During an appearance on the February 8, 2026 episode of "Whiplash", the KLOS radio show hosted by Full Metal Jackie, DAUGHTRY frontman Chris Daughtry addressed his decision to set the record straight after fake artificial intelligence (A.I.) photos went viral of him last year paying tribute to the late Charlie Kirk. In the A.I. images, Daughtry was one of several musicians — including Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen — who were falsely depicted paying tribute to Kirk after his death. Other A.I.-generated material claimed his marriage was on the rocks, something he absolutely denied.

Daughtry later shared an Instagram post in which he clarified to his fans that if a post about him is not coming from his verified account or the verified DAUGHTRY band page, then it's likely A.I. or false information.

Asked by Full Metal Jackie about A.I. posts trying to assign political affiliation to his name and social posts spreading false narratives about his family life, and what, in his opinion, can be done "to combat some of this stuff", Chris said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "That's a loaded question. I don't know the answer. You would think something that is inherently spreading false information as truth should be considered illegal. And so you wouldn't dare allow a magazine or a publication to print something that false about someone.

"Why is it okay for these bots or these people that have nothing better to do to create these just polarizing false information about people and just put it out there as if it's factual?" he continued. "I think it's wrong, I think it's unethical, I think it's irresponsible and I think it's dangerous. And if there's no regulations for that, where does it end? How far does this go before it causes serious, serious problems and ramifications?

"I don't know the answer, but you would think our people in powers that be that have any sort of governing power over this stuff would be doing their job to protect people in that way," Chris added. "But so far it just seems like the Wild, Wild West when it comes to A.I. and what's allowed and what isn't and the loopholes that allow it to continue to exist without any sort of repercussion. It's pretty wild."

Last November, Daughtry told Rolling Stone magazine about the A.I-generated posts in which he was supposedly paying tribute to Kirk after the right-wing American activist and influencer's death: "I certainly don't stand with MAGA, Charlie Kirk, Turning Point or any other movement rooted in bigotry or intolerance or exclusivity. So when it [A.I.] starts lumping me into these groups that do not align with my values and the things I stand for and where my heart is, it affects me on a deep level. I don't want anyone out there believing that. When it starts to step on or completely contradict the things you stand for, that's when it hurts the most."

Chris said that he shared his original Instagram rant despite being advised not to address the subject, going "against my manager's wishes" in addressing the fake posts. "[My manager] was, like, 'You don't want to be feeding this machine or drawing more attention to it,'" Daughtry recalled. "And I was like, 'Fuck that.' I want everyone to know this is absolute bullshit, and I will shout it from the mountain tops."

The singer added that his values and beliefs have changed over the course of his career.

"I've evolved quite a bit as a human over the last 20 years," he said. "I don't hold the same religious dogma I grew up with. I'm all about equal rights, including, equal rights for LGBTQ, and minority communities."

In 2023, Daughtry warned about the dangers of artificial intelligence in his "Artificial" single, with the singer explaining, "'Artificial' is about the potential nightmare that A.I. could become and the idea that everything and everyone could eventually be replaced, essentially to perfection, and rendered obsolete."

He added: "However, the heart and soul of humanity and the ability to feel love, sadness, and compassion can never be replaced. While there are plenty of applications where A.I. can improve our lives and assist in many areas of creativity, I feel it's imperative that we find a way to protect our musicians, actors, writers, and all creative outlets from being destroyed."

"Plug into the new you/Don't resist 'cause it's no use, it's no use/It's digital warfare/The death of who we are is right here," Chris sang on "Artificial".

American heavy metal legends CORROSION OF CONFORMITY will release their long-awaited new double album, "Good God / Baad Man", on April 3 via Nuclear Blast.

Much has gone down in the CORROSION OF CONFORMITY universe since their last album smacked us upside the head. Back in 2018, when "No Cross No Crown" dropped like a rock 'n' roll atom bomb, the tried-and-true CORROSION OF CONFORMITY lineup of Pepper Keenan (vocals, guitar),Woody Weatherman (guitar),Reed Mullin (drums) and Mike Dean (bass) was still going strong. Four brothers united in a decades-long history kicked off by a roving pack of teenage punks in Raleigh, North Carolina circa 1982.

CORROSION OF CONFORMITY's first four albums left a permanent mark on headbangers, longhairs, and street punks everywhere: Underground classics "Eye For An Eye" (1984) and "Animosity" (1985) followed by slightly more overground bangers "Blind" (1991) and "Deliverance" (1994). By the time CORROSION OF CONFORMITY carved off "No Cross No Crown" nearly a quarter century later, they were legends in their own time, revered by two generations of punk, metal, and rock fans.

Then tragedy struck: In January 2020, Mullin left this earthly plane.

It was a devastating blow, both personally and professionally. How do you replace a brother? You can't. All you can do is soldier on in his memory. Which is what the rest of CORROSION OF CONFORMITY did — until COVID-19 shut down the globe. Then Dean decided to go his own way. It was an amicable split, but it left Pepper and Woody to contemplate their next move. They hunkered down at Keenan's place in Mississippi, listening to all the music they love. DISCHARGE. ZZ TOP. MOTÖRHEAD. Neil Young. BLACK SABBATH. You know: The good stuff.

They started writing. They didn't stop; not for a long time. In fact, they composed a massive double album.

"As we went on, we had such a crazy plethora of songs, it was almost like two different directions," Pepper says. "We knew we had to split it into two different albums. Then we came up with this concept."

The concept happens to be the title of the record. It's called "Good God / Baad Man".

"Our producer, Warren Riker, kept calling it 'Dark Side Of The Doom'," recalls Pepper. "In my head, it's a weird love letter to all things rock 'n' roll. We used that for the freedom to go in different directions. Each album is its own tiny universe and has its own identity. 'Good God' leans toward the heavier/pissed end of the spectrum. 'Baad Man' is more on the throwdown rock scope. As we went along, it became clear which songs went on which album."

They brought in drummer Stanton Moore, who played on CORROSION OF CONFORMITY's 2005 album "In The Arms Of God". They brought in bassist Bobby "Rock" Landgraf, who did time with Pepper in New Orleans heavyweights DOWN when he wasn't terrorizing the locals in his own band HONKY.

"With a lot of these songs, we're trying to make Reed Mullin proud," Pepper says. "He was a badass, and a one-of-a-kind drummer. And the stakes were high."

The band's first preview of this mammoth offering comes in the form of lead single, "Gimme Some Moore". The track features backing vocals from MINISTRY's Al Jourgensen and Madonna guitarist Monte Pittman. The hook of the song is, "Struggle is worth the fight/Leather, chains and spikes."

"Me and Woody wanted to write a song as if we were 17 years old again," Pepper explains. "We even made a seven-inch for it."

Said seven-inch, released during their Mexico/South American tour last month, is an early '80s punk throwback, complete with a black and white photo collage and a FEAR cover on the flipside. It's a ripper.

The video for "Gimme Some Moore" was filmed by Mike Holderbeast and directed by Pepper Keenan. Check it out below.

Produced by Grammy Award winner Warren Riker (FUGEES, DOWN, CATHEDRAL) and featuring cover art by famed New Orleans artist Scott Guion, "Good God / Baad Man" was recorded at Blak Shak Studios in Riffissippi, USA, Dockside Studios in Maurice, Louisiana, and BEE GEES legend Barry Gibb's home studio in Miami, Florida.

"Good God / Baad Man" recording lineup:

Pepper Keenan - guitar, vocals
Woody Weatherman - guitar
Stanton Moore - drums
Bobby Landgraf - bass

"Good God / Baad Man" track listing:

Album 1

01. Good God? / Final Dawn
02. You Or Me
03. Gimme Some Moore
04. The Handler
05. Bedouin's Hand
06. Run For Your Life

Album 2

07. Baad Man
08. Lose Yourself
09. Mandra Sonos
10. Asleep On The Killing Floor
11. Handcuff County
12. Swallowing The Anchor
13. Brickman
14. Forever Amplified

In support of "Good God / Baad Man", CORROSION OF CONFORMITY will return to stages this spring on a North American headlining tour with support provided by WHORES and CROBOT.

Photo by Danin Drahos

Jeffrey Hatrix (pictured),also known as Jeffrey Nothing (born Jeffrey Lewis Hetrick),formerly the haunting voice and co-founder behind Cleveland's pioneering alterna-metal and industrial collective MUSHROOMHEAD, has reached a settlement with the band's drummer and producer Steve "Skinny" Felton, ending a case in which Hatrix alleged copyright infringement and failure to pay him royalties that he was owed.

In his original lawsuit, which was filed in August 2024, Hatrix, who left MUSHROOMHEAD in 2018, claimed that he had not received royalties for his music "for several years at least", despite the fact that he wrote or helped write 148 songs during his time with the band.

On Monday, February 9, the two parties filed a notice of dismissal with prejudice in federal court in Cleveland, meaning that the suit may never be refiled or proceeded with in the future.

Jeffrey has since shared the following statement via social media: "As a lot of you know, there has been an ongoing lawsuit between myself and my former band. I'm happy to report that the situation is settled and over.

"From here out, there will be nothing negative about MUSHROOMHEAD or Skinny on my page. He came to the table amicably and honorably and we found a solution that made both of us happy.

"Skinny and I founded MUSHROOMHEAD and it's great to see the fanbase and community it has built. I'm proud of that and I know he is. MUSHROOMHEAD is his and I wish him the best. My creative baby is now my solo work.

"Will I ever work with SHROOM again? Time will tell. I'm not against it. But I have no ill feelings either way. I want everybody to win.

"Thank you all for your years of support and for having my back when it was needed, but from here on out it's nothing but positivity in that direction. I said I was done with drama and I meant it."

When Hatrix's lawsuit was first filed, he claimed that "most of the [MUSHROOMHEAD] performing arts copyright registrations were registered as Stephen Felton being the copyright claimant. And, although on many songs [Hatrix] was given proper credit for his participation in creating said works, there seems to be no record of mechanical royalty payments stemming from these performing arts registrations."

In the years prior to Hatrix's exit from MUSHROOMHEAD, "Felton's actions … became more nefarious, including the doctoring of publishing splits giving Skinny (Felton) double pay under 2 names 'Tenafly Viper' and just plain 'Steve Felton', along with 30% going to him under 'unknown publicist' and 'unknown writer'," the lawsuit read. "In fact, most of the publishing splits seem to have disappeared as plaintiff has not received any mechanical royalties to speak of for several years at least.

"Although the money coming increased, plaintiff was apparently receiving pennies on the dollar," the lawsuit added. "[Hatrix] was paid an 'allowance' $1,200 per week per, per tour. In fact, plaintiff was paid almost nothing beyond this and is due his publishing and other, royalties, income from touring, sales and royalties from film media, along with loss from other sources of income to be determined."

Hatrix's attorney Ronald Stanley told Cleveland.com in August 2024 that Hatrix was seeking at least $3.5 million, but clarified that "we don't know all what he is entitled to yet."

Jeffrey left MUSHROOMHEAD in March 2018, stating at the time: "I am coming to you today with a heavy heart to announce that I am leaving MUSHROOMHEAD. It is a decision that I did not make easily, but one I made for reasons that are best for me as an artist and musician at this juncture in my career." The vocalist went on to thank "the craziest, fucking loyal and amazing fans" for the "once in a lifetime privilege" of performing for them while touring and recording with the group.

A few months later, Hatrix discussed his exit while appearing on the "ADHD" podcast, saying that "my issue was there was only one chief [Steve Felton], and that's not how it started. That really catapulted us all backwards. I feel like we could have done so much more… Things could have all been different and friendly, but I don't believe my former band has that in their vocabulary. I never wanted it like that. It's odd."

He added: "I left the band because I couldn't do it anymore. I stayed for a long time for the fans and it just got to be like, 'Sorry I just can't do it anymore.' I was trying to leave on semi-amicable terms and then that never happened… I got to the point where I didn't even want to go on tour anymore. There was one tour where I felt like I was in need of having every tooth pulled out of my head. The stress was so bad, it felt like that. That ended up not being the case. Once I got home, I was fine. Sometimes a bus can feel like a prison cell or your bunk can feel like a casket or you're doing time or you're not even alive anymore… When it was cool, I liked it. When it became somebody's little game, for lack of a better word, it became very ugly and something I wanted to get out of as soon as I could."

As a lot of you know, there has been an ongoing lawsuit between myself and my former band. I'm happy to report that the...

Posted by Jeffrey Nothing on Monday, February 9, 2026

The Songwriters Hall Of Fame announced today that John Fogerty will be the 2026 recipient of the esteemed Johnny Mercer Award at the Songwriters Hall Of Fame induction and awards gala slated for Thursday, June 11 at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City.

