Iron Maiden guitarist was interviewed by Alexander Milas for issue #126 of the Iron Maiden Fan Club Magazine to talk about the upcoming album from Smith and guitarist Richie Kotzen with Smith/Kotzen’s Black Light/White Noise. 


An excerpt of the interview:


Adrian, what a pleasure to see you again! The last time i saw you was a surprise encore at Richie's gig in London!




"Yeah, that was a very different vibe! It was a typical jam situation - we got up there and nothing worked and I was playing someone else's guitar! But it worked out! We were actually doing a photo session that afternoon, and Richie said, 'You want to jump up and play with us?'"


It does seem like you two have a very natural rapport.


"Yeah, well it was my missus, Nathalie, who put us together, who'd really encouraged us - she was a fan of Richie's music - she said we should get together. Richie's amazing - he sings, and plays, we had a jam, and things worked out because we have a lot of things in common, musically too. He's a bit younger than me but has a very good knowledge of music from the 60s and 70s, Bad Company, Free... stuff I grew up with."


Is common ground important?


"Yeah. I had Rob [Trujillo] from Metallica over to jam at my house... Taylor [Hawkins] too. We got Richie over and he was doing Bad Company and Stevie Ray Vaughn. I've always sung, always heard melodies, and had this sort of passion for singing, but I've always wanted to work with someone who was a singer. Richie is an excellent singer, and I could work around him - he's got range.


"I grew up singing until I joined Maiden, so from 17-23 I fronted a band. I've tried doing things on my own, and it's very difficult - you need feedback and someone to push against. Richie's great with lyrics, too."


Which came first: Adrian the singer or Adrian the guitarist?


"That goes back to when I was probably 15, the age when you're looking for some sort of direction. I wasn't particularly academic.

German rock legends, Scorpions, have released video of their performance of the "Seventh Sun" from France's Hellfest 2022. The song originally appeared on the band's nineteenth studio album, Rock Believer, released in February 2022. Watch the video below:





More footage from the band's Hellfest 2022 appearance can be viewed below:













Scorpions recently announced "60th Anniversary - Coming Home" a unique concert experience in their hometown, Hannover, Germany, on July 5, 2025. The show will include special guests, including Judas Priest.


Tickets are available via Eventim.

Guitar sensation, Sophie Lloyd, has shared the video below, performing a shred version of "Christmas Time (Don't Let The Bells End)" by The Darkness.


Says Sophie: "Merry Christmas everyone! I hope this festive period brings you cosy times with your family and loved ones! I wish you an amazing new year! Thanks again for a wonderful year supporting me!"







Get tickets for Sophie Lloyd's January 16 show at Whisky A Go Go in Los Angeles, California, here.


Sophie's debut album, Imposter Syndrome, is available via her own Autumn Records. The album is available as a digipack CD, Black Gatefold Vinyl and Limited Edition Gatefold Purple Splatter Vinyl. Orders can be placed here.





Tracklisting:


"Do Or Die" (feat. Nathan James)
"Pressure" (feat. Brandon Saller)
"Imposter Syndrome" (feat. Lzzy Hale)
"Let It Hurt" (feat. Chris Robertson)
"Runaway" (feat. Michael Starr)
"Fall Of Man" (feat. Matthew K. Heafy)
"Lost" (feat. Cole Rolland)
"Hanging On" (feat. Lauren Babic)
"Avalanche" (feat. Trevor McNevan)
"Won't You Come" (feat. Marisa Rodriguez)
"Judge And Jury" (feat. Tyler Connolly)


“Won’t You Come” video:

To mark the release of the remixed, remastered and extended Queen 1 boxset, the band have released the fifth episode in their Queen The Greatest Special series.


A message states: "In this exclusive episode of Queen The Greatest, Brian May reveals how the iconic cover image for Queen's debut album, and the extraordinary collage on the back, were created. It's one of the earliest examples of how the band paid just as much attention to the look of Queen, as well as the sound."







Watch the first four Queen The Greatest Special episodes below:


Episode 1:





Episode 2:





Episode 3:





Episode 4:





The 6CD + 1 LP Queen I box set (out now) contains 63 tracks with 43 brand new mixes, comprising the original album with its intended running order restored, intimate fly-on-the-wall audio of Queen in the studio, demos, rare live tracks, and previously unheard recordings from Queen’s first ever live performance in London, August 1970. Absent from the 1973 release, the song “Mad the Swine” has been reinstated to its original place in the running order. A 108-page book containing handwritten lyrics and memorabilia accompanies the release.





“This is not just a remaster,” writes Brian May in the CD sleeve insert notes, “this is a brand new 2024 rebuild of the entire Queen debut album, which, with the benefit of hindsight, we have re-titled QUEEN I.”


May continues, “All the performances are exactly as they originally appeared in 1973, but every instrument has been revisited to produce the ‘live’

In a new interview with Andrew McKaysmith of the Scars And Guitars podcast, HELLOWEEN singer Michael Kiske spoke about why, in his opinion, humanity hasn't learned from history, and we continue to see the same situations recur in all parts of the world. He said in part (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET):  "We need to learn in reality, not just by theory. The whole meaning of this planet is to learn the difference of good and evil. So you need to have these experiences. We don't learn in theory. I mean, you see that with every generation. Over here in Europe, we have young ones talking about communism again or things that have already proven themselves as being evil because they don't respect the individuality. They just completely take away your freedom and you've just become a puppet of a dictatorship. Communism is not better than fascism, nationalistic, fascistic systems. It just violates the human rights and dignity, but they go fall for it again, because they haven't had that experience because thoughts on their own, they're not enough."

Kiske continued: "The whole reason why — and I don't like it; it's not that I like it, but I understand why it has to be that way, and I have complete faith that God knows what he's doing — but it's, like, we have to learn, we are supposed to learn the difference between good and evil. That's why we have the experience of evil from the outside, but also on the inside; we've got darkness inside. God has placed darkness inside of every individual to deal with, to learn to deal with it and have those experiences and actually to develop the good. Just like when you wanna build a muscle, you need to lift weight. You know these pictures — you need resistance to develop certain strengths. You grow the most as an individual through the problems you go through, as much as it sucks. And you can't only go through problems; you also need the uplifting experiences. Otherwise you would become like a grumpy person. But we need the challenges. Our forces that we're supposed to develop, they need to be pulled out, they need to be triggered, and this is why so many evil things are happening, because somehow, obviously we need them to learn what is right and what is wrong. And some people go the other way, some people become dark themselves, and some people listen to the demons. And it's not how it's supposed to be, and it's probably not going to be eternal either, because sooner or later they're gonna learn. I believe so. And others make different choices."

Michael added: "This is a school. Earth is a very tough school, really, to go through."

When McKaysmith opined that Kiske's observations are "indisputable" and "self-evident truths", Michael concurred. "We know. Deep down inside we know," he said. "The thing is our sense for truth is just covered up by so much crap — by education, by what the society is teaching us. We're not really thinking for ourselves. We always say we do, but most of the time we just repeat what has been planted in our minds. It takes effort. It takes work to really develop some thoughts of your own. And if you get all the dirt — not all of it, probably, but most of the dirt — out of the way and you start listening to your heart, you can tell what is right and what's wrong. We know, because we all come from a different place. We are all children of God. So we know the truth. We just need to get rid of all this nonsense, all these illusions that we have got implanted in our heads and in our souls. So it's like finding who you really are. The more you manage that, the more you will see through all those lies."

Kiske later added: "Evil exists because it's the only way to develop good. Darkness exists because it's the only way to see what light is. When you have experienced betrayal by friends, you evaluate friendship a lot differently, don't you? When you finally have real friends, people you can trust. And the experience of the opposite helps you to evaluate it to see what hatred does. it makes you understand how important love is."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Avantasia mastermind Tobias Sammet has checked-in with a statement about "The Moorlands At Twilight" from the upcoming Here Be Dragons album. The song features one of the usual suspects in Helloween's Michael Kiske.





Sammet writes: “Track by Track: ‘The Moorlands At Twilight’ is a really rampant speed metal anthem with my lovely brother in Avantasia since the early days, Michael Kiske delivering a killer vocal performance. I guess that type of music is just in my DNA and even though it's a classic Avantasia song I think that the atmosphere is different to anything we've done before. I can hear some early Helloween influence in there, even though the song is very unique with its playful neo-classical elements and wild approach. Also, the lead guitars are extreme and quite virtuous: Sascha Paeth and Arne Wiegand have delivered an extensive, fast and hymnic axe battle that made my jaw drop. When ‘power metal’ is done like that, I absolutely love it!”




Sammet previously described "Here Be Dragons":


"Track by Track: ‘Here Be Dragons’ is the longest song on the album and features a great duet with my good friend and one of my vocal heroes since his early days in Queensrÿche, Mr. Geoff Tate, who’s outdone himself on the track. It’s a groovy mid-tempo song with enchanting melodies, orchestral elements, big keyboard passages and a powerful guitar riffing driving the main parts of the song. Even though you can hear some classic Dio, Queensrÿche and even Marillion elements in there, it’s a typical Avantasia song and a very unqiue one. It has two different choruses and a very emotional and big sounding mid-section. The song wasn’t meant to be that long, but there isn’t a single note I would change or leave out if I listen to the final result now.”


Rock and metal flagship, Avantasia, will release their 10th studio album and Napalm Records debut, Here Be Dragons, on February 28. They recently unleashed the energizing first new single, “Creepshow”.


The new track is one of the catchiest songs of Avantasia’s career so far, and it arrives with an exciting, cinematic music video. The guaranteed future hit rings in a new era of Avantasia and will be an integral part of Avantasia’s spectacular live shows.


In their 25 years of existence, Avantasia has become one of the biggest leading forces in metal, boasting nine successful previous albums (such as the #1 charting Moonglow), worldwide sold-out arena tours and headline shows at all of the most important metal festivals. Here Be Dragons is sure to exceed all expectations as the most powerful Avantasia album so far.


Tobias Sammet on the single and video: "'Creepshow' is a perfect single. It’s short and catchy, and it emphasizes a facet of my work that has taken a backseat in my music in recent years. It’s light-hearted and the opposite of melancholic. And it's fresh, boisterous and unabashed - a straightforward kick-ass anthem. Also, even though it may seem like a reminiscence of my earlier writing, I think we managed to turn the whole thing into a trademark Avantasia tune, as we accentuated with the music video. We rented a haunted castle in North England and celebrated a night in the world of spectres and undead creatures. This is the most vibrant and eccentric music video I’ve ever shot in my entire career, not dead-serious, but certainly of serious quality! I can’t wait to play 'Creepshow' live on our tour next year, I can already see the whole venue jumping up and down and screaming along!”


Watch the official music video for “Creepshow”:





Featuring absolute Avantasia essentials such as spellbinding choirs and theatrical symphonic metal elements, multitalented mastermind and frontman Tobias Sammet also surprises fans old and new with plenty of intriguing fresh soundscapes. Here Be Dragons gives the celebrated Avantasia sound that has been carefully crafted over a quarter of a century an exciting and powerful spin. The new album is the most consistent and concise piece of art that the band has ever crafted.


Avantasia is not showing any signs of slowing down - soon after the release of Here Be Dragons, the band will head out on an extensive arena tour across Europe, promising to deliver fans an immersive experience with their biggest and most epic production ever.


