In a new interview with "On The Road To Rock", PRIEST vocalist Linton Rubino, who played bass in GHOST as one of the the Nameless Ghouls under the stage name Water, was asked how he feels about the band's recent success, including some of GHOST's recent recorded output. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Just to make it clear, I toured the second album and I was fired during the recording of the third album, [2015's] 'Meliora'. When I listen to 'Meliora', I think it's maybe the best album — I think it's a superb album. And that was the album that won all the awards — Grammys and stuff. I think that album was close to being a masterpiece in the genre; I really think that. After that, I don't think, actually, they've matched it by far. The popularity, of course, if that's what people wanna see, that's fine; [there's] nothing wrong with it. But I think their last record [2022's 'Impera'], it's not very good, to put it simple. It's my taste. But I can say that 'Meliora' is close to a masterpiece as well. I think something had happened with the band, and you can clearly hear the difference in the songwriting there and today."

He continued: "I listened to 'Impera', the latest record. I skipped through the songs once and then I tried to listen to the whole thing. Then I turned it off half way. I can't, really. But I don't have any feelings around it, really. Let them have their fun. If they think it's fun and have a good time, let them have it."

Earlier this month, Linton told Dr. Music that he wasn't involved in the 2017 lawsuit filed against GHOST leader Tobias Forge by four former members of the band after being dismissed by the group's founder the previous December. "I was fired in 2015 from GHOST, so I wasn't a part of that process. But I have a family member and a close friend that was in that process, in the trial," he said, apparently referring to his father, Mauro Rubino, who was the keyboardist Air in GHOST from 2011 until 2016, and Simon Söderberg, who played guitar for GHOST from 2010 until 2016. "So, yeah, I was involved emotionally, you can say. But otherwise from that, I wasn't a part of that process."

Asked if it was difficult to deal with the fact that nobody knew his identity while he was in GHOST and he had to virtually start from scratch again once he was out of the band, Linton said: "I actually went through therapy for six months after that 'cause I felt that I'm nobody. We were up there playing with METALLICA and IRON MAIDEN and everything, and they know who we are, all the people backstage know who we are, but nobody else [does]. So it was just like being up [at the top] and then you're basically [on your own once you are out of the band]. And then I didn't have a job or anything and then it was cold turkey money-wise. So I had to really restart from bottom. Every breakup takes a while, right?! Then you're back on track in a couple of months. And you just roll up your sleeves and get at it again. You don't have much of a choice."

The four former members of GHOST who sued Forge were Söderberg, Mauro Rubino, Henrik Palm (Eather; member of GHOST from 2015 until 2016) and Martin Hjertstedt (Earth; member of GHOST from 2014 until 2016). They accused the singer of cheating them out of their rightful share of the profits from the band's album releases and world tours.

The original lawsuit, which was filed in the district court of Linköping, where GHOST was originally based, claimed that Forge solely controlled the band's business affairs without input from anyone else in the group. The four musicians furthermore stated that a partnership agreement existed between them and Forge which put Tobias in charge of carrying out the company's management duties.

In June 2017, Forge filed an official response to the lawsuit, claiming that "no legal partnership" ever existed between him and the four musicians regarding the activities of GHOST and explaining that "none of the plaintiffs were present at the time of the" group's formation and that their sole task was to "perform" and "execute" the musical works and the image that Forge had created, produced and decided, all according to his instructions. For their efforts, he said, the musicians were paid a fixed salary.

In August 2017, the four ex-GHOST members presented an answer of their own, dismissing Forge's claim that GHOST is a solo project as "not [being] in accordance with the truth." "Forge has certainly been the band's main songwriter, he has had the role of the band's cinematic front figure 'Papa Emeritus,' has been a driving force in the band's business, as well as in the handling of the band's business affairs," the musicians wrote. "However, the activities carried out with respect to GHOST were extensively handled jointly by the members — for example, by making decisions jointly regarding the band's image, by participating in interviews, and by the fact that every member has, at certain times, contributed when recording the band's albums and singles and by touring together almost continuously since 2011."

The four ex-members, known previously only as Nameless Ghouls, claimed that between the years of 2010 and 2016, Forge never told them that he viewed GHOST as a one-man business and solo project. "To the contrary, Tobias Forge has always emphasized that it was a collaboration that everyone was involved in and would share in the profit of once the business became profitable," they wrote. "The first time Tobias Forge, through the band's management, mentioned that he saw them as hired musicians rather than full-fledged members of GHOST was in the context of a contract proposal presented in April 2016." This proposal was later rejected.

The trial in Linköping District Court lasted for six days, and on October 17, 2018, a 108-page decision was released dismissing the case. The four former GHOST members were also ordered to pay Forge's legal fees, which at the time was said to be approximately $146,000.

In February 2019, an appeals court rejected the former GHOST members' argument that the judge who ordered the dismissal of their lawsuit against Forge had a conflict of interest in overseeing the case.

In May 2018, Linton blasted GHOST's then-latest album "Prequelle", saying he was "ashamed to have been part of that" and calling the music "a joke" and "mainstream shit."

PRIEST will release a new full-length album, "Body Machine", on July 15 via Cleopatra Records.

George Lynch rejoined DOKKEN on stage this past Saturday night (July 9) at the Uncle Sam Jam in Woodhaven, Michigan to perform three of the band's classic songs: "Kiss Of Death", "When Heaven Comes Down" and "Tooth And Nail". Two-camera video of his appearance can be seen below (courtesy of Singular Vision Productions).

For much of the past couple of years, Lynch has been performing the same three songs with DOKKEN at various shows in the U.S. Asked in a January 2022 interview with SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" what the experience has been like for him, George said: "It has been [fun], actually, more than I would have thought. I would have thought there… 'Cause Don [Dokken, DOKKEN leader] and I had had animosity towards each other at a couple of different levels over the decades. And it's kind of a weird thing, when you think about it. And sometimes, it is uncomfortable for me, because when I show up, I have to sit there, and, of course, they're playing the songs that I wrote. And the [current DOKKEN] guitar player, Jon [Levin], is a wonderful guy; we're friends. But they're doing my whole thing, and then I walk out.

