In a new interview with The Adam Carolla Show, Ted Nugent once again hinted that his political views are one of the main reasons he hasn't been inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.

The conservative rocker, who been eligible for the honor as a solo artist since 2000, has enjoyed a remarkably successful and eventful musical career over the past five decades, but his music is increasingly overshadowed by his political outbursts.

After host Adam Carolla opined that "someone like Joan Jett is only in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame because she's a female and because she's a lesbian", Ted responded in part (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I know you like shocks in life. I'm gonna shock you, because I think Joan Jettshould be in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame just because of her music. But not yet, because you have to get STYX in first, you have to get NIGHT RANGER in first, you have to get TRIUMPH. TRIUMPH should be [in there]. I can name a hundred [deserving] bands [that aren't in there]."

Nugent continued: "I'll never forget — somebody brought up during an interview, they said we saw the Rolling Stone list of top 100 guitar players, Ted, and what do you think that Joan Jett is in there? And I go — it's on tape — I said, 'I love Joan Jett.' She's a garage-band, dirty, nasty, uppity… She's my favorite lesbian. And some of my greatest memories include lesbians. The point is, is that she's not in the top 100 guitar player list because I've got a hundred guitar players that are really virtuosos and adventurous… [Joan] plays a great rhythm guitar."

Circling back to his exclusion from the Rock Hall, Ted added: "It doesn't affect me at all, except I like honesty. I'm a big fan of honesty and it's all so dishonest. But I'm having the greatest musical year of my life… So I don't need no Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame… I am having the time of my life. Not only is 2026 gonna be the best year in my life, but it's gonna be the worst for my enemies. And I'm not gonna put any energy into pissing off my enemies just by having a good life. It drives them batty. What a dream."

Back in September 2023, Ted was asked if he thought he had a better chance of finally getting inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame now that Rolling Stone magazine co-founder Jann Wenner has been removed from the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Foundation's board after comments he made in a New York Times interview about female and black musicians sparked widespread criticism. Ted said in part: "Had you not posed that question to me about whether I should be in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, I would never even think about it. I'm too busy playing my guitar and making great music with my amazing musicians, playing for the greatest music-loving audience in my life.

"So whether I am ever in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame now that the lying, misogynistic, racist Jann Wenner has been thrown off the board, and my good friend, quite honestly, an ultra-leftist, Tom Morello from the band RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE is on the board, some people have mentioned to me that they're considering putting me in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame."

Nugent added: "I don't care. I don't care that I'm not in it. I just wish that TRIUMPH, GRAND FUNK RAILROAD, so many killer rock and roll bands that somebody is giving the finger… I think it was Jann Wenner [who] was giving the finger to real honest-to-God rock and roll bands to assist inducting his stoner friends. That's my belief. I believe he got people that got high with him and that hung out with him and that spent time with him. I don't think it's really about rock and roll. And my point is, is that a Hall Of Fame that has Little Richard and James Brown and THE [ROLLING] STONES and THE BEATLES and THE WHO and THE KINKS and Tom Petty and Prince and Bo Diddley, for a Hall Of Fame to have them in it, and then put in Grandmaster Flash, who, he's anti-rock and roll, and ABBA, which is just pop music; I don't really think there's even a drum in the song. I'm, I'm being facetious now.

"So, I want honesty, and if someone decides that Ted Nugent should be in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, all I can tell you is that if they do induct me, my acceptance speech will be very, very special and it will make fun, fun, music-loving people feel really good, and it'll make idiots squirm."

Nugent previously addressed his exclusion from the Rock Hall during a July 2022 edition of "The Nightly Nuge". He told co-host Keith Mark at the time: "My comment on the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame is I never speak from a personal anger that I'm not in it; I never reference that I should be in it, though obviously I should be in it. But that Grandmaster Flash and Madonna and ABBA are in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame? I speak on behalf of the fan club of the founding fathers that the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame should always pay homage to and respect, and that's Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley and Little Richard and Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis and the founding fathers of this most exciting, throttling, defiant, irreverent, uppity, fun soundtrack in the world. And that they would put people in there that are not just not rock and roll, but they're anti rock and roll.

"Let me go ahead and say this… Nobody can sue me because if they try to sue me, we'll prove that my words are accurate," Nugent added. "There's a lot of dope smoking going on at the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, and the more dope you smoke, the dumber you get, the more irresponsible you get and the more criminally inclined you will get. And the statistics to prove what I just said are irrefutable, unless you're so stoned that you can irrefute truth, logic and common sense, which I get a big kick out of… And again, it's not because I'm angry that I'm not in; I'm angry that they're dishonest and that they're not paying respect to the Chuck Berrys and the Bo Diddleys and the Elvis Presleys and the Little Richards and the Jerry Lee Lewises of the world, because rock and roll means something, and ABBA and Grandmaster Flash ain't it."

When Keith noted that Ted's "politics" are the main reason he hasn't been inducted into the Rock Hall, Nugent said: "Let's examine the foundation of that observation, very accurate observation. I'm not in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame because of my politics. My politics are the U.S. Constitution. Thank you very much."

Ted has railed against the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame a number of times in the past, including in a 2017 interview with the Q103 radio station in Albany. At the time, he stated about his exclusion from the institution: "Jan Wenner, the founder of Rolling Stone [magazine] and the boss hog at Rock And Roll Of Fame, he hates freedom, he hates the Second Amendment, he hates me, because I'm on the board of directors — quite proudly — of the National Rifle Association for, like, twenty-six years with some of the highest votes except for Charlton Heston [NRA's president]. And I couldn't be more proud of that, 'cause the NRA is the ultimate family, grassroots organization that fights for the right to defend ourselves. What kind of numbnut would be against that? And so I'm on the board of directors of the NRA, Jan Wenner hates the Second Amendment, so that's the only reason I'm not in the Rock And Roll Of Fame. And until they get their heads out of their ass, I'm more than happy to do what I do and do it with all the vim and vigor that I do it every night."

Nugent added: "Hey, write this down. My name is Ted Nugent. I am the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Eat me!"

Asked if he would show up for his Rock Hall induction if he eventually got the nod, Nugent said: "Oh, hell yes! And you know what I would do? I would lead… I've seen a lot of the ceremonies, and they're so moving. All of us that love music, how do you not just shed a tear of joy when you see Bob Seger and certainly ZZ TOP and Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley and James Brown… Are you kidding me? These are the gods of the soundtrack of our quality of life. But you know what I will do? And I will do it. I will lead the most important moment in the history of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, because I will get on bended knee and I will say a prayer for Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley and Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis and THE VENTURES and James Brown and Wilson Pickett and Otis Redding and the Motown Funk Brothers and THE BEATLES and THE [ROLLING] STONES and THE KINKS and Howlin' Wolf and Buddy Guy and B.B. King and Freddie King and Albert King… you know what I'm saying? Because Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame is paying tribute and homage to geniuses who gave us the ultimate soundtrack for our American Dream. I'm all in, man, I'm genuinely moved, and I'm glad there is a Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame."

Nugent went on to reiterate his belief that that rappers and non-rock artists like Madonna don't belong in the Hall Of Fame. "I mean, why don't you just piss on Chuck Berry's grave, you know what I mean?" he said.

According to Ted, the fact that both Patti Smith and Grandmaster Flash have been inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame is the result of "political correctness," which he calls "a self-inflicted and embarrassing scourge." He added in a mocking tone: "Yeah, Grandmaster Flash is rock and roll. And I'm a gay pirate."

In July 2021 e-mail from NRA general counsel John Frazer sent to board members, it was announced that Nugent, who joined the board in 1995, was stepping down "due to ongoing schedule conflicts."

Ted's decision to leave the board came less than a year after he told Newsmax's "The Chris Salcedo Show" that the National Rifle Association was "the most important civil rights organization in the world."

Back in May 2022, Nugent blasted Jett after her pointed retort in an interview in which she was asked to respond to the outspoken conservative rocker's assessment of her musical skills, when he claimed she didn't belong on a list of the best rock guitarists.

In a video he posted in December 2021, Nugent brought up a list originally published by Rolling Stone's David Fricke in December 2010 where Jett came in at No. 87 while Ted was not included at all. "You have to have shit for brains and you have to be a soulless, soulless prick to [include] Joan Jett," Nugent said. The now-77-year-old musician added: "How do you list the top 100 guitar players and not list Derek St. Holmes? How do you do that? You do that by lying. The same way you get Grandmaster Flash in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. You do that by lying. You have to be a liar."

When asked in an interview with NME to comment on Nugent's claim that she shouldn't be on the list, Jett said: "Neither should he.

"Is that his implication," Jett asked, "that he should be on the list instead of me? Well, that's just typical — it's what I've dealt with my whole life, being written off. Ted Nugent has to live with being Ted Nugent. He has to be in that body, so that's punishment enough."

After a brief pause, she added: "He's not a tough guy. He plays tough guy, but this is the guy who shit his pants — literally — so he didn't have to go in the Army." She then summoned her longtime manager Kenny Laguna to "help," imploring Laguna to relay the full tale of Nugent's supposed Vietnam War draft-dodging tactic (which the alleged pant-shitter himself shared with High Times magazine in 1977 and later retracted).

"So this," Jett concluded, "is the tough guy who's running around America, stirring things up against each other."

A few days later, Nugent responded to Jett's comments, calling her "stupid" and once again denying that he dodged the draft. Speaking during a YouTube livestream, he said: "All I expressed in an interview on WRIF was how I love Joan and her killer rocking band. She's got a great rocking band. Great songs. The best garage band maybe ever, except for maybe GREEN DAY. [I] love Joan — all I said is how I love her. But I used her as an example — along with Joni Mitchell. [I] love Joni Mitchell… People love that music. People love Joan Jett and Joni Mitchell. I love them. I expressed I love them. But she can't be in the top 100 guitar player list — either of them. They play nice strumming guitars; they play nice guitars. I like it. They're good. But top 100 before Rik Emmett of TRIUMPH? That's a lie.

"Joan Jett, I love you," he continued. "Don't get all upset. She calls me a racist and [says] I'm jealous. I didn't even mention that I should be on the list. Let's pretend that I don't play guitar. Let's pretend I'm just a keyboard player, or maybe a gay conga player. I never mentioned my name [as being excluded from] the top 100 guitar list — though someone might. But Joan, would you just relax?

"Maybe the plastic has gone to her brain," Ted added, apparently referencing the rumor that Jett underwent plastic surgery. "I don't know. I just didn't think she was that stupid. I never said anything about how stupid she was. I didn't think she was stupid; now we know how stupid she is.

"Joan Jett and Joni Mitchell cannot be on the top 100 guitar player list before Derek St. Holmes or Rickey Medlocke or Jimmy McCarty or Mark Farner. Certainly. Or Jared Nichols. Or Chris Duarte. This isn't an opinion. There's no room for an opinion here. I'm mentioning guitar players that are world-class monster virtuosos of undeniable musical authority and guitar prowess."

Nugent went on to say: "How about — Paul Reed Smith is a better guitar player than Joni Mitchell or Joan. I don't mean to hurt your feelings, guys, but your drummer, Joan, is a better drummer than I am. I shouldn't be on the top 100 drummers list. All my drummers should be — all my drummers are amazing. [Laughs]

"But don't you see what goes on? I guess they seek and accomplish the eternal terminal menstrual cycle — you know, the menstrual cycle that the governor of Washington and Oregon thinks that they should have tampons in the boys' bathrooms. That's where we are — you know that's where we are. That's not where we are, but it's where they are steering our great country, our once-great country.

"So, Joan, just relax, honey. I love you," Nugent added. "You make great music. But you're not a top 100 guitar player. You must know that. Joni Mitchell, you must know that — I love you, Joni. But you're in the top 100, maybe the top 20 folk singers, certainly. And Joan Jett would be in the… certainly Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame and maybe the top 20 garage bands. THE AMBOY DUKES were a garage band, so that's not a negative; that's a positive. NIRVANA would be maybe number one garage band. BROWNSVILLE STATION number two. Joan Jett maybe number three. GREEN DAY maybe three and a half.

"See, I'm not knocking these people; I'm just telling you the truth. [Laughs] I didn't know they were that stupid."

Ted also once again shot down the allegation that he dodged the draft, saying: "No, I didn't. I didn't get drafted, but I didn't dodge the draft. [In the High Times interview] I was telling a story about a drummer friend who shit his pants and I don't know what else he did. It's a funny story. Plus I gave the story to a writer — I'm being awfully generous with that term — for High Times magazine. You're gonna have a serious interview with High Times magazine?

"See, they cling to these lies and hate 'cause they've got nothing else. Which is why they are absolutely helpless to debate me."