The Johnny Mercer Award, the highest honor bestowed by the Songwriters Hall Of Fame, is exclusively reserved for a songwriter or songwriting team who has already been inducted in a prior year and whose body of work is of such high quality and impact that it upholds the gold standard set by the legendary Johnny Mercer. John Fogerty was inducted into the Songwriters Hall Of Fame in 2005.

Songwriters Hall Of Fame chairman Nile Rodgers said: "The first time I heard CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL, I was a mere highschooler. It was also the first time I heard John Fogerty's voice, one of the most distinctive ever. To this day I've never heard anyone else sound like him. His unique songwriting ability is another quality. He's one of those rare talents who is unmistakably himself. His style of composition is rock and roll mastery. It's what I've always personally believed in, something I call 'the art of complex simplicity.' He's done what I believe all great songwriters do. He makes us feel. He deserves this award as much as anyone who's ever received it, or will receive it, in the future. I send my congratulations to John Fogerty."

John Fogerty wrote and recorded some of the most enduring songs in American popular music. As the songwriter, singer, lead guitarist, arranger, and producer for CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL, his catalog includes "Proud Mary", "Fortunate Son", "Born On The Bayou", "Bad Moon Rising" and "Have You Ever Seen The Rain". Three of his songs — "Fortunate Son", "Bad Moon Rising" and "Have You Ever Seen The Rain" — have each surpassed one billion streams, placing Fogerty in Spotify's "Billions Club." These songs have remarkably continued to appear on the Billboard charts for six decades now, cementing Fogerty's place as a true master of songcraft.

Fogerty continued to expand his body of work as a solo artist with 11 studio albums including "Centerfield" (whose title track is the only song ever to be inducted into the Baseball Hall Of Fame),"Blue Moon Swamp" (which earned a Grammy Award for "Best Rock Album"),"The Blue Ridge Rangers" (1973),"Revival" (2007) and "The Blue Ridge Rangers Rides Again" (2009). In 2021, he released his first original song in eight years called "Weeping In The Promised Land", a poignant, gospel-tinged reflection on the social and political climate.

In 2023, Fogerty was able to regain the publishing rights to his songs, a victory that took over 50 years to achieve. In 2025, Fogerty released "Legacy: The Creedence Clearwater Revival Years", which marked a celebration of the reclamation of his storied catalog. The 20-track collection — produced by Fogerty and his son Shane, with executive production by his wife Julie — presents definitive new versions of his most beloved songs. The album debuted in the top 10 across multiple U.S. and global charts and earned widespread acclaim from Rolling Stone, NPR, The Guardian, Billboard, Los Angeles Times, Vulture, People, MOJO and more.

Fogerty's previous honors include an induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame and the American Music Honors. BMI has presented him with the Icon Award (2010),Board Of Directors Award (2023),and the Troubadour Award (2025),plus NAMM awarded him with the "Music For Life" honor (2023). Fogerty also has a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame (1998).

Past Johnny Mercer Award recipients include songwriting giants Stephen Schwartz (2025),Diane Warren (2024),Tim Rice (2023),Paul Williams (2022),Carole Bayer Sager (2019),Neil Diamond (2018),Alan Menken (2017),Lionel Richie (2016),Van Morrison (2015),Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff (2014),Elton John and Bernie Taupin (2013),Hal David and Burt Bacharach, Stevie Wonder, Carole King, Billy Joel, Paul Simon, Smokey Robinson, Dolly Parton, Holland-Dozier-Holland, Stephen Sondheim, Julie Styne, Sammy Cahn, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, Marilyn and Alan Bergman, and other writers of the same caliber.

TWISTED SISTER guitarist Jay Jay French says that legendary rock band had "no other choice but to cancel" its planned 50th-anniversary concerts.

On February 5, TWISTED SISTER announced it had scrapped its 2026 reunion shows after Snider resigned, citing health issues.

The band posted on social media that Dee's "sudden and unexpected resignation" forced the group to cancel all dates starting in April through the beginning of the summer.

On February 7, Jay Jay shared a video message on social media commemorating the 50th anniversary of Dee joining TWISTED SISTER. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET):  "Today is the actual 50th anniversary of the day that Dee auditioned in the band. 1976. Here's the diary entry. 'Danny Snider' — he wasn't Dee yet — 'auditions for TWISTED SISTER', February 7th, 1976.

"For the last 50 years, me and [TWISTED SISTER guitarist] Eddie [Ojeda] have stood side by side with Dee, not with hundreds of shows, but with thousands of shows.

"You know the cliché in sports, when a great sportsman retires, they say he left it on the field," Jay Jay continued. "Well, I can tell you when it comes to Dee, he left it on the stage. He gave everything his all, and his body is now telling him, 'I can't give you anymore.' And when someone tells you that, you have to accept it and you have to move on. So please understand this was a tough decision, but we had no other choice but to cancel these dates.

"As far as the future of TWISTED SISTER is concerned, Eddie Ojeda and I will have conversations in the next couple of weeks to discuss what, if any, options exist for us to continue.

"Until then, just know that the SMFs [an abbreviation for 'Sick Mother Fucker', which is what TWISTED SISTER fans are affectionately called] around the world are the thing that kept us alive and kept us going, and we love you guys and we will do everything we can to always live up to your expectations as fans, 'cause nobody understands fandom more than us. We appreciate everything that you've ever done for us and hopefully we'll see you again in the future. Thank you."

In a separate announcement on February 5, the 70-year-old Snider revealed that he had been diagnosed with degenerative arthritis and had undergone several surgeries for the condition "just to keep going, able to only perform a few songs at a time in pain."

"A lifetime of legendarily aggressive performing has taken its toll on Dee Snider's body and soul," the statement read. "Adding insult to injury, Dee has recently found out the level of intensity he has dedicated to his life's work has taken its toll on his heart as well. He can no longer push the boundaries of rock 'n' roll fury like he has done for decades."

Snider added that he doesn't "know of any other way to rock.

"The idea of slowing down is unacceptable to me. I'd rather walk away than be a shadow of my former self," he said.

"In the immortal words of Dirty Harry, 'A man's got to know his limitations.' Sadly, Dee Snider now knows his," the statement concluded.

TWISTED SISTER's 2026 shows were supposed to feature the band's three core members: Snider, French and Ojeda. Bassist Mark "The Animal" Mendoza was not going to be joining the celebration. Russell Pzütto, who has toured with Snider's solo projects, was slated to replace Mendoza on bass. Joe Franco, who briefly played with the group in the mid-1980s, was supposed to sit behind the drum kit, stepping in for A.J. Pero, who passed away in 2015 at the age of 55.

In a November 2025 interview with "Steve And Rik's POTcast", the podcast hosted by Steve Whiteman of KIX and his friend Rik Parks, Dee spoke about why he changed his mind about returning to the road, nine years after the completion of TWISTED SISTER's "40 And Fuck It!" farewell tour, and after he repeatedly slammed KISS and MÖTLEY CRÜE farewell tours and subsequent reunions as mere cash grabs. Dee said: "Why am I doing a reunion with TWISTED SISTER? [Sighs] I'll say that it was my idea. The [other] guys [in the band] couldn't even believe I was making the call. And it had to do with — I said this publicly already — I had a little bit of a health scare. It was okay, and it was okay, but it was enough to make me say, 'Wow, that was weird.' I never had to think about those things before. And I'm 70 years old, and I'm, like, 'Do I wanna go out like that, go silently, or do I wanna go kicking and screaming?' And I picked up the phone and I called up John and Eddie, Jay Jay and Eddie, and said, 'What do you think about getting together?' And they couldn't believe I was suggesting it, 'cause I told 'em,'[It's] not happening. [It will] never happen.' But circumstances, particularly [since] this was emotional circumstances, made me change my mind. Am I regretting it? A little bit right now, sorry to say. [Laughs]"

When Whiteman noted that Snider was "brave" to stage a TWISTED SISTER reunion after not performing a full set with the band in nearly a decade, Dee said: "I'm [either] brave or stupid. Up till TWISTED's retirement, and we did that in 2016 — I mean, first of all, I was 175 pounds, and I was shredded. I had a 29-inch waist. I was 62 years old, and people were going, 'What the actual fuck is going on there?' And I'd take my shirt off at every show and people would go, 'Damn, look at that guy.' I saw wives hitting their husbands, going, 'Why don't you look like that?' But what I really loved is the smiles, man. When you hit start singing and you are on and you're still delivering, the audience would just light up. And I'd see fathers doing like this to their sons, going, 'That's Dee fucking Snider.' They were being transported back to their youth through the performance. And it was the way they remembered it and I looked the way they remembered. And I loved that. And I walked away and said, 'Okay, I don't wanna ever see a look of dissatisfaction.'"

He continued: "Somebody was reviewing our show and said, 'When a reunion is good, it makes you feel young again. When it's bad, it makes you realize how old you've gotten.' And I wanna be the first part. And the review was, like, 'TWISTED SISTER made me feel I was 19.' But I never wanna be that guy where people go, 'Yeah, time's passed,' and make people feel old, just looking at me on stage."

Three years ago, TWISTED SISTER staged a one-off reunion at the Metal Hall Of Fame in Agoura Hills, California. On hand to be inducted into the Metal Hall Of Fame were Snider, French, Mendoza and drummer Mike Portnoy. Ojeda was absent from the event after contracting COVID-19; filling in for him was Keith Robert War. TWISTED SISTER played a highly charged three-song set consisting of the staples "You Can't Stop Rock 'N' Roll" and "Under The Blade", as well as the anthem "We're Not Gonna To Take It".

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

In a new interview with Stefan Nilsson of Roppongi Rocks, bassist/vocalist Schmier of thrash metal veterans DESTRUCTION was asked what keeps him going nearly four a half decades sinafterce the band's inception. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I think music is more than just… Music, it's a lifestyle. It' a feeling. And it makes me happy. It makes many people happy too.

"I tried, in all those years, to do some something else also beside music — I had my restaurant — but it always comes back that I'm a musician and the thing that makes me happy is to travel, see the fans, play live, write songs," Schmier explained. "And people are asking me, since 20 years, 'What are you gonna do after music?' And I said it yesterday in another interview, I guess after music I will drop dead, because music is something you do till the end. It's a passion, and it's not just a job. So I'm glad I'm still able to do this, as long as the fans wanna see us. And, yeah, we'll see how long we can play thrash metal — until the back hurts and the neck hurts — but at the moment we are in good shape. So hopefully we can have some more [good years ahead of us]."

Schmier also talked about the 2019 addition of DESTRUCTION guitarist Damir Eskić and 2021 arrival of guitarist Martin Furia. Damir is a Swiss guitar player of Bosnian decent who works as a guitar teacher, himself being a former pupil of Tommy Vetterli (CORONER). He also played in a heavy metal band called GOMORRA. The Argentinian-born, Belgian-based Furia is best known for his work as sound engineer and producer for such bands as NERVOSA and EVIL INVADERS.

"We're a quartet now [for] actually quite a while — [since] 2019. I think," Schmier said. "Now it's seven years already.

"I loved the trio thing. I grew up on MOTÖRHEAD and RUSH and VENOM and TRIUMPH and all the trios back then. But then you are always limited, and with two guitars, so many gates open. Aso, the songwriting is much nicer because you have more options. And live, it's, of course, more raw power, more double leads, more harmony leads.

"Heavy metal is meant to be two guitars," Schmier explained. "Even though I love the power trios and I love our phase as a trio, because every individual member has more to do with more pressure. But the creativity and everything is just much nicer. And the power, of course, if you're a four-piece."

Speaking about Furia, Schmier said: "He kind of grew into [the role of DESTRUCTION's second guitarist]. He was our tour manager and sound guy, and now he's our guitar player.

"When we looked for a guitar player, we looked for somebody that is not just a great player. He has to fit in the band," Schmier explained. "He has to know the band and the history. And he was actually the first guy we auditioned, and we said, 'Let's see if he's good enough.' But when he came, he was so well prepared, and we said, 'Man, we love the guy.' I remember when he came for the audition, we said, 'Let's hope he rehearsed.' We knew he was a solid player, but DESTRUCTION songs are tricky and there's a lot of shredding going on. And he's a producer. He is a sound engineer, and he's a good songwriter. So he's a great addition to the team."

DESTRUCTION will support TESTAMENT on the U.S. leg of the San Francisco Bay Area thrashers' "Thrash Of The Titans" world tour. The trek, which will launch in March, features additional support from fellow thrash legends OVERKILL.

DESTRUCTION's 16th studio album, "Birth Of Malice", was released in March 2025 via Napalm Records.

Schmier is joined in DESTRUCTION's current lineup by Furia and Eskić, along with drummer Randy Black.

