Progressive deathcore practitioners Enterprise Earth recently welcomed singer Travis Worland (Aethere, Bite//Down, The Willow) to their lineup. Today, the band is pleased to unveil “Psalm Of Agony,” their first new track featuring Worland.





Comments guitarist Gabe Mangold, “‘Psalm Of Agony,’ the first song with Travis Worland on vocals, is here and the next chapter of Enterprise Earth has officially begun. In addition to showcasing Travis' vocal capabilities, this song is also a journey instrumentally. We hope you enjoy it as much as we do.”




Enterprise Earth will begin their US headlining tour next tour month. The Chosen Tour begins July 22 in Seattle, Washington and runs through August 20 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Support will be provided by Within Destruction, Sentinels, and labelmates Great American Ghost.





Tour dates:


July
22 - El Corazon - Seattle, WA
23 - Dantes - Portland, OR
25 - Goldfields - Roseville, CA
26 - Chain Reaction - Anaheim, CA
27 - Nile Theater - Mesa, AZ
28 - Rockhouse - El Paso, TX
29 - Club Dada - Dallas, TX
30 - Come & Take It - Austin, TX
31 - The Secret Group - Houston, TX


August
2 - The Brass Mug - Tampa, FL
3 - Respectables - West Palm, FL
4 - The Haven - Orlando, FL
5 - Masquerade - Atlanta, GA
6 - Neighborhood Theater - Charlotte, NC
7 - The End - Nashville, TN
9 - Planet Trog - Allentown, PA
10 - Webster Underground - Hartford, CT
11 - Knitting Factory - Brooklyn, NY
12 - The Outpost - Kent, OH
13 - The Sanctuary - Detroit, MI
14 - WC Social Club - Chicago, IL
16 - Emerson Theater - Indianapolis, IN
17 - Skylark - Rock Island, IL
18 - The Marquee - Sioux City, IA
19 - HQ - Denver, CO
20 - Kilby Court - Salt Lake City, UT


(Photo - Chris Klumpp)

In a new interview with LA Weekly, Alice Cooper discusses the new music competition show No Cover, on which he's one of the judges. In the following excerpt, Alice talks about the current state of rock music.


Q: When you look at the music charts, rock and roll is not the cool, hot thing right now. What can we do about that, Alice? What can these bands do to bring rock back into the pop charts and get more popularity again?


Alice Cooper: "Well, you know, you’ve got your certain bands – you know, Foo Fighters still going. Green Day, things like that. I kind of look at this a little bit differently. There was a time when we first started playing that rock bands were outlaws. We were on the outside looking into the party and we weren’t invited to the party. It was more pop music and dance music and disco. I think we’re back to that point. I think it’s kind of healthy that rock bands now are not number one, number two or number three. We’re back to the point of being rebels again."




Q: So not being the part of the mainstream makes for better music? Do you think that provides a freedom of  sorts?


Alice: "Gene Simmons said rock is dead but I think he was talking financially. I think there are kids in garages right now learning Guns N’ Roses, learning Aerosmith, learning Alice, learning Ozzy… Young 16 year old kids rocking, just rocking. That’s healthy. That’s really healthy. I don’t think rock is ever gonna die. When you talk about hard rock, like the Stones, The Who and all that, that’s the only music that’s lasted. Grunge was here for a while. And punk was here for a while. Emo was here and all this, but hard rock bands just kept going. So if you’re in a hard rock band, you can go as long as you want to go."


Read the full interview at LA Weekly.


The ninth episode of No Cover, Semi Finals Round #1, is now available for streaming below.


No Cover is the only true original music competition show focused on changing the lives of unsigned artists. This series is about discovery, mentorship, hard reality and launching careers. No Cover is created and produced by the music business, not traditional Hollywood Studios. This is the show fans and musicians around the world have been waiting years to see and it’s finally here! No Cover, No Mercy!


No Cover was filmed on location at the legendary Troubadour and Sunset Marquis in West Hollywood, CA. 25 of these original artists will be competing for the top prize, which includes a six figure recording contract with Sumerian Records, representation from United Talent Agency and Shelter Music Group, performance slots at a Danny Wimmer Presents Music Festival, a $10,000 shopping spree from Guitar Center, plus brand new gear from Gibson USA, Mesa Engineering, Ernie Ball, Liquid Death and Discmakers.


No Cover features five main celebrity judges: Alice Cooper, Lzzy Hale, Gavin Rossdale, Bishop Briggs and Tosin Abasi. No Cover is hosted by Kellin Quinn (Sleeping With Sirens) Caity Babs (Sirius/XM) and Matt Pinfield (MTV, Vh1).


For further details, and to view previous episodes, visit NoCoverShow.com.

The Italian power metal band Kaledon, featuring Michele Guaitoli (Temperance, Visions of Atlantis) on vocals just released a music video for "The Dawn Of Dawns", the first single from their new album Legend Of The Forgotten Reign - Chapter VII: Evil Awakens.


Chapter VII: Evil Awakens will be released on CD and digital on September 23 via Beyond the Storm Productions.


After five years of hard and dedicated work, Kaledon is ready to come back onto the market and release their new album: Chapter VII: Evil Awakens. This album marks the first chapter of a new trilogy based on The Legend Of The Forgotten Reign Saga.




The album contains powerful and fast songs, dynamic and energetic guitar riffs, new modern sounding keyboards, and much more. The album features special guests like Nicoletta Rosellini (Kalidia, Walk In Darkness) and James Mills (Hostile), respectively on "A Strike From The Unknown" and "The Story Comes To An End?".


Chapter VII: Evil Awakens was mixed and mastered by Michele Guaitoli at Groove Factory Studio and the production is a mix of modernity and power. The epic cover artwork was created by Oleg Shcherbakov.





Legend Of The Forgotten Reign - Chapter VII: Evil Awakens tracklisting:


"Renascentia Noctis"
"At The Gates Of The Realms"
"A Strike From The Unknown"
"The Eye Of The Storm"
"Emperor Of The Night"
"The Dawn Of Dawns"
"Life Or Death"
"The End Of Time"
"Blessed With Glory"
"The Sacrifice Of The King"
"The Story Comes To An End?"


"The Dawn Of Dawns" video:





Kaledon lineup:


Michele "Meek" Guaitoli (Temperance, Visions Of Atlantis) - Vocals
Alex Mele - Guitar
Tommy Nemesio - Guitar
Paolo Campitelli - Keyboards
Enrico Sandri - Bass
Manuele Di Ascenzo - Drums

In a new interview with MoreCore, conducted at this month's Rock Am Ring festival in Nürburgring, Germany, BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE frontman Matt Tuck was asked what advice he would give to new bands who are just starting out. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Just ignore everyone, do what you wanna do and hope that 20 years later you're still here. The moment you start listening to people's criticism and praise; you can't have one without the other..."

He continued: "On your first couple of albums, it's hard not to kind of listen to stuff — people's opinions and criticisms and all that stuff; if you're a young band, it's hard not to kind of take it on board. But as you progress through the records, you begin to understand that as long as you do things the way you want to, it doesn't really matter what people think. You just continue on your journey — do what's in your heart. Write music that you know is gonna piss people off; do music that you know people are gonna love. Just do it for the right reasons. Do it for yourself — that's the best thing. If you start listening to other people's criticisms and write things stylistically for those people to try and prove a point, then you're kind of pandering to their criticism. So just ignore everyone [and] do what you want."

BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE will release a deluxe version of its current, self-titled album on July 8 via Spinefarm/Search & Destroy. This extended release features four brand new tracks, plus "Stitches", a song previously only available as a Japanese exclusive. Following the CD and digital releases, a vinyl pressing will launch on November 11.

"Bullet For My Valentine" arrived in November via via Spinefarm/Search & Destroy. The LP was written beginning in September 2019 with longtime producer Carl Bown, who co-produced the band's 2015 album, "Venom", and produced and mixed 2018's "Gravity".

"Gravity" saw BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE's catalog surpass one billion streams in the U.S. That accomplishment solidified BULLET's status as one of the most elite bands in the hard rock scene.

BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE recently announced a U.K. tour for early 2023. The run of shows will kick off on February 27, 2023 at Cambridge Corn Exchange, and will make stops in Bristol, Liverpool, Newcastle, Glasgow, Leeds, Birmingham and more before wrapping up in London at the Roundhouse on March 11. They will be joined by special guests JINJER and ATREYU.

After releasing “One More” and “Obsession”, the melodic metal band Secret Rule has released its third music video for the single "The Illusion" along with the physical release of The Resilient album.





Fans will have to wait until July 1 to obtain the digital version of The Resilient.




Secret Rule says: "Looking at the future, as we always did, we see clearly the direction this world has taken, and we don't like it. Social media have completely changed the 21st century, and today they lead and influence public opinion by applying debatable worldwide censorship. Today war is not only on the ground but also fought on the social by hits of propaganda well thought to bring society towards a precise direction, and we can't pretend not to see what's happening. Our rights, our freedom, and our lives are at risk. This album keeps bringing ahead our battle for the truth."


Secret Rule live:


July
5 – Siegburg, Germany – Kubana
6 – Weinheim, Germany – Café Central
7 – Wetzikon/Zurich, Switzerland – Hall Of Fame
8 – Bochum, Germany – Rock Palast
9 – Rotterdam, Netherlands – Baroeg
10 – Bree, Belgium – Ragnarok Live Club
11 – London, UK – The Underworld
12 – Paris, France – Petit Bain
13 – Lyon, France – Rock and Eat


August
12 – Rajevo Selo, Hungary – Pannonian Rock Fest
20 – Moravskem Krumlove, Czech Republic – Rock Castle Openair
24 – Prague, Czech Republic – Rock Fest 

In a brand new interview with NME, Kirk Hammett reflected on the fact that NIRVANA turned down the opening-act slot on a 1992 stadium tour featuring METALLICA and GUNS N' ROSES.

"I had to make the phone call to Kurt [Cobain, NIRVANA frontman] to talk to him about the possibility of joining our tour and he just went on and on about how he just didn't like what GUNS N' ROSES stood for and I said to him: 'Just go out there and represent NIRVANA — just play the show and then that's it'. I pleaded with him, but he just wasn't having it. So there you have it. It would have been great if NIRVANA was part of that tour — but you know [the actual opening act] FAITH NO MORE were great as well.

"When we played Seattle on the 'The Black Album' tour, I remember calling Kurt to invite him to the show and he said to me: 'Are you guys going to play 'Whiplash'? That's my favorite METALLICA song'," Kirk recalled. "When he came to the show, he was in the snakepit [an area onstage] with Courtney Love and every time he walked by, he tried to get my attention but my head was somewhere else. He was great. I became friends with him right when the first NIRVANA album [1989's 'Bleach'] came out before people were even calling it grunge, and it's so sad when I think back to all the guy wanted to do was play guitar and write songs and sing and somehow that all got destroyed for him."