"I think it comes down to, we're entertainers, and if I'm gonna spend my time crying about anything, I'm just gonna hurt myself and the fans, and that doesn't do anybody any good," George continued. "And so I try to keep positive about the whole experience. And it has been, actually, good for everybody. The fans love it. I love doing it because the easiest thing I can do is play DOKKEN songs — songs that I helped write 35, 40 years ago that I can play in my sleep with one arm tied behind my back and go out and enjoy it and not have to work that hard and just really enjoy what I'm doing, enjoy the moment. And it's the path of least resistance. A lot of these other projects I do, they're not as easy of a sell. When I'm doing a KXM project or whatever it is, I sometimes have to work at it a little bit — I do have to work at it a bit harder. What is this supposed to be? How am I supposed to write? How am I supposed to look? How am I supposed to sell this? With DOKKEN, I don't have any of those issues or concerns because all the work's been done, we've already established what we are and I know what to do. So it's really, like I said — the path of least resistance sometimes is the right one."

As for why he only performs three songs with DOKKEN as opposed to playing the entire set, George said: "Well, that's probably an economic issue on Don's side. I mean, Don owns the name of the band. It works on me on all levels at this point, and obviously it works for Don, so if it's not broken, why fix it? And I don't know… I would just be speculating that he's concerned maybe that something could pop up if he gets in bed with me and then now he doesn't have what he's built over all these years. So there's that. And maybe financially it would be not as — I don't know — not as [much of] a positive outcome for him. I'm not sure; we haven't talked about it. But what we're doing now works. Obviously, what you just brought up is something that everybody's thinking about, but, hey, it's not up to me to decide. But I certainly feel that would probably make sense [for me to play the whole set]; I could see that making sense. I'm already there — why don't I just go out and finish playing the rest of the songs that are part of my legacy? People would like that. There's a lot of different ways to think about that. There's what we do as a business, and I'm not ashamed of that. I don't think it's a bad thing to talk about the business side of music. It doesn't take away from the art; it doesn't take away from the creative part of it. Those are two different sides of the same coin. We all need to make a living. But you have to have that balance of appreciating and producing music that you love and that people enjoy, and at the same time, it has to make sense financially. So I'm not sure which one that is, as to why we're not back together on a more complete basis, where I'm playing the whole set, but I've got a feeling it's probably financial."

Asked if there has been any talk of the classic DOKKEN lineup reuniting once again to write and record new music, George said: "We have [talked about it], and the opportunity has come up every couple [or] few years. And we had offers, and they're good offers. But it's tricky at this point in all our careers, when we've all kind of established ourselves on other paths, to bring us all together. And even though the offers are good, it's not enough to make us all just stop what we're doing in our tracks and re-route our careers to do that. Every time it comes up, we always run into these obstacles. They're not anybody's fault in particular, but it just seems like an impossibility."

In October 2016, the classic lineup of DOKKEN — Don, George, Jeff Pilson (bass) and Mick Brown (drums) — reunited to play the Loud Park festival in Japan. Fortunately for fans outside of Japan, cameras were there to capture the performance and Frontiers Music Srl issued "Return To The East Live 2016" in April 2018. In addition to the Japanese performance, the set featured footage from the classic lineup's only U.S. show in September 2016 at Badlands in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The package also included a new song called "It's Just Another Day", the first DOKKEN track featuring the group's classic lineup since 1997's "Shadowlife", and two acoustic re-workings of classic tracks.

Since completing the Japanese reunion dates, DOKKEN has continued to perform with the group's current lineup — including bassist Chris McCarvill, Levin and drummer BJ Zampa (HOUSE OF LORDS).

DOKKEN recently finished recording a new studio album, tentatively due later this year via Silver Lining Music, the label owned by Thomas Jensen, one of the founders of Germany's Wacken Open Air festival. It will mark the group's first disc since 2012's "Broken Bones".

Over the past several years, Lynch has appeared on recordings by THE END MACHINE, KXM, ULTRAPHONIX and SWEET & LYNCH. He released his first-ever full-length instrumental album, "Seamless", last August via Rat Pak Records.

In a new interview with Kevin McKay of Florida's 99 Rock WKSM radio station, SEVENDUST singer Lajon Witherspoon addressed drummer Morgan Rose's recent revelation that he and his bandmates have discussed a possible "end date" for the group.

"I guess one day we are [retiring], but it's not anytime soon," Lajon laughed. "I think that got taken out of context in an interview with Morgan."

On June 18, BLABBERMOUTH.NET published an interview Rose gave to "The Jasta Show" in which he said that SEVENDUST won't hit the road in support of its next studio album until 2023. He also revealed that "there's not gonna be many [tours] left, I'll just tell you that. I'm gonna be the one to let all the cats out of the bag, but I can just tell you that we're not gonna be around, full-fledged, forever, that's for sure," he added cryptically.

Witherspoon told 99 Rock WKSM that he was taken aback by reports of SEVENDUST's impending retirement.

"I got a phone call early in the morning about, 'What's going on?' My kids are crying. They're, like, 'Daddy, you didn't tell us.' I'm, like, 'What are you talking about?'" Witherspoon recalled.

"I love Blabbermouth, but, yeah, that was kind of taken out of context. We're still here. We're kicking, man."

In Rose's interview with "The Jasta Show", host Jamey Jasta urged the drummer to stage a "four-year farewell" tour "like SLAYER" did, to which Morgan said: "There probably will be something like that. The funny thing is SLAYER is a legendary… They're SLAYER, you know. But regardless, relatively speaking, we have such close relationships. I started thinking about it. I mean, we did discuss this — the band has discussed, like, when's the end date? 'Cause it'd be nice to do it on our own terms and it'd be nice to be able to say goodbye to everybody properly. And I got emotional when we were talking about it, 'cause I was, like, there are so many people that we're friends and really consider very close that I don't hang out with. You have these, for sure — people that you've met on the road that you see 'em wherever it might be and you've seen 'em so many times that you know them absolutely by name and maybe you even have a drink or food or something when you go through town, but you don't hang with them other than that. And we've been [touring for] 26 years, and there's a lot of those people. And it's, like, shit, dude — that's gonna be, like, 'Bye.' We don't talk. We only talk when I come here. And we've been talking, for some of these people, for 25 years. And it's, like, damn. There's a lot of those people. And it fucked me up a little bit. I was, like, that's gonna be interesting to wave the stage that night and be, like, 'Damn,' and fuck off forever. 'Cause it obviously has been a gigantic part of our lives — more than half of it has been spent out on the road building those relationships. So it'll be a trip."

After Jasta told Rose not to sign a contract with his bandmates saying that they are not allowed to come back for a reunion tour a few years after their first farewell run of shows, Morgan said: "We're pretty fucking old to begin with. Somehow or another we've kept it together enough to be able to still do it at a respectable level. But it's gonna happen. I would be lying to you if I told you I didn't know when. It is gonna happen. But we're not saying anything."

