In a new interview with Dr. Music, PRIEST vocalist Linton Rubino, who played bass in GHOST as one of the the Nameless Ghouls under the stage name Water, was asked if he was involved in the 2017 lawsuit filed against GHOST leader Tobias Forge by four former members of the band after being dismissed by the group's founder the previous December.

"I was fired in 2015 from GHOST, so I wasn't a part of that process. But I have a family member and a close friend that was in that process, in the trial," he said, apparently referring to his father, Mauro Rubino, who was the keyboardist Air in GHOST from 2011 until 2016, and Simon Söderberg, who played guitar for GHOST from 2010 until 2016. "So, yeah, I was involved emotionally, you can say. But otherwise from that, I wasn't a part of that process."

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

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

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

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

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

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

According to GHOST's ex-members, "It is not true that Tobias Forge was solely responsible for the creation of GHOST, its image based on anonymity and its special stage presentation. Tobias Forge might have taken the initiative of founding the band GHOST, but all members of the band were involved in the creation and development of the band's image and live show," they wrote. "For example, [former guitarist] Martin Persner [who was not involved with the lawsuit] designed most of the costumes and clothing that the band had on the stage (some of them together with Tobias Forge). Martin Persner has also, together with Tobias Forge, designed some of the masks that members have worn at stage performances. Martin Persner is also behind many of the symbols used in GHOST's activities, such as the 'Water', 'Fire', 'Air' and 'Quintessence' symbols, as well as the various album covers, t-shirt designs, etc. For others members of the group they, like Martin Persner, have been involved in the development of the band's stage show, setlists, choreography, lighting, stage I and the like."

The ex-GHOST musicians alleged that the Papa Emeritus character was actually created by Peter Hällje, a former bandmate of Persner, prior to GHOST's formation. Hällje never performed as Papa Emeritus, but agreed to let Persner use the character for his then-new band. "It is noteworthy that the permission given by Peter Hällje was not given to Tobias Forge, but to Martin Persner for use in the band GHOST," they wrote.

The musicians furthermore claimed that in 2011, they discussed the possibility of converting the business from the single company to an economic association, a limited company or a trading company. But "because Tobias Forge succeeded in convincing the other members that there was no time to register a joint association or joint venture, they chose to move forward with another GHOST model on the advice of Forge and the accounting consultants the band hired," they wrote. "The model was based on the fact that Tobias Forge, through his companies and as the band leader, would collect and invoice third parties for the band's live fees, merchandise revenues and record royalties. The other members of the band would acquire 'F-tax slips'" — which allow business and self-employed individuals to document responsibility for payment of taxes to the state — "and bill Tobias Forge for their share of the profits of the business."

The four ex-GHOST musicians also disputed Forge's claim that the band was formed in 2006, four years prior to the release of GHOST's debut album, "Opus Eponymous". They wrote: "GHOST operations began in 2010 when Simon Söderberg and Tobias Forge recorded the songs 'Ritual', 'Death Knell', 'Elisabeth' and 'Prime Mover' and made them available on the MySpace web site, followed by GHOST's first live show, which took place on October 23, 2010. The launch of GHOST was thus 2010, not 2006."

The musicians also denied Forge's claim that they were paid a salary by him. Instead, they claimed, an agreement was reached between the parties in 2013 that Simon Söderberg and Mauro Rubino would receive regular advance payments pending the final settlement. The advance payments received by the plaintiffs have varied from SEK 10,000 to SEK 30,000 (approximately $1250 - $3750) per month, depending on the member. This corresponded to a monthly net income (after tax) of between SEK 5,000 and SEK 15,000 ($625 - $1850). In addition, the members "received allowances on tours to cover rising living expenses."

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

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

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

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

In a new 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 (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "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." Over the weekend, 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.

Planerfest en direct

Planerfest en direct

Pollution Nocturne le show métal du 100.7 de Sol Fm vous fait vivre en direct le Planer'fest 2022

Posted by Pollution Nocturne on Saturday, July 2, 2022

MEGADETH frontman Dave Mustaine reportedly became irritated when JUDAS PRIEST's road crew began soundchecking while his band was performing at Spain's Barcelona Rock Fest this past Saturday, July 2.

Barcelona Rock Fest is staged at the Parc de Can Zam in Santa Coloma de Gramenet, just twenty minutes from the center of Barcelona. The festival revolves around two identical main stages set up side by side (Stage Rock on the left and Stage Fest on the right). The format is meant to eliminate the classic festival dilemma of having to choose between two bands that are playing at the same time, enabling artists to play almost continuously one after the other throughout the day. While one band is playing on one stage, the crew prepares the other stage for the next act.

After MEGADETH played the sixth song of its set, "Trust", a visibly annoyed Mustaine stopped the show in protest of the crew on the other main stage which was getting ready for PRIEST's performance later in the night.

"We'll wait till he's done checking his guitar over there," Dave said into the microphone.

After a long pause during which he apparently flipped the bird at the crew member in question, Mustaine continued: "The last night of the tour — we went all the way to the last fucking night, and then some pussy over on the stage next to us has to start playing while we're playing. How fucking pathetic, amateur piece of shit you are."

After another brief pause, Dave said: "Can we proceed now?" and then muttered under his breath, "Fucking cunt."

"This is called 'Symphony Of Destruction'," he added before he and his bandmates launched into the song.

The "metalreporterjuso" YouTube channel, which uploaded video of Mustaine's rant, referred to the incident in the clip's description as "Dave having some issues with JUDAS PRIEST crew, lol".

In its review of MEGADETH's performance, Spain's Metal Journal web site wrote (translated from Spanish using Google Translate): "MEGADETH put their great thrash metal card on the table until Dave Mustaine got really pissed off because JUDAS PRIEST's soundcheck bothered him. Then he returned to shine his particular character after uttering a good string of insults. The concert was stopped for a few minutes that became eternal."

MEGADETH will release its sixteenth studio album, "The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!", on September 2 via UMe. Featuring twelve new tracks, "The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!" will be made available on CD, vinyl, and cassette, as well as digitally through all online partners. There will also be a limited deluxe edition 2LP, 12-track album pressed on 180g black vinyl housed in a numbered gatefold jacket with a 12x24 lyrics/credits insert, a lenticular vinyl lithograph and a bonus seven-inch featuring "We'll Be Back" and the unreleased B-side "The Conjuring (Live)". The limited deluxe edition can only be purchased via MEGADETH's official online store, through Sound Of Vinyl and uDiscover.

The first song to be released from "The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!" is "We'll Be Back", which was accompanied by "We'll Be Back: Chapter I", an epic, action-packed short film chronicling the origins of MEGADETH's mascot, Vic Rattlehead. Produced by Mustaine, "We'll Be Back: Chapter I" is a soldier's tale of bravery, personal sacrifice, and the will to survive. It is the first installment of a trilogy of videos to be released in conjunction with the release of "The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!"

Reuniting Mustaine with co-producer Chris Rakestraw (DANZIG, PARKWAY DRIVE),who together helmed 2016's "Dystopia", "The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!" was recorded at Mustaine's home studio in Nashville, Tennessee, with guitarist Kiko Loureiro and drummer Dirk Verbeuren. Bassist Steve DiGiorgio temporarily stepped in to record the album. With the kick-off of MEGADETH's recent tour, MEGADETH alumni James LoMenzo rejoined the MEGADETH family as permanent bass player.

CANDLEBOX frontman Kevin Martin has reacted on social media to yesterday's mass shooting outside of Chicago.

Seven people died and dozens of others were wounded after a gunman opened fire on a Fourth Of July parade from a rooftop in Highland Park, Illinois, police said. The shooter used a high-powered rifle that a law enforcement official said "could be similar to an AR-15."

According to the Chicago Sun-Times, the shooting occurred shortly after 10 a.m. CDT. Following a manhunt, police arrested a person of interest, 21-year-old Robert E. "Bobby" Crimo, in connection with the case.

