German folk and medieval rock frontrunners, Subway To Sally, will release their 14th studio album, Himmelfahrt [EN: Ascension], in March 2023, before heading out on a big headline tour in Germany in April.


The new album marks a turning point, by leaving the dystopian lyrics of predecessor HEY! (2019) behind. Himmelfahrt marks an end and a new beginning at the same time. After the oppressive years, which were characterized by narrowness and stagnation, the new songs are about departure and journey, about reaching out to others to lead them from the deepest depths into the light.


Musically, the Germans deliver the perfect mixture of popular hits and great melodies, showing Subway To Sally on top of their game. You can feel their thirty years of stage and studio experience in every note, and their irrepressible hunger for the stage and their audience. Fans can witness one of the best live bands of the genre on their extensive headline tour in April 2023. Stay tuned for more info on the new album!




Watch Subway To Sally’s latest video for ”So Rot MMXXII”:





Since their foundation in the early ‘90s, Subway To Sally have established themselves at the top of the scene. Having released thirteen studio records so far, the seven-piece featuring the remarkable Eric Fish on vocal duties never fails in surprising their devotees with an ingenious symbiosis of folk, heavy metal and rock.





Himmelfahrt Tour 23:


April
13 - Oberhausen, Germany - Turbinenhalle
14 - Goslar, Germany - Miners Rock
15 - Leipzig, Germany - Anker
28 - Losheim, Germany - Hexentanz
29 - Heidelberg, Germany - Halle02
30 - Munich, Germany - Backstage


May
5 - Cologne, Germany - Essigfabrik
6 - Erfurt, Germany - Central
10 - Frankfurt, Germany - Batschkapp
11 - Nuremberg, Germany - Hirsch
12 - Osnabrück, Germany - Hyde Park
13 - Andernach, Germany - JUZ
18 - Hanover, Germany - Pavillon


October
20 - Hamburg, Germany - Markthalle
21 - Berlin, Germany - Huxleys


Lineup:


Eric Fish - vocals
Ally Storch - violine
Ingo Hampf - guitar
Bodenski - guitar, vocals, hurdy-gurdy
Simon - guitar, vocals
Sugar Ray - bass
Simon Michael - drums


(Photo - Maria Hampf)

According to Bega District News, the Australian government has once again released a new AC/DC coin.

The coin from Royal Australian Mint — a government agency which is the sole supplier of Australia's circulating coinage — celebrates the band's 50th anniversary and features guitarist Angus Young in his school boy uniform, doing his one-legged hop.

There is a $1 silver frosted version for $90, and a collection of six uncirculated 20c coins, colored to look like a record, for $110. They are presented in a case that looks like a roadies' concert case.

The coins won't be circulated but will be a collector's item. The are available via mintcoinshop.au.

This is at least the third time the Royal Australian Mint has produced AC/DC coins. Two years ago, it issued a box set with original AC/DC album covers. The six LPs represented in the series were "High Voltage", "TNT", "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap", "Back In Black", "For Those About To Rock" and "Ballbreaker". The roadcase box set edition included a seventh AC/DC collectors coin. Four years ago, the Royal Australian Mint celebrated AC/DC's 45th anniversary by releasing a similar series.

AC/DC's latest studio album, "Power Up", came out in November 2020. The follow-up to 2014's "Rock Or Bust" featured AC/DC's reunited lineup of Angus, Brian Johnson (vocals),Phil Rudd (drums),Cliff Williams (bass) and Stevie Young (guitar). Johnson and Williams both left in 2016 for health reasons; and Rudd was sidelined in 2015 with various legal issues.

"Power Up" was recorded over a six-week period in August and September 2018 at Warehouse Studios in Vancouver with producer Brendan O'Brien, who also worked 2008's "Black Ice" and 2014's "Rock Or Bust".

Former MACHINE HEAD and current VIO-LENCE guitarist Phil Demmel joined LAMB OF GOD on stage last night (Friday, October 7) at the Aftershock festival in Sacramento, California to perform the song "Redneck".

LAMB OF GOD singer Randy Blythe introduced Demmel to the crowd by saying: "We're gonna bring a friend of ours out. He's from the Bay Area. He's played with us once or twice. He'll play with us on this last song. Make some noise for Phil Demmel. We're going full LYNYRD SKYNYRD — three motherfucking guitars for the first time ever, right here at Aftershock."

Earlier today, Demmel shared a photo of him hugging LAMB OF GOD guitarist Mark Morton onstage at last night's concert, and he included the following message: "I've had many life memories made on onstage and last night was another. Thanks to @lambofgod for having me onstage at the local @aftershockfestival set last night. It would be the only chance for my son to see me perform with them and they were the ever gracious hosts. Although it looks like I just accepted a marriage proposal from @mark.duane.morton I'm probably thanking him (and @theartcruz )for saving me from being torched from the Pyro cues I didn't ask about! All top dudes on top of their game. The Demmel Dudes are forever gracious."