In a new interview with Cassius Morris, DROWNING POOL guitarist C.J. Pierce spoke about the band's plans to release a full-length album following the arrival of three new singles over the course of the last year and a half — "The Wrong One", which was released in February 2026, "Madness", which came out in April 2025, and "Revolution (The Final Amen)", which arrived in September 2024. "Revolution (The Final Amen)" was the first piece of music Pierce, drummer Mike Luce and bassist Stevie Benton completed with singer Ryan McCombs in 13 years.

Asked how many songs DROWNING POOL has written so far for the upcoming LP and when the album might see the light of day, Pierce told Cassius Morris (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Everything's still a fluid kind of schedule. There's plenty enough songs right now to do a whole record, of course, and just kind of honing in on the stuff that's already been done and stuff that has been done and finished and recorded already. For me, there's a few songs I've just gotta get down some guitar solos [on]. I like to take my time with that and write for the song instead of, like, 'Here comes the solo' and just this 'look at me, look at me'. Everything needs to fit and flow with it. Sometimes it happens instantly."

C.J. continued: "That's the thing with us, with DROWNING POOL as well, we're not this machine where you're just putting out songs and records. This is my life. This is what I feel. This is my art. So before we put it out and it's finished, all four of us, we have to like every part of every song because you're gonna be playing it for the rest of your life. So, we don't just throw stuff out there. And some things come fast, some things take a little bit longer. But we have plenty of material."

C.J. also talked about DROWNING POOL's touring plans for 2026 and how it might affect the release of the band's new album. He said: "June 5th will be the 25-year anniversary of [DROWNING POOL's debut] 'Sinner' record and 'Bodies', so we're gonna be doing the record in its entirety on tours coming up. And then towards the end of the year, before the end of the year, we would like to put out the new record. We're gonna have singles and releases in between still up until that happens. And then next year, it'll be a full run, another tour, with some of the new stuff included, of course, playing the 'Sinner' record. "

Pierce went on to say that he is "excited" about the prospect of performing "Sinner" from beginning to end on the upcoming tour. "I love that record," he said. "I love all of our records. I know it's the most well-known one, but we play a lot of songs off of it anyway. Every setlist, every tour, we kind of [play] different [songs from 'Sinner'] here and there. But to play the whole record in its entirety, man, it's been bringing me back to that time period when we first got together in mid-'90s, late '90s, and just the flashbacks of when you first wrote that riff. It just brings you back to that moment every night when you play it."

"Sinner" was certified platinum within six weeks of its release in 2001, while the CD's first single, "Bodies", was one of the most frequently aired videos on MTV by a new band.

After the release of "Sinner", DROWNING POOL reached out to an ever-greater audience with dynamic performances at Wrestlemania XVIII and Ozzfest during the summers of 2001 and 2002. Unfortunately, their streak of success was not to last. Shortly after rousing the crowd at Ozzfest in Indianapolis, Indiana, on August 3, 2002, vocalist Dave "Stage" Williams was found dead of natural causes on the tour bus.

Last June, C.J. was asked by My Weekly Mixtape host Brian Colburn if DROWNING POOL had anything in the works to mark the 25th anniversary of "Sinner". Pierce said at the time: "We have a lot of stuff in the works and a lot of things that we're working towards now, things that we're still putting together — a lot of amazing ideas. We wanna do everything and anything, first and foremost [as a] hats off to [original DROWNING POOL singer] Dave Williams, who was a part of the making of the 'Sinner' record and kind of the foundation of our sound that you know with 'Bodies'. So, we have a lot of stuff, man.

"I went to storage when I had some time off, cleaned out some stuff, and I have a lot of music and cassette tapes and stuff we did that we didn't finish," Pierce revealed. "We have a lot of songs with Dave that just were not recorded professionally, if you will. So, we've been talks about maybe getting some of those songs to put 'em out there, 'cause you can get his voice off the cassette tape now with all this cool, fun technology — still his voice, not this A.I. stuff. But we have songs, a few of them that we would like to finish. There's songs that we haven't played live. I don't think we played 'The Game'. 'Break You' is another one that we did. So all things Dave Williams, man. We wanna make the show all about that. And again, it's just fun. I haven't gone through everything yet, but I found a lot of video and a lot of music that we just never got around to putting out yet. We were in super writing mode before we even did the 'Sinner' record."

Asked if there is any chance of a 25th-anniversary deluxe version of "Sinner" being made available in 2026, C.J. said: "Yeah, definitely, man. There's definitely gonna be that, with all this stuff on it. We're just kind of narrowing it down to what we wanna put on it. I wanna put everything out, especially the video. I had so much video back then. The Hi8 cameras came out. And we did a lot of stuff locally — right before we got signed, we did some touring. Actually, with (HED) P.E. — we got to open up for them here locally. Same thing with SEVENDUST. And with KITTIE — [I] love KITTIE, love that band. And so I have a lot of stuff, as long as they're cool with it, just to get it out there, just us raw, all that stuff. Kind of pre-'Sinner' days, if you will, on the local scene… So, yeah, there's a lot of stuff that we have to put out there… There's definitely video that I have that we haven't released, and [drummer] Mike [Luce] and [bassist] Stevie [Benton] as well. So I wanna get all that out, have a big package with that. But the fun, exciting stuff is just a handful of songs that I think we could probably either just clean off, keep it how it is on a cassette tape, or we can — us three, Mike, Stevie and myself — can redo the music and put the vocal on top to kind of polish it up. I'm cool either way. We did a handful of cover songs too. We did 'Day Tripper' from THE BEATLES, and I have that as well recorded that nobody's ever heard. That was fun just hearing Dave do it… I forgot we even did it until I heard the tape. And there's also earlier versions of 'Bodies' and 'Tear Away' that are a little different. I think some of that might be out there, some of the old demo versions, but if not, I still have those. Just stuff for the hardcore fans, man. We have stuff that's still signed from Dave Williams in storage, a handful of things. It's gonna sit in storage and collect dust, man. I'd like to get that out to the hardcore fans. So we have a bunch of posters that are still signed and some of the older CDs and stuff too, man."

In a separate interview with Thomas S. Orwat, Jr. of Rock Interview Series, Pierce confirmed that DROWNING POOL was planning to tour in 2026 in celebration of the 25th anniversary of "Sinner". "We definitely wanna start [touring] here in the States and do all next year, promoting a lot of that," the guitarist said. "And hats off to Dave Williams and do him right and do a lot of things that we haven't done that fans haven't heard. We have a lot of stuff we're putting together for the package and a lot of material that we still have with Dave Williams — and, again, respect to him — to get to the hardcore fans that like to hear it, just all that stuff out. So we're putting that together now. The solid plans haven't been laid out yet, but we will be doing the anniversary tour next year in the States, and then probably the following year go back to Europe and do it there as well."

Asked if DROWNING POOL would consider playing the entire "Sinner" album for the 25th-anniversary tour, C.J. said: "We're definitely gonna be doing that, and then more songs on top of that. The last song that we wrote with Dave was a song called 'Heroes Sleeping'. We've been talking about playing that live. We have a song called 'Break You', that song on 'The Scorpion King' soundtrack and stuff. So there's different things. We did [a cover of] 'The Game' for Triple H, MOTÖRHEAD's 'The Game', and it's something else we hadn't played live. So things like that that we haven't been able to do, all Dave Williams-oriented.

"I've been going through storage lately and there's a bunch of songs that we have that were finished demo-wise, but we never like got to like record 'em for real," Pierce revealed. "So I have a lot more material than I thought I had. So it's also gonna be fun to get out… We're gonna go through — Mike, Steve and myself — and pick out some choice songs that we think would be worthy to get out to the hardcore fans and maybe even possibly play those live. So, again, this is my dream list of what I'd like to do. We're gonna get together as a band, and we'll see all what works best for us for the tour."

McCombs played his first shows back with DROWNING POOL in March 2023 at Club L.A. in Destin, Florida and at the inaugural Throwdown At The Campground festival in Fruitland Park, Florida.

The longtime SOIL frontman, who has lived in Swindon, England since 2018, originally joined DROWNING POOL in 2005 and appeared on two of the band's studio albums, "Full Circle" (2007) and "Drowning Pool" (2010),as well as a live album, 2009's "Loudest Common Denominator". He rejoined SOIL after exiting DROWNING POOL in 2011.

McCombs is continuing to front SOIL and will carry on recording and performing with both bands.

Photo courtesy of O'Donnell Media Group

After 17 years performing with artists such as BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN & THE E STREET BAND, SLIPKNOT, SUICIDAL TENDENCIES, AGAINST ME!, and more, Jay Weinberg has compiled an incredible collection of drums, stage outfits, gold record plaques, and other collectibles.

Beginning Wednesday, March 18, fans will have a chance to buy some of this storied gear directly from Jay and Reverb.com, with a portion of proceeds being donated to MusiCares.

The Reverb.com shop will include drum kits from Jay's multi-genre-spanning career so far: from the kit he used on Bruce's 2009 "Working On A Dream" world tour, to the multiple fully customized SJC kits he played throughout his decade in SLIPKNOT, to numerous snares, cymbals, drum thrones, and more.

Along with these pieces of musical equipment, Jay is selling stage-worn masks and outfits, signed studio-used drum heads and drum sticks, tour posters, and more collectibles — some of which the multi-disciplined artist designed himself.

For more information, visit Reverb.com.

This past January, Jay has announced his departure from SUICIDAL TENDENCIES after an almost two-year run with the California crossover thrash/hardcore punk legends.

Jay played his first concert with SUICIDAL TENDENCIES in March 2024 in Osaka, Japan.

Weinberg's pairing with SUICIDAL TENDENCIES came less than two months after he was announced as the new drummer of INFECTIOUS GROOVES, the long-running outfit formed more than three decades ago by Robert Trujillo alongside Robert's then-SUICIDAL TENDENCIES bandmate Mike Muir.

Last November, Jay and his wife Chloe announced that they were anticipating the arrival of their first baby.

Throughout 2025, Weinberg had been actively involved with SUICIDAL TENDENCIES and INFECTIOUS GROOVES. Additionally, he released his debut solo track titled "Sandstone", featuring George Clarke of DEAFHEAVEN on vocals. Jay revealed that the song was the first of a series of upcoming collaborations, showcasing various guest singers whom Weinberg has been developing material with over several years.

On November 5, 2023, SLIPKNOT released a statement via social media in which it said it had "decided to make a creative decision and to part ways with Jay."

Six days later, Weinberg, who replaced Joey Jordison, SLIPKNOT's original drummer, in 2013, shared on Instagram that he "was heartbroken and blindsided to receive the phone call", "the news of which, most of you learned shortly after."

Jay played his final show with SLIPKNOT on November 3, 2023 at the Hell & Heaven festival in Toluca, Mexico.

In February 2024, SLIPKNOT recruited former SEPULTURA drummer Eloy Casagrande as the replacement for Jay.

Prior to joining SLIPKNOT, Jay played with AGAINST ME! and MADBALL.

Hard rock veterans SPREAD EAGLE will release a new album, "The Brutal Divine", on June 12, 2026 via Frontiers Music Srl.

To coincide with the announcement, the band has shared the first single and accompanying video, "Street Noise", available below.

SPREAD EAGLE is set to embark on "The Brutal Divine Tour 2026" later this month, with dates across the U.S. and Europe throughout the summer.

SPREAD EAGLE comments: "'Street Noise' is an obvious choice to kick off 'The Brutal Divine'. It sets the aggressive tone of the album and hints at what's to come. On this song, Ray West does a great job channeling the energy of our day-to-day dealings in NYC."

"The Brutal Divine" is SPREAD EAGLE's long-awaited fourth studio album and a fierce new chapter in the band's uncompromising legacy. Known for their raw energy, streetwise attitude, and explosive live performances, they once again prove why they remain a vital force in modern hard rock.

SPREAD EAGLE described the new record as "an emotionally and musically heavy body of songs showcasing a unique command of power, dynamics, and melody. We have harnessed the energy of years of non-stop touring and turned it into a metal/punk thrill ride of an album.

"Lyrically, 'The Brutal Divine' challenges us to question our views and ask if we're truly as free-thinking as we may believe. Once that question is posed, the album progresses towards uplifting messages of hope and community," the band continued.

Fronted by the unmistakable voice of Ray West, SPREAD EAGLE delivers a powerful collection of songs that balance grit and melody, aggression and soul. Guitarist Gianmaria "Jommy" Puledda injects the record with razor-sharp riffs and soaring harmonies, while Rob De Luca (bass, vocals) and Rik De Luca (drums) form a thunderous rhythmic backbone that drives every track with authority and groove.

