WHITESNAKE frontman David Coverdale has shot down as "misleading" the claim that Tommy Aldridge is suffering from "severe health problems", saying that the drummer was simply "under the weather" when the band was forced to cancel its appearance at a Spanish festival.

On Saturday (June 25), the organizers of the Rock Imperium festival in Cartagena, Spain released a statement saying that WHITESNAKE's booking agent had informed them "of the sad news that Tommy Aldridge is having severe health problems," causing the band to pull out of the event. They went on to wish Tommy "a quick recovery."

A short time later, the Twitter account @tadrums, which appears to be controlled by Aldridge, responded to the Rock Imperium statement, calling it "patently untrue". The same day, WHITESNAKE's official web site released a statement apologizing for the "unavoidable" cancelation of the Spanish show and blaming it on "unprecedented challenges" without making any mention of Aldridge's health.

Earlier today (Sunday, June 26), Coverdale took to his Twitter to issue the following clarification regarding Tommy's health: "Now Hear This!!! 'Tommy was under the weather, as we all can get, but is getting better: he never had, what was inaccurately described as 'severe health problems' and can't wait to get back out there to perform for the fans!'

"The Spanish promoter released a misleading statement".

Tommy is not the only member of WHITESNAKE to fall ill during the band's ongoing European tour. Earlier in the month, guitarist Reb Beach missed several shows after apparently contracting a mystery illness. After the Prague concert on June 14, fellow WHITESNAKE guitarist Joel Hoekstra addressed Reb's absence in a tweet, writing: "Reb Beach was under the weather and I had to cover his solos."

The 71-year-old Aldridge is on his third stint playing drums with WHITESNAKE. Before, during and in between his time with the David Coverdale-fronted outfit, Aldridge has also performed and recorded with OZZY OSBOURNE, BLACK OAK ARKANSAS, THIN LIZZY and Ted Nugent, among other artists.

Aldridge's latest studio release with WHITESNAKE was "Flesh & Blood", which came out in May 2019 via Frontiers Music Srl.
Now Hear This!!! “Tommy was under the weather, as we all can get, but is getting better: he never had, what was inaccurately described as “severe health problems” and can’t wait to get back out there to perform for the fans! “
The Spanish promoter released a misleading statement pic.twitter.com/pUF5PYrT9A

— David Coverdale (@davidcoverdale) June 26, 2022


This is patently untrue. I don’t know how it ever saw the light of day.

— Tommy Aldridge (@tadrums) June 25, 2022

New England-based underground metal band, Dead By Wednesday, released their most powerful and heaviest work to date with their new album Capital Conspiracy, out now on all music platforms world wide via Mindsnap Music / Salt Of The Earth Records. This crushing new opus from DBW is a total lesson in authentic musical aggression and was produced by Nicky Bellmore (drummer & producer of Dee Snider, Corpse Grinder, & Jasta).


Check out Dead By Wednesday’s first official single and video, “Here Comes The Dead”, below. This video was shot in New Haven, CT. at the legendary Toad’s Place and was produced by Tom Flynn who has worked with the likes of Lamb of God, Body Count, All That Remains, & many more.


“This album is a roller coaster ride of emotions. These emotions range from grief of a loved one or a passion, struggles with love and life, to current affairs in both the world and our country regarding both social and governmental affairs. To me, it was an opportunity to tell a story to the world and to share a perspective that many wouldn’t or couldn’t picture or relate to. This album is raw emotion in its purest form," says Esteban Alvarez, the vocalist for the band.







Tracklisting:


"Invincible"
"Mars In Exile"
"Here Comes The Dead"
"The Wake"
"Darkened Times"
"Antahkarana"
"Sludge"
"S.O.S."
"Wasteland"
"Pawns 2022"


"Here Comes The Dead" video:





(Photo - Jeremy Saffer)

A new episode of The SDR Show, featuring Milijenko Matijevic, is now available wherever you get your podcasts.  In the hour-long interview, Matijevic talks about how Led Zeppelin was his doorway to rock, the accident that nearly killed him and how Steelheart would have been much bigger had they come out five years earlier. Watch below.


Some highlights of the interview include:


- How Matijevic wasn’t allowed to reveal that it was him, and not Mark Wahlberg, singing in the movie “Rock Star”
- That, per management request, he sent in an audition tape to Stone Temple Pilots
- That “She’s Gone” breaking in Japan is what helped them in US and that it’s still the most sung Karaoke track in Japan
- How Led Zeppelin negatively impacted his relationship with his dad







Part of the GaS Digital Network, The SDR Show is an audio/video podcast hosted by radio personality Ralph Sutton and comedian Big Jay Oakerson. Launched just over 5 years ago, The SDR Show is often in the top fifty comedy interview podcasts on iTunes, was selected as one of the first podcasts on Spotify, and is available on Google Play, iHeartRadio, and www.theSDRshow.com.  Recent guests include musicians Gene Simmons, Alice Cooper, DMC of Run DMC, and Shaggy; comedians Ray Romano, Gilbert Gottfried, Michael Che, Pete Davidson, Sussie Essman, and Mario Cantone; and notable personalities including Mark Cuban, Neil deGrasse Tyson, and Daymond John.  


Founded in 2016 and headquartered in New York City, GaS Digital produces 22 podcasts covering multiple topics including comedy, politics, music, sports, dating, and self-improvement.  Currently, the network reaches five million listeners a month. More information can be found at gasdigitalnetwork.com.

FOO FIGHTERS' Dave Grohl publicly performed for the first time since Taylor Hawkins's death when he guested during Paul McCartney's June 25 concert at the Glastonbury Festival in Somerset, United Kingdom.

McCartney introduced Grohl as "my friend, your hero" before Dave walked on stage and said "Hi, Paul. How are you?" The duo then performed THE BEATLES' "I Saw Her Standing There" followed by WINGS' "Band On The Run", which Grohl has previously covered with the FOO FIGHTERS.

"This guy flew in specially to do this," McCartney said. "We love you."

"Well, I started on Wednesday. Then the flight got canceled, back to the airport Thursday and then the flight got canceled, but I swear I would never miss being on stage with you right now," Dave said to Paul. Grohl returned for the final song of McCartney's set, THE BEATLES' "The End", on which they were joined by Bruce Springsteen, who had guested on two other songs earlier in the night.

Grohl's appearance at Glastonbury Saturday marked the first time the 53-year-old musician had taken part in any concert since the death of his bandmate Hawkins at the age of 50 in March.

Taylor was found dead in his hotel room in Colombia. No cause of death was announced but a toxicology report showed traces of 10 different substances in his body, including opioids, marijuana and anti-depressants.

Earlier this month, Grohl and fellow FOO FIGHTERS members Nate Mendel, Chris Shiflett, Pat Smear and Rami Jaffee announced that they will come together with the Hawkins family to celebrate his "life, music and love" at the Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concerts later this year.

The all-star rock and roll shows will take place September 3 at London's Wembley Stadium and September 27 at The Kia Forum in Los Angeles.

Hawkins joined FOO FIGHTERS in 1997. Prior to that, he played with the Orange County band SYLVIA and was also in the backing band for Sass Jordan. He also toured with Alanis Morissette as her drummer.

Hawkins was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame last year as a member of the FOO FIGHTERS.

Hawkins's most recent work with FOO FIGHTERS included last year's "Medicine At Midnight" album, a collection of BEE GEES covers and FOO FIGHTERS' horror film "Studio 666".

