Jaded Heart are back with their 15th album, Heart Attack, out on October 14 via Massacre Records. Today, the band release a lyric video for the title track. Watch below.


Says the band: "Here is our brand new lyric video and title track from our upcoming album. It’s a fight song about inner strength and not giving up. But it is also about being able to completely put your trust in another person. It’s about that someone who can lift you up when you fall, someone who can kick start your heart when it stops beating. It’s basically a tribute to that one person in your life that you know you can count on when the going gets tough. People like that are hard to come by."







Pre-order the new album here.





Tracklisting:


"Blood Red Skies"
"Sweet Sensation"
"Heart Attack"
"Harvester Unknown"
"Lady Spider"
"Descent"
"Remnants Of Before"
"Right Now"
"It's About Time"
"Bridges Are Burning"
"Midnight Stalker"


"Blood Red Skies" video:

NICKELBACK frontman Chad Kroeger has weighed in on the news that PANTERA's surviving members Philip Anselmo (vocals) and Rex Brown (bass) will unite with guitarist Zakk Wylde (OZZY OSBOURNE, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY) and drummer Charlie Benante (ANTHRAX) for a world tour under the PANTERA banner.

Anselmo and Brown, along with Wylde and Benante, will headline a number of major festivals across North America and Europe and stage some of their own headline concerts.

According to Billboard, the lineup has been given a green light by the estates of the band's founders, drummer Vincent "Vinnie Paul" Abbott and guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott, as well as Brown, who last year said Wylde wouldn't tour with PANTERA if a reunion were to happen. It's unclear what changed his mind.

Kroeger discussed his views on the PANTERA comeback in an interview with LA Lloyd. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, selfishly, I wanna see those songs performed live. When you listen to a PANTERA record and you think to yourself — well, as we thought for the last, I don't know how many years, since the band broke up — it's, like, 'Oh, I'm never gonna get to see these songs [performed] live again.' And it's heartbreaking. So the fact that the boys are getting called in from here and there… [I] love Zakk; [I] love Charlie — great, great guys. I think the fact that they're gonna get on stage and do this… All Phil has to do is just get up there and crush it.

"I would go see that," he continued. "I would buy a ticket to go see that show. I wanna see it. I wanna scream those songs. And I think that calling it more of a tribute is probably closer to what it's gonna be, which is great; that's great. People that love that music that wanna recreate it live every single night… And like I said, as long as Phil brings it, it's gonna be great. Just to be able to sit back and watch those guys to do it up… And I think all the PANTERA fans are gonna love it.

"Anybody who's sitting back hating on the idea, I think when it comes to town, they're gonna do the same thing that happens with those people that say they don't like NICKELBACK," Chad added. "They always find themselves at the show. Strangely enough — shocker! It's, like, 'Ah, I hate those guys. They suck.' 'Are you going?' 'Of course' [Laughs]"

PANTERA will play its first shows in over 20 years in December 2022, starting with a co-headlining slot at Mexico's Hell & Heaven Metal Fest, followed by appearances at three Knotfest festivals in South America.

PANTERA will perform at Hell & Heaven Metal Fest on Friday, December 2 at Foro Pegaso in Toluca. Knotfest Colombia is scheduled for Friday, December 9 at Campin Circuit of Bogotá. Knotfest Chile is slated to take place on Sunday, December 11 at Estadio Monumental in Santiago. Knotfest Brasil will follow on Sunday, December 18 at Sambódromo do Anhembi in São Paulo.

Benante told "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" about how he plans to approach the PANTERA gig: "I can't go do this as the drummer from ANTHRAX because it would be a different sound completely. So the way I'm gonna do that is if you close your eyes, it's gonna sound like it's Vinnie, basically. And that's how it's gonna be. The sound is gonna sound exactly like him."

Wylde said that he had a similar mindset. "You approach it the same way as you do when I'm playing with Ozzy," he said. "Obviously I've gotta learn [Randy] Rhoads's stuff and I've gotta learn Jake's [E. Lee] stuff, and when I was doing the [BLACK] SABBATH stuff, you learn it and do it as faithful as you can. Charlie's gotta learn all of Vinnie's parts. You approach it as if you're in a cover band. When we do the ZAKK SABBATH stuff," referring to his BLACK SABBATH cover band, "I don't start changing lyrics midway through 'War Pigs'. You learn the songs — so that's what you do."

Talk about a possible PANTERA "reunion" intensified when Anselmo regularly joined Wylde's BLACK LABEL SOCIETY to perform PANTERA's song "I'm Broken" during DOWN's 2014 stint on the "Revolver Golden Gods Tour". That buzz only got stronger after Brown joined the jam on May 23, 2014 when the tour swung through Texas.

Up until his passing, Vinnie remained on non-speaking terms with Anselmo, whom the drummer indirectly blamed for Dimebag's death.

Vinnie Paul and Dimebag co-founded PANTERA. When PANTERA broke up in 2003, they formed DAMAGEPLAN. On December 8, 2004, while performing with DAMAGEPLAN at the Alrosa Villa in Columbus, Ohio, Dimebag was shot and killed onstage by a troubled schizophrenic who believed that the members of PANTERA were stealing his thoughts.