Cobain was publicly vocal about his dislike for GUNS N' ROSES, telling Seconds in a 1991 interview: "We're not your typical GUNS N' ROSES type of band that has absolutely nothing to say." The following year he told a Singapore publication: "Rebellion is standing up to people like GUNS N' ROSES."

Former NIRVANA drummer Dave Grohl later recalled that GUNS N' ROSES singer Axl Rose personally requested the Cobain-fronted outfit to open the GUNS N' ROSES-METALLICA bill.

"GUNS N' ROSES was about to do this massive stadium tour with METALLICA, and they wanted us to open," Grohl said. "So Axl had been calling Kurt nonstop. One day we're walking through an airport and Kurt says, 'Fuck. Axl Rose won't stop calling me.'"

Later that year, Cobain told the LGBT publication The Advocate that Axl was "a fucking sexist and a racist and a homophobe, and you can't be on his side and be on our side. I'm sorry that I have to divide this up like this, but it's something you can't ignore," he said. "And besides they can't write good music."

In his memoir, "Bumping Into Geniuses", NIRVANA co-manager Danny Goldberg revealed that when Rose asked to meet Cobain backstage after a show, Kurt refused.

"Rose had the kind of macho rock persona that Kurt detested," Goldberg wrote.

Even Cobain's wife, Courtney Love, was not keen on getting to know Rose's then-girlfriend, Victoria's Secret model Stephanie Seymour. After another show, Seymour asked Love, "Are you a model?" Snapped Courtney: "Are you a brain surgeon?"

Regarding the proposed tour featuring NIRVANA, METALLICA and GUNS N' ROSES, Goldberg said: "There was a lot of money on the table. Kurt really liked METALLICA." But there wasn't enough money in the world to get him to share a stage with that other band.

Back in 2004, METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich penned a short testimonial to NIRVANA for NME in which he wrote: "In 1991 there was a kind of shift in rock music in America — it was shifting away from all the hair bands in L.A. And with Kurt Cobain, you felt you were connecting to the real person, not to a perception of who he was — you were not connecting to an image or a manufactured cut-out. You felt that between you and him there was nothing — it was heart-to-heart. There are very few people who have that ability.

"I never met him but our guitarist Kirk Hammett had a relationship with him. We were doing this tour with GUNS N' ROSES in the U.S. in 1992 and we wanted NIRVANA to come out and join us. Kirk asked Kurt, but while Cobain said he would play with METALLICA anywhere in the world, at any time, on any stage, he would not step up on the same stage as GUNS N' ROSES. Obviously he felt that Axl was the antithesis to what he was.

"As I said, I never met Kurt, and he's probably the only guy in rock'n'roll that I have never met that I really wanted to — other than Bon Scott maybe. What a sad thing we can't hear the fourth NIRVANA album. It would have been so great to be able to see how that would have evolved."

The flagbearers of modern UK death metal, Ingested, have been churning out bilious anti-anthems for more than a decade and a half, dropping a string of releases that have helped shape the genre. In 2022, they return with the digital single Ashes Lie Still, featuring Julia Frau.





Watch the video for Ashes Lie Still, by Loki Film, below:







"‘Ashes Lie Still’ was written in my darkest times, my father suddenly passed away while I was on tour and the very next day Covid halted our career for over two years. You can hear my pain and frustration musically as well as lyrically; it's a dark, brooding piece and Julia compliments the feel of the track perfectly. It's an incredibly personal song to me and I'm proud it's the first single from our Metal Blade debut," comments guitarist and backing vocalist Sean Hynes.


Fans in Europe have the chance to catch the band live as they wrap up their dates with Dying Fetus and make stops at three different festivals, including Hellfest in Clisson France this Sunday.


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


Ingested live:


June
18 – Pratteln, Switzerland – Z7 Wild Dayz
19 – Clisson, France- Hellfest
21 – Bilbao, Spain – Santana28
22 – Zaragoza, Spain – CC Delicias
23 – Valencia, Spain – Republicca 

Ted Nugent has repeated the false narrative that that January 6, 2021 rioters were welcomed into the Capitol by police officers.

According to CNN, former U.S. president Donald Trump said in a book interview in March that "the Capitol Police were ushering people in" and "the Capitol Police were very friendly. You know, they were hugging and kissing." The claim has been echoed by Trump supporters, including Trump-endorsed Republican Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, who declared at a Trump rally in October that the people being held in jail over the Capitol attack "were invited in by Capitol Police."

Earlier today, Nugent repeated the false claim during his YouTube livestream, saying that the "FBI instigated the January 6th vandalism. That was the FBI that did that. The Trump supporters didn't do anything wrong," he claimed. "They were ushered into the Capitol by the Capitol Police. When you're ushered in by law enforcement, you're not trespassing. Do you think if I welcomed people onto my property and then I called the judge and said, 'Hey, judge, they're trespassing.' 'Well, I've got video of you welcoming them on your property. So that wouldn't be trespassing; you actually welcomed them on your property. So eat shit, Nugent. That's not trespassing.'" He added: "Hey, FBI. Hey, Capitol Police. Hey, judges. Hey, Obama-appointed judges, that's not trespassing. Law enforcement welcomed them into the Capitol."

According to the United States Department Of Justice, approximately 140 police officers were assaulted January 6, 2021 at the Capitol including about 80 U.S. Capitol Police and about 60 from the Metropolitan Police Department. More than 840 suspects have been arrested in connection with the attack.

Nugent also went on to praise a California doctor known for spreading debunked claims about COVID-19 who was sentenced on Thursday to 60 days in prison for illegally entering and remaining in the U.S. Capitol during the January 6 insurrection. Dr. Simone Gold, founder of the group America's Frontline Doctors, which treated Nugent when he contracted COVID-19 in April 2021, was also ordered to pay a $9,500 fine.

"The great courageous hero Dr. Simone Gold was charged with crimes that she's gonna have jail time," Ted said. "Dr. Simone Gold, who recommended ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine that cured people, that saved people from the weaponized Wuhan virus, that saved them from the emergency experimental shot that our own government said it's not a vaccine but let's call it a vaccine, because people are comfortable with that. You remember when the government said, 'People are comfortable with something. Let's lie to 'em.' 'Get on the train. You're going to a shower.' 'Well, they're comfortable with showers, so we'll tell 'em they're getting on the train to go to the showers. They're comfortable with that.' 'They're comfortable with the word 'vaccine' so let's tell 'em it's a vaccine even though it's an emergency experimental shot that doesn't have any research and is killing people and destroying people's lives.' But I'm gonna get off Facebook because I'm violating their community standards. So let's say I'm a Jew in Nuremberg in 1938 and I wanna have a bar mitzvah. I'd probably be violating the community standards of Hitler."

This is not the first time Nugent has spread misinformation about the Capitol Riot. Back in January, he once again repeated the baseless conspiracy theory that the riot at the U.S. Capitol was orchestrated by undercover FBI agents, Antifa and Black Lives Matter.

On January 6, 2021, supporters of former president Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol, vandalized the building and assaulted police officers. Five people died, including a Capitol police officer, Brian Sicknick, and a 35-year-old Air Force veteran, Ashli Babbit, shot by police.

Many top political figures have accused Trump of personally inciting the attack by repeatedly intimating that his followers should take action in order to demand legislators address his baseless claims of voter fraud. At a rally preceding the riot, Trump gave an inflammatory speech, urging the crowd to go to the Capitol, "show strength" and "fight much harder."

In the wake of the attack, Twitter permanently suspended Trump's account, citing "the risk of further incitement of violence."

Nugent discussed the Capitol riot fallout during a January 6, 2022 YouTube livestream marking the first anniversary of the tragic event. The outspoken conservative rocker said: "I think January 6th, 2021 was a gift from God to further emphasize and prove just how rotten to the core, terminally dishonest, treasonously criminal the Democrat party is, especially this devilpunk who thinks he's the commander in chief. Are you listening and watching this monster of an America-hating, freedom-hating prick? Are you watching and listening to this guy? 'Well, that's awfully harsh, Ted.' Yes, it is extremely harsh because there are no gentle or civil terms to use to describe Joe Biden or Kamala Harris or, quite honestly, anybody in government right now.

"I articulated what today, January 6th, is and why it's a gift from God for people who possess the most important attribute and responsibility of an experimenter in self-government, which only happens in the United States Of America. And that attribute, that power, that definitive independent spirit is called critical thinking. You've got to critically think about everything now more than ever, I'm sure. But here's what critically thinking and the amassing of evidence and the identification of statistics, video footage, the statements by the enemies in the government."

Ted continued: "Here's what happened on January 6th, 2021. Trump held a rally in Washington, D.C., and the conservative families who… Unprecedented rallies throughout the campaign for President Trump. For the first time in the history of humankind, tens of thousands — I was there; I was there at the Trump rallies — ten, twenty, thirty, forty thousand people chanting for the first time in the history of politics globally, 'We love you. We love you.' Because he did so many great things for America. Securing our borders — not completely, but better than anybody. Negotiating energy independence, which, by the way — just an observation from the guitar player who didn't go to college; [I was] too busy learning important stuff — energy independence is actually better than energy dependency. Which is why we heard 'I love you' at the Donald Trump rallies. Unprecedented attendance.

"So what happened on January 6th is that the families that supported Donald Trump — 'We love you. We love you'; unprecedented numbers, unprecedented chanting — they decided to do a peaceful protest at the U.S. Capitol, but they were prodded on by this Epps prick, a government-fed instigator and agent provocateur," Nugent said, referencing the baseless claim that riots were stoked by a Trump supporter from Arizona who was falsely portrayed by some right-wing media outlets as an undercover FBI agent. "On January 6th of 2021, the conservative families who wouldn't break a window, wouldn't hurt a soul, had no guns, had no violence, had not done any rioting or arson, unlike Seattle and Portland and Black Lives Matter and Antifa… But you know, when they went to the Capitol, they were provoked and prodded by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation — allegedly. And that's where the violence erupted, that's where the vandalism occurred, that's where the criminality took place — at the hands of Democrat undercover punks wearing Trump regalia. Those weren't Trump supporters that did the violence and the vandalism — that was Black Lives Matter and Antifa and Federal Bureau of Investigation agent provocateurs. It's on film.

"I've had these debates with dirtbags, and some of the dirtbags are really close to me," Ted added. "'Well, you're a maniac because you can't see that those were Trump supporters breaking…' No, it wasn't. Those were Democrat and Federal Bureau of Investigation plants and agent provocateurs. In fact, the Trump supporters were saying, 'Don't breach the wall.' 'Don't break the windows,' 'Don't break in,' 'Don't go in' on film — the film that we've been allowed to see.

"So thank God for January 6th of 2021, because it was the Democrat gangsters that did all the violence and vandalism."

FBI director Christopher A. Wray testified repeatedly to the Senate Judiciary Committee that there was no evidence that Antifa, anarchists or provocateurs who didn't support Trump were involved in the Capitol siege.

