In a new interview with FOX 32 Chicago, Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony spoke about their "The Best Of All Worlds" Las Vegas residency, which will return to Dolby Live at Park MGM for 11 performances March 11-21 and September 18-26, 2026. The 2026 residency will reunite Hagar with the powerhouse "Best Of All Worlds" band featuring fellow Hall Of Famer Anthony, 15-time Grammy nominee and guitar virtuoso Joe Satriani, powerhouse drummer Kenny Aronoff, and multi-instrumentalist Rai Thistlethwayte. The high-octane "only in Las Vegas" show is celebration of Hagar's legendary catalog, including the deepest dive yet into his tenure with VAN HALEN yet.

Asked about the ages of fans who come to see them perform during the "The Best Of All Worlds" residency, Michael said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): " My gosh, we're seeing a mix of everybody now. If you would've asked us this 15 years ago, it's, like, 'Yeah, you see our fans now, and they're there with their kids on their shoulders at the shows,' and now it's kind of like you're almost seeing the grandchildren there too now. It's great that they love the music and they wanna turn it on to their kids and their kids' kids."

Added Sammy: "Yeah. I've seen a lot of teenagers in the front row nowadays. You see a lot of guitar players and drummers and bass players, singers, young musicians in their late teens, mid-teens that wanna see the legends. And I'm not bragging about being a legend, but they wanna see the guys that their parents grew up on and that they've listened to growing up their whole life, 'cause their parents are playing VAN HALEN or LED ZEPPELIN in the house. And they wanna go see these guys while they're still alive. And I think it's awesome. It makes me feel energized to see young people there like that, and especially when they're hanging with their pop. Seeing some 14-year-old kid and his dad, that makes me so happy. I mean, my dad would never go to a concert with me. [Laughs] So it's a new generation out there. It's beautiful."

Asked if there is anything different today about how Hagar's and VAN HALEN's classic songs resonate to not only them, but maybe to the people that they are singing to, Michael said: "I'll tell you right off the bat, just loving to play music, that is a testament right there to how long that we've been here doing this and we still love doing it. Like Sammy says, it's great being able to play a residency because you're not moving around. As far as him being a singer, obviously, it's better on his voice not traveling or whatever. But, man, I love playing all the early stuff we've done just as much now as I loved playing it back then. And if you truly love playing the music, and plus the audience gets you all energized every night too, it's a pleasure to play every night. It's great. It's fun."

Added Sammy: "The thing for me is, being a songwriter or a lyricist, these songs that stood the test of time, a song like 'Right Now', the VAN HALEN song 'Right Now', I remember writing those lyrics, and it was something I was going through in my life about I was feeling like I was always too anxious, always trying to get ahead of myself and worried about something I had already done. And I came up with the idea just right now is what all that really matters. And when I sing that song today, and songs like that, it brings you back to how you felt at that time in your life, in your forties and stuff. And that's a wonderful feeling. Once again, it re-energizes you on stage. I'm sitting there singing this, going, 'Yeah, I really still mean this today. And it means something.' And the same with 'I Can't Drive 55'. I still mean it today. [Laughs]"

Last October, Hagar released "Sammy Hagar & The Best Of All Worlds Band - The Residency", a 19-track live album recorded during his first Dolby Live run, via Big Machine Rock. The album captures rare deep cuts and VAN HALEN favorites.

Custom-built for Dolby Live's intimate and electric atmosphere, "The Best Of All Worlds" delivers an unfiltered connection to the music that defined a generation. With fresh setlists each night, Hagar dusts off VAN HALEN deep cuts, solo anthems, and fan favorites not heard live in decades. The residency was a critical and box office hit, with fans and media alike calling it one of the strongest rock residencies in Las Vegas history.

VAN HALEN and Anthony had not been on good terms for more than a decade before Eddie Van Halen's death, with Anthony not invited to join the reunion with singer David Lee Roth that began in 2007. The subsequent two tours and studio album, "A Different Kind Of Truth", featured Eddie's son Wolfgang Van Halen on bass.

Anthony took a pay cut and signed away all of his rights to the band name and logo in order to participate in VAN HALEN's 2004 tour, which featured Hagar.

Swedish masters of heavy metal SABATON have joined forces with leading historically accurate naval multiplayer game World Of Warships and released a brand new single and music video titled "Yamato" — available in-game and on all DSPs now. It is being released by Better Noise Music on the heels of 2025's "Legends", which marked SABATON's first album for the label. "Crossing The Rubicon" (featuring NOTHING MORE) from the LP was also SABATON's first-ever Top 10 single on the Billboard Rock chart.

"Yamato" notably marks the second World Of Warships collaboration between SABATON and developer Wargaming following the mega-popular "Bismarck". For the first time, a SABATON-branded Yamato is also available in World Of Warships in addition to dialogue by SABATON vocalist Joakim Brodén and bassist Pär Sundström. Along with different bespoke items in game, Joakim Brodén can take the helm of the ship while the standard battle soundtrack replaced by "Yamato" or "Bismarck", transforming every engagement into an epic metal experience.

As history will tell you, Yamato was the name of a massive Japanese battleship constructed in-secret and unveiled during 1941 as the most dominant vessel of its kind. Designed to win at naval warfare, it represented the ultimate floating symbol of strength. In 1945, it famously hit the high seas on a suicide mission to defend Okinawa. Despite ceaseless fire from aircraft above and an opposing fleet of a far greater number on the water, the Yamato and its crew never gave up. Instead, they literally battled until the bitter end when a huge explosion rendered a deathblow to the ship. It sank in a blaze of glory…

As part of the alliance with World Of Warships and Wargaming, SABATON filmed the accompanying music video in Belgrade, Serbia last October. Quite fittingly, it depicts SABATON aboard the titular ship during its last stand, descending into the unforgiving ocean as the band hangs on for dear life. Waves consume the deck, but each member keeps playing his instrument even as the chaos swallows the guys up one by one.