Late Monday, Martin took to his Instagram to write: "SO ANOTHER GUN TOTING AMERICAN KILLS 6 INNOCENT PEOPLE TODAY, A DAY THAT CELEBRATES FREEDOM, FREEDOM FROM WHAT?!?

"FUCK THIS BULLSHIT!

"HEARTBROKEN YET AGAIN AND YET THIS FUCKING GOVERNMENT OF OURS WILL DO NOTHING TO PROTECT THOSE OF US THAT CHOOSE NOT TO OWN FIREARMS BUT THEY'LL GO ABOVE AND BEYOND TO PROTECT AN UNBORN FETUS?!?

"GET FUCKED!!!

"HAPPY FUCKING 4TH OF JULY Y'ALL!"

Kevin was apparently referring to the fact that the U.S. Supreme Court's conservative majority struck down New York's concealed carry gun law and revoked women's right to abortion last month. In the former case, the Supreme Court issued a ruling in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. Bruen that essentially deemed the concealed carry restrictions in New York unconstitutional.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Senate passed historic gun control legislation that will boost mental health funding, enhance background checks and close a loophole that allowed some domestic abusers to buy firearms. It is the first time in nearly three decades that Congress has enacted gun reform.

Gun-control supporters have said the Senate measure does too little in the face of so much bloodshed.

Last November, Martin told V13 that our "pack mentality/lone wolf mentality" as human beings served as an inspiration for the title of CANDLEBOX's latest album, "Wolves". He said: "I came up with this title for this record prior to the pandemic. Watching the previous [presidential] administration, for somebody like myself, was very disturbing. The amount of disassociative behavior that seems to be taking hold in the world is kind of where I came up with the concept. And when you have somebody like Donald Trump in office that's constantly stirring up shit and there being this boiling pot of stupidity — and I shouldn't even say that because it's really unfair because these people may not be stupid; maybe they really are intelligent. But how the fuck can you allow this person to separate an entire group of people? I mean, like 300 million people, and it literally was just drawing a line in the sand and saying that if you cross this line, you're the worst person ever. It's just a very strange emotion. And for me, I constantly think back to what happened in 2001, September 11th, where that year, afterwards, this country of ours was united in ways that I'd never seen and never experienced, and, of course, it made me very proud to be an American — that we could take that time with one another and say, 'I feel for you. Let's make things different. Let's change.' And we've lost that — we've lost that again."

Asked what side of the fence he sits on — if he prefers being in a pack or if he is a "lone wolf" kind of person, Kevin said: "I'm a pack mentality. What I love about wolves is when they work towards the betterment of the pack. Of course, they're a violent animal, but they're also very caring and gentle at the same time. I mean, the alpha male doesn't lead the pack; he follows the pack to make sure that the pack is doing what it needs to do. And I think there's beauty in that. So I guess, for me, I'm a liberal. I believe that everybody deserves the best of everything. And it's unfortunate that there are situations that — I mean, welfare and Medicaid and all that stuff that we have to deal with over here. We don't need to. We're a very wealthy country, but you can't change the mentality of that lone wolf that says, 'No, man. To hell with you. Hooray for me.' That's the downside of it. But I do believe that people can change. And I think that they can find greatness in anything. I just want people to look for it sometimes in themselves."

CANDLEBOX's seventh studio album, "Wolves" dropped worldwide in September 2021 on Pavement Entertainment. Produced by Dean Dichoso at the legendary Henson Studios in Los Angeles, California, it is the Seattle-based rockers' follow-up to 2016's "Disappearing In Airports".

Most of the "Wolves" recordings were finished in August 2019, and Martin completed his vocals in January 2020.

David Ellefson (MEGADETH), Adam Duce (MACHINE HEAD), Phil Demmel (VIO-LENCE, MACHINE HEAD), Marta Demmel (BLEEDING THROUGH) and Wayne Lozinak (HATEBREED) are among the musicians who took part in a jam by the hard rock/heavy metal covers band THE MERKINS this past Sunday, July 3 at Demmel's sports bar, The Back Lounge, in Dublin, California.

A few hours after the jam, Ellefson shared a few photos of the event and wrote in an accompanying message: "Rolled up to the Bay Area for a killer weekend with Phil Demmel Marta Demmel Adam Duce Bill Xavier and the gang at The Demmel's bar The Back Lounge in Dublin, CA to join in on their kick ass MERKINS jam! A good time was had by all!"

Phil was equally enthusiastic about the jam, writing on his Instagram: "Might've been the most fun MERKINS Jam yet. So many highlights from jamming with @realadamduce and @waynelozinak and newest Merkin family member David Ellefson, and the same with all my friends, especially my Wife (who NAILED Rainbow in the dark!) and son Jadon who despite how shy he is around adults, has NO problem getting up and playing silly cover tunes with us. Proud of you Son!!! Until next time (definitely DON’T hold your breath!) Thank you all who can out a packed our bar with so much positive energy. Zero EGO amongst us all."

Ellefson was fired from MEGADETH in May 2021, just days after sexually tinged messages and explicit video footage involving the bassist were posted on Twitter. At the time, Ellefson released a statement on Instagram denying all social media chatter that he "groomed" an underage fan. He also filed a report with the police department in Scottsdale, Arizona alleging unlawful distribution of sexually explicit images of him by unknown offenders.

Duce exited MACHINE HEAD in February 2013 and was replaced four months later by Jared MacEachern. Adam then sued MACHINE HEAD, claiming that the other bandmembers "simply kicked him out of the band and presumed he would forget about over two decades of hard work, dedication, and effort" he put into the group. Duce also said his likeness was used on the band's web site and in promotions without his authorization. The lawsuit was settled out of court in July 2014.

Duce, who played on MACHINE HEAD's "Burn My Eyes" LP, wasn't involved in the recent tour to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the classic debut album.



Well..what a weekend... Phil Demmel asked me to sing backups on Cold Gin with his super fun Merkins band which is a lot of great singers and musicians jamming covers...and guess what? Dave Ellefson (Megadeth) was there to join the party! The highlight for me was hearing his wife just sing her tail off all day. Amazing!
(Tried to rotate the video...but the screen only comes out a green color. Sorry) Tim Beamy O'Connor Crystal Kentzell ChrisThe PhotoMan Kentzell Shack, Derrick Ramirez, Perry Strickland Todd Calvert , Marilyn Wong partied down too!

Posted by Jonathan Fenno on Monday, July 4, 2022

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A post shared by Phil Demmel (@phildemmel)



Posted by David Ellefson on Sunday, July 3, 2022

Posted by David Ellefson on Sunday, July 3, 2022

Posted by David Ellefson on Sunday, July 3, 2022

Former SKID ROW singer Sebastian Bach joined COUNT'S 77 on stage this past Saturday, July 2 at Count's Vamp'd in Las Vegas, Nevada to perform a cover of the KISS classic "Watchin' You". Video of his appearance can be seen below (courtesy of Izzy Presley).

COUNT'S 77 is fronted by Danny "The Count" Koker, who owns Count's Vamp'd and who is best known for the TV series "Counting Cars".

Last fall, Bach returned to the stage for a tour celebrating the 30th anniversary of SKID ROW's double-platinum, acclaimed album "Slave To The Grind". The trek kicked off on September 25 in Waterloo, New York and wrapped in San Diego, California on December 17.

Back in 2018, Bach told Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF 101.1 FM radio station that he was going to ink a deal with a U.S.-based heavy metal record label that would help him make a "career-defining" new solo album.

Bach hasn't released a full-length disc since "Give 'Em Hell", which came out in 2014. Like its predecessor, 2011's "Kicking & Screaming", the disc was released through Frontiers Music Srl, the Italian label which specializes in what's commonly called AOR, a term that once signified a popular radio format ("album-oriented rock") but nowadays applies to acts whose airplay is marginal.

