DEFTONES frontman Chino Moreno joined GOJIRA on stage last night (Saturday, May 28) during the two bands' joint concert at the Amory in Minneapolis, Minnesota to perform a cover of SEPULTURA's "Territory". Fan-filmed video of his appearance can be seen below.

GOJIRA guitarist/vocalist Joseph Duplantier spoke about SEPULTURA's influence on his band's music in an April 2021 interview with Cuartel Del Metal. At the time, he said: "SEPULTURA is massive in the history of our band, for some reason. I discovered 'Arise' first, and I was pretty blown away — it was so dark and so fast and so technical. It was right after I discovered the band DEATH and MORBID ANGEL, and then SEPULTURA. And I was absolutely blown away by their craft. And then, I had a few bands in high school, and I started to get together with my brother. We were playing at home, sometimes after school, and then we decided to form our own band. We dropped our other bands, got together, and 'Chaos A.D.' came along. And we were absolutely blown away — absolutely blown away. And [it was] easy to play too — it's simple riffs. They stripped down everything to the core… I mean, oh my God. They said it all with this album."

As for what he thinks when people compare GOJIRA's song "Amazonia" to SEPULTURA, Joseph said: "I go, 'Yup.' And it's a compliment, and there is no shame here. And we ripped them off, but we didn't do it on purpose. But we realized it right after. We were, like, 'Oh, that sounds like SEPULTURA. Ahhh, whatever.' It's a tribute to SEPULTURA — how about that? It's about Brazil. It's about the Amazon. It's tribal."

"Amazonia" is taken from GOJIRA's latest album, "Fortitude", which came out in April 2021 via Roadrunner Records. The follow-up to 2016's "Magma" was recorded and produced by Duplantier at Silver Cord Studio — GOJIRA's Ridgewood, Queens, New York headquarters — and mixed by Andy Wallace (NIRVANA, RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE).

Chino and his DEFTONES bandmates were indirectly responsible for the name of Max Cavalera's post-SEPULTURA project. Fresh off his December 1996 split with SEPULTURA, Max spent the better part of 1997 trying to assemble a new group while guesting on DEFTONES' song "Headup", which appeared on the Sacramento alt-metallers "Around The Fur" studio album. Cavalera was struggling to find a name for his new act, going as far as to consult with the leader of the Brazilian Xavantes tribe, who played an integral role in shaping SEPULTURA's "Roots" album. Remembering the made-up word "soulfly" from "Headup", Cavalera found the right name for his post-SEPULTURA band, subsequently revealing it in a surprise announcement on live French television in 1997.



Chino from Deftones on Gojira last song

Posted by Herman Smith on Saturday, May 28, 2022

Thrash metal pioneers EXHORDER recruited former CANNIBAL CORPSE guitarist Pat O'Brien for their performance Sunday night (May 29) at the Maryland Deathfest in Baltimore, Maryland. The gig took place three months after guitarist Marzi Montazeri left EXHORDER, explaining at the time in a statement that he "decided to no longer be a part of it."

O'Brien made headlines more than three years ago when he was arrested for burglary and assaulting a police officer while his Florida home was in flames. At the time of the arrest, deputies said he burglarized a house and charged at a deputy with a knife.

O'Brien, who was born in Northern Kentucky, allegedly broke into a Northdale, Florida home and shouted that "the rapture is coming" before pushing a woman to the ground. He ran toward a responding deputy with a knife and was subdued with a stun gun.

Less than half a mile from where O'Brien was arrested, a fire broke out at the house he was renting, sending flames billowing into the night sky from the roof.

The owner of the home where O'Brien was arrested wouldn't go on camera but told ABC Action News he thought the guitarist was hallucinating when he spoke to him and claimed "someone was after him." The homeowner added O'Brien seemed scared and at one point even hid in his closet.

Fire marshals found a large cache of weapon, locked safes and potential explosive devices inside O'Brien's home, including 50 shotguns, 20 semiautomatic rifles, two Uzi-style firearms, 20 handguns and two flamethrowers. Authorities also discovered thousands of rounds as well as additional weapons.

O'Brien, who had been a member of CANNIBAL CORPSE for more than two decades, was released from Hillsborough County jail on December 14, 2018 after posting a $50,000 surety bond. Several days earlier, at a hearing, a judge told the now-57-year-old musician, clad in an anti-suicide vest with his hands and ankles chained together, that he would first have to pass a drug test before he would be allowed to post bail and leave jail.

In March 2021, O'Brien was sentenced to time served and five years of probation and ordered to pay $23,793.45 in restitution. He was also ordered to get drug and alcohol evaluations and render 150 hours of community service. In addition, O'Brien was ordered to abstain from using alcohol and controlled substances and to be subject to random testing.

During an appearance on a June 2019 episode of "The Jasta Show", the podcast hosted by HATEBREED's Jamey Jasta, CANNIBAL CORPSE frontman George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher expressed his shock over O'Brien's arrest, saying: "I don't wanna speculate about what could have happened that night, but it could have been way worse — for him.

"When people were seeing [TV reports about] it — I think on the Tampa news, they were pretty good with him," he continued. "They just said he was one of the best guitar players in death metal in America, and in the world, and he's highly respected. And they didn't really trash him at all. And they showed him on TV."

Fisher went on to say that most of the CANNIBAL fans were very supportive of Pat while he was dealing with his ordeal. "In the metal world, I think in general, 95 percent [of the people], everyone was, like, 'Get well soon,'" he told "The Jasta Show". "I didn't spend too much time reading stuff online, because that's when you get people who just wanna say nasty stuff just to be nasty."

At the time, Fisher said that he and his bandmates were looking forward to O'Brien's return to CANNIBAL CORPSE. "We love him," he told "The Jasta Show". "We want him back. But when I saw him in the court with the vest, dude, I cried. Because we just got home from tour… We wish the best for him, and we're just waiting to see [what happens]. He's got a road ahead of him still with legal issues, and that's out of our hands. We support him 100 percent; we're behind him 100 percent."

In early 2021, it was announced that O'Brien had been replaced in CANNIBAL CORPSE by Erik Rutan, one of the death metal's most acclaimed guitarists who is known for his time as part of MORBID ANGEL throughout the '90s and early 2000s, as well as handling vocals/guitars for HATE ETERNAL.

Shortly after the Houston-based Montazeri announced his departure from EXHORDER, the remaining members of the band — EXHORDER vocalist Kyle Thomas, bassist Jason VieBrooks and drummer Sasha Horn — said that they and Marzi had been "moving in different directions" and assured fans that they would "continue to thrive"

In the 1990s, Marzi hooked up with SUPERJOINT RITUAL, with PANTERA singer Philip Anselmo as lead vocalist, and appeared on the band's first two demos. By March of 2010, Marzi rejoined forces with Anselmo to work on what became Philip's first solo project since PANTERA, PHILIP H. ANSELMO & THE ILLEGALS. Marzi recorded THE ILLEGALS' debut album, "Walk Through Exits Only", and toured with the band before exiting the group in November 2015. Two years later, Marzi joined EXHORDER, which released its first album in 27 years, "Mourn The Southern Skies", in September 2019 via Nuclear Blast Records.

Thomas is now the sole remaining founding member of EXHORDER, which released its debut album, "Slaughter In The Vatican", way back in 1990. In February 2020, EXHORDER parted ways with its original guitarist Vinnie LaBella, who wrote much of the material on "Mourn The Southern Skies". The remaining members of the group later issued a statement saying that they would fulfill their "touring and recording obligations for 2020 and beyond."