Melodic death/doom metal band Coldbound have revealed that former Delain vocalist Charlotte Wessels will appear on their forthcoming album:


"Resuming with the famous-infamous Dutch expedition, we simply had to ask Charlotte to be part of this album and impersonate a character. Charlotte's career is simply remarkable and she is having such a bright future ahead, which we should all witness when the chance is given. It was a huge honour to be given the opportunity to work with Charlotte and we are so excited for everyone to listen to the results of this monumental collaboration. Huge thanks to Charlotte as well for this wonderful experience and honour to work with her."


Coldbound released the single “Slumber Of Decay”, which marked the metal comeback of Liv Kristine (Theatre of Tragedy, Leaves' Eyes) and Meiju Enho (Ensiferum) back in February 2021. Check out the official video below.







Tales From Six Feet Under, the first solo endeavour of former Delain singer and songwriter, Charlotte Wessels, was released via Napalm Records in fall 2021, and debuts a song in her native language, Dutch rocker “Afkicken”. Wessels recently released a breathtaking new full production music video for the song, which marks the last video for Tales From Six Feet Under at the same time.


“Afkicken”, the compilation's second track, enchants with electronic industrial vibes and a flattering vocal performance while conjuring a hauntingly dark atmosphere wrapping around from the very first tone. It's another inimitable proof of Wessels' multifaceted nature and wide artistic range, heating the anticipation even more for everything that is to come in the future!


Charlotte Wessels on the song and video: “From the moment I finished the track 'Afkicken' - my very first song in Dutch, I desperately wanted to tell the story of the song's protagonist in a way that transcends language. I'm thrilled about this absolute fever dream of a video full of cults, monsters and murder I've put together with the amazing cast and VideoInk crew. This video isn't only an ode to some of my favorite films; on a personal level, it presented some brand new experiences and challenges, from wild choreographies to some serious shape-shifting. I'm really excited to bring this one into the world!”





Unable to perform live due to the pandemic, Wessels spent most of last year buried in her Six Feet Under home studio, writing, performing and producing an eclectic wealth of songs. Tales From Six Feet Under offers her favorites out of the bunch and marks an electrifying collection with gems ranging from melancholic indie pop to synth-infused rock. The record features Wessels’ rendition of Goth classic “Cry Little Sister”, as well as a beautiful synergy of the stunning voices of Charlotte Wessels and  Alissa White-Gluz on “Lizzie”. The mesmerizing and haunting “Victor” was released in April this year along with a visually palpable music video. “Soft Revolution” showcases the artist right where the magic happens; in her Six Feet Under studio. The song - part sweet sorrow, part soaring call to action, is quickly becoming a fan favourite.


Get your copy of Tales From Six Feet Under here.





Vinyl tracklisting:


Side A
"Superhuman"
"Afkicken"
"Masterpiece"
"Victor"
"New Mythology"
"Source Of The Flame"


Side B
"Cry Little Sister"
"Lizzie" - A Duet with Alissa White-Gluz
"FSU (2020)"
"Soft Revolution"


"Superhuman" video:





“Soft Revolution” video:





"Victor" video:





(Photo - Sandra Ludewig)

SEPULTURA played its second show with fill-in guitarist Jean Patton (PROJECT46) Friday night (June 24) at the Tons Of Rock festival in Oslo, Norway. Fan-filmed video of the performance can be found below.

On Wednesday, SEPULTURA announced that guitarist Andreas Kisser was forced to leave the band's current European tour due to a "family emergency." In a statement on social media, the group said: "Unfortunately, @andreaskisser has returned home due to a family emergency. However, the show must go on, so we've tapped fellow Brazilian @jeanpatt6n (of @project46_oficial) to riff with until Andreas' return. Huge thanks to him for jumping in on short notice (practice is sounding great already!). Please join us in welcoming Jean and wishing Andreas the best."

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.

Last September, Kisser revealed during an appearance on TRIVIUM frontman Matt Heafy's "GLHF" podcast that his wife had been diagnosed with cancer in February 2021. He said at the time: "She's going through chemo, like surgeries and stuff. She's doing great; she's doing well; the treatment is fantastic. But it's an atomic bomb one after another — pandemic, cancer and stuff. And regardless of that, we're strong. We're very united, we are growing as a band and as a family, and myself as a human being."

Last July, Kisser told A&P Reacts that he quit drinking alcohol right before the pandemic hit. "It was one of the best decisions I made in my life," he said. "Not that I was a fucking out-of-control alcoholic, but alcohol was a part of my life, of everything I did. In certain degrees less and more, but it was there. It was taking control of my life, of my choices, of how I dealt with people or with a special occasion or something. Alcohol was involved in everything. And I don't need that. And I proved now that I don't, because I'm having a better life. I'm doing exercises. I have the routine I never had touring."

He continued: "[When you are on the road], every time you're in a different place, in a different time period. Or you go to a bathroom and you don't shower and you have to travel, et cetera. That was our life. And with the pandemic, I had finally a routine. I kind of complained before because I couldn't do exercises, I couldn't have my diet, I couldn't study classical guitar. Now I have all that, and I appreciate that a lot.

"The stuff that I have with my wife and my kids, that I'm never home [when SEPULTURA is in the middle of an album cycle], I'm always here now. It was a difficult time, but we recreated ourselves kind of. We are a better family now — a much better family now. And that's very special. And I have to be thankful for that somehow, that I was able really to make the best out of something so terrible."

According to Kisser, "it was very easy" for him to give up the bottle. "Once you have a clear idea in your mind, there's no discussion," he explained. "I didn't put the responsibility on a saint or, let's say, in a church, or 'I will stop for a year' or 'I promise you, my wife, I don't drink anymore.' No. It's not for them. It's a very personal attitude. It's me with me — not more. I don't have to put the responsibility away from myself, in a time period or in a certain religious belief or my family. They don't deserve that. This is my problem, and I resolve it with myself. So I'm in peace with myself with that. It's not something that bothers me. I can be around alcohol, I can be around parties, I can be around backstage, as I did with my KISSER CLAN band here and stuff. People drink around [me], [and] I don't care. I don't even feel the wish to drink, which is great. So I don't have a battle, let's put it that way. I'm not running away from anything. I just decided to stop. That's it."

SEPULTURA comprises Kisser, vocalist Derrick 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.

Blind Guardian performed at the 2022 edition of Hellfest in Clisson, France on June 26th. You can watch professionally-filmed footage of the band's full set below.


Setlist:


"War of Wrath"
"Into the Storm"
"Welcome to Dying"
"Nightfall"
"Time Stand Still (At the Iron Hill)"
"Time What Is Time"
"Journey Through The Dark"
"Black Chamber"
"Theatre of Pain"
"The Quest for Tanelorn"
"Ashes to Ashes"
"The Bard's Song (In The Forest)"
"The Bard's Song (The Hobbit)"
"The Piper's Calling"
"Somewhere Far Beyond"
"Mirror Mirror"
"Valhalla"

KING'S X, comprised of Doug "Dug" Pinnick, Ty Tabor and Jerry Gaskill, will release its 13th studio album, "Three Sides Of One", on September 2. The LP's heavy first single, "Let It Rain", can be streamed below.

Pinnick comments: 'When I think of it, KING'S X feels like a couple of old best friends coming together, shooting the shit, and having a good time, it's instinctual.

"When I would listen to demo tapes of Jerry and Ty for the record, it gave me a great perspective on how blessed I am to be in KING'S X. What they did on 'Three Sides Of One' sounded so good. For as familiar as it is, it's like I'm in a new band."

Ty adds: "This time we sat around, listened to each other's ideas and would collectively say, 'Let's work on that.' It was the most enjoyable album I've personally ever recorded in my entire life, period."

Jerry states: "I'll cherish what we did in my heart forever. Everything lined up perfectly."