"Birth Of Malice" was recorded at Switzerland's Little Creek Studio by V.O. Pulver. Furia mixed and mastered the LP at The Black Mancave in Hannover, Germany.

DESTRUCTION's massive career has seen many successes, with the band hitting stages at the world's biggest festivals around the world like Hellfest, Wacken Open Air, Graspop Metal Meeting and México Metal Fest.

In August 2021, DESTRUCTION officially parted ways with founding guitarist Mike Sifringer and replaced him with Furia.

MANOWAR has reacted to the news that the legendary metal band's founding guitarist Ross "The Boss" Friedman has been diagnosed with ALS, also known as known as Lou Gehrig's Disease.

Earlier today (Tuesday, February 10),MANOWAR shared the following statement via social media: "We heard the terrible news about Ross's diagnosis of ALS. We are deeply saddened and are sending him and his family lots of strength during this difficult time."

According to a press release from Friedman's publicist, the 72-year-old musician, who was also a founding member of THE DICTATORS, was diagnosed with the nervous system disease after several months of various symptoms.

"It's difficult to know what lies ahead, and it crushes me not to be able to play guitar, but the outpouring of love has been so, so strong," Friedman said in a statement.

"I'm absolutely blown away by the love and support from family, friends and fans. I love you all," he continued.

Before he was diagnosed, Friedman experienced weakness in his hands and legs. The aforementioned press release stated that the rocker had a series of "very minor strokes" that were thought to be the cause of his symptoms. However, dietary changes, exercises and physical therapy "did nothing to slow the progression or increase his strength."

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive, fatal neurodegenerative disease that destroys motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord, causing muscle weakness, paralysis, and loss of voluntary muscle control.

Ross recorded six albums with MANOWAR before leaving after 1988's "Kings Of Metal". His work with MANOWAR included such classic LPs as 1982's "Battle Hymns", 1983's "Into Glory Ride" and 1984's "Hail To England".

Back in November 2022, Ross said that his dismissal from MANOWAR more than three and a half decades ago was "the worst possible mistake ever made". Friedman reflected on his involvement with MANOWAR during an interview with the "Mike Nelson Show". Speaking about the last two LPs he made with the band, Ross said: "'Fighting The World' [1987] and 'Kings Of Metal' were two of the first digital records made. We recorded on something that's called the Synclavier. It was just a basic Pro Tools kind of thing. 'Fighting The World' sound was good, but 'Kings Of Metal' had a much better sound. And I think that 'Kings Of Metal' just came at a time that the band was peaking, especially in Europe. 'Cause I had done all the heavy lifting with the band. And then when it came out, boom — and then I was out of the band. How do you do that? For Joey [DeMaio, MANOWAR bassist and leader], it probably could be the worst… He fired me, by the way. And [it was] the worst possible mistake ever made, beside Mick Taylor leaving THE ROLLING STONES. Because the tour that could have resulted after 'Kings Of Metal' and the live record and the whole process was cut short. They had David Shankle — he's okay, but the whole energy of the band was gone. And it took six years to do the next record, 'The Triumph Of Steel'. I had done six records in six years with MANOWAR. And it took six years to do another record."

Asked why he was fired from MANOWAR, Ross said: "Well, when money and greed and all the same bullshit rears its ugly head in a business, things happen. I don't bullshit from nobody, and I wasn't gonna take bullshit from [Joey] — telling me what to wear, what to… First of all, wait a minute. When you met me, I had already done four major albums, major records on major labels. I had already done three with THE DICTATORS and one with SHAKIN' STREET. You had done zero. So all these people that we're talking to now I had met a long time ago in Europe. These guys like Malcolm Dome and Dante Bonutto and all these guys in Kerrang! [magazine], I'd been interviewed by them many times over before MANOWAR. I said, 'You can't tell me how to talk and what to say and what to dress.' But he knew that. All he wanted in his band was puppets… Money and greed, and him not having to have a partner like me, 50 percent partner [is the reason I was fired]. I don't like airing that out. But we see how great it was after I left. [Laughs]"

In 2021, Friedman was asked by Waste Some Time With Jason Green if he would consider playing with MANOWAR again, to which he said: "Well, if the financial arrangements were right. But [Joey is] the kind of scumbag that would never have that… I'll never say no, but you never know. I just called him a scumbag, so… It's not gonna happen. He's secure in the fact that MANOWAR are mediocre fucking pieces of shit right now. What they're putting out to the public [is] just terrible."

After BLABBERMOUTH.NET published Ross's comments from the Waste Some Time With Jason Green interview, he sent a short statement conveying a more conciliatory tone.

"I would like to apologize to MANOWAR, the fans and Joey for the insult," he wrote. "If anyone knows me, you know that's not my style for saying things like that. I violated my own rule. Again, I am truly sorry."

Ross clarified to the "Mike Nelson Show" that he only "apologized to the fans" for his comments. "What I said about him, I just said I went against what I believe in, is to not air that shit out in public. And I apologized to the MANOWAR fans for saying that. I didn't apologize to him."

During the aforementioned Waste Some Time With Jason Green interview, Friedman stated about the circumstances surrounding his exit from MANOWAR more than three and a half decades ago: "When a band gets big and the money hits, greed, avarice and evil takes place. A guy that I thought was my partner wasn't," he said, referring to DeMaio. "So he wanted me [out]. He goes, 'You've gotta go.' I go, 'Really? I've gotta go why? I've gotta go why? We're equal partners, 50 percent. Why do I have to go? Why don't you go?' The whole thing is he was so — his antics and his bullshit was so insane that I had it up to [my neck] with him. When you have it up to [your neck] with someone, you've just gotta go, 'Get the fuck outta here. I can't take this anymore.'

"[It was] ego, greed, avarice, evil [that caused me to depart]," he explained. "When [Joey] met me, I had already four major albums. He had done zero. Joey DeMaio was nobody. When he met me, I had already done four. I had no will to fight him. If I were to fight him, I would have killed him. He's just a fucking pariah… You can't live with that. My heart couldn't take it. I can't take evil. And I know people are gonna be… [It's gonna be] hard [for them] to hear that, but I'm better off now. I really am."

Earlier in 2022, Friedman told Sofa King Cool about the 40th anniversary of "Battle Hymns": "It is obviously an iconic record that has pretty much started power metal. We pretty much put power metal on the map with that record. 'Cause there really wasn't power metal before that. I mean, [Ronnie James] Dio did some things amazingly, and Ritchie Blackmore's RAINBOW, of course, but I think 'Battle Hymns' was the first real, true power metal record. That was my baby."

Ross was one of the pioneers of both punk rock and heavy metal. First crashing on the scene with THE DICTATORS and with such classic albums as 1975's "Go Girl Crazy!", 1977's "Manifest Destiny" and 1978's "Bloodbrothers", Ross helped trailblaze punk rock (just to put it all in perspective, "Go Girl Crazy!" arrived a full year before the RAMONES' debut, and two years before THE CLASH's and SEX PISTOLS' debuts). By the end of the '80s, Ross had reconnected with his DICTATORS bandmates in MANITOBA'S WILD KINGDOM, which served as a bridge between his love of punk and metal, as heard on the group's popular 1990 debut, "…And You?" Throughout the remainder of the decade, Ross also played with such groups as THE HELLACOPTERS and THE SPINATRAS, before THE DICTATORS reunited, which resulted in several new releases starting from the late '90s all the way through the early 21st century. Also around this time, Ross joined forces with former of BLUE ÖYSTER CULT drummer Albert Bouchard in the band BRAIN SURGEONS. With Ross's main focus turning to metal music at this time, two additional projects were launched — DEATH DEALER and his solo outfit, ROSS THE BOSS.

Next month, Rhino will release "Breaking Out Of Heaven 2007-2009", a new collection focusing on the final chapter of Ronnie James Dio's celebrated tenure with members of BLACK SABBATH. Reuniting with Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Vinny Appice under the name HEAVEN & HELL, the band returned to the stage and studio decades after their original run for an unexpected second act.

"Breaking Out Of Heaven 2007-2009" will be available March 27 as 7LP and 4CD/Blu-ray boxed sets. Both editions include an illustrated book with new liner notes by Hugh Gilmour, along with a replica tour book and poster. Order now here.

An official unboxing video for "Breaking Out Of Heaven 2007-2009" can be seen below.

The collection marks the first time the complete "Live From Radio City Music Hall" performance appears on vinyl, and features eight tracks making their vinyl debut, including studio recordings from "The Dio Years" and select live performances. The Blu-ray expands the set with video from "Live From Radio City Music Hall" and "Neon Nights: 30 Years Of Heaven & Hell - Live At Wacken", plus band interviews.

An HD-upscaled video of "Bible Black" is also out now. Watch it below.

The set follows the band's reunion run, beginning with their triumphant 2007 New York performance, "Live From Radio City Music Hall", followed by the Top 10 studio album "The Devil You Know" in 2009, and the live album "Neon Nights: 30 Years Of Heaven & Hell - Live at Wacken", recorded later that year on tour in Germany.

"Breaking Out Of Heaven 2007-2009" 4CD track listing:

Disc One: The Devil You Know

01. Atom And Evil
02. Fear
03. Bible Black
04. Double The Pain
05. Rock And Roll Angel
06. The Turn Of The Screw
07. Eating The Cannibals
08. Follow The Tears
09. Neverwhere
10. Breaking Into Heaven

Bonus tracks from The Dio Years

11. The Devil Cried
12. Shadow Of The Wind
13. Ear In The Wall

Disc Two: Live From Radio City Music Hall

01. E5150 / After All (The Dead)
02. The Mob Rules
03. Children Of The Sea
04. Lady Evil
05. I
06. The Sign Of The Southern Cross
07. Voodoo
08. The Devil Cried

Disc Three: Live From Radio City Music Hall

01. Computer God
02. Falling Off the Edge Of The World
03. Shadow Of The Wind
04. Die Young
05. Heaven And Hell
06. Lonely Is the Word
07. Neon Knights

Disc Four: Neon Nights: 30 Years Of Heaven & Hell

01. Mob Rules
02. Children Of The Sea
03. I
04. Bible Black
05. Time Machine
06. Fear
07. Falling Off The Edge Of The World
08. Follow The Tears
09. Die Young
10. Heaven And Hell
11. Neon Knights

Breaking Out Of Heaven 2007–2009 7LP Track Listing

LP One: The Devil You Know

Side One

01. Atom and Evil
02. Fear
03. Bible Black

Side Two

01. Double The Pain
02. Rock And Roll Angel
03. The Turn Of The Screw
04. Eating The Cannibals

LP Two: The Devil You Know

Side One

01. Follow The Tears
02. Neverwhere
03. Breaking Into Heaven

Side Two: Bonus Tracks

01. The Devil Cried (from "The Dio Years")
02. Shadow Of The Wind (from "The Dio Years")
03. Ear In The Wall (from "The Dio Years")

LP Three: Live from Radio City Music Hall

Side One

01. E5150 / After All (The Dead)
02. The Mob Rules
03. Children Of The Sea

Side Two

01. Lady Evil
02. I
03. The Sign Of The Southern Cross

LP Four: Live from Radio City Music Hall

Side One

01. Voodoo
02. The Devil Cried

Side Two

01. Computer God
02. Falling Off the Edge Of The World
03. Shadow Of The Wind

LP Five: Live from Radio City Music Hall

Side One

01. Die Young
02. Heaven And Hell

Side Two

01. Lonely Is the Word
02. Neon Knights

LP Six: Neon Nights: 30 Years Of Heaven & Hell

Side One

01. Mob Rules
02. Children Of The Sea
03. I

Side Two

01. Bible Black
02. Time Machine
03. Fear

LP Seven: Neon Nights: 30 Years Of Heaven & Hell

Side One

01. Falling Off The Edge Of The World
02. Follow The Tears
03. Die Young

Side Two

01. Heaven And Hell
02. Neon Knights

Blu-Ray Video Content

Live from Radio City Music Hall

Extras:

* Heaven And Hell Road Movie
* Hail The Gods Of Metal
* Meet The Mob
* Radio City
* The Wisdom Of Dio

Neon Nights: 30 Years Of Heaven & Hell

Extras:

30th-Anniversary Interviews

* Ronnie James Dio
* Geezer Butler
* Vinny Appice
* Tony Iommi

Ronnie James Dio Tribute (2010)

* Tony Iommi
* Vinny Appice
* Geezer Butler

Dio replaced Ozzy Osbourne in BLACK SABBATH in 1980, recording the "Heaven And Hell" and "Mob Rules" albums, plus "Live Evil", before leaving in 1982. He rejoined the group 10 years later for an album called "Dehumanizer", and again teamed with the group under the HEAVEN & HELL banner in 2006. HEAVEN & HELL released the aforementioned "The Devil You Know" in 2009.