Testing their mettle in real-life, the musicians faced brutally frigid temperatures, weathering a continuous blast of ice-cold water for the duration of the shoot. The band remained submerged in freezing waters with the help of ventilators. Pushing it to the max, the guys even wore weights beneath their stage clothes to truly evoke the sensation of sinking. Maintaining the highest level of safety protocol, professional divers assisted SABATON throughout.

About the track, Brodén said: "Battleships are interesting and naval stories have, from time to time, been part of the SABATON lore. 'Bismarck' was an exciting story for us to share and a fan favorite, and 'Yamato' is sort of a follow-up to that song. Our former guitarist, Tommy, wrote this song while he was still in the band. We only 'Thobbefied' it after guitar duties were returned to Thobbe!"

Sundström added: "'Bismarck' was such an exciting song but it was never part of an album, and it felt that it was missing something. We always wanted to follow up on that story. Over the years, countless fans have asked us to write a song about Yamato, and we knew that that would be a natural continuation of what we started with 'Bismarck'. We knew we wanted this song to have a totally different sound, and when Tommy was writing the music for this, we felt we had the appropriate, powerful song for this story. Once again, we are collaborating with World Of Warships, and since our worlds are so close, it just feels so natural to continue this great partnership. Together, we once again created a legendary music video!"

SABATON had previously partnered with World Of Warships and Wargaming for "Bismarck" in 2019. Among the most popular tunes in SABATON's catalog, the song has garnered more than 116.8 million Spotify streams to date, while the gripping music video has tallied over 107 million views and counting. Revolver magazine praised, "SABATON has made a career by writing kickass hooks about extremely specific moments of military history, and between Wargaming's world-class attention to detail and the band's artillery nerdom, this was a match made in heaven."

In more than two decades since the band's launch, SABATON has headlined major festivals, sold-out arena concerts worldwide and gained a legion of loyal fans by carving out a reputation for being one of the hardest-working bands in the business. Since their 2005 debut album, they've earned gold, platinum, and multi-platinum certifications in territories around the world with their 10 studio albums. They've also had eight albums score Top 10 international chart status, and six claim the Top 5. The band has earned eight Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards nominations, taking home the award for "Breakthrough Artist" in 2011 and "Best Live Band" in three different years, and a Grammis nomination (Swedish equivalent to the U.S. Grammy) as "Best Heavy Metal" band.

World Of Warships is a free, historical, online combat PC game from Wargaming. With its massive fleet of most iconic war vessels, including five different ship classes and strategically designed environment, World Of Warships provides the ultimate naval warfare gaming experience, suitable for everyone. Thanks to its largest collection of historically accurate ships available to play, World Of Warships prides itself as a digital ship museum and a focal point for naval history enthusiasts. New thematic content and innovative game modes are being added on a regular basis, providing a diverse and exciting gameplay to its broad player base.

In a new interview with Scott Michael Nathan of The Bad Decisions Podcast, EAGLES OF DEATH METAL's Jesse Hughes addressed some of the controversial comments he made in the months after Islamic State group extremists stormed his band's concert in France in November 2015, claiming 90 lives. Asked by Scott what people consistently get wrong about how he processed the events of that night, Jesse said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, they weren't there. That's one thing. But also you have to consider that I was traumatized. I was deeply traumatized, and I was very, very protective of everyone that had been there. So I wouldn't say that I don't believe the things that I said at the time, but I would definitely say that today I probably wouldn't say them because it's just not necessary.

"The truth is that I've always looked at it like I'm a rock and roller," he continued. "I don't care who you vote for — check your politics at the door, and everyone gets to come here and shake their dick and have a good time. For whatever reason, the circumstances of my life made it so that for a moment I didn't have that luxury anymore.

"Let me just put it this way: the amount of people that crawled out of the woodwork to manipulate me and use my tragedy to their benefit was endless, and it disgusted me on both sides of the aisle," Jesse added.

Hughes, who champions gun ownership, created a stir in France in the aftermath of the attacks by suggesting that Muslim security staff were involved and that Muslims were celebrating outside the venue — allegations that were similar to those made by Donald Trump, who said more than a decade ago that on the day of the September 11, 2001, attacks there were big, public celebrations by thousands of Muslims in New Jersey as they watched the twin towers collapse. Jesse later apologized for his comments, saying he had been struggling from nightmares and mental health problems.

"Sometimes people will say I'm a Trump supporter. That is just not true," Hughes told The Bad Decisions Podcast. I've never, ever, ever one time in the press ever endorsed or said that I support the man. I've just said things that have been controversial that you could attribute maybe to one side or another. But I have a different perspective. And I still believe the things I believe, but I was able to return to a place where — check your politics at the door."

Jesse added: "Elvis [Presley] said it best. I'm an entertainer and it's nobody's business what I vote for, 'cause I ain't here to tell you who to vote for."

After Scott Michael Nathan noted that he is personally pro-guns and that he doesn't have any issues with gay marriage, Hughes said: "Dude, our first album is literally the transgender flag. I don't think anyone realizes that. I grew up in Palm Springs. Nobody is more supportive of the gay community than I am, dude. But when everyone's all worked up and everyone's angry and everyone's too busy hating, it's difficult to see the nuances."

