-Mustaine/ESP V guitar line-up.

"Some have asked me why no 'Jeff Waters' model when I have an endorsement? I reply 'no need and no reason; I am happy with the ones I have!' I have a pretty good guitar collection from over the years but I would much rather have a 'KK Downing ESP V' than a Waters one!!

"The video going around with me playing the 'Symphony of Destruction' solo was posted by a friend of mine (who is a Annia-mega-freak); not exactly with my permission, but it's out now and he meant no harm (gotta love the Internet!). It was something I sent old Dave Mustaine when he was wondering if I could 'handle' the Marty stuff; not as great, of course, as the man himself's version on the record, but darn close and a lot of fun to learn (hey, I learned and played this in barely an hour and a half!).

"Friedman is a great player and the 'Symphony of Destruction' solo was one of those rare moments where lead guitar speed, technique and melody meet all in one perfect solo.

"As to the Gigantour rumors, yes, Dave asked me if ANNIHILATOR would come along but I had a commitment to my label to finish my CD and my band was not ready.

"So Dave and I have kept in touch each month or so and have talked about about putting something together, someday; this would surely be some real ass-kickin' heavy metal."

ra" Official Video Available">
Greek black metallers Euphrosyne Will release Morus, their follow-up to the critically acclaimed debut EP, Keres, on March 21st, 2025 via Black Lion Records.


Setting a stride in the artistically unbalanced year 2021 has been, Efi Eva (vocals) and Alex Despotidis (guitar) united forces under the banner of Euphrosyne. Based in Athens, Greece they shared a common vision for creating dark and adventurously melodic music, constantly breaking the barriers of what post-black metal presumably is.


Morus is an experiential concept album inspired by the true story of the loss of Alex Despotidis's Mother from cancer in 2017. The narration begins with the realization of death and the feelings surrounding it until the final embrace, continues with the existential question "What happens after all comes to pass" and the depiction of pain and suffering. It moves forward towards the acceptance of the image of the person who is losing the ba

After disbanding Onward,  guitarist Toby Knapp immediately began work on music that was in the same genre, resulting in the reactivation of his similar project, Where Evil Follows.


He explains: "For all practical purposes, this is an Onward album for those that want it to be. At the same time, I'll work under a different moniker to avoid the inevitable controversy of 'it's not Onward without the original singer' or whatever. All the music is recorded and a really great record label is on board; it's just a question of the vocals. They can make or break this. Hopefully what I am pursuing in that department will be great. We'll know soon."


Knapp announced his retirement from the music industry in September 2024 but has since fired back with new Waxen and Where Evil Follows albums, plus a solo instrumental project in the works. Knapp provides a sample of the Where Evil Follows album on YouTube and more information soon.

During an appearance on the December 23 episode of SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", Myles Kennedy spoke about the status of the songwriting and recording sessions for the next SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY & THE CONSPIRATORS album. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "The good news is that the demoing and all that, the writing was done before I even embarked on this last [solo] tour. The easy part is the recording; the hard part is the writing. Slash and I were — he was sending me demos of the tunes. Then I was spending time with him, coming up with melodies and lyrics. And so that's all done — I think with the exception of one song. Now I just have to find a moment to get in the studio and all that, knock that out. But I will say that just even in the demo process and where we stood there before they went in to actually make the record musically, it is really exciting stuff. I'm really, really stoked about where this one's going. It's gonna be cool."

Asked if he writes any of the music for SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY & THE CONSPIRATORS or if he is mostly in charge of coming up with the lyrics and the melodies, Myles said: "Yeah, most of what I'm doing is lyrics and melodies. Occasionally if something comes in and I'm, like, 'Hey, can we change this chord progression for the sake of the melody?' But it's interesting 'cause more so on [2012's] 'Apocalyptic Love', when I played guitar on that record, there was a little bit more of, 'Hey, try this part. See what this sounds like, if we utilize this to help the arrangement somehow.' But it's funny — I was thinking about that the other day, and I was just, like… It just highlights how cool [Slash] is. I [was] coming in, it was [my] second record [with Slash] and I've got my guitar, and I'm, like, 'What do you think? What if we tried this?' And I'm, like, 'You're sitting there with Slash. He doesn't need any help, man.' But he was so cool and so accommodating. But as the years have gone on and we've made all these records, one thing that continues to amaze me is just how much he understands, not just the riff thing, but coming up with chord progressions that really lend themselves to coming up with compelling melodies for me. It's, like, he knows how to sequence the chords where it's gonna really leave room for a melody, which I appreciate. And, like I said, occasionally I'd be, like, 'Hey, can we try a G here instead of a D 'cause I hear the melody doing this?' Or I'll send the melody back and he'll go, 'I'm gonna change this chord because I feel like it suits the melody better.' I'm, like, 'Great.' So yeah, he totally gets it."

SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY & THE CONSPIRATORS entered the studio last month to begin recording its fifth album for a tentative 2025 release.

This past May, Slash told SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" that the CONSPIRATORS would go in the studio "in the fall". And then next year is gonna be back [on the road] with GUNS. And then we're gonna figure out exactly when to release the CONSPIRATORS record. 'Cause you've got ALTER BRIDGE, you've got all these other things going on," referencing the fact that SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY & THE CONSPIRATORS singer Myles Kennedy is also a member of ALTER BRIDGE.

SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY & THE CONSPIRATORS kicked off "The River Is Rising - Rest Of The World Tour '24" on January 23 with the band's return to Mexico City's Pepsi Centre WTC. The group's 24-song setlist included the live debut of a deep GUNS N' ROSES cut, "Don't Damn Me", featuring Kerns on lead vocals.

Support on various dates of SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY & THE CONSPIRATORS's "The River Is Rising - Rest Of The World Tour '24" came from MAMMOTH WVH.

Prior to the launch of "The River Is Rising – Rest Of The World Tour '24", SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY & THE CONSPIRATORS last performed in February and March 2022 as part of a U.S. tour.

SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY & THE CONSPIRATORS' latest album, "4", was released in February 2022 via Gibson Records in partnership with BMG.

"4" was Slash's fifth solo album and fourth overall with his band featuring Kennedy, Fitz, Kerns and Sidoris.

SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY & THE CONSPIRATORS released "Live At Studios 60", their first-ever double live LP, for the 2022 Record Store Day. The effort contained a performance of "4", plus four additional songs from the group. Recorded live in Los Angeles at Studios 60, the "Live At Studios 60" double LP exclusive Record Store Day release was limited to only 2,250 copies. The full concert featured all the songs from "4". Additional performances of the group's Top 5 rock radio hits, including "You're A Lie", "World On Fire", "Anastasia" and "Driving Rain" are also included in the double vinyl package.

For "4", Slash and the band traveled across the country together to Nashville, Tennessee and recorded the new album at the historic RCA Studio A with producer Dave Cobb (Chris Stapleton, John Prine, Jason Isbell, Brandi Carlile),revealing a stunning new sound and style all captured live in the studio. Cobb shared the band's desire to lay down the tracks live, in the studio including guitar solos and vocals — a first for the group.

Slash released a blues album called "Orgy Of The Damned" in May via Gibson Records.

This past summer, Slash brought his brand-new "S.E.R.P.E.N.T." festival to cities across the U.S.. On all dates, Slash performed alongside his blues band featuring bassist Johnny Griparic, keyboardist Teddy "ZigZag" Andreadis, drummer Michael Jerome and singer/guitarist Tash Neal.

Photo credit: Ross Halfin

Seven Spires have checked in with the following message:


"They say pictures don’t have sound… we disagree. Can you hear that one? Watch Peter’s playthrough for 'Architect Of Creation' on our YouTube channel."







Seven Spires recently shared "Portrait of Us," the fourth single from their new studio album A Fortress Called Home out via Frontiers Music Srl. The track is accompanied by a new music video which is available below.