Last December, Thomas confirmed to the "Brutally Delicious" podcast that he and his bandmates had spent much of the coronavirus downtime working on material for the follow-up to "Mourn The Southern Skies".

In February 2021, Thomas told "The Dan Chan Show" that it wasn't strange for him to be the only remaining founding member of EXHORDER. "At this point, I've jammed with so many people over the years — so many different lineups for this and that, fill-ins and all this stuff. To me, it doesn't really matter as much who's there, as long as the material that's being played is being played within the spirit of that band in particular," he said. "And the stuff that we're writing now, it's amazing. I play it for a lot of people that are my confidants, people love the band, and they're gonna shoot me straight. And the new stuff that we're working on, everybody's, like, 'Wow. It sounds like EXHORDER to me.'"

EXHORDER released two albums in the early 1990s through the Roadrunner label — the aforementioned "Slaughter In The Vatican" and 1992's "The Law" — before breaking up, with Kyle going on to form FLOODGATE and also briefly appearing live as the vocalist for TROUBLE, which he later joined on a full-time basis (and is still a member of).

EXHORDER, which is cited by many as the originator of the riff-heavy power-groove approach popularized by PANTERA, completed a U.S. headlining tour in late 2021 during which it performed "Slaughter In The Vatican" in its entirety.



Exhorder at Maryland Deathfest XVIII 🤘🏻

Posted by Metall Research on Sunday, May 29, 2022



Exhorder with Pat O' Brien 🤘🏻Maryland Deathfest

Posted by Juan Fallas Jiménez on Sunday, May 29, 2022

La sorpresa de la Noche y el Cierre del Maryland Deathfest ! El Regreso de Pat O'Brien a las presentaciones en Vivo! Ya...

Posted by Juan Fallas Jiménez on Sunday, May 29, 2022

Former KISS guitarists Vinnie Vincent, Ace Frehley and Bruce Kulick performed together for the first time ever at this year's Creatures Fest, which is taking place this weekend at Nashville's Sonesta Nashville Airport Hotel.

Vincent started his set Saturday night (May 28) with around 15 minutes of guitar shredding before he played the KISS classic "I Love It Loud" accompanied by a backing track. Kulick then joined him for "War Machine" before Frehley also stepped in for "Deuce" and "Cold Gin".

According to fans attending the event, "phones/video/audio" during Vinnie's set were prohibited, so most of the footage that has been posted online captures only a portion of the performance.

Vincent — who was a member of KISS when the band publicly "unmasked" in 1983 — made several public appearances in 2018 after spending the past two decades out of the public eye.

In 1983, KISS wrote and released "Lick It Up" — their first album without makeup — a recording on which Vincent co-wrote eight of 10 songs, including the title track, which remains a staple of the group's live performances to this day.

Despite the album's success, Vincent was fired by KISS after the "Lick It Up" touring cycle came to an end, allegedly due to a dispute over both the terms of his employment contract with the band and royalties. From there, Vincent founded VINNIE VINCENT INVASION, which recorded two albums.

In 1992, Vincent re-teamed with Simmons and Stanley to write three songs for their acclaimed album "Revenge", including the record's first two singles, "Unholy" and "I Just Wanna". Their relationship quickly soured once again, however. Four years later, Vincent released a solo EP, the aforementioned "Euphoria", which featured vocals by former VVI singer Fleischman and included material from sessions recorded around 1990. Soon after that, Vincent vanished from the public eye and remained off the grid for more than two decades.

In April 2018, Vincent joined Gene Simmons at the KISS bassist/vocalist's "Vault" event in Nashville, Tennessee. He later said in an interview that he felt that got "a cold reception" and was "treated very indifferently" by Gene at the event.

Frehley first left KISS in 1982. He rejoined in 1996 and parted ways with the band once again in 2002 after the conclusion of their first "farewell tour."

Bruce joined KISS in 1984 and accompanied the band on the "Animalize" tour and continued with them until the reunion tour. Bruce is heavily featured on "Kissology - Vol. 2" and "Vol. 3", the band's DVDs spanning their historic four-decade-plus career.

Frehley and original KISS drummer Peter Criss reunited on stage Friday night (May 27) at Creatures Fest. The two legendary rockers performed two early KISS classics during Frehley's set, "Hard Luck Woman" and "Strange Ways", both featuring Criss on lead vocals.



VINNIE VINCENT LIVE

Secret footage (leaked)

1) +/- 15 minutes shredding
2) I Love It Loud (backing track)
3) War Machine (with Bruce Kulick)
4) Deuce (with Bruce Kulick and Ace Frehley)
5) Cold Gin (with Bruce Kulick and Ace Frehley)

Posted by KISScast Brasil on Saturday, May 28, 2022



Vinnie Vincent

Posted by Marcum Stewart on Saturday, May 28, 2022

Creatures Fest
Vinnie Vincent show with Ace Frehley and Bruce Kulick. It just ended, and I'm back upstairs. True, you...

Posted by Dave Bacon Laetare on Saturday, May 28, 2022

Here’s something we may never see again… Vinnie Vincent and Ace Frehley … oh and Bruce Kulick on the same stage!! Here’s to the naysayers 🖕🏼 #creaturesfest #kisskruisekittykats

Posted by Candy Hendricks Brundage on Saturday, May 28, 2022

Ace Frehley, Vinnie Vincent, and Bruce Kulick jamming together for the first time ever 5.28.22.

Posted by Ponch Steve on Saturday, May 28, 2022

Influential Danish metallers MERCYFUL FATE will embark on a European tour this spring and summer. The trek will kick off on June 2 in Hannover, Germany and will include shows in Poland, Sweden, Germany, Belgium, Denmark, Italy, France, Spain, Finland, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Slovenia, Norway, Czech Republic and the United Kingdom. A one-off appearance at the Psycho Las Vegas festival in Las Vegas, Nevada will follow in late August.

In a Twitch livestream from a couple of days ago from the MERCYFUL FATE rehearsals, which are taking place in Glostrup, Denmark, vocalist King Diamond revealed that he and his bandmates are planning to debut a brand new song at the upcoming shows. "We're trying," he said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). "We're still working on a song. I wrote the final lyrics the day of our departure [for rehearsals], I would say, and that's a couple of days ago. So the others have not heard me sing the song at all. We played a few riffs from it yesterday. I didn't sing to it at that time. But it's coming [along] here. The next couple of days we're gonna see where it leads us."

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

Confirmed MERCYFUL FATE dates:

Jun. 02 - Expo Plaza - Hannover, Germany (with VOLBEAT)
Jun. 04 - Mystic Festival - Gdańsk, Poland
Jun. 10 - Sweden Rock - Sölvesborg, Sweden
Jun. 14 - Wuhlheide - Berlin, Germany (with VOLBEAT)
Jun. 16 - Graspop Metal Meeting - Dessel, Belgium
Jun. 18 - Copenhell - Copenhagen, Denmark
Jun. 24 - Rock The Castle - Verona, Italy
Jun. 26 - Hellfest Open Air Festival - Clisson, France
Jul. 01 - Rock Fest Barcelona - Barcelona, Spain
Jul. 02 - Tuska Open Air - Helsinki, Finland
Jul. 22 - Hills Of Rock - Plovdiv, Bulgaria
Jul. 24 - Artmania Festival - Sibiu, Romania
Jul. 28 - Fezen Festival - Székesfehérvár, Hungary
Jul. 29 - Metaldays - Tolmin, Slovenia
Aug. 04 - Wacken Open Air - Wacken, Germany
Aug. 06 - Beyond The Gates - Bergen, Norway
Aug. 11 - Brutal Assault - Jaromer, Czech Republic
Aug. 13 - Bloodstock Open Air - Derbyshire, UK
Aug. 21 - Psycho Las Vegas - Las Vegas, NV

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Sabbath comes to you across EU, UK, and US. Be ready and wait for the sound of the demon bell..