In March 2016, Hughes apologized to the staff and security of the Bataclan for implying that they may have known about, or even been involved in, the terrorist attack during his band's concert at the venue. His apology came after Hughes gave an interview to Fox Business in which he claimed that six security guards did not show to work the night of the attacks up and others acted strangely. "Out of respect for the police still investigating, I won't make a definite statement, but I'll say it seems rather obvious that they had a reason not to show up," Hughes said.

As a result of Hughes's comments to Fox Business, he was barred from the Bataclan re-opening concert in the fall of 2016.

The attacks in Paris led to a military response by France against the radical Islamic organization ISIS, as French jets bombed a series of targets in Syria.

The attacks stepped up worldwide concern over ISIS, as well as a debate in the U.S. over whether to accept Syrian refugees.

EAGLES OF DEATH METAL was founded in 1998 by QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE mainman Josh Homme and his longtime friend Hughes. Homme appears on the band's albums but only plays live with them occasionally.

In a new interview with Brazil's Rock Mania, former HELLOWEEN and current MASTERPLAN guitarist Roland Grapow weighed in on a debate about people using an A.I. (artificial intelligence) music generator as a tool to create melodies, harmonies and rhymes based on artificial intelligence (A.I.) algorithms and machine learning (M.L.) models. Roland said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I'm very late with this kind of stuff. I heard many things from other people, and my bandmembers talked about it, that other bands are using it. And I tried one day, for free, because you have to pay if you make it professional, I think…. I'm not really good in this; I try to make it old school. But on the other side, of course, I use ChatGPT or whatever for writing my kind of text to make better German writing when I write to professional people. It's helping in a way.

"There's a music program — not a program; it's called a plugin in the business music business. And I use it for making — you sing in your own voice and you can change your voice with a different singer, person, sound," he explained. "And I think this was interesting for make my own demo tapes, and I'm adding some other guy that is quite interesting. But I'm not doing this for the album. I want that my voice is there or the singers I will work with, or Rick [Altzi, MASTERPLAN singer].

"But I'm very late with all this stuff," Roland repeated. "I'm not the first guy checking everything. When I have time, I will try, but I don't think it's so important. What I don't like is some people are really using it and putting their name on [it] say, 'We wrote the song.' And it's not even allowed. [Germany’s performance rights organization] GEMA, the German [company responsible for] kind of collecting all the royalties and stuff, they're asking you, 'Is this song written it by [A.I.] or something?' It's not allowed. Because these [A.I.] programs are using ideas worldwide from famous people, melding it together — that's what I think — and something was used already. There's nothing fresh, there's nothing new. But sometime people are sending me songs and say, 'I wrote a song,' and it's [A.I.].' I hear it, and I see it. They even [aren't] shy to show me the video, which is on an [A.I.] program. And I said, 'Why are you sending it? You didn't write the song.' That means even non-musicians can write songs now. It's funny. They just say something like, 'Write a song in a genre or in the style of this band' or whatever, my hero, and then it sounds very close, pretty good. That's what I heard. But I'm not doing this. I hate this. For me it's like a bad kind of art, because I want to say something with my feelings. And when I write it — I play now every day guitar again, and I have so much fun. And I'm even better than I think I was 20 years ago. And I found different techniques and I'm very motivated. And I want to show it. I don't want to use some computer to tell me what to learn."

MASTERPLAN will release its new studio album, "Metalmorphosis", on June 26, 2026 via Frontiers Music Srl.

MASTERPLAN stands among the most enduring and influential names in German power metal. Founded in 2001 by Grapow and drummer Uli Kusch following their exit from HELLOWEEN, the band quickly established a distinctive identity built on strong melodies, technical precision and an epic-yet-modern metal approach.

MASTERPLAN's self-titled debut album, released in 2003, was met with widespread critical acclaim and immediate chart success, setting the standard for a career defined by consistency and evolution.

Over the years, MASTERPLAN has released several highly regarded albums — including "Aeronautics", "MK II", "Time To Be King" and "Novum Initium" — each showcasing refined songwriting and a powerful balance between classic power metal energy and progressive elements. Their work earned them international recognition, extensive touring across Europe and beyond, and industry accolades that confirmed their status as a leading force in the genre.

In 2017, MASTERPLAN released an album titled "PumpKings", containing reworked versions of HELLOWEEN songs from albums that Grapow played on during his time in the legendary German power metal band. Included are three songs from HELLOWEEN's "Pink Bupples Go Ape" (1991) LP, two from "Chameleon" (1993),three from "Master Of The Rings" (1994),one from "The Time Of The Oath" and two from "The Dark Ride" (2000).

MASTERPLAN's first-ever concert release came out in October 2015. "Keep Your Dream aLive" was made available as DVD/CD and Blu-ray/CD sets, both including the entire show from Masters Of Rock festival, recordings from Wacken Open Air, footage from the band's Asian tour and ProgPower USA, as well as all five official MASTERPLAN video clips. The Masters Of Rock show is featured on the CD.

MASTERPLAN's latest studio album of all original material, "Novum Initium", was released in June 2013 via AFM.

A new MASTERPLAN single, "Rise Again" was made available in early 2024 via AFM Records. A reworked version of "Rise Again" will be made available on "Metalmorphosis".

MASTERPLAN is gearing up for a European tour, starting on April 12.