In 2005, NICKELBACK recorded a song called "Side Of A Bullet", which was inspired by the death of Dimebag. Chad Kroeger first penned the song's aggressive, metallic riff, then wrote call-and-response lyrics from the perspective of a PANTERA fan so enraged over Dimebag's murder that he vows revenge, not realizing the shooter had already been killed by a policeman. "Side Of A Bullet" featured a previously unheard guitar solo from Darrell that was edited together from outtakes off various PANTERA albums. The song was written shortly after Dimebag was killed.

"I was very upset, and for two months, if I saw his picture somewhere I would get angry," Kroeger told MTV.com. "I hadn't lost somebody to a shooting before — it wasn't as though he'd been killed in some sort of accident. He was taken in such a horrible, malicious way that just made it more painful."

Once Kroeger finished demoing "Side Of A Bullet", he called up Vinnie Paul and played it to him to get his take on the tune. Paul liked what he heard and urged Kroeger to write lyrics about Dime. "I said, 'Well, funny enough, that song is about your brother,' " Kroeger recalled.

Vinnie Paul volunteered to play on the song, so Kroeger overnighted him the tape and encouraged him to record a new drum track over the one played by NICKELBACK drummer Daniel Adair. "He thought about it for a while," Kroeger said, "then he decided that Daniel had done such an amazing job that we should leave it the way it was. That's when he sent the guitar parts from 'Vulgar Display Of Power' and 'Far Beyond Driven', which we used for the solo."

Chad spoke to Launch about the first time he played the track for Vinnie Paul. "I called Vinnie, I wanted to get his blessing, and I play him the tune and I'm telling him that it's this very PANTERA-inspired riff," Chad said. "He was into it. He was digging it over the phone, and then he says, 'You know what, dude? You gotta write one for Dime.' And I said, 'Well, I wasn't quite sure how to lead into this, but that's what the song's about, and I kind of want to get your blessing on it.' And he's, like, 'Brother, of course you have my blessing.'"

During an appearance on a recent episode of "The Ron Keel Podcast", ACCEPT guitarist Wolf Hoffmann admitted that he became disillusioned with the heavy metal scene 25 years ago and pursued other interests, including photography, until the band's eventual reformation.

"To be quite honest, I've retired from being a photographer," he said. "I enjoyed it for many, many years, especially during the time that ACCEPT was not active, in service. I really enjoyed being a photographer because it was a creative job in a way, and I really loved it. But it was always my second love in life, oddly enough. I never felt quite the same passion and satisfaction that I do that I get when I'm onstage or recording albums and such. But during that time, ACCEPT was at a standstill and I figured that's the second-best thing I can do in life. And I enjoyed it."

This past summer, Hoffmann told Vinyl Writer Music about how he first became interested in photography: "Well, I started taking pictures on the road when we were touring so much and I started to see the world. You know, I started doing touristy pictures, like everybody else, and from there it developed into a passion and almost like an obsession. I just was fascinated by the process. I started to have a dark room and developing my own film and really got into it. And then one day in the '90s, when the band came to end, I thought to myself, 'Why don't I give my second passion a serious go? Why don't I give it a chance and see what I can do with it?' I was a little tired of the music business at that point, and I became a professional photographer for all those years. I really did enjoy it, but honestly, does it give me the same satisfaction as playing music on stage? Hell no. And I don't think there's anything in life that can do that. That's why they say, 'Once a musician, you're always a musician.' Because it's almost like a drug — you want it again and again. I haven't found anything in life that comes close to it."

ACCEPT will embark on a North American tour later this month. The trek, featuring support from NARCOTIC WASTELAND, will kick off on September 29 in Nashville, Tennessee and conclude on October 29 in Columbus, Ohio. Fans can expect a career-spanning setlist of new and classic tracks, including mega-hits "Balls To The Wall", "Princess Of The Dawn", "Fast As A Shark" and many more.

This past February, it was announced that ACCEPT had inked a worldwide deal with Napalm Records.

ACCEPT's latest album, "Too Mean To Die", came out in January 2021 via Nuclear Blast. The LP was the group's first without bassist Peter Baltes, who exited ACCEPT in November 2018. He has since been replaced by Martin Motnik. ACCEPT's lineup has also been expanded with the addition of a third guitarist, Philip Shouse, who originally filled in for Uwe Lulis during 2019's "Symphonic Terror" tour, before being asked to join the band permanently.

"Too Mean To Die" was recorded in Nashville, Tennessee with British producer Andy Sneap (JUDAS PRIEST, MEGADETH),who has been responsible for the studio sound of ACCEPT since 2010.

Mark Tornillo joined ACCEPT in 2009 as the replacement for the band's original lead singer, Udo Dirkscheider. He can be heard on ACCEPT's last five studio albums, "Blood Of The Nations" (2010),"Stalingrad" (2012),"Blind Rage" (2014),"The Rise Of Chaos" (2017) and "Too Mean To Die".

METAL CHURCH guitarist Kurdt Vanderhoof has confirmed to Metal-Rules that the band has found a replacement for singer Mike Howe. Howe was found dead at his home in Eureka, California in July 2021. According to TMZ, Howe's official cause of death was determined to be asphyxia due to hanging. A spokesperson for the Humboldt County Sheriff's Dept. told the site authorities are calling it a suicide. He was only 55 years old.

Asked by Metal-Rules how he processed Howe's death, Kurdt said: "To be honest, I really haven’t processed it. I can't. I can't imagine what it must feel like to feel that suicide is your only option. And because he was like my brother and to find out he was in such pain and it's too late to try and help is just something I cannot get my head around."