For tickets and information visit: mercyfulfatecoven.com

Posted by MERCYFUL FATE on Tuesday, April 19, 2022

A judge has dismissed a case from Marilyn Manson's former assistant, who accused the embattled musician of sexual assault, battery and harassment, reports USA TODAY.


In an order of dismissal obtained by USA TODAY, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael L. Stern on Wednesday dismissed Ashley Walters' "entire action" against the musician, which alleged Manson (whose real name is Brian Warner) used "his position of power, celebrity and connections to exploit and victimize (her) during her employment" from August 2010 to October 2011.


In the dismissal, Stern dismissed the case "with prejudice," which means that Walters will not be able to file the same claims in Los Angeles Superior Court again. Stern said Walters had "too few facts" and pleaded "too late," according to reports from CBS News and Deadline.
Marilyn Manson's sexual assault case brought on by his former assistant was dismissed by a judge Wednesday.




"We are deeply disappointed in the court’s decision today. If allowed to stand, this decision would drastically limit the ability of victims of abuse to obtain justice through the legal system," Walters' lawyers told USA TODAY in a statement Thursday, adding that the court "based its decision on the timeliness of Ashley's claims and not the merits."


Walters also sent a statement saying she's "disheartened in the court’s decision" because of "the message it sends to other survivors out there trying to balance how they process abuse with arbitrary court deadlines."


Read the full report at USA TODAY.

One of the most endearing character traits of John Cena’s muscle-bound DC comic book superhero Peacemaker, from HBO’s wildly popular series of the same name, is his love of obscure ‘80s glam metal. From The Quireboys to Firehouse, Faster Pussycat to Pretty Boy Floyd, the series’ soundtrack is brimming with some of the best undiscovered gems of Hollywood’s hairspray-soaked melodic metal.


Now, one of the tracks showcased in Episode 7 of Peacemaker is coming to a limited edition pressing of 7” vinyl. Pretty Boy Floyd’s magnificent hard rock anthem, “Rock And Roll (Is Gonna Set The Night On Fire)”, was originally released on the band’s 1989 classic album Leather Boyz With Electric Toyz, and later re-cut with a more current line-up of the band in 2004. More recently, producer and guitarist extraordinaire Mark Gemini Thwaite created a new mix of the track that amps up the bombast and energy to 11. The track is featured on the A-side of the 7” while a re-cut version of “Leather Boyz” comes as the B-side.


Order the 7” here, stream the digital here.







Tracklisting:


Side A
"Rock & Roll (Is Gonna Set The Night On Fire)"


Side B
"Leather Boyz With Electric Toyz"

In a new interview with SPIN, KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons spoke about former U.S. president Donald Trump, on whose "The Celebrity Apprentice" show he was once a contestant. "I know the previous [U.S.] president," he said. "I knew him before he entered politics. Look what that gentleman did to this country and the polarization — got all the cockroaches to rise to the top. Once upon a time, you were embarrassed to be publicly racist and out there with conspiracy theories. Now it's all out in the open because he allowed it."

Simmons went on to say that he and Trump "knew each other" before "The Celebrity Apprentice", "in clubs and all that. You have a different responsibility when you're just a citizen or an entrepreneur," he added. "You don't make policy. It doesn't affect life and death. When you get into a position of power, it does affect lives.

"I don't think he's a Republican or a Democrat," Gene said of Trump. "He's out for himself, any way you can get there. And in the last election, over 70 million people bought it hook, line and sinker.

"The current president [Joe Biden], I like the ethics and morality — not a charismatic guy, unfortunately. The first word I keep hearing from people, even friends is 'feeble.' I don't think he should run next time. So then who's around? There are no stars and invariably people vote for stars, not even what they believe in. The cult of personality. Americans are star obsessed: 'Kylie's got a new lip gloss? Fuck!'"

Simmons previously touched upon his feelings about the Trump presidency last August while speaking to Yahoo!'s Lyndsey Parker about the negative response he gets from some of his fans every time he shares his pro-vaccine stance on Twitter.

"It's been politicized," he said. "The gentleman who was in office, the former president [Donald Trump], I knew before the political world. It's the same person I knew before; the stripes of a tiger don't change. And the unfortunate thing is that… Look, we all lie to some extent, but what happened the last four years was beyond anything I ever thought imaginable from people who had lots of power — not just him, but the administration, everybody. And unfortunately, that disease — The Big Lie notwithstanding — has really infected a large portion of the population."

Asked to elaborate on his comment that Trump is "the same person" he knew when he was a contestant on Trump's "The Celebrity Apprentice" series, Gene said: "We were in a restaurant together, and I happened to be with an attractive young lady. And he walked up and said, 'Hey, Gene, you and I, we're exactly the same. We like the hot chicks.' That was a strange thing to say, but yeah, I guess that's true. But I think it's the same person. And maybe that was the appeal and continues to be. People are sick and tired of politically correct language and stuff.

"In a political dialogue, if somebody spews complete fiction and QAnon stuff, you wanna be able to have somebody who says, 'Are you out of your fucking mind? Did you just shit your diapers and forget to wipe it?'" Simmons added. "We're looking for that politician who just says instead of watching your language. Because the other side will spew garbage and lies and everything."

Back in 2019, Simmons said that Trump had "forever changed" politics. He added that "earth has never been in better shape" than it was in the summer of 2019. "I know — climate change and a polarized political thing — but there are no more world wars," he stated at the time. "I mean, imagine what London looked like 60 years ago. This is the best of times. Unemployment in the United States is the lowest it's been in 50 years — 5-0. When I rang the bell at the New York Stock Exchange at their behest, the Dow [Jones Industrial Average] was about 8,000. It's almost 27,000 today. More people are working. More people are making more money. Unions are more powerful."

In the past, Gene had defended Trump's occasional off-color remarks and frequently outrageous statements, saying: "I don't know anybody here who hasn't said stupid things publicly or privately. You've said potty words and so have I. So I'm gonna give the guy who was duly elected a chance to show us what he can do, and then I'll judge his legacy."

Simmons said that he "didn't necessarily vote for Trump or [Hillary] Clinton" in the 2016 presidential election, adding that "it's really nobody's damn business" whom he voted for. "I think you'd be surprised by my choice — but he's President Trump, because even if you don't like the man, you must respect the office of the presidency and the will of the Electoral College," he said.

In 2017, Simmons confirmed that KISS was invited to perform at Trump's inauguration but turned it down because it was "not a good idea."

Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab (MoFi), a company delivering the foremost audio technology and specializing in high-quality reissues, in partnership with Legacy Recordings, the catalog division of Sony Music Entertainment, is proud to announce the reissue of Alan Parsons Project's albums Eye In The Sky and I Robot for their 40th and 45th anniversaries respectively.


Mastered on Mobile Fidelity’s renowned mastering system from the original master tapes and pressed at RTI, MoFi will reissue Eye In The Sky as a numbered-edition 180-gram 45RPM 2LP package and 1977’s I Robot as both a limited-edition UltraDisc One-Step 180-gram 45RPM 2LP Box Set and as a limited-edition 33RPM UltraDisc One-Step 180-gram LP Box Set. The latter is a first for MoFi, offering listeners one-flip convenience.