The band shared this about the track:


"A parade through some of our early influences, it’s arrogant, it’s playful, it might not know its place, it’s an irritating little brat of a song, but we love it all the same."


Frontwoman Adrienne Cowan comments:


“I’m not sure if he would agree, but after over 10 years of listening to and studying songs that Sascha Paeth wrote or produced, this might be the closest I feel I’ve ever gotten to honoring his influence on my artistry.”


Guitarist Jack Kosto adds:


“This one has some really cool almost hidden or understated riffs and guitar parts that I’m super proud of which are influenced by my earlier rock n’ roll days, and maybe some older school Opeth songs. It’s a bit of a bitch to play, but in a really fun and peacocky kind of way that I suppose is really on brand for us.”





A Fortress Called Home was produced, mixed, and mastered by Jack Kosto who had this to say about it: “If our previous albums have intended to take you on an emotional journey of our design, this album forces you to confront the one of your own making. Good luck and enjoy!”


Order A Fortress Called Home at this location.





Tracklisting:


"A Fortress Called Home"
"Songs Upon Wine-Stained Tongues"
"Almosttown"
"Impossible Tower"
"Love’s Souvenir"
"Architect Of Creation"
"Portrait Of Us"
"Emerald Necklace"
"Where Sorrows Bear My Name"
"No Place For Us"
"House Of Lies"
"

In a new interview with Kati Rausch of Music Interview Corner, Joey Belladonna reflected on his time away from ANTHRAX during most of the 1990s and early 2000s. The singer said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, for me to be out of the band for that long, it's almost too long. It was unexpected and it wasn't my idea and I wouldn't have preferred it. But it happened. And I just maintained myself. And I was actually working in a horse barn for a couple of years. I was [in] maintenance, and Krista, my wife, we both worked at a pretty famous riders' facility. I cut grass all day. It was so big there, I couldn't complete all my work each day. It was a long, long day. It took me two, three days to weedy the whole place."

He continued: "A lot of people don't realize that you would even do that. I didn't really necessarily have to do that job. It was one of those things that fell into place and I enjoyed it and I got a lot of experience from it. But I also had a band; I was doing some cover music and I was playing drums. And it was kind of like the old days for me. So I just continued to do that and work on some original music and stuff. I kept myself busy. I didn't really fall apart. I kept busy and just waited for some time, and all of a sudden I'd come back. So here I am."

Belladonna, whose most recent return to ANTHRAX was officially announced in May 2010, was originally the lead singer of ANTHRAX from 1984 to 1992, and was considered part of the influential thrash metal group's classic lineup (alongside guitarists Dan Spitz and Scott Ian, bassist Frank Bello and drummer Charlie Benante), which reunited and toured during 2005 and 2006. His voice was featured on over 10 albums, which reportedly sold eight million copies worldwide.

During an appearance on a November 2023 episode of "The Chuck Shute Podcast", Belladonna, who was fired from ANTHRAX twice before rejoining the group 13 years ago, was asked if he has "just a business relationship" with his bandmates now. He responded: "Um, not necessarily. I mean, look, everything you do in a band, I want it to be fun. I wannabe there every day, wake up each day and not walk on eggshells and feel like people are really not looking at you the right way. That kind of stinks. I know everybody's got their own individualities now; they all roll in their own path of success individually, which — I mean, I do my own thing, but I don't really care as much like that. But there also is a point in time where if you're on the team, you want the other guy to do his part and feel like he's done a whole lot for you too just as well and helps you carry through, without being, like, 'Eh, whatever. It's just part of what we do.' I don't want it that way. I hate it. I hate that part where we're, like, 'We must carry on because it's the only thing we've got.' But we are a band that's tight and it works great. And why not? Find a way. Figure it out. Try to do something that's gonna be long-lasting and enjoy what you have and understand that this is a great situation to be in where you've got four out of five people that are really capable of doing everything they can do musically and live. It's quite good. I mean, even the new [ANTHRAX] stuff [we are working on right now], without even really describing it, it's as good as it gets. It really is."

Regarding the fact that he was fired twice by ANTHRAX, Belladonna said: "Yeah, it just seems rotten. I don't know what to say. Every time I say something like that, it's always this bitter, bitter vibe, but it's the truth, you know what I mean? What else am I supposed to say? I mean, is there a better story? I wish I had one. I don't."

Joey, who joined forces with his longtime replacement John Bush for a cover of THE TEMPTATIONS classic "Ball Of Confusion" for ANTHRAX's greatest-hits collection, "Return of the Killer A's", which came out in 1999, said that the experience of recording with his then-former band "was totally weird. I remember listening to THE TEMPTATIONS song. 'Ball Of Confusion', of all things. I said, 'Why not? I'll come in.' But yeah, it was weird. It was strange. I mean, it wasn't my favorite idea, in the song or just being there 'cause I'm not in the band still. But aside from that, obviously, that whole thing, that follows me everywhere I go. I'm out of the band. What happened? I didn't get any leg up for that. And it still follows me. I can't just shake it away, 'cause it's in fine print."

Asked if he still carries resentment or anger toward his bandmates for the way he was treated, Joey said: "I don't forget. I can't forget. I carry on with [it]. I've been doing it — how long have I been [back] in the band now? 11, 12, 13 years now, on top of it. Things are good, but you know what? It's like anything else — it's still there. And I think everybody is trying to be sincere, and hopefully they are sincere. I don't need a lot of pats on the back because I do my thing. It does suck that I felt like I didn't live up to the dream that that was there. It's like, what am I supposed to do? I thought I was doing great.

"I know that sometimes when you see this later on the backslide, you go, 'Oh, here we go again.' It's, like, well, you know what? The story is there. We can't hide from it," he explained. "It's there. I'm just telling you we're cruising. We're doing our thing. Everything is above and beyond our expectations right now. We still have room to make it better and maybe kind of pull it closer to a better thing versus just to be an individuality business, job kind of crap. Otherwise it's no fun. It's great when you go out there. You forget it for, what? An hour and a half. But then you go back to the same old, 'There it is again.' I hate that. But the rest of it should be a lot better — a lot better — if you want it to work."

Joey added: "I know when people go to work, they don't care for the people they're working for and they have to go through it, but you can quit if you want. And people say, 'Don't go back,' or, 'Why are you there?' It's, like, well, why not? I want the fans to be happy. I think the fans deserve a good band that we were and what we do to make people happy and listen to good music that we make. But at the same time, I earned it. I should be able to be there. So why shouldn't I? But at the same time, I'm just still looking for bigger and better options with us to make it better. And that's what I would say — other than sitting there and having a big… I'm not vindictive. Obviously, it could have been a whole lot worse, or it could have been a lot much more unfavorable situation at the end, which I don't live like that. I try not to live that way. We try to open up our hearts to whatever we can do as a band."

The 64-year-old upstate New York-based singer previously reflected on his initial departure from ANTHRAX during an August 2022 appearance on the "Beer Rum & Rock N Roll" podcast. Belladonna said: "I didn't quit… Like, I wanted to sit around for 13 years while these guys just kept [going]. People don't wanna hear it, but that's the truth. Why would I quit?

"Forget about that record without me," he continued, apparently referring to 1993's "Sound Of White Noise" album, which featured John Bush on vocals. "I could have been on that record regardless of what they came up with. Let's just pretend they didn't even write that record yet. That record would have been cool too regardless of what you're already familiar with. I'm not saying whatever was on there wasn't right. I was in that car that rode into that record. I got sideswiped out of there.

"So, yeah, I didn't quit," Joey added. "I didn't quit anything. I don't want anybody thinking that, 'cause I wouldn't even have the heart to do that."

Belladonna also addressed the fact that he returned to ANTHRAX despite having been publicly dissed by some of the other members of the band in various interviews over the years.

"Some people are, like, 'Why the hell are you back with them? Why would you go back? That's stupid, man. You're an idiot. She cheated on you twice, dude. Don't go back with her. Come on, man. She's just gonna go out with that other guy tomorrow night,'" he said.