Demmel filled in for LAMB OF GOD guitarist Willie Adler on nearly a dozen of the band's European shows in August. Prior to that, Demmel stepped in for Adler during LOG's January appearance on the ShipRocked cruise and in May for the Canadian portion of LAMB OF GOD's "The Metal Tour Of The Year" with MEGADETH.

Although LAMB OF GOD has not officially commented on Adler's absence from the shows, VIO-LENCE singer Sean Killian revealed in an interview in April that Willie is "not down with doing the vaxx," referring to the COVID-19 vaccine, and is being replaced by Demmel for dates in those countries that still require proof of vaccination from U.S. travelers.

In April, Demmel also filled in for LAMB OF GOD's John Campbell when the bassist had to miss a couple of shows on "The Metal Tour Of The Year" in order to "take care a family matter back home."

At the Bloodstock Open Air festival in August, Demmel was asked by TotalRock if Adler's COVID-19 vaccination status is the reason Phil has been filling in for the LAMB OF GOD guitarist at some of the Virginia metal band's recent non-U.S. concerts. He responded: "I think Willie's just in a spot right now, and it's not really my spot to say, but I get the vibe that he's… I don't even think I should talk about it. I don't think it's my spot to say anything about Will. But he's making his decisions, and I am the contingent. So here I am."

Demmel went on to praise his involvement with LAMB OF GOD, saying: "They're one of the biggest metal bands in the world. And it feels good to be, like, 'Hey, we'd like for you to step into Willie's shoes,' which Willie writes those riffs and he's an awesome guitar player. And to be, like, 'Hey, we want you to be the guy,' or whatever… I get along well with the dudes. In a 'me' way, it feels good to be wanted… It's pretty cool. They're all fucking amazing dudes and a great band and a totally pro camp. I love the way they run things. So it's good to be part of that."

When Adler's absence from LAMB OF GOD's summer 2022 European tour was first announced, he released a statement saying that he wasn't able to make the trip" because he had "some things that I need to be home for". He also thanked his bandmates for "supporting my decision."

Demmel's appearance with LAMB OF GOD marked his third high-profile fill-in gig in four years. Demmel stepped in for SLAYER guitarist Gary Holt for four European shows in the fall of 2018 after Gary returned home to be with his dying father. Demmel also subbed for Dave Linsk at OVERKILL's November 13, 2021 concert at The Wellmont Theater in Montclair, New Jersey and on the band's spring 2022 U.S. tour.

LAMB OF GOD singer Randy Blythe discussed Demmel's involvement with the band during an interview with Bloodstock TV's Oran O'Beirne at Bloodstock Open Air. After O'Beirne noted how talented Demmel is to be able to step in on a moment's notice, Blythe said: "We make him put in work, though, to be fair. The guitar parts aren't easy. We are playing a song tonight, 'The Faded Line', and that's a song that hasn't been in our set for a while because some guys are, like, 'Oh, this is hard.' And it's, like, 'No. We need to do this.' And even he was just, like, 'Oh. We've gotta learn that. That's a fucked up riff.' But we saw Phil fill in for SLAYER on, like, two days' notice in Europe at the end of the SLAYER tour, 'cause Gary Holt's dad was passing away. R.I.P. And Phil came over and killed it. We've known him for many years. There's never really been any question of whether he can do it. He's a phenomenally talented guy."

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According to The Blast, former THE BLACK CROWES drummer Steve Gorman has agreed to settle a lawsuit against the band over unpaid royalties.

In newly filed legal documents, obtained by The Blast, Gorman and his former bandmates have tentatively agreed on terms that will clear up any financial issues between the two parties.

"The parties are actively engaged in settlement communications and are currently drafting deal terms that the parties currently expect will materialize into an executed settlement and dismissal of this action," the filing reads.

In his original complaint, filed in March in Los Angeles Superior Court against singer Chris Robinson and guitarist Rich Robinson and The Black Crowes Partnership, Gorman claimed faulty accounting resulted in him missing out on royalties from THE BLACK CROWES' albums. Gorman said he didn't know exactly how much he was owed.

At the time, Gorman issued a statement to Rolling Stone in which he said: "For more than five years, my attorneys and I have made repeated requests to review the Partnership's books to confirm the accuracy of royalty payments and my share, but Chris and Rich have consistently ignored my rights under the Partnership Agreement. I regret that it has come to this, as I remain incredibly proud of the music we created as a band, but their conduct has left me with no choice but to ask a court to order them to give me this information, which I'm entitled to under our partnership agreement and the law."