"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.

"Three Sides Of One" track listing:

01. Let It Rain (04:28)
02. Flood Pt. 1 (03:03)
03. Nothing But The Truth (06:03
04. Give It Up (02:59
05. All God's Children (05:32)
06. Take The Time (03:45)
07. Festival (03:30)
08. Swipe Up (03:46)
09. Holidays (03:22)
10. Watcher (03:43)
11. She Called Me Home (03:57)
12. Every Everywhere (02:40)

Last October, Pinnick told Talking Metal about the musical direction of the new KING'S X material: "Every song is completely different than the other — mixed and sonically; everything. We took every song and tried to do like THE BEATLES 'White' album and just sit down with a song and go, 'Let's give it what it needs.' I don't have to have my Doug Pinnick gravelly tone if I need a Paul McCartney-type sound. Ty, he would fix his guitars to make… 'This is like a whatever song. Let's make it what it is but still be KING'S X.' So I think that it sounds like KING'S X but hopefully everyone will feel that we took another step forward. The whole point is just to try to push forward [while] still looking back. There's a lot of things on this record that are reminiscent of KING'S X totally, but then there's this new KING'S X, I think. Sonically, we're really excited because it's a complete analog record except with Pro Tools. It was laid down with analog — everything — and it was mastered on analog tape and even EQed with analog tube EQs to saturate the tape to get compression instead of digits. So there's no digits on this record. So when you hear it, it's gonna take you back a little bit. It sounds like you put a real record on in the '70s, sonically. It's, like, things jump out at you, and then they don't. It's, like, you go, 'Wow, the bass is huge, but I can hear everything else,' 'cause you can put your hands in it, almost. Michael Parnin just did an amazing job — a painstaking job — to get it to sound like a record that you can put on and play forever."

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

In April 2021, Pinnick told Shawn Ratches of Laughingmonkeymusic about the new KING'S X material: "I had some pretty crazy songs, time-change-wise, 'cause I've been listening to a lot of MESHUGGAH and shit like that. It's not KING'S X, but that flavor comes in. Imagine John Bonham playing with MESHUGGAH… But Ty and Jerry are singing a lot too. I tell people, it's like from [THE BEATLES' classic song] 'Penny Lane' to the heaviest MESHUGGAH — it's a blend of something in between there. And one song to another almost sounds different, almost to the point where they're individual pieces themselves, like PINK FLOYD used to do. We've got violins and other things in it. I've got some keyboards and all kinds of things to enhance things — piano. Nothing overboard, but just like [Jimi] Hendrix did and people like that — big things coming in and out that gives it that longevity, I would say. Things that you hear and go, 'Oh, wow. That's cool.' That little thing over there. So it's taken Michael a long time to mix it, 'cause he's got a lot of tracks."

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

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

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

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

Photo credit: Derek Soto

Symphonic metal masters Nightwish performed at the 2022 edition of Hellfest in Clisson, France on June 23rd. You can watch professionally-filmed footage of the band's full set below.


The setlist was as follows:


"Noise"
"Planet Hell"
"Tribal"
"Élan"
"Storytime"
"How's the Heart?"
"Dark Chest Of Wonders"
"I Want My Tears Back"
"Nemo"
"Sleeping Sun"
"Shoemaker"
"Last Ride of the Day"
"Ghost Love Score"
"The Greatest Show On Earth"
"Ad Astra"

"It’s finally here! A show we will never forget at an iconic venue, one that’s been on our bucket list for decades. And doing so as the first international band to tour the UK during a pandemic. The entire experience will live in our hearts forever. Thankfully, we can relive it with this incredible movie," says Black Stone Cherry, talking about their just released Live From The Royal Albert Hall… Y'All!


"Not only are you getting the entire performance from the Royal Albert Hall, you’re also going beyond the curtain with us. There are some great behind the scenes footage, jam packed with passion and emotion. We are beyond proud of this! We hope it hits you in the chest just like it did when we watched it!"


Watch "Blame It On The Boom Boom", one of the standout moments from Live From The Royal Albert Hall... Y'All!







On Wednesday, September 29, 2021 - the year of the band's 20th anniversary - Kentucky's favourite sons, Black Stone Cherry, realized their childhood dream of playing at the legendary Royal Albert Hall, London. Sat on the stage at the iconic Victorian building, singer-guitarist Chris Robertson pauses, looks around and says, "When you're a kid, and you see your heroes' playing places, and then all of a sudden you find yourself sitting on the stage, it's pretty emotional. But we're gonna royally rock it this evening. You better believe that."


Throughout the set they tear through an impressive back catalogue, playing songs from their most recent studio album 'The Human Condition – "In Love With The Pain", "Again", and the previously released live track "Ringin' in My Head" - through to their biggest hits and fan favourites. "Blind Man", "Hell And High Water", "Blame It On The Boom Boom", and "White Trash Millionaire" rock the building alongside moments of tenderness such as the touching rendition and emotional performance of "Things My Father Said."


Talking about playing the iconic venue, drummer John-Fred Young said, "To be honest, I was terrified. It was heavy walking in there. You think about how many great acts have played this place. The prestige behind it. We've wanted to play the Royal Albert Hall since the first UK tour in 2007. Dudes from the middle of the country in Kentucky to go out here and have built an amazing group of people that we care about and come to our shows and support us. To know that with all that hard work and dedication we have put into Black Stone Cherry, we've accomplished something here. Walking in that place, it's just breath-taking. You walk on that stage, and you say, we did it, and it's a feeling that I will cherish for the rest of my life."


On the Blu-Ray, the live footage is dotted with behind-the-scenes interviews, fly on the wall footage and archival insights into the band as kids first starting out, snippets of their first ever UK tour and heartfelt moments of reflection. But ultimately Live From The Royal Albert Hall… Y'All was about bringing rock 'n' roll to London, Kentucky style, and they tore the roof off that mother.


The release is available to order here in various formats: digital, CD & Blu-Ray, double vinyl and an online exclusive double vinyl in transparent red.





Tracklisting:


"Me And Mary Jane"
"Burnin'"
"Again"
"Yeah Man"
"In My Blood/Island Jam"
"Ringin' In My Head"
"Like I Roll"
"Cheaper To Drink Alone"
"Hell And High Water"
"Soulcreek"
"Devil's Queen"
Drum Solo"
"Things My Father Said"
"In Love With The Pain"
"Blind Man"
"Blame It On The Boom Boom"
"White Trash Millionaire"
"Lonely Train"
"Peace Is Free"


"Again":





"Ringin' In My Head":





"Things My Father Said":





 

Living Dead Girl have released a video for their song "Escape", featuring footage captured by Steve Haining on the 2022 Exorcism Tour.





Catch Living Dead Girl live this summer at the following shows:




August
11 - Flagstaff, AZ - The Orpheum Theatre
12 - El Paso, TX - Raves Club
14 - Houston, TX - Acadia Bar & Grill
15 - Haltom City, TX - Haltom Theatre
16 - Memphis, TN - Hi Tone 
17 - Indianapolis, IN - The Emerson Theatre
18 - Cincinnati, OH - Legends Bar
19 - Fort Wayne, IN - Piere's


Tickets and VIP upgrades are available here.


On Exorcism’s 11 banging tracks, Living Dead Girl vocalist Molly Rennick channels her inner “goth girl gone bad” attitude. From the raging, down-tuned riffs of the title track and “Worship Me”, to the infectious, singalong chorus of “Villain”, to the enticing, taunting melodies of “Beautiful” and “Alive”, Rennick commands your full attention.