"It took them a long time to go, 'You suck. We didn't like you that much. And now you're all right.'

"Every day I walk in their presence in the room knowing that these people felt that way, 'cause I never felt that way about them," Joey admitted. "I don't feel that way about those people. I respect and I highly recommend everything that they do. And obviously I'm back. And I dig what we're doing right now, I dig what we're doing. But it's hard. It's hard. You get a complex, you know?"

Back in March 2010 — just a couple of months before Belladonna rejoined ANTHRAX — Ian and his wife Pearl Aday appeared on an episode of VH1's "That Metal Show" and took part in the program's "The Throwdown" feature, where the guests and the hosts debated who was the best singer for ANTHRAX: Bush or Belladonna. Countering co-host Eddie Trunk's point that ANTHRAX was in a unique position with Belladonna in the band of being able to "play incredible speed metal" while having "someone who could sing like a bird," Ian said: "We didn't need a bird; we needed a lion." After Pearl offered that she was a "huge fan" of "The Greater Of Two Evils", a collection of re-recorded older ANTHRAX tunes with Bush on vocals instead of Belladonna, Ian said: "And that's the way we, as ANTHRAX, wanted to hear those songs."

Speaking to Radio Metal in August 2011, Benante was asked about Ian's "That Metal Show" comments. He said: "I think Scott had to eat some of the words he said about that. But he only said that because I think he left things off with Joey kind of bad, and their relationship wasn't very well back then when he said that. And I think Scott just harbored some ill feelings towards Joey and I think that's kind of why he made that statement, you know?"

In 2021, the members of ANTHRAX opened up about their 1992 split with Belladonna in a 40th-anniversary video focusing on the making of the aforementioned "Sound Of White Noise" album. Regarding the decision to part ways with Belladonna, Ian said: "By the time we finished the year-and-a-half touring cycle — 20, 21 months of touring cycle, and then '[Attack Of The] Killer B's' comes out. I think the last thing we did together as a band with Joey was [our appearance] on [the] 'Married With Children' [TV show]. And then it wasn't long after that when we made the change. But it wasn't a quick decision. We were very much a united front, the four of us. Because otherwise it wouldn't have happened.

"There's never an easy way to talk about this stuff," he continued. "Certainly when you're in the thick of it, when it's happening, it's horrible when you're having to make a decision like this. But it just really came down to, creatively, we all just felt like there was just no way for the band to move forward. We had just hit a wall. It was the heaviest decision in the history of the band, certainly. And even that I feel like doesn't give it the weight that it needs. And there was never anything personal with Joey — it was never personal with him. It just really came down to the creative ability for the band, honestly, to move forward. And I hate that it's something that happened.

"Obviously, things are meant to be," Scott added. "I am somewhat of a spiritual person. I've seen and done enough in my life to know that sometimes shit doesn't just happen randomly. The way everything worked out in the end, with Joey coming back in 2010, and the band, for the last 11 years, being creatively better than we've ever been and in a better place than we've ever been, I have to say that I really believe that it all worked out for some reason. That doesn't make it any easier on Joey certainly; there's nothing I can say that ever would."

Bello said about Belladonna's exit from the group: "It's so strange for me to even talk about this now, because Joey's back in the band now, and it's like he's never been gone.

"It was a hard thing when Joey was out," he admitted. "It was a change, but I think it was best for the band 'cause of where we were going. It was a hard decision. I think we were going in a different way musically, and you could hear it."

Added Benante: "The 1991 me was more arrogant than I am now. Because the problem is I love Joey so much, and at the time we were different people doing it, and we felt this was the only thing for us to take us into the next level or the next chapter of the band. Yeah, it was tough."

Ian previously opened up about the decision to fire Belladonna nearly three decades ago during a 2016 appearance on the "WTF With Marc Maron" podcast. He stated at the time: "I just truly didn't have the patience anymore. I think my biggest problem was I was writing the words, and I couldn't deal with the fact anymore that someone else was singing my lyrics, but I couldn't sing; there was no way I could be the singer of ANTHRAX. I think it really, really did come down to that — that I couldn't stand it anymore. These are my words, these are my feelings, it's my emotions, and you're not me. And even learning the songs and hearing them back, that's not how I hear it in my head. 'No, no. Like this. Like this. Like this. Like this.'"

He continued: "My solution at the time was turning around to the rest of the band and saying, 'It's either [Joey] or me.' I pulled the same shit Neil Turbin [former ANTHRAX singer] pulled years before that. I said, 'I can't do this again. We need to make a change.' And it wasn't just me holding the gun. Everyone was on the same page. Everyone felt like what we had done as ANTHRAX in the '80s into the early '90s, we had already moved past that. The sound was changing.

"If you listen to 'Persistence Of Time' [1990], musically, that record has more to do with 'Sound Of White Noise', the first John Bush record, than it has to do with 'State Of Euphoria' [1988], the previous ANTHRAX album. Musically, we were already going somewhere else, but Joey, for us, I guess at the time, felt like, 'He's not representing us anymore.'"

Ian went on to say that he has since come to see Joey's unique vocal contributions in a different light than he did more than twenty years ago. "Of course, I spent a year of my life writing a book ['I'm The Man: The Story Of That Guy From Anthrax'] and looking back on that time and really kind of getting back into those shoes, and… we should have given the guy a shot," he said. "Why we didn't give him the shot, I really don't know why we weren't able to… Because I even remember, I remember Jonny Z, our manager, he was, 'Are you sure? Are you sure this is the decision you wanna make?' 'Yes, yes, yes.'"

The guitarist added that at least part of the reason ANTHRAX made a singer change was to take the sound in a heavier direction, something that they didn't think was possible with Belladonna at the helm.

"I wanted it to be harder," Ian said. "I couldn't do it, but I wanted someone who could almost… I wanted it to be harder. I didn't want Lemmy — I didn't want it to sound like that — I just wanted it to be harder. And John [Bush] brought it, for sure."

Belladonna had been critical of ANTHRAX's decision to fire him at the height of the band's success, telling MikeJamesrRockShow.com eight years ago: "Personally, it sucks just to think all those years went by that I didn't really have a chance to do anything. 'Cause I could have sang on any of those records [that were made during the John Bush era]. Not to say that what they did was… whatever reason and whatever style and all that stuff. I could have easily sang that regardless, no bones. It would have been easy to sing. It's just I think they were chasing some other idea. I always say that, whether they disagree. I don't think there was any reason to move. But you know what? We're here now."

Bush told Metal Talk about the task of replacing Joey Belladonna in ANTHRAX back in 1992: "I respect Joey Belladonna; he did great for ANTHRAX in his heyday and in the years that he made records and they were popular. You know, I think I just went out and did it from my heart and just said, 'Hey, I'm gonna go out and kick ass and sing to the best of my ability.' And I think we made some great records. I just think they were different records than what ANTHRAX did in the '80s."

He continued: "The funny thing is, sometimes there was this, 'Oh, we're the same band. Oh, we're the same band,' and looking back, well, we kind of were a little different band. I think we were. But at that time, we kept trying to convince people, 'Oh, it's the same band. It's the same band.' But when you make a singer change, the sound will change a little bit, which, that was what the intention was at the time."

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

Multi-platinum UK rock band, The Darkness, performed at Germany's Wacken Open Air festival for the first time in 2024. Professionally filmed video of the band performing "Growing On Me", "Heart Explodes", and "I Believe In A Thing Called Love" can be viewed below:





The Darkness - singer/guitarist Justin Hawkins, guitarist Dan Hawkins, bassist Frankie Poullain, drummer Rufus Taylor - recently released their explosive new single, "I Hate Myself", from their forthcoming eighth studio album, Dreams On Toast, out on March 28 via Cooking Vinyl. A lavish display of sonic delicacies, Dreams On Toast is a dynamic dish packed full of sure-to-be hits.







Watch the “I Hate Myself” visualizer below, and pre-order the album here.


