NWOBHM (New Wave Of British Heavy Metal) pioneers DIAMOND HEAD will enter the studio in the coming months to begin recording the follow-up to 2019's "The Coffin Train" album for a tentative 2023 release. In a new interview with TotalRock, guitarist Brian Tatler said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We haven't had the chance to record the drums yet, but as soon as we can, that's the next thing. We've pretty much got the material ready to go as demos. We've done rehearsals where we record the rehearsals and we've done home demos and things. But the next step will be get in the studio and get the drums down and then we can build on top of the drums. So that [won't happen before] next year now. 'Cause of the SAXON tour [with DIAMOND HEAD as the support act] in October [and] November, we'll probably start that in January."

Asked how he would compare the new DIAMOND HEAD material to the band's classic songs or even some of the more recent albums, Brian said: "I think it will probably be like "The Coffin Train' in sound, but I think the songs are gonna be even better because I've had more time this time to work on the material — almost two years I spent either writing new material or working on old material that I hadn't finished off. So it was a good opportunity to really dig deep and find some killer riffs. And I think it'll be fantastic. I'm very confident."

DIAMOND HEAD influenced a slew of early '80s thrash metal bands, in particular METALLICA, which recorded the band's "Am I Evil" as a B-side to their 1984 "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 an episode of "Tatler's Tales", Tatler was asked for his opinion of METALLICA's cover versions of his band's classic songs. "They're great," he said. "They're always more powerful and a little faster than the DIAMOND HEAD versions. I mean, they're a great band. They [have] their own sound. Of course, it was very flattering. The first song they covered was 'Am I Evil'. They were the first band that ever covered a DIAMOND HEAD song. And it came out in 1984; it was on the 'Creeping Death' 12-inch single, which was on Music For Nations. And I was just really flattered that 'Lars's [Ulrich] band' had covered one of our songs and done such a respectful job and worked out the guitar solo. Everything was really good — really close to our version, but a bit more modern, a bit tougher, [with] more attitude."

He added: "More power to them. Fantastic. It's done the band a huge favor."

According to Brian, the royalties that he receives from the DIAMOND HEAD back catalog, including the METALLICA recordings of his songs, are enough for him to live on. "It's my biggest source of income," he revealed in a 2019 interview. "It's great and I don't know what I would do without it. It gives me the freedom to do what I like. I'm very grateful."

"The Coffin Train" was released in May 2019 via Silver Lining Music. The album was recorded at Vigo Studios in Walsall, Circle Studios in Birmingham and Raw Sound Studio in London.

A reimagined and re-recorded version of DIAMOND HEAD's "Lightning To The Nations" album was released in 2020 via Silver Lining Music. "Lightning To The Nations 2020" included four cover tracks, including METALLICA's "No Remorse".

In a new interview with AXS TV's "At Home And Social", Dave Mustaine said that right now " has got to be one of the proudest moments" in his career, not only because of the release of METGADETH's 16th studio album, "The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!", but because the band has "successfully completed" all of its contracts. "We turned in our last record to Universal, so we honored that contract and did everything that was part of it," he explained. "Same thing with the publishing; we completed our contract with the publishers and honored it and turned in everything we were supposed to. Now, how many bands do you know at our stage, at our status do that? They don't. They usually get an extension or they will have had such a huge contract in the first place with so many options that they'll never be free. I was a really shrewd business person and made sure that we were going to have a future as soon as we possibly could."

Back in 2013, Mustaine told Ultimate Guitar that it has always been important for him to maintain a high standard of quality with each MEGADETH album.

"I remember this one guy and I won't say his name but there was a guy I really, really, really looked up to and he wanted to get out of his record contract so he made a record that was utter crap," Dave recalled. "He knew it, I knew it and he duped his fans with it. I thought, 'This is not the way that I ever want to conduct myself as a businessman.'"

In the Ultimate Guitar interview, Mustaine also addressed the fact that MEGADETH had gone through a number of record labels over the years, saying: "When we initially left Capitol we were unhappy there because of all the administration changes. We loved the label but the direction kept changing and every time a new president would come in, as an older band you kind of got kicked to the curb. Because they had somebody they needed to prove. [After that] we went to Sanctuary and we were really excited, and man, was that a disappointment. That was so deflating. I just put my nose down to the ground and I went, 'You know what? I'm not coming back up until I'm satisfied.' Basically when we completed our contract with Roadrunner and did it with dignity and respect in an industry where bands take the money and run all the time, we finished our contract and kept our commitment and we honored them. Now we're on the other side of it and we're all better for it."

MEGADETH's 2013 album, "Super Collider", was the band's first to be released via Mustaine's label Tradecraft, distributed by Universal Music Enterprises (UMe). At the time, Mustaine told Artisan News about the band's split with Roadrunner: "We were obviously very unhappy [with Roadrunner]. But I just wanna make clear: there's a lot of great people that were there working [for Roadrunner] that we had great relationships [with]. Unfortunately, [there was a] lack of leadership [at the label]. You can have the greatest people in the world, but if you don't have anybody to quarterback the team, you're a loser. And we tried, we stuck it out, we honored the contract, we fulfilled all of our commitments, and when the time was up, it was time to move on."

Asked how the switch in record labels from Roadrunner to Universal Music Enterprises (UMe) affected MEGADETH's songwriting approach on "Super Collider", Mustaine told O2 Academy TV in a 2013 interview: "I think it affected the sound of the album, the style of music, the outlook of the band. I mean, no offense to Roadrunner — they did what they do — but we're a major-label band. And when we left Capitol to go to Sanctuary, it was for two reasons. One, I hated that record president that [Capitol] had at that time, and two, Sanctuary made a lot of big promises. And you know, when you think about [IRON MAIDEN's manager] Rod Smallwood, who had a big part to do with the label, that's IRON MAIDEN, and I love IRON MAIDEN, so I thought, 'For sure, this is gonna be great.' Well, it didn't end up being great, 'cause Rod wasn't involved in it as much as my brain would like to have thought. And we left Sanctuary and went to Roadrunner, and it just kept going like this [makes downward motion with his hand]. And I figured, I'm not gonna bail on the contract, I'm not gonna be a scumbag musician like so many musicians are where they stick people with contracts and break up and leave everybody holding the ball. I figured, 'I'm gonna honor the contract, I'm gonna finish it, and then when it's done, I'm gonna say goodbye like a gentleman.' And I did, and Universal came into the picture. I mean, think about this; this is so amazing. [Universal is] the biggest label; they own Capitol Records that has almost all of my catalog; they bought EMI Publishing that does own all my publishing. So you're a brand new record company… Not brand new, but for us… We've got a new label, a new record… Oh, by the way, I own all of your past life. I was, like, 'Who could possibly have arranged something that fantastic?'"

In a new interview with AL.com, GHOST mastermind Tobias Forge was asked why his band was able to break through commercially at a time when pop, R&B and rap acts dominate. He replied: "I think there are various reasons. And it all combined in alignment, sort of created the sum of our career. But I think our sound and our way of not writing the same record every time, but still having a signature DNA in it has helped. I think it has helped we have consistently tried to bring a show to the people."

He continued: "It defies logic for a lot of bands, I think, to try to expand beyond their means. But that was aided by the fact that I was the only one that invested and everybody else was paid. [Laughs] If we had people voting on everything, it would not have happened this way. Because I was so determined that, yeah, I want to be what METALLICA was in the '80s, on the '…And Justice For All' tour. That sort of band or like 'Powerslave' with IRON MAIDEN. That sort of fucking theater and playing arenas. And I've always been very, very influenced by PINK FLOYD and THE ROLLING STONES. As much as I'm a sucker and grew up listening to really obscure, very extreme death metal, I also have a huge alignment and childhood love with big-ass arena rock. And in this day and age, especially when rock isn't the flavor of the day, I think it has behooved us that we've sort of moved against the pack. When we were debutantes, it was still that like emo-core going on, and we stood out like a sore thumb. Somehow, we were lucky enough people started embracing us as well, even though we weren't part of any major music movement. Maybe there was a murmur about an underground occult rock thing going on at the time. But that was at such a low level that wouldn't have affected people in general. But then a lot of kudos and credit I must give to [GUNS N' ROSES bassist] Duff McKagan, [METALLICA's] James Hetfield, [PANTERA's] Phil Anselmo, Jerry Cantrell from ALICE IN CHAINS and Dave Grohl [FOO FIGHTERS], of course. All those guys took us on tours. They lifted up the band GHOST, onto their stages and put us in front of a lot of people. Without that, this wouldn't have happened."

GHOST's fifth album, "Impera", sold 70,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in its first week of release to land at position No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart. It marked the third top 10 album — and fifth top 40-charting set — for the Swedish act.

"Impera" landed at position No. 1 in Germany and Sweden, No. 2 in the U.K., Netherlands, Belgium and Norway, No. 3 in Australia, No. 5 in France and Ireland, and No. 20 in Italy.

"Impera" was released on March 11. The 12-song effort was produced by Klas Åhlund and mixed by Andy Wallace.

Forge worked on the follow-up to 2018's "Prequelle" with Åhlund and Swedish co-writers Salem Al Fakir and Vincent Pontare, whose credits include Madonna and Lady Gaga.

In March 2020, at final show of GHOST's "Prequelle" tour in Mexico City, Mexico, the band officially introduced Papa Emeritus IV, the new character who is fronting the act for its "Impera" album phase.

Forge performed as a "new" Papa Emeritus on each of the band's first three LPs, with each version of Papa replacing the one that came before it. Papa Emeritus III was retired in favor of Cardinal Copia before the release of "Prequelle".

In a new interview with Reno's rock radio station Rock 104.5, Doug "Dug" Pinnick was asked if KING'S X has finally become a profitable venture for him and his bandmates, more than four decades after the group's inception. The 71-year-old bassist/vocalist responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "No, it's never been profitable. We've never recouped all the [funds] that the record companies put into us. Even [our current label] InsideOut, we owe them a couple of hundred thousand [dollars], 'cause they haven't recouped from the last couple of records. [Our former label] Atlantic Records we owe five million or four million to — something like that… Three — I'm not sure. It's in the millions somewhere they spent on us. Everybody that's ever signed us has always lost money, and so we've never made any money off of record sales. The only way we make a living is going on tour, and hopefully when people come to see us play we'll get a paycheck for that and merchandise. And KING'S X fans love to buy our merch 'cause they know that that's what supports us. But other than that, sometimes — well, not sometimes. We all have to do outside things to make ends meet."

