In a new interview with George Dionne of KNAC.COM, SEVENDUST guitarist John Connolly addressed drummer Morgan Rose's recent revelation that he and his bandmates have discussed a possible "end date" for the group.

Connolly said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "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."

Last month, Rose told "The Jasta Show" 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.

SEVENDUST recently completed the songwriting sessions for its next studio album at a Kentucky farmhouse near the home of the band's lead singer Lajon Witherspoon. 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. Jake Bowen of PERIPHERY, Richard Wicander of FIRE FROM THE GODS and Justin deBlieck, formerly of ICE NINE KILLS, provided remixes and the band finished recording "All I Really Know" and "What You Are" specifically for this release. "Blood & Stone Deluxe" was released via all digital partners via Rise Records and was produced by Michael "Elvis" Baskette.

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. Tickets will go on sale on Friday, July 8 at 10 a.m.

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.

TWISTED SISTER's Dee Snider is the latest musician to defend Vince Neil after several video clips of MÖTLEY CRÜE's July 5 concert in St. Louis, Missouri showed the onstage teleprompter which the singer is apparently relying on to get him through each show.

A teleprompter, or autocue, is a display device that prompts the person speaking with an electronic visual text of a speech or script, and it is usually used by vocalists — including JUDAS PRIEST's Rob Halford and BLACK SABBATH's Ozzy Osbourne — who are getting on a bit and have a large body of work to remember.

Two days after BLABBERMOUTH.NET first published a story about Vince's teleprompter reliance, former MTV "Headbangers Ball" host Riki Rachtman took to his Twitter to write: "So @MotleyCrue used a teleprompter. Really who fuckin cares. Did you have fun at the show? That’s what matters. A lot of bands have used teleprompters STOP looking for reasons to criticize. Recorded vocals an artist not caring is bad Teleprompters? Who cares".

Snider shared Riki's tweet and chimed in: "True that! MOST bands are using teleprompters. Not me, but I didn't kill a lot of my brain cells with drink and drugs (not a criticism. More of an explanation)."

He added: "STOP being so damn critical and just enjoy seeing the people you love on stage! Now lip synching is another story!"

Other musicians who have defended Neil over his teleprompter use include DISTURBED's David Draiman, STRYPER's Michael Sweet and SHINEDOWN's Zach Myers.

Draiman took to his Twitter to write: "All you parasitic vultures pretending to be journalists who broke the 'big story' that Vince Neil/ @MotleyCrue uses a teleprompter onstage should really find a new line of work.

"SO FUCKING WHAT? Most artists with extensive catalogs do.

"Leave the guy alone FFS."

Myers shared the BLABBERMOUTH.NET article on Twitter and wrote simply: "Slow news day ?

"Steven Tyler has been 15 of them onstage".

Sweet was equally dismissive of the newsworthiness of the Neil story, writing on Instagram: "I hate to break it to you since this is 'BIG' news but many artists our age (or close to it) use teleprompters of some sort. Or lyric sheets, or other means. I used a teleprompter back in 2008 when I was with BOSTON! I use an IPad now for certain lyrics. When you've got a huge catalog that dates back to the early eighties (and you're getting a little older),it's pretty much impossible to remember the lyrics to every song.

"Why is this news? Give the guy a break. Would you rather he forgets the lyrics so you can beat him up for that?

"I have to say this - it's the best I've seen @thevinceneil do (performance wise) in a long while. He's obviously been working hard and it shows IMO. Regarding teleprompters - who really cares?

"Come on now!"

SEVENDUST guitarist Clint Lowery concurred, writing in the comments section below Sweet's post: "Dude has a catalogue of material to remember. Good for him for making sure he has a fail safe to glance at from time to time. God forbid he misses a lyric he'll get torn apart. Any band that has more than 3 records should use one. We would but we can't afford to have it on deck haha".

FOZZY singer Chris Jericho also chimed in, writing: "We used a teleprompter for Panama haha! @jericho_cruise".

Jericho's FOZZY bandmate, guitarist Rich Ward, commended Michael for his post, writing: "Bravo, Sir."

Two years ago, IRON MAIDEN's Bruce Dickinson called out singers who use teleprompters during live performances, saying, "I don't use an autocue on stage. A lot of singers now, they just have the words there: 'Breaking the law, breaking the law, breaking the law, breaking the law, breaking the law, breaking the law, breaking the law.' Breaking the what? 'Breaking the law. Breaking the law.'"

Bruce previously brought up the topic of singers relying on teleprompters in a 2014 interview with The Guardian. He said at the time: "I never realized that people were using autocues. What the fuck is that all about? People pay good money and you can't even remember the sodding words."

The now-63-year-old vocalist continued: "The daftest one I ever saw was [JUDAS PRIEST's] 'Breaking The Law'. It's on the fucking autocue. 'Breaking the law, breaking the law/Breaking the law, breaking the law/Breaking the law, breaking the law/Breaking the law' — guess what? — 'breaking the law.' It's ludicrous."

A few weeks after Dickinson's The Guardian interview was published, Halford was asked about the MAIDEN frontman's comments during a chat with Australia's AndrewHaug.com. Rob said: "Well, the first thing I'll say about that is Bruce Dickinson is a good mate of mine; I love him to death. I think he's an incredible singer, he's a great showman, he's in a wonderful band, IRON MAIDEN, who are one of the biggest metal bands in the world. And as far as what people say about each other, I don't think it really means that much, to be quite honest. We say whatever we say, depending on the day and the emotion that we're at. I know Bruce's heart is in the right place, and he just said what he said, and that's all there is to it to comment, in that respect."

In a 2010 interview with the QMI Agency, Halford spoke about how using a teleprompter helped him when he was asked to fill in for Ozzy with BLACK SABBATH for a show after Osbourne was taken ill. "[Like Ozzy], I use a teleprompter now too because I do so many things," he said. "I can't remember. I wish I was like my mate Bruce Dickinson and could do everything, but I need that safety blanket."

During the 2005 edition of Ozzfest, the traveling festival's founder, Ozzy's wife and manager Sharon Osbourne, famously cut the venue's public-address system and the main stage's power on at least three occasions during MAIDEN's performance at the tour's final stop in Devore, California because she said that Dickinson was "talking shit about my family, night after night," and was being "disrespectful" to her husband during Bruce's "nightly outbursts from the stage" by saying that "we don't need a teleprompter' [like Ozzy]."
True that! MOST bands are using teleprompters. Not me, but I didn't kill a lot of my brain cells with drink and drugs (not a criticism. More of an explanation). STOP being so damn critical and just enjoy seeing the people you love on stage! Now lip synching is another story! https://t.co/HyadH77d4h

— Dee Snider🇺🇸 (@deesnider) July 9, 2022

Iconic guitarist Carlos Santana has postponed six more shows on his "Miraculous Supernatural" 2022 tour in order to "recuperate fully" after collapsing onstage earlier in the week.

Michael Vrionis, Santana's manager, issued a statement on Friday (July 8) saying that the shows were being postponed "out of an abundance of caution for the artist's health."

The statement added: "I regret to inform you that the Santana band has postponed tonight's show at Ruoff Music Center, Noblesville, Indiana. And, we are postponing the July 9 show at Riverbend Music Center in Cincinnati, Ohio; July 10 at American Family Insurance Amphitheater – Summerfest Grounds in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; July 12 at Walmart Arkansas Music Pavilion in Rogers, Arkansas; July 15 at Dos Equis Pavilion in Dallas, Texas; July 16 at Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion in Woodlands, Texas. Doctor's have recommended that Mr. Santana gets rest to recuperate fully.

"Earlier this week, Carlos Santana was taken from the stage due to serious heat exhaustion and dehydration. All shows as planned beginning July 23rd of this month in Paso Robles, CA through the end of 2022 are still confirmed and will be performed as scheduled. The tour schedule can be found at: https://tour.santana.com/

"Carlos is doing well and is anxious to be back on stage soon. He just needs rest. Santana profoundly regrets that these postponements of his upcoming performances; but, his health is our number one concern. He is looking forward to seeing all of his fans very soon.

"Live Nation will be announcing the rescheduled show dates. All previously purchased tickets will be honored for the new dates."

Fans who expected to see Santana Friday night at Ruoff Music Center Noblesville, Indiana left were greeted with a sign at the amphitheater letting them know that the 74-year-old was not feeling well.

On Tuesday night (July 5) at Pine Knob Music Theater in Clarkston, Michigan, Santana was "over-taken by heat exhaustion and dehydration," according to a statement by his management team posted on his official Facebook page.

Santana also postponed a Wednesday night show at Star Lake Pavilion in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania. That show was rescheduled for August 4.

Carlos's wife, Cindy Blackman Santana, said Wednesday morning in a Facebook post: "Hi Everyone! Carlos & I thank you so much for your prayers, love, care & concern for him! Please know that he's resting and doing very well! He was diagnosed with heat exhaustion & dehydration… it was 100 degrees on stage and 114 under the lights so that coupled with not enough water is what caused the issue. He'll be as good as new soon! Thank you again and we love you! Cindy & Carlos."

Last December, Carlos canceled his Las Vegas residency dates following a health scare.

Carlos is continuing to promote his latest album, "Blessings And Miracles", which was released last October via BMG. The record's first single, "Move", saw the music legend and guitar icon reteamed with MATCHBOX 20 singer Rob Thomas.

With news that Toyah will be joining Billy Idol and The Roadside Tour 2022 in the UK this October, Toyah & Robert’s Sunday Lunch features a new cover of Billy Idol’s classic “Rebel Yell”. 





About the tour Billy Idol says: “As many of you know, this year has dealt me some health challenges which are nearly, but not quite resolved. While my recovery is almost complete, I have been given doctor’s orders to stay off the road until August - and so it is with great frustration that we must reschedule the UK Tour for October of this year. Thank you for everyone’s understanding and support. These shows will be worth the wait!”

Dee Snider doesn't believe that he will record new music anymore.

The 67-year-old TWISTED SISTER frontman, who released two solo albums in the last four years, touched upon his future plans while answering questions on Twitter on Saturday (July 9).

When one Twitter user commented that he is "amazed" to see legendary artists like Paul McCartney and Buddy Guy performing in their 80s, Snider wrote: "God bless them all! I can only do what's right for me. And for my retirement I'm writing screenplays, directing a movie, releasing my first fiction novel, producing two animated series, etc. etc. etc. My wife laughs when I tell her I'm retiring!"

After another Twitter follower asked Dee if he will still continue to record music, he responded: "Never say never, but I don't see me recording anymore. Movies, books, tv, radio, etc."

Two months ago, Dee told a fan that his performing days are likely behind him and that he plans to concentrate on non-music-related projects. After the fan, who recently moved to Springfield, Illinois, asked the aging rocker whether he ever tours in the area, Snider said: "No, I don't tour anymore. I don't even think I'll do any more shows. I'm focusing on writing, directing, and producing. Sorry man."

In June, Snider announced that he had secured a deal to publish his first fictional novel, "Frats". He has described the book as "a period piece/coming of age story set on Long Island, NY in 1972/73 inspired by true event." But he quickly clarified: "No it's not my story."