Bach fronted SKID ROW until 1996, when he was fired. Instead of throwing in the towel, the remaining members took a hiatus and went on to play briefly in a band called OZONE MONDAY. In 1999, SKID ROW reformed and, after a bit of shuffling over the years, featured a lineup consisting of bassist Rachel Bolan and guitarists Dave "Snake" Sabo and Scotti Hill, alongside drummer Rob Hammersmith and singer Johnny Solinger. SKID ROW fired Solinger over the phone in April 2015, a few hours before announcing ex-TNT vocalist Tony Harnell as his replacement. Eight months later, Harnell exited the band and was replaced by South African-born, British-based singer ZP Theart, who previously fronted DRAGONFORCE, TANK and I AM I. Theart was fired from SKID ROW in February and was replaced by Erik Grönwall, who was previously a member of the Swedish hard rock band H.E.A.T.

Roppongi Rocks has uploaded video of Randy Bachman and former MEGADETH guitarist Marty Friedman playing "Takin' Care Of Business" at Tokyo American Club in Tokyo, Japan on Saturday, July 2. The event served as the Club's Independence Day celebration.

The legendary guitarist and songwriter behind such hits as "American Woman" and "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet" took to the New York Ballroom stage for an evening set of classics from his prodigious career in music.

The 78-year-old Canadian is visiting Japan to be reunited with his Gretsch guitar that was stolen from a hotel in 1976.

Randy told NPR that the guitar was stolen after his road manager had put the guitar in a hotel room and it got nabbed.

"The road manager said, I'm going to take your guitar, check out of the hotel and come back and pick you guys up," Bachman said. "He took the guitar, he put it in a hotel room and in five minutes it was gone."

According to the Japanese media, the Gretsch was eventually sold to a guitar trader from Japan where Takeshi, a musician who writes for Japanese pop bands, purchased it in 2014 from a Tokyo guitar shop. In 2020, a longtime fan and Internet sleuth from British Columbia named William Long heard Bachman's story and decided to try to hunt down the instrument using facial recognition technology. He found it in a YouTube video featuring Takeshi playing the guitar, the Washington Post reported.

Bachman is best known for his songs with THE GUESS WHO and BACHMAN-TURNER OVERDRIVE.

The Tokyo American Club show was filmed as part of documentary about Bachman's long-lost 1957 Gretsch 6120 guitar.

"Takin' Care Of Business" is a song written by Bachman and first recorded by BACHMAN–TURNER OVERDRIVE for the band's 1973 album "Bachman–Turner Overdrive II". The lead vocal is sung by Randy.



A video clip of Randy Bachman and Marty Friedman playing "Taking Care of Business" at Tokyo American Club last night.

Posted by Roppongi Rocks on Saturday, July 2, 2022

Former QUEENSRŸCHE singer Geoff Tate says that he is "feeling so much better each day" after recently undergoing an unspecified heart procedure.

On Sunday (July 3),Tate took to his Facebook page to share a photo of him with Dr. Sami Kueri from the department of cardiovascular surgery at the Universitäts-Herzzentrum Freiburg-Bad Krozingen (University Heart Center Freiburg) in Bad Krozingen, Germany, and he included the following message: "All my gratitude to the talented Dr. Sami Kueri for giving me a healthy heart!! Feeling so much better each day!"

Last month, Tate said that he would take the next few months off the road as he recovered from a medical procedure.

On June 13, the 63-year-old musician, who fronted QUEENSRŸCHE for 30 years — from the band's inception through 2012 — took to his social media to write: "I am having a medical procedure and my health professionals want me to recover over the Summer. I will be back and rocking South America in January. Looking forward to seeing everyone on the road."

Tate's recent tour celebrated the 30th anniversary of QUEENSRŸCHE's "Empire" and "Rage For Order" albums.

In April 2014, Tate and QUEENSRŸCHE announced that a settlement had been reached after a nearly two-year legal battle where the singer sued over the rights to the QUEENSRŸCHE name after being fired in 2012. Fellow original QUEENSRŸCHE members Michael Wilton (guitar),Scott Rockenfield (drums) and Eddie Jackson (bass) responded with a countersuit. The settlement included an agreement that Wilton, Rockenfield and Jackson would continue as QUEENSRŸCHE, while Tate would have the sole right to perform the albums "Operation: Mindcrime" and "Operation: Mindcrime II" in their entirety live.

Tate was replaced in QUEENSRŸCHE by former CRIMSON GLORY singer Todd La Torre.

Geoff recently celebrated the 30th anniversary of "Operation: Mindcrime" on European and U.S. tours.

Photo courtesy of Geoff Tate's Facebook page

VomitroN have released the video below, along with the following message:


"Well, it's getting close to being like 4 months from Halloween, so why not celebrate the occasion with 'Castlevania'!! Right from the opening screen in front of the castle, this game was f'n METAL!!!


Side-scrolling 2D awesomeness at it's best really. There were ghosts, zombies, bats, mummies, godd@mn Frankenstein, godd@mn Medusa, the Grim f@ckin' Reaper, and of course Dracula himself. And of naturally your job is to pound these f@ckers in to dust with amazing tools such as whips, chain-link maces, axes, molotov cocktails, knives, whatever the hell else. So, forgetting the music, the game was already heavily steeped in heavy metal imagery.




But then of course, there was the music. Ohhhhh my CHRIST. These themes were burned into the skull of the player and were annoying catchy. Paired with some of the frustrating-ness of the game itself, they drove you f'n mad. Imagine trying to kill this friggin' knight which takes about 15 hits to kill, but you can't because you're avoiding flying Medusa heads, but you can't kill the Medusa heads because you're too busy avoiding flying axes that the knight is throwing at you, but you can't stop the knight from doing that because you're losing your mind trying to process everything this @sshole game is doing to you. And all the while, you have this enormously coke-induced anxiety ridden music pumping in the background to add to this whole mosaic of bullsh!t.


As with many games of it's era, one can certainly hear the inherent heaviness in the soundtrack which is of course why we're all here. Please enjoy this pile METAL from No NES For The Wicked (Reset)... and thanks as always to Brian Gray for the gameplay!


Stay tuned for some SWEET new merch right on time for the release of this bad boy like 6 months ago.  


Enjoy your day."🤘🤮🤘





VomitroN adds: "'Castlevania' is a metalized interpretation of the music soundtrack from the classic Nintendo game by the same name. This track was originally released on 2011's "No NES For The Wicked" and it has been given a sonic facelift for 2021's "No NES For The Wicked (Reset)." It has been completely remixed and remastered so that it will suck significantly less, along with possessing 10x the ass-melting power of the original."

Former HammerFall bassist, Magnus Rosén, has revealed more details about the upcoming Magnus Rosén Band album, due this year.


Says Magnus: "I will thank HammerFall and all the fans for my 10 years with the band - 1997-2007. I take my hat off for this time. So how can we celebrate this moment better than with a HammerFall song on this album."


Entitled, It's Time To Rock The World Again, the new album will include 12 songs, plus 5 bonus tracks. Magnus describes the album as, "A firework of diversity from my journey through music life from the 60's until today."




He adds: "Everything is marked in the perspective of hard rock and these wonderful rock titles that gild this musical style. There are many tones that are hidden in the structures of the songs that can be recognized more or less from the history of rock. We are also celebrating bands and artists for the great inspiration thought the music life with some riff, tones, feelings, songs or solos in new written material and also few old songs - Gary Moore, Scorpions, Beatles, Rolling Stones, Bon Jovi, Metallica, AC/DC, ABBA, Deep Purple, Jimi Hendrix - plus much more. New written songs and fresh interpretations of few old rock songs."





Musicians featured on the album include:


Fabio Buitvidas - Drums
Raphael Mattos - Guitar
Mikael Erlandsson - Keyboard and vocals
Janne Schaffer - Guitar
Tony Martin - Vocals
Zenny Gram - Vocals
George Keczan - Piano and keyboard
Chitral Somapala - Vocals
Jonas Hansson - Guitar
Stefan Blomquist - Keyboard, piano
Elsa Li Jones - Vocals
Eric Galdyanz - Vocals
Ivan Martin's - Vocals
Jörgen Alnevall - Vocals
Magnus Rosén - Bass


Magnus concludes: "We'll just see which record label might be interested in releasing the album."