The Eye In The Sky 2LP package is available for pre-order May 23rd at mofi.com and musicdirect.com with shipments to purchasers beginning this month. The I Robot 33RPM Box Set is available for pre-order on May 23rd at mofi.com and musicdirect.com and will ship beginning this August. Additionally, the Eye In The Sky Super Audio CD (SACD) can be ordered now at mofi.com.


“We feel very lucky to be releasing these two masterworks by the Alan Parsons Project,” said John K. Wood, executive vice president of Mobile Fidelity. “Alan Parsons and Eric Woolfson’s albums have never sounded so spectacular. The layering in the mixes is just phenomenal and otherworldly. Mastering engineer Krieg Wunderlich brought these two titles to a new level.”


Mobile Fidelity’s numbered-edition 180g 45RPM 2LP set of Eye In The Sky (originally released in May 1982) features subtle tones, magnificent balance, low-end heft, and see-through transparency that take you into the studio with Parsons and creative partner Eric Woolfson at Abbey Road. This reference version will test the full-range capabilities of the world's finest stereo systems. There's more information, more detail, more texture, more nuance – more of everything to be experienced.


Boasting front-to-back depth, concert-hall-level separation, and bang-on accuracy, Mobile Fidelity's gatefold 2LP edition illustrates the lasting importance of perfectionist-minded engineering and recording techniques. Few albums possess such a blend of realistic presence and commercial acumen. These facets helped earn Eye In The Sky a Grammy nomination for Best Engineered Album – and, more than 35 years after its release, a Grammy Award for Best Immersive Audio Album. Parsons' track record – he sat behind the boards for the Beatles' Abbey Road and Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon – speaks for itself. As do the performances throughout Eye In The Sky, which feature Woolfson’s exquisite songwriting and unforgettable lead vocals on the title track.


Zombies great Colin Blunstone ("Old and Wise"), Elmer Gantry ("Psychobabble"), and soul singer Lenny Zakatek ("You're Gonna Get Your Fingers Burned" and "Step by Step") also contribute memorable vocal turns.





Eye In The Sky tracklisting:


"Sirius"
"Eye In The Sky"
"Children Of The Moon"
"Gemini"
"Silence And I"
"You're Gonna Get Your Fingers Burned"
"Psychobabble"
"Mammagamma"
"Step By Step"
"Old And Wise"


I Robot (originally released in June 1977) reigns as a disc whose taut bass, crisp highs, clean production, and seemingly limitless dynamic range are matched only by the sensational prog-rock fare helmed by the keyboardist. Mobile Fidelity's transcendent UD1S editions invite you to savor reference-grade soundstages, immersive smoothness, sought-after instrumental separation, three-dimensional imaging, and consummate tonal balances. Able to be played back at high volumes without compromise or fatigue, these LPs are demonstration records for the ages—the likes of which are no longer being made.


The beautiful presentation of the numbered, limited-edition UD1S I Robot pressings speak to the music's merit. Housed in deluxe boxes, the reissues feature special foil-stamped jackets and faithful-to-the-original graphics. Aurally and visually, they are made for discerning listeners who prize sound quality and production, and who desire to fully immerse themselves in everything about this conceptual landmark. Parsons' and Woolfson’s most iconic record deserves nothing less.





I Robot tracklisting:


"I Robot"
"I Wouldn't Want To Be Like You"
"Some Other Time"
"Breakdown"
"Don't Let It Show"
"The Voice"
"Nucleus"
"Day After Day (The Show Must Go On)"
"Total Eclipse"
"Genesis Ch. 1 V. 32"


Based in Sebastopol, California, Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab (MoFi) has been the undisputed pioneer and leader in audiophile recordings since the company’s inception in 1977. The company’s ongoing quest is to deliver the best-sounding releases that technological innovation can provide by developing proprietary technology and mastering techniques. Furthermore, Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab’s engineers have the luxury of time which enables them to do whatever it takes to reveal all the sonic nuances of an Original Master Recording. Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab’s unwavering pursuit for music truth continues to this day with new innovations like the Ultradisc One Step LP: a materials, labor, and time intensive product line considered by critics and consumers to be the “ultimate listening experience.” Read more about Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab’s technologies, including MoFi Ultradisc One-Step, SuperVinyl, GAIN 2™, and more at mofi.com/pages/technologies#one-step.

WHITESNAKE has revisited its multi-platinum career by remixing some of its biggest hits for a new collection, "Greatest Hits", which was made available on May 6 on digital and streaming services.

WHITESNAKE founder and lead singer David Coverdale had 16 tracks remixed and remastered for this collection, including "Is This Love", which was a hit, reaching No. 9 on the U.K. singles chart and No. 2 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. "Is This Love" was WHITESNAKE's second-biggest U.S. hit after "Here I Go Again", which topped the charts.

Asked if there was any trepidation about how the WHITESNAKE rock audience would accept such a radio friendly ballad, Coverdale said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Slightly, yeah. The original idea was for Tina Turner. My friends and associates at EMI Records were looking for songs to follow up Tina's astonishing story. The album with 'What's Love Got To Do With It' was huge, global, and they were looking for songs. And they knew I was going away to do the old correlation of song ideas and said, 'If you come up with anything that you think might be good for Tina' — 'cause they knew I was a huge fan — let us know. So that was the idea — the original idea for 'Is This Love' was for Tina."

Regarding how the song came together, David said: "[Then-WHITESNAKE guitarist] John Sykes and I… I rented a villa in the south of France, and John and I had different hours. He had owl hours and I had daytime hours. He'd sort of stagger out of his room to get coffee as I was tinkering away and turning the volume up about four in the afternoon. And he said, 'Oh, what's that? That's nice.' I said, 'Oh, it's not for us. It's for Tina Turner.' Anyway, he gets his coffee, sits down and starts playing these… It was just this organic thing. These ideas just fed really beautiful things that I wouldn't have come up with. Maybe John wouldn't have come up with the chords, but the embellishments were just part of the whole package of the song. And when [WHITESNAKE's then-record label] Geffen heard it, I said, 'No, no, no. This is for Tina Turner.' [And they said,] 'No, it's not.' And it's one of the biggest songs that we have.

"Whenever we play really big heavy metal festivals around the world, I'm going, 'Should we do it?' Man, everybody's hugging, 'cause usually by that time of the day, people need a good sonic hug. So we're only too happy to oblige with that.

"Sorry, Tina," Coverdale added. "I would still love to have heard her sing it, though. If you were to imagine it in your mind's ear, you know she'd do a superb job on it."

Coverdale previously stated about the new "Greatest Hits" collection: "We've definitely expanded on the original 'Greatest Hits', took them all out of the sonic time capsule of the '80s and '90s, and brought them up to date, sound-wise … as always, we have the original albums for those who consider them holy relics."

Keyboardist Derek Sherinian (DREAM THEATER, SONS OF APOLLO),who also appeared on WHITESNAKE's recent "Red, White And Blues" trilogy, adds Hammond organ to more than half the songs on the collection. His scorching contributions can be heard on the No. 1 smash "Here I Go Again", "Fool For Your Loving", "You're Gonna Break My Heart Again" and more. New performances by former WHITESNAKE guitarist Adrian Vandenberg can also be heard on "The Deeper The Love" and "Judgement Day" from the 1989 album "Slip Of The Tongue".

Along with those new additions, Coverdale also went back to the vault to unearth vintage performances by Sykes that didn't appear on the original recordings, including a solo on "Slide It In" and rhythm guitar on "Give Me All Your Love".