In grand Avantasia tradition, the new full-length is rich in vivid storytelling and cinematic atmospheres, not to mention the highest level of musicianship. Opening track “Creepshow” is without a doubt one of the catchiest songs in their career. The energizing future hit truly welcomes the listener into the new era of Avantasia and will be an integral part of the band’s spectacular live shows. In contrast, the incredible title track “Here Be Dragons” is a classic Avantasia song, and at almost nine minutes, is by far the longest on the album. The cinematic dark soundscapes of “The Witch” captivate and support the song’s storyline perfectly. Emotional, multifaceted vocal performances mesmerize on “Avalon”, while the heavy metal number “Against The Wind” serves as further proof of the versatility of Avantasia’s sound. Remaining well-balanced and cohesive, Here Be Dragons is undeniably Avantasia’s most powerful album so far.


The 10-track offering was written and composed in its entirety by Tobias Sammet himself, produced and recorded by Tobias Sammet together with Sascha Paeth, mixed by Sascha Paeth and mastered by Michael Rodenberg. The stunning cover art was once again created by acclaimed British fantasy artist Rodney Matthews. Here Be Dragons marks another masterpiece in the Avantasia catalog, leaving both fans and critics speechless and proving the band’s standing as a main force in the world of rock and metal!


Here Be Dragons is now available for pre-order in several exciting physical editions, with bonus albums included in select limited formats, like a 3CD hardcover artbook with 96 pages, over 160 pictures, drawings of Rodney Matthews and extensive stories to accompany the music and pictures. 





Here Be Dragons will be available in the following formats:


- 3CD-Artbook – large format, hardcover book incl. 96 pages, over 160 pictures and extensive stories and liner notes
- 3LP Vinyl Box incl 72 Pages 12" Booklet – strictly limited to 500 copies
- 1LP Glow in the Dark Vinyl incl 12'' Booklet – strictly limited to 300 copies – Napalm Records Mailorder exclusive
- 1LP Yellow/Orange Marbled Vinyl incl 12'' Booklet – strictly limited to 300 copies – Napalm Records Mailorder exclusive
- 1LP Blue/White Splattered Vinyl incl 12" Booklet + Poster + Slipmat – strictly limited to 500 copies – Napalm Records Mailorder exclusive ROW
- 1LP Orange incl 12'' Booklet     
- 1LP Black incl 12'' Booklet   

In a new interview with Radioactive MikeZ, host of the 96.7 KCAL-FM program "Wired In The Empire", BIOHAZARD guitarist/vocalist Billy Graziadei recounted a "funny story" involving METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "So, pretty much every band knows, when you meet a band and you're, like, 'Oh, it would be great to tour with these guys. I would love to open up for them,' you've gotta treat that in a very delicate way, or you don't give a fuck. But if you meet somebody in a band and that's your ideal band that you wanna tour with, you go out of your way to say hello, be cool, be cordial, you pay for their beer — whatever. You know what I mean? I'm not saying kiss their ass, but there's the right way to handle it and the wrong way to handle it."

Billy continued: "Some friends of mine had some spot in Manhattan. And it was a pretty happening spot. But I'm outside talking to the security dudes and the owners, and we're all young kids; they're buddies of mine. So, Lars walks up. He's got maybe an entourage of, like, 10 people. And one of the owners says, 'Hey, yo, you know Lars. Can you introduce us?' I'm, like, 'Yeah, no problem.' So Lars walks by, and I'm, like, 'Yo, what's up, bro?' And he looks at me, kind of nods his head and says, 'Yeah, hi,' and walks right past me. So as New Yorkers, my buddies were busting my balls. They're, like, 'You don't know him.' I'm, like, 'I do know. And he fucking knows me.' So I rushed. I walk in the club. I walk up the stairs, VIP. And I pushed through to him and his people. And I sit right down next to him. I'm, like, 'Yo. What the fuck? You know who I am.'I said, 'You made me like an idiot in front of my buddies.' I said, 'You know me. Billy from BIOHAZARD.' He goes, 'Oh, I didn't recognize your hair.' I'm, like, 'It's always blonde, dude. That's my thing.' It's like Dimebag with his red beard. So, to make a long story short, he kind of motions over to one of his friends. She comes and sits next to me. She's, like, 'What band do you play with?' I said, 'BIOHAZARD.' She said, 'Oh you guys are fucking heavy. Cool.' Blah blah blah. That was it. The next morning I get a call from my manager, Scott Koenig, rest in peace. He said to me, 'Hey, I heard you bumped into Lars last night.' And I'm, like, 'Oh, here he goes. He's gonna bust my balls.' And so I started telling the story. And I was cool with Lars. I just basically stood up to him and said, 'Hey, you know me. Don't act like you don't know me, especially in front of my friends in New York, who, they're gonna bust my balls.' So sure enough, I started telling the story. He interrupts me and he said, 'Well, I don't know what happened or what you said or how you handled it, but they wanna take you on tour.' And I pretty much dropped the phone, and I was, like, 'Yo, what?' I picked the phone up. 'They wanna take us on tour? Fucking METALLICA?'"

Billy added: "So, word to the wise, you wanna treat people always with respect, no matter who you are. I don't care if you're the garbage man or the president, you're cool with me, you get my respect, and that's it. But you've always gotta stand up for yourself. And I think Lars just respected the fact that I wasn't afraid to tell him, 'Yo…' I had to put him in check — in a respectful way."

Earlier this month, the reunited classic lineup of BIOHAZARD entered Shorefire Recording Studios in Long Branch, New Jersey to begin recording its long-awaited new album for a 2025 release via Frontiers Label Group's new imprint BLKIIBLK.

The first reunion gig from Graziadei, guitarist Bobby Hambel, drummer Danny Schuler and bassist/vocalist Evan Seinfeld took place on May 26, 2023 at the Milwaukee Metal Fest at The Rave/Eagles Ballroom in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

The group, which is acknowledged as one of the earliest outfits to fuse hardcore punk and heavy metal with elements of hip-hop, had been out of the public eye since Scott Roberts left the band nearly nine years ago.

Roberts, who played guitar on BIOHAZARD's 2005 album "Means To An End", rejoined the group in June 2011 as the replacement for Seinfeld. Scott fronted BIOHAZARD for nearly five years before exiting the band in February 2016.

COHEED AND CAMBRIA vocalist, primary songwriter and lead guitarist Claudio Sanchez has released "Claudio Covers". "Claudio Covers" is composed of eight songs reimagined by Claudio, including a cover of "Just Like Heaven" by THE CURE, which Claudio shared on YouTube last month. Additionally, the new album will include multiple songs Claudio has covered over the years, including "Under The Milky Way" by THE CHURCH, "Your Love" by THE OUTFIELD and "Stumbleine" by SMASHING PUMPKINS. The project also includes two brand new covers, including "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out" by THE SMITHS and "Welcome To New York" by Taylor Swift, which arrives with a video.

Speaking about his "Welcome To New York" cover, Claudio shares: "My decision to include 'Welcome To New York' in this collection is two-sided. First, in 2014, my son was born in a Brooklyn Hospital (Welcome To NY, Atlas!)… and when he became aware of this Swifty classic, we listened to it even more so than when it was initially released, and if you know my wife, that's a lot. The other side of my choice is…I love NY. When so many fled the city with uncertainty, my family made the decision to plant deeper roots here. There's no place in the world like it and no place I'd rather spend my downtime. It's a place that deserves all its tributes and songs. Maybe one day I'll have one in me… until then, this will have to do."

"Claudio Covers" comes on the heels of the announcement of COHEED AND CAMBRIA's tenth studio album, "The Father Of Make Believe", which will arrive on March 14, 2025. "The Father Of Make Believe" continues the narrative of "The Amory Wars" / "Vaxis" universe, following COHEED AND CAMBRIA's 2022 album "Vaxis Act II: A Window Of The Waking Mind". "The Father Of Make Believe" will include the recently released singles "Blind Side Sonny", arguably COHEED AND CAMBRIA's most aggressive track to date that was complemented by a Max Moore-directed video that unveiled a new villain in "The Amory Wars" realm, and "Searching For Tomorrow", which arrived with an Anthony Scheppard-directed and animated video.

Additionally, COHEED AND CAMBRIA recently announced "The Infinite Arc" co-headline arena tour with MASTODON taking place next summer. Also in 2025, COHEED AND CAMBRIA will join TOOL, PRIMUS, MASTODON, EAGLES OF DEATH METAL and more for the Tool In The Sand festival in the Dominican Republic in March ahead of 2000 Trees with KNEECAP, TAKING BACK SUNDAY, ALEXISONFIRE, and more in the United Kingdom in July. Next November, COHEED will embark on their S.S. Neverender 2025 cruise with THURSDAY, L.S. DUNES, THE DEAR HUNTER, HAIL THE SUN, MEET ME AT THE ALTAR and more.

"Claudio Covers" track listing:

01. Just Like Heaven (THE CURE)
02. Welcome To New York (Taylor Swift)
03. Your Love (THE OUTFIELD)
04. Pompeii (BASTILLE)
05. Under The Milky Way (THE CHURCH)
06. Stumbleine (SMASHING PUMPKINS)
07. Sister Christian (NIGHT RANGER)
08. There Is A Light That Never Goes Out (THE SMITHS)

During an appearance on a recent episode of the "Talk Louder" podcast, hosted by veteran music journalist "Metal Dave" Glessner and lifelong hard rock/metal vocalist Jason McMaster (DANGEROUS TOYS),QUEENSRŸCHE guitarist Michael Wilton was asked what the "most extravagant" thing was that he bought for himself when he started having some success and making some money. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, I mean, the obvious things. I have a family, so a house. [Laughs] And then guitars. [Laughs] That's about it."

He explained: "I wasn't a fast car guy. I come from a family that you learn to, I guess, save your money more than spend it all the time. So, yeah, I try and be as responsible as I can. But just on this tour… Well, the last tour, I think I bought, like, six guitars. It's, like, this tour I've curbed myself and I've only bought three. So I'm doing a little better."

Asked if he keeps track of how many guitars he owns, Wilton said: "Over the years, obviously, back in the '90s, when you've got a guitar company behind you, they're throwing guitars at you because you're playing 'em live and you accumulate a lot with every tour. So, yeah, you can only imagine how many."

QUEENSRŸCHE performed the band's 1983 EP and 1984's "The Warning" album in their entirety as part of the recently completed fall 2024 U.S. leg of "The Origins Tour".

"Digital Noise Alliance" came out in October 2022 via Century Media. The record was once again helmed by Chris "Zeuss" Harris, who previously worked with QUEENSRŸCHE on 2015's "Condition Hüman" and 2019's "The Verdict" LPs.

Guitarist Mike Stone, who rejoined QUEENSRŸCHE in 2021, contributed guitar solos to the band's latest studio album.

Since late May 2021, Stone has been handling second-guitar duties in QUEENSRŸCHE, which announced in July 2021 that longtime guitarist Parker Lundgren was exiting the group to focus on "other business ventures."

Stone originally joined QUEENSRŸCHE for the 2003 album "Tribe" and stayed with the band for six years before leaving the group.

For the past seven and a half years, drummer Casey Grillo has been filling in for original QUEENSRŸCHE drummer Scott Rockenfield, who stepped away from the band's touring activities in early 2017 to spend time with his young son.

In October 2021, Rockenfield filed a lawsuit against Wilton and bassist Eddie Jackson, alleging, among other things, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty and wrongful discharge. A few months later, Wilton and Jackson filed a countersuit against Rockenfield, accusing him of abandoning his position as a member of the band and misappropriating the group's assets to his own personal benefit. That dispute has since been settled out of court.