In 2016, TWISTED SISTER embarked on one final trek, titled "Forty And Fuck It", in celebration of its 40th anniversary. These shows featured the band's "core lineup" of Snider, guitarist Jay Jay French, guitarist Eddie Ojeda and bassist Mark Mendoza, along with drummer Mike Portnoy. The band's last-ever concert took place in November of that year — 20 months after the passing of TWISTED's longtime drummer A.J. Pero.

During an August 2017 appearance on the "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" show on SiriusXM, Snider stated about TWISTED SISTER's decision to call it quits: "Basically, the level of intensity that I performed at with TWISTED SISTER, I had to stop while I could still deliver that before I could no longer deliver that. The headbanging, the thrashing, all that energy… Where Alice [Cooper] always seemed like a crotchety old dude, and he's crawling around the stage, that works great for a 72-year-old dude now. But what I did does not work for [someone in his 60s]. I mean, it's just too fucking hard to stay in the shape. Just to keep that going just got harder and harder. I said, 'I wanna stop while people are still smiling and not looking at me saying, 'Oh, remember when he was good?'"

TWISTED SISTER's original run ended in the late '80s. After more than a decade, the band publicly reunited in November 2001 to top the bill of New York Steel, a hard-rock benefit concert to raise money for the New York Police And Fire Widows' And Children's Benefit Fund.

Snider's last two solo albums, 2018's "For The Love Of Metal" and 2021's "Leave A Scar", were both released via Napalm Records.

Last year, Dee told Ultimate Classic Rock that producer Jamey Jasta helped him find his place in the modern heavy metal scene.

"As I said to Jamey, 'I love contemporary metal. I just don't know where I fit in,'" Snider recalled. "He said, 'Well, I know where you fit in.' He helped me find the sweet spot. Then I found the team, and then I found the band, and then I found my spot. We come to ['Leave A Scar'], and now I'm, like, 'Okay. Now, I know what we're doing and I can join this party and participate in it fully and not be along for the ride,' so to speak."
God bless them all! I can only do what's right for me. And for my retirement I'm writing screenplays, directing a movie, releasing my first fiction novel, producing two animated series, etc. etc. etc. My wife laughs when I tell her I'm retiring! https://t.co/IZxGcdqmib

— Dee Snider🇺🇸 (@deesnider) July 9, 2022


Never say never, but i don't see me recording anymore. Movies, books, tv, radio, etc. https://t.co/mYRwTzTRhV

— Dee Snider🇺🇸 (@deesnider) July 10, 2022

Former IRON MAIDEN singer Paul Di'Anno met the members of KISS for the first time in 42 years this past Saturday night (July 9) when the legendary rockers performed in Zagreb, Croatia as part of their "End Of The Road" farewell tour.

Di'Anno, who has been receiving physiotherapy and lymphatic drainage treatments in Croatia in preparation for his long-awaited knee surgery, supported KISS with MAIDEN on the former band's 1980 "Unmasked" European tour. On that trek, IRON MAIDEN played 27 concerts and for the first time visited countries such as Italy, Germany, France, Switzerland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands. This run of shows undoubtedly opened the European doors wide for MAIDEN and helped Steve Harris and company become one of the biggest metal bands of all time.

At the time, Di'Anno told U.K. journalist Geoff Barton that he and his bandmates were "having an amazing time" supporting KISS. "We came over expecting nothing, but it's been so good," he said. "Touring with KISS is one of the best moves we've made. They've been so great to us, I'm knocked out."

MAIDEN guitarist Dave Murray agreed, saying: "KISS have been terrific. On our first gig with them we had trouble with our equipment; it was delayed at some border or other. It eventually arrived about an hour before we were due to go on, so that was okay. But all during the day [KISS bassist/vocalist] Gene Simmons had been saying to us, 'Don't worry, boys — if your gear doesn't turn up, we'll make sure you don't have to cancel.' Gene was prepared to lend us some of KISS's guitars and drums; he even sent someone out to see if he could hire a backline for us. It was a nice gesture."

Added Di'Anno: "KISS could've ignored us but they've been really helpful, really encouraging. We often notice the band members in the wings, watching our show. They like to see [MAIDEN's mascot] Eddie warming up the crowd; they love that. [KISS guitarist] Ace Frehley got so carried away, I even saw him climbing up the lighting rig to get a better view — platform boots and all."

A photo of Di'Anno with all four members of the current KISS lineup, as well as Chris Dale (who played bass on current MAIDEN singer Bruce Dickinson's 1996 album, "Skunkworks") and Chris's son Archie, can be seen below.

Di'Anno recorded two classic albums with IRON MAIDEN — a self-titled effort in 1980 and "Killers" in 1981 — before being fired and replaced by Bruce Dickinson. He went on to front a number of other bands, including KILLERS and BATTLEZONE, and released several solo records.

Last month, Stjepan Juras, a MAIDEN fan and author of many MAIDEN-related books, who is taking care of Paul while he has been in Croatia, revealed on Facebook that the 64-year-old singer will undergo three operations over two days in July. The procedures will be followed by a period of hospital recovery, intensive care and rehabilitation, including re-learning of walking. If all goes well, Paul should be able to walk fully by the end of 2022. However, if the set of treatments fails, then a leg amputation will be the only option.

In May, Di'Anno came face to face with MAIDEN bassist Steve Harris for the first time in three decades before the band's concert in Croatia.

Harris, whose group kicked off the 2022 leg of its "Legacy Of The Beast" world tour at the 22,000-capacity Arena Zagreb, came out before the show to greet a wheelchair-bound Di'Anno and chat with him for a few minutes.

After his friendly meeting with Harris, Di'Anno stuck around long enough to watch some of MAIDEN's performance before leaving near the end of the set to avoid a huge traffic jam after the show.

Di'Anno spoke about his experience meeting Harris in person after all these years in a live video chat with Canada's The Metal Voice. He said: "[That] weekend was absolutely amazing. 'Cause me and Steve [have exchanged messages] about football [in the past]. But we actually hadn't met [face to face] for a long time. And it was brilliant, because I met up with Steve's sister Linda first, whom I hadn't seen her in about 30 years. And then [seeing] Steve was amazing, and then [meeting up with MAIDEN's longtime manager] Rod [Smallwood] as well, it's made my whole year, actually. It was fantastic. It was pretty awesome."

Paul went on to say that the last time he saw Rod was in 2013 when both he and MAIDEN performed — separately — at Brazil's Rock In Rio festival.

"I missed the MAIDEN show because I got swamped by bloody press and stuff, so I couldn't actually do anything to watch the band," he explained.

Asked if it was "awkward" meeting up with Steve for the first time in 30 years, Paul said: "No. It was great. I wish I wasn't in this sort of position [being in a wheelchair]. Yeah, it was quite emotional. If it had been the first time we spoke together in 30 years, it would have been maybe a little bit more weird. But, as I said, we talk about football and stuff like that, and Steve phoned me up a couple of times from [his home in] the Bahamas."

Calling himself and Harris two "happy-go-lucky geezers" from London's East End, Paul went on to say that he owes Steve dinner "big time, because he looked after my missus and son over in the States on the last MAIDEN tour in Connecticut, in Hartford. He really looked after them — gave them backstage VIP stuff and all of that. It was great. So when I get my legs back, I'll take him out to dinner."

According to Paul, Steve called him the day after the MAIDEN show in Croatia but he missed his call. "But I did text him back," Di'Anno said.

Paul also set the record straight about where he stands with respect to his former band, saying: "What annoys me is that everyone's spreading rumors around that we don't like each other and stuff like that. I ain't got nothing [against] IRON MAIDEN at all. I tell you, the show was brilliant on Sunday — absolutely amazing."

More than a decade and a half ago, Di'Anno told The Jerusalem Post that leaving the MAIDEN juggernaut behind was the best thing that ever happened to him, and that he had no bitter feelings toward his former bandmates. "I absolutely have no regrets about leaving MAIDEN — I wasn't right in the head at that time to be in the middle of all that," he said. "I was fed up and disillusioned; it would have been cheating the fans and myself if I had stayed. It was easy to walk away from, and I'm very happy the band got bigger and bigger."

Several years ago, Di'Anno told Metal Thunder Radio that he wasn't as involved with MAIDEN's songwriting as he would have liked. "Steve had most of the words and the lyrics [to the band's first album] all written. That was some of the bones of contention that we had in the band — that I didn't get to write as much as I wanted to. 'Cause I am actually quite a prolific writer, but a lot of my songs were not accepted. 'Cause it's Steve's band, obviously."

He continued: "That first album was a revelation, I've gotta tell you. It was amazing. And the second album, for me, not so much. That's when I started to lose interest a little bit. But [we] still [had] great times — really great times."

In May, Paul played his first full solo concert in seven years at the Bikers Beer Factory in Zagreb. The show was filmed and parts of it will be included in a documentary about Di'Anno, to be directed by Wes Orshoski, co-director and producer of the acclaimed 2010 film "Lemmy" about the MOTÖRHEAD icon.

The Zagreb concert was free to attend and was held as a way of thanking Paul's fans for their help during the most difficult time of his recovery. The show took place just a day before the IRON MAIDEN's gig at the Zagreb Arena.

In February, Di'Anno outlined some of the recent health issues he has battled during an appearance on the "Još Jedan" podcast. He said at the time: "I caught sepsis [when an infection you already have triggers a chain reaction throughout your body] in 2015, and it almost killed me. And I spent eight months in a hospital in England. You've got a crucial 45 minutes to get as many antibiotics in you before you die, and they managed to do that, which was great. Then I spent eight months in a hospital, and then another three months in a care home. And while I was in there getting things done, on hospital visits, I caught MRSA [Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, an infection caused by a type of staph bacteria that's become resistant to many of the antibiotics used to treat ordinary staph infections] there twice, in the hospital. So that was it. So it kept delaying things and delaying things… And then they took this knee out put this cement thing in. And it was only supposed to be in there for a year. And the first time they put that in, it broke, so they cut me open again and put another in. And that one is still in here. And while it's been in there this long, it's going toxic."

Di'Anno reportedly underwent an operation in 2016 to remove a "rugby ball-sized abscess" on his lungs and required a knee-replacement operation on both knees after getting involved in several motorcycle accidents over the years.

As previously reported, Paul recently teamed up with several Croatian musicians to form a new project called WARHORSE. WARHORSE recently entered the studio to record three songs, two of which — "Stop The War" and "The Doubt Within" — were released in May as a special DVD single along with Paul's video message to all fans who bought the single and thus helped raise funds for his upcoming operation.

The WARHORSE single is Di'Anno's first music release after a seven-year hiatus due to severe health issues. The band was formed by Di'Anno and two guitarists/authors, Hrvoje Madiraca and Ante "Pupi" Pupačić.

WARHORSE plans to record an entire album in a very short period of time, so that they can announce their first performances in the summer of 2023.

WARHORSE released 666 bundles containing the DVD single and event t-shirt from Paul's comeback concert in Zagreb as part of a pre-sale and in less than two months almost all of them were sold out. Some of the last remaining signed copies are available from www.maidencroatia.com/warhorse.

Nita Strauss, the Los Angeles-based guitar shredder for the ALICE COOPER band, has announced that she will sit out the legendary rocker's fall 2022 tour. She has also scrapped the festival dates her solo band had planned for the rest of the year.