Kurdt went on to say that there will be a new METAL CHURCH album in 2023. "I had written a new record and Mike and I had just begun the process before he passed," he explained. "So I had a lot of material on hand. I also wanted to complete the album in honor of him. I have written a batch of additional material and it's going in a more aggressive direction."

According to Kurdt, he and his METAL CHURCH bandmates are "keeping a lid" on the identity of their new singer "for the time being." However, he revealed: "We didn't choose a Mike Howe clone or David Wayne clone. We decided to approach the future as a 'new' chapter in the band's career. I think the fans will really dig it."

When Mike's death was first announced, TMZ stated that cops in Eureka got a call just after 10 a.m. on July 26, 2021 reporting an unexpected death at a home. By the time deputies arrived, they found Howe dead at the scene.

According to police, drugs and alcohol are not believed to be factors in the death and no controlled substances or paraphernalia were located at the scene.

Four days after Howe's death, the surviving members of METAL CHURCH shared a statement on social media in which they blamed his suicide on the fact that he "was victimized by a failing health-care system and subsequently poisoned by the venom of Big Pharma," a term which refers collectively to the global pharmaceutical industry. "In short and in essence, he fell prey to the real 'Fake Healer'."

METAL CHURCH's statement was quickly met with criticism from some of the band's fans who felt that the long-running metal act was using Howe's death as a platform to assert its political views. As a result, METAL CHUCH pulled its original post from social media and replaced it with a revised version, in which the musicians said they were "in no way, shape or form referring to anything in relation to vaccinations, COVID or politics. We were saying our brother was hurting and while he was seeking medical care for it, the treatments he was utilizing did not protect him," they wrote. "Otherwise, he would still be with us today."

Howe, who fronted METAL CHURCH from 1988 until 1994, officially rejoined the band in April 2015.

Prior to joining METAL CHURCH more than three decades ago, Howe spent two years fronting California metal act HERETIC.

The reunion between Mike and METAL CHURCH was put in motion in July of 2014 when Mike started working with Vanderhoof on a side project Kurdt was forming with Nigel Glockler from SAXON. Through these initial conversations, Kurdt convinced Mike to ultimately return to METAL CHURCH. The idea was to see if they could recapture some of the magic from the three albums METAL CHURCH released in the late '80s: "The Human Factor", "Blessing In Disguise" and "Hanging In The Balance". Out of those sessions, 2016's "XI" was born and captured the sound that made the band fan favorites in the '80s and mixed it with a new, invigorated sound.

METAL CHURCH's latest release was "From The Vault", which arrived in April 2020 via Rat Pak Records. The effort was a special-edition compilation album that featured 14 previously unreleased songs from the Howe era, including four newly recorded studio tracks, among them a redux of the band's fan favorite classic "Conductor".

Howe is not the first singer of METAL CHURCH to die. David Wayne passed away in May 2005 from complications following a car crash. He was 47 years old.

Wayne sang on METAL CHURCH's first two classic offerings (1984's "Metal Church" and 1986's "The Dark") before leaving the group and being replaced by Howe.

In a new interview with Andrew DiCecco of Vinyl Writer Music, MEGADETH's Brazilian-born guitarist Kiko Loureiro spoke about his increased number of songwriting credits on the band's latest album, "The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!", compared to the first MEGADETH album he appeared on, 2016's "Dystopia". He said: "I think doing 'Dystopia', I was very new in the band — I was like five days new in the band. I met Dave [Mustaine, MEGADETH leader], and then, like a week later, I was there at the studio learning the parts and open for suggestions. So it was already a thing for me to have some credits, some collaborations, with Dave on 'Dystopia'. And now, of course, after so many years of understanding MEGADETH better, not only Dave and getting the confidence from Dave but also understanding the fans, the band, the catalog, and playing the songs… As a metal fan, I know MEGADETH, but, of course, after four or five years of playing so many different countries and seeing fans' faces and their reaction, playing the songs from the '80s and the '90s, you understand the band better. So when you bring ideas, you know, 'Okay, this will fit. This is MEGADETH. I know what I'm bringing is still something completely related to MEGADETH.' I think Dave just felt like, 'I'm in a safe place with those guys.' So, I was always bringing ideas and giving suggestions — not only in the ideas that I brought but also his songs and his guitar stuff; I would say something. No fear, you know? I think creating a creative environment is like feeling that you're in a safe place because you might give an idea that's not good, that sucks, but it has to be okay to receive a 'No, this doesn't fit.' It has to be okay, and then try again and propose something else. And then vice versa — the person who is receiving that idea has to be open to be, like, 'Okay…' Maybe the person doesn't like the idea that much but can say, 'Okay, let's try.' So, it's both ways, right? We have to be open to receiving a no, and the other person has to be open to trying the idea, even if, at first sight, the idea is not that great.