He continued: "I just do side projects. I go get a record deal and pay the bills for a couple of months. Ty [Tabor, guitar] masters things; Jerry [Gaskill, drums] does stuff. None of us go to nine-to-five jobs; we don't do that. But something about what we can do. We have value in the marketplace, so we can do clinics, we can do things like that. Or I do handwritten lyrics — KING'S X lyrics that I wrote, I'll write 'em out on black paper in silver ink, sign it and put a date on it. I've written hundreds of them. … So it all works out. And at my age now, I get social security. And when I started getting social security about three years ago, that's when I stopped worrying because my social security will pay my rent. The rest of it I can do. I can get on a street corner and play guitar and I can get five dollars. I can call a friend up and say, 'Hey, I ain't got no money. Can you feed me today?' And they'll say, 'Yeah, let's eat.' But paying your rent — you want your rent paid; you don't want to depend on other people. And also I have a dUg [signature] pedal and I have a signature bass and a 12-string bass, and people buy 'em. And so every now and then I get that six-month check, which helps. So it's all good."

KING'S X will release its 13th studio album, "Three Sides Of One", on September 2. The effort will be available as a limited CD digipak, gatefold 180g 2LP+CD+LP-booklet and as a digital album. There will also be a limited deluxe 180g orange/red marble 2LP+CD+LP booklet that also includes a poster and a hand-numbered print, as well as an exclusive variant of the front cover artwork.

During 2019, the members of KING'S X congregated at Black Sound Studio in Pasadena, California with Emmy Award-winning producer Michael Parnin to bring "Three Sides Of One" to life. Despite consistent touring, they hadn't cut a new LP since 2008. Nevertheless, the guys picked up where they left off. Creative confidant and collaborator Wally Farkas rolled through, and they channeled their incredible chemistry on tape.

The new KING'S X LP was mastered in June 2021 at the Bernie Grundman Mastering facility in Hollywood, California,

KING'S X was sidelined by several health scares in recent years, including Pinnick's two hernia operations and two near-fatal heart attacks suffered by Gaskill.

In October 2019, KING'S X canceled all of its previously announced tour dates for the year so that Gaskill could undergo undisclosed heart "procedures."

"XV" was KING'S X's highest-charting album since 1996's "Ear Candy".

In 2005, VH1 included KING'S X in its list of "100 Greatest Artists In Hard Rock."

During a new appearance on "Drinks With Johnny", the Internet TV show hosted by AVENGED SEVENFOLD bassist Johnny Christ, KORN drummer Ray Luzier stressed that knowledge of the business is critical for new players that wish to succeed in the music market.

"I haven't been doing 'em since the pandemic, but I would do a lot of drum festivals all over the place — from the U.K. to Spain to wherever," he said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). "And it's really cool showing up with a bunch of drum geeks like myself.

"There's people that smoke me that are 10 on the Internet right now. And I don't look at it like that," he continued. "That's great for what people do. There's always gonna be someone better. But to me, I don't look at it as who's best and better. It's, like, I want longevity in a career. I wanted to do this till the day I die. Since when I was in early teens, if I was beating on buckets on the Santa Monica Pier, if I was playing stadiums, I'm gonna be doing this till the day I die. So if you take an oath like that, if you pledge an oath, it's a pretty big thing — to leave your family to do what we do on the road, even to this day.

"But every time I do a drum festival and I see a young kid, and [they tell me], 'I can play 64th notes at 132 bpms,' and I'm, like, 'That's great. I'm sure your girlfriend is really impressed.' … I used to be very safe with [what I would tell these kids] and go, 'Oh, well, that's cool.' Now I'm, like, 'Dude, just stop.' You've gotta be real, man. 'Cause as you know, the business side of it, it's a business side of it.

"When I moved to L.A., I locked myself in my drum lab at M.I. when I was a student there, and I would just shred for six hours a day, and I would go play with this band and I'd go play with that band," Luzier added. "I was just trying to be as best as I could on drums, and I didn't realize I should have been educating myself on the business. 'Cause I didn't realize how many bad contracts I was gonna sign and how many people that I trusted that I thought had my back didn't have my back. And I was getting my ass kicked left and right in my early 20s 'cause I was in some failed original bands that were, like… I wanted to be KISS and MÖTLEY CRÜE and Ozzy [Osbourne] and I didn't realize what was going on business-wise. So I try to educate people on, like, look at that perspective. Don't just there and play. Who cares how fast you can play sweeping licks on your guitar or whatever. Really try to embrace the whole business — if you wanna be in this. If you wanna do it on the weekends for fun, great. And you wanna have a [regular] job during the week — God bless America; do what you've gotta do. But if you really wanna be in this line of work, there's so many avenues and there's so many promises that might not happen. And there's no security in it — even band-wise. When I got this gig [with KORN] in '07, [KORN bassist] Fieldy told me we had a couple of years. Fifteen years later, we're stronger than ever. So you just never [know]. No one's got a crystal ball, last time I checked."

First-call touring and session drummer, Luzier is known for his high-profile gigs with David Lee Roth, Jake E. Lee and ARMY OF ANYONE. From movie soundtracks to rock and metal albums, Luzier's playing can currently be found on over 70 recordings. As an educator, he was a Musicians Institute instructor for over 10 years and author of a well-regarded, self-titled instructional DVD.

Two years ago, Luzier told the Philadelphia radio station 93.3 WMMR that he was working on a "rock book." He explained at the time: "It's not about, like, 'Oh, Mr. Rock Star guy.' It's about getting signed, getting dropped, getting this promised this and then me joining national bands. But 50 percent of my book is David Lee Roth, 'cause eight years with that guy, you can't make that stuff up. And I love him to death — he's the most amazing, one of the best entertainers ever. But there's a lot there — there's a lot of content.

"A lot of people don't realize out there, they think your favorite band, they just think, 'Oh, they got signed and they're huge and they're famous,'" he continued. "A lot of people don't have any idea what some of us go through," he continued. "I did the hard road. … People have no idea, so that's why I told myself I'm just gonna put a book together that's gonna be about the realism of getting promised all this stuff. Practicing and getting really good at your art is just one part of the whole equation."

In a new interview with Rock Show Critique, TESLA guitarist Frank Hannon was asked if he and his bandmates used the coronavirus downtime to stay creative and work on new music, as many other groups did during the same period. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "For us, COVID was an interesting thing. It was the opposite, really. Because none of us got COVID during the downtime and we all really used it as a break that we needed, because we had been touring solid up until the COVID shutdown, opening for DEF LEPPARD and doing that 'Shock' album and opening for STYX and then going out on our own. We had worked non-stop consistently for about — well, since we got back together in 2000, really. We put out the 'Into The Now' album and the 'Forever More' album, and then [guitarist] Dave Rude joined the band in 2005. And non-stop, non-stop until COVID-19 hit in 2020 and shut everything down. So, actually, we took a break from each other at that point. And then, when we did decide to get back together, when the COVID thing was just about over, we all got COVID [laughs] — we all got sick and had to cancel the tour in August [of 2021], right when we put out our song 'Cold Blue Steel', at the very end of the whole COVID thing. So it was a very bizarre time, let me just leave it at that."

Earlier this year, Hannon admitted to TotalRock that he "denied" COVID-19's "existence for the first year of it, even though it was on the news and we were hearing about it. We were very lucky for a long time and didn't catch it. But then we all did catch it in August [of 2021], and it set us back for the whole rest of the year last year, and we were all very sick from it."

Hannon admitted that COVID-19 hit him "hard. It felt like it aged me a little bit," he said. "I still feel it a little bit in my lungs; my brain is a little cloudy, which is okay — I'm used to that anyway. [Laughs]"

In August 2021, TESLA announced it was postponing a few shows after Frank tested positive for COVID-19. At the time, Hannon wrote in a social media post that he had "not been able to move all week" and revealed that he woke up with a 102-degree fever and could "hardly breathe" on the day that TESLA was scheduled to leave for tour.

Hannon later opened up about his COVID-19 battle in an interview with Marci Wiser of the 95.5 KLOS radio station, saying: "We went through COVID hell, and luckily none of us died from it. I just lost another friend who died from COVID. This is a real thing, man. People that are anti-vaxxers and all that — I was on the wrong side of that fence, listening to all the baloney. But we went through it and we survived it.

"Our friends in STYX and our friends in these bands that have been successfully touring, they've given us some advice that we follow [while we are on the road now]," he continued.

"As much as you hate wearing a mask, you've just gotta do it when you're close to people. And so we're doing that. We're all vaccinated now. And we're being careful but we're trying to live our lives too."

Hannon also elaborated on his battle with COVID-19, saying: "I wanna describe it, 'cause I got some flak from some clown on the Internet, saying, 'All you had was the flu. All it is is the flu. Quit making a big deal about it.' And that's the biggest crock. I'm telling you, man — it was a month of hell. It was a hard one.

"It affects everybody differently," he continued. "Like I said, unfortunately, sadly a lot of people are dying from it. But for me, it was like a month-long hangover. Imagine drinking all the tequila and whiskey and smoking a pack of Pall Mall non-filters for three days — imagine that — and then waking up hung over from that for a month. That's what it felt like."

Last September, Hannon told Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station that he "got vaccinated" before going on the road with TESLA, but admitted "it was a little too late. I was not wanting to get vaccinated, and I put it off too long. I got vaccinated and about a week later I played a gig and caught COVID and took it to the band by accident. And everybody got sick. It knocked me down for a month, man. It was a month of hell, not being able to breathe and in a lot of pain."

He continued: "People dismiss it as being, 'Oh, it's only a flu,' or, 'It's a cold,' or whatever, but I just lost three more friends — people in the industry that have died from it. So it's a very serious thing. And I don't take it lightly anymore, that's for damn sure."

TESLA played the first two shows of its summer 2021 tour without Frank. Filling in for him was Howie Simon (JEFF SCOTT SOTO, GRAHAM BONNET, STRYPER),who previously stood in for Hannon in September 2018.

"Myself, I didn't even do one show [of the summer run]," Frank told WRIF. "The morning that we were leaving to go on tour, I came down with a 102 fever. So I called one of my friends that plays guitar, and he filled in for me. They did another show up in Oregon, and they got sick. So we got the kibosh put on TESLA right away."

TESLA's latest album, "Shock", was released in March 2019 via UMe. The follow-up to 2014's "Simplicity" was produced by DEF LEPPARD guitarist Phil Collen.

Earlier this year, TESLA released the official music video for the band's new single, "Time To Rock!".

Last September, TESLA drummer Troy Luccketta announced that he would "take a little time from the road" to spend with family and friends. He is being replaced at TESLA's gigs and in the studio by Steve Brown, the younger brother of former DOKKEN drummer Mick Brown.

Modern Drummer magazine's readers have voted SLIPKNOT's Jay Weinberg as the No. 1 metal drummer in the publication's 2022 Readers' Poll.