Photo credit: Patric Ullaeus

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has officially announced that the Led Zeppelin documentary, Becoming Led Zeppelin, makes its 4K UHD and Blu‑Ray debut with an Ultimate Collector’s Edition on April 14.



The Collector’s Edition boxset contains:

– 2‑Disc 4K UHD and Blu‑ray SteelBook edition
– Four exclusive photo card prints
– Two limited‑edition guitar picks
– Iron‑on jacket patch
– Vinyl guitar case sticker
– Special letter to fans from Director Bernard MacMahon



Becoming Led Zeppelin explores the origins of this iconic group and their meteoric rise in just one year against all the odds. Powered by awe-inspiring, psychedelic, never-before-seen footage, performances and music, Bernard MacMahon’s experiential cinematic odyssey explores Led Zeppelin’s creative, musical, and personal origin story. The film is told in Led Zeppelin’s own words and is the first officially sanctioned film on the group.

The hybrid docu-concert film also unveils a huge amount of rare and unseen Led Zeppelin performance footage. The result is a visceral musical experience that will transport audiences into the concert halls of Led Zeppelin’s earliest tours, accompanied by intimate, exclusive commentary from the famously private band.

Becoming Led Zeppelin is a movie that almost didn’t come to fruition – the filmmakers were up against epic challenges, including the fact that hardly any footage from the band’s early period existed. MacMahon and McGourty embarked on a global detective search for material to illustrate the band’s story.

“We spent five years flying back and forth across the Atlantic scouring attics and basements in pursuit of rare and unseen film footage, photographs and music recordings,” writer/producer Allison McGourty said. “Then we transferred each piece of media with custom techniques, so that in IMAX, these 55-year-old clips and music would look and sound like they came out of the lab yesterday.”

Becoming Led Zeppelin is directed by the award-winning, Emmy® and BAFTA® nominated Bernard MacMahon (American Epic), and written by MacMahon and BAFTA® nominated producer Allison McGourty. It is produced by McGourty and Paradise Pictures in association with Big Beach, alongside executive producers Michael B Clark, Alex Turtletaub, Cynthia Heusing, David Kistenbroker, Duke Erikson, Simon Moran, and Ged Doherty. Editing is by Dan Gitlin, sound supervision is by Nick Bergh, sound restoration is by Grammy® Award winner Peter Henderson, with archival research from Kate Griffiths and Rich Remsberg.

In a new interview with the "Kennedy Saves The World" podcast, SLIPKNOT co-founder and percussionist M. Shawn Crahan (a.k.a. Clown) was asked if he still lives in Iowa. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "No, we moved to Palm Springs. There's some health things. And the sun is always out here. It is always blue skies. The energy is incredible, and it's just better for what my wife and I are doing now in our life, which is trying to be stress-free as much as possible and appreciate each other. All the kids are out of the house. So it's been a long haul dedicating to art and life. So we moved to Palm Springs to take a load off and get a different energy and have blue skies, warm weather that just feels good all day, every day."

Asked by podcast host Kennedy if he feels "at peace" in Palm Springs, Crahan said: "Man. Well, I'm not trying to turn this, 'cause you asked the question. I gotta be always honest. I don't lie, cheat or steal. We lost a family member, and in the Midwest — anywhere with great people, anywhere with good people around — they're always gonna be there for you. And it's hard for my wife and I to be in the situation we were in, and so many good people around. Like I always say, a lot of people will go home to dinner, and we're kind of stuck in it anyway. And so, yeah, a lot of peace here in Palm Springs. Different energy. My wife was ill, and we came here a couple of times and her spirits got really a lot… I mean, just her spirits and her health and everything just went up. And one day it was 120 degrees, and we were laying out in the pool looking at these little mountains just, like, 'Whoa, are we here?' She's, like, 'I could live here.' So we're here. So that's it. She just had to say that. And, honestly, yeah, we've got a lot of peace. So it's nice to change your situation, get out of the woods, get in the desert."

Shawn's daughter Gabrielle Crahan died on May 18, 2019 in Los Angeles, with Shawn announcing the death the following day. The 22-year-old was one of four children Shawn had with his wife, Chantel, whom he married in June 1992.

Gabrielle was remembered in her obituary as a "social butterfly" with an "outgoing personality, cheerful attitude, compassion and loving heart." The obituary said Gabrielle fought hard against drug addiction and worked to help others who were also struggling.

Gabrielle's brother Simon and older sister Alexandria both expressed their grief over her death on social media.

M. Shawn Crahan is not only the co-founder, percussionist, production designer and artistic visionary of SLIPKNOT, one of the world's biggest metal bands, he is a multi-faceted musician (DIRTY LITTLE RABBITS, TO MY SURPRISE, THE BLACK DOTS OF DEATH),a painter and photographer whose work has been exhibited in galleries globally and published in the 2012 book "The Apocalyptic Nightmare Journey", a director and videographer, having directed a string of music videos for music artists, including SLIPKNOT, MOTIONLESS IN WHITE and HOLLYWOOD UNDEAD, the 2016 movie adaptation of graphic novel "Officer Downe" and SLIPKNOT's own "Day Of The Gusano" and "Pollution" movies. He also has an extensive body of studio work, having produced albums for MUDVAYNE, DOWNTHESUN, GIZMACHI and 40 BELOW SUMMER and helmed remixes for the likes of BRING ME THE HORIZON, COHEED AND CAMBRIA, SUICIDE SILENCE, MARILYN MANSON, AMERICAN HEAD CHARGE and ESCAPE THE FATE, among others. He is also an actor, having starred as the carny "Tamer" in the 2012 movie "The Devil's Carnival" and an entrepreneur, guiding the development and blending of SLIPKNOT's No. 9 whiskey, in collaboration with Iowa distillery Cedar Ridge.