As result of the insurrection, Congress was forced to temporarily halt its counting of the 2020 Electoral College votes, a process that ultimately certified the election of President Joe Biden.

Sicknick, who was sprayed with a chemical substance during the riot, later collapsed and died.

Babbitt, who was a vocal supporter of Trump, was shot once by an officer as she tried to climb through the broken glass window of a door to the lobby of the Capitol, which had been barricaded from the inside with furniture. Her family told news outlets after her death that Babbitt had gone to Washington on January 6 to protest Congress's certification of President Joe Biden's Electoral College victory.

Jack Starr's Burning Starr have unveiled the first video from their forthcoming new album, Souls Of The Innocent, released by Global Rock Records July 15 worldwide.


The first video and first music released from the forthcoming new album is once again what Burning Starr do best... US power metal. The new video showcases the bands new lineup in a setting they are most comfortable... performing.


Watch the video for "Souls Of The Innocent" below.




Bassist Ned Meloni states: "I’m beyond excited about the release of our new album, Souls Of The Innocent. We’ve managed to stretch our boundaries in some new directions while still maintaining the same path we’ve been on in recent years. There’s an ever present and intangible group X-factor throughout this album as a result of working together for so many years. Our individual and collaborative efforts in both the writing and playing departments have reached new heights on this one. The addition of our new singer, Alexx Panza, brings pleasing new textures and a wonderful vibrato while maintaining the signature, time-tested Burning Starr vocal dynamics. Working with Kevin Burnes again means we have top shelf production values and sonic perfection. I can’t stop listening!"


Souls Of The Innocent continues Jack and the band's commitment to true US style power metal... new vocalist Alexx Panza also continues the band's legacy of discovering great vocal talent.


Jack has the following to say about the new album: "When Virgin Steele put out its first album in 1982 we were asked by the record company to say a few words about it and why people should buy it... I remember all of us discussing the various influences we had and what the songs were about, I recall one member saying people should buy the album because it has some great songs that were very heavy and had cool riffs, I recall someone else in the band saying the vocals were killer and the drums were like thunder and that metal fans would like it, Someone else said the guitar playing is really great. But what I remember most is when the bass player uttered these simple words "Buy It...It's Good"."


Now its forty years later and that sentence makes even more sense. Burning Starr, the band Jack Starr founded in 1984, is on its tenth album... Yes they have gotten better... Yes they have thunderous drums provided by Rhino (former drummer of Manowar) and yes they have killer vocals that some would describe as "pillar crumbling" provided by Alexx Panza, and yes again they have massive and agile playing by long time Burning Starr bassist Ned Meloni... last but not least some great guitar playing by ex-Virgin Steele guitarist Jack Starr.


But after all the hype and catch phrases fade away, the bottom line still remains... and the words still ring true... "Buy it...It's Good".





Souls Of The Innocent tracklisting:


"The Ascension"
"Demons Behind Me"
"I Am The Sinner"
"River Of Blood"
"Souls Of The Innocent"
"Winds Of War"
"Ships In The Night"
"The Wrath Of Attila"
"Road To Hell"
"All Out War"
"Where Eagles Fly"
"When Evil Calls" (Bonus Track)


"Souls Of The Innocent" video:





Look for Burning Starr on the road in 2023 and beyond as they celebrate nearly 40 years of Burning Starr. Many surprises are planned for later this year and into 2023 with a career spanning anthology, reissues of the back catalog and much more!


Burning Starr is:


Jack Starr - Guitars
Alexx Panza - Vocals
Ned Meloni - Bass
Rhino - Drums

Grey Daze, the band that birthed a modern rock icon Chester Bennington, release The Phoenix today via Loma Vista Recordings. The 10-song bookend to 2020’s Amends, the newly-recorded album is a celebration of both Bennington and a testament to both the tenacity and talent of the surviving band members.


As news of the album’s existence was shared, Grey Daze founder, drummer and songwriter Sean Dowdell said: “Amends was more emotional and reflective. We felt sad when we were writing it. Now that we’re a couple of years removed, it’s very clear what we were going through. We were at a different stage of grief. We went through the shock and the sadness. Now, we’re back to gratitude.”


Dowdell, accompanied by bass player Mace Beyers and guitar player Cristin Davis, with producer Esjay Jones, and with the blessing of Bennington’s family, reconvened in late 2020, re-recording, and re-working the songs which initially appeared, in a very different form, on the band’s largely unknown mid-‘90s releases. A group of special guests also played on the powerful new collection, with Dave Navarro and Richard Patrick featured on “Holding You” and “Believe Me” (respectively), and Bennington’s daughters, Lily and Lila, paying homage to their dad on “Hole.” The band documented the process via a YouTube series which can be seen here.




The Phoenix’s arrival is marked with the debut of a Heidi Gadd directed video for “Drag” (see below). Dowdell explains the themes behind the song: “’Drag’ is a very dark and droning heavy track, but the underlying message is really special. Chester is telling us, literally, that life is too short to be intoxicated, life is too short to be a drag. It is a song that gives any listener with a substance abuse past something to feel good about, something to help pull themselves out of that dark place.”





Over the course of Grey Daze’s first incarnation, which ran 1994 to 1997, the group recorded and released two albums. It is those albums that serve as a foundation for both Amends and The Phoenix. Prior to Bennington’s passing he publicly announced the Grey Daze’s return, which included re-recording the band’s largely undiscovered discography. With Talinda Bennington’s blessing, and working with Producer Esjay Jones, the surviving band members: Dowdell, Beyers, and Davis, moved forward, as both a way to pay tribute to their fallen brother and bandmate, but also to expose his fans to another dimension of the dynamic singer. Amends arrived in 2020, with various media outlets praising the collection.


The album is available to stream now, here , with the physical release, including several limited-edition vinyl variants, available on July 1.





Tracklisting:


“Saturation (Strange Love)”
“Starting To Fly”
“Be Your Man”
“Holding You” (feat. Dave Navarro)
“Hole” (feat. Lily and Lila Bennington)
“Drag”
“Believe Me” (feat. Richard Patrick)
“Anything, Anything”
“Spin”
“Wake Me”


"Starting To Fly":





“Saturation (Strange Love)” video:





(Photo - Tom Preston)

AS I LAY DYING singer Tim Lambesis has responded to longtime drummer Jordan Mancino's announcement earlier in the month that he would sit out the band's current tour dates due to "a number of ongoing internal issues" that "have not yet been resolved."

A week ago, Mancino released a statement via social media in which he said: "To all of our fans, my friends, family and supporters within the industry. There have been a number of ongoing internal issues with AS I LAY DYING that need to be worked out. It was my wish to avoid any further touring until these issues were resolved. Since they have not yet been resolved, it is with a heavy heart that I announce I will not be performing on any upcoming tour dates until further notice. Thanks to all of you for your understanding."

Earlier today (Friday, June 17),Lambesis released the following statement via social media: "There was a public statement recently made by Jordan Mancino regarding 'internal issues within AILD'. We feel that it's necessary to share a little more information with the fans on the matter in order to better understand the situation and avoid making any wrongful assumptions.

"For about the past 2 years, Jordan has ex-communicated himself from the remaining members of AILD informing us that he wishes to only speak through lawyers moving forward.

"There have been numerous attempts by the remaining members to reconcile with Jordan to find common ground in how to continue AILD in a healthy and positive manner.

"In preparation for post-pandemic band activity, the remaining members felt it unfair to have our ambitions hindered by someone who refused to contribute or communicate openly. We feel this is not an efficient way for a band (or business) to operate productively.

"We offered Jordan the chance to get together and jam old songs, or even just get into a room together to talk weeks prior to an established deadline before needing to find a fill in drummer for the upcoming tours. We had no response until we were met with legal documents that Jordan wished to move on from the band and expected a payment in return.

"The remaining members feel that we must find other solutions to keep AILD moving forward without Jordan Mancino involved. There is nothing personal with this situation in any way. We want to continue playing music and we cannot be an effective team if a member wants to limit all progress and productivity by refusing to communicate.

"The remaining members who write the songs, handle touring logistics, merchandise, etc feel confident that we can pursue our creative ambitions moving forward with greater ease knowing that all members, producers, agents, crew members, etc are enthusiastic to be involved. The driving force of AILD is still well in tact.

"Jordan has had a long career of performing AILD songs very well, and his drumming on our earlier records in particular really pushed the genre as a whole. We'll forever be grateful for his contributions and the good times we shared."

On June 10, AS I LAY DYING announced that it had recruited drummer Nick Pierce (ex-UNEARTH) to sit behind the kit for the band's current tour. Later that day, AS I LAY DYING's new touring lineup made its live debut at the House Of Blues in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The U.S. leg of the "Two Decades Of Destruction" trek will conclude on July 17 in Oklahoma. Joining the band for the 30 dates are WHITECHAPEL, SHADOW OF INTENT, BRAND OF SACRIFICE (June 24-July 17),and OV SULFUR (June 10-23).

In its statement announcing Pierce's addition to the band, AS I LAY DYING said: "We've toured with Nick many times over the years so we're stoked to have not only a long time friend out with us, but a phenomenal musician. The level of precision and power in Nick Pierce's playing has taken our songs to a whole new level.

"Nick had the task of learning 20 songs in a limited amount of time and he nearly played the entire set flawlessly at our first rehearsal. It's been inspiring to witness his dedication and strong work ethic to keep AILD performing at the standard our fans expect from us."

Mancino's announcement came less than a month after AS I LAY DYING's longtime bassist/vocalist Josh Gilbert revealed that he was leaving the band. In a statement, the remaining members of AS I LAY DYING said that Gilbert "decided to exit" the group "to pursue other musical opportunities." Josh is being replaced on the road by Ryan Neff of MISS MAY I. Playing second guitar on the trek will be Ken Susi of UNEARTH.

Josh was the second AS I LAY DYING member to leave the band in less than a year. Last August, guitarist Nick Hipa confirmed his exit from AS I LAY DYING, explaining that he could no longer justify being part of "a superficial pursuit" of the "story and meaning" that the band's 2018 reunion was built upon.

Lambesis was famously convicted in 2014 for his role in a murder-for-hire plot against his estranged wife.

In May 2014, Lambesis was sentenced to six years in jail after pleading guilty to paying a San Diego police officer posing as a hitman $1,000 to kill his wife. Approximately two and a half years later — on December 17, 2016 — he was discharged from a California detention facility and was transferred to the Division of Adult Parole Operations.

In June 2018, AS I LAY DYING played its first show with Lambesis in five years and released a new single. Lambesis also owned up to his crimes in a long apology on the band's Facebook page after his release.

In September 2019, AS I LAY DYING released its seventh full-length album, "Shaped By Fire", via Nuclear Blast.

The return of AS I LAY DYING raised some questions, particularly since Hipa categorically denounced the band's disgraced frontman as a "sociopathic narcissist in definite need of rehabilitation" in a social-media post back in 2014.