Wilton released his solo album, "Volume 1", on December 6 via Rat Pak Records.

DOKKEN frontman Don Dokken is selling his 1990 Harley-Davidson FXR motorcycle via eBay.

Earlier today (Friday, December 20),Don shared the following message via social media: "As some of you may know, I had surgery five years ago that resulted in paralysis of my right arm due to complications. I wanted to hold on to one of my Harley's but after so much time with no improvement, I've made the tough decision to sell my last bike. Unfortunately, I still can't ride safely due to my weakened arm. It's a great bike with low mileage so be sure to check it out."

For more information, visit eBay.

In a September 2023 interview with Cassius Morris, Don Dokken spoke about how the complications from his November 2019 neck and spinal surgery affected the making of the band's thirteenth studio album, "Heaven Comes Down", which arrived in October 2023 via Silver Lining Music. The 71-year-old musician said in part: "My right arm got paralyzed, so I couldn't play guitar anymore, so I couldn't compose. That sucked… I mean, when you can't play guitar, how am I gonna finish the songs? And I waited and waited, going to the gym three days a week and physical therapy. My left hand's normal. My right hand [is] fucked. It's over. The whole arm is paralyzed. I can hold a cup — that's about it. So that was depressing after surgery. And they kept saying, 'Give it a year. Give it a year. Give it a year.' It's been three years. It didn't come back. So that was a bummer."

He continued: "I made a joke when I was going to the operating room. I told the surgeon, 'Just do me two favors. Don't kill me and don't paralyze me.' So, I got half. I'm paralyzed. It took me a year just to be able to [lift my right arm above my head] — one year. I was [using] a walker and a cane, and I still have a cane. I don't try to use it too much. But that just took the wind out of the band's sail."

Back in February 2020, just three months after his surgery, Don told "The Classic Metal Show" that he was forced to "become a leftie" even though he is right-handed. Don went on to say that he "never imagined" his surgery would result in "so much trauma." He said: "It was a bit of a shock, honestly, when I came out of surgery. Who goes into surgery and wakes up and they're completely paralyzed?"

The follow-up to 2012's "Broken Bones", "Heaven Comes Down" was produced by Bill Palmer and Don Dokken and was mixed by Kevin Shirley (AEROSMITH, IRON MAIDEN).

In August 2023, DOKKEN released the music video for the album's first single, "Fugitive". The clip was directed by Chris Eyre ("Dark Winds", "Smoke Signals") and was filmed at the popular immersive arts venture Meow Wolf in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

DOKKEN released an album called "The Lost Songs: 1978-1981" in August 2020 via Silver Lining Music. Featuring sleeve art by renowned U.S. artist Tokyo Hiro (MOTÖRHEAD, MOTLEY CRÜE),the effort contains material written and recorded by a hungry young Don Dokken as he embarked upon a journey which started in Southern California and Northern Germany.

DOKKEN's classic lineup of Dokken, guitarist George Lynch, bassist Jeff Pilson and drummer "Wild" Mick Brown completed a short Japanese tour in October 2016, marking the first time in 21 years the four performed together.

A DOKKEN concert DVD focusing on the band's reunion tour, "Return To The East Live (2016)", was made available in 2018.

At some of the recent DOKKEN shows, Lynch has been rejoining the band on stage to perform three of the classic DOKKEN songs: "Kiss Of Death", "When Heaven Comes Down" and "Tooth And Nail".

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by DOKKEN (@dokken_official)

Last month, Canadian rockers THREE DAYS GRACE released "Mayday", their first single since the return of original frontman Adam Gontier. The 46-year-old musician, who left THREE DAYS GRACE in 2013, is sharing lead vocals in the band's new lineup with singer Matt Walst, who has fronted THREE DAYS GRACE for the past decade.

In a new interview with "Whiplash", the KLOS radio show hosted by Full Metal Jackie, Adam was asked if "Mayday" is a good representation of the material that will eventually appear on THREE DAYS GRACE's next studio album. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I think it's pretty close. Yeah, we've been doing a lot of writing and we've got lots of songs done and we're pretty close to finishing an album.

"I think it was pretty important for us to sort of get some elements in these songs that were super classic THREE DAYS GRACE with some newer elements as well," he explained. "So I think 'Mayday' is a good representation of that. It's a pretty heavy song, but it's got everything else that we wanted to have in there. So, yeah, I think it's pretty close."

Asked if there was ever any doubt "Mayday" would be the first song to introduce this iteration of the band, Matt said: "We found with 'Mayday' — we listened to, obviously, our ideas and our songs a lot, and with 'Mayday', we kind of all found we never got sick of it. Personally, too, I listened to it over and over again, and I didn't get sick of it. And it takes you on this kind of journey throughout it, and it's not super predictable. And, yeah, [we] just found it was fresh."

Matt also talked about how the idea for having two singers in THREE DAYS GRACE came about. He said: "I think one day I just talked to my brother Brad [Walst, THREE DAYS GRACE bassist] about it and was, like, 'It'd be sick if Adam came back. And we could both sing, and I can sing the songs of the past 10 years and Adam can even sing a few of those too.' And yeah, it just seems like a new life to breathe into THREE DAYS GRACE and to make it exciting, like the early days or just to freshen it up and, yeah, make it exciting."

"Mayday" was produced by Zakk Cervini and Dan Lancaster with vocal production by Howard Benson. In addition, the band released an epic CiRCUS HEaD-directed visual to accompany the track which can be found below.

Last month, THREE DAYS GRACE drummer Neil Sanderson told 100.3 The X Rocks about the progress of the recording sessions for the band's next LP:  "We're feeling pretty good because the [new THREE DAYS GRACE full-length] record's almost done. We've got stuff that we still need to record, but we're kind of in a position where if a new song comes along and it beats out one of the songs that we have, then cool. So, that's relieved a bit of pressure. It's not like we're sitting here with a single coming out and we don't have a record ready. It's pretty well ready to go. But waking it up every day, and, 'Okay, what's the task at hand?' If you look at it, like, 'Oh my God. We're going on a world tour next year. We've gotta finish the record right now. We need to figure out everything for what's going to happen live and rehearsals, then it kind of gets a little freaky, but we wake up and go, 'Okay, what can we do today? Let's do something,' whether that's… We're working on some video components for the show and we've got some new songs that we're excited about and just picking away at everything. We don't take weekends off and we might have to skip Christmas. But other than that… [Laughs]"

Asked if he and his THREE DAYS GRACE bandmates knew instantly that "Mayday" would be the first single from the new LP, Neil said: "I think the biggest question mark for us was just how it was gonna work with where each singer was gonna go and who was gonna sound sing what. We weren't really sure how that was gonna play out. But once we started just doing it and we were in a studio and we could just, like, 'Hey, try this. Try that,' and they started singing together and then they started working as two vocalists to map out how things make sense and are meaningful with who sings what where, once we realized that that was gonna be organic in nature and just it made sense and it created a new depth for this band, especially after 22 years of being out, that was when we kind of let go of the wheel in a way. In a way, we just kind of, 'Let's let it happen.' And so most of the songs were like that, where the guys kind of had a plan on where everything, how the puzzle pieces were gonna fit together."

Regarding what was different about the recording process this time around, Sanderson said: "Well, I definitely will say that we've kind of really leaned into being able to record and to collaborate remotely. And I think we got trained on that during COVID. And there's a lot of new studio technologies that it literally feels like you're in the same room together and you're recording together even though you're thousands of miles apart. So that was a big one.

"We put out a record called 'Explosions' just after COVID," he continued. "So that record was pretty well, almost exclusively done remotely. So we had that tool on our belt. And then I think when it was the notion that, just leaning into the fact that Matt and Adam just have really unique voices in their own right. And let's kind of hone in on those strengths and they don't need to sound like each other. I make the PINK FLOYD reference. Sometimes Roger Waters kind of has that frantic energy when he sings, and [David] Gilmour kind of has a bit more of a crooner kind of [delivery]. A lot of the time Gilmour would sing about stuff, like, 'Hey, everything's gonna be okay,' and then Waters would come in and be, like, 'Ah, no, it's not. And so that realization, that we can do that, and that creates the new level instead of trying to sound like each other or make it one thing, that was really freeing. It was really freeing in the studio to be able to know that we could do that."

In a separate interview with Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station, Neil stated about Adam's return to THREE DAYS GRACE: "We had been talking and we've kept in touch. And the band was just talking about, like, how great would this be for us and for the fans and for the nostalgia of THREE DAYS GRACE. And then he got up on stage with us [for a guest appearance], and then we just thought, 'Let's make something new. Let's sit down and write a song.' And once we kind of got into that songwriting process, it just felt really natural and it felt right. And I think for the fans, we're giving them something that we haven't done before and hasn't really been done much in the past."

He continued: "At the end of the day, THREE DAYS GRACE, we're family. In fact, as you may know, Matt, one of our singers, is Brad's brother. And he kind of grew up around THREE DAYS GRACE and then slipped into the position. But we're really guitar heavy — we've got a lot of guitars going on and stuff — and those guys [Adam and Matt] both play guitar. So it's gonna be great to have another guitar on stage, too, as well as two singers. So it opens up the door for us to do a lot of things that we might not have been able to do before."

On the topic of the "Mayday" video, Neil said: "It was a really fun video to make. It was kind of especially cool for me because very rarely as a drummer do you get to make a video where you don't have to fake playing drums all day. [Laughs] And so, yeah, complete melee goes on on the plane. And it's kind of an analogy to just feeling like we're hurling through life at warp speed, and sometimes it doesn't feel like there is a pilot that's in control of things. But it's also a bit of a celebration, like, 'Hey, if we're going down, we're all going down together.'"

Asked when we can expect a new THREE DAYS GRACE full-length album, Neil said: "We're working on it as we speak. I was just with the guys on Zoom, and we're finishing it up. We basically hope to have it done by the end of this year and finish recording in January. And then, of course, we go out on tour. We're starting with DISTURBED and then we're putting together a headline tour for later in the year and lots of festivals and stuff. So we need to wrap the record up by January, and I think it'll probably come out a couple of months after that."

THREE DAYS GRACE teased a reunion with Gontier less than three months ago by posting a voicemail message in which Adam told Matt that he would "be at the studio soon, if you can just let everybody know."

Gontier said about his return to THREE DAYS GRACE: "I feel like it's been seamless, better than we were expecting. It's like we got back in a room together and picked up where we left off. We have been friends for so long, it's kind of natural to get back in the room together."

Walst added: "It's been so much fun and inspiring making this record. Combining over 20 years of THREE DAYS GRACE and doing something that no band has ever done. I'm excited for the fans to hear it!"

In April 2023, Gontier reunited with THREE DAYS GRACE onstage during the band's concert in Huntsville, Alabama. Gontier rejoined his former bandmates when they opened for SHINEDOWN at the Probst Arena At The Von Braun Center to perform two classic songs from THREE DAYS GRACE's 2006 album "One-X": "Never Too Late" and "Riot".

THREE DAYS GRACE later shared a post-performance photo with Gontier on social media and wrote in an accompanying message: "Soooo we did a thing."

In July 2022, Gontier said that a reunion with his former bandmates was "likely" to happen "down the road at some point." The Canadian-born musician made his comments just a couple of weeks after he and two members of the band's most recent lineup, bassist Brad Walst and his younger brother, vocalist Matt Walst, were inducted into the Norwood District High School Hall Of Honor in Norwood, Ontario.