Morgan went on to clarify: "It never means that we'll never play again. Anybody that says that, it's, like, you're insulting the intelligence of the public. I mean, look, MÖTLEY CRÜE is getting ready to go out [after previously saying they wouldn't]. They said they burned the book… I don't ever [say], 'Never, never, never. I swear to God.' ... The plan is that we've done it long enough. The body has taken a fucking beating. I've personally been to the doctor six straight days. I'm going for am MRI tomorrow. It's breaking down. I was in the gym, actually, right before we did this [podcast] just trying to do something to help [with my pain]. Twenty-six years of car accidents — that's how you've gotta look at it. I asked my doctor, 'Why is happening now? I'm in better shape now — way better than I was back then.' I was a fucking mess back then. And he goes, 'You're a hundred years old, dude.' [Laughs] I'm, like, 'Fuck!' Could I have done anything? He goes, 'You could have avoided some car accidents.' It's 26 years of beatin' the fuck out of yourself. It's all good until it's not. That was what he told me. He goes, 'The body is all good until it's not.' … I'm going tomorrow to see what this deal is, 'cause it's fucking debilitating."

Earlier this month, SEVENDUST guitarist John Connolly addressed Rose's comments in an interview with George Dionne of KNAC.COM. Connolly said: "It's funny. Any time that we talk about this stuff, people are, like, 'Oh, that's it. They're quittin'. It's the end.' It's really not that at all. I mean, we're realists. We ask ourselves, are we gonna be jumping off trampolines and drum risers and stuff when we're 80? Are we gonna wanna do 300 shows a year when we're 80? Probably not. But I look a band like THE [ROLLING] STONES and I go, but you can still go out and do something whenever you wanna do it. So that's sort of what we've… I think what we're doing is we're looking at making records — at some point in time making records and doing a big tour to support the record. I don't think it's gonna be something that we're gonna wanna do like we're doing it now.

"I think we'll always make music in some way, shape or form or another, even if it's small doses, and I think we'll always tour — in small doses," he explained. "Pick and choose those moments, not grind it out. Do it enough to where it keeps you wantin' to do it.

"As you get older, the family time starts to weight down on the scale, as it should. And we've all got families and we've all got kids of different ages, going through different points — some are in elementary school; some are getting ready to go to college; some [are] drivin', which is crazy. There's more to life, and I think we've all appreciated the fact that we wanna nurture SEVENDUST to the point where we could perpetually do it forever. But you're not gonna see us three times coming through New York City on a tour. If we come through once, okay.

"But, yeah, you've gotta look at the age thing; you've gotta look at the motivation; you've gotta look at the family thing — you've gotta look at all of it and weigh it out," John added. "And instead of saying, 'That's it. We're wrapping it up,' we're just saying, I think we're gonna move into something different; we're just gonna move into a different model.

"It's funny, 'cause it's, like, okay, how many bands have said that they're gonna retire from touring and then all of a sudden [they are back]? That'll be us," Connolly admitted. "We could come in and say, 'There's not a chance that we're gonna play another show. We hate each other.' Two years later, we're gonna be out back out there going, 'You know what, man? We really didn't mean it. We probably shouldn't have reacted so quickly. We're down. We're gonna do it again.'

"MÖTLEY [CRÜE], they had contracts, and they're out doing a stadium tour. I'm, like, they should. You know what I mean? If you wanna play, play. And that's sort of what we're gonna do. I think we're just gonna move from the point of having to do it and having that be something that people have expectations on.

"The thing about it is to make a full-length record these days, I know people are into it, but people just want music," Connolly said. "They don't really care whether they get 10 songs every two years or whether they get a song or two every month, two months, which I think would be a more interesting model to go down anyways, because you can just — as you create, you'll know your moments. There's always gonna be those two or three songs that are, like, 'Oh, wow. I can't wait to play this for the guys.' And then you go, 'Let's go hop in the studio for two days. Let's go sit with Elvis [producer Michael Baskette] for two days, punch two or three songs out, stick 'em in a can, and then do that two or three times. And then if you wanna release a record, release a record. If not, EPs are super popular right now… Those kind of moves are the moves that, I think, are gonna keep the business… I think it's gonna keep fans engaged because you're not giving them the playbook, going, 'Okay, on this day here, here's the EPK. Here's the bio.' We've done it the traditional way. Sometimes that whole, 'Let's just drop it. Let's go record it and just drop it — drop the video, drop whatever.' So that, I think, is more interesting to all of us as we get a little older. Just any way that we can kind of keep it fresh.

"We're in a really good headspace in the SEVENDUST world… So that's why we're not saying 'never,' but we are saying at some point it's gonna get different. So you all don't be thinking you're gonna take a three-week vacation and follow SEVENDUST around on tour. You might take a week and follow us on tour, but I don't know if three weeks is gonna be necessary anymore."

SEVENDUST recently completed the songwriting sessions for its next studio album at a Kentucky farmhouse near Witherspoon's home. The group will enter the studio later this month to begin recording the follow-up to 2020's "Blood & Stone" for a 2023 release.

Last December, SEVENDUST released a digital expanded edition of "Blood & Stone". "Blood & Stone Deluxe" contained five new tracks, including three never-before-released remixes and two newly recorded songs.

Earlier this week, SEVENDUST announced another leg of its tour celebrating the 21st anniversary of its "Animosity" album. Support on the trek will come from NONPOINT, BASTARDANE (the new band featuring drummer Castor Hetfield, son of METALLICA frontman James Hetfield) and BURDEN OF THE SKY.

SEVENDUST previously played all of "Animosity" on two separate U.S. tour legs in early 2022. Prior to that, the band performed "Animosity" at a January 2021 livestream event from Opav in Orlando, Florida.

On July 6, FaceCulture conducted an interview with ALICE IN CHAINS guitarist, singer and songwriter Jerry Cantrell and composer-musician Tyler Bates, who is also in Jerry's touring band, in Amsterdam, Netherlands. You can now watch the chat below.

Speaking about ALICE IN CHAINS' musical impact over the course of the band's three-and-a-half-decade career, Jerry said: "I'm still on a journey. That's where it started, and it's still in motion. I try not to spend a whole lot of time looking back; I just kind of try to spend time concentrating on where I am at the moment. Now, of course, I'm always connected to that. And there's more stuff to do. I'm gonna go on tour with ALICE from August to October. Four days after we get done with [my European solo tour], I'm in rehearsals for ALICE.