Tracklisting:


"Alive"
"Beautiful"
"Give Up"
"Exorcism"
"Dirty Liar"
"Poltergeist"
"Villain"
"Escape"
"At The Edge"
"Worship Me"
"Stronger"

















Living Dead Girl is:


Molly Rennick - vocals 
Anthony Puddu - guitar 
Jordan Storring - bass 
Ryan Claxton - drums


 

Beast Machine's new single, "Now Look What You've Done", is out now. Watch a video below.


"Our new single 'Now Look What You've Done' is a scathing comment on the opioid epidemic and is a blistering hard out metal track with a real hook to it." - Josh Paish







Beast Machine's single, "Frozen", was released early this year to a very warm reception from critics and fans alike. Coming out of the East coast of Australia, Beast Machine have seen a number of lineup changes before settling on its tightest and most streamlined version as a duo.


The new material has morphed into a much heavier and intense sound, with Reg's raspy aggressive vox over Paish's blistering complex beats but still retaining hooks you can hold on to, but the real jewel in the Beast Machine crown is the live show, it is beautiful insanity.


In the four short years Beast Machine has been together, the band has released two EPs and a full length album independently, four video clip releases, toured the US twice, secured a booking agent in L.A. and played venues such as the Whisky a Go Go.


(Photo - Ben Aboody)

PEARL JAM will release "Gigaton (Tour Edition)" on Friday, July 8. It features 11 live songs recorded during the band's triumphant return to the road in 2021 alongside the group's critically acclaimed chart-topping eleventh full-length, "Gigaton", originally released in 2020. It will be available on all DSPs and as in limited-edition LP/CD combo only in independent record stores across the country. Members of the PEARL JAM Ten Club may order it as a standalone CD beginning July 8.

PEARL JAM roared back on the stage last year and performed music from "Gigaton" for the first time during a string of unforgettable shows. Now, the "Tour Edition" consists of energetic and emotionally charged renditions of new favorites, including "Dance Of The Clairvoyants", "Superblood Wolfmoon", "Retrograde" and more.

"Gigaton (Tour Edition)" arrives on the heels of the recent special Record Store Day release of the platinum 1998 live classic "Live On Two Legs". It emerged as the NO. 1 indie retail piece for Record Store Day, bowing at No. 33 on the Billboard 200 and earning No. 1 on the Top Vinyl Albums chart, No. 1 on the Top Hard Rock Music Albums chart, and No. 2 on the Top Rock Albums chart.

Record Store Day co-founder Michael Kurtz commented: "It's not a stretch to say that there would be no Record Store Day without the support of PEARL JAM. They were one of the earliest of supporters and continue to be just great to mom-and-pop stores throughout the world. It's fantastic to see 'Live On Two Legs' be the biggest Record Store Day seller last week. We tip our hat to PEARL JAM and all of their fans."

After successfully completing the first sold-out leg of the "Gigaton" tour this spring, PEARL JAM will pick back up this fall in North America following summer dates in Europe during June and July.

"Gigaton (Tour Edition)" track listing

Original Album

01. Who Ever Said
02. Superblood Wolfmoon
03. Dance Of The Clairvoyants
04. Quick Escape
05. Alright
06. Seven O’Clock
07. Never Destination
08. Take The Long Way
09. Buckle Up
10. Comes Then Goes
11. Retrograde
12. River Cross

"Gigaton" live CD

01. Superblood Wolfmoon (Live)
02. Dance Of The Clairvoyants (Live)
03. Quick Escape (Live)
04. Seven O’Clock (Live)
05. Alright (Live)
06. Never Destination (Live)
07. Take The Long Way (Live)
08. Buckle Up (Live)
09. Comes Then Goes (Live)
10. Retrograde (Live)
11. River Cross (Live)

"Gigaton" debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's Top Rock Albums, Top Alternative Albums and Billboard Vinyl Albums chart. In addition, it hit Top 5 on Billboard 200 Album chart, No. 2 Billboard Top Album Sales chart and to date has reached over 200 million global streams. The album was critically acclaimed, with Entertainment Weekly raving, "It's a sturdy rock album from five guys who know what they're doing, took time till they had something to say, are interpolating new influences and sound stoked to be back together in a room."

Fan-filmed video of TESLA performing a new song called "Time To Rock" on June 26 at Des Plaines Theater in Des Plaines, Illinois can be seen below.

The studio version of "Time To Rock" is expected to be released in July.

TESLA guitarist Frank Hannon spoke about the track earlier in the month in an interview with Robert Cavuoto of Sonic Perspectives. Asked if DEF LEPPARD's Phil Collen, who produced TESLA's latest album, 2019's "Shock", will return to helm the band's follow-up effort, Frank responded: "The 'Shock' album that Phil did, they worked really hard on that. When I say 'they,' I'm talking about Phil Collen and Brian Wheat, our bass player. Man, they really worked hard on the album. It was a collaboration. Phil wrote most of the songs. And some people thought it was a great album and other people didn't like it. But we gave it a shot. But from now on… Brian and I had a discussion… Brian and I are the founding members of the band TESLA, along with Jeff Keith. And we decided from now on, we're gonna write and produce our own music. We worked with enough producers — we've had producers coming and going our whole career — so from now on, at our age, we're gonna produce our own music. And we're actually producing a brand new single that's gonna come out next month, and it's frickin' rocking. I'm really excited about it.

"The best thing about producing ourselves is it's imperfect and it's edgy and it's got the warts and everything and it's as real as it can be because it's us. We're not technicians where we know how to make things perfect.

"[TESLA's latest single, 2021's] 'Cold Blue Steel', we produced it ourselves, and this new song — it's called 'Time To Rock' — I've been producing it and working on it for about two months. And it'll ultimately get put on a self-produced album."

Asked if TESLA will continue to focus on releasing individual singles before dropping another full-length album, Hannon said: "Yeah, we're gonna put out singles after singles and just focus on one song at a time, man, and rock that song.

"What happens is when you're young, man, you can write 10 songs and frickin' put out an album every year, but as you get older, like we are now, it's not as easy to do that," he explained. "So you end up sacrificing quality for quantity, and we don't wanna do that. Why put out 10 songs that are just in a rush when we can spend our time and just create singles that we're real proud of. And this one next one, I'm telling you, Jeff Keith and I are really excited about it, 'cause he and I wrote it on the road last year and I got the band to put it together. I've been chipping away on it in the studio producing it, and I'm getting ready to produce a video for it this weekend. It's called 'Time To Rock', and it does rock."

This past March, TESLA released the official lyric video for "Cold Blue Steel". The clip, directed by Brandon Gullion and produced by Hannon, is raw and high electric energy that takes fans back to the roots of TESLA.

Originally released last August, "Cold Blue Steel" was the first TESLA song to ever be produced by the bandmembers themselves.

Last December, Hannon told Let's Rock that the lyrics to "Cold Blue Steel" have been partially misinterpreted by some fans.

"We've been getting a lot of flak from people that only hear the couple of verses in the song, thinking it's about gun control," he said. "And in a way it is, but, really, it's so much deeper than that, the lyrics. We try to definitely not take sides and be political but we wanna sing about a situation. Something like what we did with 'Modern Day Cowboy' in the '80s; we sang about foreign lands and terrorist demands and 'bang bang, shoot 'em up' and how that attitude was still happening in the world at that time, being a gunfighter, cowboy situation, but we're not pointing fingers. And that's the same way with this song, but some people only hear parts of it and have been giving us some shit about it. But if you listen to the lyrics, it's asking a question, 'What's to blame? Let's get real.' And the song is really about people that you give 'em an inch, they take a mile — whether it's a politician, whether it's a crook, whether it's a police officer. And we support our police."