Earlier today, the 35-year-old Strauss issued the following statement via her social media: "After this absolutely incredible run in Europe, it is bittersweet for me to let you guys know that I will not be joining the Alice Cooper band for the upcoming fall tour. I will also regretfully have to cancel the festival dates my solo band had planned for the rest of the year.

"I AM NOT PREGNANT!!! There is no drama whatsoever and my touring year is still VERY full- in fact, I'm on a flight straight into the next adventure as I post this, and I'll be on stage again much sooner than you think! But that's news for another day.

"The past eight years together has been the experience of a lifetime, and I could not be more grateful to Alice and Sheryl Cooper, Shep Gordon, the amazing band, crew and fans for welcoming me to all of your nightmare.

"I don't know what the future will hold after this, but I am forever thankful".

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

Two years ago, Alice praised Strauss, saying she "just keeps getting better." Speaking to Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station, Cooper stated about Nita: "She just won [the] 'Guitarist Of The Decade' [award] in Guitar magazine. Best chick in the world — she's such a great chick. Gets on stage, and she's a force of nature unto herself. An I've got Ryan Roxie and Tommy Henriksen in the band also — you're talking about two great rock guitar players. And then I needed a chick that could really play.

"Orianthi was a great blues rock player," he continued. "She could play with Eric Clapton — she was that good. And she went off to do an album on her own. And then I accidentally found Nita, and Nita was a shredder. And that's what I was kind of looking for — was a shredder. But I didn't know how good she was, but she was a total shredder up there and killed it. And immediately just fell right into it with the guys in the band; she was one of the guys. Great chick. And she just keeps getting better. That's the thing about it — she just keeps getting better. No drama — it's always just, can't wait to get onstage."

Last October, Nita shared "Dead Inside", her first new solo music since the release of her debut album, 2018's "Controlled Chaos". The track is her first-ever solo collaboration with a vocalist, David Draiman, frontman of Grammy-nominated rock icons DISTURBED.

Nita released "Controlled Chaos" to mass acclaim from fans and media alike, with Metal Injection calling it "a great debut that — as its creator intended — leaves no doubt", and Guitar World stating "'Controlled Chaos' is a panoramic view of Nita Strauss's many strengths". To date the album has clocked up 6.7 million streams worldwide, with music videos for singles "Our Most Desperate Hour", "Pandemonium", "Alegria" and "Mariana Trench" generating over 3 million YouTube views.

As well as performing with Cooper, Nita has also played with R&B star Jermaine Jackson, early MTV darlings FEMME FATALE, video game supergroup CRITICAL HIT and popular tribute band THE IRON MAIDENS.

In April 2020, Nita launched "Rock Guitar Fundamentals" — a three-module online guitar teaching program suitable for learners of all levels. The course is available at www.iwanttoplayguitar.com.

Nita's live show is mostly instrumental in nature, combining originals with covers.

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Professionally filmed video of SEPULTURA's entire July 10 performance at the Exit festival in Novi Sad, Serbia can be seen below.

Featured songs:

0:00 Intro (Policia by Titas)
1:43 Tribal intro
3:25 Arise
6:46 Territory
12:27 Frontman Derrick Green dedicates concert and tour to family of guitarist Andreas Kisser whose wife recently died. He also introduces current touring guitarist Jean Patton
13:52 Means To An End
19:00 Capital Enslavement
22:54 Kairos
27:18 Propaganda
31:54 Sepulnation
36:40 Cutthroat
39:50 Choke
44:00 Convicted In Life
48:30 Troops Of Doom
52:17 Agony Of Defeat
58:14 Slave New World
1:01:35 Refuse/Resist
1:07:00 Ratamahatta
1:10:06 Roots Bloody Roots
1:14:44 Outro (Phil Collins, "Easy Lover")

In a recent interview with the "Pollution Nocturne" radio show conducted at this year's Plane'r Fest on July 2 in Rhône-Alpes, France, SEPULTURA frontman Derrick Green was asked when fans can expect to see a follow-up to the band's 2020 album "Quadra". He responded: "It's really difficult to say what we'll do for the next album because we're just starting to tour for this album. So there's quite a bit of touring we need to do this year, till the end of the year, and then next year as well before we even start to think about going in the studio again. So I think our focus is really based on touring right now for 'Quadra'."

As for how it feels for him and his bandmates to be back on the road after a two-year pandemic-related break from touring, he said: "It feels great to be back. To play live music is everything to us; it really is a big part of our lives. And being away from it for so long was strange at first, but I think it made us stronger in a lot of ways. We were able to determine what we really enjoy in life, what we take note of what really matters in our lives. So that break actually helped in ways. Now being here playing, it feels unbelievable; it feels like something that was missing but now it's back; that piece that was missing is now there again."

Late last month, SEPULTURA guitarist Andreas Kisser left the band's current European tour due to what was at the time being described as a "family emergency." In early July, it was revealed that Andreas's wife had died after a year-and-a-half battle with colon cancer. He is being temporarily replaced on the road by Jean Patton of fellow São Paulo, Brazil-based heavy metal act PROJECT46.

This is not the first time Kisser has sat out SEPULTURA shows since he joined the band three and a half decades ago. Back in December 1991, Kisser was unable to perform due to an arm injury and was temporarily replaced on a European tour by KORZUS guitarist Silvio Golfetti.

SEPULTURA comprises Kisser, Green, bassist Paulo Xisto Pinto Jr. and drummer Eloy Casagrande.

SEPULTURA was formed in Belo Horizonte by brothers Max and Igor Cavalera, who are no longer with the band.

LAST IN LINE drummer Vinny Appice spoke to Robert Cavuoto of Metal Rules about the status of the band's third studio album. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We just finished the CD. Chris Collier, who mixes a lot of KORN stuff, he did our albums. He just finished the mix. And it sounds fantastic. And that's coming out next year on the earMUSIC label. And we have an EP coming out in the next month or so on earMUSIC as well. And that EP has a cover version of a BEATLES song we did. It came out great. Something different. And a new song, one of our new songs, and then two live tracks. And then we're doing dates starting the end of September into the rest of the year."

This past May, LAST IN LINE bassist Phil Soussan told SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" that the band's new EP is "very special. There's something very, very cool about it — and there's gonna be a great video that goes with that," he said.

earMUSIC is the recorded music label of German entertainment group Edel AG which boasts a roster of global artists including DEEP PURPLE, Alice Cooper, BABYMETAL, THUNDER, STATUS QUO and many more.

The news of LAST IN LINE's partnership with earMUSIC was shared five months ago by Appice during a appearance on "Waste Some Time With Jason Green". Vinny also revealed that LAST IN LINE completed recording six more new songs in late January at Danny "Count" Koker's Desert Moon studios in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Formed in 2012 by Appice, bassist Jimmy Bain and guitarist Vivian Campbell — Ronnie James Dio's co-conspirators and co-writers on the "Holy Diver", "Last In Line" and "Sacred Heart" albums — LAST IN LINE's initial intent was to celebrate Ronnie James Dio's early work by reuniting the members of the original DIO lineup. After playing shows that featured a setlist composed exclusively of material from the first three DIO albums, the band decided to move forward and create new music in a similar vein.

LAST IN LINE's debut album, "Heavy Crown", was released in February 2016 via Frontiers Music Srl, landing at No. 1 on Billboard's Heatseekers chart. Initially, the release had been preceded by tragedy when Bain unexpectedly died at the age of 68 on January 23, 2016. LAST IN LINE, honoring what they knew would be Bain's wish to keep the band moving, brought in Soussan and committed to sustained touring in support of the album before beginning work on the follow-up release, 2019's "II", which was also made available through Frontiers Music Srl.

In June 2021, Soussan spoke to Metal-Net.com about the progress of the writing and recording sessions for LAST IN LINE's third album. "I've been quite motivational with the band," Phil said. "I'm trying to keep things happening. We wanted to work on a few different aspects [during the pandemic]. And we also had to go about getting a new record deal — we were changing labels — so that's something we're in the process of doing, and we're getting pretty close now. But part of that was writing a third record. So we've been hard at work trying to write a third record and even record that third record while we've been in different locations around the world. And, obviously, this band works as a unit in every sense of the word, so it's a real handicap not being able to be in the same room as everybody and trying to make it happen."

In February 2021, Appice told Metal From The Inside that former DOKKEN and current FOREIGNER bassist Jeff Pilson, who produced both "II" and "Heavy Crown", is not involved with the upcoming LAST IN LINE album. "We made a change," he said. "Actually, the guy who mixed the last record, Chris Collier — he's great; he's working with KORN — he recorded this record. And we're kind of producing it ourselves, between all of us.

"Jeff is great — Jeff's a great producer, and [he has] great ideas and stuff, but we just felt that we could probably do what we wanna do now that we're a band, we've been on the road, and we know what we wanna hear," he explained. "But it's coming out great. The stuff sounds fantastic.

"And yeah, I've been through a lot with Jeff Pilson. I've known him for years. He's a great guy. He's like my brother."

Also in February 2021, Soussan told the "Pat's Soundbytes Unplugged" podcast about the musical direction of the new LAST IN LINE material: "The songs are another progression from the last album — the difference between 'Heavy Crown' and 'II', and now 'II' and whatever this next album is gonna be called; we don't know yet, by the way. But it's definitely evolved even more; it's gone into even more of an evolution, but we are always trying to keep the characteristics of LAST IN LINE there. I mean, you can't shake those things — you can't shake Vinny's drumming, you can't shake Vivian's playing. And I'd like to say the same thing about myself, and, of course, [singer] Andrew [Freeman]."

Some of the early recording sessions for LAST IN LINE's third album took place in January 2020 at Steakhouse studio in North Hollywood, California.

DEF LEPPARD's Joe Elliott joined Billy Joel on stage Saturday night (July 9) at Detroit's Comerica Park to perform his band's 1987 hit "Pour Some Sugar On Me".

Joel's performance at the sold-out ballpark, 37,000 strong, took place the night before DEF LEPPARD and MÖTLEY CRÜE were scheduled to play the same venue as part of their "The Stadium Tour".

Saturday's concert marked the third time Elliott and Joel had teamed up to play DEF LEPPARD's signature song, following a 2018 pairing at Boston's Fenway Park and a 2019 performance at New York City's Madison Square Garden.

In a 2015 interview with SPIN, Elliott spoke about DEF LEPPARD's influence on contemporary pop music. He said: "I notice when it's pointed out to me, because I honestly don't listen to much pop radio. But when I am made aware of it, or just happen to be listening to whatever radio station my friend is tuned to in their car, it's, like, 'Whoa, that sounds a bit like we could've done it.' I started becoming aware of our influence in pop music about 15 years ago when Pink did a radio show with us, and she was standing on the side of the stage singing every word. I was like, well okay, she's a fan. [Laughs] We have people like Jewel or John Mayer or the guys in MAROON 5, all of whom are huge fans. It wasn't just RATT and POISON we were a part of…. [now] all of a sudden you've got Lady Gaga coming out and saying, 'I fucking love DEF LEPPARD,' and we had Taylor Swift wanting to work with us six or seven years ago when she was first kicking off."