Last September, AS I LAY DYING released a new song called "Roots Below" which was originally a B-side leftover from when the sessions for "Shaped By Fire".

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Platinum-certified and twice Grammy-nominated Michigan rock powerhouse I PREVAIL will release its third full-length album, "True Power", on August 19 via Fearless Records. The official music video for the LP's first single, "Body Bag", can be seen below.

I PREVAIL's new record, once again produced by Tyler Smyth, features the sort of stadium-sized riffs that will rattle your teeth loose from your gums and unforgettable, supremely catchy melodies that will camp out in your brain for weeks at a time. The band also alternately mixes screamed vocals that sound as though they crawled from the depths of hell with soaring, emotional vocals and heartfelt, intimate lyrics that go so deep, they hit marrow. The end result is an album that resonates with the listener in the most personal way.

"'Trauma' was a very reflective record," says singer Brian Burkheiser, referring to "True Power"'s game-changing predecessor. "I'd struggled with a major vocal injury and had been wondering whether I wanted to continue doing this thing at all. Eric [Vanlerberghe, vocals] had also lost his best friend over that same time, so there was a lot of heartache behind it. With 'True Power', we were going into a new phase. After taking that trauma and figuring out how to channel it, you find this sense of newfound confidence and an ability to grow as a person: to become truly yourself. We took a 'no rules' mentality into the songwriting, and a lot of it is heavy as fuck, but the songs sound as diverse as they've ever been, too. There is a song on the record called 'There's Fear In Letting Go', and that became a huge mantra for us. Yeah, it can be scary letting go of things, but it can also help you take back everything that's yours: which is exactly what we've done on this album."

Rising to an arena level and receiving two Grammy nominations — "Best Rock Album" for "Trauma", and "Best Metal Performance" for single "Bow Down", I PREVAIL proved that they were built to last. To date, they've racked up more than 2.7 billion global streams, are approaching 350 million YouTube views, and saw their "Hurricane" single top Billboard's Mainstream Rock Airplay chart in 2020: officially the top song on U.S. rock radio at the time. A number of their singles have now been certified gold and platinum, and they have been praised by press far and wide, including Forbes, Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter and NPR.

"True Power" track listing:

01. 0:00
02. There's Fear In Letting Go
03. Body Bag
04. Self-Destruction
05. Bad Things
06. Fake
07. Judgement Day
08. FWYTYK
09. Deep End
10. Long Live The King
11. Choke
12. The Negative
13. Closure
14. Visceral
15. Doomed

During an appearance on a recent episode of "The Jasta Show", the video podcast hosted by HATEBREED frontman Jamey Jasta, SEVENDUST drummer Morgan Rose was asked when fans can expect to see the follow-up to his band's 2020 album "Blood & Stone". He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I go to Kansas on the 20th. We're gonna finish up the writing for it then. I'll be there for, like, a week — me and the rest of the guys are going to Kansas to rehearse and work on the rest of these songs. And then I think the 10th or the 11th of July, we move into the studio for six, seven or however many weeks it'll take [to record the new album]. Finish that. And then we're gonna do one more run of the 'Animosity' anniversary [dates], 'cause people seem to like it. So do one more run of that. And then that might be it for a little while. We're not gonna tour the new record until next year at some point. There's not gonna be many left, I'll just tell you that. I'm gonna be the one to let all the cats out of the bag, but I can just tell you that we're not gonna be around, full-fledged, forever, that's for sure."

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

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

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

SEVENDUST recently completed two legs of its tour celebrating the 21st anniversary of the "Animosity" album.

SEVENDUST's third album, "Animosity" was released in November 2001 through TVT Records. The disc peaked at No. 28 on the Billboard 200 and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in March 2002 for shipments in excess of half a million copies.

Last December, SEVENDUST released a digital expanded edition of "Blood & Stone". "Blood & Stone Deluxe" contained five new tracks, including three never-before-released remixes and two newly recorded songs. Jake Bowen of PERIPHERY, Richard Wicander of FIRE FROM THE GODS and Justin deBlieck, formerly of ICE NINE KILLS, provided remixes and the band finished recording "All I Really Know" and "What You Are" specifically for this release. "Blood & Stone Deluxe" was released via all digital partners via Rise Records and was produced by Michael "Elvis" Baskette.

This past March, SEVENDUST frontman Lajon Witherspoon told St. Louis Post-Dispatch that "Blood & Stone" shows the band is "still standing the test of time. It was great to do the album with [Baskette] in Florida again. It was a good time. We wanted to hit [listeners] hard and let them know we still got it and that we’re not afraid to put slower songs out there too."

As for the decision to release a "deluxe" version of the LP, Lajon said: "We wanted to put some extra songs out there, B-sides that people hadn't heard. It's a little more of a treat."

Seven Kingdoms have released their new album, Zenith, via Distortion Music Group. The follow-up to 2017's Decennium and the Empty Eyes EP in 2019, Zenith saw 7K put the power in the hands of their fans - who ultimately responded with thunderous support by raising more than $50,000 through the campaign. The new album is led by the singles "Universal Terrestrial" and "Diamond Handed", as well as the newest single, "Love Dagger".


Commenting on the release of Zenith, lead singer Sabrina Cruz comments: "Today is the day! Zenith is finally out! We are so excited to drop this 5th full-length record! This was something we’ve been working on for almost 3 years. I'm personally delighted with Zenith. I believe we’ve delivered our best performance so far and continue to push ourselves to grow."


Speaking about their latest single, Sabrina adds: "Also today we release 'Love Dagger'! A story we all will know in some shape or form throughout our lives. It was super fun to film this at my favorite Coffee Shop in Downtown Deland, Boston Coffee House (mostly because I got to eat lol.). We also tried to capture our favorite places throughout Deland that features some of our coolest art pieces. We hope you enjoy it and thank you to our Kickstarter, Twitch & Discord family for making it possible. We hope our fans appreciate our best work to date and we thank them so much for their astounding support. Without you, Seven Kingdoms would not exist. We Love you all so BLEEPING much and look forward to playing these live soon!"







Zenith was recorded at Morrisound Recording in Tampa, FL, and 8 Arms Audio in Orlando, FL during the summer and fall of 2021. The record was mixed and mastered by Jim Morris at Morrisound Recording in November of 2021. The cover art was done by Jan Yrlund (Battle Beast, Korpiklaani, Windrose).


Order here.





Zenith tracklisting:


"Diamond Handed"
"A Silent Remedy"
"Love Dagger"
"Chasing The Mirage"
"Valonqar"
"Empty Eyes"
"Magic In The Mist"
"Universal Terrestrial"
"The Water Dance"
"Life Signs"
"I Hate Myself For Loving You" (Cover)


"Universal Terrestrial" video:





"I Hate Myself For Loving You" video:

LAST IN LINE singer Andrew Freeman, who recently joined GREAT WHITE as the replacement for Mitch Malloy, discussed his latest gig during an appearance this past Tuesday (June 14) on SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk". Regarding how he approaches singing the classic GREAT WHITE songs originally recorded by the band's founding vocalist Jack Russell, Freeman said: "When I'm playing with GREAT WHITE, that's their thing, and I'm just there to try to do the songs like Jack. If we do original material, great. We're talking about it.

"I wanna make that band tough again, like it was when Jack was in it," he explained. "Jack would do a show and then bust a bottle over your head off the side of the stage."

Freeman, who has played two shows so far with GREAT WHITE since he joined the group, continued: "The hits — the 'Once Bitten' [1987] and '...Twice Shy' [1989] and that stuff — they're fun songs to play, but I think if the wrong person is presenting them, they come off like — I don't want anybody to get mad at me — they come off like a lesser, more glammy type of band. And I've never seen GREAT WHITE as that, as a glammy-type band. Everybody had the big hair; even Ozzy [Osbourne] had the big hair and the glitter and all that stuff… I never really saw them as that. I always see them as… when everybody was in the leather pants and the leather jackets and the cuts over the leather jackets with their band name on the back and stuff — that's how I see 'em. I see Jack… Even now when I see him on the road, 'cause I've done gigs with him — he doesn't know me from Adam — but he still seems like that guy [who's] gonna hit you with his cane. [Laughs]"

Andrew went on to say that he was a GREAT WHITE fan from the early 1980s. "I really loved the first album," he said. "I got the first album when I was young, alongside with MÖTLEY CRÜE's 'Too Fast For Love'."

Malloy had been in GREAT WHITE for nearly four years, having joined the group in 2018 following the departure of Terry Ilous.

In a recent interview with Dr. Music, GREAT WHITE guitarist Mark Kendall stated about the band's latest addition: "[Andrew] sat in with us, I wanna say maybe eight months ago or so [when Mitch wasn't able to make the show]; we played with FOREIGNER up north [in Modesto, California in October of 2021]. And he blew our minds. So right then we kind of knew we wanted him. But because he was doing something, and we were really busy — [there was] not enough time to rehearse and stuff like that. And we saw this window of opportunity, [and] he was totally into it."

Kendall continued: "There's a lot of different sides to his voice too, so he's not one-dimensional, even though he delivers the LAST IN LINE thing [like] an in-your-face metal screamer. But he can sing a ballad like Satan; I mean, it's killer. So that's what I like. His voice is so well rounded. And the guy, he vibrates at a frequency that you like to be around — he's just this chill dude. There's no nonsense, no ego, no weird trips or anything, so you feel the brotherhood forming straight away. And that's what we like. We're into being a band — all of us, together — go places together, do things together and just enjoy each other. No weird trips. Because we've been through it all. If somebody's a little funny, it's, like, 'Really?' It's almost like if you see cocaine, you go, 'You still have that?' [Laughs] So any kind of weird head trips, we just don't understand it.

"So, yeah, we're just loving it," Kendall added. "We cannot wait for the fans to hear this guy sing some of our big songs. And we're real pumped about making new music, 'cause I have a lot of stuff, Michael [Lardie, guitar/keyboards] has a lot of stuff. We've done things together and just haven't quite put it together. But now we've got this guy that can do anything. Believe me, man, we wanna get something with him on it, 'cause it's gonna be ridiculous."

As for Mitch's departure, Mark said: "We were going in separate ways in the sense that he was always by himself; he didn't really talk to us much. He just kind of showed up… That's just not the way a band works, as far as we're concerned. He's a wonderful singer. I don't think he's used to him not being in full control of everything because he's been a solo artist for so many years. He's a sweet guy. I really liked him. I think a few of our songs are a little out of his range, so it's a little bit of a struggle. But nothing real heavy — no big, huge fights. Nothing ever came to fisticuffs, if you will. [Laughs] So it wasn't a case of that.