He added: "There's evil intentions in all parts of life, and that's what the song is really about — just observing and asking the question, 'What's to blame?' It's not talking about 'take away guns' or any of that shit. But it started off just being a fun poke at Ronnie Van Zant. That last lyric in the song, 'Just like Ronnie said, 'Let's dump 'em to the bottom of the sea,' that's where the song started for fun. And then we took it and tried to make it a little bit more serious."

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

TESLA is:

Frank Hannon - guitar
Brian Wheat - bass
Jeff Keith - lead vocals
Dave Rude - guitar
Steve Brown - drums

German thrash metallers, Bonded, have welcomed former Kreator bassist Christian "Speesy" Giesler to the fold. Guitarist Bernd "Bernemann" Kost has issued the following statement:


"We've been talking about making music together since the Hell Comes To Your Town tour in 2001/2002. It just took us a little longer to realize our plans than usual hahaha.... We were both so involved with our jobs at Kreator and Sodom that we never found the time, but we always stayed in touch over the years. If Speesy hadn't still been with Kreator in January 2018, he would have been our first choice for Bonded, but due to the intensive Kreator tours it was out of the question. That's why we were very happy about his collaboration on the song 'Rest in Violence' together with Bobby Ellsworth. When the situation suddenly arose a few weeks ago and we broke up with our bass player, it was only logical for me to call Speesy first, and he didn't really think long about an answer hahaha.... now we finally want to hit the gas pedal together."


Bonded recently released their sophomore album, Into Blackness, via Century Media Records. The album entered the official sales charts in Germany at #77 in the first week of release.




In order to continue promoting the album, Bonded launched a new video, directed by Nico Schiesewitz / VIZO Films, for the track “Watch (While The World Burns)”.


Says the band: “This might be our best clip yet and we created it for the track 'Watch (While The World Burns)', which is the powerful first full song on our second album Into Blackness. And yes, we just heard the good news that Into Blackness entered the official album sales charts in Germany on #77, so thanks to everyone who supported us and our music so far. We hope you will continue to enjoy Into Blackness and hopefully see you all on the road soon!”





Bonded, the group formed by former Sodom members Bernd “Bernemann” Kost (Guitars) and Markus “Makka” Freiwald (Drums) alongside second guitarist Chris Tsitsis (ex-Suicidal Angels), bassist Marc Hauschild and vocalist Ingo Bajonczak (Assassin), have decided to stick to their guns and once again collaborated with producer Cornelius Rambadt (Sodom, Disbelief, Onkel Tom) at the Rambado Recording Studio in Essen, Germany and also had Björn Gooßes / Killustrations (Aborted, The Crown, Carnal Forge) create the album’s artwork, just like on their Rest In Violence debut album from 2020.


The album’s limited first-pressing CD edition comes with O-Card packaging, a sticker and two bonus tracks: "Humanity On Sale" and "Will To Survive". Into Blackness is also available as 180g black vinyl on the LP format. Order here.





Into Blackness tracklisting:


"The Arsonist"
"Watch (While The World Burns)"
"Lilith (Queen Of Blood)"
"The Holy Whore"
"Division Of The Damned"
"Into The Blackness Of A Wartime Night"
"Destroy The Things I Love"
"Final Stand"
"Ill-Minded Freak"
"Way Of The Knife"
"The Eyes Of Madness"
"Humanity On Sale (First pressing CD bonus track)
"Will To Survive" (First pressing CD bonus track)


"Lilith (Queen Of Blood)" video:





"Into The Blackness Of A Wartime Night" lyric video:





Bonded lineup (from left to right on photo by Sebastian “Konz” Konopka):


Markus “Makka” Freiwald – Drums
Chris Tsitsis – Guitar
Ingo Bajonczak – Vocals
Christian "Speesy" Giesler - Bass
Bernd “Bernemann” Kost – Guitar

With the recent announcement of their sophomore album Welcome To The Chaos and their assault on radio with their SiriusXM Octane chart-topper and current Top 40 track at Active Rock radio “Plastic Heart,” Florida rockers Fame oOn Fire are releasing another song from their Hopeless Records release available on July 24. “Ketamine” is an upbeat rocker that talks about addiction and the cost of using substances to combat the trials of life. The song was produced by Fame On Fire with additional production by Brian Howes (Halestorm, Daughtry, Skillet) and Arcaeus.


Welcome To The Chaos is now available for preorder and pre-save here.


From the electronic creepy carnival ride music of “Intro” to the haunting vocal outro of “Dead Or Alive,” Fame on Fire has created a follow-up to their debut album Levels that is sure to solidify their place as one of the most-exciting new bands in rock. Songs like “Ketamine,” “Robbery,” and “Rotting Away” are all sonically different and display the variety of musical influences the band has. The title track “Welcome To The Chaos” features Ice Nine Kills vocalist Spencer Charnas. To celebrate the announcement of the album, the band is releasing a music video for the track “Cut Throat.” The video for “Cut Throat” was created by longtime collaborator Roman Films along with Boardwalk Studios and can be seen below.




Fame On Fire spent the last year writing and recording what would become Welcome To The Chaos. The debut single “Plastic Heart” was one of the first new songs completed from those sessions. The song is now available via all streaming platforms as well as available for digital download. The band also released a music video for the new song that visualizes a relationship gone wrong – a sentiment echoed in the song’s lyrics.


Fame On Fire has been making new fans across North America with their busy tour schedule. Recently wrapping up a 29-stop tour with Zero 9:36 and on select Trinity of Terror Tour dates, Fame on Fire was recently announced as support opening for Starset. The tour kicks off on May 25th in Kansas City, MO and runs through June 18th where it wraps up in Fort Lauderdale, FL The tour will make stops in Denver, Seattle, Las Vegas and Atlanta among other markets. The band was also announced as part of WRIF Riff Fest in Detroit on September 24 playing with Disturbed, In This Moment, Dirty Honey, The Violent and Eva Under Fire and as part of next year’s Shiprocked cruise – sailing January 22-28, 2023. The band will be touring extensively in 2022 to support Welcome To The Chaos.





Tracklisting:


“Intro”
“Welcome To The Chaos” feat. Ice Nine Kills’ Spencer Charnas
“Ketamine”
“Cut Throat”
“Emo Shit” feat. Kody Lavigne
“Lost In Doubt”
“Robbery”
“Signs”
“Plastic Heart”
“Rotting Away”
“Back Then”
“Jaded”
“Dead Or Alive”


"Ketamine":





“Cut Throat” video:








(Photo - Roman Films)

On June 23rd, the Scorpions performed at Hellfest in Clisson, France. During their set, Motörhead guitarist Phil Campbell joined the band - which features Motörhead drummer Mikkey Dee behind the kit - for "Rock You Like A Hurricane". Check out the footage below.










The legendary Ian ‘Lemmy’ Kilmister, founder of Motörhead and Grammy Award winning cultural icon, has had a portion of his ashes enshrined at this year’s Hellfest Festival in Clisson, France within a new, giant statue of the man. The official ceremony to recognize this unique memorialization took place on June 23rd.


With bandmates Phil Campbell and Mikkey Dee present, it was the perfect moment to honor Lemmy’s life. After the Scorpions closed the show, bandmates Phil Campbell and Mikkey Dee said a few words, a tribute video to Lemmy played, and Phil and Mikkey raised a toast to the immortal and eternally popular Kilmister at the monument itself.


The ceremony formally recognized Lemmy’s love of both the road and the fans, which is where he always felt most comfortable.