He continued: "You are aware of it, and it's flattering, but I think it's down to the fact that we've always been more pop than metal, much to the annoyance of the metal press and metal fans. We were never DIO or ANTHRAX or JUDAS PRIEST… We've always been about [blending] that kind of quirkiness that QUEEN had with the power of AC/DC. It's something we've always felt was kind of our blueprint. So I absolutely hear it in pop because that's essentially who we were. DEF LEPPARD became popular not through being a rock band like [LED] ZEPPELIN or [BLACK] SABBATH. We became popular because our singles were on 'American Bandstand' between KOOL & THE GANG and Michael Jackson. We were the white rock band from the U.K. that people were like, 'What? How did they infiltrate the Top Ten?' And it was because we had these infectious melodies. We weren't afraid of singing about relationships or love, which is something that metal would never do. We were never [singing about] dungeons and dragons. We never will be."

"The Stadium Tour" kicked off on June 16 in Atlanta, Georgia and will conclude on September 9 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The veteran British rockers are co-headlining "The Stadium Tour" with MÖTLEY CRÜE, with support from POISON and JOAN JETT & THE BLACKHEARTS.

DEF LEPPARD's set on the tour includes some of the band's biggest hits, such as "Pour Some Sugar On Me", "Photograph" and "Rock Of Ages" — as well as songs from the group's latest album, "Diamond Star Halos", among them "Kick" and "Fire It Up".

DEF LEPPARD's long-delayed North American trek was originally planned for 2020 and later moved to 2021 and then to 2022.

David Lee Roth has released a new solo song titled "Pointing At The Moon". The accompanying music video for the track, which includes some of Roth's artwork, can be seen below.

Back in 2020, Roth included five previously unreleased songs in The Roth Project, an online comic narrated by the legendary VAN HALEN singer, with music from John 5 on guitar and bass, Greg Bissonette on drums, Brett Tuggle on keyboards, and Luis Conte on percussion. The tracks "Giddy-Up!", "Somewhere Over The Rainbow Bar And Grill", "Alligator Pants", "Lo-Rez Sunset" and "Manda Bala" were recorded nearly a decade ago at Henson Recording Studios in Hollywood, California.

Asked in a new interview with Darren Paltrowitz — host of the "Paltrocast With Darren Paltrowitz" — if he gets a "notice" every time one of the previously unreleased songs from his Roth sessions is officially made available, John 5 said: "I don't get a notice, which is funny. I just find out on Blabbermouth or something. But there's a song that I just can't wait for Dave to release. It's called 'Nothing Could Have Stopped Us' and it's about VAN HALEN. It's my favorite song that I've ever done with Dave, and it is beautiful. I don't know why he's not releasing that one yet. And I just can't wait for people to hear that one. 'Cause it's about VAN HALEN. It's just absolutely wonderful. I just am really looking forward to him releasing that one."

John 5 went on to talk about the recording sessions for the unreleased Roth record, saying: "We had a great time. We had a blast — a lot of laughs, a lot of fun. I'm just so happy that I had that cool working vibe with Dave that we can just jump into the studio anytime and knock out some songs. And I'm very lucky 'cause not a lot of people get a chance to do that with Dave.

He added: "We were all in there together — I remember we were just all in there together. And that's how it was. We were all just doing it together — kind of like the old days, and he wanted to do it like that. And it really was a lot of fun. We had so much fun doing it. And it's one of my fondest memories."

In August 2021, John 5 told AL.com that the rest of the unreleased Roth record is in the same vein as the songs that have come out, which have a singer/songwriter sound. "[Dave] wanted to do this kind of a more California sessions type of thing," the guitarist explained. "And he's such an artist, I was, like, 'Whatever you want to do, I'm there for you.' So it is that kind of vibe. But there's a lot of multi tracks and different acoustic parts that all work together. It's kind of orchestrated, if you will."

John 5 got his first big break playing on Roth's solo album, "DLR Band", before landing stints with Marilyn Manson and now Rob Zombie. His latest sessions with the iconic VAN HALEN frontman apparently took place at least eight years ago, with John 5 unveiling a snippet of the album during an interview with Masters Of Shred back in May 2019.

Three years ago, Roth was asked by Meltdown of the Detroit radio station WRIF if his LP with John 5 will be made available at some point. He responded: "It will. There's been a revision of things, and I can start making real plans and start marching into the future. And, of course, you'll start hearing that material. This is material that we wrote variously for me solo and for VAN HALEN, and it's quite a bank of stuff."

Roth, who was promoting his Las Vegas residency at the time, didn't offer a possible time frame for the release of the record, explaining that his priority was "getting out on the road first. Let's see the band, let's show ourselves off, let's travel all over the world."

Back in 2015, John 5 told Guitar Player magazine that the sessions for his latest Roth album were remarkably relaxed. "I would just go to his house and I'd write these songs with him, and he would say, 'Let's go into the studio,'" John 5 explained. "So he would go to Henson studio and record these songs. They came out… They're so good. They're so good. And we've got Gregg Bissonette playing drums on it, and I played the bass, and they're really great songs."

The guitarist said that Roth's vocals on the album sound "like nothing you've ever heard. It's old VAN HALEN — sounds like 'Could This Be Magic?' or anything like that. It's just that sound, that tone."

In a 2014 interview, John 5 described the LP as "11 of the greatest songs you'll ever hear, and it's just me and Dave, and we had Gregg Bissonette play drums on it. And it's unbelievable," he said. "You know, just great, great songs."
Link in bio pic.twitter.com/oOzh1a1s8z

— David Lee Roth (@DavidLeeRoth) July 10, 2022

Fan-filmed video of former JUDAS PRIEST singer Tim "Ripper" Owens's July 2 performance at Manifesto in São Paulo, Brazil can be seen below. Owens's set included the song "Hellfire Thunderbolt" from KK'S PRIEST, his new band with founding PRIEST guitarist K.K. Downing, which has yet to play its first live show.

Owens joined PRIEST in 1996 after being discovered when the band's drummer, Scott Travis, was given a videotape of him performing with the PRIEST cover act BRITISH STEEL. JUDAS PRIEST at the time was seeking a replacement for Rob Halford. He recorded two studio albums with the band — 1997's "Jugulator" and 2001's "Demolition" — before PRIEST reunited with Halford in 2003.

KK'S PRIEST also includes guitarist A.J. Mills (HOSTILE), bassist Tony Newton (VOODOO SIX) and drummer Sean Elg (DEATHRIDERS, CAGE).

KK'S PRIEST's debut album, "Sermons Of The Sinner", was released last October via Explorer1 Music Group/EX1 Records.

Last September, Owens spoke to Couch Riffs about the "cheesiness" factor that is present in much of the lyrical content in heavy metal, including in KK'S PRIEST. He said: "Sometimes I'll go, 'Ah, God. I've gotta sing that' or 'I've gotta do that.' But you have to add that to it because you still have those people and we still listen to that stuff and we still do it. JUDAS PRIEST, you look at that band, and not everybody in the band is in their 70s now, but there's 70-something-year-old grown men up there in those leather outfits. And some people go, 'Oh my God.' Well, but that's JUDAS PRIEST.

"You know what, though? Cheesiness, it doesn't bother me because cheese got me nominated for a Grammy and pays my bills," he continued. "But it's not a bad cheesy. I mean, all music is. You look at rap music, and how cheesy is that, in their way, where they're throwing money around and they're wearing these outfits.

"What I said about heavy metal, which is cool, we can write about anything. Sometimes it's cheesy.

"The weirdest thing is we got attacked for KK'S [PRIEST] stuff: '[The song] 'Brothers Of The Road', that's cheesy. That's so cheesy. Cliché, terrible lyrics.' I'm, like, how is it terrible lyrics? It's about brothers on the road who are rocking.

"I write a lot of 'normal life' songs — I write [about] what's going on in the world, what's going on in my life, what's going on in somebody's life. I tend to lean more towards that. But then I'll always throw in songs about a vampire or a zombie or an alien.

"Listen, writing about dungeons and dragons is cheesy to me; writing about brothers of the road isn't cheesy," Tim added. "But everybody looks at it different, and that's kind of it. But I look at all these musical genres, and there's cheesiness in all of it. It's just what it is.

"Listen, I record a lot of songs now. When COVID hit, that's how I made my living. I got really lucky. All of a sudden, I started recording songs for people all over the world every day in my studio at the house, and some of 'em can't get any cheesier. I mean, some of 'em are just as cheesy as they come. Some of 'em talk about sex and taking the women. And I'm, like, 'Oh my God. I'm 54 years old, and I'm talking about taking some girl home to my room, and we're gonna do it.' I'm, like, 'Oh…' I remember going to my girlfriend and going, 'Check these lyrics out.' But I'm, like, 'Well, they're gonna pay me to do it, so I'm gonna do it.'"

Trollfest released their ninth full-length studio album, Flamingo Overlord, via Napalm Records on May 27. Put on your dancing shoes, grab your sax & enjoy this saxophone playthrough for the album track, "Dance Like A Pink Flamingo":





Flamingo Overlord begins with the insanely catchy “Dance Like A Pink Flamingo” - the unforgettable track made world-famous with the band’s zany performance at Eurovision qualifier Melodi Grand Prix earlier this year - clearing the way for the bar anthem “All Drinks On Me”, which keeps the energy and drinks flowing before venturing into “Twenty Miles an Hour”. The track continues the party with a groovy funk flavoured sound, featuring a rap and saxophone solo that will leave listeners going bonkers! “Flamingo Libre” will soon whisk you away and have you dreaming of tropical drinks and magical nights, while “Pina Colada” stands as a much-needed summer anthem best suited for blasting while convertible cruising. Flamingo Overlord closes with the mysterious “Bob Venke”, telling the unlikely story of the mighty Flamingo Overlord's quest for world domination.







Flamingo Overlord is available in the following formats in various territories:


- 1LP Gatefold Pink
- 1LP Gatefold  "Flamingo Feather" Marbled Vinyl Limited Edition (limited to 300)
- 1CD Digipak
- 1CD Digipak + Shirt Bundle
- Digital Album


Order here.





Flamingo Overlord tracklisting:


"Dance Like A Pink Flamingo"
"All Drinks On Me"
"Flamongous"
"Twenty Miles An Hour"
"The Flamingorilla"
"Flamingo Libre"
"Piña Colada"
"Rule The Country"
"The Way You Earn Your Drinks"
"Overlords Have Feelings"
"Bob Venke"


“All Drinks on Me” video:





“Flamingo Libre” video:





“Piña Colada” video:





“Twenty Miles An Hour” video:





"Dance Like A Pink Flamingo" lyric video:





(Photo - Terje Johnsen)

The Deccan Traps are to release a brand new track, "Live It Up" on Friday, July 22.





The Manchester, UK-based band featuring We Will Rock You vocal legend Ricardo Afonso, Queen + Adam Lambert bassist Neil Fairclough and Faithless drummer Andy Treacey, recorded "Live It Up" at Parr St. Studios, Liverpool alongside John Dagnall (guitar), Lois Dagnall (vocals), Johnny Heyes (Guitar) and Neil Edwards (keyboards).




"Live It Up" is a fun summer song, following on from previous releases "Moonlight, Sun & Moon", "The Great Divide" and "Chain Me". It gives a nod to rock n' roll while still featuring The Deccan Traps trademark big harmonies, Ricardo's soaring lead vocal and some great slide guitar by Johnny Heyes.