"I guess the thing that means the most is I took that trip with my brothers and we all banded together and we found each other somehow and we were supposed to find each other and we have a sound that is unlike anybody else," he continued. "And that's the whole point — trying to create some sort of a sound that's uniquely yours. And I was able to find that with my family there, with Layne [Staley, vocals] and Mike [Starr, bass] and Sean [Kinney, drums]. And throughout the years of changes and things that life throws at you, we've continued on and continued to navigate all of those changes and continued to grow — up to the last record [2018's 'Rainier Fog']. I think that record's kickass. [Laughs] I think we're still creating at a top level. [Mike] Inez [bass] and William [DuVall, vocals] coming into the band, it's all good.

"I guess the main thing, probably, is that it still means something to people. We play some of those songs in [my solo] set as well, and it's always exciting and trippy, man, to see people react when you start playing those songs. They're not just yours anymore; they're everybody's. And I don't mean that in just some generic way. They have just as much ownership in it as I do. So it's pretty cool to share those moments."

Cantrell kicked off his "Brighten" solo tour on March 24 at the Palace Theater in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Jerry's band for the tour consists of Bates (guitar),Greg Puciato (backing vocals),Gil Sharone (drums),George Adrian (bass),Michael Rozon (pedal steel) and Jason Achilles (keyboards). The set includes songs from Cantrell's latest solo album, "Brighten", along with favorite hits from Jerry's catalog.

"Brighten" came out last October. The LP has received praise from critics, including Kerrang!, which called it a "vivid, contemporary self-portrait of one of the most distinctive voices in hard rock. A long-overdue show of individual brilliance." Classic Rock proclaimed it "his best yet. The work of a songwriter who is happy within his life, it spans a broad arc of styles." The Sun commented: "A rich, organic album... 'Brighten' is brilliant."

"Brighten" is Jerry's first project without ALICE IN CHAINS in 19 years. Co-produced with Bates and Paul Fig (longtime engineer),the LP got its beginnings just before the pandemic hit. They welcomed a dynamic cast of supporting players, including Duff McKagan (GUNS N' ROSES) on select bass tracks, Puciato contributing to backing vocals and drummers Sharone and Abe Laboriel, Jr. (Paul McCartney). Joe Barresi (TOOL, QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE) handled the mixing of "Brighten".

Jerry's new effort marks his first full-length release since "Degradation Trip", the epic solo album he made in 2002 with future METALLICA bassist Robert Trujillo and FAITH NO MORE drummer Mike Bordin.

Jerry's career outside of ALICE IN CHAINS has consisted of two previous solo albums and contributions to major film soundtracks. Cantrell's first solo album, "Boggy Depot", was released in 1998, followed by his second album, the aforementioned "Degradation Trip". In addition to his solo artist work, Jerry has released music on soundtracks for several films, including "Spider-Man", "The Cable Guy", "John Wick 2", "Last Action Hero" and "The Punisher".

ALICE IN CHAINS regrouped in 2006 with DuVall joining the band, and released its third LP with DuVall in the lineup, "Rainier Fog", in August 2018.

WaterTower Music has released two new tracks from the soundtrack of the fourth season of the HBO original series "Westworld", including a version of METALLICA's "Enter Sandman" by the show's composer Ramin Djawadi ("Game Of Thrones", "Uncharted", "Iron Man", "Pacific Rim", "Eternals", "Clash Of The Titans") as featured in the third episode of the new season, which premiered last night.

"Westworld" is created by Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy based on Michael Crichton's 1973 feature of the same title and stars Evan Rachel Wood, James Marsden, Thandiwe Newton, Luke Hemsworth, Jeffrey Wright, Angela Sarafyan, Simon Quarterman and Ed Harris.

Season four of the drama currently airs Sunday nights on HBO and is also available to stream on HBO Max.

As the opening cut on METALLICA's self-titled album, "Enter Sandman" became bigger than the band could have imagined. It was a game changer for METALLICA, which ended up selling more than sixteen million copies of the album in the U.S. alone. Meanwhile, the song itself turned into a staple at athletic events, including professional baseball games and wrestling matches.

In a 2012 interview with Rolling Stone, METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich reflected on "Enter Sandman" and its influence behind the so-called "Black Album." "There was a riff on Kirk's [Hammett] riff tape," he explained. "The whole song is just that riff. 'Enter Sandman' was the blueprint. The rest of the record appeared over two months."

After the "Black Album" was first released, a number of people commented that the "Enter Sandman" introduction and dominant musical riff were similar to that of a song that came out two years earlier, "Tapping Into The Emotional Void" by the Los Angeles quartet EXCEL.

MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine, who was a member of METALLICA for less than two years, from 1981 to 1983, famously told Metal Maniacs magazine in a 2004 interview that "Enter Sandman" "was ripped off from a band called EXCEL."

METALLICA co-manager Cliff Burnstein told the Los Angeles Times that he had never heard of the EXCEL song. But he chalked up the songs' similarities to coincidence.

"If EXCEL could write that one (as good as that),I'm sure they can write more," Burnstein said. "Then they'll be successful."

"Enter Sandman" still stands as the biggest hit of METALLICA's career, having peaked at No. 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart back in August 1991.

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH guitarist Zoltan Bathory spoke to Finland's Janne Vuorela about the band's mindset while working on its upcoming album, "AfterLife", which is due on August 19. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It's our ninth record, so at this point everybody knows how we sound like; if you're into hard rock/heavy metal, you know the band, you know the sound — you hear the first couple of riffs, you know it's FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH. So it was, like, we don't have to keep proving ourselves, so to speak. And it gave us this freedom of, 'You know what? Let's just record everything — whatever comes, let's just record it.' And that gave us this freedom of… I always compare this to a band like QUEEN. We don't sound anything like QUEEN, but if you're trying to categorize QUEEN, you cannot. QUEEN doesn't fit in anywhere. And to me, that means that they achieved this musical freedom where they can be whatever. They can play 'Bohemian Rhapsody' or whatever they want. They wanna play heavy metal, then that's what they're gonna do; they're not tied to something specific. And so that was kind of the idea — can we get that? Can we get to a place where [we can] just write anything; it doesn't matter. And I think we achieved that."

He continued: "This record is the most diverse album that we've ever done — very different from everything we've ever done — yet it still sounds like us. So with that, I feel like we achieved kind of that place where anything goes. We're just FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH; it is what it is. It's just music."

Asked to elaborate on the musical direction of "AfterLife", Zoltan said: "I guess we're still in the broad spectrum of rock music, but all the influences... There are some songs that have even, I would, some '60s sort of vibe in there. And some of the songs are very futuristic, almost kind of a cyber-punk feel to it; some moments are industrial stuff. And then there are songs where we use very complex sound design.