Stay tuned for further updates.


(Photo - Bengt Persson / www.artphotosweden.se)

St. John’s, Newfoundland-based black metal duo, Artach, has been relatively quiet since the release of their sophomore album, Sworn To Avenge, which was unleashed in June of last year via Depressive Illusions Records. In the time since then, the band has released a cover of the Venom classic “Countess Bathory” and also released a timely Christmas-themed single, entitled “Ode To Krampus”.


However, the band has dropped their first single since Sworn To Avenge. Entitled “Hoarfrost”, the track is off from their forthcoming third record, which is currently in production and planned for release in late 2022.


Listen to “Hoarfrost” below:







Artach’s process is a collaborative one between the duo, the genesis of the songs are arranged on guitar by Sruthán and very roughly recorded at home. After getting together, they record drums and flesh out the song in an afternoon and by then the song is pretty much ready for the studio recording of guitars, then bass, and lastly vocals.


Artach is recommended listening for anyone interested in raw black metal and those with an interest in Celtic Frost, Darkthrone, and Satyricon.

German metal duo, Mantar, have released a playthrough video for the song. "Hang 'Em Low (So The Rats Can Get 'Em)", featured on the band's blistering new full-length, Pain Is Forever And This Is The End, set to drop on July 15 via Metal Blade Records. Watch below:





Pain Is Forever And This Is The End will be available on CD, LP, and digital formats. See all options below.







• Box Set (ltd. 1000 w/ Gatefold LP, bonus LP, back patch, slipmat, 12" booklet, and poster)
• Digipak
• 180g Black vinyl
• Violet Marbled vinyl
• Light Blue Marbled vinyl (ltd. 500)
• White vinyl (ltd. 500)
• Orange Beige Marbled vinyl (ltd. 200 - Season of Mist excl.)
• Leaf Green Marbled vinyl (ltd. 300 - EMP excl.)
• Twilight Blue Marbled vinyl (ltd. 300 - Nuclear Blast excl.)
• Clear Ochre Brown Marbled vinyl (ltd. 300 - Metal Blade Eu excl.)
• Maroon Red Marbled vinyl (US excl.)


Pre-order here.





Pain Is Forever And This Is The End tracklisting:


"Egoisto"
"Hang 'Em Low (So The Rats Can Get 'Em)"
"Grim Reaping"
"Orbital Pus"
"Piss Ritual"
"Of Frost and Decay"
"Walking Corpse"
"New Age Pagan"
"Horder"
"Odysseus"


"Odysseus" video:





"Hang 'Em Low (So The Rats Can Get 'Em)" video:





Mantar lineup:


Hanno Klänhardt - guitars, vocals
Erinc Sakarya - drums


(Photo - Matthis Van der Meulen)

Singer Ger Schreinert (aka Gerry James) of Canadian metal band, Entropy, has announced his retirement from the stage. He issued the following message to fans:


"Due to personal reasons, I have decided to retire from Entropy live performances.


First and foremost, I would like to thank Dan Lauzon (guitars), for decades of commitment, great musical creativity, and friendship. I also would like to thank my band mates Blake Lemieux (drums) and Oscar Rangel (bass), the best rhythm section we ever had, for their commitment and excellent contributions.




I also sincerely thank all of you metal fans, and music industry professionals for your support in the last decades. I am proud of the Entropy catalogue, and I am grateful for all the CD and digital copies we shipped around the world.


It has been a real blast singing these songs for you metal fans. I will always have many wonderful memories of so many great shows, in so many awesome venues, for so many years. The Entropy show in Toronto last month with Voivod was an excellent way to send off a 30+ year Entropy career, and say “thank-you very much -  good night!”


As I roll into my mid 50's, I will always have Metal music in my life - although not in such a serious and physically demanding context as singing original live extreme metal. 😊


My personal business pursuits are growing and demanding more of my time these days, and my family and health/fitness goals remain my focus. I am at peace with this decision, and I am happy in my life, spending lots of time at the cottage this summer, hiking and enjoying the natural beauty of the North. 😊


I have encouraged Danny to seek a replacement vocalist for me, if he wishes to continue with Entropy live shows, and I remain 100% supportive in that regard.


Cheers to all of you. Horns up! Ger." 🤘


(Photo by: Pamela Ashton – Lauzon)

Manny Charlton, a founding member of the Scottish hard rock band NAZARETH, has died at the age of 80. The guitarist's death was confirmed by his grandson Jamie Charlton, who shared a photo of him with Manny on social media and captioned it, "RIP Grandad".

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."

Image courtesy of THE FLUFFY JACKETS

Posted by Jamie Charlton on Wednesday, July 6, 2022

WHITESNAKE frontman David Coverdale says that he is still not completely recovered from the infection of the sinus and trachea which contributed to the cancelation of the remainder of the band's European tour.

Earlier today, the 70-year-old rocker took to his Twitter to write: "Still not 100% but, very happy to be home…Being sick in a hotel, on tour, just ain't the ticket…I hope You & Yours Are Well, Wherever You Are…Know You Are Appreciated & Loved…XXX".

On June 28, WHITESNAKE scrapped three shows on the tour due to Coverdale's illness. Three days later, the rest of the trek was also called off. At the time, David blamed the decision on "continuing health challenges, doctor's orders, and our concern for everyone's health and safety."

David was not the first member of WHITESNAKE to fall ill during the group's latest European tour. Guitarist Reb Beach missed several shows on the trek last month after being "under the weather." On June 25, WHITESNAKE canceled its show at the Rock Imperium festival in Spain due to the fact that drummer Tommy Aldridge "went down" and "was bad enough at the time to have missed the first show ever in his career," according to Coverdale.

WHITESNAKE launched its farewell tour on May 10 at Dublin, Ireland's 3Arena. The band's 14-song set, which was part of a European tour with special guests EUROPE and co-headliners FOREIGNER, marked WHITESNAKE's inaugural performance with the group's two latest two additions, keyboardist, guitarist and backing vocalist Dino Jelusick, and Irish bassist Tanya O'Callaghan.

Coverdale had both his knees replaced with titanium in 2017 after suffering from degenerative arthritis. He later explained that he was in so much pain with arthritis in his knees that it hampered his ability to perform live.

Prior to the pandemic, WHITESNAKE had been touring in support of its latest album, "Flesh & Blood", which was released in May 2019 via Frontiers Music Srl.
Still not 100% but, very happy to be home…Being sick in a hotel, on tour, just ain’t the ticket…I hope You & Yours Are Well, Wherever You Are…Know You Are Appreciated & Loved…XXX pic.twitter.com/TLRU5FIzrR

— David Coverdale (@davidcoverdale) July 5, 2022

Australian metal juggernauts PARKWAY DRIVE have announce their seventh album, "Darker Still". The band's first full-length LP since 2018's "Reverence" will arrive on September 9 via Epitaph.

PARKWAY DRIVE has also shared the masterfully cinematic video for "The Greatest Fear", which features the band's galloping guitar work, moshy breakdowns, and guttural vocals amidst a stunning backdrop that will transport you elsewhere.

"The greatest fear, the one we all share; this song is about the unifying force we all must face — death," says vocalist Winston McCall. "The goal was to create a song that saw death not as something that separates, but something that connects us all on our paths. Musically, we wanted to create a song that did this concept justice. It's heavy, it's epic and when it stomps it leaves an impact."

"The Greatest Fear" follows the release of the video for "Glitch", a frenetic exploration of the things our mind experience when we are not awake — but not yet asleep — such as night terrors and sleep paralysis.

In the kitchen of the Byron Bay home of McCall stands a refrigerator, adorned on one side by a quote from Tom Waits: "I want beautiful melodies telling me terrible things."