Produced by Rob De Luca, "The Brutal Divine" captures the band at their most focused and dynamic — blending their classic hard rock roots with a darker, heavier edge. The album channels the intensity and authenticity that first put SPREAD EAGLE on the map, while showcasing a band that continues to evolve without losing its identity.

With a full slate of live dates planned in support of the release, SPREAD EAGLE is ready to bring "The Brutal Divine" to stages around the world — where their music truly comes alive. This is hard rock delivered with conviction, attitude, and fire.

"The Brutal Divine" track listing:

01. Flat Earth Vultures
02. Street Noise
03. Gunflower
04. Jail Rat
05. Forbidden Local Honey
06. Pushed To The Limit
07. Ant Farm
08. Scars In Our Eyes (City Kids)
09. Inside A Shrunken Head
10. Makebeliever

U.S. tour dates:

Mar 20 - Thomasville, PA @ Racehorse Tavern
Mar 21 - Corona, NY @ Juan Bar Metal Night
Mar 27 - New Bedford, MA @ The Vault
Apr 2 - New York, NY @ Arlene's Grocery
Apr 3 - Albany, NY @ Empire Live
Apr 4 - Bristol, CT @ Bleachers Bar
Apr 9 - Tampa, FL @ The Brass Mug
Apr 12-16 - Monsters Of Rock Cruise - Dominican Republic
Apr 17 - Casselberry, FL @ The Green Parrot
Apr 18 - Ft Myers, FL @ Stet's Bar
Apr 19 - Davie, FL @ Cagney's House of Rock
May 3 - Halethorpe, MD @ Fish Head Cantina
Jun 6 - Charlotte, NC @ Amos Southend
Jun 12 - Clifton, NJ @ Dingbatz
Jun 13 - Newark, DE @ Halftime
Jun 19 - Norton, WV @ RimRocks Fest

European tour dates:

Aug 29 - Issenheim, France @ Rockfest
Sep 10 - Frankfurt, Germany @ Huhnerstall
Sep 11 - Lichtenfels, Germany @ Paunchy Cats
Sep 12 - Wroclaw, Poland @ Klub Muzyczny Liverpool
Sep 13 - Reichenbach, Germany @ Bergkeller
Sep 18 - Grebbestad, Sweden @ Rode Orm
Sep 23 - Southampton, England @ The Brook
Sep 24 - St Albans, England @ The Horn
Sep 25 - Isle of Wight, England @ Strings
Sep 26 - London, England @ New Cross Inn
Sep 27 - Derby, England @ The Victoria Inn
Sep 28 - Birmingham, England @ Subside
Sep 30 - Newcastle, England @ Trillians
Oct 1 - Edinburgh, Scotland @ Bannermans
Oct 2 - Buckley, Wales @ The Tivoli
Oct 3 - Harrogate, England @ The Den
Oct 4 - Stockport, England @ The Spinning Top

SPREAD EAGLE is:

Ray West - Lead Vocals
Gianmaria "Jommy" Puledda - Guitars and Vocals
Rob De Luca - Bass and Vocals
Rik De Luca – Drums

Photo credit: Keith Celentano (courtesy of Freeman Promotions / Frontiers Music Srl)

According to The Hollywood Reporter, GUNS N' ROSES guitarist Slash has signed on to executive produce the feature documentary "Black Zombie" from director Maya Annik Bedward. The film will premiere this weekend at the South By Southwest festival in Austin, Texas.

"Black Zombie" is a feature documentary about the most popular, yet misunderstood monster of our time. Tracing the origins of the zombie from Haitian folklore to Hollywood horror, the film investigates common misrepresentations of this figure to reveal its connection to slavery and movements of resistance.

"Black Zombie" is a feature documentary about slavery, resistance and the living dead. It is also a film about the long-term consequences of cultural appropriation. The film traces the evolution of the zombie from its origins in Haiti, to its dominance in Hollywood, ultimately revealing its little known connection to slavery and movements of resistance.

"Black Zombie" features appearances by Slash, Yves-Grégory Francois, Anderson Mojica, musical artist and Vodou priest Erol Josué, special effects legend Tom Savini ("Night Of The Living Dead") and filmmaker Zandashé Brown ("Horror Noire").

By reclaiming the narrative through a Haitian perspective, "Black Zombie" invites audiences to reconsider the legacy behind one of horror’' most profitable and persistent icons.

"Black Zombie" public screenings:

Friday, March 13 at 2:45 p.m. CST at Alamo Lamar 6, Austin, TX

Saturday, March 14 at 10:45 a.m. CST at Alamo Lamar 3, Austin, TX

Saturday, March 14 at 10:45 a.m. CST at Alamo Lamar 1, Austin, TX

Tuesday, March 17 at 3:30 p.m. CST at Violet Crown 3, Austin, TX

Tuesday, March 17 at 3:30 p.m. CST at Violet Crown 1, Austin, TX

Slash, the Grammy-winning, world-renowned rock guitarist who has played in GUNS N' ROSES and VELVET REVOLVER, as well as his own groups SLASH'S SNAKEPIT and SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY & THE CONSPIRATORS, and SLASH'S BLUES BALL band has released six solo albums overall. After landing on the top of the charts with his first solo album, "Slash" (2010) — which featured Ozzy Osbourne, Chris Cornell, Fergie, Myles Kennedy, Iggy Pop, Dave Grohl and more on vocals — he formed the solo band SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY & THE CONSPIRATORS who've been touring worldwide and making music together non-stop for well over a decade. SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY & THE CONSPIRATORS have released four critically acclaimed albums, including "Apocalyptic Love" (2012),"World On Fire" (2016),"Living The Dream" (2018) and 2022's full-length album titled "4", which arrived via Gibson Records, and debuted as the No. 1-selling hard rock album the week of release with worldwide press acclaim.

Over the years, Slash has amassed album sales of over 100 million copies, was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame with GUNS N' ROSES in 2012 and was named No. 2 on Time magazine's "The 10 Greatest Electric Guitar Players" after Jimi Hendrix. He rejoined GUNS N' ROSES in 2016 for a historic and ongoing world tour and completed a global tour with his group SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY & THE CONSPIRATORS. On May 17, 2024, Slash officially released his sixth solo album, a star-studded blues record titled "Orgy Of The Damned", also via Gibson Records.

HOLLYWOOD UNDEAD has released a new single, "1x1", today via Sumerian Records. The track is built around a sample of the legendary riff from SLAYER's "Raining Blood" and arrives as the band carries the momentum of a massive 2025 straight into a spring and summer festival circuit spanning North America and Europe. Watch the accompanying "1x1" music video below.

"1x1" makes no apology for what it is. Built on hard-pounding beats and the unmistakable bones of one of metal's most revered tracks, it finds HOLLYWOOD UNDEAD in full victory-lap mode, the chorus landing like a verdict: one by one they fall, let the reaper take them all. The band has spent seventeen years earning the right to talk like this, and the numbers back it up. With over 3.2 billion cross-platform streams and 4.1 million monthly Spotify listeners, "1x1" is the natural evolution of a band that knows exactly where they stand.

Matt Good (Skrillex, THE HAUNT),handles production. The nu-metal-esque beats lay the foundation, the slowed down "Raining Blood" riff builds the vibe and the punchy rap verses build to a huge chorus to create an undeniable banger, the likes of which HOLLYWOOD UNDEAD have spent nearly two decades perfecting.

HOLLYWOOD UNDEAD comments: "This song is about resilience. People are always going to doubt you or try to bring you down, but the point is getting back up every time and reminding them you're still here, and that you can't be replaced."

"Hollywood Forever", HOLLYWOOD UNDEAD's October 2024 Sumerian Records debut, set the tone for this chapter, cracking 20.3 million cross-platform streams and peaking at No. 18 at Active Rock radio. "Savior" followed in June 2025, pulling the band in a darker, more emotionally exposed direction. "1x1" lands as the third piece, and the pivot back is deliberate. Where "Savior" was confession, this is confrontation.

In between, 2025 kept HOLLYWOOD UNDEAD busy. A co-headline run with Tech N9ne. Mainstage slots at Sonic Temple, Welcome To Rockville and Louder Than Life. A full run supporting FALLING IN REVERSE on the "God Is A Weapon" tour through arenas and amphitheaters across North America. The band also continued work on their ninth studio album.

"1x1" arrives with that momentum fully intact and nowhere to go but forward as HOLLYWOOD UNDEAD head into a festival run that spans two continents, opening with Welcome To Rockville in Daytona Beach in May, moving through a full European circuit this summer including a mainstage slot at Download festival 2026, and closing out stateside with Rocklahoma in September.

Since the release of their RIAA-platinum-certified 2008 debut "Swan Songs", HOLLYWOOD UNDEAD's distinctive and infectious music has incited a global cult audience, sold out shows across continents, and earned praise from Consequence Of Sound, Billboard, Revolver and more. With over 3.2 billion cross-platform streams, over 1 billion YouTube views, and 4.1 million monthly Spotify listeners, they remain one of modern rock's most influential and enduring forces. Now signed to Sumerian Records, they continue to push boundaries and reshape alternative culture.

Canadian metal maverick Devin Townsend has built a career on distinct creative worlds — heavy records, atmospheric detours, character-driven releases — each with its own logic and weather system. His latest release, "The Moth", is different. It arrives without a pre-existing template, not as a pivot for novelty's sake, but as a culmination: a project conceived from the beginning as orchestral, choral, and theatrical in scope, with the scale required to underline the emotional transformation at the heart of the concept.

An album over a decade in the making, "The Moth" finally arrives on May 29, 2026. This 24-track record began as a vague vision more than a decade ago. It existed in the back of Devin Townsend's mind as his "life's work". Then, about six years ago, after an acoustic show in Amsterdam, Townsend was approached by the head of the Noord Nederlands Orkest (North Netherlands Symphony Orchestra) with an offer: bring orchestral grandeur to Devin's extensive discography.

Townsend's response was immediate — and telling. If those forces were going to be assembled, he wanted to spend them on something new: this original work that had been circling him for years, waiting for a door to open. That was the moment "The Moth" stopped being an idea and began to become a reality.

Today, to coincide with the announcement, Devin is also pleased to reveal the first introduction to the world of "The Moth", in the shape of the track "Enter The City". The song is accompanied by a video created by Studio Sparks, which you can watch now below.

As Devin explains, "The Moth" is "a loose story following someone who realizes that old patterns of behavior are no longer serving them. By digging in and sitting with themselves, an internal conflict is revealed, one they may have been resisting or unconsciously rationalizing for years", and "Enter The City" comes towards the beginning of that story arc.

"The Moth" constitutes three distinct parts across its release. In addition to the main album, "The Moth - The Afterlife" highlights the grandeur of the orchestra and choir, in what might be considered a more pure version of "The Moth" experience. "The Moth - The War" is a recording of the live musical debut that took place in March 2025 in The Netherlands, showcasing the raw emotion of performing "The Moth" for the very first time.

"The Moth" will be available on several formats, including limited deluxe 3CD+Blu-ray artbook that includes the album on CD1, "The Moth - The Afterlife" on CD2 and "The Moth - The War (Live)" on CD3. The Blu-ray includes the full "The Moth - The War" live film, as well as Dolby Atmos and High Resolution Stereo mixes of "The Moth" and "The Moth - The Afterlife". It will also be available as limited 2CD edition (including "The Moth - The Afterlife" on CD2),standard CD jewelcase and as gatefold triple-gatefold 180g 2LP and fold-out LP booklet, as well as digitally.

The full track listing for "The Moth" is as follows:

01. Semi-prologue
02. War Beyond Words
03. The Moth
04. Ode To My Eye
05. Enter The City
06. Covered By Causes
07. Lexin
08. Runaways
09. A Proxy For God
10. The Mothers
11. Orion
12. Stay There
13. Home At Night
14. Intermission
15. Lexin Returns
16. The Clergy
17. Prepare For War
18. The Big Snit
19. Silver Princess
20. A Life In Review
21. Metamorphosis
22. Stained Hearts
23. Let Go
24. We Don't Deserve Dogs

If "The Moth" has a central gravitational theme, Townsend names it plainly: true self-acceptance. Something sturdier than slogans, closer to a practiced willingness to face what is uncomfortable without turning away. As Devin explains: "The most obvious metaphor for change within the concept of this project was a moth: from caterpillar to an entirely different creature — one so drawn to the light that it burns itself away. What remains is immutable — only the spirit."