Gorman's attorney Michael Mortenson added: "Mr. Gorman's rights under the partnership agreement are crystal clear. He is entitled to review the partnership's financial information and confirm his earnings, but our repeated requests to do so have been denied."

Gorman, who penned 2019's memoir "Hard To Handle: The Life And Death Of The Black Crowes", is notably excluded from THE BLACK CROWES' current reunion, which recently celebrated the 30th anniversary of the band's classic debut album, 1990's "Shake Your Money Maker", with a lengthy U.S. tour. Joining Chris and Rich in the new BLACK CROWES lineup are returning bassist Sven Pipien, who played with the band live from 1997 up until the band's hiatus in 2015, along with Brian Griffin on drums, Joel Robinow on keyboards and Isaiah Mitchell on guitar, plus backup singers Mackenzie Adams and Leslie Grant.

In August 2021, Rich told the Los Angeles Times that he had no reaction to the release of Gorman's memoir. "It didn't really affect me or make me sad," he said. "No one really takes Steve that seriously. He was our drummer for a long time, and a long time ago, he was our friend. But he was also the one who kind of schemed the most and was more willing to allow a division between me and Chris." Rich added that he remembered Gorman "telling me that the scariest thing to him and some of the people in the band was when Chris and I got along, because then they couldn't change our minds."

Rich previously addressed Steve's absence from THE BLACK CROWES' current tour in a June 2021 interview with Long Island Weekly. At the time, he said: "Steve was one of the incredibly negative and manipulative forces in the band that we really didn't want to deal with. In order to get back, we really had to do this very specific purge where we focus on the two of us and let this be something that will be positive. We can be in charge of our own triggers, but if you have other people around that have an agenda, which a lot of the older people around did, it’s just going to crash and burn. We didn't look at this as a one-time thing. We want to focus and do it right for ourselves as human beings. For ourselves as brothers. For ourselves as writing and creative partners as well as the other reasons."

In a February 2020 interview with Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station, Gorman said that he was not surprised to see Chris and Rich teaming up with new musicians for a tour. "To me, it's been an inevitability for years," Steve said. "I think they both made serious efforts to establish themselves in solo careers that could sustain them, that could provide a living, and I guess that neither one of those really worked out. And so they were always gonna need to be THE BLACK CROWES again. And this tour is an indication of the fact that, to them, they always wereTHE BLACK CROWES. And to me, THE BLACK CROWES was a band. It wasn't about their band; it was our band. It was six people, or it was five people, or it was four people, depending on the year, but it was always a much greater thing than two brothers who wrote the songs. The success of that band had a lot to do with a lot more than just them, is my point. And the thing that was most special about that band, as I said before, was what six people were able to do when we were on the same page."

Gorman went on to say that he doesn't necessarily fault the Robinson brothers for wanting to keep THE BLACK CROWES brand alive.

"This tour has nothing to do with me — it never did; it never would have," he explained. "THE BLACK CROWES are my past. Now, the music is still around. And if anybody goes to see this tour and decides that they love THE BLACK CROWES now, I think that's fantastic. I'm all for preserving the legacy of the band I was in. I think this tour has nothing to do with that. I think this tour is the two of them needing money. And to that I say — and that's fine. I know what it's like to be concerned about my finances; everybody does. And if you're in your 50s and you can make a living playing music, then, by God, you should be playing music, if that's what you wanna do. So, they're fully within their rights to do it — legally and ethically and morally; whatever. It's fine. It's got nothing to do with me. So, live and let live."

When THE BLACK CROWES announced their split in 2014, Rich issued a statement saying that he loved his brother and respected his talent but that "his present demand that I must give up my equal share of the band and that our drummer for 28 years and original partner, Steve Gorman, relinquish 100 percent of his share … is not something I could agree to."

"Shake Your Money Maker" was re-released in multi-formats sets in February 2021 through UMe/American Recordings. The album, fueled by singles "Jealous Again", "Twice As Hard", "She Talks To Angels" and a cover of fellow Georgian Otis Redding's "Hard To Handle", has sold over five million copies.

Steve Gorman photo credit: Scott Willis Photography / Westwood One

METALLICA's Kirk Hammett joined JOURNEY onstage Thursday night (October 6) in Hawaii to play JOURNEY's "Wheel In The Sky" and METALLICA's "Enter Sandman". Fan-filmed video of the performance can be seen below below.

Hammett's guest appearance took place at the second of JOURNEY's two shows at the Neal S. Blaisdell Arena in Kirk's hometown of Honolulu.

"Had a great time with Kirk Hammett of METALLICA last night at second sold-out JOURNEY show in Hawaii," JOURNEY guitarist Neal Schon tweeted Friday morning.