Earlier today, Jay released the following statement via social media: "It is truly an honor to be named Metal Drummer of the Year in the 2022 @modern_drummer Reader's Poll. I distinctly remember being a teenager, buying my first copy of Modern Drummer Magazine at my local drum shop. It's surreal and humbling to receive this recognition.

"Thank you so much to Modern Drummer, the entire MD community, and everyone who voted. Your support means the world to me.

"Tomas, Brann, Eloy, and Matt: you guys know how much your music means to me. Thank you all for the endless inspiration you've given the worldwide drumming community, and for everything you do to push the instrument forward.

"Thank you to my wife @chloweinberg, our dog @hiya___papaya, my parents and siblings, and my bandmates in @slipknot for the love and encouragement. I owe you all a debt of gratitude I can never repay.

"To everyone who's been in my corner all these years, thank you so much. I sincerely appreciate it."

Jay discovered SLIPKNOT when he was a pre-teen, through his father Max, of Bruce Springsteen's E STREET BAND, and leader of the house band on Conan O'Brien's talk show. He was hooked immediately and was a huge fan of SLIPKNOT by the time he was invited to Los Angeles to try out as replacement for Joey Jordison in 2013.

For the first few months after the release of 2014's ".5: The Gray Chapter", the members of SLIPKNOT had declined to name the musicians who were playing drums and bass on their tour, despite the fact that their identities were revealed as Weinberg and bassist Alessandro "Vman" Venturella by a disgruntled former drumtech for SLIPKNOT who posted a picture of a backstage call sheet on Instagram.

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.

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

Asked in a 2016 interview with Music Radar how respectful he felt he had to be to Joey's legacy, and how much he felt he was free to make it his own, Weinberg said: "Having a massive respect for the band's music, having a massive respect for Joey Jordison as a person and as a player, I understood my role in needing to deliver what this band needs, and understanding what Joey brought to the table, and having this band's legacy continue in the way that the Maggots, the fans of the band, respect, and the nine of us feeling proud of the music we're creating.

"Of course, the history of the band feeds into what I think of the band, but when it came time to come up with new material, new songs, I didn't think about Joey Jordison one bit," he continued. "And I feel it would be disrespectful to do that, and the band wanted me to be completely myself. Because why would I want to be Joey Jordison, why would I try to mimic what he's done?

"Joey's one of the greatest drummers we've ever had the privilege of witnessing. So as a fan of the band and someone who respects the people and the music, I didn't want to come in and try to be a copycat. That's not interesting to me, that's not interesting to the band and it would be insulting to everyone involved, including the fans."

Prior to joining SLIPKNOT, Weinberg was a member of AGAINST ME!, having played with the Florida-based act from November 2010 until December 2012.

Weinberg joined AGAINST ME! shortly after he was ousted from MADBALL and following the departure of AGAINST ME!'s previous sticksman, George Rebelo.

In May 2013, Weinberg filled in for KVELERTAK drummer Kjetil Gjermundrod during the band's North American tour because Gjermundrod had to bow out of the run after experiencing significant pain in his arm.

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Marco Mendoza has discussed his split from supergroup The Dead Daisies in a brand new interview with eonmusic. The bass player, who was a member of the band from 2013 – 2019, called his time with the band “of the highlights of my career”, while on the promotional trail for his new solo album, New Direction.


When asked about the split, Mendoza said; “Everybody is very curious, and I can see why because, I mean, I have to say that was one of the highlights of my career. I was having such a great time. I was instrumental in putting the people together, and we were all selective of who we brought in. It was flying man, it was flying great, we got on the radar in a big way, we came out with some great albums, the fans were loving it."


Despite this, the former Whitesnake man singled out the band’s punishing schedule as the reason for not just his exit, but vocalist John Corabi’s. Said Marco: “I will say, it was a lot of work. It was like, to an extreme. That’s the kind of work you need to do these days. When you have the hunger and the thirst to achieve something like that in the music business, you have to be ready a hundred and twenty percent of the time. Some of us were getting fatigued, and we used to talk about it, and my attitude was; “yeah, this is a great opportunity, let’s keep going”, but John was the first one to say; “hey, I need a break. I need some time off. I’m up to here, and as much as I love it, I’m fatigued."




Mendoza then revealed that it was actually Corabi who quit first. “Long story short, I think the rest of us were into keeping moving forward, and he just said; “I can’t”, he said; “What he should have said is; “guys, is there any way we can take six months off and then reconvene?” But one night it got the best of him and he said; “I can’t do this”, and he just pulled away, just threw in the towel and said; “I’m, not coming back in ‘19”, and that was it."


Marco went on to say that he was still very much a part of the band at this point, and that they had been chasing some big name singer’s for the job. “Management and everybody, we talked about it, and we went out looking for the next singer, and the process proved to be pretty heavy and hard. The singers that we were talking to were already committed to other things, bigger things. I mean, we were going for the cream of the crop, I don’t mind telling you. We were going for some great cats that would have been awesome, and of course, in the back of my mind I’m going; “yeah, this would be cool, and exciting."


With the band on a break, Mendoza worked on promoting his 2018 solo album, Viva La Rock. “I started getting invited to play places, and given the fact that we were going to take a break and we didn’t know what was happening with the new singer, I asked management, and they said; “yes, keep yourself busy. Let’s keep the line of communication open, we’ll check in, we’ll make confirm the new singer, we’ll move forward”, he said.


Once current frontman Glenn Hughes’ name came into the picture however, it was clear that The Dead Daisies were going to be heading in a different direction. Said Marco; “I got the call from David Lowy [band leader] saying that Glenn Hughes got on the radar; “we’re thinking of giving him a call, how do you feel about that?” I said; “absolutely! Do it!”, because the amount of energy, blood, sweat and tears, and financial commitment that this project had had, I need to continue. So, long story short, they said; “we don’t know how it’s going to go, we’re going to get together with Glen and see what happens”, they hit it off, and we made the official announcement on August."


He concluded; “But that was the reason; nobody left, nobody got fired, it was one of those mutual agreements. I’m a big fan of Glenn. I’m a friend, I consider him a friend, but I’m a big fan. He’s an amazing singer and bass player, he’s got status, so I knew that it was going to be taken to the next level. That was my opinion, and I was happy."


Read the entire interview at eonmusic.


Known throughout the music world as a talented, solid bass player for bands like Thin Lizzy, Whitesnake, Journey, Ted Nugent and The Dead Daisies to name a few, Marco Mendoza has recorded a body of amazing music in his own right. But when his fourth effort under his own name, New Direction, hits the streets on September 16, it will be a very special beast of its own.


Working with world-class producer Soren Andersen, owner of Medley Studios in Copenhagen, dubbed by some as ‘the new Mutt Lange’, the partnership that has already produced the career-defining 2017 album Viva La Rock, has created in New Direction another future masterpiece together.


As it often happens, demanding times produce special opportunities, and writing and recording amidst a pandemic was a trigger for Mendoza’s creativity.


With Andersen himself handling guitars and keyboards as a background for Mendoza’s top-class bass lines and superb vocals, Tommy Gentry (Gun) stepped in for guest guitar solos on selected tracks, while drumming duties were split between Morten Hellborn (Electric Guitars) and Allan Tschicaja (Pretty Maids). A super-team surrounding Marco. But then again, the bassist/vocalist is used to working with the best of the best, and wouldn’t have it any other way in what is clearly the tightest set of songs he has ever recorded in his own name.





New Direction pre-orders can be placed at this location.





Tracklisting:


"Take It To The Limit"
"I Just Can’t Get Over You"
"Light It Up"
"Walk Next To You"
"Shoot For The Stars"
"All That I’m Living For"
"Free Ride"
"Can’t Explain It"
"Scream And Shout"
"New Direction"


"New Direction" video:





"Take It To The Limit" video:





"Shoot For The Stars" video:

In a new interview with Finland's Chaoszine, former Iron Maiden guitarist Dennis Stratton reflected on his time with the band - which he recalls fondly - and the reason for his departure.


Stratton on his departure:


"That was a joint decision. Me and Rod (Smallwood / manager) never saw eye-to-eye much. I used to travel a lot with a crew because they were funny: Loopy, Dave Lights, and Pete, my guitar tech. They were fun, you need your bit of space, and Rod didn't like the idea of me traveling with a crew. He didn't really like the idea of me having a life outside the band. It was no problem with the music, no problem with the band. There was no problem with the job I was doing with the band. It's just that there were different thoughts about, 'Well, you should be with the band all the time...' and I'll say, 'Why? I don't want to be with the band all the time. Not that I don't like 'em, but I want a bit of freedom.' It got a bit silly after that. And also, he started moaning about the music I listened to. I think you should listen to anything you want, really. So anyway, I wasn't arguing anymore. It was just a mutual decision."







Stratton was with Iron Maiden from December 1979 to October 1980. He is cited as the main reason the band's self-titled debut - released in 1980 -  became a success, and is widely considered to be a major influence on the band's sound.





Tracklist:


"Prowler"
"Sanctuary"
"Remember Tomorrow"
"Running Free"
"Phantom Of The Opera"
"Transylvania"
"Strange World"
"Charlotte The Harlot"
"Iron Maiden"

Guitarist Ryan Peake and guitarist/vocalist Chad Kroeger of Canadian rockers NICKELBACK spoke to Robyn Lane of the WRAT radio station about the band's upcoming tenth studio album, which is due in November. Regarding why it took so long to produce the follow-up to 2017's "Feed The Machine", Chad said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, we should have been making a record a lot sooner, with all that time off [due to the coronavirus pandemic]. But it's weird to say this, but for 25 years it feels like someone's been standing behind us with a cattle prod and telling us, 'Hey, the record's gotta be done at this time. We're gonna tour at this time. We're gonna do Australia and then we're gonna go do Europe and then we're gonna come back. We'll go across Canada. We'll hit America.' Just like every other band that has to do this stuff, you wanna get a chance to see your fans all around the world. But with this, we were, like, 'We'll get to it when we get to it.' [Laughs] And yeah, we took our time with it, which was just a wonderful luxury, to be able to sit back and [go], 'No. I'm gonna play this guitar solo 40 more times for another three days and make sure it's just exactly how we want it as opposed to deadline, deadline, deadline."

In recent weeks, NICKELBACK has been teasing a new single, "San Quentin", which will arrive on September 7. Asked about some fans' initial reaction that the 10-second clip is trailering what sounds on initial listen like the heaviest song the band has ever written and unlike anything NICKELBACK has done before, Ryan said: "It's funny. We've been hearing that quite a bit. It's actually interesting because I think NICKELBACK fans would know for sure [that it's us once they heard the full song]. I don't think it's unusual… It's a heavy rock song, and if you've seen us live, you would definitely get it. But I kind of like that people are feeling like it's a surprise that we can have rock songs like that in the repertoire."