"I wanted to do a song that is sort of the soundtrack to the process of death. I had two near-death experiences and very spiritual experiences where I wanted to create that sound, like what you hear. In the process of dying, the perception of sound gets kind of weird; everybody gets broken down, almost like you hear the sample rate of your own mind. The sound is not actually continuous but there are tiny, tiny gaps between. And as your body is shutting down, this becomes very apparent. And so we created the song 'Judgment Day' and literally built the song around that — like, how does it sound like when you die? There's a sound; there's a sound that you hear. And we built it from that and gave it to Ivan [moody, vocals]. And because he also had near-death experiences — he flatlined and he had to be brought back, so he actually died. And he immediately recognized it; that's the crazy thing. The second he heard it, he literally said, 'Oh, man. This freaks me out.' He immediately knew what the song was, just by the sound. And he was, like, 'This gets me freaked out, because I've been in this place; I know what this sound is.' And for a while he didn't even wanna record it because he thought, like, 'Wow. Every time I listen to this song, it takes me back to that place where I was dying.' And then eventually he actually did the song. So 'Judgment Day', that's why it has that weird song, because that's what we wanted to create.

"I guess because our instrumentation is drums, bass, guitar, guitar, vocals, that's always gonna be rock sort of music. So we're still a rock band, hard rock — whatever — but I don't know if I can categorize this particular album beyond that."

The "Afterlife" title track, which was released as a single in April, recently gave FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH the most consecutive No. 1s on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Airplay chart. The song was the band's 13th total No. 1 and eighth entry on the chart in a row. FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH broke out of a tie with DISTURBED and SHINEDOWN, each of whom has seven consecutive No. 1s on the chart.

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH's follow-up to 2020's "F8" was once again recorded at the Hideout Recording Studio, the Las Vegas, Nevada facility owned and operated by Kevin Churko, the Canadian record producer/engineer and songwriter who has worked on all of FIVE FINGER's albums beginning with the band's sophomore release, 2009's "War Is The Answer".

"AfterLife" will be FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH's first album with its latest addition, renowned British virtuoso Andy James, who replaced Jason Hook in 2020. James was previously featured on "Broken World", a song that was included on the second installment of FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH's greatest-hits collection, "A Decade Of Destruction – Volume 2", which came out in the fall of 2020.

Exclusively curated by the band, various limited-edition "AfterLife" vinyl and merchandise offerings and collectibles are also available for pre-order in the official band and label stores.

Since FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH's debut album, "The Way Of The Fist", came out in 2007, the band has released six consecutive albums that were certified gold or platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) as well as two chart-topping greatest-hits albums. In addition, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH has earned numerous national and international awards and honors over the last decade, such as the prestigious Soldier Appreciation Award by the Association Of The United States Army, an honor bestowed upon only one other recording artist before them: Elvis Presley.

"F8" debuted at No. 1 on rock charts around the world, with Top 10 mainstream chart debuts in the USA, Austria, Australia, Canada, Finland, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, the U.K. and more. It produced four No. 1 hit singles with "Inside Out", "A Little Bit Off", "Living The Dream" and "Darkness Settles In". The band has amassed over eight billion streams and three billion video views to date and has sold over one million tickets between 2018 and 2020 alone.

This past April, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH announced a 2022 U.S. headlining tour presented by Live Nation. Kicking off in Portland, Oregon on August 19, the trek will span over 30 dates, closing out on October 15 in Salt Lake City, Utah. The band will be joined on tour by rock icons MEGADETH, with additional support from THE HU and FIRE FROM THE GODS.

In a brand new interview with RadioactiveMike Z, host of the 96.7 KCAL-FM radio program "Wired In The Empire", SKID ROW guitarist Dave "Snake" Sabo was asked which of the METALLICA guitarists, James Hetfield or Kirk Hammett, had more of an influence on his playing. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Hetfield, without a doubt. And it's funny you should say that because I have a warm-up playlist that I go through before every show, and there's two METALLICA songs I put on there to work out my right hand. And the first one is 'That Was Just Your Life' off 'Death Magnetic', and the second one is 'Disposable Heroes' [off 'Master Of Puppets']. It's [James's] right hand. Because that was something I didn't really develop as I was developing as a guitar player; it was more about my left hand than my right hand. And then when I started hearing how just efficient and precise he was with his rhythms, I was, like, 'I've gotta develop that somehow.' And he's just the king of that — him and guys like Scott Ian [ANTHRAX], whom I think the world of, and Dave Mustaine [MEGADETH] as well, and Kerry King [SLAYER], without a doubt. They just have tremendous control over the synchronicity between their right and left hands, and their right hand in particular.

"[James's right hand is] insane. To me, he is one of the most underrated guitar players. 'Cause every guitar player will say that, but the general public doesn't have the full appreciation of how just unbelievably over-the-top talented he is as a rhythm guitar player… Kirk is amazing in his own right. James's right hand and the riffs that he writes utilizing that talent, it's pretty unbelievable."

SKID ROW's new album, "The Gang's All Here", will be released on October 14 via earMUSIC. The band recorded most of the effort in Nashville, Tennessee with producer Nick Raskulinecz, who has previously worked with FOO FIGHTERS, STONE SOUR, HALESTORM, EVANESCENCE, RUSH and ALICE IN CHAINS, among many others.

In May, SKID ROW shared the music video for "The Gang's All Here" title track.

Swedish singer Erik Grönwall joined SKID ROW in January as the replacement for ZP Theart, who had been in the group for more than six years. Theart played his final gig with SKID ROW in February before being officially given the boot.

Grönwall was a member of the Swedish hard rock band H.E.A.T. with whom he recorded four studio albums — "Address The Nation" (2012),"Tearing Down The Walls" (2014),"Into The Great Unknown" (2017) and "H.E.A.T II" (2020) — before exiting the group in October 2020.

Grönwall was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in March 2021. Six months later, he announced that he was cancer free after receiving a bone marrow transplant in August. "Some anonymous wonderful human being somewhere in the world donated his/her blood cells so that I could get a second chance at life," he told Headbangers Lifestyle in January. "Sometimes I can just get tears in my eyes when I think about it. It's so beautiful that one person who is not connected to me in any way wanted to do that for me. He/she doesn't know that the blood cells were for me. It's completely anonymous."

Last September, Grönwall released his cover version of "18 And Life" via all streaming platforms.

In 2018, Grönwall debuted in the U.S. for 10 million viewers in NBC's live broadcast of Andrew Lloyd Webber's and Tim Rice's musical "Jesus Christ Superstar". Along with John Legend, Alice Cooper, Sara Bareilles and others, Erik played the key role of Simon Zealotes.