This, the PARKWAY DRIVE vocalist says, is a pretty good summation of himself. It holds true, too, as one of the guiding principles behind "Darker Still", the seventh full-length album to be born of this picturesque and serene corner of north-eastern NSW, Australia, and the defining musical statement to date from one of modern metal's most revered bands.

"Darker Still", McCall says, is the vision he and his bandmates have held in their mind's eye since a misfit group of friends first convened in their parents' basements and backyards in 2003. The journey to reach this moment has seen PARKWAY evolve from metal underdogs to festival-headlining behemoth, off the back of close to 20 grueling years, six critically and commercially acclaimed studio albums (all of which achieving gold status in their home nation),three documentaries, one live album, and many, many thousands of shows.

"When PARKWAY originally started out, we all were trying to push ourselves to do more than we possibly could," is how McCall explains it. "What you hear on 'Darker Still' is the final fulfillment of our ability to learn and grow catching up with the imagination that we have always had."

To understand that growth is to understand "Darker Still", both musically and thematically. Those who thought they had PARKWAY DRIVE figured out — the unrivaled energy, the high-octane breakdowns, McCall's trademark bark — need reconsider everything they know about Australia's masters of heavy. "Darker Still" stands as the culmination of a transformative time that has seen PARKWAY reach new heights of creativity and success by eschewing the restrictive, safe conventions of genre and abandoning their own self-imposed rules in favor of a wide-eyed appreciation of bold new horizons. "There are compositions and songs that we'd never attempted before — or, to be more accurate, which we have attempted in the past, but not had the courage, time or understanding to pull off," McCall reveals.

And so while "Darker Still" remains irrefutably PARKWAY DRIVE, it finds the band sonically standing shoulder to shoulder with rock and metal's greats — METALLICA, PANTERA, MACHINE HEAD, GUNS N' ROSES — as much as it does their metalcore contemporaries. The album explores the concept of the "dark night of the soul," which is "the idea of reaching a point in your life where you are faced with a reckoning of your structure of beliefs, your sense of self and your place in the world, to a point where it's irreconcilable with the way that you are as a person," as McCall describes. "Darker Still" unfurls like the great rock concept albums, from PINK FLOYD to, most comparably, NINE INCH NAILS' "The Downward Spiral", its 11 tracks taking in ruminations on society's fear of death, isolation, and a loss of humanity in its journey to redemptive enlightenment.

This is the PARKWAY DRIVE the band have been striving to be for two decades. Guitarist Jeff Ling says it best: "I'm really proud of what we have achieved together, and feel that as musicians, we have really ascended to new realms of class and ability."

"Darker Still" track listing:

01. Ground Zero
02. Like Napalm
03. Glitch
04. The Greatest Fear
05. Darker Still
06. Imperial Heretic
07. If A God Can Bleed
08. Soul Bleach
09. Stranger
10. Land Of The Lost
11. From The Heart Of The Darkness

Legendary rocker Iggy Pop has been forced to postpone two shows on his current European tour "due to a problem with his voice."

After initially rescheduling the July 5 concert in Mantova, Italy, the 75-year-old musician has now also postponed his July 7 gig in Vienna, Austria.

The new date for Mantova is August 30 at the Esedra of Palazzo Te, while the Vienna gig will take place on September 2 at the Vienna Konserthus.

On Monday, Iggy released the following statement regarding the Mantova concert: "If you were there, you know I croaked my way through my last show on July 2] in [Athens] Greece and my voice is still recovering.

"I must postpone my next show in Mantova, Italy July 05.

"I have not taken this decision lightly. I love my fans. But I must protect my voice. I'm so sorry but, I'll come back and make it up to you."

James Newell Osterberg Jr., known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American musician, singer, and songwriter. Designated the "Godfather of Punk," he was the vocalist and lyricist of proto-punk band THE STOOGES, who were formed in 1967.

He had a long collaborative and personal friendship with David Bowie over the course of his career, beginning with THE STOOGES' album "Raw Power" in 1973. Pop began his solo career by collaborating with Bowie on the 1977 albums "The Idiot" and "Lust For Life", Pop usually contributing the lyrics. Throughout his career, he is well known for his outrageous and unpredictable stage antics, poetic lyrics, and distinctive voice.

Since his raucous proto-punk, peanut butter smearing days with THE STOOGES, few "street walking cheetahs" have mastered the maniacal with as much grit, gusto and flair as Iggy Pop.

Pop's songs have been covered by the likes of GUNS N' ROSES, R.E.M., RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS and SEX PISTOLS, among others. His 1990 album "Brick By Brick" sold more than 500,000 copies, and his 2003 LP "Skull Ring" featured the likes of GREEN DAY, SUM 41 and PEACHES.

Although his solo records were more commercial than those of his 1960s/1970 band THE STOOGES, he never broke through into the mainstream.

A reformed STOOGES recorded the album "The Weirdness" in 2007.

US punk rock legends, Bad Religion, performed at the 2022 edition of Hellfest in Clisson, France on June 24. You can watch professionally-filmed footage of the band's full set below.


Setlist:


"New Dark Ages"
"Recipe For Hate"
"Fuck You"
"Do What You Want"
"Los Angeles Is Burning"
"Epiphany"
"Generator"
"Man With A Mission"
"Punk Rock Song"
"No Control"
"Along The Way" (with ZZ Top's "Gimme All Your Lovin'" as intro)
"We're Only Gonna Die"
"Come Join Us"
"Dept. Of False Hope"
"Infected"
"I Want To Conquer The World"
"21st Century (Digital Boy)"
"Sorrow"
"You"
"American Jesus"
"Fuck Armageddon... This Is Hell"

An official video recap of MEGADETH's recent shows in Germany can be seen below.

MEGADETH will release its highly anticipated sixteenth studio album, "The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!", on September 2 via UMe. Featuring twelve new tracks, "The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!" will be made available on CD, vinyl, and cassette, as well as digitally through all online partners. There will also be a limited deluxe edition 2LP, 12-track album pressed on 180g black vinyl housed in a numbered gatefold jacket with a 12x24 lyrics/credits insert, a lenticular vinyl lithograph and a bonus seven-inch featuring "We'll Be Back" and the unreleased B-side "The Conjuring (Live)". The limited deluxe edition can only be purchased via MEGADETH's official online store, through Sound Of Vinyl and uDiscover.

The first song to be released from "The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!" is "We'll Be Back", which was accompanied by "We'll Be Back: Chapter I", an epic, action-packed short film chronicling the origins of MEGADETH's mascot, Vic Rattlehead. Produced by Dave Mustaine, "We'll Be Back: Chapter I" is a soldier's tale of bravery, personal sacrifice, and the will to survive. It is the first installment of a trilogy of videos to be released in conjunction with the release of "The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!"

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

"For the first time in a long time, everything that we needed on this record is right in its place," Dave Mustaine enthused. "I can't wait for the public to get hold of this!"

Featuring some of Mustaine's strongest songwriting while also incorporating writing from the rest of the band, "The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!" brings together everything that's exhilarating and distinctive about MEGADETH. From the blistering throwback fury of "Night Stalkers" (featuring icon Ice-T) and first single "We'll Be Back", to the more mid-tempo and melodic "Soldier On!" and the very personal title track, with its enthralling twists and turns. "The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!" also features a cover of DEAD KENNEDYS' "Police Truck" and Sammy Hagar's "This Planet's On Fire", the latter of which includes vocals from Hagar himself.

Carlos Santana collapsed onstage during a concert Tuesday night (July 5). The legendary guitarist was overcome by the heat about 40 minutes into his concert at the Pine Knob Music Theatre in Clarkston, Michigan and suddenly stopped and fell to the stage. The lights then dimmed as the 74-year-old musician was attended to by medical staff. After several minutes, a crew member came on stage and addressed the audience.

"Ladies and gentlemen, as you can see, we have a severe medical emergency," the staff member explained. "Let's share our prayers… We need it right now… Please send your light and love to this man."