According to Deadline, Universal is developing a biopic about BON JOVI, with the participation of frontman Jon Bon Jovi and access to the band's music catalog.

Cody Brotter, whose previous work includes the Black List script "Drudge", is writing the screenplay. A director has not been set, nor has casting for the group's key members. The movie will be produced by Kevin J. Walsh and Gotham Chopra, whose company Religion Of Sports produced the 2024 Hulu documentary series "Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story". Universal's director of production development Jacqueline Garell will oversee the project for the studio.

Released in 2024, "Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story" celebrated the band's 40th anniversary of its self-titled debut album which was released on January 21, 1984 via Polygram/Mercury Records, less than a year after forming in their home state of New Jersey.

The four-part "Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story" series was directed and executive produced by Chopra. Jon Bon Jovi is not credited as a producer on the project.

Over an illustrious career spanning more than three decades since the band's formation in 1983, BON JOVI has earned their place among global rock royalty and was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame as well as the Songwriters Hall Of Fame. With over 130 million albums sold worldwide, an extensive catalog of hit anthems, thousands of concerts performed in more than 50 countries for more than 35 million fans, and ticket grosses well over $1 billion around the world in the last decade alone, BON JOVI is the consummate rock and roll band.

The band now features BON JOVI originals David Bryan and Tico Torres alongside Jon, plus longtime bassist Hugh McDonald, co-producer and co-songwriter John Shanks, multi-instrumentalist Everett Bradley and lead guitarist Phil X, who joined the band on a 2013 tour.

Last fall BON JOVI announced a series of 2026 concerts, including a nine-night stand at New York City's Madison Square Garden. The dates will kick off with the Madison Square Garden residency, taking place in July. After those shows, BON JOVI will head across the pond for concerts in Edinburgh, Scotland's Murrayfield Stadium on August 28; Dublin, Ireland's Croke Park on August 30; and London, U.K.'s Wembley Stadium on September 4, September 6 and September 9.

Press photo courtesy of Republic Media

In a new interview with The Weekly Show With David J. Maloney, Joe Satriani once again reflected on being approached to reproduce Eddie Van Halen's guitar parts as part of an all-star VAN HALEN tribute project with Alex Van Halen and David Lee Roth. Recalling how the proposed pairing came about, Joe said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, it started, really, when Dave and Alex had called, and they wanted to put together a band, and they were insisting that I was the guy to do it. And I kept saying, 'I'm not the guy. Call Nuno [Bettencourt]. He can really do it.' And there's thousands of kids around the world who've dedicated their life to sounding exactly like Ed. And I said, 'I've always tried not to sound like Ed.' I'm a huge fan, but I've tried to respect that. But they were insistent. And we rehearsed. We came really close to doing our first show, but it all kind of started to fall apart, and I'm not really sure what happened with that. And I was busy as well, so I was just waiting to hear what was happening month by month."

Referencing the fact that he eventually took part in the 2024 "The Best Of All Worlds" tour with Sammy Hagar during which Hagar and his bandmates in THE CIRCLE — Satriani and ex-VAN HALEN bassist Michael Anthony — performed largely VAN HALEN material, Joe said: "When it seemed like what was going on in the [VAN HALEN] family and the bandmembers was getting really out of hand, Sam had called and he surprised me by saying, 'Look, I know you've been going through this thing with those guys, and it's insane and everything. How about if we did a retrospective tour — not an Eddie Van Halen tribute thing — but where we get to do MONTROSE, Hagar, CHICKENFOOT, my stuff and his era, and even some David Lee Roth era of VAN HALEN?' And I liked that idea, because I know Sam and Mike very well — they're just super-great people and they're always fun to hang out with and play with — and then I liked the idea that we would create our own sound as a band. And we kind of had it with CHICKENFOOT, so it felt like we weren't trying to copy anybody else. But still, just technically, I had to remind Sam, I said, 'Sam, I'm gonna tell you what I told Alex, which is I don't really play like Eddie,' but he kind of knew it and we played for so long together. He said, 'That's not what it's about. We're not gonna do that. Let the imitators do that. Leave that for social media.' And so I thought, 'Cool. Okay.' However, it was difficult to make the equipment transition, and that that required not only a lot of money, but just a lot of changing of direction, of equipment to try to figure out, how do you play stuff within one show that is so old, like the MONTROSE stuff, and then slowly transition… Even from 'Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love' to 'Poundcake', the sound of the guitar is just so different. So we had long talks about that, like, literally the whole band's gonna suddenly change their sound? And we thought, 'No, we shouldn't do that. We should just find a sound.'"

Satriani continued: "Working with the guys from 3rd Power, we figured out, Dylana [Scott], she's just an amazing engineer, and she figured out with this amp, this Dragon amp, that she could get this sound that I was aiming for, which was basically kind of like 'Live Without A Net' [from] VAN HALEN, which was a very interesting transition point for Ed where he was go leaving the Marshalls and heading towards using the Soldano and he was going into the stereo chorus phase, but it still sounded like it worked for the David Lee Roth stuff, which was very different sounding. I mean, you could go up there and play the gig with any sound, but to get in this right frame of mind where you are inspiring yourself, you really do have to hear the right sound, to some degree. That has been an ongoing thing. And we're still working on it."