Ex-THREE DAYS GRACE singer Adam Gontier and two members of the band's current lineup, bassist Brad Walst and his younger brother, vocalist Matt Walst, were inducted into the Norwood District High School Hall Of Honor on June 29 in Norwood, Ontario, Canada. Brad Walst spoke about the experience in a new interview with Tommy Carroll of the 97.9 WGRD radio station. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It's funny 'cause the high school's been calling us for years. And, obviously, we've all had kind of different schedules, and Adam's been doing his thing and we've been doing our thing. And until recently, to be honest, we hadn't really spoken that much — we'd text and stuff. But Adam's moved back to the area, and he's got a great family and a great wife. And we've all kind of been chatting and hanging out. Yeah, I called him and just said, 'They want the three of us' — they want Matt, Adam and myself. And everyone agreed, and it was, like, 'Okay, let's do this.' So it was pretty cool to see [our] high school, where you grew up… It's nice to be acknowledged."

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

On June 30, Gontier took to his Instagram to share a photo and video of the ceremony, and he wrote in an accompanying caption: "About last night… thank you so much to Todd Murray, Jason Lean and everyone at Norwood District High School for inducting myself, Brad and @mattjpwalst thanks into their Hall of Honor. And a HUGE congrats to all of the 2022 NDHS graduates."

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

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

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

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

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

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

Gontier is currently a member of SAINT ASONIA, which also features STAIND guitarist/founding member Mike Mushok. The band will release a new EP, "Introvert", on July 1 via Spinefarm. The quartet is rounded out by Cale Gontier (bass) and Cody Watkins (drums).

THREE DAYS GRACE's latest album, "Explosions", was released on May 6 via RCA Records. The LP's first single, "So Called Life", was No. 1 on Mediabase's Active Rock chart and Billboard's Mainstream Rock Songs chart. This was the band's 17th No. 1 song on the Mediabase chart and 16th No. 1 on the Billboard chart, and tied the internationally acclaimed and multi-platinum certified Canadian band with SHINEDOWN for the artist with most #1's on the Billboard chart.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Adam Gontier (@adamgontierofficial)

BEARTOOTH has surprised-released a brand new single, "Riptide". The accompanying music video sees frontman and main songwriter Caleb Shomo sharing the stage with a group of interpretative dancers.

Shomo stated about the track: "'Riptide' is about trying to start a new chapter in life and trying to stop focusing on all of the negative things that have been surrounding my life for quite some time and me focusing on being healthier, happier, and having a better time with my life."

The lyrics to "Riptide" include such lines as: "I'm done explaining my pain / This is way too much / I wanna feel euphoria / Give me the rush / Cause it's the last time that I romanticize / The riptide that's trying to drown me."

Last month, Shomo told Rock Sound that new music from BEARTOOTH was "coming real soon… [The album is] done. The music video is shot. The photo shoot [is] done. The album art is finished.

"There is a whole new era, a whole new everything — a complete overhaul — new shit coming real soon," he continued. "I'm very excited. No one is fucking ready for what we're about to drop, I'll tell you that — I will tell you that."

Shomo's comments came three months after he told WSOU 89.5 FM radio station that "half" of BEARTOOTH's next record was done. "I went out to L.A. — over the last month, I spent about three weeks there in total — and I've just been writing and working and coming up with kind of the new sound for this record," he explained back in March. "And it's just been happening really, really fast. And it's my favorite stuff I've ever written. I know a lot of people say that about their new stuff that's not out yet, but truly for me, it just couldn't describe more about where I'm at in my life, and I think the sound reflects that."

The 29-year-old frontman, who writes, performs, records and mixes everything that goes into BEARTOOTH's albums, elaborated on the musical direction of the band's new material, saying: "I'm trying to kind of push myself in a lot of ways, try new things that I've never tried before, try and show off different parts of my voice that I haven't used before. Yeah, it's going to be a wild ride."

With nearly two million monthly listeners on Spotify, BEARTOOTH has released four albums thus far: "Disgusting" (2014),"Aggressive" (2016),"Disease" (2018) and "Below" (2021).

The Ohio act recently released a deluxe edition of "Below". "Below Deluxe" is expanded to include 32 tracks. For this edition, BEARTOOTH added two new bonus tracks, "Fighting Back" and "Permanently Sealed", as well as a refreshed version of current radio single "Skin (Alternate Universe Version)", which mixes acoustics and electrics. It also includes the full, 17-track live recordings from the "Live From The Journey Below" livestream, recorded at the historic Clyde Theatre in Fort Wayne, Indiana in July 2021. An exclusive 52-track "Special Video Edition" Apple eMix bundle includes all the official videos plus the videos from "Live From The Journey Below".

In a new interview with Ian Danter of Planet Rock's "My Planet Rocks", ALTER BRIDGE guitarist Mark Tremonti spoke about the band's seventh album, "Pawns & Kings", which will arrive on October 14 via Napalm Records. The follow-up to 2019's "Walk The Sky" was once again recorded at Studio Barbarosa in Gotha, Florida with producer Michael "Elvis" Baskette, who has previously worked with SEVENDUST, MAMMOTH WVH and SLASH, among others.

"We're very proud of it," Mark said. "Our producer is absolutely in love with the record. I think if you're a fan of ALTER BRIDGE, you'll dig this record. We're very happy with it."

Asked if there will be any "heavy" Tremonti riffs on "Pawns & Kings", Mark said: "There are some heavy riffs on there. And it's funny because some of the heaviest riffs on the record [ALTER BRIDGE frontman] Myles [Kennedy] brought to the table. Even my producer is, like, 'I can't tell who's bringing what to the table anymore. 'Cause back when the band started, you were the heavy guy and Myles was the moody guy — [he would bring in] the ballady things — and we'd mix them up. And now you never know.' I think when you work with somebody long enough,

ALTER BRIDGE will embark on an extensive European tour this winter. The "Pawns & Kings" trek will hit 25 cities over 18 countries, kicking off on November 1 in Hamburg, Germany and wrapping up on December 12 in London, England. Supporting ALTER BRIDGE will be Grammy-winning rockers HALESTORM and MAMMOTH WVH, the new band fronted by ex-VAN HALEN bassist Wolfgang Van Halen.

ALTER BRIDGE released a seven-song EP, "Walk The Sky 2.0", in November 2020 via Napalm Records. The effort contained live versions of a few of the band's favorites from "Walk The Sky" — "Wouldn't You Rather", "Pay No Mind", "Native Son", "Godspeed", "In The Deep" and "Dying Light" — as well as one new studio track, "Last Rites", which was written, recorded and completed entirely during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Tremonti issued the fifth album from his solo band TREMONTI, titled "Marching In Time", last September via Napalm Records.