At the hardest moments, when abandoning the project might have seemed rational, Townsend points to the team as the decisive factor. A host of incredible musicians and contributors participated throughout the course of this process, as well as the Noord Nederlands Orkest and orchestrators Joseph Stevenson and Niels Bye Nielsen. Longtime band members Darby Todd, Mike Keneally and James Leach played a huge part, as well as guests including the Steve Vai, Anneke Van Giersbergen, Lynn Wu (Ou),and artists Travis Smith and Eliran Kantor, plus key creative consultation from Mike St-Jean. The technical teams that worked tirelessly included co-mixer Chris Edrich, recording engineers Ben Searles and Jacob Hermann, Atmos mixer Ron Searles, mastering engineer Troy Glessner, choirs in various countries throughout the world and peripheral individuals that helped land this behemoth of a plane.

Photo credit: Tom Hawkins

Award-winning fusion drummer Anika Nilles has released the official music video for her song "Drip". The track, which was written by Anika and Nevell, is taken from Nilles's fourth album "False Truth", which came out in September 2025.

Nilles was chosen to fill in for the late Neil Peart this year as Canadian rock legends RUSH embark on their surprise "Fifty Something" reunion tour.

Germany's Nilles may not have taken up the sticks professionally until she turned 26, but she has never looked back. From world tours with Jeff Beck, to her own sold-out shows and multiple award wins, she has reached over 20 million views online for her creative and thrilling performances.

Playing with sophistication, style and a musical finesse that is rarely witnessed behind the drums, she is an inspiration to drummers around the world. Fierce and determined, she pours over her kit creating melodies through rhythmic complexities that normally sit within other sections of the band. This is no drum machine keeping the beat; this is percussive instrumentation on a whole new level.

Anika's sound is a melting pot of influences ranging from jazz, funk, rock, pop, and anything in between. Her vibrant personality as a performer is etched on her face as she explores every opportunity to build a new narrative from behind the drum riser.

In a recent interview with CBC News, Geddy Lee of RUSH spoke about the band's decision to reunite for a tour in 2026. The dates — Lee and guitarist Alex Lifeson's first official shows under the RUSH banner in 11 years — will begin at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles, site of the last RUSH concert on the legendary Canadian band's "R40" anniversary tour. Joining the duo on the trek will be Nilles, who toured with legendary guitarist Jeff Beck in 2022 and has been rehearsing with Lee and Lifeson in preparation for the tour, dubbed "Fifty Something".

Asked how he is feeling about the prospect of going back on the road for the first time in more than a decade, Lee said: "Well, I'm a bit overwhelmed right now, to be honest. Alex and I took a long time trying to figure out if we could actually do this ever again. And when we did finally decide, of course people were optimistic, but we really didn't expect the kind of overwhelming response our announcement has brought forth out of our fanbase. It's just been a remarkable few weeks around our homes, but very exciting — very exciting."

Regarding what it is like to playing with a new drummer, following the 2020 death of RUSH's iconic drummer and lyricist Neil Peart, Geddy said: "Well, of course it was a very difficult decision to go back on the road, and that was the main stumbling block, obviously. How do we replace the irreplaceable, so to speak? And we have been fortunate to have been introduced to the name Anika Nilles through one of my road crew — my bass tech Skully [John McIntosh], who was on tour with Jeff Beck, and she was the drummer for Jeff Beck on his last tour. And he came home from that tour raving about her. And so when we made the decision to see what it's like to play with another drummer, we contacted her, and she's just a fantastic person. And she came to Canada and we very surreptitiously snuck into a studio and worked out for about a week. And by the end of it, we were convinced that this would be a go for us. Yeah, she's just a tremendous player."

Asked if he gets a sense at all that Anika is a little intimidated by the challenge of stepping into RUSH as a replacement for such a legendary musician as Peart was, Lee said: "Oh, of course. When she first came over here [to Canada], we started playing some of the songs, trying to translate RUSH music to someone who didn't really grow up as a RUSH fan; she was not a RUSH fan. She knew, of course, of Neil's playing — every drummer knows who Neil is, or Neil was, I should say — so it was a bit of a daunting task. And we had to go through each song and explain the nuances of the song and the idiosyncratic nature of how our songs are put together. So at times she was a bit overwhelmed, but she's an incredibly hard worker. She's got great technical facility and she's just got a really positive attitude, and that's really good for Alex and I to be around right now."

RUSH will perform multiple shows in cities across Canada, the United States and Mexico, beginning June 7, 2026 at The Kia Forum in Los Angeles. These special "evening with" shows will find the band playing two sets each night. Each show will feature a distinct selection of songs and RUSH will build each night's setlist from a catalogue of 35 songs including their greatest hits and fan favorites.

After Lee and Lifeson announced RUSH's initial 2026 tour dates in early October, they instantly sold out. They then doubled the tour's length due to increased demand before adding even more dates to the trek.

At the moment, the North American leg of the "Fifty Something" tour is scheduled to stretch into the fall and early winter, with sold-out shows in Chicago, Cleveland, Fort Worth, Los Angeles, New York and Toronto, as well as dates in Atlanta, Boston, Philadelphia, and Washington D.C., to name a few. Lee, Lifeson and Nilles will then take the tour to South America and Europe in 2027. They also announced that keyboard player Loren Gold will be joining them. South American dates run from January 15, 2027 in Buenos Aires, Argentina to February 4, 2027 in Brasília, Brazil. The trek will then head to Europe starting February 19 in Paris, with dates running until April 10 in Helsinki, Finland.

During an invite-only gathering of 150 fans, media and dignitaries at the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame's Foster Theater in Cleveland, Ohio on October 5, 2025, Geddy and Alex of RUSH spoke about their decision to reunite for a tour next year. Regarding how they decided to tour as RUSH again, more than five years after iconic RUSH drummer Neil Peart's death, Alex said: "When we finished the ['R40'] tour [in 2015], it was difficult for Neil, and he'd had enough by that point. I think Ged and I still had gas in the tank and we still wanted to continue working. But it was what it was, and the further I got away from it, the more I thought, 'It's okay. We had 40 years. I'm tired of hanging around a hotel, being away from family and all of that stuff.' And I felt that way for most of the last 10 years, really. I thought we had a great legacy, and it's okay. Then this guy" — referring to Geddy — "came along and had some big ideas. And we talked and we started playing. And then I realized that I love it so much — I love playing so much. And I've continued, over these last years, doing other projects and still playing a lot. But when we sat down and started playing some of the RUSH stuff and I realized how hard it was to play these songs… When you do it every day for 40 years, it's not a big deal, really — you're used to it — but when you're away from it and you are a little more objective about the intense complexity of the music and the feel and the nuances and all the things that go into making a RUSH song and performance, to be challenged with that again was really, really exciting. And the more we started rehearsing and playing, the more I just fell in love with the idea of playing again."

Added Geddy: "It was a very difficult decision on many levels, first of all, because what it entails in terms of work, but also what had transpired. Losing a member like Neil, it was devastating and it was a very sad time, and it took time for us to even contemplate it. I mean, this is a relatively recent decision. And I would say it was kind of out of the question for the longest time because of those circumstances. And how do you replace someone who's irreplaceable? So, we would joke about it sometimes, and Al was doing other things, I was writing books and something happened in the last couple of years that brought us back to jamming in the studio. He would come over, drink my coffee, hang around, we would jam and we would laugh. And then one day — I don't know why — we started playing some RUSH songs for fun. And God, we were laughing so hard and we were enjoying it so much. And it was almost like playing those songs dispelled the dark clouds. It was not an easy decision to come to, and this is really the first time we're talking about it out loud in front of other people. So, yeah, it feels right, and we're gonna do it."

Asked how they found the right drummer to step in for Neil on the "Fifty Something" tour, Geddy said: "Well, our idea was not to try to be RUSH 2.0, just to pay homage to our music, pay homage to our lost brother and represent the songs and celebrate the songs.

"I haven't talked about this before, but… So, my bass tech Skully [John McIntosh] was working with Jeff Beck. He was on tour with him for a few years. And on the last tour he was playing with this drummer named Anika Nilles — an incredible drummer. And he would come home, he would rave about her, what a brilliant player she was and great person, and blah, blah, blah. So I kind of looked her up. And she's all over YouTube. She's fairly well known in her own world of music. And then we started talking about playing again. I said to Al, I said, 'Check her out. Maybe that's an interesting way to go.' And so one thing led to another, and when we made the decision we wanted to see if it would work, what's it like to play with another drummer — we'd had that experience, of course, at the Taylor Hawkins tributes [in September 2022]. So we know how difficult it is — no matter who the drummer is, they all have their own perception of what it's like to play a RUSH song, and they may not line up with the way we play RUSH songs. So whoever we were going to choose was going to be difficult and there's going to be like a translation. And so we very secretly brought Anika to Canada. And it wasn't an audition, 'cause at that point we weren't really sure that we were going to tour. It was all an experiment. Anyway, I'm very happy to say that she is fantastic to play with. And we've had now a number of sessions with her and we are going to go on the road with her. I think she's a remarkable story. And she's much younger than us… And I like that, that she came to RUSH music without any preconceptions. It also made it very difficult, 'cause we had to explain nuances and work on subtleties, and she had to really try to get into Neil's headspace and his feel. A lot of drummers can play Neil's drum fills, but to combine that with the feel of those songs, so that it feels the way you guys wanna hear those songs, that's work — that requires work. And so she's winning."

As for what RUSH fans can expect from the upcoming concerts, Geddy said: "I don't think we can do a three-hour show the way we did when we were in our younger years, but we're certainly gonna play over two hours. And we'll get a lot of songs in, for sure."

Lee went on to say that "it's not an accident" that he and Alex chose Los Angeles's Kia Forum — where RUSH played its last-ever show with Peart in 2015 — as the location of the first gig of the tour.

"It'll be, I think, quite an emotional moment," Geddy said. "And I have to say also a thank you to [Neil's widow] Carrie Nuttall and [daughter] Olivia Peart who have been very supportive and are supporting us for this tour, and we really appreciate that, and that makes things better. And we also plan to pay tribute to Neil at least a couple of times during the show in our own way. And that'll happen every night, we'll pay tribute to him.

"After Neil passed, COVID hit and we never really were able to do any kind of tribute to him — not a tribute concert," Lee explained. "And so this is one way that we pay homage to the music and the lyrics and the incredible drumming of our pal and partner, and at the same time celebrate the music that [the fans] have thankfully shown up for, for all these years. And we'll just endeavor to do our best to make [the fans] happy."

When the "Fifty Something" tour was announced on October 6, 2025, Carrie Nuttall-Peart and Olivia Peart said in a statement: "We are thrilled to support the 'Fifty Something' tour, celebrating a band whose music has resonated and inspired fans for generations, and to honor Neil's extraordinary legacy as both a drummer and lyricist.

"Neil's musicianship was singular. Compositions of intricacy and power that expanded what rhythm itself could express. As both drummer and lyricist, he was irreplaceable. Inimitable in his artistry, and unmatched in the depth and imagination he brought to the lyrics that inspired and moved so many, he profoundly shaped how fans connected with him and the band, giving voice and meaning to their own lives.

"As the band enters this new chapter, it promises to be truly unforgettable. We are excited to see how their new vision unfolds, and to hear this legendary music played live once again."

On October 6, 2025, fans got the news via a RUSH newsletter from a home video that announced the celebration of upcoming dates with Lee and Lifeson at Geddy's home studio.

Peart died in January 2020 after a three-year battle with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer. He was 67 years old.

RUSH waited three days to announce Peart's passing, setting off shockwaves and an outpouring of grief from fans and musicians all over the world.

Since Peart's death, Lifeson and Lee have not recorded any new music or performed live under the RUSH name, although both of them confirmed that several drummers reached out to them in the days after the legendary drummer's passing about the possibility of stepping in for Neil.

Rock legends FOREIGNER are set to ignite streaming platforms worldwide with the release of "Urgent (Live In Halifax)" on March 20, 2026. Previously released exclusively on YouTube, this electrifying live rendition is a must-add to playlists worldwide.

Captured during a powerhouse performance in Halifax, the track features a commanding lead vocal by Luis Maldonado, whose dynamic stage presence and soaring delivery highlight one of the band's most iconic hits. The result is an earth-shattering performance that both honors the original and pushes it to new heights.

"Urgent (Live in Halifax)" showcases the raw energy, precision musicianship, and timeless songwriting that have defined FOREIGNER's legacy for decades. The production captures every pulse-pounding moment, from the driving rhythms to the explosive vocals, immersing fans in the full live concert experience.

Says Maldonado: "'Urgent' is one of the most powerful songs we perform in our set. It always gets people up and engaged with the band. We take no prisoners when we play. So with 'Urgent''s strong and steady beat, and its catchy as hell melodies, it stands as a highlight of the evening!".

"Urgent (Live in Halifax)" will be available on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music and all major streaming platforms beginning March 20.