"We canceled a gig — or we were going to have to cancel a gig for him to do a VAN HALEN show, a tribute show," Kendall explained. "He gave us warning about this. But when FOREIGNER canceled [our show with them] because of some COVID thing, we rescheduled the date and it fell right on when he was gonna do that VAN HALEN show that he warned us about. So, regardless, it was probably pretty tough for him to get out of it. But it ended up being a blessing for us because we got Andrew to fill in. When we heard him do that show… And the whole band FOREIGNER was on the side of the stage going, 'Oh my God, man. This is pretty good.' So that was nice of them to acknowledge we had a good show. So that's when the seed of the idea was, like, 'Man. God.'"

Kendall went on to say that he doesn't think Malloy is upset about being out of GREAT WHITE. "He likes his solo career," Mark said. "I saw his post [about his exit from GREAT WHITE] where he said, 'Get ready for my VAN HALEN experience. And I'm gonna be doing an acoustic show, a storytellers show,' and all this stuff. So I'm encouraging people to go check him out when he gets in your area and wishing him to do well."

Asked if he and his bandmates had given any thought at all to the idea of reuniting with original GREAT WHITE singer Jack Russell, Mark said: "That's the other thing. [People say,] 'Why don't you patch things up with Jack?' What people don't understand is we never even got in fights [with Jack]. In 25 years together, we might have gotten in two arguments. The thing that took him out is the horrible demons of addiction, and it's really affected his health. I just saw a video the other day where he's not even standing — he's using wheelchairs and he's sitting in a stool. So for us to go back to that, it just feels dark. I'd rather remember him… 'Cause I'm very proud of our career — I'm very proud of the past. I'm so lucky to be a part of it. And I wanna remember it like that, where he's flying around on stage and getting the crowds pumped and singing his heart out — not a sick person. So going to that…

"My goal has always been to deliver the best show we can possibly deliver and have the fans be beyond impressed," Kendall explained. "And the way Andrew sings, I really like the way he delivers the songs, because it's what you wanna hear. So that's important to me, just to have the songs — the big songs, especially — be sung right and with full power. It just makes everything — it makes us play better, believe it or not. So that's the whole thing with me."

GREAT WHITE's current lineup is rounded out by Audie Desbrow (drums) and Scott Snyder (bass).

Ilous, frontman of '80s L.A. hard rockers XYZ, joined GREAT WHITE in 2010 after stepping in for touring vocalist Jani Lane (WARRANT).

The Ilous-led GREAT WHITE released two albums, 2012's "Elation" and 2017's "Full Circle", before Terry was dismissed from the group.

This version of GREAT WHITE is not to be confused with JACK RUSSELL'S GREAT WHITE, which features Russell alongside Robby Lochner (FIGHT) on guitar, Dan McNay on bass, Tony Montana on guitar and Dicki Fliszar on drums.

Fan-filmed video of MERCYFUL FATE's June 18 concert at the Copenhell festival at Refshaleøen in Copenhagen, Denmark can be seen below. The influential Danish metallers' 11-song set included a brand new track, "The Jackl Of Salzburg", which is expected to appear on MERCYFUL FATE's upcoming studio album, tentatively due in 2023 via Metal Blade. Lyrically, the song is inspired by one of the last major witch hunts, the Zaubererjackl trials in Salzburg, Austria (1675-90). 139 people were executed as the followers of Wizard Jackl or Magician Jackl or Jäckel, who was himself never found.

Joining frontman King Diamond in MERCYFUL FATE's current lineup are Hank Shermann on guitar, Bjarne T. Holm on drums, Mike Wead on guitar and Joey Vera on bass.

Setlist for MERCYFUL FATE's concert at the Copenhell festival:

01. The Oath
02. The Jackl Of Salzburg
03. A Corpse Without Soul
04. Black Funeral
05. A Dangerous Meeting
06. Melissa
07. Doomed By The Living Dead
08. Curse Of The Pharaohs
09. Evil
10. Come To The Sabbath

Encore:

11. Satan's Fall

In 2019, it was announced that Vera would be replacing original MERCYFUL FATE bassist Timi Hansen for the band's summer 2020 European festival appearances due to Hansen's cancer diagnosis. Hansen passed away in November 2019 and MERCYFUL FATE's 2020 summer festival appearances were initially rescheduled for 2021 before being moved back to 2022.

In a Twitch livestream from a few days before the June 2 kick-off concert in Hannover, Germany from the MERCYFUL FATE rehearsals, which took place in Glostrup, Denmark, King revealed that he and his bandmates were planning to debut a brand new song at the 2022 shows. "We're trying," he said at the time. "We're still working on a song. I wrote the final lyrics the day of our departure [for rehearsals], I would say, and that's a couple of days ago. So the others have not heard me sing the song at all. We played a few riffs from it yesterday. I didn't sing to it at that time. But it's coming [along] here. The next couple of days we're gonna see where it leads us."

Regarding the musical and lyrical content of the new MERCYFUL FATE song, King said: "It's quite a monster, I would say. It's almost nine minutes long. So it's not just a quick little [tune]. We hope we can play it. We're gonna do everything in our power to play it. It's not recorded yet. So whatever version we might play for you could change before it actually is fully recorded. Some drums have been recorded — that's what I can say. But we will do our damnedest to play it. We put it early in the set even. But that's something to look forward to, definitely. And now we've gotta make it sound correct, 'cause the early demo versions have lots of stuff on that create a certain mood in the whole thing, which we can't do [when we perform it]. The live version will be different. I can't do the backing vocals, naturally, that is intended for the song. But that's also a challenge, to do a version that works live, of course, [with the] vocal lines. It's gonna be fun. It's gonna be heavy. The subject is very heavy too. We are back in 1675 till 1690. That's a piece of history that we are describing — a nasty piece of history."

Back in October 2020, Vera told Dead Rhetoric about how he landed the MERCYFUL FATE gig: "I've been friends with King for some time. ARMORED SAINT did a tour with King back in 1988-89; we have been friends and labelmates forever. And so, he came to see me when I was on tour with FATES WARNING supporting QUEENSRŸCHE in Dallas where he lives. He came to see the show. [Metal Blade Records owner] Brian Slagel was in town. King pulled me aside backstage and told me the story of Timi going through chemotherapy and had a summer tour booked and wasn't sure he was going to be well enough to do it. If he wasn't, would I consider stepping in and helping out. Of course, I was flabbergasted and honored, yeah. I didn't have anything else going on — it was supposed to happen this summer. To honor Timi and help them out, thank you for asking me. In the back of my mind, I was thinking Timi would pull through, he would get enough energy to make it. I was sadly mistaken and it was devastating."

Two years ago, Shermann confirmed that he was working on the first new music from MERCYFUL FATE in more than two decades. At the time, he said about the writing process: "First of all, King is living in Texas, in the States. I'm living here north of Copenhagen, in Denmark. The drummer [Bjarne T. Holm] is also here, so I work with him in the rehearsal room shaping the new songs. The other guitar player [Mike Wead] is in Stockholm, Sweden, and our new bass player [Joey Vera] is in Los Angeles. So everything is [being done via] Dropbox or e-mails."

He continued: "I think there's about six or seven [tracks that are] about to be ready. The first song has been sent to King after it's been mixed and all the guys played on the song. So I sent the files to Joey in Los Angeles; he did the bass. And then I sent the same files to Mike in Stockholm; he did his solos. And now King has the first song, evaluating for the vocals to be added. And then we will rearrange certain parts to be twice as long and stuff like that."

MERCYFUL FATE's last studio album, "9", was released in 1999.

MERCYFUL FATE will be remembered for its unquestionable mark on the history of metal with its innovative sound, complex arrangements, memorable melody, and its influence on bands that later took the genre to new heights.

In 1998, METALLICA paid tribute to MERCYFUL FATE by recording a medley of classic MERCYFUL FATE songs on the album "Garage Inc." Titled "Mercyful Fate", the medley included parts from "Satan's Fall", "Curse of the Pharaohs", "A Corpse Without Soul", "Into the Coven" and "Evil".

Lars Ulrich of METALLICA (a fellow Dane) played drums on a new version of MERCYFUL FATE's "Return of the Vampire" on the "In the Shadows" album, which came out in 1993.

The third VAN HALEN frontman, Gary Cherone, who took over when Sammy Hagar left the group (or was fired, depending on whom you ask) in 1996, spoke to SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" earlier today (Thursday, June 16) about the band's legendary guitarist Eddie Van Halen who died in October 2020 after a battle with cancer. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "[Eddie and I] rekindled our relationship end of 2015, '16. I reached out to him and we picked up where we left off. It was wild, because we went back and forth and we talked. And then when I went out to L.A., I finally got to see him, and it was great. He was going through [his cancer treatments at the time]. All he said to me was, 'I'm kicking its ass.' And at the time he was. He'd have good days. There was one time I saw him, and he was just getting back, and he was just, like, 'Ah, man. I'm not feeling great.' And [I was, like], 'That's cool. We can just hang for a little while.' But he was great. I think the last six months it got real quiet. I reached out to him a few times. And he got back to me later. I just had a feeling something was going down."

When asked if his conversations with Eddie were mostly of a personal nature or if they included any discussions about possibly working together again, Gary said: "It was [mostly us talking as] friends. But there was a couple of conversations. Little did I know, until it was confirmed by [Eddie's son] Wolfie after Eddie passed… I remember hanging out with Eddie and he was talking about the [proposed] 'kitchen-sink' [tour] — not in those terms. It was around the time [of their] 40th anniversary and they were talking about getting together to do something, I think with Dave [Lee Roth]… So the conversation I had with him was I said, 'Yeah, when you do that, Ed…' — it wasn't the kitchen-sink thing. When they were talking about doing something again with those guys, I remember saying to him, 'Hey, if it doesn't work out, I know a singer for cheap.' And he laughed. And he looked at me, and at the time he goes, 'You never know.' And I remember thinking, 'That was odd.' I just remembered him saying that, and then when Wolfie said it, after he passed, I go, 'That was his reference.'"

Cherone also talked about his sole release with VAN HALEN, 1998's "Van Halen III", which was a commercial disappointment. He was dismissed from VAN HALEN soon after the tour ended.

"I wish I went on tour with the guys before I did the record," Gary said. "'Cause it was a project that turned into a band. We wrote from the first day on, and that was great, and we hit it off, but you had to feel each other out. But by the time we were on tour, it was a brotherhood. So when we got back in and we would write write, we would jam, scat over things, that's when things felt good. 'Cause I was feeling my way around too. I was comfortable there, but I thought it locked in. That '98 tour was great. I thought Eddie was on fire. The setlist was both eras."

In November 2020, Wolfgang Van Halen revealed that his father had contemplated a "kitchen-sink tour" that would have included bassist Michael Anthony, as well as vocal turns from both Hagar and Roth. There was even talk about bringing back Cherone.