Born in San Francisco in November 1962, Hammett quickly found himself obsessed with watching monster movies and reading books and comics. Transitioning through his teenage years meant taking up guitar and teaching himself how to play by ear for hours on end.

In 1979, Hammett named and founded the metal band EXODUS. After recording a three-song demo in 1982, Hammett was called out to New York to audition for METALLICA, and by the time "Kill 'Em All" was released in July of 1983, he was officially part of the METALLICA plan for world domination. Adding his style and passion into the mix helped define and shape the sound of METALLICA as they grew into the band they are now, and Hammett's solos and signature licks have inspired a legion of musicians young and old.

Over the years he has added numerous awards and recognitions to his name, which have included personal awards such as being included in Rolling Stone's "The Top 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time".

As far as achievements go with METALLICA, Hammett has contributed to 10 studio albums, several live albums, a number of extended plays and singles. The band can also boast nine Grammy Awards (out of 24 nominations),and has had five consecutive albums debut at number one on the Billboard 200, making METALLICA the first band to do so. Adding to all of this, he helped METALLICA propel themselves out of the underground scene and into the spotlight of heavy metal. To date, METALLICA has sold more than 100 million records featuring classics such as "Enter Sandman", "One" and "Nothing Else Matters".
Had a great time with Kirk Hammett of @Metallica last night at 2nd Sold Out @JourneyOfficial show in Hawaii Neal blaisdell Center Honolulu I put together a jam today for Wheel w/ Enter Sandman 🤙🏽@erikkabik pic pic.twitter.com/BaDqwe1Pag

— NEAL SCHON MUSIC (@NealSchonMusic) October 7, 2022



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King Crimson founder Robert Fripp and his singer wife, Toyah Willcox, are back with another episode in their "Toyah & Robert’s Sunday Lunch" series. This time they perform a cover of the Bryan Adams classic "Summer Of '69".


"This week we can certainly say things have gone mad in the kitchen! Chesney Hawkes  is back and it’s all a little crazy!"







A selection of Robert & Toyah's previous Sunday Lunch videos can be seen below:

On the heels of their newest studio album, Brothers In Arms, Sunstorm have announced a special new live release, Still Roaring: The Studio Session will be out October 21.


Recorded when they gathered to film music videos for the aforementioned new studio album, the band took advantage of the time together to record a live session in the studio. Still Roaring: The Studio Session sees the band performing songs from the band's two most recent releases as well as previous ones.


For a preview of the the release, watch a live version of "Never Give Up" below. Stream the song and pre-save Still Roaring on digital music platforms here.




New lead vocalist Ronnie Romero's (Michael Schenker, Lords of Black) debut album with Sunstorm, Afterlife, was released in early 2021 and showcased a rejuvenation of Sunstorm's previous musical formula, mixing Melodic Rock/AOR with more '70s oriented hard rock, ala Rainbow (for which Romero performed as singer). That recipe was perfected on the follow-up "Brothers In Arms" with new guitarist Luca Princiotta (Doro, Blaze) joining the lineup of Romero, bassist Nik Mazzucconi, drummer Michele Sanna, and keyboardist Alessandro Del Vecchio.


Prior to the writing and recording of 2021's AfterLife, in discussions with producer and songwriter Alessandro Del Vecchio it was decided that moving the musical style of the next Sunstorm album to the more melodic AOR sound of the early records was what everyone wanted. Romero, with his powerful vocal style, was the ideal fit to deliver the goods for the music. "Afterlife", the then new Sunstorm album, caught many in the melodic rock fanbase by surprise as it, for obvious reasons, arrived with a lot of history and expectations. But for his first foray into melodic hard rock territory, Romero delivered outstanding results on Afterlife. The following album, Brothers In Arms delivered a real treat for melodic rock fans with elements of the more melodic sound of Rainbow and Deep Purple mixed with the sound of Foreigner and Classic Melodic Rock.


The rejuvenation of Sunstorm continues unabated!





Tracklisting:


"Games We Play"
"Brothers In Arms"
"Swan Song"
"Stronger"
"Hold The Night"
"Never Give Up"
"This Is My Heart"
"Road To Hell"
"Edge Of Tomorrow"
"Back My Dreams"


"Never Give Up" video:





Lineup:


Ronnie Romero - Vocals
Luca Princiotta - Guitars
Alessandro Del Vecchio - Keyboards, backing vocals
Nik Mazzucconi - Bass
Michele Sanna - Drums


- Production, Mixing, & Mastering: Alessandro Del Vecchio
- Executive Producer / A&R: Serafino Perugino

In a new interview with Artists On Record Starring ADIKA Live!, original MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson discussed Dave Mustaine's early rivalry with his former band METALLICA. Mustaine, who founded MEGADETH nearly four decades ago, is credited with co-writing four songs on METALLICA's 1983 debut album, "Kill 'Em All", which was recorded just weeks after his dismissal from the group.