Asked in an interview with Rock Feed if he would be open to working with THREE DAYS GRACE again now that he appears to be on good terms with his former bandmates, Gontier said: "You know what? Yeah. I mean, for sure. We've all grown up. It's been a while. There's no hard feelings or anything like that. We're all in touch now and we talk and text and stuff. We haven't really talked about doing anything — not yet anyway — but I feel like something like that is most likely down the road at some point," he added.

When interviewer Brian Storm noted that Adam's reunion with THREE DAYS GRACE would be a "big" deal, Gontier said, "And it would be a lot of fun." Storm then reiterated that the reunion would be "very big," to which Adam said: "Probably would be. You never know, man. We haven't really talked about it. But, yeah, I guess we'll see."

Earlier in July 2022, Brad Walst spoke about reconnecting with Gontier at the Norwood District High School event in an interview with Tommy Carroll of the 97.9 WGRD radio station. He said: "It's funny 'cause the high school's been calling us for years. And, obviously, we've all had kind of different schedules, and Adam's been doing his thing and we've been doing our thing. And until recently, to be honest, we hadn't really spoken that much — we'd text and stuff. But Adam's moved back to the area, and he's got a great family and a great wife. And we've all kind of been chatting and hanging out. Yeah, I called him and just said, 'They want the three of us' — they want Matt, Adam and myself. And everyone agreed, and it was, like, 'Okay, let's do this.' So it was pretty cool to see [our] high school, where you grew up… It's nice to be acknowledged."

He continued: "It's funny, 'cause I texted Adam, 'You made the Hall Of Fame.' He's, like, 'Yup. Straight-B student.' [Laughs] But I think just having us together in that room was way more powerful, for sure. So it was a pretty cool feeling."

In 1992, Gontier, Brad Walst, Phil Crowe, Neil Sanderson and Joe Grant formed GROUNDSWELL while most of the members were still in high school. That band broke up in 1995, but two years later Gontier, Sanderson and Walst reformed as THREE DAYS GRACE. Gontier left the band in 2013 and was replaced by Matt, the vocalist from another Norwood band, MY DARKEST DAYS.

In a 2007 interview with The Oklahoman, Gontier said that he met some of his first bandmates while they were freshmen at Norwood District High School.

"I ended up hooking up with Brad because we had the same love of music," Gontier said. "He didn't play anything at the time. I suggested him getting a bass, and he did."

Gontier said that Canadian bands, including THE TRAGICALLY HIP and OUR LADY PEACE were early influences, along with the Seattle rock scene, particularly the group SUNNY DAY REAL ESTATE.

Gontier initially went into rehab in 2005 in Toronto after admitting an addiction to Oxycontin. The rehab stint influenced some material which would appear on THREE DAYS GRACE's "One-X" album, including the songs "Pain" and "Over And Over".

Gontier left THREE DAYS GRACE in the spring of 2013. At the time, the Canadian rockers cited unspecified "health issues" when his departure was announced. Adam later released a statement explaining he exited THREE DAYS GRACE to pursue new projects, and not to deal with addiction.

Gontier is currently a member of SAINT ASONIA, which also features STAIND guitarist/founding member Mike Mushok. The quartet is rounded out by Cale Gontier (bass) and Cody Watkins (drums).

THREE DAYS GRACE's latest album, "Explosions", was released in May 2022 via RCA Records.

Photo credit: Matt Barnes

In a new interview with the Disturbing The Priest podcast, FLOTSAM AND JETSAM guitarist Michael Gilbert was asked if he would agree that "the band is in a golden age right now". He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Oh, a hundred percent. And we're all stoked about it too, because through our career, everybody's always gone back to the first two records, the classic ones. And personally, I feel like our last four records has been our best. This is who we are now."

He continued: "It's a little bit frustrating because there's a lot of people that come up to me and the [other] guys in the band as well, saying they don't even know we have anything new out. They didn't know. Nobody knows what's going on. So there's a lot of factors for it, but usually that starts with a record label not doing a couple of things. In the digital age, promotions right now, it's not like it used to be. And granted, we're older dudes. We don't know how to do all the social media stuff, or we do, but we're just not good at it… But we're getting on board. We're learning a lot of stuff and we're trying to figure out. As well as we're moving to a different tier too, like a different platform. The band is on an upward trajectory, for sure. Getting new fans like you, that's great. You heard the classic stuff, but then now you've heard the newer stuff. And it sounds to me like you're digging the newer stuff as well, or more than the older stuff, which is… That's what I wanna hear."

Regarding how much of the new material will make it into the FLOTSAM AND JETSAM setlist, Gilbert said: "So that's one thing that we have all decided to do, because we get a lot of these festivals and, like, we're doing 70000 Tons Of Metal [cruise] next month and they want us to play like all the classic stuff. And we're, like, 'No. Time out. We've got new records out. We wanna play our new stuff.' So what we're starting to do is we're getting higher guarantees for the older classic sets, because we wanna shelve that for the most part and show off what we're doing now, and just do it for special occasions. [Germany's] Keep It True [festival], we did it there and that went over great. And we're gonna do it on 70000 Tons — we're playing the first and second records only, and they've requested that, but we can't keep doing that. We've gotta move forward at some point, and I think our material is as strong or stronger than our older stuff. I just want people to hear it. I don't know how to get it out there right now."

FLOTSAM AND JETSAM's latest album, "I Am The Weapon", is the band's fifth release since the return of Gilbert, who is the only other member of the current FLOTSAM lineup, besides singer Eric "AK" Knutson, to have played on the group's debut LP, 1986's "Doomsday For The Deceiver".

Knutson told the Arizona Republic in a 2021 interview that Gilbert's 2010 return to FLOTSAM AND JETSAM after a 13-year absence was a pivotal moment in the band's rebirth.

"Michael was always a big part of the writing team back in the day," Knutson said. "And when he left, I just kind of used the band as an excuse to go on vacation in Europe a couple times a year. I really wasn't that worried about what the songs sounded like. I was just like, 'Okay, let's put a record out so we can get out on tour again.' We weren't serious about it." When Gilbert returned, Eric said, "We decided to make another serious stab at it and we've just been going uphill ever since."

"I Am The Weapon" arrived on September 13, 2024 via AFM/Believe.

It's been 38 years since FLOTSAM AND JETSAM, formed in Phoenix, Arizona, released "Doomsday For The Deceiver", the only album to ever receive a 6K rating from the influential British magazine Kerrang! Bassist Jason Newsted would jump ship to METALLICA while the band released "No Place For Disgrace" in 1988. "Cuatro" (1992),"Drift" (1995),"High" (1997) and "My God" (2001) all still rank extremely high in heavy metal circles. But it was the first part of this unofficial trilogy in 2016's self-titled "Flotsam And Jetsam", followed by the crushing 2019 successor "The End Of Chaos" that a certain rejuvenation and reset was clearly felt.

AMEN frontman Casey Chaos has died at the age of 59.

Earlier today (Saturday, December 21),the following message was posted on the official AMEN Facebook page: "It is with great sadness, grief and sorrow that we confirm the passing of Casey Chaos after seeing the news currently being reported.

"As you can imagine, everyone in the band, past and present, are absolutely devastated.

"There was a lot going on with AMEN in the past 5-6 years that we didn’t announce. Casey loved and appreciated your support, and always wanted to wait until things were complete, rather than sharing unfinished work-in-progress material.

"The rest of us are going to reflect on the ways we can honour Casey in the way he deserves; to have his genius, talent and heart celebrated and experienced by the world and the people who appreciated it.

"Please share any positive memories you have about Casey on this post…

"For our part, we will share more in time.

"REFUSE AMEN, LONG LIVE CHAOS.

"Goodbye, brother."

Cleopatra Records founder and CEO Brian Perera shared a statement in which he said: "I had the privilege of working with Casey during his unforgettable live performance with CHRISTIAN DEATH at the American Legion Hall back in 1993. Walking into the hall with my good friend Matt Green and my wife, Yvonne, was an experience I'll never forget — especially seeing Nicolas Cage sitting front-row center, completely captivated.

"Touring with SLIPKNOT, COAL CHAMBER and others, AMEN were a key figure on the late 1990s metal scene, winning acclaim for the albums 'Amen', 'We Have Come For Your Parents' and 'Death Before Musick'; subsequent projects include HEADBAND, SCARS ON BROADWAY and SCUM, while a fourth AMEN album was seldom far from Chaos's mind.

"Casey wasn’t just an extraordinary musician," Perera continued. "He truly lived and breathed the lifestyle.

"May he rest in peace alongside Rozz Williams and the many tortured souls we admire and respect."

AMEN bassist John Fahnestock also confirmed Chaos's death, writing in a social media post: "With a heavy heart and a tear in my eye I must announce that we lost another legend today.

"I've lost two legendary frontmen in my career and Casey has now also passed on.

"It was an absolute honor to have been in AMEN and witnessed without a doubt the genius that was Casey Chaos. He was a force unlike no other before him, a true artist, an uncompromising soul and a true punk rock icon!

"This is hard for me. I sit here going over all the memories just speechless …. #caseychaos #amen #legend #legendary #legendsneverdie #icon #punkrock #punkrocklegends".

Dean Karr, a Los Angeles-based photographer and video director, who celebrated Casey's birthday in October with the singer, took to his Facebook page to share a photo of him and Chaos and wrote simply: "LOVE YOU BROTHER!"

Born in Trenton, New York, but growing up in Melbourne, Florida, Chaos — real name Karim Chmielnski — took his musical lead from teenaged encounters with hardcore legends BLACK FLAG. He formed his first band, CASEY & THE SKATEPUNX, soon after, and quickly developed his own unique performing style as the band — now named DISORDERLY CONDUCT — launched onto the Florida punk scene.

Chaos relocated to Los Angeles in 1990, where he formed AMEN. A friendship with former CHRISTIAN DEATH guitarist Rikk Agnew also saw him perform and cowrite several songs on that band's "Iconologia" album, and, in 1993, appear alongside Agnew and original CHRISTIAN DEATH vocalist at the band's reunion show. A video recording of the show was subsequently released by Cleopatra Records.

Back in June 2019, TMZ reported that Casey was arrested for allegedly assaulting a woman at his Los Angeles home. In 2012, he was arrested after allegedly driving his car into about 15 parked cars in Studio City. In the latter case, Casey's blood alcohol lever was reportedly just above 0.08, which is the legal limit in California.

AMEN's last collection of new studio recordings, "Death Before Musick", was released in 2004 through EatUrMusic — a Columbia Records imprint owned by SYSTEM OF A DOWN guitarist Daron Malakian.

AMEN had been virtually inactive since it reunited for an October 2014 performance at Knotfest in Devore, California. Sitting in on drums at the show was former SOULFLY and current STONE SOUR and Jerry Cantrell sticksman Roy Mayorga.

As for 2015, AMEN was said to be putting the finishing touches on a new album with producer Ross Robinson (KORN, LIMP BIZKIT, SEPULTURA),but that effort has yet to see the light of day. Joining Chaos, bassist John Fahnestock and guitarists Duke Decter and John King in the studio was former SLAYER and SUICIDAL TENDENCIES drummer Dave Lombardo.

It is with great sadness, grief and sorrow that we confirm the passing of Casey Chaos after seeing the news currently...

Posted by AMEN on Saturday, December 21, 2024

With a heavy heart 🖤 and a tear in my eye 😢 I must announce that we lost another legend today. I’ve lost two legendary...