Hellfest was one of Lemmy's favorite festivals (Motörhead played the first ever Hellfest and were staples of the festival ever since), and the band have always had a tremendous bond with their French rock’n’roll family. It is therefore fitting that Lemmy will forever be present at the site, with fans able to congregate and pay their respects to him at every Hellfest from here on out. This ceremony will also give fans an opportunity to participate in their own memorialization of Lemmy and see a miniature replica of the custom urn that houses Lemmy’s ashes at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Hollywood California.


For fans that wish to share their own tributes, memories, experiences or pay their respects, can post using the hashtag #LemmyLivesAtHellfest.


All Hail (the immortal legend) Lemmy!

Devin Townsend has spoken about the upcoming 30th anniversary of the release of the Vai band's "Sex & Religion" album. Released in 1993, the alt-rock project featured Townsend, alongside guitar god Steve Vai. Devin made his comments while speaking to Eonmusic during his press conference on Saturday, June 19, ahead of his appearance at Hellfest in Clisson, France.

As reported by Eonmusic in a story that went viral in June 2017, Devin reconnected with Vai at the at the Starmus Festival IV: Life And The Universe in Norway, marking the first time the pair had shared the stage since the tour for that album cycle completed in December 1993.

During Starmus, the pair performed one track, "Here & Now", and with "Sex & Religion"'s 30th anniversary coming next year, Eonmusic asked if Devin would like to celebrate it, citing that album's second single, the Desmond Child-co-penned "In My Dreams With You". Devin responded: "I didn't like that song, but I love Steve. And if he wants me to do something with him, of course I'll do something with him. He's a genius, and I love him. I love that guy. But also I think a lot of what made that record interesting yet very odd was the fact that we're very different. And back then we were really different. Now we're less different, but we're still very different. And the Starmus Festival was great to reconnect, but we're still very different. And I may be wrong, but I think our reasons for doing what we do are fundamentally slightly different, and it's always a little chocolate and cheese, you know? But among the people who I count as being closest to my heart, he is one of the very few. And as a friend, I would be happy to do anything that he would ask of me because I love him. It's true."

"Sex & Religion" saw Vai joining forces with a band of "monster musicians" — including drummer Terry Bozzio and bassist T.M. Stevens — to create an effort that was radically different from 1990's "Passion And Warfare". The VAI band split up after the album was finished, and Vai subsequently toured only with Townsend and several session drummers and bassists.

More than a decade after their initial musical partnership, these two creative giants again crossed paths. In 2005, Vai played a guest guitar solo on Townsend's "Synchestra" album, and in 2013, was cast as narrator on Townsend's "The Retinal Circus" live album. When Vai decided to record 2016's "Modern Primitive", which featured music he wrote in the period between his debut solo album, "Flex-Able", and the aforementioned "Passion And Warfare", he enlisted Townsend to sing on a song called "The Lost Chord".

MEGADETH's Dave Mustaine says that he won't play music with David Ellefson anymore, more than a year after firing the bassist from the band they formed together nearly four decades ago.

Ellefson's exit came just days after sexually tinged messages and explicit video footage involving him 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.

Asked in the new issue of Metal Hammer whether dismissing Ellefson from MEGADETH was a difficult decision to take, given the longtime friendship between the two men, Mustaine replied: "I have made mistakes myself and so I know what it feels like to have people gunning for you. But what we had to remember is that MEGADETH has a lot of moving parts to it. There are four bandmembers; you've got their families, their management companies, the agencies, all of their technicians and on and on and on.

"I can tell you I've made decisions in the past that were detrimental to the security of the band and I know what harm that caused," he continued. "But I don’t want to be saying anything about anyone who is unable to defend themselves."

"God, it's so hard to tap-dance around this...

"Let me just say this — it was a hard decision that had to be made," Mustaine added. "There were a lot of people involved and I had to make a decision, because unfortunately, when you're the leader, you're the one that has to suck it up and face the music.

"All I wanted to do was make a clean break, and not hurt anyone, not hurt the fans and not hurt him. I just wanted to move on, and I hope the gentleman concerned is doing okay. I imagine there was some adjustment that had to take place when it happened.

"It was hard for me when I lost my job," Mustaine said, apparently referring to getting kicked out of METALLICA in 1983. "But I've forgiven him before when he sued me and I'll forgive him a thousand times. I just won't play music with him anymore."

Mustaine ended up hiring TESTAMENT's Steve DiGiorgio to re-record Ellefson's bass parts on MEGADETH's upcoming album, "The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!", because he is "one of those just really amazingly talented players," Dave told Rolling Stone.

Last month, MEGADETH announced bass player James LoMenzo as a permanent member of the band. LoMenzo was MEGADETH's bass player in the mid-2000s and recently stepped back in as a touring member for "The Metal Tour Of The Year".

"It's a different camp now, and I'm really happy," Mustaine told Rolling Stone. "I feel totally invigorated. I feel like I've hit my stride, like my best years are ahead of me right now."

In the police report that Ellefson filed in May 2021, he admitted that he had been exchanging sexual text messages with a Dutch teenager, who captured a video of several of their virtual "masturbating encounters" without his consent and shared them with friends. (According to Ellefson, the woman was 19 at the time of their first virtual sexual encounter.) Ellefson, who lives in Scottsdale, first became aware of the video on May 9, 2021, when the claim "David Ellefson of MEGADETH is a pedophile" appeared on Instagram. Ellefson told police he was notified on May 14, 2021 by MEGADETH that the band would be parting ways with him. Three days later, he was fired.

During an October 2021 appearance on SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", Ellefson opened up about the circumstances that led to his dismissal from MEGADETH, saying: "I ran toward the bullets and dealt with it right away. The night [the messages and video were leaked online], a couple of people said, 'Hey, don't say anything.' In particular, the MEGADETH camp didn't want me to say anything. But my legal [advisers] said, 'Hey, I think you should say something. I think some people have done some really shitty things here and made some false allegations about you, and you have every right to defend yourself.' And I did. Ultimately, that led to my dismissal from MEGADETH. But I have every right, as anyone does, to defend yourself, especially when somebody is making false allegations about you like that. So I dealt with it that night, and quite honestly, that was it — it was over, and it was really kind of done. But then, as the MEGADETH camp in particular jumped in and had addressed it — and not that they shouldn't, but they did. That pretty quickly led to them making the decision to part ways with me and to move away from it.

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

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

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

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

Ellefson told "Trunk Nation" host Eddie Trunk that he initially "didn't even know what" the word "grooming" was, adding that he "had no idea" about the meaning of the term experts use to refer to the actions that sexual abusers take to get close to and gain the trust of those they are interested in. "And any allegations of anything being illegal [are false]," he said. "There was nothing. And that's why I immediately hired a criminal lawyer. I went right to the police department. And just for the record, the bad guy doesn't go to the police department. Okay? So, just to be clear. The guy who didn't do anything wrong, he goes to the police department. That's why I went to the police department and filed a police report and let them deal with it.

"I think there was a big fear of — there's always this talk of cancel culture and all this stuff," he continued. "And I was, like, 'Listen, that was not me.' And I had every right to stand up against that and defend myself against it. And I just turned that over to the lawyers and police department and let them deal with it, and they did."

David also addressed his decision to step away from social media and stop doing interviews for a few months while things settled, both personally and professionally.

"Look, certainly time heals wounds in these things, which is good," he said. "And that was the thing — I was, like, look, I didn't do anything wrong; there was nothing illegal here; and you let it go. And for me to just kind of take some time away and go dark. I got off all social media. I have one Facebook account that I don't even run, just for kind of professional purposes and everything, but I'm off of that. And I think that helps."