"I was always encouraging Dave, going, 'Dude, don't look over there," Ellefson said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). "It's blinders. What we're doing is cool, man.' I mean, look, Lars [Ulrich, METALLICA drummer] was coming to our shows, paying attention to what we were doing. He was definitely a fan of Dave's work and he was a friend of Dave. I think it probably bummed him out that he had to let him go. He had to make a choice. But he continued to come to the gigs; he hung out; he was always friends with Dave. So it's, like, 'Look, these guys haven't forgotten you. Look, they used your songs; they put your name on it; and they paid you. I mean, they don't hate you.' There's a lot of other bands where it's, like, 'Fuck that guy. We're gonna steal his songs. We're not gonna credit him. And we're not gonna pay him. Fuck you. Sue us.' That's how it usually goes in the music business. So the fact that those guys did the right thing every step of the way, I think, is awesome. Because otherwise, look, Dave — using a BEATLES analogy — he could have been the Pete Best of METALLICA, the most forgotten, never-heard-of-again member of METALLICA, had they not put his name on those records. That validated him. They gave him a chance for a second chance by putting his name on those records, using those compositions, and then again, paying him."

In August, Mustaine reflected on his 1983 dismissal from METALLICA and the formation of MEGADETH while speaking to podcaster Joe Rogan of "The Joe Rogan Experience". When asked if went "right into" MEGADETH after his exit from METALLICA or if it took him some time to plot his next move, Dave said: "I think in my mind I went right into MEGADETH, but at the time I was still kind of trying to digest everything that took place.

"The thing that bothered me the most was I had all my music, and I left it behind and I said, 'Don't use my music.' And of course they did. They used it on the first record [1983's 'Kill 'Em All'], on the second record [1984's 'Ride The Lightning']. There's parts of my music on a song on the third record [1986's 'Master Of Puppets']. All the solos on the first record are mine, except that they're just performed by Kirk [Hammett, METALLICA's current guitarist]. And [they're] close but not the same. And he's not a bad guitar player."

When asked if he got royalties for that, Mustaine said: "Well, most of 'em, yeah, but Kirk got my royalties for [the song] 'Metal Militia' [from 'Kill 'Em All'] for many, many years. And he has to see the check, so I know somebody saw that I wasn't getting paid.

After Rogan noted that Mustaine feels both "sadness and bitterness" over his departure from METALLICA, Dave said: "Not bitterness — I'm over it. It's just money. At the end of the day, my happiness and my family and my wife and my children are more important to me than anything in this world. I love our fans. I have so many things in this life that I'm happy about. But, man, it's my family. And obviously my relationship with God. I take that very, very personal. And I don't talk to people about it; I don't push it on 'em at all. It's my thing. And I just look at it like where I'm at right now… Yeah, [I was] 20 [years old] in METALLICA, and now, look at me, I'm 60 [years old] in MEGADETH. And I'm a Grammy winner. I'm a New York Times best-selling author — all these things."

In a 2009 interview with Norway's Lydverket, Mustaine said that he was "so hurt" by getting kicked out of METALLICA for allegedly drinking too much. "I said, 'What?! No second chance, no warning? C'mon, we all drink. C'mon.'" he recalled. "And [they were like], 'No, that's it. You're gone.' And I was like, 'All right.'"

Mustaine also went on to claim that an altercation with METALLICA frontman James Hetfield led to his being fired from the band.

"I was selling pot," Dave said. "When I would go play in concert, people knew that my pot was sitting in my apartment just saying, 'Go ahead and keep me company.' So I was broken in on. People stole everything that I had; all my stash. And I figured, screw this. I'm gonna get some dogs to stay in the apartment when I leave. So I got two dogs and I took one of them up to a rehearsal one time and she put her paws up on Ron's [McGovney, METALLICA's then-bassist] car. And James kicked it right in the side. And I was like, 'What did you do?' [And I was like] 'It's a dog, it's what they do. You don't kick animals.' So we went into the house, and we started arguing some more. And I ended up punching him in the face and I think that was the root of why I lost my job."

In a 2009 interview with the Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas radio station 97.1 The Eagle Rocks, Hetfield said that it was "so odd" to hear Mustaine still talking about his exit from METALLICA. "It is very Dave, and that's him," James said. "And no matter what band he was in or whatever... I mean, Dave is not in this band for a reason, and this is the reason. It's super-simple. He was in the band for 11 months and it goes on and on and on and on and on. I don't know any other band on this planet that there was a member in the band for a short amount of time and they've still got this big chip on his shoulder. It's insane.... You know what?! He's in love, and that's fine, 'cause we love him back."