As for whether "San Quentin" is representative of the musical direction of the rest of the album, Chad said: "All of our records are all over the map. We don't have one record that really sort of sounds the same in terms of songwriting from top to bottom. I mean, they're all all over the map, and I absolutely love that. I don't know how we sort of did that and how we got the acceptance from our fans to be able to do that, but we're very lucky because we don't have to record the same kind of music thinking to ourselves, 'Well, the fans are expecting this, so we've just gotta give 'em a whole album of that.' We can kind of do whatever we want. It's so all over the map, and it's fulfilling as an artist to be able to get in, and as a songwriter, for us to be able to get together and go, 'Let's do something completely left field. Let's try something heavier than we've ever done. Let's try something lighter than we've ever done.' Whatever we're feeling that day, we just do it."

Chad also talked about the lyrical inspiration for "San Quentin", saying: "I met the [San Quentin prison] warden at a party. And I couldn't believe how young he was. I was, like, 'There's just no way that you're the warden of San Quentin,' and everyone was, like, 'Yup. He is.' Guy Fieri's [American restaurateur, author and Emmy Award-winning television presenter] a buddy of mine, and I was at his birthday party a few years back. And the entire time we were talking, I'm, like, [laughs] I'm speaking to this guy, but in my head all I could think about was, 'I'm gonna write a song called 'San Quentin'. That's it.' And I stuck it in my notes in my phone. And then once the riff was down, I think I screamed out this line, 'Can somebody please keep me the hell out of San Quentin?' And we just took it from there."

A music video for "San Quentin" was filmed on Tuesday (August 30) at the Simon Fraser University Convocation Mall in British Columbia. The clip will make its online debut by mid-September.

According to CTV News, hundreds of NICKELBACK fans attended the shoot, including one fan who one fan traveled all the way from Edmonton.

NICKELBACK will embark on a U.S. tour in support of its new album in the summer of 2023.

Peake said in April 2020 that NICKELBACK's documentary — which has been in the works for at least a few years — was "very close to being released."

In August 2020, NICKELBACK released a music video for its cover version of THE CHARLIE DANIELS BAND classic "The Devil Went Down To Georgia". Honoring Daniels, who passed away in July 2020, NICKELBACK invited guitarist Dave Martone to join them on a cover of the infamous classic story — paying homage to Daniels's influence on their careers and the legacy left behind.

NICKELBACK's "All The Right Reasons: 15th Anniversary Expanded Edition" was released as a two-CD set in October 2020. The collection featured a newly remastered version of the original 2005 album, a selection of B-sides and a 2006 live concert recording.

Since forming in Alberta, Canada in 1995, NICKELBACK has cemented itself as one of the most commercially viable and important acts of the past three decades. NICKELBACK's success includes worldwide sales of more than 50 million units, solidifying their status as one of the top-selling acts of all time.

With more than 23 chart-topping singles and fans spanning the globe, NICKELBACK boasts twelve consecutive sold-out world tours, playing to well over eight million diehard and adoring fans.

Joe Lynn Turner has thanked fans for their support following his decision to finally drop the hairpiece he has worn since the age of 14 after being diagnosed with alopecia at three years old.

The former RAINBOW and DEEP PURPLE singer, who turned 71 last month, went public with his new look on August 25 in a series publicity images released to promote his upcoming solo album, "Belly Of The Beast". In a press release for the LP, Joe said that he started wearing the wig to deal with "emotional and psychological damage from cruel bullying in school."

"In a way, it's a blessing and a curse," Joe admitted. "I have nothing to prove, and I can wear a wig — or not. I am free to do what I want. I'm a grown man, and I'm getting to be an older man.

"Many men in this business eventually come to the decision to continue to 'wear hair' or shave their head which is very fashionable today. Either way, it takes a lot of personal courage. Assholes in high school trying to kick me around made me stronger and gave me the necessary motivation and strength to rise above the rest. Anger and pain are a great tool. If applied correctly, it could develop you to become the best version of yourself. Instead of running away, I was 'hiding in plain sight.'"

Earlier today (Friday, September 2),Joe released a new video message via social media in which he said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Hi everyone. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you all so much for the outpouring of love, compassion and support that you have shown me lately. You have shown it all through the years, but as of late this has been unparalleled. I am overwhelmed, and it shall always exist in my heart and soul. Thank you all so very much. I appreciate it greatly. I could not do this without you.

"This is an exciting journey and we have so much more to go. We have the full album coming out October 28th. You can preorder right now. You can get some signature copies, so don't hesitate. Jump on that. And October 28th, with a video. And the song will be called 'Tortured Soul'. So get ready for that. It's gonna be amazing.

"So until then, I'll come back. We'll talk again. I love you. I thank you. You are the rock I stand on. There are no words for how much I really, really love you. Thank you."

Alopecia areata is a disease that happens when the immune system attacks hair follicles and causes hair loss. Hair follicles are the structures in skin that form hair. While hair can be lost from any part of the body, alopecia areata usually affects the head and face. Hair typically falls out in small, round patches about the size of a quarter, but in some cases, hair loss is more extensive. Most people with the disease are healthy and have no other symptoms.

Alopecia became a topic of discussion in the mainstream media in March when actor Will Smith slapped comedian Chris Rock at the Oscars ceremony. Will's wife, the 50-year-old actress Jade Pinkett Smith, experienced hair loss due to alopecia and has always openly shared her struggle. The confrontation took place after Rock made a joke, calling Pinkett Smith "G.I. Jane" in reference to her bald head, which she has previously explained is due to alopecia. The shocking incident saw Will storm on stage to hit Chris following the offending comment before returning to his seat and yelling "keep my wife's name out of your fucking mouth" shortly before he collected his best actor gong for his role in "King Richard".

A few hours after Joe first posted his new photos on social media, fellow ex-RAINBOW singer Graham Bonnet took to his Facebook page to share one of the images and he wrote in an accompanying message: "Hi all. Graham here. I'm posting this photo of my friend Joe Lynn Turner because I was moved to tears today when I saw it.

"Joe exemplifies the meaning of rockstar. His bravery is staggering. This industry is ruthless (especially in our genre),particularly when it comes to hair. I still hear the tale about Ritchie Blackmore posting a guard at my hotel door to keep me from getting a haircut. BTW, that never happened, although he was so pissed when I did visit the barber.

"But I digress...... I don't know if Joe will see this but I want him to know how proud I am of him and how moved I was at his honesty.

"You have blazed a trail today, Joe. If you are reading this, I want you to know that I never realized what a beautiful man you were until I saw this photo."

Joe was the singer of RAINBOW between 1980 and 1984 and he sang on the album "Difficult To Cure", which featured the band's most successful U.K. single, "I Surrender".

During Turner's time with RAINBOW, the band had its first USA chart success and recorded songs that helped define the melodic rock genre.

1990 saw Turner reunited with RAINBOW leader Ritchie Blackmore in a reformed DEEP PURPLE for the "Slaves And Masters" album.

Photo credit: Agata Nigrovskaya



THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH! For the outpour of love, compassion and support you have shown me lately. I can't do this without you! Thank you.

Pre-order 'Belly Of The Beast' here: https://lnk.to/JoeLynnTurner

#JoeLynnTurner #Bellyofthebeast #thankyouthankyouthankyou

Posted by Joe Lynn Turner on Friday, September 2, 2022

At this year's Bloodstock Open Air festival at Catton Park, Walton-on-Trent, United Kingdom, King Diamond spoke to Bloodstock TV's Oran O'Beirne about his plans for the long-awaited new album from his namesake band. Titled "The Institute", the group's first studio LP in 16 years is tentatively due in 2023 via Metal Blade. It will be made available as a two-LP horror concept story, with the second part arriving at a later date.

"Something with KING DIAMOND, we have a very special thing [planned] for that album," King, who performed at Bloodstock Open Air with the reactivated MERCYFUL FATE, said. "It's gonna be a two-album story. The release will be next year. And touring in the summer is the plan. But KING DIAMOND, we are building something that you will never have seen on a stage before — not that way. And with the light guy, he's never done it that way either. … It's very different, very sick. You will not have seen musicians standing on stage in that type of light. It's gonna be very dark. They have to learn to play in dark areas. It's crazy. I know that our light guy, he can't wait for us to do it. I showed him some pictures that have the kind of feelings I want, the kind of backdrops I want, stuff like that. … This is gonna blow people's minds when they see it, I am a hundred percent sure."

Back in November 2019, KING DIAMOND released its first new song in 12 years, "Masquerade Of Madness". A month later, guitarist Andy La Rocque told The Metal Voice that he came up with the music for the track first before passing it off to King, who "needed to arrange a few things and change just a small few things for making it work with his vocals. And then, of course, he wrote the lyrics for it," the guitarist revealed. "So we [went] a little back and forth until he felt like, 'Okay, this is cool, man. This is the right key to sing in,' and all that."

La Rocque, whose real name is Anders Allhage, discussed his vision for the new KING DIAMOND album with The Metal Voice, saying that it will be filled with great "melodies, of course. Super important. Without melodies, there is no music," he explained. "I'm also envisioning a more organic sound of the album. If you look back to the older albums, when Mikkey [Dee] played [drums for the band], for example, it's, like, a little bit up and down in tempo, and that makes it dynamic and also organic. So that's one thing that I would like to hear on the next album, for sure. But building up a dynamic, kind of organic feel, the drummer is a really important thing here, of course. And I know that Matt Thompson [current KING DIAMOND drummer] is the right guy to do this, for sure."

In March 2019, King told Full Metal Jackie's nationally syndicated radio show that the next album from his namesake band will be "absolutely gruesome" with a story set in a 1920s mental institution. "I chose that because I think it's a very creepy scenario," he explained. "And some of the things that go on that we're gonna show onstage is also things that certainly was going on back then, when medicine was beginning to take a beneficial turn in history and actually being able to help human beings live longer. But there was some experimentation going on, too, that was absolutely gruesome. Some of that is involved in the story, but it's something totally different. Once you get to the second part of the story, you will begin to suddenly understand that, 'What the hell is going on here? What is this really about?' 'Cause there's a whole different story that will not come to you till second part. But in the first part, you're gonna get to know a lot people at a certain place… Some of it takes place here, this world, and some of it takes place in a parallel world. And there's a correlation between what happened to me and what happens to some people in this place and where they suddenly appear. And you will find out why they are there, how they appear there and the places down the road. I won't say too much right now, but it's gonna be very creepy."

KING DIAMOND received a Grammy nomination in the "Best Metal Performance" category for the track "Never Ending Hill" off the band's last album, 2007's "Give Me Your Soul … Please".

"Give Me Your Soul ... Please" sold 4,500 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 174 on The Billboard 200 chart.