"I think I understand Dave," he continued. "Sometimes — it's hard to explain — he has a very artistic vision of things. Bringing elements that you have no idea where he is coming from; [it] can be colors, can be an old movie, can be the soundtrack of something that I don't know, an old TV show — things like that. And then, when you listen to the theme of the old TV show, it has no correlation to what the riff is presenting. But there's something there that reminds him. So you have to give time to understand what the person is thinking. Sometimes it's just a feeling of, 'I want something like that intro of that old TV show from the '60s.' Then it's, like, 'Let's hear that. Let's go there.' Then, I think, because I have my past music experience with other composers or me writing my songs, I know that. So, I kind of understand where he is coming from, so I think Dave feels safe saying those crazy ideas out loud. Then it's a creative process, and everybody is free to bring their own ideas. Then I think Dirk [Verbeuren, drums] felt, 'You know what? I can bring some ideas, too, because that's a cool environment.' So, during the process, [Dirk] just brought some riffs — because he plays guitar — and then Dave helped him get what he wants because he has certain guitar techniques. So, then we play, and it's, like, 'Oh, we can refine your idea.' The same goes when we suggest a drumbeat, and then Dirk goes and plays something like one hundred times better, but coming from what we are suggesting. So, that's a mutual collaboration."

Last fall, Kiko said in a YouTube video that Mustaine does not use music theory "at all" to compose MEGADETH's songs. "You have to understand that people are different," he explained. "A creator can play something and just imagine the mountain, the sea, the hell, a war — imagine things, those sounds. He can relate that riff to a machine gun or can relate that riff to a bomb exploding, in the case of MEGADETH. But he can play a chord and imagine the mountain, the sun, sailing — whatever. So some people are like this. Some other people, they need the theory — they need the names, they need the things organized to make sense. So that's why some people really relate to the theory and love theory. I love theory. Some other people don't feel they need theory to compose, to create, because it's all about imagination. And, of course, the basic stuff they might know — 'Oh, this is a major chord,' 'This is a minor chord,' 'This is the name of the notes, like E, A, D,' but in the end, it really doesn't matter as well."

In a previous video, Kiko was asked if he has learned anything from playing with Mustaine for the past seven years, Kiko said: "Oh, yes, man. Oh, yes. I don't know if you're asking about guitar stuff, but I think my answer would go more, like… I learned watching him strive to be unstoppable, to be strong, to search for excellence, to demand excellence from everyone, and everyone delivers excellence, delivers their best. Leadership… What else? I don't know… Fight for your case. Fight for your music. Fight for your band. Fight for your fans. Being an artist, being creative [and] combining all those things — being professional and at the same time creative and at the same time having fun while you're doing the stuff. Yeah, a lot of experience in the music business as well — in the music business in general, in the show biz.

"And regarding guitar as well, the thrash metal essence," he continued. "All the rhythms — mainly the rhythms and then the attitude and the force, the vibe, the drive, the intensity. So, all those things while you're playing. Mixing the technical things with a lot of energy — like metal with punk with attitude. I think I'm a way better rhythm player because of just hanging and playing with Dave for all those years — since 2015. Also composing — he composes in a very different way than I do. And I think watching and learning from the way he does as well."

In an October 2015 interview with The Irish Sun, Mustaine was full of praise for Loureiro, saying: "A lot of times guitarists won't know how to add to something — they'll put something in there that's kind of like tits on a bull, unnecessary. Kiko came in and immediately started making some really good suggestions that we applied [to 'Dystopia']. When he first came in, I knew he had the ability but I didn't know if the songwriting technique and talent was going to show up this early on."

He continued: "What was great about the suggestions that Kiko made was that they weren't just guitar ones — he made a bass part in a song called 'Me Hate You' [that made it] really come along. In fact, that was one of the songs where he made a huge melodic contribution in the chorus and I said, 'Man, this sounds like something.'"

According to Dave, Kiko possesses all the elements that are required to become part of a legendary metal act like MEGADETH.

"For me — really simply stated — if you want to be a musician, that's one thing. If you want to be a rock star, that's another," Mustaine said. "But if you want to be legendary, you need to have three very important components: you need to have ability, you need to have appearance, and you need to have attitude. Without all three of those things, it's kind of like trying to have a three-legged milk stool without three legs — it's just not going to work."

He continued: "I found with Kiko, his ability was astronomical, with his attitude he was very confident in what he did — there's a difference between confidence and arrogance. In appearance, he was very classy and very subdued on the street, but up on stage he totally takes command of his performance. When he came up to Nashville to visit with me, I didn't even have him play for the majority of the day he was there. I just wanted to hang out with him and it's been a really long time since I hung out with a guitar player before I hired him. Usually I would listen to how he played and then I'd go, 'Okay, we'll work it out.' I didn't want to do that again. Hanging out with Kiko, and having lunch and kicking back and talking music was all I needed — I knew he was the right guy."

"The Sick, The Dying... And The Dead!" sold 48,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in its first week of release to land at position No. 3 on the Billboard 200 chart. It marked MEGADETH's eighth top 10-charting album. Of "The Sick, The Dying... And The Dead!"'s 48,000 units earned for the week, album sales comprise 45,000, SEA units comprise 3,000 and TEA units comprise a negligible sum.

MEGADETH's previous top 10 entries on the Billboard 200 were "Countdown to Extinction" (No. 2, 1992),"Youthanasia" (No. 4, 1994),"Cryptic Writings" (No. 10, 1997),"United Abominations" (No. 8, 2007),"Endgame" (No. 9, 2009),"Super Collider" (No. 6, 2013) and "Dystopia" (No. 3, 2016).

October 7, 2022 will see Canadian melodic metal act, BOREALIS, return with their fifth studio album, entitled “Illusions”, on AFM Records. With their critically acclaimed debut in 2008, BOREALIS took the heavy music scene by storm, and seen them opening for several metal greats such as Epica, Sonata Artica, Saxon or Kamelot to name just a few.