According to Variety, Santana was seen waving to fans as he was taken offstage.

A representative for Santana later released the following statement regarding his condition: "Rock Legend Carlos Santana was over-taken by heat exhaustion and dehydration during a concert Tuesday (July 5) evening in Michigan. The guitar great was taken from his show at Pine Knob Music Theatre (formerly DTE Energy Music Theatre),an outdoor amphitheater in Clarkston, some 40 miles northwest of Detroit, Michigan. Carlos was taken to the emergency department at McLaren Clarkston for observation and is doing well, it was announced by Santana's manager Michael Vrionis tonight."

A short time later, Santana shared an update via his official Facebook page. "Thank you for your precious prayers," he wrote. "Just taking it easy. Forgot to eat and drink water so I dehydrated and passed out. Blessings and miracles to you all."

As a result of Santana's medical episode, Wednesday night's (July 6) show at The Pavilion at Star Lake in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania will be postponed to a later date.

Santana is currently on the road with EARTH, WIND & FIRE as a part of the "Miraculous Supernatural" tour.

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.
Carlos Santana se desploma en el cenario durante concierto en Estados Unidos. Tenía una hora tocando. Está hospitalizado.#CarlosSantana
pic.twitter.com/Ruh5BnusiE

— Chismosote (@ChismosoteTV) July 6, 2022


Carlos Santana waved to clapping fans as he’s helped off the stage pic.twitter.com/YA55N4QCZe

— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) July 6, 2022

Cosmic metallers Vanderlust, featuring members of S91 and Dreal, have released a video for "High Hopes", featured on their self-titled debut album, out now via Rockshots Records.


Says the band: "'High Hopes' is a heavy-power metal song, fast and powerful. It mixes technical riffs with a melodic and catchy vocal line; it’s one of our most Iron Maiden-oriented songs. The lyrics talks about the first human travel to Mars and the great hopes which this mission inspires."


The clip, directed and edited by Luca Manfredi, can be viewed below:







Birthed to travel the cosmos, Italy's Vanderlust is a power-heavy metal band with prog-thrash influences that tells tales of space travels, astronomy, space engineering, and sci-fi adventures.


"We tried to mix a prog-thrashy riffing in the roots of Megadeth, Vektor and Tool with epic vocal parts like Iron Maiden, Helloween, Angra, and Lione’s Rhapsody. We also put sci-fi elements in our songs, so you can hear also something from Voivod," says the band.


This debut recording is like a stellar system with 12 different planets. The star at the center of the system represents the heavy-power metal around all the songs revolving. Despite all the tracks being irradiated by the same light, they are all different from each other. Vanderlust has fast thrash, slow and doom, shiny and brilliant to grunge, and darker songs. Like planets, which appear like simple small bright spots, but in reality, are all big worlds, Vanderlust's songs are more complex than they sound at first listen. In fact, you can easily sing along to some of the choruses even if there are complex riffs in the background. Vanderlust is particularly proud of the participation of opera singer Letizia Cappellini who does vocals on select tracks and helps the band further expand the vocal register of their compositions. The band also adds the presence of synths and electronic elements to the compositions to set the sci-fi mood of the lyrics.


"The main goal was to start a metal band that could be an inspiration for young people, a band that could tell them stories from the future when mankind will have overcome its limits and the solar system will be an entire human colony. This idea came to mind to founding members Francesco and Santo when they began their search for other members that could fit. Drummer Giacomo Mezzetti joined the space odyssey right before the covid-19 outbreak. Vocalist Riccardo Morello joined the band during the first lockdown in Italy, so the first song was entirely composed online, using videocalls and file sharing," adds the band.





Tracklisting:


Intro
"High Hopes"
"Orphan Planet"
"Forgotten Breed"
"The Last Ganymedian"
"Scavengers Of Kuiper Belt"
"Mass Effect Destruction"
"Requiem For An Ancient World"
"3 Suns"
"Dyson's Swarm"
"Ringworld"
"Ten Years Back"
"Zima Blue"

Metallica played Prague Rocks in Prague, Czech Republic on June 22. The band have released professionally-filmed footage of their performance of "Master Of Puppets" from the show. Watch below:





Metallica previously shared the video below, featuring the band's performance of "Moth Into Flame" from Firenze Rocks 2022 in Florence, Italy on June 19.







Metallica perform next on Wednesday, July 6, at Mad Cool Festival @ Valdebebas in Madrid, Spain. Find the band's complete live itinerary here.

AEROSMITH guitarist Joe Perry has dismissed the notion that rock is dead.

While rock and roll has been king of the music world for decades, in the past few years, it's been unseated by the growing popularity of hip-hop. This has caused many pundits to proclaim the genre "dead" from an industry perspective, noting that it has been eclipsed in all measures by pop, hip-hop, and EDM.

A few years ago, KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons told Esquire magazine that "rock did not die of old age. It was murdered. Some brilliance, somewhere, was going to be expressed and now it won't because it's that much harder to earn a living playing and writing songs. No one will pay you to do it."

A number of hard rock and heavy metal musicians have weighed in on the topic in a variety of interviews over the last several years, with some digging a little deeper into Simmons's full remarks and others just glossing over the headline.

Perry, who is currently promoting his upcoming solo shows, spoke about rock's supposed diminishing status during a recent interview with Andrew Daly of VWMusic. Asked if he feels rock is, in fact, dead, Joe said: "No, not at all… There are some great rock 'n' roll bands carrying the flag too, and one example is Brad's [Whitford, AEROSMITH, guitarist] son Graham, who plays with TYLER BRYANT & THE SHAKEDOWN. I think they're like kicking ass, and the thing is, there's a lot of guys who want to get out there and play rock 'n' roll guitar and play that kind of music. The issue is that there aren't enough fans to hear it, so it's only going to go so far, but there are still people there for them to build a following. These new bands, they still headline places, they open up for other bands, and it's the same thing. It's not like they're at the top of the Billboard charts or like the top of the pop charts, but that's kind of how it was in the late '60s too. All the rock 'n' roll that I liked, they didn't even have a place at the Grammys for it, and there was nothing overly commercial about it. I mean, I saw THE WHO in a small club playing 'Tommy'. It was only a club, but the place was packed, and it was still about the fans there who wanted to hear it. It's the same now, those fans are still there, and that's what's really keeping it alive. I mean, if it wasn't 'classic music,' it wouldn't be 'classic rock,' and it wouldn't be as big as it is. I still see it, people are out there buying artists' rock catalogs, and paying stupid amounts of money because they know that it's going to keep getting bigger, and bigger, and bigger. So that tells me rock 'n' roll is not dead."

The "rock is dead" argument has popped up again and again throughout the years, including in 2018 after MAROON 5 lead singer Adam Levine told Variety magazine that "rock music is nowhere, really. I don't know where it is," he said. "If it's around, no one's invited me to the party. All of the innovation and the incredible things happening in music are in hip-hop. It's better than everything else. Hip-hop is weird and avant-garde and flawed and real, and that's why people love it."

Last month, Perry confirmed three Northeast solo gigs in July for THE JOE PERRY PROJECT: Thursday July 21 at Hampton Beach Casino in Hampton, New Hampshire; Friday, July 22 at Leader Bank Pavilion in Boston, Massachusetts; and Saturday, July 23 at the Atlantic City Hard Rock Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey. These performances mark the first solo shows for Perry in more than four years (around the release of his 2018 "Sweetzerland Manifesto" album).

Photo credit: Aaron Hirsch

During a recent appearance on "TMZ Live", legendary rocker Sammy Hagar was asked if it's true that he has made more money on his non-music-related business ventures than he has recording and touring. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It's true. Yes. It's absolutely true. It's what's made it so great for me. I'm telling you, guys — I swear by this — if you get lucky enough to get successful outside of music, it makes it so much better in your elder years. Like now, I'm in my 70s and I'm still going and playing music. And you know why? Because I don't have to do it for a living; I don't have to make it my business. So I can pay my band more than they can make [playing with anyone else]. They're happy, and so they're happy to play with me. We all walk out on stage and we're happy to do it 'cause we don't have to do it.