KING DIAMOND released a DVD/Blu-ray, "Songs For The Dead Live", in January 2019 via Metal Blade Records. The set captures 1987's seminal "Abigail" album in its entirety, twice, and in very different locales: Belgium's Graspop Metal Meeting in June 2016 and Philadelphia's Fillmore in November 2015. The performances feature KING DIAMOND's current band, comprising of guitarists La Rocque and Mike Wead, bassist Pontus Egberg and Thompson.

During an appearance on the latest episode of SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation L.A. Invasion", MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine reflected on the decision to fire bassist David Ellefson last year following a sex video scandal and bring in TESTAMENT's Steve DiGiorgio to re-recorded Ellefson's bass tracks on the band's upcoming album, "The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!".

"I don't really talking about him anymore," Mustaine said about Ellefson (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). "I like telling the funny stories, but I really don't like talking about that part of things, because the guy that I know and love was a different person.

"Making the change to Steve, we needed to do that; we needed to do that for so many reasons. On the outside looking in, there were a few people that were saying that I did the wrong thing, but I'm sorry — for my personal convictions, I just couldn't have that around us. And even if it wasn't true, I didn't want that in my life.

"When Steve came in, he was a wonderful breath of fresh air because he could play the parts [on the new MEGADETH album]. And the parts that were on the record that were there… I did an interview recently and the girl says, 'Why did you change Dave's parts?' And I thought, 'You can't be that stupid. I have to change the parts.' I didn't say that to her, but I was thinking that.

"First off, the majority of the bass on the record I played," Mustaine explained. "And it's demo tracks — we didn't have all the record recorded yet. When I was in my studio with [engineer] Chris Rakestraw and I'm writing the guitar parts, I picked up the bass and plunked along with it. I mean, it wasn't terrific, but it was the parts. So when anybody came in to record the parts, whether it was Steve or Dave, the parts were already written and recorded.

"The part about DiGiorgio coming in, it was cool because there was just so much bad going on at the time," Mustaine added. "It just seemed like the record was gonna keep getting delayed and delayed and delayed. But I believe there's a spiritual vacuum in my life and that whenever things get really bad, there's a breakthrough ready to happen. And I know that when things get bad like that, it's kind of a challenge for the universe to see if I'm gonna stop living my life on the right side of things, if I'm gonna start trying to force things to happen again. And that's not who I am anymore. I think right now we're sitting on some of the best years ahead of us ever. I feel great. I think I'm playing really well. My relationships with most of the people in my life are really doing good. And I think that the band's trajectory has just continued to go upward."

Ellefson laid down his bass tracks on MEGADETH's sixteenth LP in May 2020 at a studio in Nashville, Tennessee.

In July 2021, Mustaine announced during an episode of his Gimme Radio program "The Dave Mustaine Show" that Ellefson's bass tracks would not be used on the new MEGADETH LP.

Last October, Ellefson told The Metal Voice about MEGADETH's decision to replace his parts on "The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!": "They did what they did. I don't think they had to do that. I asked them not to. But they did what they did. It's the path they chose."

As for whether he would ever return to MEGADETH if he got the call again from Mustaine, Ellefson said: "Look, I don't have — believe it or not; people might find this hard to believe — I don't have any ill will toward him [Mustaine] or them [the rest of MEGADETH]. I really don't."

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

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

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

"Ironically, things are fine between [me and MEGADETH]. We parted ways, and they took their road. And there's not ill will between us, believe it or not. And I think any fights and those things, that was 20 years go — lawsuits and all that crap.

"Look, they moved forward [with 'The Metal Tour Of The Year']," Ellefson added. "I wished them well in my [original] statement to them, and I mean it. It's a group I helped form almost 40 years coming up here for the band. And the songs that are on the radio that I see come up are songs that I had a participation in, and we built a big legacy. I still consider them family, and my DNA is all over that. I don't think you build something of that size together and then suddenly you're just out and that's it."

Ellefson also talked about the statement Mustaine — who formed MEGADETH with Ellefson in 1983 — released on May 24, 2021 announcing the bassist's departure from the band. In the statement, Dave said: "We do not take this decision lightly. While we do not know every detail of what occurred, with an already strained relationship, what has already been revealed now is enough to make working together impossible moving forward." Asked if he was aware of any tension between him and Mustaine and whether he "felt like the ice was getting ready to break again," Ellefson said: "I did not. I think one of the things — and this probably started 20 years ago, when MEGADETH was disbanded in 2002 and then put back together in 2004, it was very clear in 2004 that it was gonna be reframed around Dave unilaterally, one hundred percent being the boss and running the show. Gone were the days of the partnership, the '90s, where it was me, Nick [Menza], Marty [Friedman], Dave — kind of 'the four horsemen ride again' kind of mentality… That day was done; it was not gonna be that anymore. And that's where we fell apart in 2004 and I wasn't with the group through those years. Coming back to it in 2010, now we're a few years older, [with] a little more maturity in the situation, realizing that we're better together, that even though it's not, on paper, a partnership, there's a kind of visual partnership — the optics of it are kind of, like, 'Yeah, this looks better as MEGADETH with me and Dave together. We're one of those bands that, although Dave is the quarterback and the quarterback still plays, the overall feeling and likability and I think everything about it just feels better when it's Dave and Dave together, because we've been together from the beginning for so many years. And I think that worked really well for the last decade. At the same time, Dave and I are grown men, and we have opinions. It's not the thing where it's just Dave and three side guys when it's me and the band. And apparently, they didn't want that anymore — they wanted it to not be that. And I can't speak for them, 'cause I don't know. I'm not trying to put words in anybody's mouth about that. But it just seemed like 'there's just too much history here, and let's just part ways now and let MEGADETH move forward on a new day with kind of a new marching order.' So rather than fight it, which is what happened 20 years ago, 'cause we were dissolving a partnership at that point, we're not dissolving a partnership [this time]. It's, like, 'Hey, we don't want you here. There's the door. Don't come to work on Monday.' So, it's, like, 'Okay. Fine.' And that's just how I viewed it, and that's how I view it today. I don't have any sour grapes over it, and I'm not bitter about it."

Two days after Mustaine announced Ellefson's latest departure from MEGADETH, the bassist released a follow-up statement in which he vowed to file a "defamation lawsuit" against the person who "illegally posted a very private video" of the bassist and made "false allegations" against him. He also said he was working with the police in Scottsdale "in their investigation into charges regarding revenge pornography to be filed against the person who posted the video. This person will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," Ellefson wrote. He went on to say that he was "taking this time to be with my family" and wished his "bandmates" the best with their tour.

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

"The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!" will arrive on September 2 via UMe.
We will always be best friends.@ellefsondavid@Megadethpic.twitter.com/kzs89sA8Vy

— Dave Mustaine (@DaveMustaine) November 2, 2017

SOUNDGARDEN's Kim Thayil joined THE PRETTY RECKLESS on stage last night (Wednesday, August 31) at the Moore Theater in Seattle, Washington to perform the song "Only Love Can Save Me Now".

After the show, THE PRETTY RECKLESS frontwoman Taylor Momsen shared photos and video of Kim's appearance and she wrote in an accompanying message: "Thank you to the legendary Kim Thayil for joining us for an unforgettable night at Seattle's Moore Theater…I'm once again humbled to share the stage with you my dear friend, what an amazing human being #KimThayil #OnlyLoveCanSaveMeNow".

The studio version of "Only Love Can Save Me Now", featuring special guests Thayil and his SOUNDGARDEN bandmate Matt Cameron, is taken from THE PRETTY RECKLESS's latest album, "Death By Rock And Roll", which was made available in February 2021 via Fearless Records in the U.S. and Century Media Records in the rest of the world.

"Only Love Can Save Me Now" was recorded at Seattle's legendary London Bridge Studios, where seminal LPs like PEARL JAM's "Ten" and SOUNDGARDEN's "Louder Than Love" were laid down.

Taylor previously stated about "Only Love Can Save Me Now": "It's hard to describe the feeling around our song 'Only Love Can Save Me Now'. The song was born out of tragedy and brought to life by two of my favorite musicians of all time — Matt Cameron and Kim Thayil. Hearing them play it is simply surreal. This song represents getting through the worst time in my life, and yet, is one of my proudest achievements. It means that there is hope, and that life has to go on, and most importantly, is worth living."

Thayil said: "It was super fun to spend time in the studio with Taylor, Ben [Phillips, THE PRETTY RECKLESS guitarist] and Matt, and to have the opportunity to contribute to this THE PRETTY RECKLESS song. 'Only Love Can Save Me Now' has elements of classic SOUNDGARDEN and the riff would probably be at home on 'Louder Than Love'. These are great guitar parts that Ben came up with. They lay down a heavy foundation that allows the entire song to open up with Taylor's powerful and haunting vocals. Cheers, and thanks to THE PRETTY RECKLESS for inviting Matt and me to play on this track!"

Cameron shared: "Kim and I had a blast recording with Taylor and THE PRETTY RECKLESS on their single 'Only Love Can Save Me Now', a fantastic rock track that sounds amazing at full volume. Many thanks to the band for inviting us to play on their new album 'Death By Rock And Roll'."

Upon release, "Death By Rock And Roll" topped multiple sales charts — including Billboard's Top Albums, Rock, Hard Music, and Digital Charts. The record also yielded two back-to-back No. 1 singles — "Death By Rock And Roll" and "And So It Went" (featuring Tom Morello). The band has tallied six No. 1 singles at the rock format throughout its career.

"Death By Rock And Roll" is THE PRETTY RECKLESS's first album to be made without longtime producer Kato Khandwala, who died in April 2018 from injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident.

THE PRETTY RECKLESS will release a new collection of music, "Other Worlds", on November 4 via Fearless Records. The effort sees the group delivering its first proper acoustic recordings, unexpected covers and other reimaginings.

THE PRETTY RECKLESS formed in 2009 and is rounded out by bassist Mark Damon and drummer Jamie Perkins.

Last year, Momsen — who rose to fame portraying the character of edgy little sister Jenny Humphrey on The CW's "Gossip Girl" — described "Death By Rock And Roll" in an interview with ABC Audio as a "battle cry for life and for hope."

"I think that that's something that we can all use a little bit more of, especially right now," she said. "We could always use a little more hope, and we could always use a little more rock and roll."

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Denver hard rock outfit, MF Ruckus, have released a new single, titled "Be Cool", accompanied by an uproarious and unhinged music video that can be viewed below.


What happens when our 'protagonist' smokes a joint that's been dipped in embalming fluid? Frontman Aaron Howell sums it up best. "Aaron’s lack of impulse control married with a pathological need to prove himself proves to be his undoing. He dips the joint, smokes it, and immediately falls into a deep hallucinogenic state. While in this state, he imagines he is Moses on Mount Sinai, parting the Red Sea and communing with the burning bush. In reality, he accosts a pizza place, annoys bar patrons, and commits arson in a public restroom."