In January 2024, Joe was asked during an appearance on "The Hook Rocks" podcast why he thinks the 2024 "The Best Of All Worlds" tour came together while the proposed VAN HALEN tribute featuring him, Roth and Alex Van Halen failed to materialize more than two years earlier when it was first brought up. Joe said: "That's tough. I didn't know Eddie [Van Halen] and I don't know the family and I don't think I'll ever really understand David Lee Roth. I thought I really understood Alex, and I think I do. I really think I understand his point of view or where he's coming from.

"I tend to think that the real difference here is that Sammy has a real sort of inclusive way of looking at life and he notices when there's conflict that is getting in the way of doing something good and he'll try to fix it," Joe continued. "So as a result, it's just like he says, 'Yeah, we're gonna do 'Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love'. I know it's not my song, but that's cool.' Now you ask David Lee Roth, 'Hey, are you gonna do '5150'?' Of course he's never gonna do it. So there's a big difference there, is that you have one guy who is very flexible because he's thinking about the fans, and then you have another guy who, I don't know why Dave is so inflexible on a couple of subjects — I really don't, because I don't know him. I should ask Steve [Vai] about it; I mean, Steve knows [David well]. I can't say that I really know him.

"I felt that Alex really wanted to do it and his heart was pure in its intention. But I don't know about Dave. I know that Sammy and Mike, their intentions are pure. They really do wanna celebrate the music and they're willing to mend any fence to make it happen on stage. They're the original guys. It's more than just a tour. And you feel that when you're standing next to Sammy and Mike. There's just an immense amount of power and love with the two of them and playing those songs. And people, they want to experience it and they should be able to experience it.

"I would hope at some point that [Alex, Eddie's son Wolfgang Van Halen and David] figure it out. Basically, Wolfgang is the guy to do it — he's the guy to do any tribute there is. The rest of us are just gonna be copying the album as close as we can, but it'll be fodder for the guitar army out there to criticize, like, 'Well, you should have done it like this,' and, 'He could have done it like that,' and, 'She should have done it like this,' because we're not Eddie, and we're not Wolfgang."

Satriani added: "It's taken a while for me to get a really good perspective on it, but I do think that we should all just kind of leave that alone and let them figure it out. It really is up to, I think, Wolfgang and his uncle Alex to figure this out."

Back in December 2023, Satriani spoke to Ultimate Guitar's Justin Beckner about how he planned to play Eddie Van Halen's parts on "The Best Of All Worlds" tour. Asked if there are some VAN HALEN songs that he found most challenging to perform, Joe replied: "The main thing is that for the last five decades I've tried so hard to be myself and to be me and not copy anybody. I've been lucky, since the late '80s, to have a solo career, so I really had a job that forced me to be myself as much as possible. So I made a point not to play like anybody. But it happens eventually when you're having fun, you're at a party and someone says, 'Oh, can you play this song?' and you realize, 'I have no idea how to play that song. I love that song. I've listened to it a million times. I don't know what the guy's doing.' And then you go to learn it and you go, 'Wow, that's really weird. It feels so awkward for me to be like this.' And it's not the parts, 'cause I can hear the chords and I know what everything is when I hear it. It's just the sensibility of timing, vibrato, picking. If you're so deep into your own thing, it's really hard to get out of it and try to properly emulate somebody else's playing. It would almost be like if you gave a guitar to Eddie and you said, 'Okay, Eddie, we want you to play 'Summer Song' note for note.' He'd be, like, 'What? I don't play like that. I don't do that. I just kind of do this, this and this.' Of course we'd love it no matter how he did it — it would be fun — but it wouldn't be exactly the same."

Joe continued: "When I was young and I was in cover bands, I knew what it was like to try to get as close as possible when you were playing — for me, it was [LED] ZEPPELIN and [BLACK] SABBATH and THE [ROLLING] STONES and stuff like that; that's what we played. But eventually, you'd have to go, 'I don't play like that. That's not my vibrato.' If I go to play AC/DC, there's no way I can do Angus's [Young] vibrato. He just has his own vibrato. If you're gonna try to play like Jeff Beck — he's so personal. You can play the notes and remind people of this part he did and that part, but it's not gonna sound quite the same.

"If we heard Eric Clapton trying to play 'Since I've Been Loving You' by LED ZEPPELIN, there's no way it would sound the same. It would be great, but it wouldn't sound the same. So, what I noticed right away, when I realized, 'I really have to figure out these songs,' [I asked myself] what is Eddie — what's he operating on?

"So here are a couple of things I've noticed," Satriani added. "Number one, he plays so on the beat and makes it feel like he's pushing the beat, but he's actually not. It's really amazing how he does it. And I realized, when I went back and I listened to my stuff back to back, I thought, 'Oh, that's me, sitting on the backbeat as much as I can,' because I'm playing the melody. When you play the melody, you don't wanna be on top. Actually, you want the band to be pushing, and you're sitting back here, like a singer, playing. I like the way Robert Plant sings in 'Since I've Been Loving You'. He's so behind. Or listen to any hip-hop song — the vocals are way in the pocket; they're just late on purpose. So that's something I've worked on my whole life is 'sit back, sit back, sot back,' and all of a sudden you go to play a song like 'I'm The One', and it's like, 'No, you have to be the guy way in front.' And Alex [Van Halen] is gonna be going, 'No, no. Sit back here.' And that's a difficult sensibility when every nerve ending in your body is saying, 'Sit back.' But to make the song work, you've gotta sit forward. That's the first thing I noticed, like the difference between Eddie's sensibility in timing and mine in terms of timing.