The punk rock glam stomp of “I Hate Myself” features Justin Hawkins in self-deprecating mode, as he chronicles the breakdown of a relationship while pointing the finger squarely at himself. Falsetto soars, riffs swagger, choruses trumpet and solos ignite as though you’ve walked into an end-of-year party where Slade, Cheap Trick, Motorhead and Status Quo have all come on the jukebox… at the same time! It’s quite simply magnificent.


Regarding “I Hate Myself” Justin Hawkins says, “At last, a joyous, raucous celebration of self-loathing. I think without regrets we stand to learn less from our experiences – to deny them and compartmentalize them is to deny ourselves an opportunity to grow. So, it's time for us to sing this uplifting ode to remorse in the hope that we don't make the same mistakes again and history does not repeat itself.”

Maiden uniteD, the acoustic Iron Maiden tribute project, have released the video below, along with the following introduction...


"Just one month after the pandemic in 2022, Maiden uniteD crossed the borders of Europe with their Powerslave show, performing in over 10 countries. The journey began in Budapest, Hungary, and culminated in Loule, Algarve, Portugal. Their mission was simple yet profound: to connect with people again and celebrate the love of live music.


"Amidst this remarkable tour, on a rare day off, Maiden uniteD delivered an unforgettable performance in an intimate living room pub in Ghent, Belgium. Here’s a glimpse of that magical evening…

During an appearance on The Mistress Carrie Podcast, SHINEDOWN bassist and producer Eric Bass, who is promoting his upcoming debut solo LP, "Eric Bass Presents: I Had A Name", was asked if the band's eighth studio album is still on track for an early 2025 release. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I would say we're 85 percent done writing, probably a third of the way done — completely done with the record, meaning that we have songs that are mixed and done and everything. We have a lot of work still left to do."

Bass went on to say that there will be "no new [SHINEDOWN] song" released by the end of the year, despite drummer Barry Kerch's previous suggestions that fans would hear new music in 2024. Eric added: "[And there will] probably no new [full-length SHINEDOWN] record by first quarter, but definitely next year. I would venture to say middle of next year. This is just me — I'm just a producer. I've got a pretty close view on it."

Addressing the reasons for the delay in putting out new music from SHINEDOWN, Bass said: "A lot of that kind of pushing stuff back — and people get mad at me — has to do with this record that I've made and having to see that through. And also giving 'I Had A Name' its due, 'cause it's not gonna come out until February 28th. And at the same time still actively working on the SHINEDOWN record, too.

"I'm one of these people, man, I've gotta do one thing at a time," Eric explained. "And if I do one thing at a time and I pour myself into that whole thing, it's gonna be great. The minute that I start trying to spread things around, they don't end up the way I want them to. So if I want the SHINEDOWN record to be great, then that's all I have to be doing at the time. So I have to get through editing these videos [for my solo album] and getting them all done and taken care of and packaged and ready to go. And then, once that happens, I can be doing interviews like this [to promote my solo album] and do the SHINEDOWN record, of course. That will continue. But [I'm] the concentrating creatively on one thing at a time… It is pushing the SHINEDOWN timeline back just a touch, but it'll be worth it."

Elaborating on what fans can expect from SHINEDOWN's upcoming LP, Eric said: "It is not a concept record. It's just gonna be just a straight-up SHINEDOWN album, which is different. Again, people can blame me for it or whatever they wanna do. 'Planet Zero' was an unintentional concept record because of the interludes that happened and the way it all got kind of woven together. And the subject matter was there already, but that happened the last three days of making the record. We made those interludes and then — ta-da! — it's a concept record, so to speak. And 'Attention Attention' was a story record as well. And then my record, 'I Had A Name', is obviously a concept record. So, yeah, the SHINEDOWN record is just gonna be a collection of great songs."

Late last month, SHINEDOWN took to social media to share the following message in response to the question, "What will the new SHINEDOWN album sound like?": "It's going to sound like everything... Everything that we have been through personally. Everything that we are excited about. Everything that we are ready to express to the world.

"We have said this many times because it is the absolute truth in this band. We only have one boss. It just happens to be everyone in the audience...

"We have never walked into a studio to write songs for trophies," SHINEDOWN continued. "We are writing these songs because we believe in what we're doing, and we believe in the message we are presenting to the public...

"What we can tell you is that we hope you listen with an open mind, a full heart, and a bold imagination... We are doubling down on every style that has ever inspired us so that we may be fearless, and be the band that we set out to be from day one and that includes bending genres, flirting with soundscape's and personality, and above all pushing the envelope when it comes to creativity... And also, yes, doing our best to take our love of ROCK N' ROLL to the next level.

"We hope you are as excited as we are for the next chapter," the band added. "Let us know in the comments.

"Love you!!! Brent, Eric, Barry, Zach".

Earlier in November, Bass told Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station about the progress of the songwriting and recording sessions for the follow-up to 2022's "Planet Zero" album: "We've already recorded and produced a couple of songs — well, a handful of songs — already for it. [We're] half to two thirds [done writing and recording], maybe. We still have some writing left to do."

He continued: "We're doing this one a little bit differently where we are kind of tracking as we go somewhat. So we'll get some stuff written and then we'll track a few songs, and then we'll get some more stuff written and track a few songs. Usually we wait until everything's compiled and then we start tracking, but we decided to try it a little differently this time. I don't know if I'd do it again. It's a little difficult on the brain to switch gears from writing to producing back to writing. For me, I'm very process driven, so the process of writing, for me and my brain, is way different than the process of engineering and producing and that sort of thing. So, I think that just for my own sanity, I would go back to the way we've done it in the past the next time. But that being said, it's gonna make a very interesting record. And we're super, super excited about the next SHINEDOWN record."

When Meltdown noted that everything SHINEDOWN writes and records falls under the "rock" umbrella but that "there's been some crossover a little bit here and there," Eric said: "I just kind of lump what we do into rock. I can't remember a time when our band ever had a conversation about 'this is this style' and 'that's that style' and 'this is this' and 'that's that'. For me, it's, like, if you think about — 'Second Chance' is a rock song and 'Planet Zero' is a rock song and 'No Sleep Tonight' is a rock song. And I know some of them maybe will skew a little more midtempo or a little more metal or whatever, but I've never, and neither have any of the other guys in the band, we've never thought about it as anything other than just making rock music."

This past September, Kerch told the 100.3 The X Rocks radio station about SHINEDOWN's next LP: "We're hoping to release some new music by the end of this year and then an album spring of next year. We're about, I'd say, halfway through the record, give or take. I know I've recorded, like, seven songs for it so far."

He continued: "Every record's different, and this one's gonna be different as well, but you're never gonna change [SHINEDOWN singer] Brent's [Smith] voice. So I'm excited. With the success of ['A'] Symptom [Of Being Human]' [single] and how well that did, we don't wanna really take too much time off 'cause we have a whole new audience with that song that deserve to see us live. 'Cause I think, yes, our records I'm very proud of, and I think they're great, and people latch on to 'em, but they really don't become a SHINEDOWN superfan until they see the live show. So it's time to get out there and let people see the show."

Earlier in September, Kerch was asked by WRIF if he usually works out his drum parts to demo versions of the SHINEDOWN songs. Barry said: "For me, a lot of times, Eric will send the demos over to me with just basic drum machine tracks, just placeholder tracks, and I'll listen to it. Sometimes, depending on the song, I'll make a small cliff-notes chart of, 'Okay, verse, chorus, how many beats per fill here,' that kind of thing, and write out my little Nashville chart. Sometimes I just wing it, and sometimes when we go in, we have the song, but we might wanna make a change or we accidentally stumble across something. So then we'll take it piece by piece. 'Okay, let's get some really good verses. Let's get the choruses, and then let's work on this new section that we're thinking about and just vibe back and forth on it till we make that transition,' maybe a pre-chorus or something like that. So, it varies, but I'm usually sent some sort of a demo form of the song to listen to 'cause I like to come in prepared. Can I play it right then? Yeah. But I wanna be prepared so I've thought about the vibe of the song and drum tones and, 'Hey, maybe this snare would sound good. Maybe these symbols would be the symbols I'd wanna bring and use. And this fill might be cool. This fill might be better.' And then Eric and I fight over it for hours. And then we come up with what we come up with."