Ronnie passed away of stomach cancer on May 16, 2010 at the age of 67.

Dio was renowned throughout the world as one of the greatest and most influential vocalists in heavy metal history. The singer was diagnosed with cancer in late 2009. He underwent chemotherapy and made what is now his final public appearance in April 2010 at the Revolver Golden Gods Awards in Los Angeles.

Ronnie's long-awaited autobiography, titled "Rainbow In The Dark: The Autobiography", was released on July 2021 via Permuted Press.

In 2006, BLACK SABBATH members Dio, Iommi, Geezer Butler and Vinny Appice reunited to record a trio of new songs for Rhino's "Black Sabbath: The Dio Years" before launching a greatly acclaimed world tour under their new moniker HEAVEN & HELL.

"The Devil You Know" sold 30,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release back in May 2009 to debut at position No. 8 on The Billboard 200 chart.

In September 2022, Iommi told Metal Talk about Dio: "It was real sad [when he died] because we were really on a roll when we'd done [the debut HEAVEN & HELL album] 'The Devil You Know' and we were touring and we were really enjoying it. And I remember talking to Ronnie when we were in Japan. We went for dinner one night. We said, 'Look, we're not gonna say we're gonna go for five years or whatever. We'll just try it and see where it goes. So we'd done the tour; we loved it and we enjoyed it. And when we were in this restaurant, I said to Ronnie, 'Do you fancy doing anything more?' And he said, 'Oh, yeah. We've gotta do another album. Let's do another album, another tour.' And that was the plan. That's what we were gonna do. And, of course, Ronnie didn't make it. But it was going so well and we had a great time being together. We loved working together. I loved working with Ronnie."

Iommi previously reflected on his time recording and touring with Dio as his bandmate in both BLACK SABBATH and HEAVEN & HELL in an April 2021 interview with Rockin' Metal Revival. At the time he said: "The last tour we did with Ronnie was real precious, and we had such a great time. And we really bonded. The last generation of the period with Ronnie was really close — everybody was close. Yeah, Ronnie was such a really nice person.

"What I liked about Ronnie [is] he gave everybody time," Tony continued. "It was just remarkable. Before the show, he'd have people in his dressing room — 'cause we'd have separate dressing rooms — he'd have people in there talking away and drinking and whatever. And he never warmed up or anything; he'd never done any kind of warming-up procedure before he went on stage. And he'd walk on stage and he'd just [sound] unbelievable; his voice was spot-on. It was just amazing, really, how he could do that.

"He was a really nice, caring character. He'd call me up — even just before he passed, he was on the phone to me, calling me from the hospital.

"It was very sad, really, [when he died]," Iommi added. "But he thought a lot of everybody — he really did. And he loved his fans."

Photo credit: Chapman Baehler (courtesy of James Sherry of Division PR for Rhino)

In a recent interview with Ben Weiss, host of the Legends N Leaders podcast, Gene Simmons spoke about KISS's musical and cultural relevance. He said in part (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I don't care. You just brought up a subject I could give a fuck about… Well, there's 'popular' and then there are words like 'relevance'. Who determines relevance? Critics? What is that word? How do you [become] relevant? Who does that? Or is it the American ideal? Of the people, for the people, by the people. The first words are 'we the people'. That's relevance to me… The fact that, for instance, IRON MAIDEN is not in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, when they can sell out stadiums, and Grandmaster Flash [one of hip-hop's original innovators] is.

"[Legendary rapper] Ice Cube and I had a back-and-forth [on this subject], and he's a bright guy and I respect what he's done," Gene continued. "It's not my music. I don't come from the ghetto. It doesn't speak my language. And I said in print many times, hip-hop does not belong in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, nor does opera, symphony orchestras. How come the New York Philharmonic doesn't get [inducted into] the Rock And Roll [Hall Of Fame]? 'Cause it's called the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. But he shot back and said, No, it's the spirit of rock and roll.' Okay, fine. So Ice Cube and Grandmaster Flash and all these guys are in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. I just wanna know when LED ZEPPELIN's gonna be in the Hip-Hop Hall Of Fame. 'Oh, you can't do that?' Oh, really?

"Music has labels because it describes an approach," Simmons explained. "By and large, rap, hip-hop is a spoken-word art. You put beats in back of it and somebody comes up with a musical phrase, but it's verbal. There are some melodies, but by and large it's a verbal thing — it's rhyming and all that. And I know [rapper] Eminem can [rap really quickly]. I wish him more success. I really don't give a fuck. It just doesn't speak to me. With the genius of being able to put words and music and arrange it, it's much more complex.

"The hardest thing to do is to write a simple, memorable song," Simmons said. "Much easier is to do EDM [electronic dance music]… And by the way, I'm a fan of it. I love anything that makes people happy. But in terms of talent? … There are no tribute bands to [American DJ, singer, producer and electronic dance music artist] Skrillex. Nobody covers those songs. And by the way, when you go to an EDM concert, I love the passion and the fans taking crack and sticking it up their ass, whatever they do. I've never been high. You're 19. You're trying to get laid. You can't form a sentence. So you take some medicine and then all of a sudden you're fluent and things happen. I understand the ritual. It's tribal. There's not a garage band, a new band that goes, 'Fuck. The SWISS MAFIA [Editor's note: presumably referring to the Swedish house supergroup SWEDISH HOUSE MAFIA] are a have got this thing that I love. Let's try to do a version of it and play it in the club.' Nobody does that."

Asked if he is happy with the state of music today, Gene said: "I think it's wonderful. I've seen some amazingly talented people, but the saddest thing of all is that the industry, the business… It's always been called music 'business'. The fools, the hippies, the socialists, the communists think it's called music. No. Even in the Renaissance, the only way the classical musicians survived is that they had to be sponsored. Mozart piano concertos and all that, somebody had to pay for that.

"The biggest problem is that the next BEATLES, the next Elvis [Presley] is not gonna have a chance because record companies don't give out advances," Gene explained. "There's no business. Fans are downloading for zero, next to it, so if you're a musician, you can't get paid for your art.

"I've seen so many talented musicians, artists, singers, all these people that get up on 'The Voice' and 'American Idol' — a lot of people have talent. They'll be back at the Holiday Inn singing 'Hang On Sloopy' or something.

"1958 until 1988 — that's 30 years," Simmons added. "Elvis Presley, THE BEATLES, [Jimi] Hendrix, [THE ROLLING] STONES, PINK FLOYD — you can go on — music still resonates to the highest degree. BEATLES just had another No. 1. By the way, that includes [David] Bowie, Prince, Motown, the heavy bands. AC/DC, ourselves, if you like — we came out in the early '70s. AEROSMITH — your favorite, what's called classic rock or pop or all that. And then from 1988 until today — where are THE BEATLES? Where's Hendrix? Where's that pivotal artist that shakes the rafters? You have popular artists. Taylor [Swift] has been the most popular artist, perhaps of all time. That does not move the needle. New bands don't form and say, 'Let's do 10 Taylor songs.' No, that's fame versus something deeper. So when you go to see a bar band, they're gonna be playing the song. They'll play 'Freebird', they'll play 'Satisfaction', they'll play the songs that have stood the test of time.

"You know what the biggest song of all time was? 'Gangnam Style' [by South Korean singer Psy]," Gene concluded. "Billions, billions of downloads. They were massive. Does that move the needle? No. It's good fun. Like sugar. You get that [instant energy boost], and then it's gone. Very few things stick to the bones."

KISS played its two final shows in makeup ever in December 2023 at New York City's Madison Square Garden.

The last show, held on December 2, 2023, streamed live on pay-per-view.

KISS launched its farewell trek in January 2019 but was forced to put it on hold in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"End Of The Road" was originally scheduled to conclude on July 17, 2021 in New York City. The trek was announced in September 2018 following a KISS performance of the band's classic song "Detroit Rock City" on "America's Got Talent".

In early 2024, KISS sold its entire music catalog, likeness and brand name to Swedish company Pophouse Entertainment. A biopic, an avatar show, and a KISS-themed experience are in the works, with Simmons and Paul Stanley playing key roles in the development of all these projects, working closely with Pophouse.

Power metal legends MASTERPLAN, who are led by former HELLOWEEN guitarist Roland Grapow, will release their new studio album, "Metalmorphosis", on June 26, 2026 via Frontiers Music Srl.

To celebrate the announcement, the band has share a new single and accompanying video, "Chase The Light", available below.

Grapow described the single as "a dark and aggressive track about fear, control, and a world that feeds on pain. It shows how power rises while compassion fades, trapping people in silence and despair. The song pushes through chaos and suffering toward release — a call to break free, heal old wounds, and reclaim your strength".

Grapow expressed his enthusiasm for MASTERPLAN's record — the band's first new songs since "Novum Initium", released in 2013. "Metalmorphosis" really captures what this album means to us: a transformation, but still true to the spirit of MASTERPLAN," he said. "We've grown over the years, both as musicians and as people, and you can hear that in the new songs. Some ideas go back many years, and now they've finally come to life. It's powerful, melodic, and emotional — classic MASTERPLAN, but with a new energy".

MASTERPLAN stands among the most enduring and influential names in German power metal. Founded in 2001 by Grapow and drummer Uli Kusch following their exit from HELLOWEEN, the band quickly established a distinctive identity built on strong melodies, technical precision and an epic-yet-modern metal approach.

MASTERPLAN's self-titled debut album, released in 2003, was met with widespread critical acclaim and immediate chart success, setting the standard for a career defined by consistency and evolution.

Over the years, MASTERPLAN has released several highly regarded albums — including "Aeronautics", "MK II", "Time To Be King" and "Novum Initium" — each showcasing refined songwriting and a powerful balance between classic power metal energy and progressive elements. Their work earned them international recognition, extensive touring across Europe and beyond, and industry accolades that confirmed their status as a leading force in the genre.

After a prolonged hiatus from studio releases, MASTERPLAN has re-emerged with renewed creative drive. The band recently signed a new worldwide deal with Frontiers Music Srl, marking a significant milestone and the beginning of a new chapter in their career.

This partnership sets the stage for their long-awaited return with a brand-new studio album, "Metalmorphosis", representing both transformation and continuity: a heavier, more aggressive edge combined with the melodic sophistication that has always defined MASTERPLAN's sound.

With renewed focus, sharpened songwriting, and decades of experience behind them, MASTERPLAN are poised to reaffirm their relevance and deliver one of the most anticipated power metal releases of the year.

"Metalmorphosis" track listing:

01. Chase The Light
02. Electric Nights
03. Shadow Man
04. Bound To Fall
05. Pain Of Yesterday
06. Metalmorphosis
07. Through The Storm
08. Ghostlight
09. The Call
10. Rise Again (album version)

In a recent interview with Brazil's Todo Mundo Em Campo, Roland stated about "Metalmorphosis":  "It was a long progress and process [making the record]. I think we started to make this album already five years ago, and — I don't know — it took so long. And the idea was for me to make a bit more direct, not so much progressive elements. Not too melodic. I mean, I love melodies. I love melodic stuff, but not so poppy, commercial. So that's why the new album [is] called metal 'Metalmorphosis'. So we went a bit back more to the harder direction of — maybe MASTERPLAN never had it. Who knows? But we still have the elements — we have the midtempo numbers, we have still progressive elements, but somehow I felt like this album is more direct. And that was my inspiration. And I didn't wanna make any compromise. Maybe next album's even more harder. You never know. Depends how the people will like it."

He continued: "It's a natural progress. Because you can't repeat yourself. I'm not that kind of guy — I don't like to repeat myself too much. If I would make the same album every time, I would feel, like, 'Nah.' That's not me. I like to be in a challenge situation. Not going too far left and right, but always a bit — see what you can do. And the lyrics are about more critical as well — not only happy and positive. But they're still positive because it's my, or our, mentality. But it's more critical here and there, to mention something what's going on in this crazy world."

Last October, Grapow told Argentina's El Cuartel Del Metal that he and his MASTERPLAN bandmates already filmed three music videos in support of the "Metalmorphosis" album. Grapow also talked about the inspiration for the "Metalmorphosis" album title, explaining: "The reason for this name was a bit like my kind of thinking that we have a bit more metalish influences again, back to the roots, you can say. Still proggy elements, still MASTERPLAN elements. I would say not so many pop songs. So that's my taste. I don't know — maybe I'm wrong. But we still have a good combination of nice melodies on every song."