Now, four years since 2018’s “The Offering”, Illusions arguably marks the bands most complete album to date while adding more orchestral elements and darker themes. The album not only introduces composer and multi-instrumentalist Vikram Shankar (Silent Skies, Redemption, Lux Terminus), who was brought in to compose all of the orchestra and synth elements, but the record is also a continuation of the story from “The Offering”, taking place years later through the eyes of the children and how the traumatic events they experienced has shaped their lives.

Following the previously-released, first single, "Pray For Water", BOREALIS have just shared a second album sneak peak, with a colossal music video for new track "Ashes Turn To Rain"!

"It's only taken us 15 years, but we're finally releasing our first official music video for our next single off of 'Illusions' called Ashes Turn To Rain," says guitarist Ken Fobert. "Being our first video, we wanted to do something a little special for it. It's not only a band-performance video for Ashes Turn To Rain, with the help of our director, Jeremy Tredenick (JReelVisuals), we also incorporated a storyline and visuals to accompany the self-titled opening track for the album. The video features Scandinavian film composer and vocalist, Christine Hals, who not only contributed her unique primal scream vocals but a stunning mountaintop performance as well. Ya! It's pretty epic and we can't wait for everyone to see it!"

“We are so excited to release this new record, considering how long it’s been and what the world has been through over the last 2 years!“ Marinelli said recently. “With the extra time we had with this one, we feel like these are some of the best songs we’ve ever written. Some of the songs were written way back in 2019 so we’ve had time to really perfect them.”



“Illusions” was produced by BOREALIS, engineered and mixed by the band‘s drummer, Sean Dowell, and was mastered by Thomas “Plec “ Johansson.

In their 15+ years as a band, they have achieved two billboard charting radio singles, over 100 million streams and views, and have licensed songs to major brands such as iRobot, the NFL, MTV, and more. Comprised of Jon Ricci (Vocals), Shaun Lichtenstein (Lead Guitar / Vocals), Glenn Mungo (Drums), Josh Waterman (Guitar / Vocals), and Mike LaRoche (Bass), LANSDOWNE has been a force to be reckoned with since emerging into the music scene in 2006.

Following their signing with AFM Records and the release of a lyric video for their mega hit "Burn Brighther" (with more than 11 million streams on Spotify alone) in mid-2022, just recently, the Boston-based hard rock act has unleashed their brand new single, the heavy rock juggernaut "Medicine". Today, they are premiering an official music video of the song:

"The Medicine music video is an introduction to the dystopian fantasy universe that we’re creating. The world is in trouble, consumed by negativity and cancel culture, it’s become this plague that we have to come together to fight through and rise above. So in the video, you see an uprising against all of the hate and bullshit that’s permeated our daily lives. You can feel the aggression and frustration in the words and in the scenes from the video. We’ve been held down and held back for far too long by negativity, and the lyric rings true for so many of us: “We’re fucking over it.” The band states.

"Ben Proulx did an incredible job of capturing our vision of a world that’s sick of all the negativity and a culture that’s ready to rise up and come together to fight back against all the bullshit. Breaking free from the plague of cancel culture and using our voices for togetherness and positivity, that’s what this video is about."

In a new interview with the WSOU 89.5 FM radio station, MEGADETH leader Dave Mustaine was asked what keeps him and his bandmates motivated to write and record new music four decades into the group's career. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET) "I don't know. I think it's just the music has a feeling that it gives us when we play it. And seeing how the fans can get happiness out of what we're doing, that's a wonderful thing to experience — making people happy in this crazy world we're living in right now. People are so ready to go crazy. They're so fragile. They're ready to cry at the drop of the hat, quit their jobs, sue people.

"What happened to… I don't understand," he continued. "You blink your eyes when you wake up and it's like you're in a bad dream. For me, I try to always be as solid as I can with people so that they know, 'Well, with Dave you don't have to really ask what he means. He'll tell ya.' I'm a straight shooter.

"I've seen a lot of stuff in my life with the music industry and stuff," Mustaine added. "And it's kind of come down to this: touring is the last frontier for musicians because you don't sell records. We did great — we were really fortunate — but what about the other bands that aren't selling records. It's hard to explain. So you have to go out on the road. What if you don't have a following like MEGADETH does? And clearly not every city is a big city for any of us, because we're playing Camden [in New Jersey] tonight, and when we played here last time, there was fifteen thousand people here. We're playing here under FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH and I think there was less than five thousand tickets sold this morning. I don't know what that means. I don't know if people, they don't want to see four bands. Or if they don't wanna see MEGADETH again because they saw MEGADETH a few months ago, or in the last year or so. I just know for me, I keep writing music because it makes me feel good. And I've always had a couple of things that were on my bucket list, I guess you could say, like, obviously, the Grammy, which I got. It's funny, because now that I have the Grammy, it just sits on the shelf with the other awards. And it's kind of like human nature — the things that you can't have you want the most."

According to Billboard, MEGADETH's latest album, "The Sick, The Dying... And The Dead!", sold 48,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in its first week of release to land at position No. 3 on the Billboard 200 chart. It marked MEGADETH's eighth top 10-charting album. Of "The Sick, The Dying... And The Dead!"'s 48,000 units earned for the week, album sales comprise 45,000, SEA units comprise 3,000 and TEA units comprise a negligible sum.