Last May, FOREIGNER lead singer Kelly Hansen announced during the band's performance on the season finale of NBC singing competition "The Voice", that he would be leaving the group at the end of the legendary rockers' summer 2025 tour. In a moving segment that aired nationally, Hansen introduced FOREIGNER guitarist Luis Maldonado as his official successor — a moment that symbolized both an end and a bold new beginning for the powerhouse group.

Before Luis joined FOREIGNER, he was best known as the guitarist for TRAIN and for his work with Lisa Marie Presley.

FOREIGNER replaced original singer Lou Gramm with Hansen in 2005. Jones, the only remaining original member of FOREIGNER, suffered from some health issues beginning in 2011, eventually resulting in heart surgery in 2012. In February 2024, Jones revealed on social media that he was battling Parkinson's disease, which explained his absence from FOREIGNER's live shows since 2022.

Known for their explosive live shows and era-defining anthems, FOREIGNER have sold over 80 million albums worldwide, cementing their place as one of the greatest rock bands of all time. Their catalogue includes timeless hits like "Hot Blooded", "Juke Box Hero", "Waiting For A Girl Like You", "Cold As Ice", "Urgent", "Feels Like The First Time" and the global No. 1 hit "I Want To Know What Love Is".

Photo credit: Krishta Abruzzini

In a new interview with The Mistress Carrie Podcast, EXTREME guitarist Nuno Bettencourt confirmed that the band has completed work on its seventh studio album.

The upcoming effort will be the follow-up to "Six", which was released in June 2023 via earMUSIC.

Bettencourt told  podcast host "Mistress Carrie" Sarao (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "[I've been in a] creative black hole over the last — I don't know — year or so wrapping up an EXTREME album. We've got about 18, 20 new tunes, and dare I say it's the greatest album we've ever done — like every artist says."

Regarding a possible release date for the new EXTREME LP, Nuno said: "What we're trying to do is we're hoping to drop the album — it probably has to be towards the end of the year, but we're hoping to do a single per run, like maybe for the summer, for the DEF LEPPARD [European] tour, maybe in June drop our first single, maybe for the MÖTLEY [CRÜE U.S. tour] drop a second single, just to get things excited."

As for Bettencourt's expectations for the upcoming EXTREME album, the guitarist said: "It's time for the fucking Super Bowl for us for real, as a band. And this album — I told the [other] guys [in the band], 'This album is everything for us. It's everything. This is our career. The whole thing is this next fucking album.' So we have an opportunity to do something for ourselves — not for anybody else, for ourselves — and raise that fucking bar for ourselves and let everybody know that we are a rock band and let everybody know that we've always been all in, that we've been passionate, that we fucking leave it always on stage, that we don't take anything for granted, we don't take our fans for granted and we don't take rock and roll for granted... So I told the guys, I said, 'This album has to dwarf what we did.'"

He continued: "I'm telling you right now — I never get excited about anything, I don't brag about anything, I don't talk about stuff, but I cannot wait to play you [the new songs]. Honestly, I think we did something on this album that is so much better than the last album. And what I mean by that is that we cracked the fucking code. It only took 40 years, but we cracked the code. And what I mean by that is I said to myself, 'You know what? If I could go back in time to EXTREME playing clubs before they had a record deal and I said, 'Who are they? What do they play? What do they do? What separates them from everybody else? What's their differentiator?' Like, oh, they've got a funk element to it. They always had this funkiness, rock funk. People used to call this 'funky metal' back in the day. But funky is happy. So what's the heavy version of that? If I went back to '86 — it was right before we got a deal, in '86, '87 — and now it's 2026, what is that version, the back-to-the-future version but the modern bitchslap, heavy, punch-somebody-in-the-fucking-balls funk version of EXTREME, the authentic EXTREME that you've heard nobody else do it this way, that's what we're [doing on this new album]."

Nuno added: "We are so excited, like little giddy children that wrote some music. And not like, 'Man, you watch what we're gonna do.' I don't give a fuck if nobody likes it. I'm just telling you that it's the best thing that we can do that might be one of the best things we've ever done, I think, because of the passion and because of where we are in our lives going, like, who the fuck gets a chance, a second chance to have a second go-around, with all the shit that I've been blessed with over the last three years and the band's been blessed with over the last three years, just for doing it for the love of it."

This past November, EXTREME released the official music video for the song "Here's To The Losers". The clip completed the band's mission to create 12 visual interpretations of the songs from "Six".

"Six" propelled EXTREME to new heights, driven by standout singles such as "Rise" — featuring a solo by Bettencourt praised by the press as "the guitar solo of the century" — alongside "Banshee" and "Other Side Of The Rainbow", and supported by a globe-spanning tour across the U.S., Europe, India, Japan and Australia. Bettencourt also reaffirmed his stature as one of rock's most commanding players with a historic performance at Ozzy Osbourne's "Back To The Beginning" farewell concert. That milestone appearance led to his invitation to serve as music director and guitarist at the 2025 MTV VMAs, where he delivered a powerhouse tribute to Osbourne alongside Steven Tyler, Joe Perry and Yungblud.

"Six" landed at position No. 10 on Billboard's Top Album Sales chart with first-week sales of 12,500 copies. The set marked EXTREME's first studio album since 2008. The act was last in the Top 10 with "III Sides To Every Story", which debuted and peaked at No. 10 back in October 1992.

In 2023, Nuno told Tiago Ribeiro, that he was thrilled with how "Six" turned out. "I would put our album up against anybody's album; I feel that confident," Nuno said. "And I think the album itself — never mind me or EXTREME — if I heard that album and it wasn't us, I would think the same way I think about the album now. I think it belongs there. I think it's a well-made album. I think the songs are there. I think that the musicianship, the chemistry and the guitar playing. But I think, more importantly, what's really there and what people are connecting with is the mythology of rock and roll. I think that's really what's missing a lot in guitar-driven music, is that…

"I think when people saw a guitar player that's in a band with songs and arrangements and the videos and everything, it was almost like seeing something that… People are saying it's so fresh, but for us, it's, like, this is like going back for us," he explained. "This is more of a reminder than it is anything else that you can still be passionate and have fire and do all those things. And the people are letting us know that they're starved — they're starved for rock and roll like this, I think."

In September 2023, Nuno told American Musical Supply about the long delay in getting "Six" released: "The recording [of 'Six'], a lot of people are saying like, 'Man, [it took] 15 years,' obviously, minus a few of the handmaid's tale years, pandemic years. But the album itself probably, if you add it up, it took the same length as an album takes to record. It didn’t take 15 years to record the album. It's just that we probably had, like, three albums' worth of material. The guys kept coming out to L.A., and we would do a crop of songs, and we'd write another crop of songs or record another couple crop of songs."

Bettencourt went on to say that he and his EXTREME bandmates had "set a bar" for themselves. "You really have to be super proud and super excited to share your music with anybody, even if it's your brother or it's your family member or if it's Tom Morello that you happen to know," he explained. "Once you have that feeling of, 'Would you play these songs in front of your peers?', then you kind of know you got something there and you're ready to go."

Photo credit: Jesse Lirola (courtesy of earMUSIC)

In a new interview with Brazil's 92.5 Kiss FM, SYMPHONY X guitarist Michael Romeo spoke about the progress of the songwriting sessions for the band's long-awaited follow-up to 2015's "Underworld" album. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "In the old days, years ago, working on a record, we were getting royalties from the albums. So there was a little money coming in, and we were okay. We survived. And when it came time to writing a record, I could come down in the studio for as long as it took — a year, or me and [keyboardist Michael] Pinnella would come down, or Russ [singer Russell Allen] or [bassist Mike] LePond, or whatever it was. And we could kind of get the record done and just concentrate on the record a hundred percent. And then we go do the touring, and then it took time. And that's why it was always a little bit of time between the records. And then the last one, it's been so long because you kind of always have to tour now. I mean, it's great. We love playing."

He continued: "So, to be honest, dude, the honest truth is that after COVID, we started playing a lot just to kind of get everybody back on their feet and get some money coming in. And then it was, like, 'Okay, I'm gonna start working on riffs', whatever, a couple of years back. I'd come up with ideas. I'd come up with a handful of ideas. I'm, like, 'All right, yeah, good riff. Oh, this is a nice little melody. Got something here.' And I go on tour and I stop. Go on tour. It's, like, everything's great. I have a good time. I've got more ideas. I come home. More ideas. I didn't finish the ones from last time, so now repeat that, like, 20 times. And then I'm looking at a folder of ideas that's got 1,037 ideas. And I'm trying to sort it out, and I'm sending it to the guys. I'm, like, 'Guys, I've just got so much stuff. What's the good stuff? What should we go after first?' And their heads probably blew up. It's, like, 'Dude, this is insane.' And now it's starting to come together. It's, like, 'Well, this one's cool' and 'this one's all right.' 'That one, nah. We maybe don't need that.' So now it's actually starting to come together."

When the interviewer noted, semi-jokingly, that the next SYMPHONY X album should arrive "before 2030", Romeo said: "The schedule we're trying to get on is by the end of this year, let's have this thing recorded. Let's try to make this happen. Because it's not like we don't have anything — we actually have too much. But the problem is we don't have too much finished things. We have a billion things that are not finished yet. And looking back, I didn't do the smart thing, which I should have went back to the stuff before a tour. But it's hard. You come back and you're inspired and it's, like, 'Oh, I'll get to that other stuff in a minute. I've got this other idea.' And then I painted myself in a corner. I'm, like, 'Oh my God. This is insane.' And I send it to the guys. They're, like, 'Dude, what are you doing? I can't even comprehend this.' And I'm, like, 'Well, which ones are good?' And it's, like, 'Oh, they're all good.' I'm, like, 'That's not helping.' But we've got it. We've been talking and we've been sorting through the stuff, so it's cool. It's just trying to get on some kind of plan, some kind of schedule."

Earlier this month, Allen told Uruguay's The Dark Melody about SYMPHONY X's next LP: "Well, the gaps [between albums] have always been there [with SYMPHONY X]. They got worse and worse over the years. I think as we've started to be sort of self-produced in a way — I mean, look, I just built all this [home studio setup]. I've been working on everything. So, obviously, I'm in the studio right now. And Mike's [SYMPHONY X guitarist Michael Romeo] been working on this stuff for years, and the guys, I guess. The problem is that when we stop, it really messes up with Mike's creative process, and he's obviously the guy who's really the true musical director, I guess… How can I say that? The composer of the band, really, It's still a band, but he's the main guy, obviously, with the musical side of things, and the singing stuff, that's my thing. And so, the gaps have been worse, I think, as we start to just get lost in what we're doing. And then we have to stop and then start again. And we're just not that kind of band. Mike's not wired like that. He's a real kind of a mad scientist, genius guy. He just needs to be locked in his world and not be — 'cause he'll start something, stop, then go back after the tour. 'Ah, I don't remember any of that stuff. That stuff all was shit. Let me start again.'"

Russell continued: "We've got about — I don't know — [Michael] sent me 10 hours of stuff for a 55-minute record. It becomes a monumental task just to weed through all the stuff. And that's kind of where we're at. But he's honed a lot of it in, so we're getting close. And that's where the new album is at now. But this has been a while. People have gotta believe us when we say, 'Hey, we've been working on it.' 'Cause that's his process, and I'm not one to argue with that. It's not the best business model [laughs] if you're gonna try and make it make a bigger thing in this business, but who cares about that shit when you guys are there? It's all about the quality of what the fans are gonna hear, and that's our legacy, and that's what we leave behind. And so, obviously, at this tenure in our career, that's what we're more concerned about than a quick 'hey', whatever. But we are gonna try and use the time that Mike put in on this one. There's so much good material. We both feel that there's a lot to pull on for the next one. So there shouldn't be as much of a gap. The material's just too good. So it's, like, 'Okay, let's just pick out what this story or what this album's theme is gonna be, and then we've got all this other stuff that's great.' And it's in that SYMPHONY X realm. And we could definitely use that as a starting point for the next one. So there shouldn't be — I'm not gonna make any promises, 'cause every time you say shit like this, something always happens. But in the point that we're at now, that's where we're at."

He added: "I'm not gonna apologize to you guys for taking the time. It's nothing that we're sorry for. It's just how we create this stuff… [But] we don't wanna make you guys wait forever. It's nothing against you, the fan, or something to slight you guys. It's just our process, and it's just what it takes to get it done and make it on a level that we're proud of to put out. At the end of the day, we've gotta live with it. So that's kind of what we think about these things. So that's kind of where it's at. But it's coming along. It's really sounding good. It's really awesome."