The Deccan Traps have been gathering momentum since the end of the pandemic, and have even gained the support of none other than Queen legend, Dr. Brian May, who said of the teaser promo "Great riff guys!!"


Neil is currently on stage with Brian on the European leg of the Queen + Adam Lambert tour.

Zee Productions has announced the September 16 release of two new Iron Maiden jigsaw puzzles via their Rock Saws imprint. A message states: "Get your hands on the artwork for both iconic 1982 singles 'Run To The Hills' and 'The Number Of The Beast' as 500-piece puzzles."


Pre-order here.







Released on February 12, 1982, “Run To The Hills” is the sixth single by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden and the first from their third studio album, The Number Of The Beast. It is their first single with Bruce Dickinson as vocalist. The song peaked at #7 on the UK Singles Chart and as of 2017 has sold more than 200,000 copies in the UK and has been certified Silver by the BPI. It remains one of their most popular songs, with VH1 ranking it 27th on their list of the 40 Greatest Metal Songs and 14th on their list of the Greatest Hard Rock Songs. It is the second of three single covers featuring Derek Riggs' depiction of Satan, which debuted on Purgatory and later appeared on The Number Of The Beast covers.  This iconic artwork is now available as a 500 piece jigsaw puzzle printed on high quality board.





Released on April 26, 1982, “The Number Of The Beast” is the seventh single by Iron Maiden and the second from their third studio album of the same name. The song peaked at#18 on the UK Singles Chart on its original release. It has gone on to sell more than 200,000 copies in the UK alone and has been certified Silver by the BPI. It remains one of their most popular songs, appearing at #6 in Martin Popoff's book The Top 500 Heavy Metal Songs of All Time. The single's cover is the last of three singles to feature Derek Riggs' depiction of Satan. This iconic artwork is now available as a 500 piece jigsaw puzzle printed on high quality board.

Frontiers Music Srl announces the upcoming release of new Danish hard rock band Taboo's self-titled debut album, on September 9.


Taboo features vocalist Christoffer Stjerne, who also fronts the band H.E.R.O., and guitarist Ken Hammer, who rock fans around the world will recognize as a founding member of the beloved hard rock institution Pretty Maids. Based out of Copenhagen, Denmark, Taboo's songs are stuffed with classic heavy riffing and super melodic hooks with a dose of modernity.


A new single and music video, "Bleeding" is out today. Watch the video below, and pre-order/save Taboo on CD, Limited Edition Color Vinyl, & Digital here.




Guitarist Ken Hammer has made a name for himself during his lifelong career with Pretty Maids, not only as a founding member, but also as a cornerstone in the songwriting. Pretty Maids is a band known to hard rock fans around the globe for over four decades, but Ken is ready to branch out and try a new musical path with Taboo.


Christoffer Stjerne might seem to be a relative newcomer to hard rock fans outside of Denmark, but he has made a big name for himself with his band H.E.R.O. The band has released three albums, topped the radio and sales charts in Japan, and played numerous shows around the world. He is also a full-time producer, songwriter, and engineer, working with rock and pop artists from around the world.


Taboo's album was self-produced and engineered, but mixed and mastered by the Danish metal legend Jacob Hansen (Pretty Maids, Volbeat, etc.).


Christoffer and Ken have assembled a live band and are currently booking live dates for later this year and into next. Be sure to follow the band on social media to keep up to date on announcements about shows and the release of more singles from the upcoming album.





Taboo tracklisting:


"Flames"
"Bleeding"
"Learning To Breathe"
"Demons"
"Into The Sun"
"Powerless"
"It’s About Time"
"See You Again"
"Sensational"
"Daydream"
"In My Head" (Bonus Track)


"Bleeding" video:





"Flames":





LIneup:


Christoffer Stjerne - Vocals, Various Instrumentation
Ken Hammer - Guitars, Various Instrumentation


Additional Musicians:


Claus Langeskov - Bass (Track 1, 3, 4, 5)
Mat Sinner - Bass (Track 2 & 11)
Anders Kirkegaard - Drums (Track 1)

Trouble's Simple Mind Condition album will be reissued on deluxe 180 gram audiophile vinyl on August 12. The CD edition was re-released back in May.


Here we have Trouble returning with “Simple Mind Condition”, after a long hiatus (twelve years had passed since the release of Plastic Green Head), taking once more to the skies of metal. Some complaints and criticism followed upon its release which are not really fair.


Although fat and doomy stomps as on “Psalm 9” and “The Skull” are not present in abundance, nor are the stoner metal speed assaults of the self-titled “Trouble”, but neither those have been present really since the self-titled came out. Manic Frustration was a killer album, no doubt, but different being focussed on hard rock and not the doom and stoner influences. Plastic Green Head remedied this problem, to impressive standards and resulted in another great Trouble album.




This album features songs that are well-written and have a lot of  sludgy stoner hooks, and are drenched in Eric Wagner’s (R.I.P.) woe-is-me penmanship. Overall, a very good album, a convincing album worth your listening time. Those expecting the past could be a little bit disappointed, but those who will give the time to this album will find a hidden treasure in it.


Pre-order the vinyl here.





Tracklisting:


"Goin' Home"
"Mind Bender"
"Seven"
"Pictures Of Life"
"After The Rain"
"Trouble Maker"
"Arthur Brown's Whiskey Bar"
"Simple Mind Condition"
"Ride The Sky"
"If I Only Had A Reason"
"The Beginning Of Sorrows"

The official lyric for HailMary's new single, "Friends", can be seen below. It is the second single from HailMary's new album, Disturbing The Peace, which hit the streets July 8 via Eönian Records.


In 1989, shortly after the release of their third album Street Ready, Southern California metallers Leatherwolf and their "Triple Axe Attack" of Michael Olivieri, Carey Howe, and Geoffrey Gayer formed a new band called HailMary adding the rhythm section of Marco Forcone on drums and Patrick Guyton on bass from the band Enticier.


In 1990, HailMary signed a development deal with Epic Records. Minus the two bonus demos and re-recording of Media Lobotomy in 2021, HailMary would record alongside famed Engineer & Producer Tom Fletcher whose long line of credits included Yngwie J. Malmsteen's Rising Force, Scorpions, Metal Church, Motorhead, Dangerous Toys, Dokken, Ozzy Osbourne, and many more.




Michael Olivieri, "We are extremely excited for the release of the Disturbing The Peace. HailMary, forming after our supporting touring of Street Ready was a huge part of our life, and to see that so well documented is a huge thrill for us. The packaging on this is total badass! Thanks to Stephen and the Eonian Records team for treating us so well and doing such an incredible job."


Carey Howe, "I've been a part of some incredible projects that I am very proud of. The material we recorded with Tom (Fletcher) is some of our (Michael, Geoff, and my) very BEST and the packaging on Disturbing The Peace... you've got to be kidding me... simply AMAZING!"





Tracklisting:


"Mr. Keeper"
"The Way I Am"
"Media Lobotomy"
"Be My Suicide"
"This Kid"
"Friends"
"Killing My Dreams"
"Crush Of Love"
"D.A.D."
"I Don't Understand" (Demo)
"What's Your Civilization" (Demo)


"Friends" lyric video:





"Media Lobotomy" video:

The new lineup of GEORGE LYNCH AND THE ELECTRIC FREEDOM performed yesterday (Saturday, July 9) at the Uncle Sam Jam in Woodhaven, Michigan as the support act for DOKKEN. Fan-filmed video of the concert can be seen below.

Last month, George Lynch announced that he had recruited Ray West (SPREAD EAGLE) to sing for GEORGE LYNCH AND THE ELECTRIC FREEDOM. Also joining the legendary DOKKEN axeman in the band are Jimmy D'Anda (BULLETBOYS) on drums and Rob DeLuca (Sebastian Bach, UFO, SPREAD EAGLE) on bass.

Speaking to Andrew Daly of WWMusic about how he enlisted West for the project, Lynch said: "Well, I've known about Ray for a while because he was good friends with [former LYNCH MOB singer] Oni [Logan]; they kind of came up together. In the pre-LYNCH MOB days in Florida, Oni and Ray had a lot of history, and they were kind of at the same level, but Oni hit a little harder than Ray did as far as making an impact and making a name for himself. But it's really interesting because they're kind of out of the same mold. So, with Ray, he is just a great fit for the band, you know? And so what happened was Rob DeLuca has been in the band for a while as the bass player, so when we lost [singer] Andrew [Freeman] to GREAT WHITE, Rob said, 'Hey, you should check out Ray.' And I hadn't even thought of it, but Rob said, 'Check him out. He might be a natural fit. And so I did, and he really is. I mean, I probably couldn't have designed a better fit in a laboratory.

Asked what he feels Ray will bring to the table, George said: "Well, LYNCH MOB has been a revolving door for sure. At this point, there have been more people that have been in this band than haven't been in this band. [Laughs]. And so it hasn't always been the perfect guys that I would have liked to handpick. It's almost like, and I don't want this to sound negative in any way, but it's always been more of a matter of convenience at times. It's like this: when you get a different member of the band, be it a drummer, singer, bass player, or whatever — and this happens with a lot of people I've played with — it doesn't always click. But I think what is a little different about Ray is that it's like I'm putting myself back in time.

"When we formed LYNCH MOB initially back in '89, the world was our oyster. We had worldwide tryouts and we really took our time because we wanted to just hit it hard right out of the box. Without all the hype and expectations, I think I have a little bit of a sense with Ray that he could have been that other guy instead of Oni. And that's not to say there was anything wrong with Oni; it's more a testament to Ray, that I think he could have easily been the guy back then.

"Honestly, I can't think of any weak spots with this guy. There are some guys who can't cut it in the studio, or they can't do it live because they're not much of a frontman. You see some guys who don't write lyrically, or they're not a poet in that way. Some guys just don't have the chops for melodies; they just don't have a sense of that. Or they can write lyrics, but they're not poets. There are all these different things, and stylistically, yeah, you might have a guy that's just a monster machine, but he's got no soul, and he lacks that thing that really fits with the legacy of the music. So, with all those things, for me, you have to put that all together, and again, I think with anybody else that has ever come through the door, toured, and done record, I've enjoyed every minute of that, and I appreciate everybody that I've played with. Through the years, it's been a wonderful experience and adventure, but I think Ray is kind of like the cap on the end of the bookshelf. I mean, of course, you never know, and I guess nothing's forever, especially in this band. [Laughs]. We could be having this conversation again six months from now, and maybe the turnstile turned again, and we had to get a new guy. I am not anticipating that, but I've learned well enough that with this band, you just never know. But for the moment, I'm really appreciating the fact that we hooked up, and that we're going to do this, and I'm very excited. I know Ray's very excited too. He's over the top and we are too, and I think that's a little bit infectious.

"When you become a little bit older like me, it starts to become a little bit harder to get around. The result is it takes me a little bit more to get my motor going, so it's kind of like, 'Well, we've had thirty-five guys in this band. Okay, this is number thirty-six. Let's see.' But, you know, I really am genuinely excited, and we're always excited about having new guys and getting fresh blood. But this one is even more of an exceedingly animated thing for us because I think Ray is gonna bring some new life into our whole little world here. And we are planning on doing a record; we just signed up to do another album. It will be through Frontiers [Music Srl], and this will be my first official ELECTRIC FREEDOM record."