Posted by John Fahnestock on Saturday, December 21, 2024

With heartfelt sadness, I extend my deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of Casey Cahos.

I had the...

Posted by Cleopatra Records on Saturday, December 21, 2024

I am really thrown back right now. I don’t know what to think. What to say. One of my good friends and in some ways...

Posted by Skum Love on Saturday, December 21, 2024

LOVE YOU BROTHER!

Posted by Dean Karr on Saturday, December 21, 2024

Happy Birthday, Casey Chaos!

Posted by Dean Karr on Thursday, October 10, 2024

Casey Chaos has died today. I managed his band Amen for a time, which was a highly formative time for me and @...

Posted by David Bianchi on Saturday, December 21, 2024

In a recent interview with The Blairing Out With Eric Blair Show, former ACCEPT and current U.D.O. bassist Peter Baltes confirmed that he is a "born-again Christian." He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "There was a time I was gonna have a band with [fellow born-again Christian Dan] Spitz from ANTHRAX, but that fell through. And I just basically played in the church worship band, which was funny because I was always too loud, I played too much, and I played guitar. It was just the funniest thing ever.

"I remember when I went back to go with ACCEPT, the pastor took me aside and everybody else took me aside and said, 'You're going to hell,'" he continued. "And I said, 'No, I'm not going to hell. I'm gonna be a light.' And I realized then how in the church environment, it's totally different. You can have your own belief, but how the church tries to mold you and make you and push you, I didn't like that at all. So I just said, 'You know what? You guys do your thing. I'm gone anyway, but I'll be a light. And that's it.'"

Asked if he came from a Christian family, the 66-year-old Peter said: "No. [We're] Germans." As for how he became a born-again Christian, Baltes said: "My wife took my kids to church. I didn't wanna go. And then one day I went, and I sat all the way in the back next to the exit so I can get out real quick. But then some guys from the church came to the house one day, brought a cake, and we talked and talked and talked and talked. And I had just lost — I was producing a Philadelphia punk band, and they perished in a fire, three of 'em. They had a rehearsal room and a storage unit thing, and they had one of the kerosene heaters and it blew up. And I was supposed to be there that day, but I was somewhere else. I was late. I came with my backpack and the whole thing was on flames. So that was like a month before. And I was struggling with that. When they talked to me, it all made sense. And I was in that state that I needed something. And that's how that came about."

Baltes previously discussed his faith in a interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network. Recalling the tragedy that led to his becoming a born-again Christian, Peter said: "[The punk band I was producing] had a rehearsal room in a storage place, a storage facility. There was a kerosene heater. That particular night, I was supposed to go there and deliver some tapes, but I was late. The guitar player and the singer were there early. They lit up the kerosene heater, and it exploded. It set guitar player on fire, and he fell over the drum set and burned to his death."

Baltes said the incident hit him hard. "For the first time, I actually felt my heart probably," he revealed. "I was very prideful. You can't help it when you're in my business. Pride is all you have. That's what you live off. That's how you make your money. So now, for the first time, I started caring about others."

Recalling his discussions with two members of the church who paid Peter and his wife a visit, the bassist said: "They started talking to me and asked me about God. I told them, 'I don't believe. I think it's all humbug.' They asked me more questions, and I got a little aggravated. For like three or four hours, we went back and forth. Then finally I threw them out of the house. I said, 'Don't you ever come back here.' Then I felt really empty. I'm thinking, 'They really came in love, these people. They didn't do anything to me. They didn't call me names, curse at me or anything. They brought me a nice piece of bread.'"

After the two men returned a week later, Peter was more open to listening to what they had to say.

"This time, they didn't say much," he said. "They said, 'What's wrong with you?' I said, 'Well, my friends died in a fire.' They just asked me, 'Would you mind if we prayed for you and with you?' All I remember is that I started getting… first I got cold and then I got warm. Then I started sweating a lot and shaking a little bit. At the end, they just both asked me how I feel, and I said, 'I never felt like this before in my entire life.' They said, 'Are you ready to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, because that's the only way you will ever feel this way again.' I said, 'Absolutely, yes.' That's how I got saved. The next day, I never smoked a cigarette, drank a beer or any alcohol. My whole life changed."

This past October, Baltes launched a GoFundMe campaign to assist him and his wife in repairing their home in Nokomis, Florida due to damages caused by Hurricane Milton. Only $2,783 was raised of the campaign's initial $10,000 goal.

Peter exited ACCEPT in 2018 after spending more than three decades with the Wolf Hoffmann-led outfit. He later told Finland's Chaoszine that things "started to go down" within ACCEPT "maybe the last two years" before his departure. "I didn't like it anymore," he said. "And I found out some things — I don't wanna elaborate — but I found out some things that are really not nice. I'd been together with Wolf my whole life, and that wasn't really necessary. Some people have to have all the control, and when it started going into the artistic control, then it really bothered me more. So I really wasn't into it anymore."

Baltes was replaced in ACCEPT by Martin Motnik.

Norwegian progressive doom metallers THE 3RD AND THE MORTAL will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the two records they released in 1994 with singer Kari Rueslåtten, the acclaimed "Tears Laid In Earth" full-length album and the groundbreaking "Sorrow" EP, by reuniting for select shows in 2025 and 2026, playing songs from these releases.

THE 3RD AND THE MORTAL says in a statement: "We have had a great time rehearsing together with Kari again after all these years, and we are very much looking forward to meeting fans and friends in the coming!"

"This reunion is about celebrating the music we created together with the friends and wonderful fans who have inspired us all along," says Rueslåtten, whose ethereal voice remains central to the band's identity.

True to their artistic integrity, the six-piece ensemble will deliver their signature sound without pre-recorded enhancements, showcasing the raw talent that established their legacy.

"We cannot wait to get out there again and reconnect with the amazing fans and friends who've supported us over the years," says THE 3RD AND THE MORTAL drummer Rune Hoemsnes, speaking for the entire band.

The first show to be announced is an appearance at the Midgardsblot festival in Borre, Norway on August 13-16, 2025.

"This will be an iconic and unforgettable moment at Midgardsblot," says Midgardsblot press manager Silje Brekke. "The reunion of THE 3RD AND THE MORTAL with Kari Rueslåtten promises to be a magical experience, perfectly entwined with the unique setting of Borre's ancient burial mounds and history."

This exclusive performance represents a rare opportunity to witness one of atmospheric doom metal's most influential acts. The band's pioneering fusion of progressive soundscapes and ethereal atmospheres helped shape the landscape of contemporary metal.

The performance will showcase material from "Sorrow" and "Tears Laid In Earth". These works not only defined an era but continue to influence artists across the metal spectrum.

In 2013, Rueslåtten released a new version of THE 3RD AND THE MORTAL song "Why So Lonely", featuring a guest appearance by NIGHTWISH mastermind Tuomas Holopainen on piano and keyboards.

In an interview with FestivalBlog.be, Holopainen stated about his guest appearance on the track: "It's just an incredible thing because this album called 'Tears Laid In Earth' from 1994 is my all-time number one album. It's my favorite album of all time, and I'm not exaggerating when I say that listening to this album made me form NIGHTWISH. I wanted to do something similar. That's the most beautiful thing I've ever heard — female voice, atmospheric metal; I wanted to do something similar. So I owe everything to this band and this album. And then Kari contacted me saying, 'I'm doing a cover of the song 'Why So Lonely' for my solo album. Would you like to come and play the piano and the keyboard for that song?' And I [said 'yes'], like, immediately, I mean, this is an unbelievable coincidence."

After Rueslåtten's departure from THE 3RD AND THE MORTAL in 1995, the band recruited a new female singer, Ann-Mari Edvardsen. With Edvardsen on vocals, THE 3RD AND THE MORTAL released two full-length albums, 1996's "Painting On Glass" and 1997's "In This Room".

After the departure of Edvardsen and an absence of five years, THE 3RD AND THE MORTAL returned in 2002 with "Memoirs", an album with recordings made during previous years. A new female vocalist was found in Kirsti Huke, with Andreas Elvenes backing her up on a couple of tracks.

Photo courtesy of Silje Brekke / Midgardsblot

POWERRAGE, the new band featuring former EXCITER guitarist John Ricci, has inked a deal with High Roller Records.

Joining Ricci in POWERRAGE are bassist Todd Pilon (formerly of WITCHKILLER),vocalist Jacques Bélanger (who previously sang on three EXCITER albums: "The Dark Command" [1997], "Blood Of Tyrants" [2000] and "New Testament" [2004]) and drummer Lucas Dery.

POWERRAGE's debut album will be released in 2025.

High Roller Records says about POWERRAGE's upcoming LP: "Watch out for a massive dose of Canadian speed metal!"

Six years ago, EXCITER bassist Allan Johnson spoke to The Metal Voice about the September 2018 departure of Ricci. The guitarist has since been replaced by Daniel Dekay, who has previously played with DIEMONDS. Asked why Ricci decided to once again exit EXCITER, Allan said: "Well, that's still somewhat of a mystery. We haven't seen or actually spoke with John since it happened. We got back from our Singapore gig, and we started some e-mail chats back and forth, and John just said he's kind of getting fed up and he wants out. Dan [Beehler, drums/vocals] and I were actually quite surprised about this. First thing I said was we've got shows next year — tentative shows; nothing concrete — a couple coming up. They start to filter in quite quicky this time of year for 2019. So John said, 'You and Dan can go ahead and do the shows without me.' And that was pretty much it. He didn't give a solid reason why. I don't know what he meant by 'fed up,' but he said he was fed up. I confirmed with him. I said, 'Are you sure about this?' And he said, 'Yeah, I'm definitely out.'"

Ricci previousy left EXCITER in 1985 following the release of the band's first three classic albums — "Heavy Metal Maniac" (1983),"Violence & Force" (1984) and "Long Live the Loud" (1985).

"It's funny because the first thing I said to Dan when I contacted him [to let him know John was out] was I texted him and I said, 'Guess what — it's 1985 all over again,'" Allan said. "And he said, 'What? What?' Like, what's going on? It's funny — it's like déjà vu. [In 1985], we came back from a U.S. tour and John said, 'I'm out. That's it. I don't wanna do it anymore.' And we were, like, 'Well, we've got a Germany tour. What do you wanna do?' And he said, 'Do it without me.' So back then, we got our old guitarist, Brian McPhee, from a band that Dan and I played with before we were in EXCITER. So it was like total déjà vu. Only this time we have an opportunity to do things better than we did back in '85. And by having Dekay onboard, I think we're gonna definitely do that."

EXCITER's latest album, "Death Machine", which featured Ricci as the sole remaining original member, was released in October 2010 via Massacre Records.

Ricci, Beehler and Johnson reunited as EXCITER in 2014 and had been playing sporadic shows until John's latest departure.

PowerRage, the new band by former Exciter guitarist John Ricci, joins High Roller Records!

Debut album in 2025. Watch...

Posted by High Roller Records on Tuesday, December 17, 2024

During the past months building up to the worldwide release of NIGHTWISH's newest opus, "Yesterwynde", on September 20, the group shared various episodes revealing further insights into the creation of this magnificent album, which closes off the trilogy started with "Endless Forms Most Beautiful" in 2015. From early demo playback sessions in hotel rooms all across the world during the "Human. :II: Nature." world tour to the remote rehearsal sessions in a cabin in Röskö, from Floor Jansen delivering stunning vocal performances at her home studio to the orchestral recordings at Abbey Road Studios, London, this 45-minute documentary directed by Ville Lipiäinen details the long way of transforming the ideas, stories and songs of Tuomas Holopainen into the opulent masterpiece that is "Yesterwynde". Check it out below.