Kennedy released his sophomore solo album, "The Ides Of March", in May 2021 via Napalm Records.

Tremonti recently partnered with National Down Syndrome Society (NDSS) to release an album of Frank Sinatra covers titled "Tremonti Sings Sinatra". The LP of selections from Frank Sinatra's catalog was made available in May as part of a new charity initiative created by Tremonti called Take A Chance For Charity. Proceeds from the album go to support NDSS and the work they do to advocate for and support individuals with Down syndrome and their families.

Photo credit: Chuck Brueckmann

Fan-filmed video of EXODUS's July 10 performance at the Masters Of Rock festival in Vizovice, Czech Republic can be seen below.

Last month, it was announced that EXODUS guitarist Lee Altus would be unable to join his bandmates on their European tour this summer due to "family concerns." Filling in for him is Brandon Ellis of THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER.

EXODUS singer Steve "Zetro" Souza touched upon Altus's absence from the trek in a video update on his Zetro's Toxic Vault YouTube channel. He said: "Our guitar player Lee Altus won't be making this leg of the tour. It's gonna be Brandon from THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER. He's going to be filling in on guitar. For Lee, there's some family issues that Lee needs to take care of for himself, so he's going to be staying back [home]. He isn't going anywhere. Sometimes these things happen. Family things happen. You can't always put [the band] first."

Souza went on to say that he and his EXODUS bandmates are "looking forward to playing with Brandon."

"We knew that [Brandon] would nail it, and it's kind of been something that has been in the works for a little while so he's actually had time to learn the music and really get into it," the vocalist explained. "So it's gonna be really good.

"We're not gonna cancel. We're gonna keep going. It's gonna be EXODUS.

"For everybody in Europe, you are going to get an awesome EXODUS show," Souza added. "That's all I can say. It's gonna be heavy."

When Altus's absence was first announced on June 22, EXODUS released a statement via social media in which the band said: "EXODUS regretfully announce that Lee Altus will not be joining us on our upcoming European tour. Family concerns dictate he remain close to home and being so far away from home is not possible. EXODUS stand strong with Lee and will destroy in his behalf, and he will rejoin us for the upcoming tours such as the fall leg of 'The Bay Strikes Back'. We stand behind our brother in everything and he will be back! Joining us on this trek is none other than Brandon Ellis of THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER so let’s welcome him like one of the EXODUS family! Brandon is one of the sickest guitarists alive and he is going to kill it for certain! See you soon in Europe and the UK!"

Brandon added: "I am beyond grateful for the opportunity to get on stage with the legendary dudes of EXODUS and crush some open air fests and clubs this July and August. I wish Lee the best and will cover his stage right post with honor and respect!"

EXODUS is continuing to tour in support of its latest album, "Persona Non Grata", which came out last November via Nuclear Blast Records.

"Persona Non Grata" was recorded at a studio in Lake Almanor, California and was engineered by Steve Lagudi and EXODUS. It was produced by EXODUS and was mixed by Andy Sneap. For the third time in the band's history, they returned to Swedish artist Pär Olofsson to create the album artwork.

"Persona Non Grata" is the follow-up to 2014's "Blood In Blood Out", which was the San Francisco Bay Area thrashers' first release since the departure of the group's lead singer of nine years, Rob Dukes, and the return of Steve "Zetro" Souza, who previously fronted EXODUS from 1986 to 1993 and from 2002 to 2004.

Last July, EXODUS drummer Tom Hunting underwent a successful total gastrectomy in his battle with squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the stomach. He rejoined his bandmates on stage in October at the Aftershock festival in Sacramento, California.

EXODUS tapped John Tempesta to play drums for the band at Psycho Las Vegas in Las Vegas, Nevada in August and at Full Terror Assault in Cave In Rock, Illinois in September while Hunting was recovering from surgery. Tempesta was a member of EXODUS from 1989 until 1993 and played on the band's albums "Impact Is Imminent" (1990) and "Force Of Habit" (1992).

A GoFundMe campaign to help Hunting with medical expenses had previously raised more than $114,000 — including $5,000 from Tom's former EXODUS bandmate, current METALLICA guitarist Kirk Hammett, and $1,500 from FOZZY singer and wrestling superstar Chris Jericho.

Posted by Masters of Rock on Monday, July 11, 2022

ARCHITECTS will release a new studio album, "The Classic Symptoms Of A Broken Spirit", on October 21 via Epitaph. The announcement comes with the release of lead single "Tear Gas", which is described as "an arena-ready anthem packed with industrial stomp."

"The Classic Symptoms Of A Broken Spirit" will be ARCHITECTS' tenth studio album and is the follow-up to last year's critically acclaimed "For Those That Wish To Exist".

The ARCHITECTS members barely had time to celebrate success when they began the process of writing the songs that make up the new record.

The LP was produced by Dan Searle and Josh Middleton, with additional production from Sam Carter at Middle Farm Studios and their own HQ, Electric Studios in Brighton.

ARCHITECTS were buoyed by finally being back in the room together after their last album was made mostly remote due to COVID restrictions, and the result was something altogether more "free, playful and spontaneous," the band's drummer and songwriter Dan explains. Frontman Sam Carter agrees: "This one feels more live, more exciting and more fun — it has that energy. We wanted it to be a lot more industrial and electronic."

Layers of electronic and industrial elements infuse the album with a blast of energy that sets the cinematic moodscape for the 11-track ride. There is more than a passing nod to the band's post-rock influences as well as now-familiar fist-pumping anthems such as "When We Were Young" and the aforementioned "Tear Gas".