"Greatest Hits" focuses extensively on three blockbuster albums the band released during the 1980s: 1984's "Slide It In" (double platinum),1987's "Whitesnake" (eight times platinum),and 1989's "Slip Of The Tongue" (platinum). But the collection goes deeper with songs like "Sweet Lady Luck", a B-side on the 12-inch single for "The Deeper The Love" and "Forevermore", the title track from the band's 2011 album.

WHITESNAKE has just embarked on a farewell tour with special guest EUROPE. The first leg of "Whitesnake: The Farewell Tour" kicked off on May 10 in Dublin.

"Greatest Hits" CD/Blu-ray track listing:

01. Still Of The Night
02. Here I Go Again
03. Is This Love
04. Give Me All Your Love
05. Love Ain't No Stranger
06. Slide It In
07. Slow An' Easy
08. Guilty Of Love
09. Fool For Your Loving
10. Judgment Day
11. The Deeper The Love
12. Now You're Gone
13. You're Gonna Break My Heart Again
14. Sweet Lady Luck
15. Crying In The Rain
16. Forevermore

WHITESNAKE will team up with the SCORPIONS for a North American tour this summer and fall. The two-month-long Live Nation-produced trek will kick off on August 14 in Toronto, with additional concerts in Los Angeles, Detroit, Chicago, Dallas, and Denver, among others. Also appearing on the bill will be the Swedish band THUNDERMOTHER.

Last July, WHITESNAKE announced that it had enlisted Croatian singer/multi-instrumentalist Dino Jelusick for its current tour. Jelusick is a member of multi-platinum selling band TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA and was previously part of DIRTY SHIRLEY (with George Lynch),ANIMAL DRIVE and recorded with many others. The 29-year-old Dino has been singing, touring and recording since the age of five. Other than being a frontman, his main instrument are keyboards but he also plays bass, guitar and drums. He finished music academy and did theater work.

Coverdale, who turned 70 last September, recently confirmed that he plans to retire from touring after WHITESNAKE's next batch of concerts around the world.

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

WHITESNAKE had been touring in support of its latest album, "Flesh & Blood", which was released in May 2019 via Frontiers Music Srl.

On Tuesday (May 24),legendary rocker Iggy Pop was presented with the 2022 Polar Music Prize at a ceremony in Stockholm.

The Polar Music Prize was founded in 1989 by Stig "Stikkan" Anderson, the manager and music publisher of ABBA. A well-known lyricist, he also was the co-writer on many of their early hits. The prize was first presented in 1992.

In accepting his award, Iggy Pop commented: "Recognition is a hard mistress … Ada Osterberg, a Swedish émigré to the U.S., adopted my father James… [Ada] was a Red Cross nurse and raised my dad during the great depression… These were great people, real people. I am neither great nor real. At this point, I am a myth. Happily, music is a form of myth. All beauty derives from believing in myth. But every so often, you gotta get real — like balls. That's how I got here. So when you think about music, when you think about this prize and if you remember me, think about the balls."

In a statement announcing Iggy's award, the Polar Music Prize award committee said: "With his era-defining group THE STOOGES, Iggy Pop created furious rock music by blending together blues and free jazz influences with the roar of the Michigan automotive industry. With his courage, initiative and raw power, Iggy Pop paved the way for punk and post-punk. Groups like the SEX PISTOLS, RAMONES, BLONDIE, SIOUXSIE AND THE BANSHEES, JOY DIVISION and Nick Cave all followed in his footsteps. As a solo artist, Iggy Pop has never slowed down, and has instead pushed this art form forwards for half a century. Iggy Pop is 'the chairman of the bored’ who portrays alienation in poetic language. A wholly unique artist who personifies and embodies what rock music is about."

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

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

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

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

Previous winners of the Polar Music Prize include METALLICA, Elton John, Sting, Ray Charles, Bob Dylan, LED ZEPPELIN, PINK FLOYD, Peter Gabriel, Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon, Joni Mitchell, B.B. King, Quincy Jones, Paul McCartney, Max Martin and Bruce Springsteen.

The Polar Music Prize honors two laureates every year to "celebrate music in all its various forms" and "to break down musical boundaries by bringing together people from all the different worlds of music." It awards each laureate one million kronor (approximately $125,000) at a gala in Stockholm.

This year's ceremony took place at The Grand Hotel in Stockholm, Sweden.

DEF LEPPARD played a three-song mini-set on last night's (Wednesday, May 25) episode of ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" The trio of "Rock Of Ages" (from DEF LEPPARD's "Pyromania" album),"Hysteria" and "Pour Some Sugar On Me" (both from "Hysteria") can now be seen below.

DEF LEPPARD's new album, "Diamond Star Halos", will arrive on May 27 via UMe. The follow-up to 2015's self-titled LP is available for pre-order now in multiple configurations, including a deluxe edition, 2-LP vinyl, digital formats and more. Exclusive bundles including newly designed album merch have also launched.

In a recent interview with Germany's Rockland Radio, DEF LEPPARD singer Joe Elliott was asked why fans of his band should listen to "Diamond Star Halos". He responded: "If you're a DEF LEPPARD fan, I would imagine there's always a need to listen to some new music, because as much as it's great to have this massive back catalog of music, new music is what keeps a band alive, so we wanna share that with our fans.

"Why would they wanna listen to it?" he continued. "Well, I believe that this is a career-defining album. For a band that's been around now for 45 years, to make an album that's this strong, I believe, at this point of our career is actually quite an achievement.

"I've been comparing the situation — not the album, but I've been comparing the situation — 'Diamond Star Halos' for DEF LEPPARD, I think, is capable of being what 'Hotel California' was for THE EAGLES or 'Rumours' was for FLEETWOOD MAC. And what I mean by that is what came before was fine; there was nothing wrong with it. In fact, THE EAGLES' 'Greatest Hits', which was their previous album to 'Hotel California' is one of the biggest-selling records of all time; it speaks for itself. And the FLEETWOOD MAC scenario — the Peter Green years, the Jeremy Spencer years — it was all brilliant stuff. But then they put out 'Rumours' and THE EAGLES put out 'Hotel California', and it was a quantum leap."

Circling back to "Diamond Star Halos", Elliott added: "I believe that this album is a quantum leap. It's not a rehash of 'Pyromania' or 'Hysteria' or any of our albums. It's got all the flavors that DEF LEPPARD have had in the past, but it's got some new explorations that we've never done that I think our audience are ready for this journey. Because it's 35 years since 'Hysteria' is released, it's 39 since 'Pyromania' came out, and our audience are also older, like we are. So I think they're ready to hear something a little different. It's still got plenty of DEF LEPPARD stuff — 'Gimme A Kiss', 'SOS Emergency', 'Fire It Up' [and] 'Kick'; they're all classic DEF LEPPARD — but there's some stuff that, like our heroes QUEEN, it just goes off on tangents that are a little different to the stuff that they'd done in the past."

The artwork for "Diamond Star Halos" follows pedigree with DEF LEPPARD's instantly recognizable album covers from their celebrated past. With images by world renowned photographer and director Anton Corbijn, styling concepts by Maryam Malakpour and graphics by the U.K.-based Munden Brothers, the design truly follows the band's influence through their eyes today.