Back in 2016, Hammett told the "Word Of Wheeler" podcast that he understood Dave's continued resentment toward his former bandmates over the way he was dismissed from the group. "I've always seen Dave as someone who was just really, really sad, really angry, really frustrated about his situation with METALLICA, and he never could let that go," he said. "And, you know, I've always shown a lot of empathy for him, understanding that he was just pissed off. It's the equivalent of the woman of your life leaving you. I mean, really. When your band kicks you out… I've never been kicked out, but I can imagine it's a horrible experience, especially if it's a band that you feel really passionately about. So I can understand Dave's plight over all these years. But I will also say that when we did these 30th-anniversary shows at the Fillmore [in San Francisco], and we invited Dave to play on all those 'Kill 'Em All' songs, man, it felt so good to have him playing on stage. It felt perfectly fine for me to, while Dave was playing the guitar solos, for me to go over to James and play the rhythm parts with James, and it wasn't a big deal at all. And I could see from the look on Dave's face and just from his whole attitude that it was super-cathartic for him. And I could see how it was helping him. And so I just took it all in stride. And it's interesting, because since then, I think, Dave's relationship with us is a little bit better now. I'd like to think that that whole thing just kind of healed some scars that needed to be healed."

After Hammett's comments about Mustaine were reported by BLABBERMOUTH.NET and other music sites, Dave took to his Twitter to respond. He wrote: "I have tremendous respect for @KirkHammett and I appreciate his take on this. he is almost 100% accurate...almost. I wish him the best."

In a September 2011 interview with Artisan News, Mustaine appeared to concur that his onstage reunion with METALLICA went a long way toward healing the wounds from the way his tenure in the band ended. Dave said: "When we [played a cover of DIAMOND HEAD's] 'Helpless' [as part of a 'Big Four' jam] one night, I walked over to say hello to Kirk on the stage and he said, 'Do you wanna take the solo?" and I said, 'Yeah.' [Laughs] But we forgot to tell anybody on the stage or [running] the sound out front that I was gonna do the solo, so the song's playing along and Kirk's playing rhythm full blast, and I'm sitting there going you can't hear what I'm doing. At least we knew what had happened. It was kind of a symbolic passing of the torch back to me and it was a nice gesture. I think that that helped Kirk and my relationship improve a bit."

In a September 2004 interview, Mustaine famously stated, "I really don't care about Kirk — he stole my job, but at least I got to bang his girlfriend before he took my job. How do I taste, Kirk?"

Mustaine did not play on any METALLICA albums and did not attend their induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2009.

Ulrich later explained to The Plain Dealer that Mustaine was not included because "you've got to kind of cap it somewhere. Dave Mustaine never played on any METALLICA records. No disrespect to him. But there [were] half a dozen other people that were in the lineup in the early days. We thought . . . the fair thing to do would be to include anybody that played on a METALLICA record." He added: "Dave Mustaine was in the band for 11 months, predominantly in 1982... I'm not trying to play it down. I have nothing but respect and admiration for his accomplishments since."

In 1998, METALLICA paid tribute to MERCYFUL FATE by recording a medley of classic MERCYFUL FATE songs on the album "Garage Inc." Titled "Mercyful Fate", the medley included parts from "Satan's Fall", "Curse of the Pharaohs", "A Corpse Without Soul", "Into the Coven" and "Evil". Asked by rock and roll comedian Dean Delray of the "Let There Be Talk" podcast if the royalties from the METALLICA tribute are "a good help" during the times when King Diamond's two bands — KING DIAMOND and MERCYFUL FATE — are not touring, the Danish heavy metal singer replied (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Right when [METALLICA's medley] came out, yeah, it was nice. I got a Corvette out of it at the time. I got a black Corvette at the time that I could not have gotten otherwise. I had a Trans Am — I sold that and got a Corvette. So that was the initial impact at the time. Now, it's, like, I guess if they do something special with it or whatever, then it does something, but that's not what I live off, I can tell you that. The same… I did something with VOLBEAT — the song that I did half the lyric for ['Room 24'] and it was nominated for a Grammy. But it's not like… I can't eat off of it; I can't pay rent or anything off it. But that's our own stuff that is doing quite well now; our own stuff is doing [well]. The tours are doing good. There's more projects going on all the time."

Earlier this year, King told Metal Hammer magazine that he was proud of having served as a musical inspiration for METALLICA. "They are the biggest metal band in the world, and for them to be inspired and to cover some of our songs, it's a huge honor," he said. "Lars [Ulrich, METALLICA drummer] called me from their studio and said, 'Want to hear something new?' and he played me their MERCYFUL FATE medley and told me it was going to be on an album. [I was[ blown away. We've played it a few times with them too."