Read the entire interview at WWMusic.

It was only six months ago that Lynch introduced the previous GEORGE LYNCH AND THE ELECTRIC FREEDOM lineup at a concert at Count's Vamp'd in Las Vegas, Nevada. Lynch, D'Anda and DeLuca were joined at that gig by Freeman. At the time, Lynch wrote on social media that he "finally put together" his "perfect band."

In August 2021, Lynch spoke to Anne Erickson of Audio Ink Radio about what it has been like to play select shows around the country with his newly christened touring entity GEORGE LYNCH AND THE ELECTRIC FREEDOM. He said: "It's liberating, actually, to be quite honest with you. To have a new band and a new name and a name that — I mean, just the power of the name, 'cause with the new name, which is GEORGE LYNCH'S ELECTRIC FREEDOM, it really is electric freedom. I didn't even think of it that way, but [then-ELECTRIC FREEDOM bassist] Michael Devin and I were were talking the other day on the way home, and we were, like, 'This really defines the band.' And it really does. Because we're plugged in, we do a lot of kind of just off-the-cuff improvisation during our show, which you don't see very much in rock and roll anymore — not since the '70s. And we're big fans of that; that's what we were raised on. So it's, I think, more alive and vital than your kind of average thing where you go see a band and they're playing songs they wrote 35 years ago. And sure, it's great — you wanna hear the songs, and that's all good. But these guys have been flogging these songs for decades. I've been doing that too. And that's not what I'm about. I mean, I can do it. But I like to bring the audience another perspective and another dimension to what can happen onstage, and that is the creative moment in real time — experiencing that and witnessing that, and for me to play that and the band to play that... And I think the crowd appreciates that. And not just at the moment, but more in retrospect, when they think about it. They think, 'Wow, actually, that was pretty cool.' Every time you come see my band, it's gonna be different. It's gonna be different members [and] we're gonna play different material."

In early 2021, Lynch offered a lengthy explanation for why he was ending LYNCH MOB during an interview with George Dionne of Metal Express Radio. Addressing questions about why it took him three decades to call it quits with LYNCH MOB, George said: "When we first formed the band in '89, the name had sort of already been around. While I was in DOKKEN, it's what I called our little group of guitar fans — I had picks made; it was kind of a little subculture within DOKKEN. When we started working on developing and building the band after DOKKEN broke up, that was just the name that we always thought we'd use, 'cause it was a perfect fit — it's my name, and it describes it pretty well. And, of course, the negative connotations were always there, and I was aware of 'em, but not as aware as I probably should have been. [Laughs]

"I had made numerous attempts over the decades to kind of let that name go and had walked that back for multiple reasons — usually because of business considerations," he continued. "For instance, if you try to go out on a tour and not use the name, promoters aren't gonna be happy with you changing it. People aren't gonna know who you are. They're not gonna show up, because what's THE GEORGE LYNCH EXPERIENCE, or whatever you call it. Or record labels are not interested, because it's a brand that they can count on and sell a certain many albums or whatever.

"For instance, the LYNCH MOB record 'Smoke This' that came out, I think, in '99 or 2000, that was not supposed to be a LYNCH MOB record; that really wasn't anything to do with LYNCH MOB. At the end of the day, after the record was done and we were delivering it to the label, they insisted on using that name as insurance. And if I hadn't agreed to that, we wouldn't have had a record. That's the kind of pressure I'm talking about.

"But then, with the onset of everything that's happened in the last year, I didn't have that kind of pressure anymore," George added. "I could take it or leave it at this point. And I didn't really feel comfortable with it; I didn't feel comfortable with the name. 'Cause I'm a very progressive person politically, and it just so flies in the face of everything I believe in, and it makes it hard. It makes it hard to have relationships with people and explain yourself, and I got tired of rationalizing it. I think the music is bigger than that, and it's had a great run.

"Another reason, too, is the band fell apart again. The band has fallen apart so many times, I can't even count. And it was just, like, 'No more Oni [Logan, vocals], no more Brian Tichy [drums], no more this guy, no more that guy. Oh, great. Now what do I do?' It's, like, 'Okay, build another band from scratch, call it LYNCH MOB?' No. How about just build something new? It gives me a lot more freedom to basically play anything I want live… I can go out and play everything from my catalog — new, old, covers, jams, you name it, and go deep and have fun and change it up every night."

Oni first hooked up with LYNCH MOB in 1990, but exited the group after the release of its first album, only to rejoin the outfit in the late 2000s.

Logan is featured on five of LYNCH MOB's eight albums, including 1990's "Wicked Sensation", as well as 2009's "Smoke And Mirrors", 2014's "Sun Red Sun", 2015's "Rebel" and 2017's "The Brotherhood".



George Lynch live Uncle Sam Jam

Posted by Beverly Physician on Saturday, July 9, 2022

RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE kicked off its long-delayed "Public Service Announcement" tour Saturday night (July 9) at Alpine Valley Music Theatre in East Troy, Wisconsin.

The band opened its first show in 11 years with "Bombtrack", a song from RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE's classic 1992 debut album, and closed the set with "Killing In The Name". Other tracks performed during the concert included "Bulls On Parade", "Guerrilla Radio", "Sleep Now In The Fire", "Wake Up", "Testify" and a cover of Bruce Springsteen's "The Ghost Of Tom Joad".

The setlist was as follows:

01. Bombtrack
02. People Of The Sun
03. Bulls On Parade
04. Bullet In The Head
05. Testify
06. Tire Me
07. Wake Up
08. Guerrilla Radio
09. Without A Face
10. Know Your Enemy
11. Calm Like A Bomb / Sleep Now In The Fire
12. War Within A Breath
13. The Ghost Of Tom Joad
14. Freedom / Township Rebellion
15. Killing In The Name

RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE's comeback tour will continue through mid-August. The massive trek features support from RUN THE JEWELS.

The current tour marks the first time the reunited rap-metal quartet has hit the road together since 2011.

This past January, RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE postponed the start date of the U.S. leg of its "Public Service Announcement" tour to this summer. The North American leg of the trek was originally slated to begin in March 2020 before it was rescheduled several times due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 19 RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE shows that were supposed to take place between March 31 and May 23 will now take place in early 2023.

RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE last played together at L.A. Rising and has resisted calls for a reunion, with vocalist De La Rocha previously believed to be the lone holdout. Guitarist Tom
Morello and his fellow RAGE bandmates Tim Commerford (bass) and Brad Wilk (drums) have since teamed up with PUBLIC ENEMY's Chuck D. and CYPRESS HILL's B-Real in the similarly styled PROPHETS OF RAGE.

RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE recorded three original studio albums and one set of covers before breaking up in 2000. The group reformed in 2007 but only played sporadic gigs and never a full tour.

NAZARETH bass player Pete Agnew, the only founding member still with the band, has paid tribute to original NAZARETH guitarist Manny Charlton who died in Texas on Tuesday, July 5 at the age of 80.

Pete wrote: "Sadly I have to tell you that Manny Charlton died on Tuesday (5th July) in Texas. There were no details available at the time of writing but I believe his death was sudden and not illness related.

"Manny was there from the very beginning of NAZARETH so we all came up together through the tough times and through the wonderfully successful years as the band became an international acclaimed outfit. His contribution as a musician was immeasurable. Not only was he a team player who loved jamming for hours at a time with the band and then sifting through the tapes for even more hours just looking to find the tiniest usable idea, he was never happier than when he was sitting in the producers chair making records and searching for that special 'racket' (noise) as he called it, that he was always trying to create. He produced several other bands and found his 'racket' a few times along the way but the one he was most proud of was 'Love Hurts', one of the best sounding records of all time and one of the songs on his first album as a producer.

"We had our ups and downs over the years but we never once disagreed about the music.

"I would like to offer condolences on behalf of the NAZARETH family to Manny's own family ... our thoughts are with you at this sad time."

Charlton is famous for the guitar riffs that catapulted NAZARETH to stardom during the 1970s. He played on, produced and wrote most of their greatest hits, including "Broken Down Angel", "Bad Bad Boy", "Hair Of The Dog" and countless others, not to mention producing the prototype rock ballad "Love Hurts", which was a Top 10 hit around the world in 1975 and stayed an unprecedented 60 weeks in the Norwegian chart.

Charlton released several high-quality albums since leaving NAZARETH in 1990, including "Hellacious" from 2014, which features an all-star lineup of classic rock legends, including Tim Bogert (VANILLA FUDGE, CACTUS),drummer Walfredo Reyes Jr. (SANTANA, TRAFFIC, Steve Winwood, Lindsey Buckingham),Vivian Campbell (DEF LEPPARD),Robert Sarzo, Steven Adler (GUNS N' ROSES) and a talented New York-based singer, Robyn DeLarenzo.

In a 2012 interview, Charlton stated about "Hair Of The Dog": "What that album did was set the band up for American success forever. Looking back, I'm still trying to understand why it was so successful. I've come to the conclusion that it's all about the attitude of the songs, performances and the rawness of the production. This was the first album that I produced for the band. Beginner's luck, you might say."

In 1986, Manny was brought in to produce GUNS N' ROSES' debut album, "Appetite For Destruction". Charlton ended up helming GN'R's 1986 Sound City demos that eventually received an official release on the 2018 "Appetite For Destruction" box set. As Manny told Legendary Rock Interviews a decade ago: "Axl's [Rose] favorite singer is [NAZARETH frontman] Dan McCafferty. He said to his label, 'Get me the guy who produced 'Hair Of The Dog' by NAZARETH.' What Axl wants, Axl gets.

"We left it saying, 'If we could get our respective schedules together, then great,'" he continued. "I was in the middle of recording 'Cinema' with NAZARETH and it didn't happen."

Hot off the back of their European summer tour, THE DEAD DAISIES are primed to hit the USA this summer/fall. The band has been busy radiating some heat, playing with the likes of JUDAS PRIEST, FOREIGNER and taking part in several major festival across Europe.

THE DEAD DAISIES are really looking forward to tearing up stages from the East to West Coast, playing new music along with the classic hits you know and love on a series of dates across the USA.

Tour dates:

Sep. 07 - The Landis Theater - Vineland, NJ
Sep. 10 - Blue Ridge Rock Festival - Danville, VA
Sep. 11 - State Theatre - Falls Church, VA
Sep. 14 - Eastside Bowl – Nashville, TN
Sep. 15 - Arcada Theatre - St Charles, IL
Sep. 18 - The Vermont Hollywood - Los Angeles, CA
Sep. 21 - Goldfield Trading Post - Roseville, CA
Sep. 23 - Bossanova Ballroom - Portland, OR
Sep. 24 - The Crocodile - Seattle, WA

THE DEAD DAISIES say: "We know it's tough out there, so we have created a specially priced 'Have A Drink On Us' ticket bundle for our fans which includes a beverage and an exclusive DAISIES t-shirt. The bundle is limited to 100 tickets per show, so get yours now."

Commented guitarist Doug Aldrich: "Look out!! We're hitting a few of the best rock and roll cities starting in early September. Can't wait to play you the new tunes!!! See you on tour!!"