Referencing SYMPHONY X's upcoming 30th-anniversary Latin American tour, which is scheduled to kick off later this month, Russell said: "We wanna get down there and have a good time and celebrate this sort of milestone in our lives and in our careers with you guys and then get right back into it here. 'Cause we're not really booking anything else after this for the rest of the year, unless something amazing comes along, another opportunity. But again, that causes problems for this process. So, we're weighing all those things out. I mean, there's really nothing, I think, that can get in our way in terms of shows and stuff at this point, beyond what we're doing with you guys, and so that gives us the entire summer, fall to get the songs completely finished in terms of what they're gonna be, and then the recording process is what it is and the time it takes to do that. But I feel like it's pretty strong that the album will be pretty much in the can by, hopefully, the end of the year, if not in the fall. If we get lucky and something just really takes off, maybe a little sooner release time. So that's all label stuff and management, and they've gotta figure out their windows."

In October 2024, Romeo told the "Coffee With Ola" podcast about the upcoming SYMPHONY X LP: "With us, it's not like, 'Oh, yeah, we're just gonna write one — how do you say? — single, and then just have a bunch of filler. It's, like, everything's gotta be as good as it can be. So, yeah, it gets harder and it takes longer. Then you throw in COVID and a bunch of other things, and then it's just, like, 'Oh, shit.' Now it's, like, I don't know — eight years or something. I lost track.

"What's different now than in the past is that we could take a bunch of time off. There would be some royalties from CDs back in the day coming in and kind of float on the downtime and really get the record done and then come back out [with a] new record, tour. So now it's, like, well, that money's gone. So we have to tour a little bit, keep things going, work on the record, go back out. So it's been like that for a while. And for me — I do most of the writing, so for me it's hard because you're sitting in the studio for whatever month, 'I got this idea,' and you're trying to put these things together, and it's, like, 'Oh, we've gotta go on tour now.' All right, cool. We do our thing. And then you come back, and it's, like, 'What the fuck was I working on again? Was this riff here?' And so you're trying to arrange all this stuff. And then you're, like, 'Oh, I've got all these new ideas.' So then you keep adding. And then after a long period of time, it's, like, 'Oh my god, there's so much stuff I can't even manage it now.' Plenty of material — like three hours of stuff — but now it's actually making sense."

Elaborating on when SYMPHONY X might be done composing the material for the next album, Michael said: "It's gonna take some time to organize everything. It's not like there's nothing there. It's [not], like, 'Oh, man, we have to start from scratch.' There's quite a bit. It's actually overwhelming. I never remember being this overwhelmed by the amount of stuff, 'cause over the last year and a half or whatever, every time there was a break, it's, like, 'Okay, I'll write something.' I didn't stop and [go], like, 'Well, let me finish this.' It was, like, boom, 'I got all these ideas,' and I just kept going. So now it's, like, all right, no more writing. Now more arranging."

SYMPHONY X completed an extensive tour behind "Underworld" in 2016, including a U.S. run of shows with OVERKILL and a pair of headlining performances in Australia.

In July 2017, Allen and his ADRENALINE MOB bandmates were involved in a crash that killed the group's bassist, David Zablidowsky.

In 2019, Allen — who has toured with TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA since 2013 — was injured during the rehearsals for TSO's annual winter trek and was unable to make the tour.

Romeo released his latest solo album, "War Of The Worlds Pt. 2", in March 2022 via InsideOut Music. The record featured guest vocals by Dino Jelusick (WHITESNAKE, TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA).

During a new appearance on "Quemar Un Patrullero", the podcast hosted by Gustavo Olmedo, a prominent Argentine journalist, radio host, and author specializing in rock and heavy metal music, former MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson discussed his relationship with the band's leader Dave Mustaine. He said in part (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET):  "When I went back to MEGADETH in 2010, [Dave and I] were close — we were really close. I was helping him with some personal things. He became a good friend to me during that time. So there were periods of closeness as men, as brothers. And I found those opportunities were always the best when it was just me and Dave, when there wasn't another person in the room. We didn't have to sort of be on stage performing for anyone. It was just me and him being brothers, [at] Starbucks drinking coffee, whatever. And those moments were genuine, they were sincere, they were heartfelt."

Referencing MEGADETH's 2022 album "The Sick, The Dying... And The Dead!", the original version of which featured his bass tracks on it before he was kicked out of the band and his tracks were replaced by those of Steve DiGiorgio, Ellefson said: "[Dave] didn't wanna use any of my music [for that record]. I could tell he resented me. He didn't want me to be on that album. And I finally wrote a song [that was originally going to be included on it]. It was a ballad that I've kept, 'cause I had Kiko [Loureiro, then-MEGADETH guitarist] play the guitar on it. And it was a very good song — I think an extremely good song that has a place somewhere. But it didn't make the record."

Elaborating on his working relationship with Mustaine during the making of what became "The Sick, The Dying... And The Dead!", Ellefson added: "Dave and I even had a really close moment. We were writing the lyrics for the song that became 'Soldier On!' He eventually took my lyrics off of it and then used the song without [my lyrical contributions]… He wrote the music — it was his song — but I was invited to write the lyrics for it, which I did. And he decided to call it 'Soldier On!' We collaborated from there, which I say, well, look, when Dave got fired from METALLICA, at least they kept his words and his music and they paid him and gave him credit. Dave wasn't so kind to me. He kicked me out, took my performances off the record, and took my lyrics and everything off the record. So I think I have a horse in that race when I speak about how properly METALLICA handled things and how I think improperly things were handled on my behalf. 'Cause I saw it; I lived it."

Ellefson went on to say that his "farewell with MEGADETH was really in 2018. That was my farewell. That was my farewell tour," he explained. "I feel like I played on the last great MEGADETH record, which was [2016's] 'Dystopia'. Dave announced from the stage in Buenos Aires in November 2017, he said, 'We're gonna go home and start working on a new album.' So I feel like that was kind of a good closure for me with MEGADETH, which is why I've moved on and done so much other stuff. I don't have bitterness in my heart. I almost feel like I was set free to not have to deal with that anymore. Whereas Dave had bitterness toward METALLICA, I don't have bitterness toward DaveorMEGADETH. I really don't."

Ellefson also once again opened up about his dismissal from MEGADETH nearly five years ago, just days after sexually tinged messages and explicit video footage involving the bassist were posted on Twitter. At the time, Ellefson released a statement on Instagram denying all social media chatter that he "groomed" an underage fan. He also filed a report with the police department in Scottsdale, Arizona alleging unlawful distribution of sexually explicit images of him by unknown offenders. In the report, Ellefson admitted that he had been exchanging sexual text messages with a Dutch teenager, who captured a video of several of their virtual "masturbating encounters" without his consent and shared them with friends. (According to Ellefson, the woman was 19 at the time of their first virtual sexual encounter.) Ellefson, who lives in Scottsdale, first became aware of the video on May 9, 2021, when the claim "David Ellefson of MEGADETH is a pedophile" appeared on Instagram. Ellefson told police he was notified on May 14 by MEGADETH that the band would be parting ways with him. Three days later, he was fired.

David told Olmedo: "[The MEGADETH camp] called me to fire me. And I told 'em, 'Guys, there's nothing here. There's no reason to let me go. This is all just nonsense on the Internet. It's all it is. It's nothing at all. And I will maintain that position all along,' and I have.

"At some point you could just stay going after people on the Internet and trolls and all this kind of shit. It's endless," David continued. "There is no Internet police, there's no Internet human resources, where you can go and say, 'Hey, this guy said this' and 'this person said this', and da, da, da, because you should, because it's highly defamatory. And defamation is when something harms your reputation, maybe even prevents you from getting more work. Those are real things. And the fact that it can happen on the Internet, which is kind of a fake place. It's not even real. It's kind of a fake place, yet that that could somehow come over to your reality. I'm fortunate that the fanbase stood by me. They said, 'Dude, that is bullshit. How dare you do that to Ellefson?'"

Addressing the fact that Mustaine seemingly gave the story "legs" in the media by releasing a statement at the time in which he said "there are clearly aspects of David's private life that he has kept to himself," Ellefson said: "The statement that was put out, what Dave personally signed, was deflectionary, to kind of keep it away from him. And I said, 'There's nothing to keep away. There's nothing here.' I mean, my own legal team even said, 'Hey, if you wanna open up on the Internet and blast that guy, you have our [blessing]'. And this is a top-level law firm in Phoenix, and they said, 'We have never seen something so unconscionable' as a legal word, meaning unconscious — not thinking, with no, basically, human heart. 'You have our blessing.'

"There's a Bible scripture. It says, 'Resist the devil and he will flee from you.' And that's where I went with it. I said, 'I could tangle with this guy again, and I could fight with this guy like I did with the lawsuit,' which I had every right to do of what happened then," Ellefson continued, referencing the $18.5-million lawsuit he filed against Mustaine in 2004, alleging the frontman shortchanged him on profits and backed out of a deal to turn Megadeth Inc. over to him when the band broke up in 2002. (The lawsuit was eventually dismissed and Ellefson rejoined MEGADETH in 2010.) "And Dave did not win the lawsuit," Ellefson clarified. "We settled out of court. That was another one. It was just another opportunity to try to kick me. And it's, like, no, we settled out of court. And I ended up in a far better position than had I not done that, so I'm glad I went through that process, as horrible as it was."

Ellefson also touched upon an interview Mustaine gave to SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" last December in which the MEGADETH leader shot down the possibility of his band playing the final show of its farewell tour with a lineup that could include all surviving former members of the group, with Mustaine explaining, "I can't really do that, because of the behavior of one of the bandmembers in the past." Ellefson said: "To have it end where it did, and then [for Mustaine] even recently to say, 'Oh, because of what one person did, I can't bring anyone back.' You know what? Fuck off. Just fuck off. Who is that one person? It wasn't me, 'cause I didn't do anything that would prevent me from coming back at all. At all. And so this sort of deflectionary thing, to sort of get on some moral high ground, it's, like, gimme a break. Really? And look, I had rock stars much bigger than Dave coming to my side and coming to my aid, standing by me, saying, 'Man, just let me know if you need anything at all. That's really fucked up.' It's fucked up about how I was handled being discarded. People saying, 'I'm really disappointed that they chose business over brotherhood,' 'cause at the end of the day, the brotherhood will always last beyond the business of owning a rock band — especially something we started and built together."

Ellefson added: "So, with that said, at one level, again, I could call a lawyer, I could go back into defamation lawsuits, and I have every right to — trust me. But at the same time, there's two ways to win in tug of war. I either pull you over the line or I just drop the rope and let you fall on your ass. [Laughs] And that's what I've chosen to do — drop the rope. Drop the rock."

Asked in a 2022 issue of Metal Hammer whether dismissing Ellefson from MEGADETH was a difficult decision to take, given the longtime friendship between the two men, Mustaine replied: "I have made mistakes myself and so I know what it feels like to have people gunning for you. But what we had to remember is that MEGADETH has a lot of moving parts to it. There are four bandmembers; you've got their families, their management companies, the agencies, all of their technicians and on and on and on.

"I can tell you I've made decisions in the past that were detrimental to the security of the band and I know what harm that caused," he continued. "But I don’t want to be saying anything about anyone who is unable to defend themselves."

"God, it's so hard to tap-dance around this...

"Let me just say this — it was a hard decision that had to be made," Mustaine added. "There were a lot of people involved and I had to make a decision, because unfortunately, when you're the leader, you're the one that has to suck it up and face the music.

"All I wanted to do was make a clean break, and not hurt anyone, not hurt the fans and not hurt him. I just wanted to move on, and I hope the gentleman concerned is doing okay. I imagine there was some adjustment that had to take place when it happened.

"It was hard for me when I lost my job," Mustaine said, apparently referring to getting kicked out of METALLICA in 1983. "But I've forgiven him before when he sued me and I'll forgive him a thousand times. I just won't play music with him anymore."

During an October 2021 appearance on SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", Ellefson stated about the circumstances that led to his dismissal from MEGADETH: "I ran toward the bullets and dealt with it right away. The night [the messages and video were leaked online], a couple of people said, 'Hey, don't say anything.' In particular, the MEGADETH camp didn't want me to say anything. But my legal [advisers] said, 'Hey, I think you should say something. I think some people have done some really shitty things here and made some false allegations about you, and you have every right to defend yourself.' And I did. Ultimately, that led to my dismissal from MEGADETH. But I have every right, as anyone does, to defend yourself, especially when somebody is making false allegations about you like that. So I dealt with it that night, and quite honestly, that was it — it was over, and it was really kind of done. But then, as the MEGADETH camp in particular jumped in and had addressed it — and not that they shouldn't, but they did. That pretty quickly led to them making the decision to part ways with me and to move away from it.

"We had originally talked about doing a joint statement of sorts, and, of course, that was not what happened," David continued. "So I was disappointed in probably the way it went down."