Barry went on to say that Brent is "pretty early on the game" in terms of working out the lyrics and the melodies for the SHINEDOWN songs. "The lyrics are usually 98 percent done, if not fully done," he said. "And sometimes in the demo, they're completely done. Those vocals you hear on the final products were the demo vocals. He's just kind of prolific that way. And he really wants to get the vibe out."

He continued: "The way I've always played drums with SHINEDOWN is to the vocals more than anything. So I'm trying to really support what the vocals are and give lead-ins and lead-outs to whatever — I don't wanna step on those vocals. And you can hear it when singers put their lyrics on after the music's been written, that sometimes there can be this battle between drum fills and lyrics and maybe where it should have gone. And I think it steps on it sometimes. Sometimes it makes it cool. Like you listen to a band like TOOL. Most of the music is written, then it's handed to Maynard [James Keenan], and then he writes his vocals over that. So that's how they get that cool… It's just different. And it's, like, only Maynard would have thought to sing that because the music's already there. We're the polar opposite. I wanna support what vocals are already there."

In August, SHINEDOWN's single "A Symptom Of Being Human" became the first song by a band or solo artist to chart in the top 10 on three major Mediabase charts: Active Rock, Alternative, and Adult Contemporary (AC).

In addition to holding Mediabase chart history with the most No. 1s, Top 5s and Top 10s in the Active Rock category, SHINEDOWN has achieved a record-breaking 23 chart-topping songs.

It's rare for a rock band to break into pop music, but SHINEDOWN has always believed that music is universal and doesn't have to be put in a genre box. "A Symptom Of Being Human" is resonating with listeners worldwide because of its uplifting and important message about how we are all a work in progress. Collectively, "A Symptom Of Being Human" has amassed tens of millions of streams across all versions including a live version, pop remix, acoustic version and piano version.

"A Symptom Of Being Human" is the fourth No. 1 Active Rock single from SHINEDOWN's acclaimed seventh studio album, "Planet Zero". The set debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's Top Rock & Alternative Albums chart in July 2022.

Photo credit: Sanjay Parikh

In a new interview with Bringing It Back To The Beatles, VAN HALEN drummer Alex Van Halen was asked why he made "the conscientious decision" to end his recently released book, "Brothers", in 1984 and not cover any of the band's later years. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Because the original band was the band that was the driving force. That was the connection between the disparate parts of the musical world, if you will. And we were young. The first record going platinum — it's incredible. That's something you can really never expect to happen again. Later on, it was different — that's for another book — but the excitement and the confusion and the groping in the dark, if you will, and all the mistakes that we made, and all the B.S. we had to endure, and then to recognize at the very end, maybe we had one more record in us, it was very… You can't take it back, but those are the things that are in the back of your head. The old expression of, if you don't go over the edge, then you can't come back. You have to go too far to come back in. Does that make sense? Unfortunately, we're human and we made some bad choices. The US Festival, for instance, was just a clusterfuck. Nobody knew what the hell was going on. All we said was, 'You make sure you have enough power, and we'll play.' That's it."

When the interviewer noted that this attitude is "true rock and roll," Alex concurred. "Bingo. That's exactly right," he said. "You just hit the nail on the head. After that, that's why the book ends in 1984, because that was true rock and roll. After that, it became much more — I don't know; I can't explain it. But it's not to say that it was not any good. We always did our best at whatever we were doing, but it wasn't the same."

He added earlier in the interview: "I think I picked up where Ed [legendary VAN HALEN guitarist and Alex's brother Eddie Van Halen] left off in terms of saying… His example was that we were actually happier playing in clubs than we were when we hit the so-called big time, because in the clubs you weren't quite sure what you were doing, you could, at the drop of a hat, change directions, you can play anything you want and there's nobody that holds you accountable or they have expectations of any sort. You just go on and you play. And it's intimate. You're right there, two feet away. People are right there in front of your face. And that kind of goes away when you get to the place where you have five lines of security people. And we always kept it to a minimum, but nonetheless, that was the soup du jour."

Two months ago, Alex gave a slightly different answer to USA Today when asked about his decision to end the book when VAN HALEN's original singer David Lee Roth first quit the band 40 years ago.

"For me, the spirit of the band ended in 1984," Alex said. "We did good work after that, but the primary spiritual aspect, the magic, the potential, the looking to the future together, all of that stuff, our mutually strange backgrounds — that's what made VAN HALEN. Ed and I were outsiders. Dave was an outsider. Those kinds of intangible things make the fabric of how we were tied together."

Asked about his current relationship with David, Alex said: "I think Dave is laying low right now. I don't know his mental state in terms of how he's dealing with all of this.

"I was taught early on that the music field isn't about the notes and things, it's about relationships and what we all had [in VAN HALEN] was deeply entangled.

"I don't hold [Roth leaving VAN HALEN] against him. We're not here to hold you prisoner. But it was very telling how the dynamic of certain entities got warped by the people around him.

"Dave was in the middle of [huge success] where he wasn't thinking clearly, and he would admit that now. That's the reason I called him first [after Ed died] — only to find out that 23 years changes people."

Asked if that means that the conversation didn't go as expected, Alex said: "He's the not the same guy. But if he called me right now, I would answer the phone. It's about human dignity and respect."

"Brothers" ignores Sammy Hagar's stint with VAN HALEN, as well as that of EXTREME vocalist Gary Cherone, and even VAN HALEN's reunion with Roth that started in 2007.

"What happened after Dave left is not the same band," Alex told Billboard. "I'm not saying it was better or worse or any of that. The fact is Ed and I did our best work whenever we played. We always gave it our best shot. But the magic was in the first years, when we didn't know what we were doing, when we were willing to try anything."

Alex also explained his refusal to participate in this past summer's "The Best Of All Worlds" that focused largely on the music of VAN HALEN. The trek featured Hagar and former VAN HALEN bassist Michael Anthony, along with guitarist Joe Satriani and drummer Jason Bonham.

The 2024 tour came more than two years after Satriani revealed that he was approached about participating in a VAN HALEN tribute show with Alex and David Lee Roth. That project never got off the ground, reportedly because Roth was "holding up" getting everything approved.

In the Billboard interview, Alex said about why he was not responsive when Hagar and Anthony reached out about him taking part in some way in "The Best Of All Worlds": "I'm not interested. They're not doing the band justice. They can do what they want to do. That's not my business."

In a separate interview with Rolling Stone, Alex didn't even utter Hagar's name. "The heart and the soul and the creativity and the magic was Dave, Ed, Mike and me," he said. In the book, his only acknowledgment of the "Van Hagar" era reportedly came in the line, "We had a lot of other singers over the years."

Hagar mended his relationship with Eddie Van Halen months prior to the legendary VAN HALEN guitarist's October 2020 passing.

Hagar replaced Roth in VAN HALEN in 1985 and recorded four studio albums with the band — "5150", "OU812", "For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge" and "Balance" — all of which topped the U.S. chart.

Sammy, Eddie, Alex and Mike last teamed up in 2004 for a U.S. summer tour. In exchange for taking part in the tour, Anthony reportedly had to agree to take a pay cut and sign away his rights to the band name and logo.

Sammy Hagar photo credit: Leah Steiger

Celebrating the 79th birthday of the late, great Ian ‘Lemmy’ Kilmister, Motörhead are pleased to share with you another treat from the vaults.


The Löst Tapes Vol. 6 features a previous unreleased live set from December 1992, recorded at Eissporthalle in Berlin. The lineup was Lemmy (bass, vocals), Phil Campbell (guitar), Wurzel (guitar) and Mikkey Dee (drums).