For more information on the tour, click here.

THE DEAD DAISIES have just dropped the second single, "Shine On", from their upcoming album, slated for release in late September. With THE DAISIES' trademark Aussie rock stamp all over it, this hard-driving track is one to sink your teeth into and set to become an instant anthem.

Guitarist David Lowy said: "Straight-up Aussie rock, it started as a riff I wrote on the tour bus and now here it is!"

Added drummer Brian Tichy: "Here's another slab of driving, pounding rock from your friends in THE DEAD DAISIES! The new single is 'Shine On'. I had a blast recording this with the guys, and hope y'all dig it as well."

Last month, THE DEAD DAISIES shared the official music video for "Radiance", the first single from their upcoming album. The band has been writing and recording at the Mix Room studios in Los Angeles with esteemed producer Ben Grosse.

THE DEAD DAISIES' last album, "Holy Ground", was released in January 2021. Recorded at La Fabrique Studios in the south of France with Grosse, the LP was the band's first to feature Hughes, who joined the group in 2019 as its new bassist and vocalist, replacing John Corabi (MÖTLEY CRÜE) and Marco Mendoza (THIN LIZZY).

KING'S X has been forced to cancel its European tour this fall due to "an unforeseen medical issue" with guitarist Ty Tabor.

Earlier today (Friday, July 8),Ty released the following statement via social media: "Hello everyone. I recently went in for some medical tests and discovered that I have an illness requiring vigilant monitoring. As a result, I will need to remain in the U.S. while following medical advice and potential treatment.

"I know this is a disappointment for those who have waited so long for our European shows. I am sorry for this unavoidable setback.

"I want everyone to know that my prognosis is good. We plan to keep doing shows in the U.S. so I can remain close to home and take less risks while dealing with this change in life.

"Thanks so much for all of your love and support."

KING'S X also noted that Ty's illness doesn't affect the three shows the band is scheduled to play in July, as they will be the last concerts before his treatments.

KING'S X will release its 13th studio album, "Three Sides Of One", on September 2. The LP's heavy first single, "Let It Rain", was made available last month.

"Three Sides Of One" 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 other health scares in recent years, including frontman Doug "Dug" Pinnick's two hernia operations and two near-fatal heart attacks suffered by drummer Jerry 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."

Photo credit: Reames Photography

HALESTORM frontwoman Lzzy Hale joined Matt Pinfield for this week's episode of 95.5 KLOS's "New & Approved" show. Lzzy discussed the process of creating HALESTORM's recently released fifth album, "Back From The Dead", during the lockdown, including its difficulties. She told Matt how she wrote the songs from such a personal state, but that she's amazed to see fans interpret the music into their own perspectives. Lzzy also dipped into her past and talked with Matt about her greatest influences and who she grew up listening to; Ronnie James Dio, CINDERELLA's Tom Keifer, Joan Jett, HEART's Ann and Nancy Wilson, and Pat Benatar were just a few singers/guitarists she has always looked up to. Her dad also affected Lzzy's music taste as a child with his love of 1970s hard rock bands such as DEEP PURPLE, BLACK SABBATH and ALICE COOPER.

Asked about the personal message she shared in June for Pride Month in which she said that she is "unapologetically bisexual" and admitting that she hid her "bisexuality for a long time," Lzzy said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I think that the more that I am open and honest with the people that follow me, and even the people are just discovering me for the first time, it's always better to err that way. I've never really wanted to hide behind some veil or some weird idea that I'm this perfect person or I have everything figured out. It's hard to figure yourself out, and it's hard to find a way to be the truest self that you can be, especially when you're growing up. A lot of the times we know we're different and we don't even know why, or we don't know what to call it, or do we even need the label.

"It was important for me to put that out there in the world because I've had many conversations with specifically young people who are trying to do that and trying to find their place in the world and find their superpower and the things that make them different are that," she explained. "It's important for me to put that out there just as a source of, 'Hey, I'm still here. I made it through. I can be proud of everything that I am — both my light and dark, both my weird and not, my big, my small, my loud, my quiet — and if I can find that place in my journey, then so can you.' And so it's my way of putting some kind of good out in the world."

HALESTORM will embark on a U.S. fall tour with fellow female-fronted bands THE WARNING and NEW YEARS DAY. The trek will kick off September 21 in Huntsville, Alabama and run through HALESTORM's October 8 appearance at Aftershock festival.

The fall trek follows a July headline run with THE PRETTY RECKLESS as direct support, along with THE WARNING and LILITH CZAR.

"The Strange Case Of…", HALESTORM's second album, was just certified platinum by the RIAA. Released ten years ago, "The Strange Case Of…" includes the Grammy-winning No. 1 rock song "Love Bites (So Do I)" and the platinum single "I Miss The Misery".

Called "a deeply personal effort depicting the band's personal struggles through the last few years of uncertainty" by Alternative Press, "Back From The Dead", produced by Nick Raskulinecz (FOO FIGHTERS, MASTODON, ALICE IN CHAINS) with co-production by Scott Stevens (SHINEDOWN, DAUGHTRY, NEW YEARS DAY),"is a journey of navigating mental health, debauchery, survival, redemption, rediscovery, and still maintaining faith in humanity," according to Hale, named by Revolver as "one of the most charismatic, powerful, and captivating vocalists of our time."

Former ENTOMBED and ENTOMBED A.D. guitarist Nico Elgstrand spoke to Heavy Culture about last year's passing of Lars-Göran Petrov. The pioneering ENTOMBED and ENTOMBED A.D. frontman died on March 7, 2021 after a battle with bile duct cancer. He was 49 years old.

Asked about the current status of ENTOMBED A.D., Nico said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I've gotta say I, at least personally, am still grieving. It was a horrible blow, a terrible loss. We speak pretty often, the rest of the guys in the band, but with the COVID and everything, everything came to a halt anyway. So we have been talking about maybe someday doing something, but it's nothing… I think we all still are hurting from the loss, so the vibe to continue doing anything at this point is not really there for the moment. I don't know if it's gonna happen in the future. People have been asking about all kinds of reunion or tributes or whatnot. And maybe in the future we'll do some kind of a tribute thing to him, but right now it's still really, really tough."

ENTOMBED A.D. was formed in 2014 when Petrov and other members of ENTOMBED decided to change the band's name in order to avoid a legal battle with ENTOMBED guitarist Alex Hellid who didn't want his former bandmates to use the ENTOMBED moniker. Elgstrand explained to Heavy Culture: "We decided we wanted different things. After [ENTOMBED's last album, 2007's] 'Serpent Saints', there was a lot of turmoil and some people in the band didn't wanna continue touring and whatnot. So basically I was in ENTOMBED and then all of a sudden we just changed it to ENTOMBED A.D. to be able to continue recording albums and tour. Four parts out of five decided to move along and then just call it something different just to be able to keep doing it… Everybody except one wanted to continue to do it, so we all decided together, let's just continue. And it's been a lot of legal bullshit back and forth, and to avoid it, we just decided to continue as the same band but kind of different anyways."

ENTOMBED A.D.'s latest album, "Bowels Of Earth", was released in August 2019 via Century Media.

In August 2020, Petrov told Metal Hammer about how he found out about his cancer: "A couple of months ago. I felt a lump in my solar plexus. And I was, like, 'Okay, I'll ignore it.' But then it started to hurt, so I went to the doctor, and they X-rayed it quickly and said, 'You have to go to the specialist.' That was weird. You can't imagine what it feels like. Your whole body goes warm. It's, like, 'Fucking hell.'"

Although Petrov revealed his cancer was "incurable," he said that the doctors were "hoping" they would be able to treat it. "Being young, the doctor said there's hopefully a way to control it so it doesn't spread, or maybe even make it smaller," he said.

Hellid and Petrov had been embroiled in a legal battle over the ENTOMBED name for several years. In 2014, Petrov was reportedly awarded the right to use the band name in connection with future recording and touring activities, a decision which Hellid appealed without success. The guitarist then went on to register a trademark for spirits production under the "Entombed" name. This move did not sit well with Hellid's former bandmate, who filed a letter of protest against Alex's registration of the name, claiming that it could be confused with band activities. He also said that Hellid acted in "bad faith" when he registered name and that there was a desire to "deceive the public." Petrov's protest, however, found no favor with the Swedish Patent And Registration Office, which rejected his claims on the issue in a March 2016 ruling.

In an interview with Revolution-Music.dk, Petrov defended his group's decision to release albums and tour under the name ENTOMBED A.D.. "It had to be done, because without an album you can't tour," he explained. "I mean, you can tour, but if there's seven years between albums, it's ridiculously long. So we did the right thing, and we did what bands should do, and still do — release an album and go on tour and headbang and have a good time with friends, and that's what it's all about."

He continued: "There was too much bullshit — crying and whining about things. It's just ridiculous.

"Some people are comfortable staying at home, but then just step aside and let us do our thing.

"We added two letters, but it's still the same band — [only] without people that wanna stay at home, or take millions of years [coming up with] a [new] riff."

Asked if he thought the ENTOMBED name has been damaged as a result of the drama surrounding the split with Hellid and the decision to continue as ENTOMBED A.D., Petrov said: "Nah, not really. A thousand people have a thousand different opinions — good and bad. But we do what we felt was right. And we're out here touring, and that's the most important [thing], I think. And leave the childishness aside and play metal, basically."

DISTURBED's David Draiman, STRYPER's Michael Sweet and SHINEDOWN's Zach Myers are among the musicians who have defended Vince Neil after several video clips of MÖTLEY CRÜE's July 5 concert in St. Louis, Missouri showed the onstage teleprompter which the singer is apparently relying on to get him through each show.

A teleprompter, or autocue, is a display device that prompts the person speaking with an electronic visual text of a speech or script, and it is usually used by vocalists — including JUDAS PRIEST's Rob Halford and BLACK SABBATH's Ozzy Osbourne — who are getting on a bit and have a large body of work to remember.

After BLABBERMOUTH.NET first published a story about Vince's teleprompter reliance on Wednesday (July 6),Draiman took to his Twitter to write: "All you parasitic vultures pretending to be journalists who broke the 'big story' that Vince Neil/ @MotleyCrue uses a teleprompter onstage should really find a new line of work.

"SO FUCKING WHAT? Most artists with extensive catalogs do.

"Leave the guy alone FFS."

Myers shared the BLABBERMOUTH.NET article on Twitter and wrote simply: "Slow news day ?

"Steven Tyler has been 15 of them onstage".

Sweet was equally dismissive of the newsworthiness of the Neil story, writing on Instagram: "I hate to break it to you since this is 'BIG' news but many artists our age (or close to it) use teleprompters of some sort. Or lyric sheets, or other means. I used a teleprompter back in 2008 when I was with BOSTON! I use an IPad now for certain lyrics. When you've got a huge catalog that dates back to the early eighties (and you're getting a little older),it's pretty much impossible to remember the lyrics to every song.

"Why is this news? Give the guy a break. Would you rather he forgets the lyrics so you can beat him up for that?

"I have to say this - it's the best I've seen @thevinceneil do (performance wise) in a long while. He's obviously been working hard and it shows IMO. Regarding teleprompters - who really cares?

"Come on now!"