Over the past two years, DEF LEPPARD recorded "Diamond Star Halos" simultaneously in three different countries with Elliott in Ireland, Rick Savage (bass) in England, and Phil Collen (guitar),Vivian Campbell (guitar) and Rick Allen (drums) in the United States. Without the pressure of timelines or a fixed schedule, they poured all of their energy into crafting 15 meaningful tracks with a mixture of classic spirit meets modern fire. Thematically, they nodded to their earliest collective influences such as David Bowie, T.REX and MOTT THE HOOPLE, among others. The title itself notably references T.REX's "Bang a Gong (Get It On)". However, they didn't embark on this journey alone. The multi-Grammy Award-winning and legendary artist Alison Krauss lent her instantly recognizable and angelic voice to "This Guitar" and "Lifeless", while David Bowie pianist Mike Garson performs on "Goodbye For Good This Time" and "Angels (Can't Help You Now)".

DEF LEPPARD's "The Stadium Tour" with MÖTLEY CRÜE, POISON and JOAN JETT & THE BLACKHEARTS was originally scheduled to take place in the summer of 2020 but ended up being pushed back to 2021, and then to 2022, due to the coronavirus pandemic.

JUDAS PRIEST singer Rob Halford spoke to ABC Audio about the progress of the songwriting and recording sessions for the band's follow-up to 2018's "Firepower" album.

"We've stopped kicking the tires and now we're in tracking," he said.

"You can never have enough songs when you're making an album," he continued. "Songs that you didn't even know you had bits and pieces and fragments of, suddenly they become an incredibly important part of your record."

Regarding the musical direction of the new JUDAS PRIEST material, Rob said: "The music that we're making now is representative of where PRIEST is at this probably sixth decade of our existence when it comes out… It sounds great. I'm really pleased. I'm really, really happy that… we're not dropping the ball. Not that we ever have. But it's good, because there are some elements in there that we've never… kind of discovered before."

More than a year ago, Halford confirmed that PRIEST's next album will see the band reuniting with the "Firepower" production team consisting of Andy Sneap, longtime collaborator Tom Allom and engineer Mike Exeter (BLACK SABBATH).

Bassist Ian Hill is the sole remaining original member of PRIEST, which formed in 1969. Halford joined the group in 1973 and guitarist Glenn Tipton signed on in 1974. Rob left PRIEST in the early 1990s to form his own band, then came back to PRIEST in 2003. Founding guitarist K.K. Downing parted ways with the band in 2011, and was replaced by Richie Faulkner.

Tipton was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease eight years ago after being stricken by the condition at least half a decade earlier. Tipton announced in early 2018 he was going to sit out touring activities in support of "Firepower". He was replaced by Sneap, who is also known for his work in NWOBHM revivalists HELL and cult thrash outfit SABBAT.

This past March, Faulkner told the "Metal From The Inside" podcast about the recording process for the new PRIEST album: "It's been slowed down a lot because of, obviously, the pandemic. We wanted to get together, like we did on 'Firepower', and record it together, but, obviously, the lockdowns and everything like that slowed that process [down]. Some of us live in the U.S., some of us live in the U.K., so getting together proved to be a bit difficult over the last couple of years. Now everything is kind of opening up, it's a bit easier, but now we're on the road, so we've got a touring cycle [to get through]. So, if we can, we might be able to do it in between the touring cycles."

As for when fans can expect to get the next PRIEST album, Faulkner said: "We don't have a release date. It's not finished. We've got the songs, but we've gotta record it. We've got drums down. I don't know if that's even been said yet. So we're gonna try and build it up as we move through this touring cycle. But as Rob always says, it'll be finished when it's finished. At this point in their career, there's no point in rushing anything, especially when we've waited this long through the pandemic to start doing it. It'll be done when it's done. But there will be another PRIEST record. We've got some great songs."

Regarding the musical direction of the new PRIEST material, Richie said: "It's different to 'Firepower', but it's definitely… You can hear where it's coming from. It's not even 'Firepower 2'… It's hard to say anything these days without people getting… If I say it's like a continuation of 'Firepower', people think it's 'Firepower 2'. It's got its own character, it's got its own legs, and we're looking forward to releasing it on to the world when it's done."

In February, Halford was asked by Remy Maxwell of Audacy Check In if he agreed with Faulkner's recent comment that the band's upcoming album will be more musically "progressive" than "Firepower". He responded: "Yeah, the metal is there. But here's the thing: we've tried our best not to replicate anything that we've done. From 'Rocka Rolla' all the way through to 'Firepower', each record has had a distinctive character. And it's tough because fans go, 'We want another 'Painkiller',' 'We want another 'British Steel'.' And [it's, like], 'Dude, we've already done that.'

"Fans know that we're a band that is always full of adventure and trying new stuff," he continued. "And so, yeah, this has got probably some more progressive elements that we've never really delved into before. And that's exciting, because, again, it gives us and our fans another opportunity to see a different side of PRIEST. But it's still metal. There's just more of it. There are more notes than there were before."

That same month, Faulkner told Canada's The Metal Voice about the overall sound of the new PRIEST music: "Whenever you start a record, you never know how it's gonna turn out. So you might start with an idea of what it's gonna be, and as it kind of rolls on, it comes out something different. So you don't quite know. And also it's really hard to sum up your own music, I find, without sounding really pretentious. But I think this one — it's not 'Firepower 2', I don't think. It's its own thing, it's its own animal. If anything, I would say it's a bit more progressive in places, and in places it's got a bit more of that 'Killing Machine' swagger."

Faulkner added: "I know everyone says, 'Oh, is it the next 'Painkiller'?' or 'Is it the next…?' whatever… I don't know if they'd ever done it, but I know we've never done it when I've been in the band; we've never tried to recreate an album. It's always we try to create an album that stands on its own legs. So I think it's definitely a little bit more progressive than 'Firepower' and, as I said, in places it's got a little bit of that 'Killing Machine' angry swagger attitude going on. But again, as I said, we're waiting to see what it turns out like, 'cause it could turn out completely different."

JUDAS PRIEST will receive the Musical Excellence Award at this year's Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, which will honor Eminem, Dolly Parton, DURAN DURAN, Lionel Richie, Pat Benatar, EURYTHMICS and Carly Simon in the Performers category.

The induction ceremony will be held on November 5, 2022 at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. It will air at a later date on HBO and stream on HBO Max. There will also be a radio simulcast on SiriusXM's Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Radio channel 310.

According to the Hall Of Fame, the JUDAS PRIEST members that will get inducted include current members Halford, Hill, Tipton and Scott Travis (drums),along with former members Downing, Les Binks (drums) and late drummer Dave Holland.

During an appearance on Wednesday's (May 25) episode of SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", LAST IN LINE bassist Phil Soussan spoke about the band's plans for the coming months. He said: "We have an EP coming out in August, which we'll have an announcement about. 'Cause it's a very special EP — there's something very, very cool about it — and there's gonna be a great video that goes with that. And we also are delivering an album [in] July that will be released end of February, right at the beginning of March next year. So the EP will carry us in the middle, and we'll be doing a bunch of shows to support that."

LAST IN LINE recently inked a deal with earMUSIC, the recorded music label of German entertainment group Edel AG which boasts a roster of global artists including DEEP PURPLE, Alice Cooper, BABYMETAL, THUNDER, STATUS QUO and many more.

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

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

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

Last June, Soussan spoke to Metal-Net.com about the progress of the writing and recording sessions for LAST IN LINE's third album.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Mark Tremonti says that "stars" would "have to align" for a reunion of CREED to take place.

Two years ago, CREED updated its Facebook profile with an old photo, igniting rumors of the multi-platinum act's imminent return.