Speaking further on the message behind the track, Howell shares: “The song is a call for people to treat each other right and seek common humanity rather than get mired in the details. I’m a major proponent of open inquiry, viewpoint diversity, and constructive disagreement. So it’s less about a specific political/ideological perspective than it is about saying ‘It’s ok. Whatever we have to work through, we can figure it out together. In the meantime, let’s make an effort to be aware of our inherent, universal flaws and be good to each other.”







MF Ruckus lineup:


Aaron Howell - vocals
Ty Blosser - drums
Logan O'Conner - bass
Tay Hamilton- guitar
Tony Lee - guitar

Genre-bending instrumental band, Polyphia, will release their fourth studio album, Remember That You Will Die, on October 28 via Rise Records.


Remember That You Will Die features collaborations with $not, Chino Moreno (Deftones), Brasstracks, Steve Vai, and more. Produced by guitarists Tim Henson & Scott LePage, the album also features production from Rodney Jerkins (Michael Jackson, Destiny’s Child, Lady Gaga), Judge (Migos & Marshmello, blackbear, Young Thug), the band’s longtime collaborator Y2K (Doja Cat, Remi Wolf, Tove Lo), Johan Lenox (Kanye, Finneas), and more on select tracks.







Tracklisting:


"Genesis" feat. Brasstracks
"Playing God"
"The Audacity" feat. Anomalie
"Reverie"
"ABC" feat. Sophia Black
"Memento Mori" feat. Killstation
"Fuck Around And Find Out" feat. $not
"All Falls Apart"
"Neurotica"
"Chimera" feat. Lil West
"Bloodbath" feat. Chino Moreno
"Ego Death" feat. Steve Vai











Polyphia are currently wrapping up their sold-out tour in North America. The tour features support from German progressive metal band Unprocessed and hardcore duo Death Tour. The 28-date headlining run sold out entirely and included dates in Philadelphia, Boston, New York, Toronto, Montreal, and Chicago.


Polyphia is comprised of guitarists Tim Henson & Scott LePage, bassist Clay Gober, and drummer Clay Aeschliman.


(Photo - Travis Shinn)

Frontiers Music Srl announce the signing of Tarmat, an exciting new AOR/melodic rock band hailing from Niterói, Brazil, for the release of their debut album later this year.





The band incorporates a different take on traditional AOR into their sound and you can get your first taste of their style with the single and video, "Backbone Feeling". Watch the video below, and stream/download the song here.







Alexandre Daumerie (vocals), Eduardo Marcolino (guitars), Gabriel Aquino (keyboards), and José Marcus (bass) formed the band in mid-2020 during the early stages of the global pandemic. Four longtime friends, they have played together in hard rock bands since 2006. Eduardo and Gabriel are also childhood friends who play together in the instrumental progressive rock band Anxtron.


With a clear nod to the '80s, yet sounding fresh, Tarmat's music is influenced by varied acts from across rock's spectrum such as Journey, Boston, Europe, Simply Red, Christopher Cross, Van Halen, Toto, and Queen.


Lineup:
Alexandre Daumerie - Vocals
Eduardo Marcolino - Guitars
Gabriel Aquino - Keyboards
José Marcus - Bass


Guest Musician:
Rafael Marcolino - Drums

Shinedown played a special invitation-only concert in Asheville, NC at The Orange Peel as a part of SiriusXM’s Small Stage Series presented by American Express on Thursday, August 25. Video can be viewed below, courtesy of SiriusXM’s Small Stage Series presented by American Express and SiriusXM’s Shinedown Radio.


Shinedown’s intimate performance featured songs from the band's new album Planet Zero and premiered on the band’s exclusive limited-run SiriusXM music channel Shinedown Radio on Friday, August 26. Shinedown Radio will run through Friday, September 23 on the SXM App.


Shinedown Radio delves into the band’s 20-year music career, providing insight behind their greatest hits as well as their new album. The channel also spotlights other artists that the band has toured with including Halestorm, Highly Suspect and Jelly Roll, as well as artists who influenced Shinedown including Soundgarden, Iron Maiden, Prince and more.

Swedish heavy metallers, Trial (Swe), will release their new full-length, Feed The Fire, tomorrow (Friday, September 2). Find an advanced album stream below.


Twin guitars, romping rhythms, towering vocals and distinctive melodies - heavy metal is alive and well in the hands of Trial (Swe). Returning five years after 2017's 'Motherless' with new vocalist Arthur W. Andersson on board, the quintet is hungry, and it shows in the tracks that comprise the mighty Feed The Fire, perhaps the most urgent record in their repertoire.


"Hearing Arthur's voice made me want to write more up-tempo songs," explains lead guitarist Alexander Ellström. "That desire didn't occur to me prior to him joining. We owe him a lot in shaping the new record after his voice. The result is a fast-paced, ferocious yet melodic album, and is about giving everything for something you hold dear, and letting it ruin you. This is visualized through a canticle of a goddess. For me, the goddess is very specific, I know who the goddess is, and what she means for me. Are you willing to find your equivalent and let it engulf you? I will happily feed the fire knowing what I get in return."




Recorded at Welfare Sounds in Gothenburg, with Per Stålberg, Kalle Lilja and Olle Björk as engineers and producers, the band were in the studio every day for almost two weeks, and they approached recording differently than before. "On this album we focused more on playing with feel rather than perfection. In the past, we could spend too much time on parts that ultimately didn't end up better than the first takes we did. This time around we all felt much more relaxed about the situation, knowing what was needed of us to perform." The band also recruited none other than Tomas "Tompa" Lindberg from At The Gates to do some vocals on the song "Snare Of The Fowler".





Feed The Fire will be available in the following formats:


- digipak-CD w/ 2 bonus tracks
- 180g black vinyl (limited to 500 copies)
- transparent violet vinyl (EU exclusive - limited to 400 copies)
- transparent orange/red splatter vinyl (EU exclusive - limited to 250 copies)
- wood brown marbled vinyl (Kingsroad & US exclusive - limited to 250 copies)


Pre-order here.





Feed The Fire tracklisting:


"Tria Prima"
"Sulphery"
"Thrice Great Path"
"In The Highest"
"Snare Of The Fowler"
"Feed The Fire"
"The Faustus Hood"
"Quadrivium"
"The Crystal Sea"


CD Bonus Tracks:


"Sisters Of The Moon"
"Die Young"


Album stream:





"In The Highest" video:





"Sulphery" video:





Trial (Swe) lineup:


Arthur W. Andersson - Vocals
Alexander Ellstrom - Guitars
Andreas Johnsson - Guitars
Andreas Olsson - Bass
Martin Svensson - Drums

Hoaxed unveil their captivating and catchy debut full-length, Two Shadows. Comprised of vocalist/guitarist Kat Keo and drummer Kim Coffel, Hoaxed's superlative blend of styles - heavy melodic rock with captivating hooks, gothic undertones, undeniable metal, and tinges of Americana - pave the way for a singular expression that’s entirely their own. Check out the band's video for "The Call" below.


"Two Shadows - an eerie place wandering souls happen upon, a bridge between the land of the living and the unrestful afterlife, where you may suddenly find yourself with two shadows; your shadow and an ominous second shadow." - Hoaxed


Two Shadows is out October 28 on LP/CD/CS/Digital. Physical pre-orders are available via Relapse.com here. Digital Downloads/Streaming/Pre-Save here.




Two Shadows is as unique as it is memorable and catchy. The record thrusts, retreats, and beguiles across its melody-powered and hook-driven expanse, with earworms “The Call,” “Guilty Ones,” and “The Knowing” serving as the album’s crucial lighthouses.





Tracklisting:


"Two Shadows"
"The Call"
"The Knowing"
"For Love"
"Grand Illusions"
"High Seas"
"Guilty Ones"
"Where Good Won’t Go"
"Forsaken"


"The Call" video:





(Photo - Shimon Karmel)

THE PIT presents... Rage Against The Machine - Live At Finsbury Park.





A message states: "Rage Against The Machine have cancelled their European Tour this summer just after North American gigs. So no cigar for this year. BUT, we can comfort ourselves by watching the famous Live At Finsbury Park from RATM on The PIT. A live video album recorded in June 2010, released five years later on DVD/Blu-Ray through Eagle Vision Records and available right now on the platform.




There's a tradition in the UK since the 70s for an annual music event, the 'Christmas No.1' chart single. It's the highest selling music single on Christmas Day each year where numerous artists and the music industry alike aim for this accolade. Bets are taken, songs are recorded especially, and thousands tune in to the countdown on national radio to find out who has it.
 
Since 2005 it has been dominated by reality TV show The X Factor and this tradition started to disappear. In November 2009, Rage Against The Machine fans Jon and Tracy Morter had decided that enough was enough. A social networking campaign was started to get an alternative No.1 instead. It attracted over a million followers Worldwide plus attention from the media.


The campaign was a success, with Rage Against The Machine selling over half a million downloads to be crowned the 2009 UK Christmas No.1... The band had pledged to play a free concert should they get to the top, and in June 2010 Rage Against The Machine travelled to London for this historical gig."


Stream the Live At Finsbury Park on The PIT.

Ingested will release their new album, Ashes Lie Still, on November 4 via Metal Blade. Today, the band has shared the video for "Tides Of Glass." Watch below.


"This song is about loss, division, and the long battle to drag yourself out of the darkest depths of your own mind," says singer Jason Evans. "It's ominous, foreboding, and crushingly heavy - and we wanted to match the dark atmospherics of the song with another awesome video by our longtime videographer, the very talented Loki Films. The video is bleak, and perfectly captures the hopelessness of the lyrical content. So turn the volume all the way to max, and crawl through the 'Tides of Glass' with us."







Ingested are the flagbearers of modern UK death metal. They have been churning out bilious anti-anthems for more than a decade-and-a-half, dropping a string of releases that have helped shape the genre. They return with Ashes Lie Still, their most dynamic, inventive, and daring release to date, holding nothing back. The band describes it as "a modern essential. It still has the core Ingested elements of groovy slamming riffs, quick drumming, and guttural vocals but there's also atmosphere, ethereal moments, and some raw old school aggression."


Over the course of 10 tracks, Ingested hack, slash, and steamroll through everything in their path, and Ashes Lie Still easily stands as the highpoint of an already impressive career.


Founded in 2006 in Manchester, England, Ingested have since toured extensively with Cannibal Corpse, The Black Dahlia Murder, Nile, Carnifex, and Revocation, and have been seen on European festival stages including Summer Breeze Open Air. Slimmed down to a three-piece, the band feels it is in the best place it ever has been, enabling the members to work at the top of their game.