SEVENDUST guitarist Clint Lowery concurred, writing in the comments section below Sweet's post: "Dude has a catalogue of material to remember. Good for him for making sure he has a fail safe to glance at from time to time. God forbid he misses a lyric he'll get torn apart. Any band that has more than 3 records should use one. We would but we can't afford to have it on deck haha".

FOZZY singer Chris Jericho also chimed in, writing: "We used a teleprompter for Panama haha! @jericho_cruise".

Jericho's FOZZY bandmate, guitarist Rich Ward, commended Michael for his post, writing: "Bravo, Sir."

Two years ago, IRON MAIDEN's Bruce Dickinson called out singers who use teleprompters during live performances, saying, "I don't use an autocue on stage. A lot of singers now, they just have the words there: 'Breaking the law, breaking the law, breaking the law, breaking the law, breaking the law, breaking the law, breaking the law.' Breaking the what? 'Breaking the law. Breaking the law.'"

Bruce previously brought up the topic of singers relying on teleprompters in a 2014 interview with The Guardian. He said at the time: "I never realized that people were using autocues. What the fuck is that all about? People pay good money and you can't even remember the sodding words."

The now-63-year-old vocalist continued: "The daftest one I ever saw was [JUDAS PRIEST's] 'Breaking The Law'. It's on the fucking autocue. 'Breaking the law, breaking the law/Breaking the law, breaking the law/Breaking the law, breaking the law/Breaking the law' — guess what? — 'breaking the law.' It's ludicrous."

A few weeks after Dickinson's The Guardian interview was published, Halford was asked about the MAIDEN frontman's comments during a chat with Australia's AndrewHaug.com. Rob said: "Well, the first thing I'll say about that is Bruce Dickinson is a good mate of mine; I love him to death. I think he's an incredible singer, he's a great showman, he's in a wonderful band, IRON MAIDEN, who are one of the biggest metal bands in the world. And as far as what people say about each other, I don't think it really means that much, to be quite honest. We say whatever we say, depending on the day and the emotion that we're at. I know Bruce's heart is in the right place, and he just said what he said, and that's all there is to it to comment, in that respect."

In a 2010 interview with the QMI Agency, Halford spoke about how using a teleprompter helped him when he was asked to fill in for Ozzy with BLACK SABBATH for a show after Osbourne was taken ill. "[Like Ozzy], I use a teleprompter now too because I do so many things," he said. "I can't remember. I wish I was like my mate Bruce Dickinson and could do everything, but I need that safety blanket."

During the 2005 edition of Ozzfest, the traveling festival's founder, Ozzy's wife and manager Sharon Osbourne, famously cut the venue's public-address system and the main stage's power on at least three occasions during MAIDEN's performance at the tour's final stop in Devore, California because she said that Dickinson was "talking shit about my family, night after night," and was being "disrespectful" to her husband during Bruce's "nightly outbursts from the stage" by saying that "we don't need a teleprompter' [like Ozzy]."
All you parasitic vultures pretending to be journalists who broke the “big story” that Vince Neil/@MotleyCrue uses a teleprompter onstage should really find a new line of work.

SO FUCKING WHAT?

Most artists with extensive catalogs do.

Leave the guy alone FFS.

— David Draiman (@davidmdraiman) July 7, 2022


Slow news day ?

Steven Tyler has been 15 of them onstage https://t.co/KDDOZ4aLTP

— Zach Myers (@ZMyersOfficial) July 6, 2022



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A post shared by Michael Sweet (@michaelsweetstryper)

Axl Rose has thanked GUNS N' ROSES fans for their support after the band's headlining concert Tuesday night (July 5) in Glasgow, United Kingdom was canceled "due to illness and medical advice".

Earlier today (Thursday, July 7), the singer tweeted out the following statement: "I'd like to thank everyone 4 their well wishes! It's greatly appreciated! We apologize 4 the inconvenience of postponing Glasgow. I've been following Dr's orders, getting rest, working w/a vocal coach n' sorting out r sound issues. Seems good so far. Thanks again 4 everyone's concern! At the end of the day it's about giving u the fans the best of rselves n' the best time we can give u n' that's all I, the band n' crew r focused on. See u in Munich!!"

GUNS N' ROSES is next scheduled to play on Friday in Munich, Germany.

Some of the GUNS N' ROSES fans who attended the band's two concerts at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London last week complained about doors opening two hours late and various sound problems during the GN'R performances, making it difficult for the people in the back of the venue to hear Axl's vocals. At the second concert on July 2, Rose told the crowd he was "having issues" with his voice, forcing GUNS N' ROSES to play a truncated 19-song set, omitting such concert staples as "November Rain", which has been performed at every GN'R show since 2016.

"So I went to the doctors and all that stuff. I slept here last night to make sure," Rose, 60, told the crowd on Saturday in a video shared on Twitter. "So I'll be switching the songs around a little bit, vocally. I hope you don't mind. We would like to keep going."

GUNS N' ROSES' European tour is set to wrap on July 15 in Hanover, Germany. The band will pick up again in September in South America.

GUNS N' ROSES launched its long-rumored and long-awaited reunion tour with an April 2016 club show in Hollywood and appearances in Las Vegas and at California's Coachella festival.

GUNS N' ROSES' reunion tour features classic-lineup members Slash, bassist Duff McKagan and Rose backed by guitarist Richard Fortus, drummer Frank Ferrer, keyboardist Dizzy Reed and second keyboardist Melissa Reese.

GUNS N' ROSES released a new four-song EP, "Hard Skool", in February. The effort, which is exclusive to the GUNS N' ROSES' official store, contains the two new songs the band released last year — the title track and "Absurd" (stylized as "ABSUЯD") — as well as live versions of "Don't Cry" and "You're Crazy".

The band is now reportedly working on a new studio album — the first under the GUNS banner since 2008's "Chinese Democracy" and the first to feature Rose, Slash and McKagan since 1993.

Photo credit: Katarina Benzova
pic.twitter.com/ZZdhFlzitS

— Axl Rose (@axlrose) July 7, 2022

DEAD KENNEDYS' classic 1980 album "Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables" has been remixed from the original multitrack tapes by Chris Lord-Alge (Chaka Khan, GREEN DAY, Bruce Springsteen). The band's debut album (original release date: September 2, 1980) is politically incendiary while also wholly musically adept — provocative and often idiosyncratic agit prop lyrics bouncing off of careening, adrenaline-infused musicianship. So it's only natural that the 40th-anniversary re-release of this classic album is revisited by the Grammy-winning mix engineer Lord-Alge. "Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables - 2022 Mix" will be available September 30, 2022 via Manifesto Records.

"When the label suggested we remix 'Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables'," says East Bay Ray. "Klaus Fluoride [bassist] and I were skeptical, but we thought, 'Why not? Let's give it a try.' And, wow, Grammy-winning maestro Chris Lord-Alge was interested! It turns out he's a big fan of the band... We tried one song, 'Chemical Warfare'. What Chris came back with was amazing. Everyone heard the difference, so we said, 'All right, let's go!'"

This new mix, produced by Lord-Alge, lends incredible new sonic clarity to those songs.

"Revisiting 'Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables' was such an inside peek at a band packing so much excitement onto tape for every song," says Lord-Alge. "The style and playing has such drive and spirit. The big challenge for me was keeping it honest to its original sound and not letting it become modern but improving the separation and clarity. A major chapter in history for DEAD KENNEDYS."

While "iconic" and "classic" has been overused to the point of being an eye-rolling cliché, "Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables" is just that — a hugely influential work that created a major shift in the culture and creation of music to come. "The band's creative m.o.: left-leaning politics, mordant humor, gonzo imagery (What the hell do suede denim secret police want with your uncool niece, for Christ sake?),and muscular instrumentation. There was no other band that sounded like DKs," details Amy Linden, nationally recognized journalist and former DK tour manager. "DEAD KENNEDYS belied the mainstream narrative/falsehood that punk was more about provocation and attitude than actual skills and song craft. Which is not to say that DEAD KENNEDYS didn't have a healthy respect for provocation: this was a band not afraid to push, and even tear off, buttons."

A harsh reaction to the Reagan era in American politics, "Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables" tackled capitalism (the scathing and sarcastic and "Kill The Poor"),bioterrorism ("Chemical Warfare") and even "affluenza" ("Holiday In Cambodia"). "California Über Alles" (a pointed take on the anthem of Germany which begins "Deutschland, Deutschland über alles") was a blistering satirical take on governor of California Jerry Brown (1975-1983) and "hippie fascism."

DEAD KENNEDYS' influence resounded loudly throughout punk, hardcore, metal and rock.

"If you had to define and summarize all of punk rock, in my opinion it would be the SEX PISTOLS' 'Never Mind The Bollocks', the RAMONES' 'Rocket To Russia' and DEAD KENNEDYS' 'Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables'," says former MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson. "It is a slab of timeless perfection that will never be duplicated or imitated," adds Fletcher Dragge of PENNYWISE. "My education was punk rock — what the DEAD KENNEDYS said — it was attacking America, but it was America at the same time," contributes GREEN DAY's Billie Joe Armstrong. For Dave Grohl of FOO FIGHTERS, the band's impact was visceral and impactful. He remembers, "I went to the DK's 'Rock Against Reagan' show in Washington [1984]. The DEAD KENNEDYS were playing and were one of my favorite bands. There were police helicopters all over the place and buses filled up with riot police. As a thirteen-year-old kid, that was like my own little revolution."

But what matters most is the music. As historic as "Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables" stands in the pantheon of music, it's the personal effect it has on the listener and how it really does stand the test of time.

"Back in the day, 'deep listening' was a part of the culture," concludes East Bay Ray. "When anyone got a new record, they sat back in a sofa or chair, album cover in hand, and just listened. Dr. Ray highly recommends this for the 2022 mix of 'Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables'."

DEAD KENNEDYS lineup on "Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables" is Jello Biafra (lead vocals),East Bay Ray (guitar),Klaus Fluoride (bass, backing vocals),and Ted (drums).

"Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables - 2022 Mix" track listing:

01. Kill The Poor
02. Forward To Death
03. When Ya Get Drafted
04. Let's Lynch The Landlord
05. Drug Me
06. Your Emotions
07. Chemical Warfare
08. California Über Alles
09. I Kill Children
10. Stealing People's Mail
11. Funland At The Beach
12. Ill In The Head
13. Holiday In Cambodia
14. Viva Las Vegas

Teethgrinder from the Netherlands have always looked in disbelief at what mankind is doing to itself and the planet it lives on. Disgust, revulsion, suffering and despair - it's emotions like these that serve as the creative driving force behind the songwriting of the band from Zwolle.


The quartet packs all its rage and aggression into songs that reflect exactly that. The aptly titled Dystopia - the band's third album through Lifeforce Records - develops uncomfortably, radically and musically destructive. And it does so in a different yet agile, always threatening way. In view of song titles like "Birthed Into Suffering", "Disgrace", "Blood Ritual", "Our Failing Species" or "Worthless", it can't be any other way. 


As on the two predecessors Misanthropy (2015) and Nihilism (2016), Teethgrinder rely on a sound base between grindcore and death metal. Elements from crust, hardcore and black metal round out the stylistic spectrum of the Dutchmen.




Check out the new single "Our Failing Species" below. It is available on all digital platforms here.