NIGHTWISH's multi-instrumentalist Troy Donockley comments: "'Yesterwynde' is full of secrets, but, if the stars are aligned, you may find some answers within..."

Holopainen previously said about the new NIGHTWISH LP: "'Yesterwynde' took more time to make than any previous NIGHTWISH album. The new album was intensively worked on for three and a half years. My ambition and piety really skyrocketed, and I just couldn't let go of the creative process — and didn't want to. Along the way, 'Yesterwynde' became both an exhilarating obsession and a comforting haven for me. All aspects of the making — compositions, lyrics, arrangements, cover art, videos, mixing and so on — were given more attention than ever before."

The result? There's a fascinating, but inexplicable feeling that NIGHTWISH has once again been able to find unprecedented nuances, spices and perspectives in their new works after a career of nine classic albums.

"'Yesterwynde' is an experience that takes time to digest," Holopainen explained. "The gravid ingredients of the songs are easily recognizable, but beneath the surface lies a large number of intriguing details and features."

He continued: "It's interesting – but not surprising – that 'Yesterwynde' has attracted quite a variety of opinions. Some have stated that it is the most 'band' record to date. For some it appears to be the heaviest and most ominous NIGHTWISH release. It has also been called our most progressive album. And the list goes on."

And what does Tuomas think of it himself?

"To me, 'Yesterwynde' sounds, tastes and feels strongly like the true essence of NIGHTWISH — enriched with new moods and flavors."

The lyrics of "Yesterwynde" deal with large-sized universal themes: memories, mortality, humanism, time and much more. "The new album is the conclusion of the trilogy — textually, it follows in the footsteps of its predecessors 'Endless Forms Most Beautiful' and 'Human. :II: Nature.'," Holopainen said. "At the same time, 'Yesterwynde' is the band's most lyrically driven album: our music has never been so 'married' to the lyrics. So here's a tip: if something in the composition puzzles you, the words might clear it up."

"For me, one of the key lines is 'we are because of a million loves' — taken from the song 'Perfume Of The Timeless'," he continued. "Each of us is part of an unbroken chain that stretches back billions of years. If even one of your ancestors had died too young — mauled by a cave bear, for example — during this incredibly long period of time, you would never have been born. In other words: our existence is such an unfathomable privilege."

What does the term "yesterwynde" mean? Tuomas said: "It describes a feeling that cannot be found in any human language. That's why we had to invent a whole new word. The album is supposed to open that feeling to the listener."

Without taking anything away from the solid delivery of guitarist Emppu Vuorinen, drummer Kai Hahto, bassist Jukka Koskinen and multi-instrumentalist/singer Troy Donockley, it might be worth highlighting one fact: the performance of the eloquent storyteller Floor Jansen is once again unparalleled. It is simply breathtaking how the singer is able to make songs fly with her performance.

"Floor's second child was born just over a month ago, and we hadn't rehearsed together at all... So it was a little nerve-wracking to go to Floor's home studio for vocal recordings," Tuomas said. "Well, what happened? We had booked twelve working days and after six days everything was completed in style. Floor's preparedness for the sessions was something extreme."

After the recordings and mixing process, there was one more working phase. Mastering. Could you possibly guess that no shortcuts were taken at this point either?

"The album was mastered seven times until we reached the finish line — one hundred percent satisfied,", stated Tuomas. "When the record was eventually finished, a three-year, extremely inspiring adventure had come to an end. I felt very, very happy."

NIGHTWISH's next steps are clear. And they are not the most common ones.

"NIGHTWISH will not go on a world tour this time," Tuomas said. "This was a decision made for personal reasons. But don't worry... Our contract with Nuclear Blast Records includes several albums, and there's plenty of motivation to create new music!"

"Yesterwynde" track listing:

01. Yesterwynde
02. An Ocean Of Strange Islands
03. The Antikythera Mechanism
04. The Day Of...
05. Perfume Of The Timeless
06. Sway
07. The Children Of 'Ata
08. Something Whispered Follow Me
09. Spider Silk
10. Hiraeth
11. The Weave
12. Lanternlight

"Human. :II: Nature." was released in April 2020. The follow-up to 2015's "Endless Forms Most Beautiful" was a double album containing nine tracks on the main CD and one long track, divided into eight chapters, on CD 2.

In August 2022, NIGHTWISH announced the addition of Jukka Koskinen (WINTERSUN) as an official member of the band. Koskinen, who made his live debut with NIGHTWISH in May 2021 at the band's two interactive experiences, had spent the previous year touring with NIGHTWISH as a session musician.

In November 2022, Jansen revealed that she was "cancer free" after undergoing surgery to have a tumor removed following a breast cancer diagnosis.

Photo credit: Tim Tronckoe (courtesy of Nuclear Blast)

In a recent interview with Rolling Stone India, AVENGED SEVENFOLD guitarist Synyster Gates was asked if he and his bandmates had any plans to celebrate 20th anniversary of their third album, "City Of Evil", in 2025, possibly by performing the entire LP on tour. He responded: "We did something [recently] for our Deathbats Club," he said, referencing AVENGED SEVENFOLD's special throwback concert on October 25 at Santa Ana, California's Observatory venue featuring a setlist composed of songs from the band's breakout 2003 album, "Waking The Fallen", and its 2005 follow-up, "City Of Evil". "I don't know if you're familiar with that. It's a really cool fan club that's on the blockchain, and all the rewards and stuff come directly from the blockchain. It's an amazing technology. The NFT cycle just completely plummeted and from the remains rose this really wonderful way to reward fans and spend time with them. We had a really small show where we did all old-school songs and kind of dressed up like half-wits. It was a lot of fun. But I know some bands are making an entire cycle out of that [album-anniversary sets], that it's cool, but it doesn't really interest us. We're just kind of constantly trying to pound the pavement, in hopes of finding new, unique, fresh ways of presenting and creating music."

Gates's comments echo those made by AVENGED SEVENFOLD singer M. Shadows who told Rock Feed about the band's throwback concert back in October: "We're just not a band that wants to go take an old record on tour right now — it's doesn't interest us, it doesn't excite us, but one night does. And it really isn't shots fired, 'cause everyone's doing those tours. Just for us, personally, it doesn't wanna make us get out of bed and go do that. But one night seems really fun to us."

Tickets to the Observatory show were made available in August exclusively for members of the Deathbats Club, a next-generation fan club and community built around AVENGED SEVENFOLD, priced at $25 each.

This past June, AVENGED SEVENFOLD guitarist Zacky Vengeance told NME that he and his bandmates were making plans to celebrate the anniversaries of their albums "City Of Evil" and "Nightmare", which are turning 20 and 15 in 2025, respectively. He said: "I think those albums are really monumental and fans have grown with them. They've meant a certain thing to people at a certain place in their life, so I think it's important that we do something."

Explaining that he didn't want AVENGED SEVENFOLD to be a "nostalgia act", Vengeance added: "I've always wanted to be as proud of whatever we put out today as I was when we put out those albums." But, he said, "I'm totally cool with celebrating those albums because it was such a great place and time. Plus, it's actually fun to relive and play those songs and get those reactions. To bank our entire career off past successes, we can't do it, but we'll definitely do something to celebrate those albums though. For us, the most exciting thing about looking back is recalling where our heads were at when we were young and writing them. Remembering that they're part of who we are."

"City Of Evil", AVENGED SEVENFOLD's third album, produced the singles "Bat Country" and "Beast And The Harlot", while "Nightmare", the band's fifth studio LP, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in the United States. Both records have since been certified platinum by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) for shipments in excess of a million copies in the U.S. alone.

AVENGED SEVENFOLD has spent much of the past year and a half touring in support of its most recent album, 2023's "Life Is But A Dream…"

During a recent appearance on the Guitar Hang podcast, former GUNS N' ROSES and current ART OF ANARCHY guitarist Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal reflected on how he first discovered rock music and decided to become a professional musician. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, I was born in Brooklyn [New York], and then at a pretty early age, and this is what really did it, is at five years old, we moved to the next borough over to Staten Island, which was all just deer and rabbits before it became a bunch of angry people, too many people in a small place. And I moved into this neighborhood. I was five years old. And there were all these kids my age; it was perfect. So we would just knock on the door and just come on in and we just hang out in each other's houses. And I would go over their house and there would just be albums, vinyl everywhere, lying all over the floor from their parents, their older brothers and sisters they all had. So, just at that age, just out of curiosity, you see this big square of artwork, you're, like, 'What is this?' And you go and you put on the vinyl on the turntable, you drop the needle, you sit on the bed and you stare at the speakers like you're watching TV with your ears and just listening. And there was such great stuff all the time just lying around that at an early age, [I was] getting exposed to — BEATLES and their solo albums and Elton John and QUEEN and all kinds of things. So one of them, at five years old, it was a new album that had just come out. And I was over at my friend Bob's house. And he had teenage sisters, and one of them must have gotten this album. And it had these… They had long hair. I couldn't tell if they were guys or girls 'cause they had painted faces. And I was, like, 'What are they? What's this?' And it just looked interesting. So we popped it on and it was KISS 'Alive!'. And it changed everything. It warped my fragile little child mind. And I heard it and immediately it's, like, 'I don't know what's going on, but that's what I wanna do.' And it just inspired so much. I was just so amazed by what I was hearing and what I was imagining and envisioning. And it made me want to do that."

He continued: "So, by age six I had a band with my brother and a neighbor. And we started making demos using multiple cassette recorders. Record on this one and then play it back and record on this one while we sang to overdub vocals and then play on this one, record on this one, to make copies, to give to all our friends. And we would do concerts in our backyards, and then eventually at the school we went to, and everything, and it just kept on going. And that was it. So, starting at six years old. And similar to this new album, I was fascinated by space as a child — the planets, astronomy, cosmology, astrophysics, everything. I was a smart kid. I'm dumb now. I became a stupid adult, but I was a very smart child. And I loved that stuff. And I was fascinated by it, and I would read all the time. Like, everyone would be out in the street playing football or whatever and I'd be in the backyard reading encyclopedias, just sponging up everything. And the first song I wrote was about the planet Jupiter when I was six years old. It's called 'Jupiter Is Nice'. And it was a ripoff of SWEET's 'Fox On The Run'. Because I couldn't make my own melodies yet. I didn't have enough building blocks, I hadn't lived enough life or experienced enough things and I hadn't heard enough music to draw from, so all I could do was just copy things that I heard on the radio at that point."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ART OF ANARCHY's third studio album, "Let There Be Anarchy", was released in February 2024 via Pavement Music.

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

Orianthi spoke to Guitar World magazine about Alice Cooper's recent announcement that she will be rejoining his band for shows January 31 through February 16, filling in for Nita Strauss, who, unfortunately, has conflicting obligations of her own.

Orianthi toured with Alice from 2011 to 2014, along with longtime band members Chuck Garric, Glen Sobel, Tommy Henriksen and Ryan Roxie.

She said: "Alice is like family. Working with him was such a blast, and it's such an honor. Alice is a legend. I know the shows are going to be really fun. It's going to be just a whole different dynamic and sort of a change from Nita."

Orianthi said that she was approached about doing the January/February tour via e-mail. "I was like, 'Absolutely,'" she said. "Well, actually, at first, I said, 'I'm not sure because I have my own stuff going on right now with my tour.' But we moved things around and made it work."