Back in November 2019, shortly after the passing of MERCYFUL FATE's Timi Hansen, Ulrich released a statement in which he called the bassist "part of a musical force that helped shape METALLICA's sound, direction & desire to be in a hard rock band." Saying that MERCYFUL FATE "played a significant role in [METALLICA's] history," Ulrich added that Timi and his original MERCYFUL FATE bandmates "welcomed [METALLICA] to Denmark in 1984 with open arms, let us use their rehearsal studio where we wrote songs for the 'Ride The Lightning' album, leant us their equipment, showed us the best of Copenhagen, became our partners in crime....Over the years we enjoyed endless amounts of incredible moments together, including an almost complete reunion at our 30th Anniversary shows at the Fillmore in 2011. And ultimately, again as most of you know, we recorded 12 minutes of their finest musical moments as the track 'Mercyful Fate' on the 'Garage Inc.' album in '98 and have enjoyed playing that occasionally over the years with various members joining us for their respective parts."

Lars played drums on a new version of MERCYFUL FATE's "Return Of The Vampire" on the "In The Shadows" album, which came out in 1993.

Last month, MERCYFUL FATE announced its first North American headlining tour in over two decades. The trek, which will feature support from by KREATOR and MIDNIGHT, will commence on October 25 in Dallas, Texas and weave its way through fourteen cities, closing on November 16 in Atlanta, Georgia. The tour follows the band's headlining performance at this year's edition of Psycho Las Vegas.

Another band whose songs METALLICA has extensively covered over the years is DIAMOND HEAD. In 1984, METALLICA recorded "Am I Evil?" as a B-side to their "Creeping Death" single and again included on the band's multi-platinum 1998 covers album "Garage Inc." METALLICA would record three additional DIAMOND HEAD songs: "Helpless" ("Garage Days", 1987),"The Prince" ("One" single B-side, 1989) and "It's Electric" ("Garage Inc.", 1998).

In a September 2022 interview with Metal Pilgrim, DIAMOND HEAD guitarist Brian Tatler was asked if he thinks his band would not have been able to continue as a viable business entity had METALLICA covered any of his songs. He responded: "I think if METALLICA hadn't covered DIAMOND HEAD — the first cover was '84 when they did 'Am I Evil?' on the B-side of 'Creeping Death' — so I think if they hadn't, I may have looked elsewhere for employment. I think it would have been harder to keep DIAMOND HEAD going without that introduction to their fanbase. 'Cause that record sold millions of copies — versions of 'Am I Evil?' have sold millions of copies through METALLICA — and so so many more people know DIAMOND HEAD thanks to Lars [Ulrich] and Co. And it may be that a lot of the opportunities that we get now would not be there without that METALLICA connection. So I'm eternally grateful. Obviously, myself and Sean [Harris, original DIAMOND HEAD singer] still get writers' royalties, but even so, I just think it's helped DIAMOND HEAD as a name and a brand to get on more and more opportunities — get festivals and supports. Because they link it with METALLICA; they think, 'Okay, well, you're potentially tapping into a huge market.'"

In a new interview with NME, SLIPKNOT frontman Corey Taylor said that he had reconciled with Joey Jordison in the years prior to the original SLIPKNOT drummer's death in 2021. According to Corey, he and Joey had texted back and forth, calling the exchanges "strained but civil".

"When we lost Joey, it took away the chance for us to make peace with him," Taylor told NME. "I know some of us had talked to him on the side. We never talked to him as a group, and I think that's something that we all regret. It's a hard thing to realize that you missed an opportunity."

Regarding the circumstances that led to Joey's exit from SLIPKNOT, Corey said: "We all had such a complicated relationship with Joey at one point or another. He was a man who was tormented by his brilliance and his demons. And it made it hard to live with him sometimes. I'm not saying that to cut him down because we've all gone through it. It's something that we as addicts, we as artists, we as really mentally fucked up people, have had to deal with."

Jordison died "peacefully in his sleep" in July 2021 of an unspecified cause. He was 46 years old.

Taylor previously talked about Jordison's death in a September 2022 interview with Zane Lowe of Apple Music 1. He said: "As you get older, you just start to appreciate what you do have and you lament the losses. You lament the fact that you never had to truly make peace with the people who you lost. And that's something that I've been doing just in my own life, is reaching out to people who I haven't talked to in a while and really burying hatchets because that shit will just fucking weigh you down.

"Me and Joey, we had talked over the years every now and then — it would just be random — but we never said to each other what we needed to say to each other," Corey admitted. "At least I didn't say it to Joe. But that was the complicated thing about Joey, was the fact that he was so many different people in one person, but it was hard to kind of get a beat on what was going on at any given time. He had demons that would've killed normal people. He was one of the true musical geniuses I'd ever met. He was just complicated.