When Trunk brought up the point that the only apparent "illegality" in this case lies with the person who actually leaked the above-mentioned video, Ellefson said: "A hundred percent. That's why I didn't hire a civil lawyer to sue people for a million bucks. I hired a criminal lawyer, and what they do is prosecute to put people in jail. 'Cause those were the crimes. You can't just go do shit like that — put stuff out there, content — and not have a penalty. That is the crime. And I think people just think they can — and not everybody; I'm not saying all people — but there is a faction that they just think that that could be just done as a joke and for fun, and it can't. Of course, it's the Internet, so people live in foreign countries; there's all this stuff. That's why the best thing, I think, is to, first of all, just get away from those platforms because that is a breeding ground for that society to do that."

Asked by Trunk if there are still ongoing legal proceedings in the case, Ellefson said: "It's been resolved. We took the steps necessary, walked through that process, which was necessary to do, and that's all landed and, as of now, that's fine."

David, who studied for a year at Concordia Lutheran Seminary in St. Louis a decade ago, also wanted to address one specific "misconception" about him that has been repeatedly raised in the months since his masturbation videos were posted online. He said: "There's a misconception that I'm a pastor. I am not a pastor. I did a year of seminary, and they made it real clear, 'If you are gonna continue at seminary, you need to quit MEGADETH,' so I quit seminary to be in MEGADETH. And I remember telling my mom that, when she was still alive — God rest her soul. I said, 'Hey, I withdrew out of seminary,' in good standing, to continue being in MEGADETH. And she was actually very disappointed. She was, like, 'You know what? MEGADETH is holding you back. That's too bad. You should have stayed in seminary.' Turns out maybe I should have listened to my mom; I don't know. [Laughs] Of course, mom wants the best for you.

"Who knows? Whatever," he continued. "I'm a rock and roller, man. I'm a founding member of MEGADETH. It's who I am. It's what I do. It's part of my life. It's part of my existence. So I have no regrets about any of that. But I think that was a misconception. People started throwing that around. And so I've never been an ordained pastor. Yes. I did explore that world for a time."

David went on to say that there is a perception that people of faith must set a higher standard of how they live with and treat others. "It's almost like you're this entity that's floating up toward the heavens: 'Oh, he's such a wonderful man. He's a man of faith. He's got his family. And then this happens.' It's, like, 'What the hell is this?'

"I mean, look, admittedly I've sort of trained the public to think that I'm one of the more well-behaved rock stars out there, and for the most part I have been," he continued. "But at the same time, and this isn't to claim anything other than just, oops, shit happens. That is what it is.

"In the season that I was away from MEGADETH, in the 2000s, I got involved in other things in church, and raising my family, and blah blah blah, these things, and so by nature, I kind of became more of a suburban homebody — the dad guy," David added. "And then I went back to MEGADETH in 2010. And the thing is to try to reconcile that you're not one guy at home and another guy on the road, that you're the same guy. And I think for anybody who spent any time on the road — whether you're a rock star, a traveling salesman or whoever you may be — that is the challenge, and it's a real challenge, to keep your life in order when every day your toothbrush is in a new zip code."

In 2004, Ellefson filed an $18.5-million lawsuit against Mustaine, alleging the frontman shortchanged him on profits and backed out of a deal to turn Megadeth Inc. over to him when the band broke up in 2002. The lawsuit was eventually dismissed and Ellefson rejoined MEGADETH in 2010.

Ellefson was in MEGADETH from the band's inception in 1983 to 2002, and again from 2010 until his latest exit.
We will always be best friends.

@ellefsondavid @Megadethpic.twitter.com/kzs89sA8Vy

— Dave Mustaine (@DaveMustaine) November 2, 2017

Frontiers Music Srl recently announced the release of the upcoming self-titled debut album from Generation Radio, a colossal new rock group centered around the combined talents of Jay DeMarcus (Rascal Flatts) and Jason Scheff (longtime lead vocalist of Chicago), on August 5. Fans of classic AOR in the style of Journey and Chicago are going to absolutely lose their minds when they hear Generation Radio's stunning debut.


Today, the band has released a video for the song "Lights Go Out In Paradise". Watch the video below, and pre-order/save Generation Radio on CD/LP/Digital here.


In the beginning of 2020, Generation Radio came together with the intent to form a band with a purpose - to bring classic 80’s rock back to life. As their self-titled debut illustrates, mission accomplished. Two-time Grammy award winning bassist Jay Demarcus of the hugely popular country act Rascal Flatts and Jason Scheff, who was lead vocalist and bass player for the multi-platinum band Chicago for over 30 years, are joined by drummer/vocalist Deen Castronovo (Journey, Revolution Saints) guitarist Chris Rodriguez and guitarist Tom Yankton in Generation Radio.




"This music is the best of all of us. Everyone in this band sings and contributes in a huge way. Jason is not only one of my best friends, but he is also one of my all-time favorite singers, and his performances on this record are stellar. Deen is among the very best drummers in the world, but he is also a world-class singer. In fact, I’m convinced Journey heard him with us, and immediately wanted him back in the band! I’m kidding, of course, but we were fortunate to have him on this 'journey'. Finally, Chris and Yankton are veterans and some of my favorite musicians and singers. Chris and I go back to our early days together in Christian music. It is a true honor to make music with people who you respect so much, and hold in such high regard," says Jay Demarcus.


"My partner Jay [DeMarcus] had the idea to fuse Rascal Flatts with Journey and Chicago, so that's what we did. Jay had several songs over the years that he'd co-written,  exhibiting all his influences. There was no surprise he listened to a lot of Journey and Chicago! Those songs became the catalyst for the band and we rounded it out with some songs written specifically for the album that were in keeping with that theme. There's no other way to put it other than when you listen to this record you will hear a beautiful blend of Rascal Flatts meets Journey meets Chicago, not to mention having the best of the best in the production, recording, and mastering department. A team of all current hitmakers," adds Jason Scheff.





Generation Radio tracklisting:


"Why Are You Calling Me Now?"
"Angels"
"All Night To Get There"
"I Hope You Find It"
"Time To Let It Go"
"Lights Go Out In Paradise"
"Don’t Go"
"Smoking"
"Anything But Us"
"Waiting On Your Sunshine"
"Finally Got It Right"


"Lights Go Out In Paradise" video:





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Lineup:


Jay DeMarcus
Jason Scheff
Deen Castronovo
Tom Yankton
Chris Rodriguez

WHITESNAKE has been forced to cancel its concerts in Milan, Italy (June 28) and Vienna, Austria (June 30) due to an infection of the sinus and trachea suffered by the band's frontman, David Coverdale.

On Monday (June 27),Coverdale released the following statement via the official WHITESNAKE web site and social media: "Dear WHITESNAKE fans around the world:

"We have been rocking our way across the globe on the first part of our Farewell Tour giving all we've got to you, the fans.

"The rigors of the road are the same for all of us and we have been trying to keep everyone healthy and safe.

"Unfortunately we have been hit recently with a couple of situations that we have been dealing with, the best we can..

"First our beloved band leader Reb Beach went down temporarily and he missed a couple of shows while he mended (and is much better now, by the way).

"Then the rock of our band, the Legendary Tommy Aldridge went down and we unfortunately were not able to play the Rock Imperium Festival in Cartagena this past Saturday (very regrettable and all apologies to our Spanish fans and friends).

"Tommy was bad enough at the time to have missed the first show ever in his career – The GOOD news is that he is feeling better and is anxious to get back out there to perform for all of you.

"Unfortunately I have now been hit hard as well. I started feeling a bit under the weather two days ago, and was just diagnosed with an infection of the sinus & trachea. The doctor recommends 5 days of no singing and bed rest.