"When you've been doing it as long as me, unless you're Keith Richards, who I don't think can do anything but play music — I love this guy; he's my favorite rock star on the planet — a lot of people are doing it for money, and they go out and they punch a clock," he continued. "So we do it for fun. It's almost like we're in a garage band again because I make my living another way and music is something I just love to do. But if someone said, 'Hey, you're gonna play 150 shows this year,' I'd tell 'em, 'I quit.' Because I know I would get pissed off and I'd be saying, 'Oh, I've gotta do a show tonight, man. There's a great boxing match on.' Or, 'I wanna take my wife out and go and have a nice dinner.'"

Hagar has been in the tequila business for more than 30 years, starting out with his award-winning Cabo Wabo brand back in 1991.

Back in May 2007, it was announced that Hagar had sold 80 percent of his interest in Cabo Wabo to one of the world's top spirits companies, Gruppo Campari, for $80 million (he sold his remaining stake in 2010). More recently, he partnered with TV celebrity chef Guy Fieri to launch Santo Tequila. Founded in 2017, the duo's brand currently boasts three varieties of tequila: Blanco, Reposado and a blended "Mezquila."

For more than four decades, Hagar has been recognized as one of the best and most accomplished lead singers and songwriters in rock music. From breaking into the industry with the seminal hard rock band MONTROSE to his multi-platinum solo career to his ride as the frontman of VAN HALEN, CHICKENFOOT and his latest best-selling supergroup THE CIRCLE, Hagar has amassed 25 platinum albums on sales surpassing 50 million worldwide. Along his journey, he has set the tone for some of the greatest rock anthems ever written and earned the highest respect of the music industry with a Grammy Award and induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. Since launching his flagship Cabo Wabo Cantina, he's turned a lifelong passion for great food, music and spirits into a thriving and iconic lifestyle brand. Hagar's award-winning portfolio of spirits also includes Beach Bar Rum, a premium line of Puerto Rico-made rum with partner Rick Springfield; and Sammy's Beach Bar Cocktail Co., his new top-shelf sparkling rum cocktails in a can.

Zakk Wylde has praised the new Ozzy Osbourne album and speculated on the possibility of further work with his PRIDE & GLORY outfit.

Speaking to Eonmusic ahead of BLACK LABEL SOCIETY's appearance at last month's Download festival in the United Kingdom, Zakk said about Ozzy's "Patient Number 9" LP: "The album is slammin'. Him and Andrew [Watt, producer] wrote the record. The stuff's slammin', and then Ozzy's singing great, and I get to put my little fiddly-diddly bits all over it."

Regarding how he recorded his parts for "Patient Number 9", Wylde said; "Actually, Andrew came up to the Black Vatican, my studio, just going over certain parts where Andrew was, like, 'No, Zakk. I did it like this,' or whatever. So, yeah, it was a blast."

Wylde went on to talk about the host of legendary figures that also make appearances on the record.

"Being on an album with Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Lord Iommi [Tony Iommi], I mean, if you would have told me when I was 15 years old that I'm going to be on a record with Ozzy, Tony Iommi, Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton, I would have been, 'Forget it. Lights out.' It's a huge honor, man."

Zakk also touched upon PRIDE & GLORY, his Southern rock side project which released just one album in 1994. He said; "We had a great time making that record with Jamo [James LoMenzo, bass] and Father Brian [Brian Tichy] over there, so no, it was a blast. We had a great time making that record, and the tour was fun on that thing, but sadly we ran our of beer funds, and that was the end. It was like, we had to go home."

Eonmusic then took the opportunity to ask as to whether PRIDE & GLORY was ever likely to come back. "Yeah, we could always do that," Zakk said. "I mean, Jamo's playing with MEGADETH now, Father Brian's with THE DEAD DAISIES. Yeah, we're still all buddies, so there's no reason why we couldn't do it. Just go up to the Vatican [studio], and we could even make another record, let alone, or just tour on the one that we did, you know what I mean? So yeah, we could always do that."

Read the interview on Eonmusic where Zakk also discusses playing at Donington, some of his favorite solos and the parameters for creating an Ozzy album.

PRIDE & GLORY's self-titled album was reissued in 2019. The all-new picture disc version contained five new bonus tracks via a download card: "The Wizard" (BLACK SABBATH cover),"Torn And Tattered", "In My Time Of Dyin'" (LED ZEPPELIN cover),"The Hammer & The Nail" and "Come Together" (THE BEATLES cover).

"Patient Number 9" will be released on September 9 via Epic.

Photo credit: Mark Weiss Photography

Legendary rockers JOURNEY have released a visualizer video for "United We Stand". The song is taken from the band's upcoming album, "Freedom", which will arrive on July 8 via BMG except in Europe and Japan, where it will be issued via Frontiers Music Srl.

JOURNEY said in a statement: "More than ever, we need to take care of each other and look after one another. 'United We Stand' is a reminder that together we can make a difference. 'United We Stand' is out now."

Emerging from the pandemic with a supercharged new studio lineup, "United We Stand" will be followed by an epic 15-track set of new original songs that brings back the grand scale of the group's greatest moments, along with updated and bold new directions and sounds.

While the forthcoming album was made with visions of arena and stadium stages, it started from humble beginnings. In 2020, as COVID-19 swept the globe, JOURNEY founding member, guitarist, songwriter and producer Neal Schon was stuck at home like the rest of us. "During the pandemic, there wasn't much to do," he said. "I spent a lot of time in my little studio at home, learning how to play keyboards and looping. Some of those ideas ended up being songs. So it kind of came out of nowhere."

As JOURNEY's legend continues to grow larger and their touring gets bigger, "Freedom" will be the first album of new material to be released in 11 years, since 2011's "Eclipse", and in addition to longtime keyboard player and primary lyricist Jonathan Cain and vocalist Arnel Pineda, one more member was recruited for the upcoming album — bassist extraordinaire Randy Jackson, who had played on JOURNEY's 1986 album "Raised On Radio".

"Freedom" track listing:

01. Together We Run (4:49)
02. Don't Give Up On Us (5:23)
03. Still Believe In Love
04. You Got The Best Of Me (5:33)
05. Live To Love Again (5:30)
06. The Way We Used To Be (3:35)
07. Come Away With Me (4:02)
08. After Glow (5:22)
09. Let It Rain (4:40)
10. Holdin On (3:14)
11. All Day All Night (3:38)
12. Don't Go (4:58)
13. United We Stand (5:05)
14. Life Rolls On (4:57)
15. Beautiful As You Are (7:10)

JOURNEY's current touring lineup features bassist Todd Jensen, a veteran musician who has played for various artists, including the bands SEQUEL, HARDLINE and HARLOW, as well as David Lee Roth, Ozzy Osbourne, Steve Perry, Alice Cooper and Paul Rodgers. Also part of JOURNEY's current incarnation is returning drummer Deen Castronovo, who shared the drum duties in the band last year with Narada Michael Walden. Walden, Jackson and keyboardist/backing singer Jason Derlatka all joined JOURNEY in 2020 following the band's acrimonious split with drummer Steve Smith and bassist Ross Valory. Jackson — who previously played with JOURNEY during the mid-1980s — was forced to miss all the recent gigs because he is reportedly recovering from back surgery. Prior to JOURNEY's recent Las Vegas residency, Jackson had been replaced at the band's 2021 shows by Marco Mendoza, who had played several shows in 2019 with Castronovo and Schon under the "Neal Schon's Journey Through Time" banner.