Grapow addressed MASTERPLAN's switch from longtime label AFM Records to Frontiers Music Srl, saying: "Basically, we were lucky with AFM very much in the beginning, because the owner — Andy Allendörfer was his name, [and he] died after the second album of MASTERPLAN — and he was a very, very big MASTERPLAN fan, so we felt the support a lot. And after he died, everything changed drastically. The company went totally in different hands. The location changed — they went to Hamburg from kind of South Germany — and we always heard, like, we were priority, but later I had the feeling we were just one of hundreds [of bands on the label]. And so I lost a bit interest. That's why we didn't release any new material. I was basically more working in the studio for other bands, for 14 years maybe. And that's why I'm now concentrated with Frontiers. [It's] some fresh wind. The guy who takes care about us from Frontiers is a big Roland Grapow fan, MASTERPLAN fan and also HELLOWEEN fan. So that means he knows what he is liking and doing. And so when he heard the new album, he said, 'Wow, that's a very powerful, strong album.' So he was really happy. So this is the kind of relationship I need — I need some attention and feelings from the record label, not being [just] like a business partner."

Earlier in October, Grapow was asked by the Honduras rock radio station Conexión if the goal with the new MASTERPLAN album was to stick with the band's classic sound or experiment a little bit. Roland said: "I think both. I'm always thinking about how we have the typical MASTERPLAN style. I mean, it's my style of playing guitar, arranging the songs. It doesn't matter who writes the songs; I'm always responsible for arranging it and say 'yes, it's good' or not. And in that case, I'm not so easy going, because I have a concept. We started it and I don't want to leave the concept too much left and right, but I like to make experiments and I think it's also the strength of MASTERPLAN. We always did little bit left and right. Also, also when you see 'Time To Be King' [2010], this album was more heavier, more open, more different — not too power metalish, but still great. I love this album. But this time we go back a little bit to a new experiment with meets power metal style of MASTERPLAN. We have some elements ala 'Kind Hearted Light'. We have prog elements; we always had prog elements. Like 'Soulburn', definitely, is kind of a bit proggy song, and we always had it in many, many songs. It's, like, on one song on each album, it was a prog element. Or a lower key, like 'Bleeding Eyes' — very low tuning, which I need a different guitar for it; I can't play it with normal tuning. And I'm always open for this. We have also a couple of songs left, which we don't use this time because I think we went too far, if we would use these two, three songs which are left. One, really, is a very happy song, which is not typical MASTERPLAN; it's more like a HELLOWEEN song, to be honest. Could [have been] written by Weiki [HELLOWEEN guitarist Michael Weikath]. And I said, 'Nah, not now. Next time.' But it's a beautiful song. I like it. And then we have one song, it's a ballad and it's very Irish-sounding. And I also thought, 'This is too much now.' So we have 10 songs now, and, yeah, I'm pretty happy. Every song is a bit different. I don't like to have 10 songs the same, like AC/DC or something — not to make them degrading and something. It's just a style, which I think it's a bit boring."

He added: "Everything I learned in HELLOWEEN, I still keep arranging in my part as a guitar player. MASTERPLAN is just more modern HELLOWEEN style, kind of, with a mix of my old heroes like RAINBOW, DEEP PURPLE, maybe even the bands which are not metal at all, like FOREIGNER, STYX, KANSAS, TOTO. I'm the biggest TOTO fan in the '80s. Steve Lukather was my idol. I have many, many solo elements I'm playing from him. I learned from him. You see, I'm just showing all my idols melted in one — it's like a melting pot. But I think the new album is pretty good."

Asked in a separate interview with Zona Franca who composed the music and lyrics for the upcoming MASTERPLAN album, Roland said: "The music is composed by Axel Mackenrott, the keyboard player, and myself. We have two guest writers, friends of mine. One is from Slovakia, one is from Sweden. So the lyrics, basically — of the 10 songs, I did the lyrics for nine songs, and Rick [Altzi, MASTERPLAN singer] had one [set of] lyrics written. And that's it. Yeah, it's more or less teamwork."

Earlier in 2025, Grapow told Jarkko Lunnas about the musical direction of the new MASTERPLAN material: "I think it's still sounding like MASTERPLAN. I mean, it's my guitars, my arrangements, my mixing, kind of. You have to develop somehow. You can't repeat yourself. And I think every band, once in a while, or every musician has a peak in his career, and I think it would be not possible, and I don't even know any musician who was mega famous and he went better and better with a higher age. I think it's not possible."

He continued: "I call it a bit more — for my taste — a bit more back to the roots. It's more metal. We have a couple of progressive elements always, but maybe one song I wrote is very progressive but very fast and double bass. But we have also some more rock songs or metal songs in a typical way. So I didn't want it to make it too bluesy or too progressive this time, but we still have every element inside. It's my style. I can't do just like AC/DC, one style. It's not possible for me. Or I could, but I would get so much bored. Then I think, 'Oh, no, I don't like to do that.' You need to make yourself happy in a way, and then hope that the people like it."

In 2017, MASTERPLAN released an album titled "PumpKings", containing reworked versions of HELLOWEEN songs from albums that Grapow played on during his time in the legendary German power metal band. Included are three songs from HELLOWEEN's "Pink Bupples Go Ape" (1991) LP, two from "Chameleon" (1993),three from "Master Of The Rings" (1994),one from "The Time Of The Oath" and two from "The Dark Ride" (2000).

MASTERPLAN's first-ever concert release came out in October 2015. "Keep Your Dream aLive" was made available as DVD/CD and Blu-ray/CD sets, both including the entire show from Masters Of Rock festival, recordings from Wacken Open Air, footage from the band's Asian tour and ProgPower USA, as well as all five official MASTERPLAN video clips. The Masters Of Rock show is featured on the CD.

MASTERPLAN's latest studio album of all original material, "Novum Initium", was released in June 2013 via AFM.

A new MASTERPLAN single, "Rise Again" was made available in early 2024 via AFM Records. A reworked version of "Rise Again" will be made available on "Metalmorphosis".

MASTERPLAN is gearing up for a European tour, starting on April 12.

Photo credit: Patric Ullaeus

Ross "The Boss" Friedman, a founding member of both MANOWAR and THE DICTATORS, whose influence in heavy metal and punk is noticeable to this day, has been diagnosed with ALS, also known as known as Lou Gehrig's Disease.

A statement from Ross's publicist reads as follows: "Ross 'The Boss' Friedman, founding member of punk rock legends THE DICTATORS and heavy metal stalwarts MANOWAR, has been diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS),commonly known as Lou Gehrig's Disease. The diagnosis followed several months of seemingly unrelated symptoms that included weakness in his hands and legs. A series of very minor strokes was initially thought to have been the cause, but changes in diet, exercise and added physical therapy did nothing to slow the progression or increase his strength."

The 72-year-old Friedman added in his own statement: "It's difficult to know what lies ahead, and it crushes me not to be able to play guitar, but the outpouring of love has been so, so strong. I'm absolutely blown away by the love and support from family, friends and fans. I love you all."

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive, fatal neurodegenerative disease that destroys motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord, causing muscle weakness, paralysis, and loss of voluntary muscle control.

Ross recorded six albums with MANOWAR before leaving after 1988's "Kings Of Metal". His work with MANOWAR included such classic LPs as 1982's "Battle Hymns", 1983's "Into Glory Ride" and 1984's "Hail To England".

Ross was one of the pioneers of both punk rock and heavy metal. First crashing on the scene with THE DICTATORS and with such classic albums as 1975's "Go Girl Crazy!", 1977's "Manifest Destiny" and 1978's "Bloodbrothers", Ross helped trailblaze punk rock (just to put it all in perspective, "Go Girl Crazy!" arrived a full year before the RAMONES' debut, and two years before THE CLASH's and SEX PISTOLS' debuts). By the end of the '80s, Ross had reconnected with his DICTATORS bandmates in MANITOBA'S WILD KINGDOM, which served as a bridge between his love of punk and metal, as heard on the group's popular 1990 debut, "…And You?" Throughout the remainder of the decade, Ross also played with such groups as THE HELLACOPTERS and THE SPINATRAS, before THE DICTATORS reunited, which resulted in several new releases starting from the late '90s all the way through the early 21st century. Also around this time, Ross joined forces with former of BLUE ÖYSTER CULT drummer Albert Bouchard in the band BRAIN SURGEONS. With Ross's main focus turning to metal music at this time, two additional projects were launched — DEATH DEALER and his solo outfit, ROSS THE BOSS.

Legendary U.S. metal label Combat Records will be relaunched this year under the new ownership of former Eternal Sound Records owner Robert Dujmusic and Alex Stojak.

Most will remember Combat as one of the seminal thrash labels of the 1980s, their most prominent artist being, of course, MEGADETH. Combat was also home to HELSTAR, CIRCLE JERKS, EXODUS, NUCLEAR ASSAULT and many of the most influential metal and punk bands of all time.

After a handful of ownership changes and attempted reboots, Combat went dormant in the mid-2000s, the catalog got absorbed by Sony, and the label itself ceased to exist. In 2016, then-MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson, with his then-partner Thom Hazaert from EMP Label Group, did the due diligence to research and acquire the intellectual property for the Combat Records brand, and bring it home to the EMP family.

As of January 2026, Combat Records will now be run under the new ownership of independent movie producers Alex Stojak and Robert Dujmusic from its new office in Gottingen, Germany.

The label has already expanded its infrastructure into distribution, PR, festivals and touring and has confirmed its first wave of releases, including several established bands as well as offering
development opportunities to emerging artists. Also on the team is former Eternal Sound partner Nicole Wendeborn as A&R manager and Christian "Opus" Lawrence (ex-CRO-MAGS drummer and current drummer for DEAD BY WEDNESDAY and TANTRIC) as U.S. manager.

Dujmusic, former owner of the now inactive Eternal Sound Records and Heavyspace touring agency, says of the acquisition: "It is the honor of a lifetime to be able to continue the legacy of such an important part of heavy music history and I'm super excited for what we've got coming up. Combat is back!"

Ellefson adds: "It's good to know that the Combat Records brand has landed into the right hands and will continue to thrive with Christian and Rob at the helm."

Updates will be announced on the newly invigorated Combat Records web site and social media accounts, to be launched soon.

2017 artwork by Melody Myers (courtesy of O'Donnell Media Group / Combat)

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Posted by Mindsnap Music on Friday, February 6, 2026

In a new interview with 93.3 WMMR's Brent Porche, GUNS N' ROSES guitarist Slash spoke about the status of the songwriting and recording sessions for the next SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY & THE CONSPIRATORS album. Slash said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It's done. We just finished mixing it. I finished the sequence yesterday. It's a killer record, man. We're excited about it, but it doesn't come out till the GUNS tour's over. So it'll get released in probably January of 2027, and then there'll be a whole world tour that goes along with that. So I had to wait to release it because GUNS is out from March through December of this year. So [we're] putting it out in 2027. But it's done."

Last month, SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY & THE CONSPIRATORS singer Myles Kennedy, who is also the frontman of ALTER BRIDGE, told Anne Erickson of Audio Ink Radio about the next SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY & THE CONSPIRATORS album: "All the tracks are recorded. I finished my vocals back in, let's see, August of 2025… And then the goal is to get it released soon. We've got this ALTER BRIDGE tour cycle and album cycle, and then we'll see, after that, how quickly we can put out some new music with SLASH & THE CONSPIRATORS."

Regarding the musical direction of the new SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY & THE CONSPIRATORS material, Myles said: "Oh, it's definitely… The thing about that band is it's a certain approach that we keep consistent throughout. I don't think you're ever gonna get a record of synth pop, but it's because the fans expect a certain thing, and it's what we do. And so we try not to veer too far from that. But we'll let people judge for themselves when it comes out."

Last October, Slash told SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" about the next SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY & THE CONSPIRATORS LP: "It doesn't come out till 2027. But then we're gonna do a full-blown tour. And that's the thing, is I had to find a window where I could do a full-scale tour with the CONSPIRATORS. And I didn't wanna release it until I was able to do that, and 2027 is the real window for it. So that's when the record comes out."

As for how the new SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY & THE CONSPIRATORS LP turned out, Slash said: "It's really cool — the record's badass. All things considered, I don't like to hype a record up, but I'm excited about it."

Slash previously revealed in an August 2025 social media post that the recording sessions for SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY & THE CONSPIRATORS were completed. He wrote at the time: "Recording for #SMKC record number 5 is done today. Album title [to be confirmed]. This has been a super cool session all around. & we all agree it's one of, if not the best one yet. Unfortunately you'll have to wait till 2027 to weigh in, too much going on next year to put it out. But it will be worth the wait. Full blown world tour to follow!"