"Our vibratos aren't that different," Joe said. "He holds hick pick [with his thumb and middle finger], so he's always got [his index] finger for tapping, and I don't. So I always have to do something. And what I started to do early on was to use my pick for a lot of hammer-ons because I just wanted to be different, and I thought I'd get a better sound, I'd be able to do some different things that other players weren't doing. And I saw guys using their fingers back in the early '70s, when Eddie was my age, just a young teenager. There were other guys doing tapping for decades before, but as my generation started to figure out how to do tapping, I saw the thing was a split. There's tapping for effect, tapping for riff, and then there's tapping to create an entire musical piece. And Eddie did all of it. The way that he would do the tapping, when he would use it, [was] totally opposite of the way that I had forced myself to go with it.

"The third thing is… Again, we're talking about someone who was just an incredible virtuoso in several areas. One of the things that Eddie had was this super-tight swing that was ultrafast with his right hand. And that is something, again, that once… I remember hearing for the first time and thinking, 'Well, I'm gonna have to work on that.' That's gonna take me, I thought, I bet, three months of 45 minutes a day just working with a metronome to work that into my bag of tricks.' 'Cause that's kind of like what it is."

Hagar and Anthony previously worked with Satriani in the supergroup CHICKENFOOT. They recorded two albums between 2009 and 2011 and toured across America but never performed any VAN HALEN material. More recently, Hagar and Anthony have played some of the VAN HALEN catalog with guitarist Vic Johnson and Bonham in SAMMY HAGAR AND THE CIRCLE.

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

Sammy, Eddie, Alex Van Halen and Michael 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.

During a March 11 appearance on SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", OVERKILL singer Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth spoke about the progress of the songwriting sessions for the band's follow-up to their latest album, "Scorched", which came out in April 2023 via Nuclear Blast. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I think we're always working on new music. That's been the motif since all the way back in the [early OVERKILL] days. You're always kind of in a writing mode. You're keeping your eyes open, you're in a writing mode, or at least my end of it. But we look to record it maybe at the end of [our upcoming U.S.] tour [with TESTAMENT and DESTRUCTION]. It's pretty much done musically. I have to add a few melody lines and a few harmonies and melodies and a few lyrics here and there. But we're looking at a '27 tour [and] maybe a late '26 release."

Asked if he and his OVERKILL bandmates are going to perform any new music on the tour with TESTAMENT and DESTRUCTION, which is scheduled to kick off on March 14 in Portland, Oregon, Blitz said: "No, we're not. We're just gonna get out there on the road and stretch our legs again. It's gonna feel good. [OVERKILL bassist] D.D.'s [Verni] been going through a rehab for a long period of time with his shoulders and stuff, so it's kept everybody from going out and doing this stuff. I think he's gone through three operations at this point — it's, like, two on the right and one on the left, and all three of them are rotator cuff injuries. I'm just looking to get out there and sing again."

He added: "I think this period of time and the pandemic were the times that I've done the least amount of shows in my career, since even before I was signed, running around at [legendary Brooklyn, New York club] L'Amours or out in Staten Island or some of the Jersey clubs."

Asked if D.D. is going to be able to take part in OVERKILL's U.S. tour with TESTAMENT and DESTRUCTION, Blitz said: "No, he's not gonna be able to do [those shows]. Christian [Olde Wolbers] from FEAR FACTORY's coming out. He sat in for D.D. in '24. But that's when D.D. only had one operation, so D.D. did some of [the shows], but this one, it's just too much. He just said he couldn't do it."

Olde Wolbers previously filled in for Verni in the fall of 2024 when OVERKILL supported KING DIAMOND on a North American tour.

For some of its European shows in September 2024, OVERKILL recruited ex-KREATOR bassist Christian "Speesy" Giesler as a temporary replacement for Verni.

Verni also sat out OVERKILL's April 2024 Latin American tour while he was recovering from shoulder surgery. Filling in for him on the trek was former MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson.

Last October, Ellsworth told the Metal Mayhem ROC podcast that he and his OVERKILL bandmates had "demoed out" the material for the group's upcoming album. "Jeramie Kling's playing drums for us now," he said. "[Former OVERKILL drummer] Jason Bittner moved on to other things… So we're just moving along as if there is no issue with D.D.."

In September 2025, Verni, who is the main songwriter in OVERKILL, told Jeff Gaudiosi of MisplacedStraws.com about OVERKILL's upcoming LP:  "We are demoing stuff right now. We probably have maybe nine or 10 songs kind of scratched out that I gave to Blitz a little while ago. Usually the process is I'll demo everything up musically [and] then I'll give it to Blitz. He'll spend some time with it and kind of do his thing with them. Then we get everybody together, kind of that. So I gave it to Blitz maybe not too long ago."

In August 2024, OVERKILL confirmed Kling as the group's new drummer. Kling joined the veteran New Jersey thrash metal outfit as the replacement for Bittner, who announced his exit from OVERKILL earlier that month.

A founding member of THE ABSENCE, Kling appeared on VENOM INC.'s second album, 2022's "There's Only Black", and has played with such acts as FORE, RIBSPREADER, GOREGÄNG and NECROMANCING THE STONE. He was also briefly affiliated with the reunited Florida death metal band MASSACRE, which led to the formation of INHUMAN CONDITION, alongside Terry Butler (OBITUARY, ex-DEATH) and Taylor Nordberg (DEICIDE). In addition to being a drummer, Kling is a recording engineer, producer and live sound engineer.

Bittner joined OVERKILL in 2017 and played drums on the band's last two studio albums, 2019's "The Wings Of War" and the aforementioned "Scorched".