"Sadly, that means that we are not going to be able to do the upcoming shows in Milan, Vienna and a decision on Zagreb [July 2] is about to be made.

"I'm very sorry to all the fans who had planned to come see our Farewell Tour in each of those cities – it's my intention to get better as soon as possible and be able to pick up with the remaining shows of the European Farewell Tour. You are all in our hearts!!"

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.

WHITESNAKE kicked off the concert with "Bad Boys" / "Children Of The Night" and played a set which drew heavily from the "Trouble" (1978),"Ready An' Willing" (1980),"Saints & Sinners" (1982),"Slide It In" (1984),"Whitesnake" (1987) and "Flesh & Blood" (2019) albums. WHITESNAKE also performed its staple cover of "Ain't No Love In The Heart Of The City", a 1974 R&B song written by Michael Price and Dan Walsh, and first recorded by Bobby "Blue" Bland for the "Dreamer" album.

Coverdale, who turned 70 in September, recently opened up about his plans to retire from touring after the band's next batch of concerts around the world, telling the "Appetite For Distortion" podcast: "I planned to retire on the 2020 tour when I was 69. I thought that was the perfect age for the singer of WHITESNAKE to call it a day. But sadly, it was not to be, as we know; other events were in store. So now the t-shirt designs don't resonate as well for 70. But it's mind-blowing to me that I'm preparing my farewell tour. And it is — make no mistake, this is the farewell tour. I'm 70. It's a very physically challenging thing for me to do at the best of times. But it's very important for me to achieve completion and to express my appreciation and gratitude to all the people — the millions of people over the years — who've supported me for five decades, fifty years. It blows my mind — it really does."

"A lot of my peers and contemporaries are on their 20th retirement tour. I don't intend to plan that," he clarified. "I must explain, though — it's me, just David Coverdale, who's retiring from touring at that level. WHITESNAKE will still make projects. I've been writing music all through COVID. I wrote some beautiful new ideas. I have ideas in case Jimmy [Page] wants to do anything — write on FaceTime, which is an alien concept to him. But all songs that we can utilize for a WHITESNAKE project. But the music of WHITESNAKE will continue. That's most important that people know. I'm just stopping touring at this level — that's it."

According to Coverdale, there could very well be new music from WHITESNAKE in the years following his retirement from the road.

"I've got a bunch of ideas for WHITESNAKE, so we may have another project there — I don't know — without the pressure of having to go on tour," he said. "We have such a solid fanbase, I think fans are gonna buy the record with or without a tour. This is just emotionally for me to be able to go out there and do stuff. And also, you've gotta remember, we've started this legacy series of box sets, similar to the 25th anniversary. We have, I think, the 35th anniversary of 'Slide It In'; the 30th anniversary of the WHITESNAKE '87 album; we have a very special project planned to accompany the tour; we have another box set planned for this time next year. And then in 2023, we have the 30th anniversary of COVERDALE/PAGE, and the 50th anniversary of me joining DEEP PURPLE. Mind-blowing. So it's not like I'm retiring. [Laughs]

"Thankfully, physically and vocally, I still have the goods," he continued. "As my wife reminds me, I was actually touring up to spring in 2020, before lockdown. And I was 68 years old, and I'm still kicking ass. Of course, having an amazing band and an incredible and enthusiastic audience gives you that energizing aspect. It's just the traveling is challenging for me. But music is oxygen to me. I'm not gonna go fishing or take up crochet; I'm gonna definitely be doing projects. I'm lucky enough to have my own studio. It's the best of a bunch of worlds. And I have to thank people in person around the world for helping me to be in this position that I am in my life at this time. I don't wanna do it through a video [on] social media: 'Sorry we can't get out there, but thank you for 50 years.' That would be heartbreaking for me."

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.

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Fan-filmed video of GUNS N' ROSES' June 23 concert at Stadspark in Groningen, The Netherlands can be seen below. The setlist once again included a cover version of the AC/DC classic "Back In Black".

GUNS N' ROSES debuted its cover off "Back In Black" during its headlining concert on June 7 in Seville, Spain. It came three days after the Axl Rose-fronted outfit played a cover of AC/DC's "Walk All Over You" in Oeiras, Lisbon, Portugal.

Six years ago, Rose did a string of European and North American concerts with AC/DC as a "guest vocalist," mostly to fan and critical acclaim.

In March 2016, AC/DC's singer of 35 years, Brian Johnson, had to leave the band's North American tour after doctors told him he might lose his hearing, while 40-year bassist Cliff Williams announced his retirement at the rescheduled trek's conclusion.

The lineup that completed the tour consisted of Rose, Williams, Angus Young, Chris Slade on drums and Angus's nephew Stevie Young on guitar.

AC/DC's North American tour with Rose ended in Philadelphia in September 2016, and despite initial fan trepidation, Axl got generally good reviews for his performances. Angus said at the time: "I mean, under the situation that we had, it was very good that he volunteered and said, 'Hey, if I can help, let me try.' So he's been very good. And he had to learn a lot of songs very quickly, and he's done a great job."

Duff McKagan, who is one-third of the reunited partial classic lineup of GUNS N' ROSES, got a chance to watch Rose and AC/DC play in June 2016 in London, England and in September 2016 in Cleveland, Ohio.

Duff spoke about Axl's collaboration with AC/DC during a 2019 appearance on "The Church Of What's Happening Now" podcast. He said: "The way [Axl] did that was amazing. He was, like, 'If you guys don't mind, I'm gonna go try out. They need a hand here.' [Late AC/DC frontman] Bon Scott's his all-time [hero]. [We said], 'Dude, you know you don't really have to try out for AC/DC.' But he was really nervous. 'I'm gonna go try out. It fits in with our touring perfect.' And [GUNS N' ROSES guitarist] Slash and I were, like, 'You've got the gig.' But he went to Atlanta and tried out, quote-unquote, and got the gig. I saw him twice on that tour. I flew to London to see him, and I flew to Cleveland to see that. It was great."

McKagan added: "I think what it did for [Axl]… We got to know Angus through that. Angus has now come out and played with us a bunch of times. That was that thing when he was 14 or 15, 'Man, one day, if I ever got to be in AC/DC…' He was singing with a broom, and he finally got to do it. Amazing."

This past January, Slash told Classic Rock magazine about Axl's pairing with AC/DC: "I came out to a gig in London, and it was phenomenal. I was blown away, especially when he sang the Bon Scott stuff. That was a very proud moment, actually."

Asked by Classic Rock writer Paul Elliott if it felt weird seeing Rose fronting another band so soon after GN'R launched its reunion tour, the guitarist said: "Not at all. It was AC/DC, man.

"The fact that he got asked to do that was very cool," Slash continued. "And he worked his ass off doing it, too. He really adhered to the whole AC/DC regimen and pulled it off.

"In the moment, when it first came up, it was a little jarring, I have to say," the guitarist admitted. "I was super-proud that he was doing it, but how that was gonna happen and go right into the GUNS thing, I really didn't know. But anyway, it worked out. So it wasn't like a big deal.

"In all these years that we've been apart, he's become super-fucking professional. And he's never missed a beat during this whole time. So it's been great. There has been a sort of synergy that's been happening this last six years that we never had in our first incarnation."

Back in February 2017, GUNS N' ROSES was joined by Angus on stage for a pair of AC/DC songs — "Whole Lotta Rosie" and "Riff Raff" — toward the end of GN'R's main set at two concerts at Sydney's ANZ Stadium.

AC/DC reunited with Johnson and Williams in 2018 to record its long-awaited comeback album, "Power Up", which was released in November 2020.