MEGADETH's previous top 10 entries on the Billboard 200 were "Countdown to Extinction" (No. 2, 1992),"Youthanasia" (No. 4, 1994),"Cryptic Writings" (No. 10, 1997),"United Abominations" (No. 8, 2007),"Endgame" (No. 9, 2009),"Super Collider" (No. 6, 2013) and "Dystopia" (No. 3, 2016).

"The Sick, The Dying... And The Dead!" consolidates a furious return to form that began with the Grammy-winning "Dystopia", while pushing forward musically and marking Mustaine's recent triumph over throat cancer. Reuniting Dave with co-producer Chris Rakestraw (DANZIG, PARKWAY DRIVE),who together helmed 2016's "Dystopia", the album was recorded at Mustaine's home studio in Nashville, Tennessee, with guitarist Kiko Loureiro and drummer Dirk Verbeuren. Bassist Steve DiGiorgio temporarily stepped in to record the album. With the kick-off of MEGADETH's recent tour, MEGADETH alumnus James LoMenzo rejoined the MEGADETH family as permanent bass player.

In a new interview with the "White Line Fever" podcast, ex-JUDAS PRIEST singer Tim "Ripper" Owens addressed his recent headline-grabbing comment that he never got a call from his former bandmates about them finally getting inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. Asked if he ever thinks about what will make the headlines in the music media while he is doing promotion for a particular project, Tim said: "Well, I always get off thinking, 'Ugh, what's gonna be on Blabbermouth tomorrow?' Because you can do eight million words [in an interview] and then one word would come out and they would take it [and base an article around it]."

Tim added: "I knew [my comments about the Rock Hall] would be [turned into a headline], and I don't mind talking about it, because, listen, they should have been in the Hall Of Fame a long time ago. And then they asked about me going in, listen, I'm not going in, and that's cool… Like I said before, I feel like I'm going in anyways, 'cause I was in the band for about 10 years and [I did] two studio records and two live records and a DVD and a Grammy nomination. It's good to see Rob [Halford] and Glenn [Tipton] and Ken [Downing] and Scott [Travis] get in there, for sure."

Regarding the fact that he is not being inducted into the Rock Hall with PRIEST when certain former members of other acts who have only appeared on one album had made the cut in the past, Owens said: "It's strange. It's not that nobody would be surprised, like I've said before. And listen, I'm friends with the guys, and I don't ever talk bad about my time I was in the band. It's a business, so your feelings can get hurt for a second, but I still love the guys. But it's shocking that my era [with PRIEST] has just been swept under the rug.

"Like I've said in the Rolling Stone article, a phone call would have been nice just to say, 'Listen, you're not [getting inducted into the Rock Hall].' Like I said in the article, instead of getting e-mails threatening me for something that some promoter did in Australia," he added, referencing his upcoming "Metal Gods" tour of Australia, the name of which the PRIEST management apparently took issue with. "But just a nice message saying, 'Hey, they're going in. We wanna thank you…'

"The funny thing is, fans are, like, 'Man, get over it.' I don't bring this stuff up. We don't start our interview and I go, 'Guess what? They didn't let me in there.'

"It is what it is; I understand it," Tim added. "Again, it's a business. I've got a lot going on with myself. I make a living doing music. And it is what it is."

Owens joined PRIEST in 1996 after being discovered when the band's drummer was given a videotape of him performing with the PRIEST cover band BRITISH STEEL. JUDAS PRIEST at the time was seeking a replacement for Halford, who has since rejoined the band.

Owens recorded two studio albums with JUDAS PRIEST — 1997's "Jugulator" and 2001's "Demolition" — before Halford's return to the group.

PRIEST will receive the Musical Excellence Award at the fall 2022 Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame event, which will honor Eminem, Dolly Parton, DURAN DURAN, Lionel Richie, Pat Benatar, EURYTHMICS and Carly Simon in the Performers category.

The award for Musical Excellence — which was originally titled the "Sidemen" category when it debuted — is given to artists, musicians, songwriters and producers whose originality and influence creating music have had a dramatic impact on music.

Back in 2010, when the Sidemen category was renamed the award for Musical Excellence, Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Foundation president Joel Peresman told The Plain Dealer the category "gives us flexibility to dive into some things and recognize some people who might not ordinarily get recognized."

JUDAS PRIEST is the second band to receive the award for Musical Excellence; the E STREET BAND was the first. Last year, late OZZY OSBOURNE and QUIET RIOT guitarist Randy Rhoads was one of the recipients of the Musical Excellence Award.

The induction ceremony will be held on November 5, 2022 at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. It will air at a later date on HBO and stream on HBO Max. There will also be a radio simulcast on SiriusXM's Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Radio channel 310.

According to the Hall Of Fame, the JUDAS PRIEST members that will get inducted include current members Halford, Ian Hill (bass),Tipton and Travis, along with former members Downing, Les Binks (drums) and late drummer Dave Holland.

JUDAS PRIEST was previously on the ballot for Rock Hall induction in 2020, but failed to receive enough votes to make that year's class.

Having been eligible for induction since 1999, PRIEST was also on the ballot for the 2018 class of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, but was ultimately left out of the inductee list.

To be eligible for nomination, an individual artist or band must have released its first commercial recording at least 25 years prior to the year of nomination.