Back in 2015, Cherone told the "Talk Is Jericho" podcast about performing the classic VAN HALEN material during the band's shows: "I grew up on the Dave stuff, I knew the Sammy stuff, but during Sammy's [era with VAN HALEN], I was embarking on EXTREME. I remember looking at Michael Anthony and going, 'You've gotta help me with this song.' [Sammy's range was so high] it was insane. Actually, I said it to him before, when I went on tour with VAN HALEN, doing the Sammy stuff made me a better singer, because I had to find a way to do it or get kicked out of the band. And that stud you can't cheat. So I'm singing 'Dreams'… Some nights I couldn't do it… just tired, you know. 'Cause you find your comfort zone. When you're challenged with other people's music, those were cover songs. Two of thirds of [the live set], [I was] doing classic VAN HALEN. The Dave stuff was great — I loved it, I knew it — but, vocally, it wasn't a challenge. To do the Sammy-era stuff was very challenging. I came out of that experience a better singer. Some of the stuff I did post-VAN HALEN — whether it was solo stuff, TRIBE OF JUDAH stuff or later EXTREME stuff — my range grew because of that."

Elaborating on how he approached singing VAN HALEN material that was originally performed by Roth and Hagar, Cherone told "Talk Is Jericho": "I understand why Sammy probably… He was more a Dave contemporary… They were around the same age, they both had their own careers, egos and pride and all that… Not necessarily egos… But Sammy had his own career. Again, they were from the same generation. Me, I was [from the] following generation. EXTREME was influenced by VH. And I knew going into VAN HALEN, you were gonna have your diehard Dave fans, diehard Sammy fans, so I was gonna do anything to endear myself to the audience. What was I gonna be? A prick? And go out there and go, 'No, I'm only gonna do 'You Really Got Me' and one Sammy song. I'd be pulled out on a hook. But, believe it or not, man, [it was] one of my favorite tours. Eddie was playing his ass off. The band was passionate, and we were all over the place on the stage. I was like a kid in a candy store singing those songs. Those were no-brainers. I remember Alex [Van Halen, VAN HALEN drummer], during rehearsals… Because of that, because of his time with Sammy, and Sammy only did selected songs — only a few — he was, like, 'What do you wanna do?' I said, 'I wanna do tracks that you guys haven't done in twenty years: 'I'm The One', 'Romeo's Delight'.' And they were, like, 'All right. Cool.' And I remember those guys having more of a hard time learning some of the older tracks."

Cherone went on to describe "Van Halen III" as "more of an Eddie record. He was coming out, at the end of the Sammy period… I don't wanna get into all that stuff. But I think Eddie was feeling his oats," Gary explained. "And I came in, I was writing. He sat at the piano. When Eddie sat at the piano, I'd say, 'Play that again.' And we would do something a little bit outside the VH circle, what was expected. Looking back on it, I would have arranged some of those songs differently. In hindsight, you can do that with all your records. And that was a battle I had with some of the EXTREME songs. I think it's a guitarist-singer thing. Some of those arrangements were a little unorthodox, especially coming out of that VAN HALEN world. So if I was to do that record again, some of those songs would be shorter."

Regarding how his stage presence in VAN HALEN was different from those of Roth and Hagar, Cherone told "Talk Is Jericho": "That's funny, 'cause… Over time, I think, in the VAN HALEN fan base, they maybe appreciate it a little more. But I wasn't cut from the Roth school, I wasn't cut from the Sammy school. [They're] both great frontmen. Sammy got shit for not being like Roth. And me, some of the influences I had, whether it was [Steven] Tyler or [Freddie] Mercury… Those were the guys that kind of inspired how I became a frontman… Or [Mick] Jagger… I'm more Jagger school than the Roth school. It was funny. When I got to meet Sammy, we would talk about the history, and he'd tell me some old stories. And I would say, 'I got a lot of shit from fans. They would give me the finger all night 'cause I wasn't you, or I wasn't Roth.' And he goes, 'Get over it! I was getting that for ten years.' So it was funny. Sammy kind of put things in perspective for me. But the majority… That experience with VAN HALEN, I look at it as, that's on my application. The next band, I can say, 'Well…' I can go, 'I have a good resume.'"

According to Foyles, Book Depository, Target and several other retailers, Genesis Publications will release a new book titled "Definitely: The Official Story Of Def Leppard" on November 25, 2022.

Offering fans the most personal and comprehensive record of DEF LEPPARD's history to date, "Definitely: The Official Story Of Def Leppard" is narrated by the bandmembers in their own words, illustrated with photography and memorabilia from the DEF LEPPARD archives.

Despite an average age of only 18, DEF LEPPARD burst on to the hard rock scene in 1980 like a group of seasoned veterans. Thinking big from the very start, the blueprint for their music was, as singer Joe Elliott states, "QUEEN meets AC/DC." DEF LEPPARD's story is one of stratospheric highs and crashing lows, of triumph over adversity. While becoming one of the world's best-selling music artists with blockbuster albums "Pyromania" and "Hysteria", the band overcame drummer Rick Allen's accident and the death of bandmate Steve Clark. During their 45-year history, DEF LEPPARD have continued to make new music — with 12 studio albums to their name, including their 2022 release "Diamond Star Halos" — finding success with every record and tour.

In a wide-ranging account from the band and archive text from past members, "Definitely" chronicles DEF LEPPARD's incredible story, from their humble beginnings rehearsing in a spoon factory in Sheffield, to recording ground-breaking multi-platinum albums and touring sold-out stadiums around the world.

Alongside the book's text are hundreds of items from the band's combined and personal archives, presenting over four decades of DEF LEPPARD history. Granted unlimited access to the DEF LEPPARD vault, the book includes handwritten correspondence, rare vinyl pressings, tour memorabilia, music video storyboards, draft album artwork, press cuttings, previously unpublished photographs and much more.

Part memoir, part scrapbook, "Definitely: The Story Of Def Leppard" is the ultimate record of DEF LEPPARD's legendary career.

"Diamond Star Halos" sold 34,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in its first week of release to land at position No. 10 on the Billboard 200 chart. It marked the band's eighth top 10 LP.

DEF LEPPARD's previous Top 10 albums include "Pyromania" (which peaked at No. 2 in 1983),"Hysteria" (No. 1 for six weeks in 1988),"Adrenalize" (No. 1 for five weeks in 1992),"Retro Active" (No. 9; 1983),"Rock Of Ages: The Definitive Collection" (No. 10; 2005),"Songs From The Sparkle Lounge" (No. 5; 2008) and "Def Leppard" (No. 10; 2015).

This past Thursday (June 16),DEF LEPPARD launched "The Stadium Tour" with MÖTLEY CRÜE and guests POISON and JOAN JETT & THE BLACKHEARTS in Atlanta, Georgia. The 36-date trek, which is due to wrap September 9 in Las Vegas, was originally scheduled to take place in the summer of 2020 but ended up being pushed back to 2021, and then to 2022, due to the coronavirus crisis.

Multi-platinum hard rock powerhouse, Five Finger Death Punch, have launched their Afterlife World Tour. The band has released this recap video:





5FDP will release their new album, AfterLife, on August 19. The band recently dropped another track from the album, the opening song “Welcome To The Circus”. An official lyric video for the track can be viewed below:







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





Tracklisting:


"Welcome To The Circus"
"AfterLife"
"Times Like These"
"Roll Dem Bones"
"Pick Up Behind You"
"Judgment Day"
"IOU"
"Thanks For Asking"
"Blood And Tar "
"All I Know"
"Gold Gutter"
"The End"


"IOU" lyric video:





"AfterLife" lyric video:





The band recently announced a 2022 North American headlining tour presented by Live Nation beginning this summer. The tour is set to start in Portland, Oregon on August 19, coinciding with their album release date, and will span over 30 dates as it closes out on October 15 in Salt Lake City, Utah. The band will be joined on tour by very special guest Megadeth, with additional support from The HU, and Fire From The Gods, promising an intense multi-faceted night of heavy rock music. Visit FiveFingerDeathPunch.com for dates and tickets.

Professionally-filmed footage of Steel Panther's full set at Hellfest 2022 in Clisson, France on June 18 can be viewed below.


Setlist:


"Goin' In The Backdoor"
"Tomorrow Night"
"Asian Hooker"
"All I Wanna Do Is Fuck (Myself Tonight)"
"Let Me Cum In"
"Crazy Train" (Ozzy Osbourne cover)
"Weenie Ride"
"17 Girls In A Row"
"Community Property"
"Death To All But Metal"
"Gloryhole"







Catch Steel Panther live in concert at the following shows:


June
20 - Hamburg, Germany - Markethalle
21 - Hamburg, Germany - Markethalle
22 - Prague, Czech Republic - Airport Letnany
24 - Oslo, Norway - Tons of Rock Fest
26 - Aarhus, Denmark - Train
28 - Krakow, Poland - Kwadrat
29 - Warsaw, Poland - Progresja


July
1 - Budapest, Hungary - Barba Negra
2 - Zagreb, Croatia - Hala Open Air
3 - Telfs, Austria - Rathausaal
5 - Munich, Germany - Backstage Werk
6 - Wiesbaden, Germany - Schlachtof
7 - Oberhausen, Germany - Trubinhalle
8 - Ballenstadt, Germany - Rockharz
10 - Utrecht, Netherlands - TivoliVredenburg
11 - Paris, France - Bataclan
13 - Barcelona, Spain - Razzmatazz 2
14 - Madrid, Spain - Mon Live
15 - Fuengirola, Spain - Metal Paradise Festival


August
10 - Honolulu, HI – The Republik


October
17 - Auckland, NZ - The Powerstation (with Sevendust)
19 - Melbourne, AU - Margaret Court Arena (with Sevendust)
21 - New Castle West, AU - NEX (with Sevendust)
22 - Sydney, AU - Horden Pavilion (with Sevendust)
23 - Brisbane, AU - Eatons Hill (with Sevendust)
28 - Calgary, AB - Grey Eagle Casino

Former IRON MAIDEN frontman Paul Di'Anno, who has been receiving physiotherapy and lymphatic drainage treatments in Croatia, will finally undergo his long-awaited knee surgery in early July.

Earlier today (Saturday, June 18),Stjepan Juras, a MAIDEN fan and author of many MAIDEN-related books, who is taking care of Paul during his stay in Croatia, issued the following update regarding Paul's condition: "After a long and intensive recovery of Paul Di'Anno in Croatia, and a series of treatments he underwent, the moment of great announcement has finally come. You already knew that Paul was facing three major operations, but now we finally know the dates. Paul Di'Anno will be admitted to the hospital on July 5, 2022, and all three surgeries will be performed on him for two consecutive days, after which the hospital recovery will take about two to three weeks. Hospital recovery and intensive care are followed by the second part of recovery, which is rehabilitation and re-learning of walking, which will be significantly improved in the first days of October, and by the end of 2022 Paul should be able to walk fully.

"The first operation, or installation of the so-called umbrella in the vein cava will make a team of specialists and vascular surgeons and thus will prevent the movement of a large thrombus (blod-clot) in the abdomen and potential stroke or embolism. Operations of removing cement (spacer between bones) and installing so-called tumor prostheses or custom made bone and knee will be performed by an expert from the 'Heatlh Center of Excellence'; prof.dr.sc. Robert Kolundžić, orthopedic specialist, subspec traumatologist of the locomotor system. The operation will be performed at the Clinic for Traumatology of the KBC Sestre milosrdnice or (possibly) at the KBC Dubrava.