Mark, who is promoting his upcoming album of Frank Sinatra covers titled "Tremonti Sings Sinatra", discussed the chances of a CREED comeback during a new interview with Ghost Cult magazine.

Asked about the possibility of a CREED reunion, Mark said: "You never know. It's just one of those things where whenever it comes up, either our camp or [CREED singer] Scott [Stapp] has something going on at the moment. So our stars have to align. In fact, right now if a promoter said, 'Hey, we wanna do a huge CREED tour,' I'd have to bypass all the stuff we're working on at the moment. So we just have to wait till the time is right."

Last September, Tremonti told The Rock Experience With Mike Brunn that constantly being associated with CREED — nine years after the band completed a tour in support of its fourth album, 2009's "Full Circle" — was "definitely both a blessing and a curse. It's a blessing because I wouldn't be sitting here talking to you right now if it weren't for CREED; I wouldn't have this career, this long career," he said. "But at the same time, for my entire life, I will be that guy from the band CREED, which is good and band. 'Cause certain people loved CREED, certain people hated CREED. So no matter what I do artistically, I'm gonna be the guy who was in CREED that was, at certain points critics liked to come after us. So I've kind of lived in both worlds — I was in a band that sold lots of records but got some critical attacks, but I also got to be in a band that didn't sell as many records but got critical praise. So I got to see both sides of it. It would be great to have it all in one. But it's tough."

CREED disbanded in 2004 but reunited five years later for the aforementioned "Full Circle" LP and an extensive tour. Stapp has since toured and recorded as a solo artist, although he suffered a drug-related mental breakdown in 2014 and spent several years recovering from that.

In 2019, Tremonti said in an interview on Jamey Jasta's podcast that he was sitting on an album's worth of material for CREED. Asked whether CREED could reunite again, Tremonti said, "People say, 'Is it done? Is it over? Is there new music coming out?' I'm sitting on an entire CREED album... When we were together doing the reunion tour, we put a lot of music together and I have like really sketchy little demos of probably 13 songs. I listened to them maybe a year ago and they're good songs."

Tremonti added: "It's just, there's no time. Is it good enough for me to put everything on the back burner that I've been working on for the past 14 years? No. Is it good enough to maybe 10 years from now or seven years from now... or some big resurgence happens or there's an anniversary where everybody's like, 'We want to see CREED and the world demands it like they used to.' I wouldn't say no."

After being the timekeeper of Portugal’s most important metal band, Moonspell, for nearly thirty years, Mike Gaspar has finally settled on a new outlet with which to celebrate his love for heavy metal, his cultural heritage, and his passion for untamed, feral music with roots reaching deep into the fabric of our world. Now, barely a year after announcing their inception, Seventh Storm will unleash their debut album, Maledictus, on August 12, via Atomic Fire Records.


The omnipresence of death in the midst of blooming life and creativity is at the center of the band. Here we see a hungry combo arise that has given their soul for their music. Gaspar explains, "My dream essentially was to try and bring back a bit of that innocent ‘90s touch. And to mix traditional Portuguese music with metal.” 


With influences ranging from Bathory via Samael, Tiamat, Paradise Lost, Fields Of The Nephilim, Cradle Of Filth, and Dead Can Dance to even Van Halen or Mötley Crüe, Seventh Storm is only just embarking on a journey across the wild and wondrous waters of heavy metal history. And while not a concept album, Maledictus - graced by an atmospheric painting from Victor Costa - is tied together by a strong sense of pain and anger, paired with a flickering hope of forgiveness for our lives.




Recorded at Dynamix Studios in Lisbon in May and October 2021, with mixing duties handled by icon Tue Madsen, Seventh Storm completed their debut within a year after Gaspar’s departure from Moonspell – a demonstration of sheer willpower. He remembers, "On the 25th of April, 2021 I announced my new band – the day the Portuguese dictatorship ended back in 1974. We felt it would be a strong message to announce the band on that date." 


For Gaspar and his band of buccaneers alike, Maledictus is a new beginning. "It’s our grand stand," he says. "This is us showing that not all is lost. That our past was not in vain. We are here to stay!"


So cast off and watch for the first single and preorders for Maledictus to be unveiled in a few short weeks.


Seventh Storm:
Mike Gaspar - drums
Rez - vocals
Ben Stockwell - lead guitar
Josh Riot - guitar
Butch Cid - bass guitar


(Photo – Diego Branco)

In a new interview with Greece's Rock Pages, DEF LEPPARD and LAST IN LINE guitarist Vivian Campbell was asked if he would like to make a follow-up album to his solo debut, 2005's "Two Sides Of If". He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Yes, would be the short answer. But in reality, working with DEF LEPPARD and working with LAST IN LINE, that keeps me pretty busy.

"Like many people have said, when COVID happened and everything sort of stopped, a lot of people re-thought how they're living their lives," he continued. "For me, it really made me realize how busy I've been for the last 10 years or so. Because when I wasn't working with DEF LEPPARD, I was on the road with LAST IN LINE, and it was just constant, constant travel — home for a day, gone again. So I really appreciated having the time off and I got to do other things in my life that I'd always wanted to do. I really got into rally driving and had fun with cars. But having said that, now we're getting back to work, We're in L.A. at the moment rehearsing for the tour with DEF LEPPARD, and I go home for 12 days between rehearsal and tour, and in those 12 days I need to record guitar solos for the new LAST IN LINE record. So, again, there's so much [stuff going on].

"I would love to make another record, but I would need to technically get my shit together and I would need to take a big block of time, and I don't know how to do that," Vivian explained.

"Two Sides Of If" featured Vivian doing two things you probably hadn't heard him do much before — singing lead and playing blues-based guitar. It was a collection of Campbell's favorite blues songs, including WILLIE DIXON's "I Ain't Superstitious" and "Spoonful", FLEETWOOD MAC's "Like It This Way", RORY GALLAGHER's "Calling Card", and MEL LONDON's "Messin' With The Kid".

Campbell told Launch that his love for the kind of music on "Two Sides Of If" goes way back. "I have always had an affinity for organic music, whether it was blues, or organic pop, or soul, or whatever which may seem strange, coming from a guy who plays guitar with DEF LEPPARD, who are probably the most produced band in the world," he said. "And with blues, you know, and particularly with this record, I did it live in the studio, because I wanted it to have that interaction between real musicians playing music in real time."

In a 2005 interview with ModernGuitars.com, Campbell explained his reasons for doing a solo album.

"About twenty years ago, my wife heard me sing," he said. "She said, 'You know, you sing like a blues guy. You play guitar like a blues guy, too. Maybe you should do a blues record.' I laughed and told her to go away and stop being a silly woman. [Laughs] I didn't think much about it, but I always knew that the way I played was more akin to blues than anything else. I let my left hand do most of the work, and I'm basically a down-stroke picker. I fret pretty hard with my left hand, so that articulates the note. So, a couple of years ago I got roped into playing a blues set at my daughter's school fundraiser. You know how it is, when you have kids, you do these fundraiser events. They had a band, and they asked me to do a blues set. So I got up and did four or five songs. That's where I met Tor, the keyboard player. He had put together the little band because his daughter went to the same school as mine. We did the set, and he told me that he thought I should do a blues record. He also said that he thought I sounded like a blues singer. I said, 'Okay. We'll make it happen.' Tor went out and made a few calls and got a bit of interest, so I said, 'Why not, let’s do it.'"

In 2011, Vivian released a solo song titled "Seems So Real". The track was written by Campbell and Robert Cosio and was produced by Cosio. Mixing duties were handled by Ronan McHugh.