Even though artists are eligible for the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame 25 years after the release of their first album or single, iconic hard rock and metal bands like IRON MAIDEN and MOTÖRHEAD have yet to be recognized by the institution, which inducted GUNS N' ROSES in that group's first year of eligibility.

The Rock Hall didn't induct BLACK SABBATH until 2006, and METALLICA followed three years later.

Eligible for induction since 1999, KISS didn't get its first nomination until 2009, and was finally inducted in 2014.

DEEP PURPLE was eligible for the Rock Hall since 1993 but didn't get inducted until 2016.

In a new interview with Stereogum, BLACK SABBATH singer Ozzy Osbourne reflected on the making of the band's final album, "13". Released in 2013, it was SABBATH's first LP in 35 years to feature Osbourne, guitarist Tony Iommi and bassist Geezer Butler. Asked if he still feels good about where "13" left things, he responded: "Not really, because, to be perfectly honest, I didn't really get a charge from the album. Although [producer] Rick Rubin is a good friend of mine, I wasn't really… I was just singing. It was like stepping back in time, but it wasn't a glorious period. Though Geezer [Butler, BLACK SABBATH bassist] did a lot of lyric writing for me, which he's very, very good at. It wasn't an earth-shattering experience for me."

As for whether BLACK SABBATH is "totally done" in his mind, Osbourne: "I would like to say it's completely done. I think it's time. The only thing I really regret, to be honest, is that Bill Ward [original BLACK SABBATH drummer] didn't play on the ['13'] album. It wasn't really a BLACK SABBATH album. I'm not saying that one day we might not all go in a room and come up with the perfect BLACK SABBATH album. But I'll say, ['13'] wasn't recorded the way BLACK SABBATH recorded records. We'd gone right back past the point where we took charge, back to when someone else had full control of our recording. Which we never did from 'Vol. 4' onwards."

This past April, Geezer spoke about Rubin's involvement with "13" during an appearance on SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" show. He said: "Some of [the '13' album] I liked, some of it I didn't like particularly. It was a weird experience, especially with being told to forget that you're a heavy metal band. That was the first thing [Rick] said to us. He played us our very first album, and he said, 'Cast your mind back to then when there was no such thing as heavy metal or anything like that, and pretend it's the follow-up album to that,' which is a ridiculous thing to think."

When host Eddie Trunk noted that many other artists who have worked with Rubin walked away from the experience feeling a bit underwhelmed, Butler said: "I still don't know what he did. It's, like, 'Yeah, that's good.' 'No, don't do that.' And you go, 'Why?' [And he'd say], 'Just don't do it.' I think Ozzy one day went nuts 'cause he'd done, like, 10 different vocals, and Rick kept saying, 'Yeah, that's great, but do another one.' And Ozzy was, like, 'If it's great, why am I doing another one?' He just lost it. And that's the way it was. Tony wasn't happy with some of the stuff he was trying to make him play. He was making Tony get 1968 amps — as if that's gonna make it sound like back in 1968. It's mad. But it's good for publicity and it's good for the record company. If you've got Rick Rubin involved, then it must be good, kind of thing."

In an official documentary chronicling the making of the "13" album, Geezer was more complimentary about collaborating with Rubin, saying: "It's great with Rick Rubin in charge. He's got a great track record and he comes up with some great ideas. Some work, some don't, but it's worth trying."

When Iommi was asked about working with Rubin in a 2013 interview with Guitar Player magazine, he said: "It was fine once we got used to him. We didn't know how he was going to work, because through the writing period, we didn't see a lot of him. He'd say, 'Phone me up when you've got an idea and I'll come down.' So we'd have a track together and phone him up or e-mail him, and then he'd come down and say, 'Yeah, I like this part, but I don't like that part' or 'I like everything,' whatever it may be, and then he'd go. He was only there perhaps ten or 15 minutes at the most. We didn't know how he was going to approach recording. It was all a bit of a mystery to us… It's sort of left to the last minute, and then he throws it at you. He just pushes that much more, and that's difficult for a band like us. We've been around so long, it's hard to accept criticism from somebody we've never worked with. But we did, and it was good. It was really good. We might be working on a track, and he'd go, 'Oh no, it doesn't feel right. Try it again and try extending that part.' So we'd do it and then we'd be thinking to ourselves that it may be too long, but we'd do it anyway. And then he'd go, 'That doesn't feel right. Let's try another one.' And then he'd say, 'Okay I think we've got it, but do you want to just try another one?' So we would try another one, and he'd say, 'Okay, let's leave it now.' So we never knew exactly which one he was going to pick."

Asked in a 2021 interview with SPIN if he had learned anything from working with Rubin, Iommi quipped: "Yeah, I learned how to lie on the couch with a mic in my hand and say 'Next!' ... It was just different, the way he works. He wanted to find the original SABBATH sound. He said, 'Have you got your original amps?' I said, 'Rick, that was 50 years ago. Do you have any amps from 50 years ago? … I don't have them, they've blown up. They're gone long ago. I've got my own amps now.' He said, 'No, we need the old stuff.'

"So, I get to the studio, and there are 20 different bloody amps there. He goes, 'They're vintage amps.' I said, 'That doesn't mean they sound good; they're just old.' He went, 'Well, let's try them.' I tried them, and I didn't like any of them.