Listen here, and below.







Tracklisting:


"I’ll Be Your Sister" (Live in Berlin 1992)
"Traitor" (Live in Berlin 1992)
"I'm So Bad (Baby I Don't Care)" (Live in Berlin 1992)
"Metropolis" (Live in Berlin 1992)
"Bad Religion" (Live in Berlin 1992)
"Hellraiser" (Live in Berlin 1992)
"Just ‘Cos You Got The Power" (Live in Berlin 1992)
"Love Me Forever" (Live in Berlin 1992)
Mikkey Drum Solo (Live in Berlin 1992)
"The One To Sing The Blues" (Live in Berlin 1992)
"You Better Run" (Live in Berlin 1992)
"Killed By Death" (Live in Berlin 1992)
"Going To Brazil" (Live in Berlin 1992)
"Overkill" (Live in Berlin 1992)
Phil and Wurzel Guitar Solo (Live in Berlin 1992)
"Cat Scratch Fever" (Live in Berlin 1992)
"Ace of Spades" (Live in Berlin 1992)

w In Krakow">
Former Dimmu Borgir drummer, Tjodalv, has shared pro-shot video of the band's entire August 1998 show in Krakow, Poland. It was originally broadcast on Germany's VIVA TV. Check it out below.


Setlist:


"Stormblåst"
"Entrance"
"Tormentor Of Christian Souls"
"Mourning Palace"
"Alt Lys Er Svunnet Hen"
"Hunnerkongens Sorgsvarte Ferd Over Steppene"
"Metal Heart" (Accept)
"In Death's Embrace"

Norwegian black metal outfit Old Man's Child, led by former Dimmu Borgir guitarist Galder, have shared a lyric video for "Felonies Of The Christian Art", taken from their 2003 album, In Defiance Of Existence. Check it out below.





Last month, Old Man's Child uploaded a lyric video for "Enslaved And Condemned", taken from their 2005 album, Vermin. Check it out below.







Old Man's Child recently announced their first live performance since 2000. The band have confirmed their appearance at the 2025 edition of Oslo, Norway's Tons Of Rock festival, taking place June 25 - 28. Other acts on the bill include Emperor, Powerwolf, Alestorm, Jinjer, and more. Tickets

In a new interview with Megadeth Digital, MEGADETH guitarist Teemu Mäntysaari offered an update on the progress of the songwriting sessions for the band's upcoming follow-up to 2022's "The Sick, The Dying... And The Dead!" album. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It feels really good at the moment. Yeah, we've been working remotely. So Dave [Mustaine, MEGADETH leader] is in the studio in Nashville, and I've been working from home, and now from the vacation location where we are with the family. But I'm working a little bit every day. And just today I was working on some solo ideas, and [I am] talking with Dave on the phone every day and doing Zoom meetings and exchanging ideas. So, there's progress every day, which is nice. I feel really good about the album. We have already so many good ideas. I think it's gonna be a great one."

Teemu, who made his live debut with MEGADETH more than a year ago, also talked about the evolution of the band's live performances since he joined the group. He said: "Of course, now knowing the guys more on a personal level, it makes everything a little bit more, I guess, instinctive on stage as well. So you kind of know what the guys are doing and you don't have to think that much anymore. But, honestly, it did feel like really relaxed from the get-go, from the first show on. But, yeah, getting to know the guys better and better, so it's just more fun."

During a December 22 chat on X Spaces, Mustaine stated about the band's upcoming LP: "Right now I'm in the studio working with [engineer] Chris Rakestraw. And everybody else is gone. Teemu is in Switzerland and James [LoMenzo, MEGADETH bassist] and Dirk [Verbeuren, MEGADETH drummer] are in Los Angeles. So it's just me here by myself with Chris. And Chris leaves tomorrow to go on a vacation, and I'm working up to the last second today to get as much done as I can before he takes off because we won't be starting again until he returns somewhere around New Year's Day. And at that point, it's only a matter of a couple weeks before everybody converges on to the studio. And for that I'm pumped. And you guys are gonna be excited."

Regarding what it has been like being back in the studio, Dave said: "It's been frustrating, because I wanna be farther along than I am right now. But that's quite all right.

"When you write original music, you've always gotta start at the first step," he explained. "And that's what I've been doing my whole career. So, before we did this, I had all four of us listen to the entire catalog — every single song; 205 songs — and I wanted to make sure they knew chord progressions, lyric patterns, all kinds of stuff like that, so that they would hear tempos and starts and stops and everything to help them be able to songwrite and contribute also. And it's been really great because Teemu is contributing, Dirk is contributing, like last time, James contributed back in the day and he's got more stuff coming on this record.

"It was funny because sometimes when you think, 'Ah, I don't really know that that riff is that good,' and then you go back and you listen to it another day and say, 'Yeah, that's pretty cool.' 'Well, you already listened to it and you didn't like it.' 'What?' That kind of thing. So, we went through a bunch of riffs over and over and over and over and over again, and so far we've got some really great ideas we're working on."

Rakestraw is a producer, mixer and engineer who previously worked on MEGADETH's last two albums, "The Sick, The Dying... And The Dead!" and 2016's "Dystopia".

This past September, Teemu, who joined the band as the replacement for Kiko Loureiro, was asked by Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station about the progress of the songwriting sessions for MEGADETH's next LP. He said: "Yeah, actually, already a while back Dave started talking about making the next album and kind of starting to do pre-production. And as soon as he mentioned that, and kind of before that already, once it was clear that I'm gonna be staying with the band, then I kind of started putting my ideas down and just recording any riff ideas that I feel like could be something that could be used in MEGADETH. And by now I have a bunch of riffs and ideas that I've gathered. And then Dave told me that he likes to work the way that everybody does their riffs and then at some point we're gonna get together and then review things and see which riffs are gonna work together and then work out the parts between the riffs to kind of connect things and then that way come up with the skeletons for the songs. And I'm really looking forward to doing that and hearing how he feels about my ideas as well. But what I've done so far is whenever I have a moment to sit down, I usually just record a little video of myself playing a riff idea and then when we have a day off at the hotel, then I would record that properly and then just like have this folder of riffs that we can look into at some point. So, [I'm] really looking forward to that. And Dave has been really supportive and sounds like he wants to have all the guys' input on the next album, which is really exciting."

In August, Mustaine was asked by Chuck Armstrong of "Loudwire Nights" how the dynamic within MEGADETH has changed since Mäntysaari's addition to the band. Mustaine responded: "Well, we are a band again. It doesn't feel like me and some side players or some session guys. Not that it felt like that with any of the previous lineups, but that was one of the fears that I had. I feel like Kiko did us a really huge courtesy by helping us find Teemu because with Kiko needing to step down… I thought I was gonna finish my career out with Kiko, and when things came up with him, he couldn't tour anymore because he needed to be home for his kids. So I see he's touring again, which I'm happy that he's still playing. But he had to go home. And when he did, he introduced us to Teemu. And it was an even closer connection between me and Teemu than Kiko and I had. We'll [Kiko and I] always be friends, but this new relationship I have is — it harkens me back to the days when we had Marty Friedman in the band and the four of us actually felt like a band."

Mäntysaari stepped in September 2023 for Loureiro, who announced earlier that month that he would sit out the next leg of MEGADETH's "Crush The World" tour in order to stay home with his children back in Finland. It was later revealed that the 37-year-old Finnish musician would continue to play guitar for MEGADETH for the foreseeable future, with Loureiro seemingly having no plans to return.

Mäntysaari was born in Tampere, Finland and began playing guitar at the age of 12. In 2004, he joined the band WINTERSUN. He has also been a member of SMACKBOUND since 2015.