"The Classic Symptoms Of A Broken Spirit" track listing:

01. Deep Fake
02. Tear Gas
03. Spit The Bone
04. Burn Down My House
05. Living Is Killing Us
06. When We Were Young
07. Doomscrolling
08. Born Again Pessimist
09. A New Moral Low Ground
10. All The Love In The World
11. Be Very Afraid

Upcoming ARCHITECTS tour dates:

Sep. 06 - Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
Sep. 08 - Milwaukee, WI @ The Rave Hall
Sep. 09 - Chicago, IL @ Riviera Theater
Sep. 10 - Columbus, OH @ Newport Music Hall
Sep. 12 - Indianapolis, IN @ Deluxe - Old National Centre
Sep. 13 - Cleveland, OH @ Agora Theatre
Sep. 15 - Royal Oak, MI @ Royal Oak Music Theater
Sep. 16 - Toronto, ON @ Canada Rebel
Sep. 17 - Montreal, QC @ Canada Mtelus
Sep. 20 - Boston, MA @ House of Blues - Boston
Sep. 21 - New York, NY @ Terminal 5
Sep. 22 - Philadelphia, PA @ The Fillmore - Philadelphia
Sep. 23 - Silver Spring, MD @ The Fillmore - Silver Spring
Sep. 25 - Louisville, KY @ Louder Than Life Festival
Sep. 26 - Norfolk, VA @ The Norva Theater
Sep. 27 - Raleigh, NC @ The Ritz - Raleigh
Sep. 29 - Nashville, TN @ Marathon Music Works
Sep. 30 - Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade
Oct. 01 - St. Petersburg, FL @ Jannus Live
Oct. 03 - Dallas, TX @ Granada Theater - Dallas
Oct. 04 - San Antonio, TX @ The Aztec Theater
Oct. 06 - Tempe, AZ @ Marquee Theatre
Oct. 07 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Novo by Microsoft
Oct. 09 - Sacramento, CA @ Aftershock Festival
Nov. 05 - Leeds, UK @ First Direct Arena*
Nov. 06 - Glasgow, UK @ OVO Hydro*
Nov. 08 – Dublin, IE @ 3Arena*
Nov. 09 - Belfast, IE @ SSE Arena*
Nov. 11 - Birmingham, UK @ Utilita Arena*
Nov. 12 - London, UK @ 02 Arena*
Nov. 14 - Cardiff, UK @ Motorpoint Arena*
Nov. 15 - Bournemouth, UK @ International Centre*

* Support for BIFFY CLYRO

ARCHITECTS is Dan Searle, Sam Carter, Alex Dean, Adam Christianson and Josh Middleton.

Photo credit: Ed Mason

On July 9, SKY Arts aired professionally filmed video of IRON MAIDEN's June 11 performance at this year's edition of the Download festival in the United Kingdom. Check out the clips below.

As has been the case on all the shows of the 2022 leg of MAIDEN's "Legacy Of The Beast" world tour so far, the band opened the set with "Senjutsu", the title track of its latest studio album, and followed it up with two more songs from the same LP, "Stratego" and "The Writing On The Wall".

Other tracks aired during MAIDEN's performance included "Revelations", "Blood Brothers", "Sign Of The Cross", "Flight Of Icarus", "Fear Of The Dark", "Hallowed Be Thy Name", "The Number Of The Beast" and "Iron Maiden".

MAIDEN also played two encores, consisting of "The Trooper", "The Clansman", "Run To The Hills" and the closing track of the night, "Aces High".

The full setlist was as follows:

01. Senjutsu
02. Stratego
03. The Writing On The Wall
04. Revelations
05. Blood Brothers
06. Sign Of The Cross
07. Flight Of Icarus
08. Fear Of The Dark
09. Hallowed Be Thy Name
10. The Number Of The Beast
11. Iron Maiden

Encore:

12. The Trooper
13. The Clansman
14. Run To The Hills

Encore 2:

15. Aces High

Prior to the "Legacy Of The Beast" kick-off concert on May 22 in Zagreb, Croatia, IRON MAIDEN hadn't performed live in two and a half years — since the completion of its South American tour in October 2019.

Earlier this year, IRON MAIDEN singer Bruce Dickinson confirmed that the band is planning to stage a tour where it will perform its new album, "Senjutsu", in its entirety. The 63-year-old singer told the "Talk Is Jericho" podcast: "The plan we've got — it's not really a secret; I think everybody else has chatted about it — we will, I hope, we've talked about doing the entire ['Senjutsu'] album start to finish, but not this time around. And we all appreciate that that is something that really diehard fans will probably love and other people will go, 'Hmmm, I'm not gonna go see that.' So the answer is you play smaller venues so that they sell out with just your diehard fans. 'Cause it's a musical thing to do — it's a musical thing."

Dickinson went on to clarify that the 2022 leg of MAIDEN's "Legacy Of The Beast" tour, which is scheduled to hit North America in September and October, will once again focus primarily on a decades-spanning setlist of fan favorites.

"The 'Legacy Of The Beast' tour, people have all paid their money to see the 'Legacy Of The Beast' show, with Spitfires and flamethrowers and Icarus and everything that goes with," he said. "So they're gonna get all that. But the first three tracks are probably gonna be the first three tracks on the ['Senjutsu'] album. 'The Writing On The Wall' they already know, so everybody should know the first three tracks. And I just think [the] 'Senjutsu' [title track] is just such a great opening song — so dramatic. And then once you've done that — and we'll have a stage set to go with it — once you've done that, you're back to the kind of 'Legacy' world at that point. But I think 'The Writing On The Wall' is gonna be a great song — I mean, a crowd singalong song. You can imagine that. It'll be fantastic."

Addressing the fact that MAIDEN infuriated some fans by forcing them to sit through the band's then-new, 75-minute "A Matter Of Life And Death" album on tour in 2006, denying the crowd the greatest hits they'd come for, Bruce said: "Nobody has to buy a ticket. If you don't wanna go [see us play an entire new album live], you don't buy a ticket. It's gonna be plain as the nose on your face. This is gonna be what they're gonna do. So given that, don't complain that they did what they said they were gonna do."

Clocking in at a hefty 82 minutes, "Senjutsu" came out in September. It marks MAIDEN's second consecutive double album behind 2015's "The Book Of Souls" which is the longest MAIDEN album, with a running time of 92 minutes.

IRON MAIDEN's first album in six years, "Senjutsu" was recorded in 2019 in Paris with longstanding producer Kevin Shirley and co-produced by bassist Steve Harris. It features three tracks whose running time exceeds 10 minutes each.

For "Senjutsu" — loosely translated as "tactics and strategy" — the band once again enlisted the services of Mark Wilkinson to create the spectacular Samurai-themed cover artwork, based on an idea by Harris.

"Senjutsu" bowed at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 chart, charting higher than even the band's early classics like "Powerslave" and "The Number Of The Beast". Nearly 90 percent of the LP's 64,000 equivalent album units earned came from pure album sales. The critically acclaimed double album debuted one place higher than 2015's "The Book Of Souls" and 2010's "The Final Frontier", which both peaked at No. 4.

"Senjutsu" was MAIDEN's 13th album to top in the Top 40 in the U.S.

According to Billboard, "Senjutsu" logged the second-largest week of 2021 for a hard rock album in both equivalent album units earned and in traditional album sales.

"Senjutsu" topped the charts in several European countries upon its release, including in Belgium, Finland, Germany, Italy, Sweden and Switzerland.