"So it was a bit of a backwards and forwards till he got used to me, and I got used to him, really," Iommi added. "But we did it, and the album was very basic. I'd done a lot of the songs from the last album in my studio at home. I thought the sound was better, to be honest. But there was more stuff involved; I put more instruments on it. He just wanted it very bare and very basic, which you know, was good."

Ward in May 2012 announced that he was declining to join his former SABBATH bandmates for its scheduled dates, as well as the recording of the new album, due to a contractual dispute. After SABBATH shot down Rubin's suggestion to replace Ward with Ginger Baker (CREAM) ("I thought, 'Bloody hell?'" Iommi told Rolling Stone magazine. "I just couldn't see that."),Rick suggested RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE drummer Brad Wilk.

SMASHING PUMPKINS frontman Billy Corgan, considered by some to be an underrated guitarist who deserves much more credit than most of the artists that emerged from the 1990s, spoke to Kerrang! magazine about where he finds the inspiration to come up with new guitar riffs. He said: "It has to be fresh. Tony Iommi from BLACK SABBATH, he's my hero, and Tony wrote those riffs that, when you hear him, it's like a movie. In my mind, I always call it 'Cosmic Sabbath'. When I would listen to SABBATH, I felt like I was peering into the universe. That's the way it made me feel, even as a little kid. So for me, a great riff has to kind of make you feel something bigger. So if I'm not in the mood, it just feels weird. There's the thin line between cartoonish and owning the space. Bands like [JUDAS] PRIEST and SABBATH, and even ACCEPT — which the riff [of the new SMASHING PUMPKINS single 'Beguiled'] reminds me a little bit of — [they all have] something about fucking owning the metal. It's like, you've gotta believe it."

Corgan was a guest vocalist on the song "Black Oblivion" which appeared on Iommi's 2000 solo album, "Iommi".

"Beguiled" is the first single from SMASHING PUMPKINS' upcoming album, "Atum: A Rock Opera In Three Acts". The 33-track collection, whose title is pronounced "autumn," is being billed as a sequel to 1995's "Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness" and 2000's "Machina/The Machine of God". The LP will be released as three 11-track "acts", eventually culminating in a three-act rock opera. Act 1 of "Atum" will arrive on November 15, 2022, Act 2 on January 31, 2023, and Act 3 will be made available, along with a special-edition box set featuring all 33 album tracks plus 10 additional unreleased songs, on April 21, 2023.

"Atum: A Rock Opera In Three Acts" was written and recorded over a four-year period by Corgan and the rest of the current SMASHING PUMPKINS lineup: guitarists James Iha and Jeff Schroeder, plus drummer Jimmy Chamberlin.

Next month, SMASHING PUMPKINS will embark on a fall 2022 North American tour, dubbed "Spirits On Fire", with JANE'S ADDICTION.

More than a quarter century since its primal emergence from the Desert, QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE has elected to give three of its landmark albums the upscale re-release treatment, including limited edition color vinyl pressings, exclusive new and restored artwork, and more.

First up is the one that started it all: Back in print after a long, long decade, QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE's self-titled 1998 debut album will be resurrected digitally September 22, with a vinyl release date of October 21. Restored to its original track listing and adorned by the long out-of-print original Frank Kozik artwork, the soon-to-be-definitive version of QOTSA's self-titled ground zero will feature an obi-strip designed by longtime collaborator Boneface and will be available on standard black and limited edition opaque orange vinyl — both available direct from QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE, Matador Records, and at discerning independent retailers.

Following on December 9 will be a double shot of QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE's most recent efforts: 2013's multiple-Grammy-nominated, Billboard 200 No. 1-charting magnum opus "…Like Clockwork" and 2017's redefining "Villains" will both be reincarnated: "…Like Clockwork" returns newly recut from its original master tapes with alternate artwork and obi-strip from Boneface with a limited opaque aqua vinyl pressing available direct from QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE, Matador Records, and at finer independent retailers. "Villains" is reissued in a special fifth-anniversary package featuring etching, obi-strip, and a brand new poster by Boneface, and as on limited edition leaf-green transparent vinyl available exclusively via QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE and/or Matador Records.

Pre-order any/all of the above at the official store.

"Villains" was helmed by Grammy-winning producer, DJ and artist Mark Ronson, who has previously worked with Amy Winehouse, Paul McCartney, Lady Gaga, DURAN DURAN and Adele, among others. The album debuted at No. 1 in the U.K., Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Switzerland and Portugal, No. 2 in Germany, Austria, Belgium, Finland, Norway and Ireland, No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and No. 1 on the U.S. album chart, No. 4 on Japan's international chart and No. 5 in Italy — easily the single biggest global sales week of the QUEENS' seven-album stretch. "Villains"' first seven days in existence also saw nearly 100,000 vinyl albums moved worldwide, as the record became the No. 1-selling vinyl LP in the U.K., U.S. and Germany. "Villains" also took the U.S. No. 1 spots on the Alternative, Hard, Rock, Internet and Independent Label Album charts and No. 2 on the Digital Album sales chart.

QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE are Joshua Homme, Troy Van Leeuwen, Dean Fertita, Michael Shuman and Jon Theodore.
Announcing limited edition vinyl reissues of "Queens of the Stone Age," "...Like Clockwork" and "Villains." Available for pre-order now. https://t.co/2YSL1k8bVEpic.twitter.com/xA4UXQuAQD

— QOTSA (@qotsa) September 22, 2022