"Paul is very motivated and can't wait for the big and currently most important change in his life to happen. The doctor who will operate on him is one of the authorities not only in Croatia, but also in Europe, when we talk about surgery of this kind, and the operation that Paul will undergo is the most complicated and difficult of all orthopaedic surgeries.

"Although Paul will be cared for by a number of experts and the operations will be performed perfectly, Paul's biggest 'opponent' in everything is his own body or his circulation. Namely, the circulation in his leg is not at an enviable level and with all the efforts that have been made so far, it cannot be much better, but they will try hard. This is the biggest danger that threatens Paul and he is aware of it. An almost identical thing happened to him before, when his body rejected the endoprosthesis, but in this case it is much worse. If poor circulation suspends wound healing from surgery and if custom-made bone rejection occurs, this will be the end of treatment labeled Plan A. Plan B would then be a leg amputation, but that doesn't mean Paul wouldn't walk. Moreover, the recovery would be shorter, and Paul's movement better and more reliable. The only difference is that he would not have his own leg.

"Paul is aware of all the consequences and is ready for anything. He told us that he had thought about that option seven years earlier, but due to a double infection with MRSA, it was impossible to perform. Paul is ready for option A and option B, but we all hope that after the barochamber and additional lymphatic drainage at the Ribnjak Polyclinic, the circulation will be better and that Paul's leg will last and heal and that he will walk this year.

"Paul has important days of psychological preparations for the operation ahead of him and now he needs the understanding of all the fans and only peace."

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

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

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

Di'Anno recently teamed up with several Croatian musicians to form a new project called WARHORSE. WARHORSE entered the studio to record three songs, two of which — "Stop The War" and "The Doubt Within" — have been released as a special limited-edition DVD single.

A fundraiser for Paul's upcoming surgery has been organized by his friends and fans coordinated by Kastro Pergjoni from the U.K. and Stjepan Juras from Croatia, in collaboration with the other members of WARHORSE. All proceeds from the single will be used to cover the costs of Paul's treatment and related needs.

In February, Di'Anno told the "Još Jedan" podcast that his health was "better" than it was just a couple of months earlier but noted that he still "a lot of work to do — a lot of physio and stuff like that."

Paul went on to blast the U.K.'s free-at-the-point-of-use National Health Service (NHS),saying: "Fucking NHS sucks. I was a defender of them big time. But the nurses are awesome and all the workers. It's the fucking bureaucracy bullshit — the management and the people who run the NHS are just total assholes. But the poor heroes — the nurses and the staff — they're great, but their hands are tied. So they didn't know what to do. They just dumped me."

Di'Anno, who turned 64 on May 17, outlined some of the recent health issues he has battled that have kept him from performing for seven years.

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

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

Dear fans
After a long and intensive recovery of Paul Di'Anno in Croatia, and a series of treatments he underwent, the...

Posted by Stjepan Juras on Saturday, June 18, 2022

California glam metal jokesters STEEL PANTHER are mastering their new studio album for a tentative late 2022 release. The band, which has not yet secured a permanent replacement for its original bassist Lexxi Foxx, has been working on the follow-up to 2019's "Heavy Metal Rules" for the last few months and recently completed mixing the LP.

At last weekend's Download festival in the United Kingdom, STEEL PANTHER guitarist Satchel told the "Mike James Rock Show" about the band's new album: "It's coming out as soon as we're done with it. I don't know when that's gonna be. Hopefully soon. I think we're mastering it right now."

Eight months ago, Lexxi — whose real name is Travis Haley — told Rocking With Jam Man that he hadn't spoken with his former bandmates since his exit. "I still talk to the singer a little bit; I have in the past," he said. "But I think that those scars and I think that the departure, the way that it went down, I think there's some sore spots. But that's tough for me to talk about.

"That was something that I'm very proud of — to be that character for such a long period of time, and to play with those cats," he continued. "They're all amazing musicians. And I just think that it is different to not have that [in my life] — I'd been in character for so long — but I have to say it's a little refreshing as well."

When STEEL PANTHER first announced Lexxi's exit in July 2021, the band jokingly said that Foxx "started his side business, 'Sexy Lexxi's Prettiest Pets,' to bring in money for Botox during the lockdown." After realizing that "his love for making pets pretty was greater than his love for being pretty himself," he chose "to hang up his mirror and focus on his newfound passion: making ugly dogs pretty," the group wrote in a statement.

Back in December 2018, Lexxi sat out a STEEL PANTHER tour after being admitted to "sex rehab." The real reason for his absence was never officially disclosed.

During an appearance on an episode of the "2020'd" podcast, Satchel stated about Lexxi's departure: "We didn't want him to quit. Nobody wanted him to quit, including a lot of fans. I'm sure a lot of fans are very sad that he left. But he's the guy who left the band. I think he's got his own things he's dealing with, and he just wanted to go and do that. So, I don't know… I can't answer for Lexxi Foxx. But we will all miss Lexxi Foxx, and we all wish him the best in everything that he does. But we didn't fire him; he quit the band. So we're gonna have to move on and get somebody else who's younger and foxier and doesn't need as much Botox," referencing the drug doctors have been using for years to treat wrinkles and facial creases.

Formed in 2000, STEEL PANTHER specializes in imitating and exaggerating the less flattering aspects of 1980s hair metal, with unrepentantly crude, non-PC sexual content as a favorite lyrical theme.

The group's music has been described as "VAN HALEN meets MÖTLEY CRÜE meets RATT meets 'Wayne's World', complete with operatic shrieks, misogyny, shredding guitar solos and libidinal overdrive."

Fourteen years ago, STEEL PANTHER changed its name from METAL SKOOL to its current moniker and shifted the focus of its act from '80s metal covers to originals.

Haley, who was an original member of STEEL PANTHER, recently announced the formation of his new band HOLLYWOOD GODS N' MONSTERS with longtime friend and television celebrity from MTV's "Pimp My Ride", Diggity Dave.

Fan-filmed video of WHITESNAKE's June 12 concert at Tauron Arena in Kraków, Poland can be seen below.

The band's setlist was as follows:

01. Bad Boys
02. Slide It In
03. Love Ain't No Stranger
04. Hey You (You Make Me Rock)
05. Slow An' Easy
06. Ain't No Love In The Heart Of The City (Bobby "Blue" Bland cover)
07. Fool For Your Loving
08. Guitar And Keyboard Solos
09. Crying In The Rain
10. Drum Solo (followed by "Crying in the Rain" reprise)
11. Is This Love
12. Give Me All Your Love
13. Here I Go Again
14. Still Of The Night
15. Burn (DEEP PURPLE cover)

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.

In a recent interview with Finland's Chaoszine, WHITESNAKE guitarist Joel Hoekstra spoke about the farewell tour. He said: "Well, it's everybody's opportunity to come out and say goodbye to [WHITESNAKE leader] David [Coverdale] and have David say thank you for a wonderful 50 years or so. So he's been quite emotional on some of the shows already here out of the gate. I think it's an emotional tour for him. He just wants to thank everybody for a wonderful career, which I think is lovely."

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.

KORN drummer Ray Luzier spoke to Germany's MoreCore about the current status of the band's bassist, Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu. Fieldy announced in June 2021 that he would sit out KORN's ongoing tour in order to "heal" after "falling back" on some of his "bad habits."

Ray said about Fieldy (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "He's doing good. He's our brother. We love him. We support him 110 percent. Bands are like marriages. Sometimes you need to step away a little bit to look at the picture and see what's going on with your individual life, and I think that's where we're all at now with Reggie. He's such a great dude and he's one of my best buds, so we support him in everything he does. No one has a crystal ball — I don't know what's gonna happen in the future — but we definitely miss him out here."

According to Luzier, SUICIDAL TENDENCIES bassist Roberto "Ra" Díaz, who is filling in for Fieldy, is "doing a great job. He's doing a hell of a job. But there's a sound about Fieldy that isKORN," he said. "There's that signature thing that not many bass players can say that. Just that sound — you pop a KORN album on, and you're, like, 'Woah.' That bass, you take that out and it wouldn't sound normal, because [guitarists] Munky [James Shaffer] and Head [Brian Welch] don't sound normal, and neither does Jon [singer Jonathan Davis]. But that bass, man, it's just leading a lot of those older records."

This past February, Welch told Spotlight Report that Fieldy was "just taking a little time to be with his family. He is a great dad," Welch said. "He has so many kids. He has adult kids, teenagers and young kids. He is just taking time, and we are giving him the time. We want everyone to be healthy and happy.

"I guess we will go and tour this record," Head continued, referencing KORN's recently released album "Requiem". "I don't know a lot more other than that. We love him very much and we hope to communicate with him during the year at some stage, to see where everyone is at."

Welch previously addressed Fieldy's position in KORN during a November 2021 interview with U.K.'s Kerrang! magazine. At the time, he stated: "The best thing to do is stay at home, be with your family, and start processing. He's got to find that healing. I still struggle with it. I had a few slip-ups with my 'bad habits' three to four years ago, so I understand it, but I dealt with it by hitting it head-on and stopping it from becoming a problem. I'm not concerned because I know he's going to be okay."

Davis expressed a more worried outlook on Fieldy's predicament, saying: "I love him; he's my brother. But I watched somebody I care about die and I'm not going to fucking do that again. I refuse to. I will feel guilt for the rest of my fucking life because of that. I tried my hardest but perhaps if I'd been a little bit tougher there'd have been a different outcome. I pray that he can figure it out and get better and come back and be a huge part of this band again."

Despite the fact that he is not joining his KORN bandmates on their current tour, Fieldy did play on "Requiem".

Earlier in November, Shaffer told "Loudwire Nights" host Toni Gonzalez about Fieldy: "Right now he's just taking some time to kinda figure out what makes him happy and figure out his happiness and what he wants to do with his life, I guess is the best way to put it. And make sure his mental health is at its best, because if your mental health isn't good, or you're not clear, you're gonna make bad choices.

"I make an example," he continued. "I had my own challenges through the years, and once you get clarity, your life becomes a lot easier to manage. We're just giving him time to, like, no pressure, just figure out what you want to do because we can still work and we can still go out and tour. But we miss him. We love the guy, and we want him to just be healthy."

Regarding how KORN ended up recruiting Díaz to fill in for Fieldy, Welch told 97.9 GRD: "Well, there's COVID and everything, so when we started talking about it, it was a thing where we wanted to be careful still and whatnot. So we just started brainstorming and hitting up friends and whatnot. We need the slap — we need the slap bass, we need the finger playing, we need someone, 'cause Fieldy is unique — very unique. So it just kind of happened that way, man, where Ra, he was open because SUICIDAL [was] not going out [on tour] until [the following] year. So it just worked out, man. He came down, we jammed. He's a really humble guy, and just very talented. He can play anything — from jazz to slap to anything. He played all the songs with, like, three mistakes out of 10 songs or something — little mistakes. I mean, not even mistakes — it was just, like, 'I thought I heard it that way.' They weren't even mistakes. So we were, like, 'Okay. You got it down.'"