Ellefson told "Trunk Nation" host Eddie Trunk that he initially "didn't even know what" the word "grooming" was, adding that he "had no idea" about the meaning of the term experts use to refer to the actions that sexual abusers take to get close to and gain the trust of those they are interested in. "And any allegations of anything being illegal [are false]," he said. "There was nothing. And that's why I immediately hired a criminal lawyer. I went right to the police department. And just for the record, the bad guy doesn't go to the police department. Okay? So, just to be clear. The guy who didn't do anything wrong, he goes to the police department. That's why I went to the police department and filed a police report and let them deal with it.

"I think there was a big fear of — there's always this talk of cancel culture and all this stuff," he continued. "And I was, like, 'Listen, that was not me.' And I had every right to stand up against that and defend myself against it. And I just turned that over to the lawyers and police department and let them deal with it, and they did."

David also addressed his decision to step away from social media and stop doing interviews for a few months while things settled, both personally and professionally.

"Look, certainly time heals wounds in these things, which is good," he said. "And that was the thing — I was, like, look, I didn't do anything wrong; there was nothing illegal here; and you let it go. And for me to just kind of take some time away and go dark. I got off all social media. I have one Facebook account that I don't even run, just for kind of professional purposes and everything, but I'm off of that. And I think that helps."

When Trunk brought up the point that the only apparent "illegality" in this case lies with the person who actually leaked the above-mentioned video, Ellefson said: "A hundred percent. That's why I didn't hire a civil lawyer to sue people for a million bucks. I hired a criminal lawyer, and what they do is prosecute to put people in jail. 'Cause those were the crimes. You can't just go do shit like that — put stuff out there, content — and not have a penalty. That is the crime. And I think people just think they can — and not everybody; I'm not saying all people — but there is a faction that they just think that that could be just done as a joke and for fun, and it can't. Of course, it's the Internet, so people live in foreign countries; there's all this stuff. That's why the best thing, I think, is to, first of all, just get away from those platforms because that is a breeding ground for that society to do that."

Ellefson was in MEGADETH from the band's inception in 1983 to 2002, and again from 2010 until his latest exit.

METALLICA has released a statement thanking fans for their response to the announcement of the band's "Life Burns Faster" residency at the Sphere venue in Las Vegas.

Late last week, METALLICA added 16 dates to the residency, tripling the number of shows for the engagement, which begins in early October and now extends into 2027. All 24 "Life Burns Faster" shows will continue the "No Repeat Weekend" tradition that began with the 2023 kick-off of the band's "M72" world tour, with no songs repeated on each Thursday and Saturday.

METALLICA originally announced eight dates at the venue between October 1 and 31 October, but later added shows in November (November 5 and 7),January (January 28 and 30),February (February 4, 6, 18, 20, 25, and 27),and March (March 4, 6, 11, and 13).

Earlier today, METALLICA wrote on its web site: "Thank You, Sphere Fans!

"Wow! What a week. We are so appreciative and grateful to all of you for the incredible response to our upcoming 'Life Burns Faster' residency at Sphere in Las Vegas. We are completely and utterly blown away and cannot believe that we will have 24 amazing nights on stage there, all thanks to you and a record-breaking week.

"At this point in time, we will not be adding additional shows, but we are hoping to offer more in the future. In the meantime, we hear you loud and clear that the ticket-buying process was often frustrating and not always smooth. We’re working with our partners to improve this experience and offer some remedies for the next time around.

"We are looking forward to a very exciting 2026, starting off with seeing many of you in Europe this spring and summer as the 'M72' tour hits the road again in May. Before we know it, we'll be exploring new frontiers along with fans from around the world in Las Vegas, and we can't wait!"

Some fans have scoffed over ticket prices reportedly ranging from $700 to $3,000, with ticket industry coverage site Ticket News reporting single-night tickets in the $700 to $800 range, while VIP and multi-night packages were running from $1,000 to $2,900, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. In addition, screenshots began circulating on social media showing queue numbers climbing past 300,000.

Meanwhile, Ticketmaster blamed a "targeted attack" for slow sales for tickets on March 4 to METALLICA's Sphere residency.

METALLICA also took to social media to warn of scammers after some fans expressed frustration over struggling to secure presale tickets for the "Life Burns Faster" residency dates .

"PLEASE BE AWARE of false promises, inflated prices, and fraudulent offers from scammers," the band's post read.

METALLICA urged fans to protect themselves by using official ticket partners listed in the post, including Ticketmaster, Superfan Live, Vibee and Tixr HQ.

METALLICA's standing at the vanguard of new and unique live experiences has seen the band play to millions of fans across all seven continents in every shape and size of venue imaginable. Their current "M72" world tour has played to more than four million fans from Europe and North America to the Pacific Rim and Middle East since its spring 2023 kick-off, its performances and production universally hailed as among the best of METALLICA's 40-plus years of traversing the globe.

The band's Sphere residency will see live staples and surprises spanning the METALLICA catalog enhanced by the venue's immersive technologies that will allow fans to experience the sound and fury of the band's live performance in new experiential dimensions. Whether you've seen METALLICA from the upper reaches of a stadium or arena, at an intimate club or theater gig or from the famed Snake Pit surrounded by the 360-degree "M72" stage, Sphere's technology, including the world's highest resolution LED display that wraps up, over and around the audience; Sphere Immersive Sound, which delivers audio with unmatched clarity and precision to every guest; and multi-sensory 4D technology, will present a wholly unique and entirely new METALLICA experience for all who attend — including James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett and Robert Trujillo.

METALLICA co-founder/drummer Lars Ulrich commented: "About 12 seconds into the opening night of Sphere with U2 back in '23, I thought, 'We have to do this. It's completely uncharted territory!' This residency gives us another chance to reinvent how we interact with our fans in a live setting. We are beyond excited to share this with the world in six months' time, and way fuckin' psyched to go next level!"

METALLICA "Life Burns Faster" at Sphere is produced by Live Nation and presented by inKind. inKind rewards diners with special offers and credit back when they use the app to pay at thousands of top-rated restaurants nationwide. inKind also provides innovative financing to participating restaurants in a way that enables new levels of sustainability and success. METALLICA fans can learn more at inKind.com.

Thank You Sphere Fans!

Wow! What a week. We are so appreciative and grateful to all of you for the incredible response...

Posted by Metallica on Tuesday, March 10, 2026

Professionally filmed video of Mark Jansen's pre-EPICA band AFTER FOREVER performing the song "Monolith Of Doubt" on October 5, 2025 at 013 Poppodium in Tilburg, Netherlands can be seen below.

AFTER FOREVER states: "Both our shows in Tilburg on October 4th and 5th, 2025 were truly special nights for us. For those who were there and would like to relive these moments — and for everyone who wished they could have joined us — we're happy to share our first live video from these unforgettable concerts.

"This performance of 'Monolith Of Doubt' was filmed during our second night at 013 Poppodium.

"Enjoy, and thank you for being part of this journey with us.

"All audio in this video is taken from the actual live recording. No additional studio recordings or overdubs were used."

After reuniting for two special 25th-anniversary concerts on October 4, 2025 and October 5, 2025 at 013 Poppodium, AFTER FOREVER recently announced that it will return to the stage in Latin America this fall to celebrate 26 years of the group's debut album, "Prison Of Desire", and 25 years of the follow-up effort, "Decipher".

Produced by Top Link Music, the confirmed AFTER FOREVER dates in Latin America are as follows:

Oct. 16 - São Paulo, Brazil - @Tokio Marine Hall
Oct. 18 - Buenos Aires, Argentina - @Teatro Flores
Oct. 20 - Santiago, Chile - @Teleton
Oct. 22 – Bogotá, Colombia - @Royal Center

AFTER FOREVER's lineup for the tour will consist of the following musicians:

Angel Wolf-Black (SHEWOLF): Vocals
Sander Gommans (original member): guitar and vocals
Bas Maas (original member): guitar
Luuk Van Gerven (original member): bass
Jeffrey Revet (STREAM OF PASSION): keyboards
Ariën Van Weesenbeek (EPICA): drums

Sander commented: "2025 was a milestone for the band: 25 years since AFTER FOREVER left a timeless footprint on the world of symphonic metal with our debut album, 'Prison Of Desire'. Its successor, 'Decipher', released in 2001, took the band's music even further by blending progressive elements with a heavier sound that helped shape symphonic metal as we know it today. These two releases marked the beginning of a wonderful journey, one that took the band to international stages and into the hearts of fans all over the world.

"In October 2025, AFTER FOREVER came together for two shows in the Netherlands with vocalist Angel Wolf-Black (SHEWOLF),with the goal of honoring and celebrating the band's cherished music and its lasting impact in an unforgettable live experience. During those shows, it became clear that we all missed AFTER FOREVER.

"Fans from Latin America have been supporting AFTER FOREVER since the release of the first album, and we are very happy to announce that we will continue this tribute in 2026.

"We will be celebrating the 25th anniversary of 'Decipher', the 26th anniversary of 'Prison Of Desire', and we might also include some other AFTER FOREVER classics :)

"Join us as we revisit old hits, revive the energy, and celebrate the legacy of AFTER FOREVER."

Mark Jansen added: "With heavy heart: I won’t be able to join for these shows as I had to make a tough decision to be touring less and be at home as much as I can in 2026. The early years of a little child are crucial so I am sure it's the right decision after all. But I hope you all come and show your support to AFTER FOREVER. It will be four unforgettable nights with magical music and a band on fire."

In April 2025, Mark Jansen told FaceCulture about how the AFTER FOREVER reunion came about: "Ego was involved in everything when I was removed from the band back in the day. My ego was hurt, but we talked later on and we came also to the conclusion with that that everybody had too big egos back in the day, and that was clashing. So me, them, everybody. But it's good to see that from yourself and that everybody has grown. And now it's completely different people. And also now when we work to together, everybody wants to have fun. That's the most important thing. And that's also why I'm part of it. Because we wanna have fun, we wanna do this to have a good time, to play these old songs again and just enjoy ourselves. And that's all [it's] about."

Asked why original AFTER FOREVER singer Floor Jansen, who has been fronting NIGHTWISH for more than a decade, wasn't involved in the AFTER FOREVER reunion concerts, Mark said: "Yeah, of course, we asked her as well, and she said, 'For me it's a closed book. It's a closed thing.' And yeah, you can only respect that. Of course, after that, we thought a bit, what shall we do, maybe not do it at all? But at a certain point we thought, yeah, if we wait forever, then maybe it's never gonna happen. So that would also be a pity… Then it's literally 'after forever' and the chance is gone. [Laughs]"

Regarding his current relationship with Sander, Mark said: "Yeah. Some things are the same. That's the humor that's still the same, the same kind of humor. And some things are really different. Like I said, I feel a growth on a personal level, also in him — in myself, in him, also in the other guys. And if that growth had not taken place in me or in him or in in anybody, it would've not happened because then the old struggles would have come to the surface. But now it's, like… How you say that in English? 'Sand over it.' [Laughs] We have that saying in Dutch. And then it's also, we let it go without that it comes to the surface again with stuff."

In a 2018 interview with FaceCulture, Floor Jansen stated about AFTER FOREVER: "I think it was a very special time. We made great music, which ended way too fast. I'm still sad that it was not able to continue, but I think it was amazing what we did with our young years and, yeah, I'm still extremely proud of what we made and still listen to the music with great joy and memories."

Asked whether she thought AFTER FOREVER could have accomplished more, Floor said: "Yes, I do. I was not too pleased with stopping. I did not think it was a good idea. I think there was [more to do]."

AFTER FOREVER's latest, self-titled album was released in April 2007 via Nuclear Blast Records.

Latin America,

Here we come!

After the Tilburg shows in 2025, we received a lot of request for our shows in your...

Posted by After Forever on Friday, February 6, 2026

In a new interview with Polyend, former SEPULTURA and current CAVALERA drummer Igor "Iggor" Cavalera was asked how it feels to be widely regarded as one of the most influential metal drummers of all time. He said: "It feels great to receive that kind of acknowledgment, especially because I've always tried to push forward as an artist and musician. It means a lot. At the same time, I truly believe there's always more to learn."

As for how his relationship with drumming has evolved over the years, Igor said: "My relationship with drumming keeps evolving — I'm constantly exploring new ideas and perspectives, which keeps the instrument exciting and alive for me. Everything starts with rhythm. Before melody, before harmony — there's pulse. Drumming comes from the inside. It's physical, but it's also emotional. It comes from the soul. It's something deeply instinctive and human. That's what has kept me connected to it all these years.

"My roots are in metal and punk, that raw energy, that urgency, that almost confrontational honesty," he explained. "That foundation shaped everything. But over time, I've become more interested in space, texture, repetition, and trance. The aggression is still there, but it's transformed. It's less about speed or power, and more about depth and intention."