In a separate interview with J.J. Caithcart of Different Stages Radio, SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY & THE CONSPIRATORS drummer Brent Fitz stated about the band's next album: "Slash has the greatest work ethic of any musician I've ever worked with. So, we got busy. We toured together in 2024, and then we were out doing other things, and then Slash did a blues record and tour. And then, as soon as that was done, we got right into the studio in L.A. He has an amazing working studio. We can be busy there in L.A. We did that for a month, and then we went out to Florida and recorded most of all the bed tracks, the music parts of it."

Asked if there was a working title for the upcoming SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY & THE CONSPIRATORS album, Brent said: "Nothing. No, no. It's always gonna be a Myles thing, or Slash, just songtitles and lyric ideas. I will say that what's fun is when we do write these songs, and this'll be our fifth record together, but we always have comedic working titles. And Todd's [SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY & THE CONSPIRATORS bassist and backing vocalist Todd Kerns] usually good — Todd and Slash — good for coming up with things that won't be the final title, 'cause obviously with lyrics with Myles, it'll be something completely different. But we usually just give something a title so we can go, 'Hey, let's work on that song.' 'What song?' 'Oh, the song in E.' No, we'll give it a title. But over time we've had these goofy titles, I'll just say, that sometimes they stick. And to this day, some of our songs, I go, 'Oh, it's called 'Wicked Stone'.' And I'm, like, 'But it used to be something completely ridiculous.' And I still think sometimes when I look at our setlist live, I go, 'Oh, that's the 'Elephant Disorder' song.' It's just funny how… We have a whole bunch of goofy working titles for the songs right now."

In January 2025, Kennedy told Heavy Consequence about the next SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY & THE CONSPIRATORS album: "As for the direction of the record, it's still riff-based rock 'n' roll with a heavy dose of the blues element that Slash brings, like only he does. It's some really great stuff. I think it's going to be another fun one to tour live."

In December 2024, Myles told SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" that "the demoing and all that, the writing" for the next SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY & THE CONSPIRATORS album "was done before I even embarked on [my] last [solo] tour. The easy part is the recording; the hard part is the writing. Slash and I were — he was sending me demos of the tunes. Then I was spending time with him, coming up with melodies and lyrics. And so that's all done — I think with the exception of one song. Now I just have to find a moment to get in the studio and all that, knock that out. But I will say that just even in the demo process and where we stood there before they went in to actually make the record musically, it is really exciting stuff. I'm really, really stoked about where this one's going. It's gonna be cool."

Asked if he writes any of the music for SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY & THE CONSPIRATORS or if he is mostly in charge of coming up with the lyrics and the melodies, Myles said: "Yeah, most of what I'm doing is lyrics and melodies. Occasionally if something comes in and I'm, like, 'Hey, can we change this chord progression for the sake of the melody?' But it's interesting 'cause more so on [2012's] 'Apocalyptic Love', when I played guitar on that record, there was a little bit more of, 'Hey, try this part. See what this sounds like, if we utilize this to help the arrangement somehow.' But it's funny — I was thinking about that the other day, and I was just, like… It just highlights how cool [Slash] is. I [was] coming in, it was [my] second record [with Slash] and I've got my guitar, and I'm, like, 'What do you think? What if we tried this?' And I'm, like, 'You're sitting there with Slash. He doesn't need any help, man.' But he was so cool and so accommodating. But as the years have gone on and we've made all these records, one thing that continues to amaze me is just how much he understands, not just the riff thing, but coming up with chord progressions that really lend themselves to coming up with compelling melodies for me. It's, like, he knows how to sequence the chords where it's gonna really leave room for a melody, which I appreciate. And, like I said, occasionally I'd be, like, 'Hey, can we try a G here instead of a D 'cause I hear the melody doing this?' Or I'll send the melody back and he'll go, 'I'm gonna change this chord because I feel like it suits the melody better.' I'm, like, 'Great.' So yeah, he totally gets it."

SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY & THE CONSPIRATORS entered the studio in November 2024 to begin recording its fifth album.

SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY & THE CONSPIRATORS kicked off "The River Is Rising - Rest Of The World Tour '24" on January 23, 2024 with the band's return to Mexico City's Pepsi Centre WTC. The group's 24-song setlist included the live debut of a deep GUNS N' ROSES cut, "Don't Damn Me", featuring Kerns on lead vocals.

Prior to the launch of "The River Is Rising – Rest Of The World Tour '24", SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY & THE CONSPIRATORS last performed in February and March 2022 as part of a U.S. tour.

SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY & THE CONSPIRATORS' latest album, "4", was released in February 2022 via Gibson Records in partnership with BMG.

"4" was Slash's fifth solo album and fourth overall with his band featuring Kennedy, Fitz, Kerns and guitarist Frank Sidoris.

SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY & THE CONSPIRATORS released "Live At Studios 60", their first-ever double live LP, for the 2022 Record Store Day. The effort contained a performance of "4", plus four additional songs from the group. Recorded live in Los Angeles at Studios 60, the "Live At Studios 60" double LP exclusive Record Store Day release was limited to only 2,250 copies. The full concert featured all the songs from "4". Additional performances of the group's Top 5 rock radio hits, including "You're A Lie", "World On Fire", "Anastasia" and "Driving Rain" are also included in the double vinyl package.

For "4", Slash and the band traveled across the country together to Nashville, Tennessee and recorded the new album at the historic RCA Studio A with producer Dave Cobb (Chris Stapleton, John Prine, Jason Isbell, Brandi Carlile),revealing a stunning new sound and style all captured live in the studio. Cobb shared the band's desire to lay down the tracks live, in the studio including guitar solos and vocals — a first for the group.

Slash released a blues album called "Orgy Of The Damned" in May 2024 via Gibson Records.

In the summer of 2024, Slash brought his brand-new "S.E.R.P.E.N.T." festival to cities across the U.S.. On all dates, Slash performed alongside his blues band featuring bassist Johnny Griparic, keyboardist Teddy "ZigZag" Andreadis, drummer Michael Jerome and singer/guitarist Tash Neal.

Photo credit: Ross Halfin

In a new interview with Sandy Syn of the Sandstorm podcast, Andrea Ferro, singer of the Italian metal veterans LACUNA COIL, was asked if it gets "easier" or "more challenging" for him and his bandmates to make new albums more than 30 years after the group's formation. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I think it's both, because on one hand we are more experienced, so we know what it takes to write an album. And we feel when the album has a great energy and it is gonna be kind of appreciated by the fans more than maybe some other albums. But on the other hand, you've done a lot, so it's also hard to keep your sound interesting, because, obviously, we kind of exploit a lot of our characteristics as singers, as composers. So sometimes you feel like you are repeating yourself. Obviously we do have a certain sound that we don't escape from it, of course — there's gonna be certain characteristics that are always gonna be in our music — but we always also are a kind of band that always try to make a record that makes sense nowadays. We don't want it to sound too old or too different. We want something that makes sense in 2025, when [we] released [our latest album, 'Sleepless Empire'], but on the other end, you also have to have the characteristics of the history of the band, and don't go too far from certain things. So it's both — easier and harder — because sometimes you feel you've already done this, so you wanna do something a little slightly different. But I think in the whole record, there's some space for songs that are more close to the origin of the band and some other where you can just move away a little bit. But definitely not easy to do."

Asked what drew him to doing extreme metal vocals when he first became interested in pursuing music professionally, Andrea said: "When me and Marco [Coti Zelati], our bass player, we started playing together, it was in the very young age when we were into skateboarding. And so from skateboarding, we were listening to a lot of the hardcore punk kind of genre and also the metal, because when we were kids, it was the '80s, so metal was very common, bands like IRON MAIDEN or HELLOWEEN and all those bands that were becoming really famous back then. And so we had a background of hard rock metal and also hardcore punk. So when we started playing, we were more doing something closer to hardcore punk. And so my vocals was more about the screaming, but not in a growl way, not in a death metal way, but more in a powerful, hardcore way. And then from there we shifted a little bit more towards death metal. We started listening first to bands like PANTERA and then more into extreme bands like OBITUARY and MORBID ANGEL, CANNIBAL CORPSE, and, on the other hand, also bands like PARADISE LOST and ANATHEMA, MY DYING BRIDE. And so we shifted a little bit towards more of a metal, darker side. And so in the beginning I was doing more of the growl, but on the other hand I had also a little bit of the clean because we also listened to bands like FAITH NO MORE, or more melodic [artists], more crossing over between the genres. And so we were doing a mix of the more growl death metal and clean a little bit. And then moving forward, until our demo in '96, I was doing mostly growl vocals, and then we got Cristina [Scabbia, LACUNA COIL co-vocalist] to do the cleans. And then when we signed the [record] deal and started recording, we started to do more singing together on the clean and do more of a distorted voice but not properly growl. Only maybe some songs there were still growl, but the music shifted a little bit more towards a softer side. And so we were using more of the semi-distorted voice, more in the style of PARADISE LOST, for example, 'Icon' or those kind of records, 'Draconian Times'. And in the recent years, since we shifted the lineup from the classic LACUNA COIL lineup to newer musicians, younger musicians, we felt more freedom to go heavier. Marco, in composing the songs, felt he could push more on the double bass, on certain heaviness on the guitars. And so we kind of reintroduced the growl vocals again, and we've been steady in that direction for the last couple of records as well."

Andrea continued: "So I experiment a little bit of everything. I always liked singing in general. I took some vocal lessons in the beginning of the career, but it was more like generic. There was no specific vocal lessons for growling or a distorted voice. It was mostly the clean singing, classic lessons, like the breath technique, the abdominal parts, relaxing the muscles, but just the normal stuff. That is always useful. So I learned a little bit more by myself, how to do the screaming and the growling. And then now I'm focusing more, putting more attention on the different styles."

Ferro added: "I wish I had more time to study and practice because when you are on tour, you kind of try to save the voice more than exercise a lot. It's more important to be well rested and saving the voice because you have a long tour in front of you. So there's no time to study or to do a lot of practicing because you need to keep the voice for the [rest of the tour]. So when I'm home now, I'm gonna take, for example, a break and then I'm gonna study a little bit more new ways of doing [things], [by learning from] singers like the guy from LORNA SHORE or stuff like that. I like to experiment, because I know how to do the growl, but I'm more coming from the SEPULTURA, that kind of growl. I like the growl when you can recognize the singer. I don't like so much the growl when you get too similar to other growls. I like it when you can still hear — like [former SEPULTURA and current SOULFLY frontman] Max Cavalera, for example. When he sings, you can hear his voice behind the growl. And that's what I like — characteristic singers where they can recognize still the voice, the tone of the voice in the screaming, in the growls. But I like also to experiment more extreme techniques. As I just said, I need some time to do it."

LACUNA COIL recently announced the 2026 leg of the "Sleepless Empire" U.S. tour, which is set to start in March. Featuring special guests ESCAPE THE FATE, as well as VOWWS (March 24 - April 13) and AXTY (April 15 - April 29),the tour will kick off in New York on March 24 and conclude in Albany on May 1.

"Sleepless Empire" came out in February 2025 via Century Media Records. Inspiration to create the LP came during the sessions for "Comalies XX" (2022),the acclaimed remake of LACUNA COIL's breakthrough third record "Comalies".

In October 2024, Italian guitarist/producer Daniele Salomone confirmed that he has joined LACUNA COIL as the replacement for the band's longtime guitarist Diego Cavallotti.

Salomone made his live debut with LACUNA COIL on August 4, 2024 at the Rockstadt Extreme Fest in Râșnov, Romania.

In June 2024, LACUNA COIL announced Cavallotti's departure. Diego, who joined LACUNA COIL in 2016, initially as a fill-in guitarist following the exit of Marco "Maus" Biazzi, later said in a social media post that "this decision is not the result of my dissatisfaction or desire to explore new opportunities."

Cavallotti and Salomone played together in the Italian metal band INVERNO, which released its debut album, "Stasis", in December 2023.

In a new interview with Ibagenscast, DREAM THEATER drummer Mike Portnoy was asked how he feels about the material the band wrote and recorded with Mike Mangini, who replaced Portnoy in DREAM THEATER for a 13-year period before Portnoy rejoined DREAM THEATER in October 2023. Portnoy said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Yeah, all those 13 years, I would always check in. If DREAM THEATER put out a new album, I would always listen to it at least once just to check in and see what they were up to. Obviously the very first album without me, I was incredibly curious to hear that because up until then there had never existed a DREAM THEATER without me. So when that first album came out, I was very, very curious at that point. And all the following albums I would listen to at least once, just to see where they were at. But it wasn't until I rejoined the band and needed to start constructing the setlist and picking songs from that era and getting familiar with those songs, it wasn't till recently, the last couple years, that I really dived into the albums, and now I can appreciate them with a different perspective.