"Everybody likes to sugarcoat a lot of shit after the fact, but you don't realize that what you're doing is you're dehumanizing them," Taylor added. "And I can't do that because I fucking lived with these guys. And the goddamn tragedy of it is that we did everything we could to try and be there. Not only for him, but for Paul [Gray, late SLIPKNOT bassist]. I mean, we would rally and we would rally and we would rally, and it's just a shame, man. The world is less cool without him in it."

During a February 2022 question-and-answer session at the annual Mad Monster Party, a three-day fan convention which took place at the Embassy Suites in Concord, North Carolina, Corey was asked how he had dealt with the loss of his longtime bandmate. He responded: "That's a tough one. It hit me hard, even though I hadn't seen him or talked to him in a very long time. And I won't get into certain things, but I will say that it hit us all really hard. The first person that I called was Clown [SLIPKNOT percussionist M. Shawn Crahan] to make sure he was okay. Because those guys… I can remember going down and seeing them both at the gas station that Joey worked at — like, way back in the day. And he would work the overnights. When I wasn't working at the porn shop, I would go down. And they were always scheming; they would always sit together scheming. It's, like, 'I've got this fucking idea. All right? We're gonna set our faces on fire.' And I was, like, 'No. You're really not gonna do that.'"

He continued: "All that history and all the memories came back then. And his health was obviously part of that. And it was sad because this man was probably one of the most gifted people I've ever seen in my life… It was far, far too soon. And it broke my heart. Regardless of what had gone down between us, it broke my heart. It was a hard… It's still hard to think about. I think about it now and it doesn't seem real. So it hit us just as hard. It's one of the reasons why we pay homage to him andPaul [Gray, late SLIPKNOT bassist] at the end of [each SLIPKNOT] show — to make sure that people realize that even though he was gone, he's still part of the family, and he always will be."

Corey initially opened up about Joey's death during a September 2021 appearance on SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk". At the time, he said: "Our first concern was obviously his family, so we reached out immediately to make sure that they were okay, to let them know if they needed anything from us, they could absolutely ask.

"It's a damn tragedy," Taylor continued. "He was way too young, and he was way too talented to lose him like this.

"I know a lot of people wonder about the circumstances that led to him not being in the band anymore, and it's, like, we're not gonna talk about that, because I'd rather talk about his legacy, which is that he helped create this band that we all have fought to keep out there and keep going.

"Just the fact that he's not here now, it's still — I still can't believe it," Corey added.

SLIPKNOT announced its split with Jordison in December 2013 but did not disclose the reasons for his exit. The drummer subsequently issued a statement saying that he did not quit the group.

Several years ago, Jordison overcame the neurological condition acute transverse myelitis, an inflammation of the spinal cord which damages nerve fibers, which ultimately led to the drummer temporarily losing the use of his legs.

Jordison and the members of SLIPKNOT had been silent and evasive about the reasons for his dismissal from the band, but Joey finally spoke about it in 2016 while accepting an award at the Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards in London, England.

At the time, Joey claimed that he was fired from SLIPKNOT without a band meeting or "anything from management." He said: "All I got was a stupid fucking e-mail saying I was out of the band that I busted my ass my whole life to fucking create. That's exactly what happened and it was hurtful. I didn't deserve that shit after what I'd done and everything I'd been through.

"They got confused about my health issues and obviously even I didn't know what it was at first," he continued. "They thought I was fucked up on drugs, which I wasn't at all.

"I've been through so many things with those guys and I love them very much. What's hurtful is the way it went down was not fucking right. That's all I want to say. The way they did it was fucking cowardly. It was fucked up."

Back in 2014, Taylor told Metal Hammer that firing Jordison after 18 years was "one of the hardest decisions" the group ever made, adding that Joey is "in a place in his life" which is "not where we are."

Taylor said he could not get into specifics for legal reasons, but admitted, "It's when a relationship hits that T-section and one person's going one way and you're going the other. And try as you might to either get them to go your way or try and go their way, at some point you've got to go in the direction that works for you. This is me speaking in the broadest terms, with respect to Joey. I guess to sum it up, it was one of the hardest decisions we ever made."

Taylor said that the band is "happy right now and we hope that he is . . . he's just in a place in his life, right now, that's not where we are."

The singer would not answer whether drug use played a role in Jordison's dismissal, and confessed that he had not been in touch with his former bandmate. Taylor said, "I haven't talked to Joey in a while, to be honest. That's how different we are. It's not because I don't love him and I don't miss him. And it is painful; we talk about him all the time, but at the same time, do we miss him or do we miss the old him? That's what it really comes down to."

Four years ago, Joey revealed that he was working on his first-ever book.

In 2018, Jordison completed a European tour with the international death metal supergroup SINSAENUM.

The same year that he exited SLIPKNOT, Jordison launched the band SCAR THE MARTYR and later, VIMIC.