Ashes Lie Still was co-produced by the band and previous collaborator Nico Beninato, with drummer Lyn Jeffs living close to Beninato's studio in Mallorca and recording his drums there, while Sean Hynes recorded his guitars at home in the UK with the producer assisting remotely. Vocal tracking was interrupted by Jason Evans falling seriously ill when finally making it to Mallorca and was ultimately tracked back in Manchester. Bass was again supplied by Dominic Grimard (Ion Dissonance/The Last Felony).


Ingested succinctly encapsulate their existence, saying, "We've always been the underdogs, always fighting for scraps. Well it's time to get out of the fucking way, because now it's our turn to eat at the table."





The album will come in several vinyl variants, all listed below:


* Clear with Black Smoke (US exclusive)
* Sunset Peach Marble (US exclusive)
* Violet purple marbled (EU exclusive ltd to 1000)
* Natural clear w/ white splatter (EU exclusive ltd to 250)
* White/orange color in color (EU exclusive ltd to 250)
* Natural clear w/ blue-purple, orange & black splatter (EU exclusive ltd to 250)


Pre-order here.





Tracklisting:


"Ashes Lie Still" (Feat. Julia Frau)
"Shadows In Time"
"You'll Never Learn"
"Tides Of Glass"
"From Hollow Words" (Feat. Sven de Caluwé)
"Sea Of Stone"
"All I've Lost" (Feat. Matthew K. Heafy)
"With Broken Wings"
"Echoes Of Hate"
"Scratch The Vein"
"Rebirth" (Digital version only; new mix by Christian Donaldson)


"Shadows In Time" video:





LIneup:


Jason Evans - Vocals
Sean Hynes - Guitars + Backing Vocals
Lyn Jeffs - Drums

InsideOutMusic announce the signing of Anglo-Finnish progressive metallers Wheel, to a new worldwide deal. With the band about to imminently hit the road in North America alongside Apocalyptica and new label-mates Leprous, they are also excited to launch a brand new single, titled "Blood Drinker". This is the first song to be taken from their forthcoming Rumination EP, you can listen to the track below.


Of the signing, the band comments: “InsideOut feels like the perfect fit for Wheel, due to both the impressive roster of bands they represent and their lovely staff, who fully understand and support the kind of music we want to produce. We have always been about building lasting relationships and anticipate a great future working closely with the label in the years to come.”


InsideOutMusic label-head Thomas Waber adds: "We are excited about signing Wheel and buidling a successful future together. We have been following them for quite some time and it feels like the right moment to take them to the next level!"




Of their new track "Blood Drinker", James Lascelles explains: “This song is about how surprisingly often, murderers garner huge amounts of attention, press coverage and fame while their victim's name's at best, become a footnote in their respective killer's legacy and more often than not, their names are not remembered at all.”





As mentioned, the band are about to begin an extensive North American tour supporting Apocalyptica and Leprous throughout September and into October. This will be followed by further dates with Apocalyptica in Finland in November, before joining them again in Europe in early 2023. For the full list of dates, head over to wheelband.net.


Following the bands powerful debut album Moving Backwards in 2019, they returned in 2021 with the punchy Resident Human, a record that was packed with vivid vistas of expanding and contracting sounds, whilst honing the bands intensity into something compelling and energetic. The band capped off 2021 supporting Leprous across Europe on their anniversary tour, with extensive live plans in place throughout the rest of 2022 and into 2023, when they will release their third studio album.


Lineup:


James Lascelles (Vocals/Guitar)
Santeri Saksala (Drums)
Aki ‘Conan’ Virta (Bass)
Jussi Turunen (Lead Guitar)

French music legends, Magma, will release their new studio album, Kartëhl, on September 30.


More than 18 months without being able to do a concert. This space of time, this imposed “pause”, was used to prepare a new album, a group album, like Magma hadn’t done for a long time.


Following the creation of a new lineup in 2020, Magma once again offered to musicians to bring compositions, Christian Vander having never made the deliberate choice to be Magma’s sole composer. But de facto, none of the dozens of musicians who participated in this adventure had offered a new song for decades.




After “ZËSS”, which hinted at a rather bleak future, this luminous and resolutely optimistic new album is the result of collective work, an “Operation Kartëhl”.


In addition to the six tracks recorded in 2022, the album contains as a bonus, two demos recorded “at home” from Christian Vander’s personal collection.
Kartëhl was recorded and mixed by Francis Linon at UZ studio between March 7 and June 12, 2022. Mastered at Greasy records studio by Marcus Linon. Produced by Stella Vander Linon.





Kartëhl will be released on CD (September 30) and 3-sided DBL vinyl LP (October 7). Pre-order links below:


- CD
- Vinyl





Tracklisting:


"Hakëhn Deis" 7:12 (Christian Vander)              
"Do Rïn Ïlï üss" 4:38 (Hervé Aknin)
"Irena Balladina" 5:11 (Christian Vander)           
"Walömëhndêm" 7:36 (Thierry Eliez)
"Wiï Mëlëhn Tü" 8:54 ( Simon Goubert)
"Dëhndë" 6:55 (Christian Vander) *                     


Bonus tracks:


"Hakëhn Deis" 6:11 (Christian Vander) - Recorded in 1978 - Christian Vander: Piano, vocals – René Garber: vocals


"Dëhndë" 6:38 (Christian Vander) * - Recorded in 1978 - Piano, vocals: René Garber


* The royalties will be donated in full to the Fondation Initiative Autisme


Lineup:


Christian Vander - drums, solo vocals, tambourine
Stella Vander - solo vocals, vocals, chime
Hervé Aknin - solo vocals, vocals
Isabelle Feuillebois - vocals
Sylvie Fisichella - vocals
Caroline Indjein - vocals
Laura Guarrato :-vocals
Rudy Blas - guitar
Thierry Eliez - piano, Fender Rhodes, keyboards
Simon Goubert - piano, Fender Rhodes, keyboards
Jimmy Top - bass


(Photo - Magma Facebook)

Mötley Crüe have released an HD remastered version of the music video for "Smoking' In The Boys Room", featured on the band's 1989 album, Theatre Of Pain. Watch below:





The band previously released remastered videos for "Live Wire", from 1981's Too Fast for Love, as well as "Too Young To Fall In Love" and "Looks That Kill", from 1983's Shout At The Devil. Watch below:













This summer, Mötley Crüe are co-headlining the massive 36-city The Stadium Tour with Def Leppard, joined by special guests Poison and Joan Jett. Remaining dates are listed below.





September
2 - BC Place - Vancouver, BC
4 - Commonwealth Stadium - Edmonton, AB
7 - Oracle Park - San Francisco, CA
9 - Allegiant Stadium - Las Vegas, NV

Deep Purple have released the video below, stating: "From the Vault: This restored video was filmed on September 3, 2005 at Polo Express, Düsseldorf, Germany. It was recorded for the TV promotion of the studio album, Rapture Of The Deep. The title track was played live nearly every night during this tour and it became a solid presence in the band's repertoire for many years to come (right up to today). This live version hasn't been released on any Deep Purple CD or Video. We hope you enjoy it!"





Deep Purple previously released the restored live video for "Demon's Eye". Watch below







Deep Purple recently announced that Steve Morse will be stepping back from the band, having been its guitarist for more than a quarter of a century.


Steve’s personal circumstances have made it impossible for him to commit to the band’s schedule throughout 2022 and beyond. A few months ago, Steve openly shared with the band´s fans the sad fact that his wife, Janine, is battling cancer and, in his own words, “I simply must be there with her.”


Since joining the band in 1994, Steve has written and recorded eight studio albums with the band.


Steve Morse: “Last autumn, I suddenly left the Purple writing session in Germany because my wife was having a real medical crisis. Almost a year later, we are learning to accept stage 4 aggressive cancer and chemo treatment for the rest of her life.  We both miss being at shows, but I simply couldn't commit to long, or far away tours, since things can change quickly at home. I suggested lining up a substitute guitarist last autumn, hoping we could see the miraculous cancer cure all of us have heard about. As time went by, I could see the way things were heading though, after 28 years of being in the band.


“I've already played my last show with Purple back in Florida on the Rock Legends Cruise. I wish to thank the listeners who so strongly supported live music and turned every show from a dress rehearsal to a thundering, exciting experience. I'll miss everybody in the band and crew but being Janine's helper and advocate has made a real difference at many key points.


“As Janine adjusts to her limitations, she is able to do many things on her own, so we will try to play some shorter nearby concert tours with friends to, hopefully, get both of us out of the house! I know Simon has the gig nailed already, but I'm now handing over the keys to the vault which holds the secret of how Ritchie's ‘Smoke On The Water’ intro was recorded. I guess you have to jiggle the key just right because I never got it open.”


Ian Gillan: “In circumstances like these it is normally difficult to find the right words, but not in the case of Steve Morse; I know what I want to say.


“He came from a different background to the rest of us in Deep Purple and yet his musical genius has been somehow compatible and played a big part in the fresh direction adopted by the group when he joined and made his first album with us in 1996, and then onwards, for over a quarter of a century, enjoying the longest incumbency of any DP guitarist and contributing to the longest unchanging line-up, which started when Don Airey replaced Jon Lord - who retired in 2002 - until the present day.


“I first became aware of Steve through the Dixie Dregs, particularly the track ‘Take It Off The Top’ which was the theme tune for Tommy Vance’s BBC rock show and impressed me mightily. I didn’t realise at the time that one day I would be lucky enough to stand on stage with Steve and enjoy his consummate skills up close and dangerous.


“I got to know him as a very kind man, full of ideas and the patience to see them developed. He would say, ‘You never know until you try it’. We sure had some fun debating that approach, but mostly in good humour and he always gave as good as he got.


“Steve has a legacy with Deep Purple that can never be forgotten, and that smile will be missed. It would be wrong to comment on his personal circumstances, suffice to say he’s in a bad place right now but dealing with it bravely and as best he can; we all admire his devotion; he’s been a strong family man all his life.


“All this has come at a terrible time for everybody, including the other musicians in Deep Purple. After two years off the road because of quarantines everywhere, we had to get back to what we do, and that is perform live around the world and make music in the way we have always done, since 1968. As we get older, we realise that we’re much closer to the end, and that triggers an urgency that won’t be tamed. From Steve’s perspective, I can only imagine that there is no possible ‘nice’ way of continuing with a new man, but it is either that or call it a day, because the lack of momentum was gradually becoming something more significant; it felt terminal. The best way I can describe this is by using Steve’s own words; when I sent him a love letter a few weeks ago, he replied that it was weird being at home whilst we guys were out there, but ‘reality intervenes’… and that’s what has happened. I can only put out love and respect, and positive vibes at the memories of good times together.”