"It was hard for me when I was outside the band," Portnoy admitted. "It was really difficult for me. It's like going through a divorce and then seeing your wife with a new husband. That's a typical analogy to give, but it really is true. It was hard for me. It hurt, [seeing] my band with somebody else. So, all those years I kind of just kept it at arm's length, but now coming back, I could have a different perspective on it 'cause I'm back in the band. And I want to know that era. I want to get to know it, like the fans know it, and I wanna be able to respect it because I know there's a lot of fans that really enjoy those eras.

"Obviously Mike Mangini is an unbelievable drummer. Technically, he does things that, I'll be the first to admit, I can't do. And I see people comparing us all the time. It's apples and oranges. We maybe both have played drums for DREAM THEATER, but I think we're very different styles. He's very, very methodical, very technical. I'm more loosey goosey and flying off the seat of the handle. So I think in that respect we're different styles and I think the comparisons aren't fair. And people say, 'Well, Mike Portnoy can never do this and never do that.' Yeah, you're right. I probably couldn't play half of those things. And you know what? I don't care. I'm fine with that. I am who I am, like Popeye once said [laughs], and I'm fine with who I am. I know who I am and what I do, and what I bring to the band is more than just drums. And that's all that matters to me. But in answer to your question, Mangini is obviously a phenomenal drummer, and he did a great, great job all those years while the band was without me. And I have a lot of respect for that."

A year ago, Portnoy was asked by The Metal Voice how he felt about performing the song "Barstool Warrior" during DREAM THEATER's 40th-anniversary tour even though the track was originally written and recorded with Mangini. Portnoy said: "Well, it was important to me for that to be included, believe it or not. I'm the one that writes the setlist, and these guys gave me full-on freedom when it came to the Mangini-era material. I knew it had to be represented. You can't just brush away five albums from these guys' career because I'm back; it would have been pretty selfish and disrespectful. So, yeah, to me, it wasn't even considered to not be playing that material. And like I said, they gave me the freedom to pick and choose songs that I could relate to and be comfortable with. And, yeah, I think if you didn't know any differently when you come see the live show, it sits right in the middle of the set very comfortably with everything else that is part of my catalog. But I'm used to playing other drummers' material… I don't think [IRON MAIDEN singer] Bruce [Dickinson] ever does Blaze [Bayley-era MAIDEN] tunes, or very rarely. And I know [JUDAS PRIEST's] Rob Halford doesn't do Ripper [-era PRIEST] tunes. And I know David Lee Roth won't do Sammy Hagar[-era VAN HALEN] tunes. So, yeah, not all bands are as open to it."

Asked what he thinks are the main differences between his drumming style and that of Mangini, Portnoy told The Metal Voice: "He is very methodical. He's very conscious of what all four limbs are doing and the way he utilizes his independence. I'm not that kind of a drummer. I've never been a guy that sits there and studies technique and the correct way to hold a stick, and all that kind of stuff. I go on feel, and to me, I try to make difficult music sound easy. I think he has the tendency to make something that could be easy sound difficult. And I'm not trying to insult him; I'm just merely observing the difference in styles. And he's the type that I think would play the same part exactly the same as it is on the album and do it consistently every night. I'm just not that kind of a drummer. I like to fly off the seat of my pants and be in the moment and do different things, just depending on how things are feeling."

The progressive metal legends played their first concert with Portnoy in 14 years on October 20, 2024 at the O2 Arena in London, United Kingdom. The drummer, who co-founded DREAM THEATER, played on 10 of the band's albums over a 20-year period, from 1989's "When Dream And Day Unite" through 2009's "Black Clouds & Silver Linings", before exiting the group in 2010. Portnoy returned to DREAM THEATER after being replaced by Mangini, who played with DREAM THEATER across five studio albums and accompanying world tours.

DREAM THEATER's latest album, "Parasomnia", came out in February 2025 via InsideOut Music. The LP was produced by DREAM THEATER guitarist John Petrucci, engineered by James "Jimmy T" Meslin, and mixed by Andy Sneap. Hugh Syme returned once again to lend his creative vision to the cover art.

"Parasomnia" is an eight-song, 71-minute set which was recorded at DREAM THEATER's DTHQ studio on Long Island, New York. It is the follow-up to 2021's "A View From The Top Of The World", which debuted at in the top 10 of Billboard's Top Hard Rock Albums, Top Rock Albums and Independent Albums charts. Six songs on "Parasomnia" are over seven minutes and the closing epic "The Shadow Man Incident" clocks in at nearly 20 minutes.

Portnoy, Petrucci and bassist John Myung started DREAM THEATER as MAJESTY in 1985, after meeting at the Berklee College Of Music in Boston. Singer James LaBrie came on board in 1991, while keyboardist Jordan Rudess joined in 1999.

Prior to Portnoy's return to DREAM THEATER, the drummer and Petrucci worked together on the latter's 2020 solo album, "Terminal Velocity", and toured together. Portnoy and Petrucci also joined Rudess and bassist Tony Levin for a third studio album as LIQUID TENSION EXPERIMENT in 2021.

Mike Portnoy photo credit: Travis Shinn

After a challenging chapter in her life, trailblazing RUNAWAYS guitarist Lita Ford sought sanctuary in the calm of the Phoenix desert. On the latest episode of Kylie Olsson's "Life In Six Strings", Lita welcomes Kylie into the home that helped her reset and move forward.

Watch as Kylie explores Lita's world: flipping through her stage-worn costumes, checking out her wall of guitars, and learning how to play "Cherry Bomb" on the same flying V Lita used back in the day. Together, they venture out under the Phoenix sun, where Kylie gets a glimpse of the places and practices that keep Lita centered.

Regarding why she chose to move to the Arizona desert, Lita said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "The person at home needs a place to take a break from the road. And when I come home, I don't wanna wear makeup, I don't wanna wear high heels, I don't wanna dress in shrink-wrap leather. I just wanna be a sloppy — you know, eat, sleep, not wear any makeup, be able to go to the grocery store and not have everybody [go], 'Lita, sign this.' 'Lita, can I have a selfie?' I just wanna go to the grocery store. So living here, I feel like I can do all those things, and I don't have an audience on me."

She continued: "There was a place in Los Angeles that I lived before I moved here, and I felt like it was people in my yard, there were people looking through my windows, and I just felt like I had no privacy. So here is a healthy environment for me. We ride bikes. We eat organic produce. We lay in the sun. We do a lot of things that bring health and make you feel like you can go out and tackle another tour."

After Olsson noted that there is "something very peaceful" about the surroundings of her Arizona house, Lita concurred. "It's magic," she said. "It's a spiritual location. And with the mountains here, there's caves and there's bats and coyotes and owls. I mean, I love that kind of stuff. After being in a crowd, a large crowd of people, you get to come home and hang out with the scorpions. And I'm not talking rock and roll SCORPIONS. [Laughs] So it brings me peace of mind."

Earlier this month, Lita spoke to Get On The Bus about the status of her long-awaited new studio album. Ford's upcoming follow-up to 2012's "Living Like A Runaway" was once again helmed by guitarist/producer Gary Hoey, who contributes some guitar playing to the disc. Lita brought up her new LP while discussing the changes in the music industry over the past four decades. Ford said: "I'm one of those people that I don't get caught up in the ways of the world. The '90s grunge scene, it's, like, 'Okay, well, there it is, there it goes.' And because there's Spotify, does that mean that I shouldn't write an album and put together an album? I mean, my project that we're working on now that hopefully will be out by May of 2026, it's a theme — the whole album is a theme. And there are great songs on it, and it's, like, well, you could listen to this song or you could listen to this song, just like any album. Like your old favorite VAN HALEN records … you can put that record on and listen to the whole thing 'cause it's just badass. And I like those kind of records. I grew up on Alice Cooper's 'Welcome To My Nightmare', DEEP PURPLE 'In Rock'. I mean, these are full albums. And this is what I wanted to do and release, and this is what I'm hoping for coming up in 2026, is a full record. And if we have to do a couple of videos or we have to release a couple of singles, then I'm hoping that the real hardcore rock fans will stumble across the whole record."

Last August, Lita told the "Surviving Rocklahoma" podcast about her upcoming album: "I've had some trouble trying to get it out or it would've been released already — problems with record label stuff, but I think we might have gotten that under control now. And so we should have the record out hopefully by the beginning of 2026. I hope sooner, 'cause it's pretty much ready to go. But it's a dark fairytale record in kind of like [the animated film] 'Shrek', where Shrek meets [Princess] Fiona, but finds out that she's really an ogre. And it's, like, 'Ah', but it's cute, but it's dark. And at the same time, I think a lot of people will be able to relate to that. It's a concept record. It has a theme all the way through the record. It never lets up. There's lots of characters on the record, and it has some pretty amazing guitar riffs and guitar playing."

Asked about her collaboration with Hoey and producer Max Norman, best known for working with rock and metal artists such as Ozzy Osbourne and MEGADETH, Lita said: "Gary Hoey, first of all, has been with me for many years, and he has saved my life time and time again on different occasions. And so I always end up going, 'Hey, Gary, are you around next week? Can I come over and can we record?' He's got the greatest studio and a great guitar collection. And then I'll bring a few guitars, and we just have this really magical creative thing that happens between us. It's almost like I'll start a sentence and he finishes it, or vice versa — he'll start a sentence and I'll finish it. We make a good team in the studio. And so he produced this record. It took a long time to write it and record it, for multiple reasons. He's always on the road, I'm always on the road, and trying to get our time schedules together. One of our songwriting partners died in the process. And COVID shut everything down; COVID shut everything down for a year. 'Well, can we get in to do those drum tracks now?' 'No. It's COVID.' So it was a problem at the time, but we got around it, and all is good. Max Norman mixed the record. And Max's family — we all come from the same place in the rock music industry, and he did a fantastic job. I have [singer/songwriter/producer] Jean Beauvoir [CROWN OF THORNS, PLASMATICS] on one track, that wrote an amazing track, and he is such a great producer and just really brought that track to life. And now we have Adam Parsons Entertainment who's managing us, and we're gonna find this record a good home. We have a couple of possibilities now, so it's coming soon."

In June 2025, Lita confirmed to Dawn Osborne of TotalRock that her new album would include a collaboration with German metal queen Doro Pesch. "It's waiting to come out," Ford said. "And I'm dying. It's so good. It's not a ballad, and it's not a fast song. It's just a really powerful, mid-range song. And it will reduce you to tears."

As for how the song with Doro came about, Lita said: "When I ran into Doro, she was receiving an award in Los Angeles, and she says to me, 'Lita, we have to do a song together.' And I said, 'I've got it. I've got the title. I know what the title is.' Because sometimes you just grab titles, and you don't even know why. It's just something that sounds amazing. And so I wrote it down in my little book of titles. And soon after that, Doro had came along and she said, 'Let's write something.' And I got the title. So, I went ahead and wrote the song. And Doro did not write the song, but she sure sang the hell out of it. She came out and nailed it. So it was a great honor to work with Doro again."

In July 2024, Ford told Joe Rock of Long Island's rock station 102.3 WBAB about her upcoming LP: "The studio, for me, has always been trying to teach everybody what I wanna hear. And a lot of that is because they basically don't know themselves as a producer or an engineer. I've had some of the greatest engineers and I've had some of the greatest producers, and this album — we're finished with it now — [was produced by] Gary Hoey. Gary Hoey is a great musician, great guitar player. And Gary and I — I can throw any idea at Gary, and he would try and make it happen. And the thing about being in the studio is you try and make things happen, and if they don't happen, then they don't happen. You can only try. And so we got real creative with guitars and we played — there's a lot of great guitars on this new record. I'm really excited about it."

Lita went on to say that the creation of her new album was completely in her control. "There were no songwriters that I had to work with because somebody else wanted me to work with them," she explained. "This is strictly Lita and what Lita wanted to do. And it's a concept record. There's a big story behind it. And so it's gonna open a lot of doors for a lot of things. And a lot of people are gonna be able to relate to this record. And it has some great musicians. Bobby Rock played drums on it. Jean Beauvoir wrote one of the songs with me. And it's just a great record. And Gary Hoey, of course, produced it. Max Norman, who mixed it — Max Norman did a lot of stuff for Ozzy and MEGADETH, and he's just a metal guy. So it's all in the right hands. I've got all the badass people behind me. Got a new manager, and it's all good."

In May 2022, bassist Marten Andersson (STEELHEART, LIZZY BORDEN, LYNCH MOB) officially joined Lita's touring band. Andersson replaced Marty O'Brien who became the touring bassist for DAUGHTRY.