Earlier in August, Mustaine was asked by Kyle Meredith what Mäntysaari has brought to MEGADETH that wasn't there before. Mustaine responded: "God, he's such an amazing talent. And as far as being a human is concerned, he's a really humble guy. He's fun to be around because he's kind of — there's this 'greenness' to him, if that's a word, greenness. He makes it really fun because he's gone from being in a band that was pretty well known to being in MEGADETH. And so everything's very new for him at this level. And for us, we get to kind of enjoy ourselves, because we sometimes forget where we're at and then you see other people that, 'Wow, the bread is round and so is the meat,' that kind of shit. And it just makes him really happy, and it just reminds you of how good you have it."

Regarding how much a lineup change like that actually alters the musical DNA of the band, Dave said: "Well, it depends on who the new player is. If they're willing to learn the parts, then the songs either, they stay where they are or they get better. And a lot of times when you have a new player, like when Teemu came in, he played everything identical to the original players. So, he's been one of the best guitar players to step in and play somebody else's stuff. I don't know what his stuff's going to sound like yet, which I'm looking forward to finding out."

This past June, Mustaine told Sakis Fragos of Rock Hard Greece that he thinks Teemu will contribute to the songwriting process on MEGADETH's next studio album. "I think he's gonna be a great addition to MEGADETH," Dave said. "He already has. We're playing more songs now than we were playing before. And that has nothing negative to say about any of the previous lineups. It just says that he knew more about the band and understands the metal backbone of so many of these songs more than some of the other people would understand it."

He continued: "When you're a metal guy, I think you understand metal compositions more than somebody who, say for example, knows progressive rock like [former MEGADETH guitarist] Chris Broderick does, or somebody who knows bossa nova, which Kiko does, or somebody that plays jazzy, like [former MEGADETH guitarist] Glen Drover would play, maybe Al Pitrelli. These guys all have their strengths."

Mustaine added: "I've often thought, although I've never said it, I do believe that when somebody gets singled out by me, that's pretty much it for them. They've been indoctrinated into the world of great guitar players, and from that moment on, their life will change."

In early October 2023, Mustaine told Shaggy of the 94.9 and 104.5 The Pick radio station in Idaho Falls, Idaho about Teemu's addition to MEGADETH: "People are losing their minds over how things are going right now 'cause we have a really good chemistry together."

In September 2023, Mustaine was equally full of praise for Mäntysaari, telling Wes Styles in a separate interview: "He's really great. And I'm super excited with what Teemu has brought. And it's uncanny because he plays a lot like Marty. And it's really exciting. At certain times I just close my eyes during the set and I just hear these songs played, whether like Kiko in the past or Teemu now, it just sounds really magic because these guys have learned these songs and they're not just going out there and just banging their guitar around; they actually learned the solos from some of the virtuosos that I've played with over my career."

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Megadeth Digital (@megadethdigital)

In a new interview with the "Iron City Rocks" podcast, drummer Stix Zadinia of California glam metal jokesters STEEL PANTHER was asked if he and his bandmates have commenced work on material for their seventh studio album. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET):  "We're always writing. I mean, it's, never a, 'Okay guys. Let's go write a record, let's go record a record, let's put it out.' It's a constant process. [STEEL PANTHER guitarist] Satchel does most of our writing, but we're always sending ideas back and forth — lyric ideas, song ideas. And if Michael [Starr, STEEL PANTHER drummer] comes up with a riff or I come up with a riff, we throw it in the pot and see what happens. So it's an evergreen process for us. And then when we feel like we have enough cool ideas, Satchel will demo some stuff up and then he'll send it over to me. I'll add my flavor. And then we send it to Michael and he adds his flavor. And then [STEEL PANTHER bassist] Spyder. And then we get to a point where the demos are really comprehensive. And then we go in, we track it, put a title on it and put it out. So I would say there are ideas floating around and we definitely would like to do another record at some point."

Asked if he thinks STEEL PANTHER would have had the  same staying power without songs that contain what some critics say are racist, misogynistic and lewd lyrics, Stix said: "No, there's no way. I think that had we come out with lyrics that were, like, typical of a band in 1983 or in 1987, I don't think it would have flown, because what we sing about, I think people latch on to the lyrics and I think lyrics matter.

"We're in a really weird time, and I think when we put our first record out, the really weird time — and I use air quotes with that — was starting around then," he explained. "But we had been grandfathered in because of what we had established since the '90s. And the '90s were not the really weird time as far as the political correctness. So we became this place for people to be able to come, have so much fun and not worry about offending people. And we just wrote songs that we wanted to write, and nothing was ever really intentional and it was all super from the heart. Now, I think an interesting question would be if we came out in 1985, how would we be viewed with the lyrics that we have? But I think it could have been insane 'cause I think our songs are just as good [as], if not better than, most of the bands back then. And I know that might sound blasphemous, but if you don't think that about your own band, then what are you doing in that band?"

Zadinia added: "I'm proud of that — I'm proud of not playing by the rules. And I'm proud of doing just what comes from the heart for us 'cause, ultimately, we get to keep playing these songs for people who wanna come see it, who listen to it, who may use it as a tool for that escapism. And I'm proud of that. I think it's more satisfying than if we were being told what to do, what can go on a record. We are our true own bosses, and it's awesome."

Earlier this month, STEEL PANTHER announced two more legs of its "Feel The Steel 15th Anniversary Tour". The first leg is scheduled for March throughout the United States and the second leg heads to Europe next summer. The U.S. leg of the tour kicks off on March 5 in Lincoln, Nebraska and wraps up on March 28 in Dubuque, Iowa. The tour will make stops in Boise, Idaho; San Francisco, California; Tempe, Arizona and Kansas City, Missouri, to name a few. The European headline leg kicks off on June 18 in Dublin, Ireland before concluding three weeks later on July 6 in Geiselwind, Germany. The band has already been announced as part of the following European festivals in 2025: Download (United Kingdon),Lisää Löylyä (Finland),Tons Of Rock (Norway) and Rockmaraton (Hungary).

Formed in 2000, STEEL PANTHER specializes in imitating and exaggerating the less flattering aspects of 1980s hair metal, with unrepentantly crude, non-PC sexual content as a favorite lyrical theme.

The group's music has been described as "VAN HALEN meets MÖTLEY CRÜE meets RATT meets 'Wayne's World', complete with operatic shrieks, misogyny, shredding guitar solos and libidinal overdrive."

Sixteen years ago, STEEL PANTHER changed its name from METAL SKOOL to its current moniker and shifted the focus of its act from '80s metal covers to originals.

STEEL PANTHER's sixth studio album, "On The Prowl", was released in February 2023.

In September 2022, STEEL PANTHER announced the addition of Spyder as the band's new bassist.

Two months ago, STEEL PANTHER's debut album, "Feel The Steel", was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for sales in excess of 100,000 copies in the United Kingdom.

"Feel The Steel - 15th Anniversary Edition" was released worldwide on November 15. The 15th-anniversary edition features two tracks that were only released on the original Japanese import: "You Don't Make Me Feel Dumb" and "I Want Your Tits". The album was produced by Jay Ruston (ANTHRAX, COREY TAYLOR).

To celebrate the 15th anniversary of the album, STEEL PANTHER embarked on the first leg of the "Feel The Steel 15th Anniversary Tour". The trek kicked off in Huntington, New York on November 20 and ran through December 13 when it wrapped up in Orlando, Florida.

Photo credit: David Jackson

In a new interview with Brazil's 89 FM A Rádio Rock, Oli Sykes of the British rock band BRING ME THE HORIZON, who married his Brazilian model wife Alissa Salls in 2017, was asked what he likes about living in Brazil. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "The weather, the people, the food. The way of life is very different to England, but it's very good for me. I think mentally I needed to slow down a bit, and it's really hard to do that in England, whereas when you come here, everything's a little slower. People are a lot more chilled.

"I've wanted to get away for a long time," he added. "I feel like I need to have times of disconnection and get away from who I am in the band and stuff like that. And I never thought it would be Brazil, but we kind of got stuck here in lockdown, and I just realized how at peace I feel when I'm here, and I just I just really like it."

BRING ME THE HORIZON has been touring in support of its latest album, "Post Human: Nex Gen", which came out in late May via Columbia Records.