"Freedom" includes the single "The Way We Used To Be", which came out in June 2021. The song was the multi-platinum band's first new music since 2011's album "Eclipse", and the first track released by the band's revamped lineup. "The Way We Used To Be" marked Walden and Derlatka's first studio recordings with the band, and Jackson's first since 1986's "Raised On Radio". The song was produced by Walden at his Tarpan Studios, with co-production by Schon and keyboardist Jonathan Cain.

Since the group's formation in 1973, JOURNEY has earned 19 top 40 singles, 25 gold and platinum albums, and has sold nearly 100 million albums globally. Their "Greatest Hits" album is certified 15 times-platinum, making JOURNEY one of the few bands to ever have been diamond-certified, and their song "Don't Stop Believin'" has been streamed over one billion times alone.

JOURNEY was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2017, and 2018's co-headlining tour with DEF LEPPARD was the band's most successful tour to date, landing them in the Top 10 year-end touring chart with more than 1 million tickets sold, and earning them the prestigious Billboard "Legends Of Live" touring award. March 2019 saw the release of "Escape & Frontiers Live In Japan", a live DVD/CD set from their concert at the Budokan in Tokyo featuring the band's first-ever performances of the albums "Escape" and "Frontiers" in their entirety. JOURNEY has also received a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame and were inducted into the Hollywood Bowl Hall Of Fame. Additionally, the band is the subject of the award-winning documentary "Don't Stop Believin': Everyman's Journey" about the band's resurgence upon adding Arnel Pineda as lead singer after Neal Schon discovered the Philippines native on YouTube.

Last August, Schon gave a college radio simulcast interview to WMSC and WNUW where he discussed the progress of the songwriting and recording sessions for the band's upcoming studio album. He said: "I learned how to play keyboards better than ever during the pandemic, which I'd never really done before. And that's where our first single ['The Way We Used To Be'] came from. [I sent it to] Jonathan, and he did the lyrics on it and put a rough vocal on it. And then we had Arnel sing it, and we cut it and re-cut it in the studio, and it was just released. And a lot of people went, 'Wow, man. I love it.' 90 percent of people love it; the other 10 percent went, 'I don't think it sounds like JOURNEY.' I go, 'I never wrote it to be a JOURNEY song.'"

According to Schon, he and his bandmates had written over 30 new songs for the upcoming JOURNEY record. "Some of 'em are unmistakably JOURNEY without sounding like another song that we have; it just sounds like a new version of the band," he said. "It's ballistic, man. And there's no lack of guitar on this record. So I'm excited about it getting out there. I think any guitar player out there is gonna love this record, because I'm just kind of unleashing on this record — like I do a lot live, but sometimes hold back in the studio. I don't think it's O.D.ing on the guitar at all and going overboard, but I like to check out the times and where I see music going. I usually have a pretty good gut instinct about it, and I feel like the late '60s, the time and era of early Jeff Beck with Rod Stewart and [LED] ZEPPELIN when they first came out, Jimi Hendrix, the CREAM with [Eric] Clapton and Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker, that whole era, there's a lot of younger kids out there, younger generation, that never got to experience that era. So I'm feeling like that is the era that I grew up in and that's what I truly love doing and the type of music I love playing, so I'm going more there and I'm writing for that, to be able to do that on stage. And I think it's really gonna trip some people out, when we finally do get this album out there and can combine it with all the hits that we do have."

He continued: "There's certain songs that are being mixed by Bob Clearmountain, that mixed our 'Raised On Radio' record, and he's made it sound really amazing, really pulled it together. You have mixers out there sometimes that have this incredible ability to take work that you've done throughout a year, even though they were recorded at separate times, and different sounds here and there, and they pull it all together and they make it sound like it's a tight album that has a focus sound-wise."

Neal added: "The whole album, there's not a filler on the record; that's what I can tell you. I look at it, and I'm listening to it now, and many others that have known our music for a long time that have very good ears have said, 'Look, this is the modern-day-and-age 'Escape'. I think this could be the next 'Escape' for you guys.' And I think that's a bold statement, but honest to God, I feel like it's that good."

In an interview with Tommy London of SiriusXM Hair Nation this past Thursday (June 30), RATT singer Stephen Pearcy confirmed that he and RATT guitarist Robbin Crosby almost formed a band with MÖTLEY CRÜE's Nikki Sixx and Tommy Lee four decades ago, shortly before their now-legendary hard rock groups officially launched.

"I'm doing another book, part two, next year, and that's actually one of the stories that I kind of held back," Pearcy said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). "There's a bunch — with VAN HALEN and guys and stuff.

"When we met MÖTLEY — first we have to start with how we met them," he continued. "So Robbin and I used to go out all the time into Hollywood — you know, 'The [Sunset] Strip, yeah. You've gotta be seen. You've gotta be out there.' Well, MÖTLEY was doing the same thing. Nikki, Tommy, Vince [Neil, CRÜE singer] — they'd be doing the same thing. You know, tripping down the Strip, going to the Rainbow, going here, getting fucked up… So anyway, we meet them on the Strip, hanging out. We became friends and we became The Gladiators, which was our street thing there, when we went out together. And we each had names, which goes back to [Robbin's nickname] 'King'. I don't know if it was Nikki who gave him that nickname or Robbin gave it to himself.

"So in '82, we really became close friends," Stephen said. "I don't think Nikki was ever really satisfied. Musicians were coming and going in bands, as the whole implosion was getting going — [in] '81, '82 in L.A. and that whole Strip thing. He wasn't happy with his band at that moment.

"So, yes, it's a true story. Robbin, Nikki, Tommy and myself, and me on guitar, were rehearsing at [pre-RATT band] MICKEY RATT's rehearsal in Culver City there. And I believe we rehearsed for a couple of times. I don't know if we wanted to start a band or if we were just jamming, but something was getting intense in there. And Nikki is, like, 'Nah. I'm gonna go do my thing.' And I said, 'Well, I'm here. Me and Robbin are doing our thing.' And so be it.

"Yeah — true story. True story," Pearcy repeated. "So, if that would have been a band, it would have been a great band, actually. I don't know what songs we played, but we were very supportive of each other back in the day, in the beginning, yeah. It was great."

Asked if they had a name for the band picked out or if they were just going to call themselves THE GLADIATORS, Stephen said: "Well, that's probably what we were gonna call it — THE GLADIATORS. I really don't know. I'd have to check with my roadie guy back then. I forget the shit. We were kind of almost taking it seriously, if I remember, like, 'All right. We're gonna be here. We're gonna rehearse.' But it happened a couple of times, yeah — a couple of times. So there's a bit of a tale there."

Last month, on the 20th anniversary of Crosby's death, Nikki paid tribute to the late guitarist on social media, writing: "Thinking a lot about my best friend from back in the day. So many tributes floating around on the web this week. Miss you KING. Can't wait to start our UFO cover band together someday."

Crosby reportedly died of a heroin overdose in 2002 after battling addiction for many years, contracting HIV and eventually full-blown AIDS as a result of his drug use.

In his 2013 autobiography "Sex, Drugs, Ratt & Roll: My Life In Rock", Stephen wrote about his life from childhood to the formation of RATT in the 1970s and the band's rise to prominence in the Sunset Strip hair metal scene of the 1980s. In the book, he also shared how he was primed for a life of excess from a young age — his father died of a heroin overdose when he was 12, and by the age of 15, Stephen was himself a drug addict.

Pearcy and bassist Juan Croucier are the sole remaining original members in RATT's current lineup.

RATT hasn't released any new music since 2010's "Infestation" LP.

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

CRÜE's long-delayed North American trek with DEF LEPPARD, POISON and JOAN JETT & THE BLACKHEARTS was originally planned for 2020 and later moved to 2021 and then to 2022.

"The Stadium Tour" marks the CRÜE's first live dates since wrapping its 2014/2015 farewell tour.

CRÜE fans who shelled out for the band's 2014/2015 "farewell" tour were led to believe that the group would never return after playing its final show on December 2015 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The band touted the signing of a pre-tour "cessation of touring" agreement as cementing the fact it truly was the end of CRÜE's life on the road.