Ian Paice: “From the moment Steve joined us in Purple, it was obvious he could open up new musical possibilities for us. Like most great creative musicians, he has the ability to come up with musical ideas that no one else has thought of.


“I think the easiest way to say it is he’s always ‘thinking outside the box.’ Not many of us can do that!


“We learnt he is also an incredibly nice man, who put up with our lack of knowledge of US sports teams and stars, and our continual talk of UK football, (soccer to our US friends!), with great patience. But there is one important truth here and that is ‘family comes first.’ Steve is adhering to that truth with his wife Janine’s health situation. We will miss him.”


Roger Glover: “In the early ‘80s, on tour with Rainbow in Germany, I heard ‘Go For Baroque’ by the Dixie Dregs on a car radio. I was captivated and immediately bought Unsung Heroes.  Then I bought Steve’s first solo album. What a guitar player. Never could I have dreamed that twelve years later we would be in a band together.


“Deep Purple was at a pivotal point in the mid-‘90s and needed to refresh itself. Steve was an inspired choice and brought his talent and limitless imagination to us - evidenced by Purpendicular, a favourite album of mine – enabling the band to start an amazing journey for the next twenty-eight years… no mean feat. He’s a teacher, he inspired us, me in particular, with his energy, encouragement and wisdom, and his contribution and legacy in this band is beyond words. He will be missed but our friendship will remain.


“Sadly, life has intervened, and different challenges are upon us. Janine needs him now, and my best wishes and thoughts go out to them.”


Don Airey: “Thanks Steve for being such a shining light both musically and personally to me over the last few (20!!) years. All I can do is wish you and Janine the best for the future, in the new course that life has taken you. I know it would take a lot more than this to extinguish your talent and your music, so hopefully we'll see you down the road a-piece.”

Guitarist Nita Strauss, who recently left Alice Cooper's band to join Demi Lovato's band, is featured in the video for the pop star's new single, "Eat Me". Check out the clip below:





"Summer Storm", the explosive new single from Nita Strauss is available now for your listening pleasure. Stream the single here, and watch the video below.







Says Nita: "Instrumental music is where my heart is, and 'Summer Storm' might be the song I feel captures my personal style the most: cathartic, driving and emotional. While a lot of the upcoming record will have guest vocalists, I’m also so proud of the instrumental tracks and excited to officially unleash this one on the world!"

FEAR FACTORY will release "Recoded", a collection of remixes of the songs from the band's latest album, "Aggression Continuum", on October 28 via Nuclear Blast. The video for the first single from the effort, "Disobey - Disruptor Remix By Zardonic", can be seen below.

"Recoded" will be FEAR FACTORY's first remix album since 1997's "Remanufacture" and it will coincide with the band's 32nd anniversary (FEAR FACTORY officially formed on October 30, 1990).

The artwork for "Recoded" was created by Anthony Clarkson, who previously worked on 2010's "Mechanize", 2012's "The Industrialist" and 2015's "Genexus".

The final mixing and mastering for "Recoded" was handled by Damien Rainaud. The effort was produced by FEAR FACTORY guitarist Dino Cazares.

"Recoded" track listing:

01. Adapt Or Die (intro narrative by Jake Stern, sound FX By Zardonic)
02. Hatred Will Prevail ("Monolith" remix by Rhys Fulber)
03. Disobey ("Disruptor" remix by Zardonic)
04. I Am The Nightrider ("Fuel Injected Suicide Machine" remix by Dualized/Zardonic)
05. Path To Salvation ("Purity" remix by Rhys Fulber)
06. Worthless ("End Of Line" remix by Zardonic)
07. Empires Fall ("Collapse" remix by Tyrant Of Death)
08. System Assassin ("Aggression Continuum" remix by Rhys Fulber)
09. Hypocrisy Of Faith ("Manufactured Hope" remix by Rob GEE)
10. This Is My Life ("Cognitive Dissonance" remix by Zardonic)
11. Recoded ("Recode" remix by Blush Response)

Vinyl bonus tracks:

12. Turbo Factory ("End Of Line" remix by Turboslash)
13. Break Off ("Disruptor" remix by Rhys Fulber)

"Aggression Continuum" was released in June 2021 via Nuclear Blast Records. The LP, which was recorded primarily in 2017, features Cazares and singer Burton C. Bell alongside drummer Mike Heller.

In September 2020, Bellissued a statement officially announcing his departure from FEAR FACTORY, saying that he "cannot align" himself with someone whom he does not trust or respect.

Bell's exit from FEAR FACTORY came more than two weeks after Cazares launched a GoFundMe campaign to assist him with the production costs associated with the release of FEAR FACTORY's latest LP.

Bell later told Kerrang! magazine that his split with FEAR FACTORY was a long time coming. "It's been on my mind for a while," he said. "These lawsuits [over the rights to the FEAR FACTORY name] just drained me. The egos. The greed. Not just from bandmembers, but from the attorneys involved. I just lost my love for it.

"With FEAR FACTORY, it's just constantly been, like, 'What?!' You can only take so much. I felt like 30 years was a good run. Those albums I've done with FEAR FACTORY will always be out there. I'll always be part of that. I just felt like it was time to move forward."

In October 2020, Dino issued a statement in which he said that the door for Burton to come back to FEAR FACTORY wouldn't "stay open forever." The guitarist also revealed that Burton "lost his legal rights" to the FEAR FACTORY name "after a long court battle" with former drummer Raymond Herrera and bassist Christian Olde Wolbers. "I had the opportunity to do something right, and I felt that obtaining the name in full was the right thing to do for the both of us, so after nearly four years we can continue as FEAR FACTORY, to make more records and to tour," he said. "That is why it is sad to hear that he decided to quit and, in my opinion, for whatever issues he has it seems like it could've been worked out."

This past February, former NIGHTRAGE singer Antony Hämäläinen, who unsuccessfully auditioned for the vocalist slot in FEAR FACTORY, claimed in an interview that the new FF frontman is "a person from Italy." He also added that a female vocalist who is "in a band with somebody who's a well-known producer/musician" auditioned for the position as well but didn't get the gig.

UFO frontman Phil Mogg is recovering after suffering a heart attack last week. The 74-year-old British-born musician was rushed to the hospital where he had two stents implanted into his coronary arteries. This is known medically as a coronary angioplasty and aims to re-open the blocked coronary artery by inserting one or more stents. This helps keep the narrowed artery open.

Mogg has released the following statement: "I have just got back from my doctors, and obviously asked amongst other things my resuming work, playing, touring, etc. She said most definitely not, unless you want another heart attack. So there it is, I have to go on a rehabilitation program which starts in about six weeks and lasts for six weeks. Three months more or less. I certainly didn't want to bow out in this fashion, as I am sure you chaps didn't."

It is presently unclear whether UFO's previously announced tour dates in October 2022 will be postponed until 2023.

Last year, UFO announced that it would embark on its final tour featuring a series of exclusive concerts in summer 2022 to bid farewell to its fans in style. UFO was scheduled to play the very last concert of its long career on October 29, 2022 in Athens, Greece, where the band performed its first show featuring current guitarist Vinnie Moore in February 2004.

When UFO's final concert was first announced, Mogg was anticipating this very special farewell show with mixed feelings, while also very much looking forward to UFO once again meeting their extensive fan base between summer and autumn 2022.

Mogg, who turned 74 in April, said: "After so many years with countless highlights, fantastic experiences and lots of beautiful memories — as well as some difficult moments, naturally — it'll be a worthy finale to say goodbye to your fans in person. I know that there are bound to be some very emotional moments on both sides."

In his original statement announcing UFO's final tour, Mogg said the decision was "a long time coming," adding that while "being out on the road isn't always tremendously luxurious and although the playing is as great as it ever was, the stuff that surrounds it becomes very tiresome. I always told myself that when I reached that stage, I would step down, and that's what I'm going to do. This is the right time for me to quit."

UFO guitarist/keyboard player Paul Raymond died in April 2019. He appeared on more than a dozen of UFO's albums, including "Lights Out" and the live classic "Strangers In The Night".

UFO's current lineup includes original members Mogg and drummer Andy Parker, as well as Moore, who joined in 2003, and Rob De Luca (bass),a member since 2012.

UFO's latest release was the 2017 covers collection "The Salentino Cuts".

Dear all, this is to inform you that the October run had been cancelled!

Last week Phil suffered a heart attack. He...

Posted by UFO on Friday, September 2, 2022

Celebrate 20 years of Epica with reissues of the first three albums (including unreleased bonus tracks), plus Live At Paradiso and We Will Take You With Us. Head to epicamerch.com to pre-order The Phantom Agony, Consign To Oblivion, The Score and the unreleased/rare live albums on a variety of (limited!) formats. It's all out today (September 2) via Nuclear Blast.


The band have released the video below, stating: "The performance was Epica's first-ever major TV appearance and hasn't been available physically since 2007. It will be available as a part of We Still Take You With Us, which bundles it together with their legendary (and never released) live performance, Live At Paradiso, as well as their first three albums: The Phantom Agony, Consign To Oblivion and The Score."







Live At Paradiso is the 2006 Amsterdam show that is mythical among Epicans, as it's never been officially released. Now, the holy grail is available as a part of We Still Take You With Us, which bundles it together with their (long sold-out) first major TV performance/DVD release, We Will Take You With Us, as well as their first three albums: The Phantom Agony, Consign To Oblivion and The Score.





Order it on an 11-disc vinyl box set, Earbook with 36-pages and 8 discs or 8-CD box clamshell. Live At Paradiso and We Will Take You With Us will also be available to download or stream, while Live At Paradiso will be released on 2-CD+Blu-ray, too.


"Sensorium" (Live At Paradiso) video:





"Solitary Ground" HD remastered video:





Epica recently announced their 20th anniversary livestream event, scheduled for September 3. Watch a video trailer below, and tickets and limited edition merchandise here.





Says the band: "While we’d love to see all your faces in the crowd on our 20th-anniversary show on September 3rd, we are aware that not every one of you is able to attend the SOLD-OUT party live in Tilburg. Therefore, we’re happy to offer you the chance to be part of the celebrations and join us right from your living room through an exclusive pro-shot live stream of the entire show that will contain plenty of surprises, several guests and spectacular stage effects!


"In addition, you will also get to witness the return of a band that has disappeared from the face of the earth for 20 years and will finally be back for a one-off live performance as opening act on this special night: Sahara Dust. Don’t miss their show, because although you might have never heard of them, their history is heavily interwoven with Epica’s inception, and you will surely be able to sing along to a few of their songs…


"Starting live at 19:30 CEST, the shows will remain online for 72 hours to re-watch in your account at any time within that period.


"Early bird tickets are available until August 12th, and you can also get bundles with exclusive anniversary show merchandise that will only be available with the stream and at the show in Tilburg, so don’t miss out!"