A year ago, Fieldy broke the news of his absence from KORN's summer trek, writing in a social media update: "To all KORN fans worldwide. The past 6 years I've been dealing with some personal issues that at times have caused me to fall back on some of my bad habits and has caused some tension with the people around me. It's been suggested to me to take some time off to heal. I'm going to respect what was asked of me and take that time. Unfortunately you will not see me on stage with my band. I will be working towards getting the bad habits out of my system. In the meantime I will be staying creative to keep my mind & soul in a good place.

"I'm thankful for all of your support, patience & understanding as we all have something that we deal with.

"Jonathan, Munky, Ray and Head, I love you and I don't want to bring any tension or bad vibes to the circle."

A short time later, KORN's official social media shared Fieldy's statement, along with the following message: "We love and support our brother, Fieldy. Health and family always comes first."

Back in 2017, METALLICA bassist Robert Trujillo's then-12-year-old son Tye Trujillo filled in on bass for KORN's South American tour after Fieldy was unable to make the shows due to "unforeseen circumstances."

Fieldy's 2009 memoir, "Got The Life: My Journey Of Addiction, Faith, Recovery And Korn", detailed his struggles with drug and alcohol addiction during KORN's early years and how he became a born-again Christian to help get his life together and get sober.

Fieldy's STILLWELL side project released its third album, "Supernatural Miracle", in September 2020.

"Requiem" was released on February 4 via Loma Vista Recordings.

Professionally filmed video of MEGADETH's entire June 17 performance at the Graspop Metal Meeting festival in Dessel, Belgium can be seen below.

Featured songs:

00:00 Prince Of Darkness (intro)
01:25 Hangar 18
06:43 Dread And The Fugitive Mind
11:16 Sweating Bullets
17:51 Angry Again
21:35 The Conjuring
27:11 Dystopia
32:26 A Tout Le Monde
37:21 Trust
42:33 Symphony Of Destruction
46:33 Peace Sells
55:12 Holy Wars

Late 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". Lomenzo has now officially rejoined the MEGADETH family.

MEGADETH leader Dave Mustaine commented: "I am thrilled to welcome back James to the MEGADETH family. James rejoined the fold as the touring bassist and it's been a blast having him back. We thought let's make it permanent."

James added: "I'm so excited to rejoin MEGADETH and move forward full steam into the next phase of this iconic band's history! With Dave, Kiko [Loureiro, guitar] and Dirk [Verbeuren, drums], There's no stopping us! It just feels great to be home again."

LoMenzo joined MEGADETH in 2006 and appeared on two of the group's studio albums, 2007's "United Abominations" and 2009's "Endgame". He was fired from the band in 2010 and replaced with returning original MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson.

In addition to MEGADETH, LoMenzo has played with Ozzy Osbourne, Zakk Wylde and WHITE LION. For the past nine years, LoMenzo has been performing with iconic rocker John Fogerty.

LoMenzo played his first show with MEGADETH in nearly 12 years last August in Austin, Texas. The concert took place three months following Ellefson's dismissal from MEGADETH after sexually tinged messages and explicit video footage involving him were posted on Twitter.

During an appearance on a March 2022 episode of SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", Mustaine discussed MEGADETH's reunion with LoMenzo, saying: "I'm thrilled. I think he's a really awesome person to have in MEGADETH. He was when we tried it the first time. And for whatever reason that things happen, things happened and we took a little sabbatical from playing [together]. And when things happened as they did, it was obvious to me that I needed to get a super kickass bass player to come in and cut all the tracks and learn 'em in relatively no time, because we were in the studio already, so I needed to get somebody that could really do all that stuff. And I hadn't made up my mind on James yet. So I ended up asking a super, super legendary bass player in the metal community, Steve DiGiorgio. I asked him if he would come in and guest on the [upcoming MEGADETH] record and help me to finish the record and cut bass parts. So he came out, and that was really wonderful to hear his interpretation of my songs and the stuff that Kiko and Dirk and I, the stuff that we're starting to write together; we're starting to really develop our chemistry."

MEGADETH's new album, "The Sick, The Dying, And The Dead", is tentatively due in September. The follow-up to "Dystopia" 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.

DiGiorgio is widely renowned as a pioneer on the fretless bass in heavy metal music, having played with TESTAMENT, DEATH and SADUS, among others. Within his genre, Steve is respected for his playing skills, versatility and incredible technique. He has more than 40 studio album recordings and over 20 years of touring the world.

Ellefson laid down his bass tracks on MEGADETH's sixteenth LP in May 2020 at a studio in Nashville, Tennessee. A short time later, he raved about his performance on the record, telling the 96.7 KCAL-FM radio program "Wired In The Empire" that his musical chemistry with Verbeuren was comparable to the interplay between Geddy Lee and Neil Peart on classic RUSH albums. "I feel like on the new MEGADETH record, me and Dirk have those same moments," he said. "It's MEGADETH — it's not RUSH, obviously — but in the field of what we do, there were these moments that I was just going, 'Oh, my God.' This is me as a kid going, 'This is my Geddy/Neil moment right here.'"

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

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

A massive new statue of iconic MÖTÖRHEAD leader Ian Fraser "Lemmy" Kilmister has just been unveiled at this year's edition of Hellfest, which is taking place over two weekends in June. Hellfest is an annual open-air festival held in Clisson, France and one of the biggest metal festivals in all of Europe.

The all-new Lemmy statue replaces the previous sculpture of the MÖTÖRHEAD mainman which was erected six years ago but was reportedly falling apart due to the fact that the plaster, of which it was partly composed, was seriously crumbling.

The upgraded Lemmy statue is the creation of Caroline Brisset, an emerging French sculptor who has exhibited her work in France and Belgium. Primarily inspired by energy over form and viewing the human as a subject of both fascination and fear, she constructs steel works that marry the concrete and the abstract to achieve a dreamlike effect.

Brisset was approached by Hellfest organizer Ben Barbaud last November about creating the Lemmy sculpture and she immediately agreed to get involved.

"I said yes because it was a great project," she told Ouest-France. "And it was also quite a challenge to make such a big statue in such a short time."

Longtime MÖTÖRHEAD drummer Mikkey Dee, who has been a member of the SCORPIONS since 2016, expressed his excitement about the new Lemmy statue, sharing a photo of the sculpture on social media and writing in a caption: "Great statue/monument of Lemmy being presented at Hellfest, France. I can't wait to come back to one of my favorite festivals in Europe. See you all there on Thursday!"

A smaller Lemmy statue was unveiled at his favorite drinking establishment, West Hollywood, California's Rainbow Bar & Grill, in August 2016. Fans raised $23,000 to fund the sculpture. That same year, Rainbow Bar & Grill dedicated its patio to Lemmy and re-named it "Lemmy's Lounge."

Lemmy, who celebrated his 70th birthday on December 24, 2015, learned two days later that he was afflicted with an aggressive form of cancer. He died two days later, on December 28, 2015, at his home in Los Angeles.

Lemmy had dealt with several health issues in the few years before his death, including heart trouble, forcing him to cut back on his famous smoking and Jack Daniel's habits.

MÖTÖRHEAD was forced to cancel a number of shows in 2015 due to Lemmy's failing health, although they did manage to complete one final European tour just two weeks prior to his passing.

In June 2020, it was announced that Lemmy will get the biopic treatment. The upcoming film, "Lemmy", will be directed by Greg Olliver, who previously helmed the 2010 documentary of the same name, "Lemmy".

"Lemmy" will follow Kilmister's life growing up in Stoke-on-Trent, becoming a roadie for Jimi Hendrix and a member of seminal psychedelic rock band HAWKWIND before forming MOTÖRHEAD.

A custom-made urn containing Lemmy's ashes is on permanent display in a columbarium at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Hollywood, California.

In a 2015 interview with Kerrang! magazine, Lemmy was asked how it makes him feel when people call him a legend. He responded: "As long as they don't believe it, that's alright." He continued: "Who wouldn’t want a hero somewhere in their lives? And it might as well be me, 'cause I don't take the piss out of them for it, and I don't laugh at them because of it." But he added, "I'm not a legend. I never thought of myself as being special in particular. Maybe I make brilliant music, but that's about it."

Photo above by Fernando Bonenfant for The Metal Voice

Great statue/monument of Lemmy being presented at Hellfest, France. I can't wait to come back to one of my favorite festivals in Europe. See you all there on Thursday!

Posted by Mikkey Dee on Saturday, June 18, 2022

Lemmy
Kizrock au Hellfest
#Hellfest2022 #kizrock

Posted by KizRock on Saturday, June 18, 2022

Hommage à Lemmy 🤘🤘au Hellfest

Posted by Christine Boillat on Saturday, June 18, 2022

♠️ DAY 2 - Let's go ! ♠️

Welcome Back Lemmy.

🎥 - Live by ARTE Concert : https://www.arte.tv/fr/arte-concert/

⚠️...

Posted by Hellfest Open Air Festival on Saturday, June 18, 2022

Lemmy 🤘Hellfest 2022 - Official Event

Posted by Sophie Chevreux on Saturday, June 18, 2022

Lemmy Hellfest 2022

Posted by Christian Raj on Friday, June 17, 2022

Lemmy au Hellfest !!! 😁🤘
Énorme 😱

Posted by Daniel Fret on Friday, June 17, 2022

Lemmy at Hellfest Open Air Festival

Photo credit Fernando Bonenfant for The Metal Voice

Posted by The Metal Voice on Friday, June 17, 2022

Polish heavy metal act, Crystal Viper, has announced the addition of drummer Kuba Galwas to the group’s ranks.


"Some of you already met him and heard him playing with us on the last few shows in Spain, Germany, Czech Republic and Poland, so you know he’s a perfect fit!," says Crystal Viper frontwoman, Marta Gabriel. "We would also like to thank here all the drummers that auditioned, and sent their videos and messages – all of you guys rock!”







Crystal Viper released their eighth studio album, The Cult, last year via Listenable Records, and earlier this year published a special anniversary EP entitled The Last Axeman, which is a collection of new songs, re-recordings, cover songs, and which includes four songs from The Cult album, recorded live in studio. Crystal Viper also recently joined the official Diamond Head tribute album Are We Evil?, which will be released later this year.


Last Summer Marta Gabriel released her first solo album entitled Metal Queens (also on Listenable Records), which is a collection of cover songs, and personal tribute to female fronted hard rock & metal acts and female metal vocalists from the ‘80s, such as Lee Aaron, Wendy O’ Williams, Warlock, Acid, Chastain, Hellion and Rock Goddess.