In November 2024, Jason admitted to "Reckless" Rexx Ruger of Pod Scum that he "hadn't been happy" in OVERKILL "for, like, two fucking years. It wasn't a surprise that I quit. I'd been dissatisfied for a long time, but I'm a team player. I don't like to leave things. I love the guys personally. So I just kind of just hung in there, but I was not happy where I was career-wise, let's say, within the confines of that band. I wasn't a bandmember. And that's the main thing for me to keep doing this at this point in my lifetime." He added that he felt he wasn't "being paid fairly" for his time" but clarified that there was "no animosity" and called his decision to leave "just a business thing." He explained: "I can play five shows with SHADOWS FALL and make more money than playing 30 with OVERKILL."

In September 2024, Verni told Capital Chaos TV about Bittner's departure: "We kind of knew that that was coming. He had told us a while ago that he was just kind of burned out on too many things and had his hands in too many pots. So I think we kind of knew that was coming."

OVERKILL played its first concert with Kling on August 30, 2024 at the Posada Rock festival in Câmpulung Muscel, Romania.

In a new interview with Australia's Heavy, ANTHRAX's 62-year-old guitarist Scott Ian was asked how his body is holding up these during the group's live performances, especially as he and his bandmates are preparing to embark on a four-date Australian tour at the end of the month. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "This is the first time I've ever had to answer that question this way. I injured my back. We were on the 70000 Tons Of Metal cruise at the end of January. And there was freak weather down off of the coast of south Florida and out in the Bahamas where that boat goes usually. So it couldn't cruise down to the Bahamas 'cause there was a bad storm. So we just kind of stayed off the coast of Florida — like 20, 30 miles off shore — and there was a freak cold weather shit that happened. 'Cause Miami, Florida that time of year should be 70, 75 degrees Fahrenheit. And it was in the 30s — it was snowing weather. And we're out on the ocean, and the winds are blowing 40 miles per hour. And the second show we do on the boat on the Saturday night, you do it on the big pool deck. So there's 3,000 people outside on the boat and you're playing outdoors. And it was literally freezing fucking cold. And we tried to get them to change the schedule so we could play in the theater again, but they couldn't move all the schedule around. And we didn't wanna play in the freezing cold, 'cause it obviously makes it very difficult, and for the fans. But all the fans were out there, so we're, like, 'Well, they're out there. We're not gonna cancel.' So we played. And we are very physical performers. I move around quite a bit on stage, jumping, stomping; I'm all over the place. And there was no way for my muscles — even though I warmed up, my muscles never warmed up. And by the end of the next day, after playing that show in the cold, my back went out, and I could barely walk for a week probably. I couldn't tie my shoes. I couldn't fucking put pants on. I never had pain like that, back spasms like this. It was insane."

Ian continued: "I finally got home, 'cause I had to go down to South America after that and finish these MR. BUNGLE shows. And I was flying these 10-hour flights and I couldn't even move, dude. I couldn't move. It was agony. And it's been five weeks now. [ANTHRAX] just did this whole run through Canada [with MEGADETH and EXODUS], every night on the tour seeing massage therapists, seeing fucking osteopaths, anything to get me through the show every night. And at my best on this Canadian run, I was maybe 40%. I couldn't jump. I couldn't stomp my feet. If anything, maybe my playing was better, 'cause what else [can I do]? I headbanged harder, because it didn't hurt for me to headbang."

Looking ahead to ANTHRAX's Australian tour, Ian added: "Right now — I got home and I've been seeing a physical therapist and I leave in a week to fly to Australia, and I'm definitely better than I was a week ago. And I'm hoping another week will go by, and so by the time I get on stage in Brisbane [for the first show of the Australian tour], I'm hoping I will be somewhere in the 70, 75% of what I should feel like range, 'cause I don't wanna re-injure myself, obviously. And, dude, I take care of myself. I work out regularly, and have for the years, all because I want to be able to perform at the level I want to be able to perform at. I know what I can do and I know the show I wanna give to a crowd.

"You probably saw it, Dee Snider from TWISTED SISTER announced a few weeks ago he was retiring because he feels like physically he can't put on the show he wants to put on for an audience, and I totally understand that," Ian said. "It was so hard some nights in Canada. The audience doesn't know I'm up there with fucking spasms running down my leg in the middle of the show. They don't know, 'cause I'm just up there headbanging and if I'm making a face, they just think it's 'cause I'm metal, not 'cause I'm in pain. They don't know. And I'm up there doing my best. But I know. And I would try and do something, and I would get a spasm and it'd be, like, 'Nope, can't do that.' And it's really frustrating."

Circling back to how he takes care of himself physically in order to be able to put on a good show, Scott concluded: "I'm hyper aware of having to take care of myself. We all are. We all are. Joey [Belladonna, ANTHRAX singer] takes such good care of his throat, and that's why you've got a guy who was in his early sixties who still hits every note. We don't have to drop our tunings. The guy is in that rare air of dudes that age who could still sing like that. And it's not just because of fucking magic; it's because he takes care of himself. And that's what you have to do."

ANTHRAX's long-awaited new studio album is tentatively due in May in North America via Megaforce and in Europe through Nuclear Blast. The mixing sessions, as well as some of the recording sessions, for the LP took place at Dave Grohl's Studio 606 in Northridge, California. ANTHRAX once again worked with producer Jay Ruston, who previously helmed 2016's "For All Kings" and 2011's "Worship Music" albums.

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

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

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