Along with older brother Max Cavalera, Igor is a founding member of the Brazilian thrash metal band SEPULTURA. Igor is now the drummer for CAVALERA, CAVALERA CONSPIRACY, SOULWAX, PETBRICK and other projects. Cavalera is one half of the DJ duo MIXHELL, an electronic music project he founded with his wife, Laima Leyton, in 2006. With MIXHELL, he has toured the globe, performing in festivals such as Glastonbury, Bestival and Reading.

In 2013, Igor moved to London with his family and in 2016 joined the Belgian band SOULWAX, recording drums for their album "From Deewee" and touring as part of "Transient Program For Drums And Machinery". Soon after, he founded PETBRICK with Wayne Adams — a project that involved melting noise and crushing electronics over grinding drumming.

Igor has been performing live with analog modular gear, drum pads and visuals for intimate crowds at experimental festivals such as Dio Drone (Florence) and clubs such as Cafe Oto and Iklectik (London). His recent releases include "Aural Manifestations" on Damian Records in America and Deepthroat Records in Europe and "Alucinações Sônicas" on Hospital Productions.

Igor left SEPULTURA in June 2006 due to "artistic differences." His departure from the band came five months after he announced that he was taking a break from SEPULTURA's touring activities to spend time with his second wife and their son (who was born in January 2006).

In 1996, Max Cavalera exited SEPULTURA after the rest of the band split with Max's wife Gloria as their manager.

Photo courtesy of Earsplit PR

Zakk Wylde appeared live on TalkShopLive on Tuesday, March 3 for a special interactive question-and-answer session hosted by Rock Feed's Brian Storm. Streaming exclusively via TalkShopLive, the event featured Wylde in conversation with Brian, taking fan questions in real time and discussing the making of BLACK LABEL SOCIETY's upcoming album, "Engines Of Demolition", the inspiration behind the music, and what fans can expect from the band in 2026 and more. In addition to the live Q&A, viewers had the opportunity to purchase a special CD edition of "Engines Of Demolition" that includes an autographed insert signed by Zakk.

Asked to name a song that made him want to pick up the guitar, Zakk said "Yeah, I remember — it was crazy — I remember seeing a band play at our high school. I think it was before high school, maybe eighth grade or something like that, but I remember this cover band was playing, and I remember the guy playing [DEEP PURPLE's] 'Smoke On The Water', and just the power and everything, and hearing it live, it was pretty amazing. But hearing stuff and then seeing it live — I guess it's like seeing somebody doing a magic trick in front of you, and then it inspires you to wanna become a magician, sleight of hand or doing illusions and stuff like that. It's just, like, 'Wow, this is the most interesting thing I've ever seen — ever.'

"What's so funny is I remember Tom Petty actually said, he just goes, to him, he said, 'Music, to me, is the truest form of magic,' which is kind of true. When you think about it, for all of us, you know how it can move you, and then certain songs just transport you back to when you were 13 years old where you can remember exactly where you were at. And it was like with Ozz [Ozzy Osbourne] — he said he remembers exactly where he was when he heard his first BEATLES song. And I remember Ozz talking about THE BEATLES. He just goes, 'Zakk, it was just like everything was in black and white. And when they came out, the world was in color.' After they came, it was just amazing, the impact they had, how they inspired people and influenced [others] to become musicians.

"Yeah, music's amazing," Zakk continued. "But seeing that guy play ['Smoke On The Water'] that [night]… And then, obviously, Leroy Wright, who I eventually took guitar lessons from, seeing Leroy play in front of me was just the coolest thing. And every week when I had a lesson with him was just the coolest hour in my life. Just sitting, watching his hands and him just breaking down, showing me — like how you pull a rabbit out of a hat, or how you do card tricks. It's, like, 'No, you're doing it wrong. This is the way you're doing it.' It's, like, 'Oh, that's how you do it.' So, learning how to play the lick to [AC/DC's] 'Back In Black'. And then you could play with the record. And, really, it's, like, 'Wow, this is magic,' because you're playing along with your favorite bands. It's pretty mind blowing."

"Engines Of Demolition" will be released on March 27 via MNRK Heavy. The follow-up to 2021's "Doom Crew Inc." contains 15 tracks, including the four previously released singles, "Name In Blood", "Broken And Blind", "The Gallows" and "Lord Humungus", as well as a tune titled "Ozzy's Song", which is a tribute to the BLACK LABEL SOCIETY guitarist/vocalist's longtime bandmate, the iconic BLACK SABBATH singer Ozzy Osbourne.

Wylde formed BLACK LABEL SOCIETY in 1998 and has kept the band busy in between touring and recording with Ozzy Osbourne, whose backing group he first joined nearly four decades ago.

BLACK LABEL SOCIETY's "Order Of The Black" (2010) and "Catacombs Of The Black Vatican" (2014) both broke into the top five on the hard rock album charts.

Since first joining Ozzy, Zakk had played on all of the BLACK SABBATH singer's solo albums except for 2020's "Ordinary Man", including such classic efforts as "No More Tears" (1991),"Ozzmosis" (1995) and "Black Rain" (2007).

BLACK LABEL SOCIETY is:

Zakk Wylde - vocals, guitar, piano
John "JD" DeServio - bass
Jeff Fabb - drums
Dario Lorina - guitar

During an appearance on the latest episode of the "Beardo & Weirdo" podcast, hosted by FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH bassist Chris Kael and comedian Craig Gass, TWISTED SISTER singer Dee Snider opened up about the "health challenges" that forced him to back out of taking part in the band's 50th-anniversary reunion tour in 2026. He said in part (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "First of all, becoming face-to-face with mortality. And as the doctor said to me, 'Dude, you're great, amazing for a 71-year-old. But you can't do that anymore. You're done. Your body parts are worn out, and you got nothing left.' And the funniest thing [was] when the surgeon looked at my X-ray, [he said], 'Do you jump around much?' 'Yeah. That's kind of what I do.' He goes, 'Yeah, well, you're done.' And so that was the first one. And then when I was going to get a hip replacement and hoping that that would be enough to change things on that level and I could still keep playing, then I was told that I had hypertension and heart issues that — day-to-day living and handling and dealing with it… My dad's 95, and I'll be going for a long time, but if I'm gonna go up there and burn rubber on stage and just use it up, so to speak, I had to decide whether or not to stop that. And my family literally had to sit down with me and pretty much begged me to stop. And basically, my kids, they're, like, 'Why are you doing this? What do you got to prove? It's not a financial thing for you. You've got everything that you ever dreamed of, everything you wanted. It's pure ego.'"

Dee continued: "Also — I blame [IRON MAIDEN singer] Bruce Dickinson. I'm blaming Bruce Dickinson because when I found out that my hip was shot, I get a call from Bruce. I hadn't spoken to him since the 'Powerslave' tour. And he reaches out to say, 'Dee,' he said, 'I've had it done twice.' He goes, 'And I'm back in action.' And I said, 'You're back in action?' Now mind you, I think Bruce is 10 years younger than me. I said, 'You're back in action?' He says, 'Yeah, man. I'm thrusting, I'm parrying.' I said, 'Whoa, whoa, whoa. What about the band?' 'Oh, yeah, the band too. But I'm fencing, man.' All he cared about was that he was still thrusting and parrying. But when I heard him say, 'Okay, back in action a hundred percent,' I was, like, 'All right, I could do this.' And that's when I was going for the surgery that I found out that I had a heart issue that I did not know about. And that was when they pulled the rug out from under me. And then I still — like an asshole — so I got the hip. It was better. I'm, like, 'You know what? I'm going out there. I wanna test it out.' Lita Ford had asked me to do a few songs with her, like I used to do with Bret [Michaels] and stuff. So I go up there on stage and I walk out on stage and I'm going, 'Damn, this thing feels good.' I'm thrusting and I'm parrying — bounce, bounce, bounce, and the knee goes. Three bounces — knee goes. And I'm, like, 'Whoa. Son of a bitch.' And I'm just hearing that surgeon going, 'You're done. You're done. You're done.'"

Reflecting on when he made his final decision to pull out of TWISTED SISTER's 2026 tour, Dee said: "So I got the knee fixed, and I was, like, all right, am I gonna keep playing this game? I go out there and then I break something else and I tear something else, or I injure something else, or I enjoy my life. Day to day, I'm living my best life, without a doubt. I built a family compound in North Carolina. I've got all my kids, my wife, my grandkids, everybody here. I'm living a good life. I'm directing my first movie in a couple of months. I'm writing. I'm doing other things. I'm still doing my radio show. 29 years I've been doing my syndicated radio show, 'House Of Hair'. So it's not that I'm lacking any outlet or creativity or tension. But for my ego, do I really need to get up there on stage and I could prove that I could do it one more time?

"And here's the last thing I'm gonna say about this," Snider added. "When TWISTED SISTER retired in 2016 — that was 10 years ago — I had a 29-inch waist, I weighed 175 pounds. I had an eight-pack. I'm ripped to shreds. At 61 years old I am ripped to shreds and I am performing at my peak. And it was a friend of mine [who] said, 'You really wanna go back 10 years later? You know you can't take your shirt off. You know you ain't got no 29-inch waist. That ship sailed a few inches ago.' And he goes, 'You can't possibly compare to that. You went out on a high note. You were 61. You said, 'Goodbye, everybody.' And now you're gonna come back 10 years later and suck?' And I may not suck, but that was besides the health issues. Even if I go out there, I'm 10 years older. I'm 10 years more worn out."

Earlier this month, it was announced that former SKID ROW singer Sebastian Bach was chosen to step in for Snider as the lead singer for TWISTED SISTER for several shows this fall.

On March 5, Snider took to X (formerly Twitter) to write: "For a retired 71 yr old I'm great. But I've only got so much tread left on these tires. I decided to use it for the rest of my journey…and not burn them up on stage trying to prove I'm as good as I ever was. I can live with that choice. I would've been a shadow of my former self out there anyway.

"The story of my retirement for health reasons ran wild! I'm not dying. (No, not never!) Just can't do the things I used to do. I'm cool with it. I have a great life! And I totally approve of Sebastian Bach stepping in for me. He's a true fan & will honor what I did with every show!

"My son Jesse and Bas are the only people I believe can deliver. Bas got the call."

TWISTED SISTER's 2026 shows will feature Bach along with guitarists Jay Jay French and Eddie Ojeda. Russell Pzütto, who has toured with Snider's solo projects, will replace bassist Mark "The Animal" Mendoza on bass. Joe Franco, who briefly played with the group in the mid-1980s, was supposed to sit behind the drum kit, stepping in for A.J. Pero, who passed away in 2015 at the age of 55. However, Franco is not available to play the fall 2026 shows and will be replaced by Joey Cassata, who played drums on Ace Frehley's final original solo album, "10,000 Volts".

At press time TWISTED SISTER has not announced the full list of shows it plans to play with Bach outside of a September 4 stop at the Alaska State Fair.

Snider said in a statement in February that he suffers from degenerative arthritis, and is only able to "perform a few songs at a time in pain." He also said that his intense rocking over the years has "taken its toll on his heart as well."

"I don't know of any other way to rock," Snider said. "The idea of slowing down is unacceptable to me. I'd rather walk away than be a shadow of my former self."

Snider and Bach had publicly praised each other in 2020 after they had a disagreement on social media about whether the term "hair metal" was derogatory.

"I love Sebastian Bach!" Snider wrote on X. "During the darkest period of my career, he stood tall as a Dee Snider fan when few would. I will always be grateful to him for not caring what was 'cool' at the moment and speaking our proudly for the things he loved. Thank you SMF#2!"

Bach wrote in response: "I love Dee Snider. I will always love the music he has made. No matter how much Dee sees himself as 'hair metal,' I will always see him on a much higher level than that implies. He is one of the greatest frontmen and vocalists of all time. Any corny label less than that is an insult."

Three years ago, TWISTED SISTER staged a one-off reunion at the Metal Hall Of Fame in Agoura Hills, California. On hand to be inducted into the Metal Hall Of Fame were Snider, French, Mendoza and drummer Mike Portnoy. Ojeda was absent from the event after contracting COVID-19; filling in for him was Keith Robert War. TWISTED SISTER played a highly charged three-song set consisting of the staples "You Can't Stop Rock 'N' Roll" and "Under The Blade", as well as the anthem "We're Not Gonna To Take It".

TWISTED SISTER's original run ended in the late '80s. After more than a decade, the band publicly reunited in November 2001 to top the bill of New York Steel, a hard-rock benefit concert to raise money for the New York Police And Fire Widows' And Children's Benefit Fund.