"Nex Gen" is the latest chapter in the series to be revealed and sees the band expanding both musically and conceptually. It follows on from 2020's "Post Human: Survival Horror", which featured collaborations with Yungblud, NOVA TWINS, BABYMETAL and EVANESCENCE's Amy Lee, and included the huge hit singles "Teardrops" and "Obey". Sonically, the album hits heavy, while Sykes's vocals are his most melodic to date.

BRING ME THE HORIZON entered 2024 with an explosive start, having played to over 140,000 fans in the U.K. and Ireland on their biggest U.K. arena tour to date, winning the BRIT Award for "Best Alternative/Rock Act", and announcing their first stadium show in São Paulo, Brazil (selling 30,000 tickets in the first day!).

In January, BRING ME THE HORIZON released a new song called "Kool-Aid". The track was the first to arrive following the departure of longtime keyboardist and percussionist Jordan Fish in December.

Fish joined BRING ME THE HORIZON in 2012 and appeared on the albums "Sempiternal", "That's The Spirit" and "Amo", which he helped write.

BRING ME THE HORIZON has been called one of the most forward-thinking metal bands in the world. As it has grown, BRING ME THE HORIZON has undergone a musical progression from its earliest days as a metalcore band, in large part because of the production talents of Fish.

Jordan had been a major influence on BRING ME THE HORIZON's sound, inspiring many of the edgy guitar riffs and other elements on the "Sempiternal" album. His music production fingerprints can be found all over "That's The Spirit", which offered a stylistic departure from the metalcore genre.

In a new interview with the BREWtally Speaking podcast, ATREYU vocalist Brandon Saller discussed his decision to move to Tennessee in 2023 with his wife and two daughters after living in California his entire life. Asked how it has been for him and his family "to get acclimated to a completely different environment and weather and everything", Brandon said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It's been fucking awesome. Even though I've been here a million times throughout my life, it's still different living here. But for the majority of my experience, I would say the vast majority, people here are so nice. People are cool as fuck. You have everything that you want. The only thing that Tennessee does not have, which I have not found yet, which is a bit disheartening, but I'll live, is good Mexican food and good sushi, But I also travel enough where I can get my fix, so it's gonna be okay. It's probably better off that there's not good Mexican food, 'cause then I just don't eat it. But other than that, it's been awesome. There's so many friends here that we already knew that lived here and then we've made so many good friends already that it's like a crazy good clique. The culture here is just a little bit more — people just seem to ride or die for you."

He continued: "I think growing up you go through a lot of phases of different friend groups, and you have some friend groups that are just kind of fleeting and, like, 'Yeah, we hang and it's cool, whatever,' but then you have some that are, like, 'Oh, these people would take a knife for you.' And we're lucky enough to have a couple of those friend groups in our life, but I feel like that's what we've come into since moving here. So it feels good, man. It's been awesome. And the weather is great. I like seasons. California is beautiful and I'll love it forever, but you have spring and then it rains sometimes, which is dope. But here, you have fucking seasons, and there's fall and there's winter and it's hot as fuck in the summer, but you kind of like learn to love 'em all."

Addressing the challenges of moving to a different part of the country in his early 40s, Saller said: "I think that's what keeps life fucking exciting, man. Not to say that I've done that a bunch, but I think the scary shit is always what turns out to be the most cool shit. Anything in my life that I've ever been pretty nervous to do or pretty scared to do and I just jump off the damn cliff usually ends up being the best things that I've ever done. Whether it's career-wise or musically or whatever, those kind of risks put you in a bit of an exciting headspace where I think at least I usually end up thriving. But I love that shit.

"I lived in the same house in Huntington Beach for 17 years, and I lived in California my entire life," he explained. "And I was just, like, 'Should we move to Nashville? Fuck it.' My kids were young enough to where they'd only been in school for a year — my oldest had only been in school for a year; my youngest hadn't even started school yet. So, as far as friends, they didn't have tons of friends. But now, we move and there's seven girls on my street that are just at my door wanting to party all the time. So, it's one of those things where now they're making friends or doing it in a more important phase now — for them, at least.

"I think if people get an itch and people have some sort of inkling of a need for change, that's the universe telling you something that you probably should listen to," Brandon added.

A state with close to 40 million people, California remains by far the most populous state. One in eight Americans lives in California, which is the fifth-largest economy on earth, behind only four national economies: United States, China, Germany and Japan.

Even though California has lost some residents, others have stepped in to take their place.

An estimate released in December 2023 by the U.S. Census Bureau said California's population fell by 75,000 residents in 2023 to about 38,965,000 people.

In April 2024, the state Department Of Finance estimated that California gained just over 67,000 people last year, the first increase since 2019.

The U.S. Census Bureau's estimate was for July 1, 2023, while the California Department Of Finance's estimate was for January 1, 2024.

Last December, ATREYU bassist Marc "Porter" McKnight spoke to the "BREWtally Speaking" podcast about his decision to move from Alabama, where he was born and raised, to a small town in Germany, where his wife's family resides.

ATREYU recently released "The Pronoia Sessions", a collection of eight reimagined greatest hits and two nostalgic tribute covers. The digital release was made available on October 25 while vinyl and CDs hit streets on November 8.

On October 18, ATREYU celebrated the 20th anniversary of its sophomore album, "The Curse", by performing the gold-certified LP in its entirety at the House Of Blues in Anaheim, California.

Crimson Glory - featuring mainstay founding members Ben Jackson, Jeff Lords and Dana Burnell, amazing new vocalist Travis Wills, and guitarist Mark Borgmeyer - made their comeback performance at Keep It True Rising 2024 in Würzburg, Germany on October 5. Professionally-filmed video from the show is available below.













Earlier this year, BraveWords Records announced the signing of Crimson Glory. A new album is planned for 2025.





"Metal" Tim Henderson from BraveWords Records: "What an incredible moment for BraveWords Records! Signing the legendary cyber metallers Crimson Glory as they resurrect their unstoppable career. Fans are in for such a tremendous treat as they unveil their futuristic sound and vision in 2024!"


Ben Jackson of Crimson Glory added: "I am letting everyone know how proud and excited we are to be working with Bravewords Records. Their team is outstanding! The new album is coming out killer and has similarities to the first two records while displaying a modernized feel."


Crimson Glory leader singer Travis Willis: "Becoming the new singer for Crimson Glory has been very humbling. Never in a million years would I have ever dreamed I would be singing for one of my very favorite bands I listened to as a kid, with posters on my wall. It's still surreal to me, just crazy. Sometimes, when I pause, when all the noise has receded, I sit back and it hits me... dude, you're singing for Crimson Glory! My pledge to all the fans, I'll do my very best to dutifully recreate the magic and melody of Crimson Glory. I see it is an honor and a privilege and I'm so thankful for the opportunity to be a part of bringing it all back to life."


Travis Wills offers a singthrough of some of the band's classics in the video below:





Fans can sign up to be notified with news about the upcoming album, here.


About Crimson Glory:


Crimson Glory, an American heavy metal band that formed in 1983 in Sarasota, Florida, USA. Their journey began in 1979 under the name Pierced Arrow, then evolved into Beowulf, before they finally settled on Crimson Glory. The classic line-up featured vocalist Midnight, guitarists Jon Drenning and Ben Jackson, bass guitarist Jeff Lords, and drummer Dana Burnell. With this line-up, they rose to international fame in the mid-1980s and were considered one of the pioneers of the American progressive metal movement, alongside bands like Queensrÿche, Dream Theater, Fates Warning, and Watchtower. Throughout their career, we released four studio albums and one EP.


About BraveWords Records:


There is a serious void which desperately needs to be filled, hard-working and creative bands that have yet to find a partnership and a mutual vision with a professional team. The music-fuelled minds behind BraveWords Records, Brian Adams, Giles Lavery, Tim Henderson and Michael Brandvold, have built the ultimate home for