In a 2023 interview with "THAT Rocks!", the YouTube series hosted by Eddie Trunk, Jim Florentine and Don Jamieson, Lita stated about her next LP: "The problem is we've had so many things happen over the last few years. Our manager died; George Marshall died [in] '22. And then my songwriting partner died. And it's just been devastation. But we take all that pain and everything and we just put it right back into the album. And then we recorded the drum tracks in Minneapolis during Black Lives Matter and COVID. Everything was locked down and the place was boarded up and the guys had shotguns and Rottweilers. And then we went in and did drum tracks. And it was awesome. Just memories of just pure badassery."

Regarding what her plans are for live shows in support of her upcoming LP, Lita said: "Well, what I would like to do is put together a theatrical show, sort of like a rock guitar opera kind of thing. It's been done before and different bands have done it before, but I think in this case, it might be a little different and just to bring the whole show not to life just for audio, but for visual reasons also."

In January 2021, Lita told SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" that her new album contains "some of the best guitar playing" she has heard "in decades." She added: "And I'm not blowing smoke up my own ass, but Gary and I just nailed it with the guitar playing on this record.

"I'm a huge fan of people like Dick Wagner and Steve Hunter from Alice Cooper's 'Welcome To My Nightmare'. I mean, there's some really great duo guitar players — [JUDAS PRIEST's] Glenn Tipton, K.K. Downing… Those guitar players don't exist anymore — they just don't exist. If you wanna hear them, you have to go back in time a little bit and dig them up into your favorite library, favorite music catalog. But I think Gary and I really nailed it on this next record. It's, like, oh my God. I'm crying — I'm just, like, crying listening to this stuff. It's so badass."

Ford's last release was 2016's "Time Capsule", a collection of songs that were recorded by Lita in the past, but never before made available.

Ten years ago, Lita released an autobiography, "Living Like A Runaway: A Memoir", via Dey Street Books (formerly It Books),an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

In a new interview with Heavy New York, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE singer Jesse Leach spoke about what it is like for him to perform songs live that were originally written and recorded with the band's former frontman Howard Jones. Asked if those songs resonate with him on a similar level as the material that he wrote with KILLSWITCH, Jesse said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "They do now. I'd say when I first first started singing them, it was a little difficult for me 'cause I'd never really done that before in my career. I've never really heard a song or read a song, I'd say, and had to perform it. It's one thing when you're singing in your car and you can sort of relate to a song. It's another thing when I'm standing in front of people and they're looking at me and I have to present it genuinely. So for me, it was trying to wrap my head around what I thought Howard was thinking in the early, early days. To me, after a full tour of singing those songs every night, it's just clicking with me. I'm, like, these are emotions I can totally relate to — you know, missing somebody on the road, 'The End Of Heartache', singing that every night, I'm thinking of my wife, thinking of my family. So it took a little while, but now doesn't matter if it's a Howard song or my song, I'm doing everything in my power to be present to those lyrics. 'Cause I've written my own story that goes with them now."

He added: "It's tricky, man. And I get the whole, people prefer this [singer] over that [one] — I totally get it, 'cause I'm like that way with VAN HALEN; I get it — but at the same time, if you are the current singer and you're singing somebody else's material, the very least you can do is give it on a hundred percent your all to present a genuine performance to people, to show them that in this song, you're living inside of it. You're being present to it. That's super important to me."

Jones left KILLSWITCH ENGAGE in 2012 and battled manic depression and bipolar disorder before forming a new project, DEVIL YOU KNOW, with guitarist Francesco Artusato (ALL SHALL PERISH) and drummer John Sankey (DEVOLVED). Along with bassist Ryan Wombacher (BLEEDING THROUGH),they recorded and toured behind two well-received albums, 2014's "The Beauty Of Destruction" and 2015's "They Bleed Red". In 2017, the band changed its name to LIGHT THE TORCH.

Jones made an appearance on KILLSWITCH ENGAGE's 2019 album "Atonement", contributing guest vocals to the aforementioned song "The Signal Fire".

Jones discussed his previous mental health issues in a 2016 interview with Metal Hammer. He said: "For a lot of the time during the whole manic depression thing, I didn't realize how bad I was. I thought the high levels of anxiety I was experiencing was just my lot in life, I didn't realize that there was help on hand for me to be able to deal with that. I thought that I was just meant to feel really nervous around large crowds. Now it's like being a kid again, because I can deal with it, so I've got my passion back and it's great."

Asked what made him get back into music after leaving KILLSWITCH ENGAGE, Howard told Heavy New York: "Honestly, I think it was because I was just kind of tired of doing nothing and I don't do much else other than music. I felt like I needed to venture out because I was basically agoraphobic for three years. It's kind of well known. I went off the grid. I didn't have a cell phone for three years — I was gone. It felt, like, 'Okay, maybe I should dip my toe in. I don't have to do it full time. I don't have to do what I don't want to do.' That's all I was thinking. I started moving, I started doing things. It was definitely a struggle, especially for the first few years. I was, like, 'What am I doing?' There's been few things in my life that has been consistent other than music. I just did it. It just took some time, then all of the sudden, the spark showed up. I fell back in love with what I was doing. I really can't explain it. It just sort of happened."

Leach appeared on KILLSWITCH ENGAGE's self-titled debut and sophomore album, "Alive Or Just Breathing", before exiting the group. Jones took over on vocals for "The End Of Heartache", "As Daylight Dies" and the 2009 self-titled set before being dismissed from KILLSWITCH ENGAGE 14 years ago and being replaced by a returning Leach.

In 2012, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE bassist Mike D'Antonio told Boston Globe that the band's split with Jones was necessitated by the singer's struggle with personal issues, including diabetes that had gone untreated for several years. "It became very apparent we had to move on without him," D'Antonio said. "Howard didn't quit."

Jones and KILLSWITCH ENGAGE guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz have spent the past couple of years working on the debut album from their collaborative project BURN ETERNAL. The LP is tentatively expected later in 2026.

In a new interview with Héctor of The Chill Dude On A Couch, TESTAMENT vocalist Chuck Billy was asked if the band's songwriting process has changed since TESTAMENT started four decades ago. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Oh, totally. I think it really has changed as far as the last record, [2020's] 'Titans Of Creation'. I took a different approach, just because [2016's] 'Brotherhood Of The Snake' took, like, two years for us to write, and it was a long process. It wasn't fun trying to get all those songs written. So instead of me working and challenging the songs and arranging them, I just had Eric [Peterson, TESTAMENT guitarist] give me the music unarranged and I tried to make lyrics over them. And by doing that, it actually had me singing on maybe parts that were uncomfortable, maybe pushed me in my 'uncomfort' zone, which actually I think pushed me to make it better because I was challenged. I was able to try new things. So I think that process worked on 'Titans'. So when we went into [2025's] 'Para Bellum', we did the same thing: 'Just give me the music and let's start writing words over everything and put it together.' And again, I think with this record, the songs, just like 'Titans', each song has its own personality. It's not like it fits a record theme; they all stand alone, which I think that's good for songwriting-wise. And for me, putting together a record just to listen to start to finish, it really has a lot of ups and downs, nooks and crannies."

Asked if there is a song on "Para Bellum" that really challenged him vocally, Chuck said: "I don't know about challenge vocally, but trying something different. Songs, I think, like 'Shadow People'. That was a song where… I always try to not sing with the guitar riff. I always try to find my own little space. But that song, it just wouldn't work. Finding my own space didn't work 'cause the riff was so catchy and heavy, I was kind of fighting against [Eric's] riff, trying to find something to go against it. So instead I ended up doing what I always try not to do, is follow the bouncing ball. So I followed every riff vocally that he did, which that's something I don't do, but it was something that had to be done on that song. So a song like, that's definitely something different for us and me, but it worked out, and that's the way it should have been written. Listen to 'Shadow People' and you'll hear the vocals right on every Eric's right-hand [chug]. I sing exactly to the riff. The timing, the syllables, everything right to his riff."

This past December, TESTAMENT announced the U.S. leg of their "Thrash Of The Titans" world tour. The trek, which will launch in March, unites the band with fellow thrash legends OVERKILL and DESTRUCTION for one of the fiercest tours of the new year.

"Para Bellum" came out in October 2025 via Nuclear Blast. The LP was recorded with Juan Urteaga and mixed for the first time by Jens Bogren. The cover art was once again painted by Eliran Kantor.

When "Para Bellum" was first announced in August, it was accompanied by the official music video for the LP's first single, "Infanticide A.I.", directed by Joey Durango.

A major evolution on "Para Bellum" was the addition of powerhouse drummer Chris Dovas, whose precision, speed, and instinctive dynamics infuse the album with fresh energy. Working closely with Peterson throughout the writing process, Dovas helped shape song structures, accelerated the workflow, and injected a level of versatility that amplifies the album's modern edge without straying from the TESTAMENT sound.

Photo credit: Fred Kowalo

In early January, former GUNS N' ROSES and VELVET REVOLVER drummer Matt Sorum was interviewed by WCZR Code Zero Radio's Fox Cities Core when he performed at the "Joey's Song" benefit concert in support of epilepsy research in Madison, Wisconsin. Asked what specific memories he had of being inducted as a member of GUNS N' ROSES into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in April 2012, Matt quipped: "I don't have very many memories of any of that band. [Laughs] No, no, no. I'm just kidding. The induction? Wow. I never really had that in the bucket list. It was sort of unimaginable. So it became something that was kind of a shock. And I think the whole process was interesting. It was very emotional, getting up there and stuff. You have rock and roll dreams when you're a kid, but that was just beyond any rock and roll dream I ever had. I just wanted to play music and get on stage and travel the world, and I did all that, and then I got that. So it's pretty cool. I'm happy about it. I'm very proud of it. And now you have to say, 'Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame inductee Matt Sorum'."

Asked if he thinks "classic rock" is "more like a time period or more of a style", Matt said: "Classic rock is a style. I think it falls under the moniker of just blues-based rock and roll, in my opinion — anything from AEROSMITH to THE [ROLLING] STONES to GUNS N' ROSES. There's bands like [a band] I was in called THE CULT, and we kind of maybe fell under a little bit different of a category, maybe somewhere in the realm of the BAUHAUS rock movement of England or whatever. So there's always slightly different subcategories. When you say 'heavy metal'… I played in MOTÖRHEAD and [MOTÖRHEAD leader] Lemmy didn't like to be called heavy metal. He was a rock and roll. It's, like, 'I'm in a rock and roll band.' And Lemmy used to say, 'We are MOTÖRHEAD and we play rock and roll.' You know, what is rock and roll? ROLLING STONES are rock and roll. There's rock and then there's roll. THE STONES are rock and roll. GUNS N' ROSES were rock and roll. It was the attitude. It was the way we lived our lives. I can't say I live like that anymore. I still like to rock, but I don't roll as hard as I used to, because I used to roll nightly."

Sorum, who replaced Steven Adler in GUNS N' ROSES, recorded the highly successful albums "Use Your Illusion I" and "Use Your Illusion II" (both 1991) and "The Spaghetti Incident" (1994). He also supported the group on the "Use Your Illusion" tour and can be heard on GUNS N' ROSES' "Live Era: '87-'93" (1999) and "Greatest Hits" (2004).

Sorum, Adler, guitarist Slash and bassist Duff McKagan attended GUNS N' ROSES' 2012 Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame ceremony, while singer Axl Rose and founding guitarist Izzy Stradlin stayed home.

Rose announced three days before the ceremony that he would not attend and was not accepting his induction. Also missing was longtime keyboardist Dizzy Reed, who still plays in the current version of the band.

For the Rock Hall induction performance, McKagan, Slash and Adler were joined by guitarist Gilby Clarke and Sorum for three songs — "Mr. Brownstone", "Sweet Child O' Mine" and "Paradise City" — from the band's classic 1987 debut, "Appetite For Destruction". Providing vocals in the absence of Axl Rose was Myles Kennedy, the singer for ALTER BRIDGE and Slash's current solo band.

Sorum played drums for "Mr. Brownstone", while original drummer Adler took over for the other two songs.

Stradlin issued a statement the week before the induction, thanking his bandmates, the Hall Of Fame for "the acknowledgment of our works over the years," and the fans who "have supported GUNS N' ROSES from day one."

McKagan addressed Rose's absence during the bandmembers' acceptance speeches, saying, "I don't know if it matters who's here tonight because it's about the music that band created."

Slash admitted that all the drama almost stopped him from attending, saying, "The fans are the ones who made it possible for us to get together tonight with all the adversity and everything that was going on ... I was, like, 'Fuck it', but [my then-wife] said, 'Go and do it with the guys,' and I said 'You're right.'"

Photo credit: Jonas Åkerlund (courtesy of AFM Records / Ken Phillips Publicity Group, Inc.)