Orianthi went on to say that she will inject her own style into Alice's performances.

"I bring something really different to the band than Nita does," she explained. "She brings rock and metal — which is awesome. She's an incredible player, like, the way she plays is different from me. I play more classic blues rock, so it's a different dynamic."

When Orianthi's return to Cooper's band was first announced in late November, Alice said in a statement: "When Orianthi moved on to pursue her own career in 2014, we were lucky to find Nita. Over the past decade, Nita, Chuck and Tommy have also launched their own projects, and we always try to coordinate our schedule so we can keep the band together, but these shows came up after Nita had already committed to another tour. So I reached out to Orianthi, and thankfully she was available to jump back in, so we're all really looking forward to doing these shows with her. I'm so fortunate to always have such great musicians to work with."

Alice Cooper tour dates with Orianthi on guitar:

Jan. 31 - Augusta, GA - Bell Auditorium
Feb. 01 - Cherokee, NC - Harrah's Casino Resort Event Center
Feb. 02 - Greensboro, NC - Steven Tanger Center for the Performing Arts
Feb. 04 - Mobile, AL - Saenger Theatre
Feb. 06 - Orlando, FL - Hard Rock
Feb. 07 - Ft Myers, FL - Barbara Mann Performing Arts Hall
Feb. 08 - Clearwater, FL - Coachmen Park
Feb. 11 - St. Augustine, FL - Amphitheatre
Feb. 13-Feb. 17 - Miami, FL - Rock Legends Cruise

Alice Cooper will be announcing further 2025 tour dates, with Strauss back in the fold, having already confirmed a May 9 appearance at the Sonic Temple festival in Columbus, Ohio and an August 15 show in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at Lincoln Financial Field with MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE.

Orianthi (Orianthi Panagaris) looks as much like a rock star as she does a supermodel. But it's her extraordinary guitar chops that turn the most heads. She began playing professionally when she was thirteen years old before going on to perform and/or tour with Carlos Santana, Steve Vai, Alice Cooper, Richie Sambora and Dave Stewart. She was hired by Michael Jackson for his "This Is It" tour before his untimely death and performed with the supergroup HOLLYWOOD VAMPIRES (Cooper, Joe Perry, Johnny Depp and Tommy Henriksen). Orianthi's debut album, "Violet Journey", was released in 2005 and she has issued five solo albums to date. She was featured accompanying Carrie Underwood during a Grammy Awards telecast, performed on "American Idol" and appears in Jackson's documentary concert film "This Is It". Elle magazine named Orianthi one of the "12 Greatest Female Electric Guitarists" and she won the 2010 "Breakthrough Guitarist Of The Year" award from Guitar International magazine.

Strauss has been playing with Cooper since 2014 when she replaced Orianthi. She joined Alice in time for a mammoth MÖTLEY CRÜE tour. She was recommended to Cooper by the legendary rocker's former bass player and WINGER frontman Kip Winger.

e announced their new release with the In Your Eyes We Perish EP. The EP is set for digital release on January 24, 2025.


In Your Eyes We Perish contains six tracks, produced and recorded by Buried In Lava in a remote place off Azores, Portugal.


Vocals were captured in Zurich, Switzerland and mastering/mixing by Tiago Alves in Praia da Vitória. 

In a new interview with Sense Music Media, former JUDAS PRIEST and current KK'S PRIEST vocalist Tim "Ripper" Owens, who is preparing to tour Australia with his solo band, was asked for his opinion on the touring industry at the moment, particularly as it relates to heavy metal bands. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, it's tough… I think one reason is there's a lot of people touring. I mean, in America it's just non-stop. Our KK'S PRIEST tours did pretty good in America, but it's expensive for big bands. We can't come to Australia — KK'S PRIEST. We tried. We're hopefully gonna do it. We tried to get there, but the guarantees and expenses, it wasn't adding up, so KK's not doing it. We're not a new band that goes and loses or breaks even or whatever.

"But it's tough out there," Owens repeated. "I mean, there's bands who cancel a lot now because of low ticket sales. I've seen 'em cancel coming to Australia. I think that JUDAS PRIEST girls tribute band was coming there and had to cancel. And it's because of the expense. I'm fortunate that my [solo] band's there, so I'm lucky. And that's how I tour a lot. I tour all over the world solo and I have bands that I have in different parts of the world so I can go tour. 'Cause I couldn't afford to tour on my own with my band here. But it's tough all over the world. It's pretty good in America right now, I think, but I think it's just the same as everywhere. But there's still a metal scene — it's still there — I think it's just saturated with a lot of stuff. I mean, when we toured with KK'S PRIEST this last time, IRON MAIDEN was touring on the West Coast when we were touring, JUDAS PRIEST was touring, MEGADETH was touring. JUDAS PRIEST, I think they might have made their tour just to play the next city when we were there on purpose, because we would play Canada, in Toronto, and then the next day they were playing in Niagara Falls, which is right down the street. But that's how it is. So I think it's really tough and it's expensive. So what happens is everybody spends their 300 dollars on an IRON MAIDEN ticket and 150 or whatever JUDAS PRIEST is in America — MAIDEN's probably 100 and something and PRIEST is probably 50 or something like that in America, I'm guessing — 50 or 60. But that becomes a lot of money. So it becomes expensive."

In a separate interview with Australia's Silver Tiger Media, Owens once again spoke about KK'S PRIEST's decision to not do meet-and-greets on its recent tours. Addressing the fact that KK'S PRIEST has yet to make it to Australia, he said: "We probably could have got more run on touring. I mean, the touring was so successful and the shows were so good. It's just very costly to tour nowadays.

"I think the problem with, what's gonna be hard with getting KK'S PRIEST to tour is we don't do VIP meet-and-greets, and to be honest, it's probably about impossible to do any touring nowadays without doing 'em," he continued. "And if you don't do 'em, you can't expect to tour. I know bands that have made hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of thousands of dollars on just a meet-and-greet, which actually goes to expenses of the tour. Yngwie [Malmsteen] was just in Sydney. I heard he had about a hundred meet-and-greets, and over 200 was the cheapest meet-and-greet.

"I said to Ken [KK'S PRIEST guitarist and leader Kenneth 'K.K.' Downing], I said, 'Let's do a meet-and-greet with 10 people — that's it — after the show.' [We would charge] 200, which would be — you know, they get stuff, but they come back, 10 people. We have pizza and beer and soda and water and coffee, whatever, we have that sitting there. We all just sit around. We're right off the stage and we talk, 30 minutes or whatever, take the photo, sign stuff, eat pizza. But he's not game on it. And you just can't do it [without meet-and-greets]."

Owens added: "Bands can't afford to come to Australia unless you're doing meet-and-greets. I mean, IRON MAIDEN can. JUDAS PRIEST can. But JUDAS PRIEST does meet-and-greets and they charge four or five hundred dollars a person and they don't even meet the band half the time.

"What people realize is doing these [meet-and-greets] is how you tour. If you don't do 'em, you probably won't be able to tour. And I think that's our dilemma right now. I think that's why it might be hard to come to Australia or a lot of these places, because we don't do meet-and-greets. Which is fine — I can go tour solo — but that's how people do it nowadays."

Elaborating why Downing isn't interested in doing meet-and-greets at any of the KK'S PRIEST shows, Tim said: "Ken doesn't like 'em, and I understand that — he's old school — but I think what people have to realize is you're not going to meet Ken anyways [without meet-and-greets], so you're not going to meet him anywhere else. And you're putting it out there. People don't have to buy it. And that's why I had that idea of 10 people —that is it. And they just come right backstage and we have pizza and beer and you get a poster and laminate and I'll bring some eight-by-tens [photos] of me and whatever and a t-shirt or whatever. But I think that's the way to do it. Because, man, touring is expensive. Gosh."

Owens added: "It's funny. There's a couple things. And this is what's so great about [K.K.] and so great about this. He doesn't want to not bring the screens and not have the crew and the production we have on these small budgets that we're getting paid. He still wants to look good. 'Cause I said, 'Ken, you could just have backdrops back there.' I see bands — SAXON, all these bands, ACCEPT — with just backdrops, and they look great. It's fine. It's perfect He's, like, 'No. Nope. I gotta do the right show. It's gotta be the right show.' And I love it. I love everything he does and talks about. I love his passion. He has such passion. KK'S PRIEST is such a success and it sounds so good that he wants it all to be right. And maybe someday we will do the little meet-and-greet package so we can tour more. But with the cost of touring, I think it's gonna be pretty hard to do it without it."

KK'S PRIEST, which also includes guitarist A.J. Mills (HOSTILE),bassist Tony Newton (VOODOO SIX) and drummer Sean Elg (DEATHRIDERS, CAGE),and German/American metal legends ACCEPT recently completed a North American tour. The massive run began on August 31 in Los Angeles, California, visiting a slew of major cities in the USA and Canada — such as Toronto, Montreal, New York and Nashville — before coming to an end in San Francisco, California on October 7.

KK'S PRIEST's first-ever U.S. headlining tour, which featured support from L.A. GUNS and BURNING WITCHES, kicked off on March 7, 2024 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and concluded on March 24, 2024 at Keswick Theatre in Glenside, Pennsylvania.

KK'S PRIEST's sophomore album, "The Sinner Rides Again", came out in September 2023 via the Austrian label Napalm Records.

KK'S PRIEST made its live debut on July 6, 2023 at Downing's KK's Steel Mill in Wolverhampton, United Kingdom.

K.K. formed KK'S PRIEST after JUDAS PRIEST turned down his offer to rejoin the band for their 50th-anniversary tour. It followed a couple of celebrated stage appearances, first with former MANOWAR guitarist Ross The Boss in the summer of 2019, then with a one-off lineup that included former MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson and former PRIEST drummer Les Binks later that year.

KK'S PRIEST released its debut album, "Sermons Of The Sinner", in October 2021 via Explorer1 Music Group/EX1 Records.

Downing spent four months writing and recording "Sermons Of The Sinner" and, along with new ideas, he even resurrected a few archived riffs from the 1980s.

Downing was reunited with JUDAS PRIEST for a performance at the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction ceremony in November 2022 at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.

PRIEST received the Musical Excellence Award at the event, which honored Eminem, Dolly Parton, DURAN DURAN, Lionel Richie, Pat Benatar, EURYTHMICS and Carly Simon in the Performers category.

Downing left PRIEST in 2011 amid claims of band conflict, shoddy management and declining quality of performance. He was replaced by Richie Faulkner, nearly three decades his junior.

In 2019, Downing said that he reached out to JUDAS PRIEST about taking part in the band's 50th-anniversary tour but that their response was that they were not interested in including him in the celebrations.

In 2018, Downing revealed that he sent two resignation letters to his bandmates when he decided to quit JUDAS PRIEST. The first was described as "a graceful exit note, implying a smooth retirement from music," while the second was "angrier, laying out all of his frustrations with specific parties."

Downing later said that he believed the second letter was "a key reason" he wasn't invited to rejoin PRIEST after Glenn Tipton's decision to retire from touring.

Owens joined PRIEST in 1996 and recorded two studio albums with the band — 1997's "Jugulator" and 2001's "Demolition" — before PRIEST reunited with Rob Halford in 2003.

In a new interview with Elena Rozberg of Radiocast BG, MANOWAR bassist Joey DeMaio spoke about the upcoming re-recording of the band's fourth studio album, "Sign Of The Hammer", which celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2024. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I think that it gives us the chance to look at the songs and keep all of the elements of the song itself that people liked — you know, the choruses and so forth, the message, the lyrics — but also improve the quality of the sound of the recording. As I listen to it today, I think everything is much more clear, a lot of excitement, a lot of energy. And, yeah, the fans who have already bought the [original] record will have that forever. And then the new version of it is a different version. It's like having two shirts or two jackets — one might be a little different, different buttons, but similar style. And that's the way it's coming across to me. I think people are going to enjoy it. And if you like the first version, I think you'll like this version. It's just a little bit different, a little something — a little something. Maybe a little magic. I don't know. We'll see. See what people think. You'll tell me once you hear it."

During the same chat, DeMaio weighed in on a debate about people using artificial intelligence (A.I.) to create music. He said:  "Well, right now I haven't delved much into artificial intelligence. I mean, of course, everybody can't help using it with e-mails and things like this. I think it's been good in the e-mails when you get spam to be able to block it; it does it automatically or it recognizes it. I think like everything else, it's a tool and I think it will find its place in everybody's life. I think some people will use it to create music, to create art and things. They've already started doing that. And I just look at it as though for somebody who doesn't play an instrument, if that's a way for them to express a musical idea, then that's their tool. I happen to be able to play a guitar, so I can do it. But for somebody that can't, they can then just say, 'Write me a song like such and such,' and that's how they will create. And who's to say — great music might come of it. I don't know. Or great art. I think it's too new to judge and see what's going to happen. But I think there will always be a place for people who really write something beautiful, whether it's poetry, whether they paint something by hand that's a beautiful painting or whether they write a song. I think there's always going to be a place for creative people that have talent. If you do something great, I think it will live forever, and I don't think it's anything to be afraid of."

In 2005, "Sign Of The Hammer" was ranked number 418 on Rock Hard magazine's list of "The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums Of All Time".

MANOWAR played an exclusive U.S. concert on November 30 at Kings Theatre in Brooklyn, New York. The sold-out event marked the band's first live appearance in MANOWAR's home country in a decade.

In November 2023, DeMaio said in a video message that MANOWAR's concert in New York would coincide with the 40th anniversary of "Sign Of The Hammer". "It's gonna be the only show in America, unfortunately, because our recording and touring schedule won't allow for more, but it will be the full show," he said.

Prior to the Kings Theatre concert, MANOWAR's last U.S. shows were believed to have taken place in February 2014 when the band celebrated the 25th anniversary of its "Kings Of Metal" album on the "Kings Of Metal MMXIV" tour.

Back in September 2014, MANOWAR canceled its previously announced U.S. tour dates which were scheduled to take place in November of that year. At the time, the band claimed it was scrapping the shows "due to scheduling conflicts" as well as to concentrate on work on a new studio album.

The 70-year-old DeMaio and 72-year-old singer Eric Adams are the sole remaining original members of MANOWAR, which formed in 1980 in upstate New York.

Last year, MANOWAR announced "The Blood Of Our Enemies" 2025 tour of Europe. The trek will be the band's first in support of MANOWAR's next studio album, which will arrive in 2025.

In February 2023, MANOWAR released a new song called "Laut Und Hart Stark Und Schnell" dedicated to the band's loyal German fans.

"Laut Und Hart Stark Und Schnell", which translates into "Loud And Hard Strong And Fast", is an anthemic mid-tempo hymn in the vein of MANOWAR's classic "Warriors Of The World United" that invites fans to sing along and raise their hands in celebration of their favorite genre and band.

"Laut Und Hart Stark Und Schnell" was first released digitally on February 10, 2023 on all major platforms and was made available during MANOWAR's German tour.

More than two years ago, MANOWAR announced that it had recruited Michael Angelo Batio, a veteran both in the studio and on stage, to play guitar for the band on its 2023 "Crushing The Enemies Of Metal" tour. The news came in the wake of guitarist Evandro "EV" Martel's announcement that he was taking a break from touring for a while for "personal reasons".

Although MANOWAR has released a couple of EPs in recent years — including "The Revenge Of Odysseus (Highlights)", which came out in June — the group hasn't issued a full-length effort since 2012's "The Lord Of Steel".

MANOWAR's two "secret" warm-up shows in June 2022 at Jovel Music Hall in Münster, Germany marked the band's debut live appearances with new drummer Dave Chedrick, who has previously played with RAVEN and KILL RITUAL, among others.

Chedrick joined MANOWAR as the replacement for Anders Johannson who announced that same month that he would be unable to join MANOWAR on the band's "Crushing The Enemies Of Metal Anniversary Tour '22/'23" due to "family commitments."

The National Guitar Museum announced that Alex Lifeson, one of the most revered rock guitarists of the past 50 years, will receive its annual "Lifetime Achievement" Award for 2024. Lifeson is the fifteenth recipient of the award.

A founding member of the band RUSH — known for its extraordinary level of musicianship and for crafting experimental and progressive rock epics — Lifeson has appeared on over 30 albums since 1974.

"Alex's playing has inspired countless guitarists to push the boundaries of what the guitar can do. And I am one of them," says HP Newquist, the executive director of the National Guitar Museum. "It's hard to even put his playing in a single category — calling him a 'rock guitarist' doesn't begin to cover it. Catchy riffs, intricate instrumental passages, classical flourishes, jackhammer chords, brilliant tone . . . that's just the start of what Alex does as a guitarist."

"I'm honored to be receiving this Lifetime Achievement award from the National Guitar Museum," said Lifeson. "I fell in love with the guitar when I was eleven years old and continue my romantic affair to this day, sixty years later. It has been my voice, my lover and my partner on a lifelong journey, and we've never had a single argument. I'm grateful for this acknowledgement and fortunate to share the rewards that come with being a guitarist."

Lifeson's experimentation with the sound of the guitar has resulted in some of the most intriguing guitar music ever recorded. And his playing and compositional style are so identifiable that the use of the open-barre F#m chord (technically, F#7add4) in modern rock has come to be known as "The Lifeson Chord." Few guitarists in history can claim to have that kind of intimate connection to both the instrument and the music it produces.

Lifeson has been busy in the years since RUSH's last tour in 2015. He has created a line of signature Lerxst gear with renowned amp manufacturer Mojotone and guitar maker Godin, and recorded with his new band, ENVY OF NONE.

"We're thrilled to recognize Alex and his groundbreaking contribution to the guitar — and the way it sounds — with this award, " says the NGM's Newquist. "His involvement with all aspects of the instrument is certain to continue inspiring players for many more years to come."

The National Guitar Museum (NGM) is the first museum dedicated to the history, evolution, and cultural impact of the guitar. Its touring exhibitions debuted in 2011 and have been presented in more than sixty museums around the world. NGM exhibitions are currently on display in both Australia and the United States.

Alex Lifeson joins previous Lifetime Achievement Award recipients:

2010: David Honeyboy Edwards
2011: Roger McGuinn
2012: B.B. King
2013: Vic Flick
2014: Buddy Guy
2015: Tony Iommi
2016: Glen Campbell
2017: Bonnie Raitt
2018: Liona Boyd
2019: Jose Feliciano
2020: Eddie Van Halen (in memoriam)
2021: Al Di Meola
2022: Jeff Beck
2023: Tommy Emmanuel
2024: Alex Lifeson

The Museum's Board Of Advisors is comprised of guitar greats Ritchie Blackmore, Steve Howe, Steve Vai, Liona Boyd, Tony Iommi and Al Di Meola.

During an appearance on the latest episode of the "Anti-Heroes With Zach Blair" podcast, CHEVELLE frontman and main songwriter Pete Loeffler spoke about the status of the band's new studio album, which is tentatively due in early 2025. The follow-up to 2021's "Niratias" will mark CHEVELLE's first release through Alchemy Recordings following a long run with the Epic label. Alchemy Recordings is a record label created in partnership between Dino Paredes, former American Recordings vice president of A&R, and Danny Wimmer, the founder of Danny Wimmer Presents, the premier production company for rock music festivals in the United States.

Pete said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We don't know when [the new CHEVELLE album will be released], but we're hoping to get a single out there real soon, in the next month. So, if everybody in our team sort of agrees on which one that is."

Pete went on to say that CHEVELLE is "actually in the process of talking to managers again." He explained: "We don't have management at the moment. We've just been rolling, dude, since '21. We just let everybody go. I mean, we have all the other team members — agents — and we just started interviewing some management. And that's hopefully going to be a good thing. We'll see about that."

This past July, CHEVELLE drummer — and Pete's brother — Sam Loeffler told TribLive.com about the band's next LP: "We kind of did expect to have it done [already]. It's like pulling teeth. This is what I described: Writing an album and doing all that is like pulling your hair out and then trying to put it back in. Writers love having written, is what I learned. It's just torturous on my brother. It's torturous because there's just so many factors to making something great. And then the longer you can live with it, the more changes you're gonna make. So that makes you never want to put it out. You never want to pull the pin and throw the grenade because you're like, well, it gets better every time I look at it."

As for what the 10-song album — which was produced by the CHEVELLE members themselves — sounds like, Sam said: We're always skewing towards heavy. [But] these [last] two songs that we've been working on right now are definitely different from everything we did, although 'Niratias', our last album, I think was a really important snapshot of what we've been learning about writing and about music and stuff. This one definitely sounds different than just rock music, definitely different."

Back in 2022, Sam told Knotfest's Cori Westbrook about CHEVELLE's songwriting process: "Well, Pete's our songwriter so he's our lyricist and everything. Basically, he just writes about what's going on around him. If he's taking the garbage out that night or has a bad day driving, he's watching a documentary that really affected him, he hears a podcast — so he's writing about those kinds of things. So if you're able to internalize that kind of a thing, I think you have a lot to write about. It doesn't just have to be a relationship that — a relationship with your dad or your significant other. I think those are some pretty powerful feelings — I get it — but if you are able to bring in all those other things in from your everyday life, there's a lot more to write about. So as far as inspiration goes, it's not hard to find; it's everywhere; it's all around you. And especially nowadays, we have so much access to what's going on around us that there's even more ideas to pull from."

In a separate interview with Heavy New York, Sam said that he and Pete had "a whole bunch of music written... Because that's what we do — you put music out, you write… It'll be our first record in a long time not with a major label, which is just neither here nor there," he added. "Epic Records did a lot of good stuff; we were with them for a long time, but we're finished with that contract now. So now we're doing something different. And we'll see how different it is."

Released in March 2021 via Epic Records, "Niratias" was recorded throughout 2019 and 2020 with longtime producer Joe Barresi (AVENGED SEVENFOLD, QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE). The album artwork was designed by Boris Vallejo — the famed and award-winning artist is responsible for the posters used for films like "Knightriders" and "National Lampoon's Vacation", as well as iconic '70s and '80s science fiction novel covers and magazines (such as Heavy Metal).

Over the course of its career, the Chicago rockers have generated nearly half a billion streams, notched seven No. 1 hits, and sold out shows worldwide. Their catalog spans the double-platinum "Wonder What's Next", which boasts the double-platinum smash "The Red" and the platinum hit "Send The Pain Below". "This Type Of Thinking (Could Do Us In)" attained platinum status, while "Vena Sera" was certified gold. CHEVELLE has landed four Top 10 debuts on the Billboard 200, including "Sci-Fi Crimes" (2009),"Hats Off To The Bull" (2011),"La Gárgola" (2014) and "The North Corridor" (2016). The latter two each captured the No. 1 slot on the Top Rock Albums chart.