Former IRON MAIDEN singer Paul Di'Anno came face to face with the band's bassist Steve Harris for the first time in three decades last Sunday night (May 22) before MAIDEN's concert in Croatia.

Harris, whose group kicked off the 2022 leg of its "Legacy Of The Beast" world tour at the 22,000-capacity Arena Zagreb, came out before the show to greet a wheelchair-bound Di'Anno and chat with him for a few minutes. Paul has spent the last few months in Croatia receiving physiotherapy and lymphatic drainage treatments in preparation for his upcoming knee surgery.

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

Di'Anno spoke about his experience meeting Harris in person after all these years in a live video chat with Canada's The Metal Voice earlier today (Saturday, May 28). He said: "Last weekend was absolutely amazing. 'Cause me and Steve [have exchanged messages] about football [in the past]. But we actually hadn't met [face to face] for a long time. And it was brilliant, because I met up with Steve's sister Linda first, whom I hadn't seen her in about 30 years. And then [seeing] Steve was amazing, and then [meeting up with MAIDEN's longtime manager] Rod [Smallwood] as well, it's made my whole year, actually. It was fantastic. It was pretty awesome."

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

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

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

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

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

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

Video and a photo of Paul's get-together with Steve, courtesy of Stjepan Juras, a MAIDEN fan and author of many MAIDEN-related books, who is taking care of Di'Anno during his stay in Croatia, can be found below.

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

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

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

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

At times, Paul has also publicly displayed his anger toward his former bandmates, most notably during a 2009 press conference in Argentina where he was asked about the rumors that his drug use had something to do with his split with MAIDEN. "Where the fuck do you people get this from?" he asked. "I left IRON MAIDEN because they were going too heavy metal, and IRON MAIDEN is a money-making machine, and I don't give a fuck about it. It was not about drugs; it was nothing like that. Me and Steve... I [wrote] the song 'Killers'. Steve had [what he thought] were better songs. I thought his songs were shit. Nothing to do with drugs; nothing whatsoever. Check your facts or otherwise this interview is over... I hate that! I fucking hate that! Because people... You say something but you don't know. Well, I'm telling you. IRON MAIDEN is Steve Harris's band. It doesn't matter about anybody else — whether it's Dave Murray, Clive [Burr], me... it's Steve Harris's band and all it is is money, money, money, money — nobody else counts. And I wrote fuckin' 20-times better songs than his, but I only got one song on the 'Killers' album because it's Steve's — he must have this. Fuckin' Adolf Hitler. I'm not interested. So there you go. But you need to take drugs when you're with IRON MAIDEN because they're so fucking boring. And the only drugs were aspirin, because Steve [making hand gesture as if someone is speaking into his ear]... Fuckin' headache."

Di'Anno played his first solo concert in seven years on May 21 at the Bikers Beer Factory in Zagreb. The show was filmed and parts of it will be included in a documentary about Di'Anno, to be directed by Wes Orshoski, co-director and producer of the acclaimed 2010 film "Lemmy" about the MOTÖRHEAD icon.

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

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



After the video of the reunion of Steve Harris and Paul Di'Anno came out, I'm posting a much longer video of how it all really started. First came Rod Smallwood, whom Paul hasn’t seen since the 2013 Rock In Rio Festival, and then Steve Harris, whom everyone greeted along the way. This meeting triggered something that will be talked about soon. If you want to know more about everything, click on www.maidencroatia.com/warhorse

Posted by Stjepan Juras on Tuesday, May 24, 2022



It's happening ladies and gentlemen. If you want to know more, please visit www.maidencroatia.com/warhorse

Posted by Stjepan Juras on Sunday, May 22, 2022

Can't be better! See more at www.maidencroatia.com/warhorse

Posted by Stjepan Juras on Sunday, May 22, 2022



History!

Posted by Stjepan Juras on Sunday, May 22, 2022



Very emotional to see Paul watching performance of song Iron Maiden, after he left the venue to avoid huge traffic jam after the show. Shot for history!

Posted by Stjepan Juras on Monday, May 23, 2022

In her first interview since the death of ALL THAT REMAINS guitarist Oliver "Oli" Herbert nearly four years ago, his wife Elizabeth Herbert denied having anything to do with his passing. "I absolutely did not kill my husband," she told Daily Mail.

She also took a swipe at the lead detective over the way she was treated after she became a target in the investigation, questioned not just by cops but also by Oli's friends, family and bandmates.

"You could tell he was fan of the band," she said. "Here he is, this country cop, and he's working on a rock star who died. I think he got star struck and was on a power trip."

Oli was found dead on October 16, 2018 at the edge of the pond on his Stafford Springs, Connecticut property. He was reported missing by his wife about 3 p.m., and his body was found by police face down at the edge of the pond where the water was only a few inches deep. The medical examiner's office conducted an autopsy showing that Oli had three prescription drugs in his system — the antipsychotic olanzapine, the antidepressant citalopram, and Ambien. It also said: "Mr. Herbert's past medical history is reportedly significant for marijuana use."

The Connecticut State Police Eastern District Crime Squad is still investigating Herbert's death, which is being treated as suspicious. They are looking at the will he signed a week before his death as well as a life insurance policy mentioned in the will.

The will named Elizabeth Herbert as executor and sole benefactor. It said that Oliver Herbert's sister, Cynthia Herbert, should not become executor or receive anything from his estate. The will also stated that Elizabeth Herbert should get all "property as well as any current or future earnings."

Elizabeth, a self-described pagan, told Daily Mail the timing of the will was purely coincidental, that she and Oli had just recently had a friend die and wanted to prepare for the unexpected.

"We loved each other, we trusted each other and we were husband and wife, despite everyone else doing whatever they could to break us up," she said. "We were leaving each other everything, including making each other beneficiaries of each other's life insurance policies."

Others who knew Oli painted a different picture of the couple's relationship, saying that he was actually considering a divorce. They claimed Elizabeth was frequently hostile to Oli and bandmates and routinely accused him of sleeping with groupies.

According to the Hartford Courant, state police seized Elizabeth Herbert's computer and phone records as part of their investigation.

The couple were married for 14 years and lived in Stafford Springs for four years before Oli's death.

In 2020, ALL THAT REMAINS singer Phil Labonte called Elizabeth Herbert a "garbage human being" who was "never allowed" to join the band on tour. "She would come to the local shows, because we couldn't stop her from showing up," he explained. "[But] she wasn't allowed because she's a garbage human being."

According to the singer, he tried unsuccessfully to convince Oli to get a divorce for a long time. "I can't tell you exactly why he wouldn't do it or what the circumstances [were] surrounding his resistance," he said. "I don't know. But I can say that I personally talked to him multiple times and said, 'Look, if you need a place to stay, I've got plenty of room. Come to my house."

Asked if he had an opinion on how Oli died, the singer responded: "I do have an opinion on it, but I'm not gonna say. There is an ongoing investigation by the Connecticut state police."

Herbert began playing guitar at 14. He co-founded ALL THAT REMAINS with Labonte in 1998.

The surviving members of ALL THAT REMAINS later recruited guitar virtuoso and YouTube personality Jason Richardson (ALL SHALL PERISH, CHELSEA GRIN, BORN OF OSIRIS) to replace Herbert.

In March 2021, Labonte revealed that a financial dispute with Elizabeth Herbert has made it impossible for ALL THAT REMAINS to use Oli's name in connection with any of its projects. Speaking to American Songwriter, Labonte said he and his bandmates have toyed with the idea of hosting benefits for Herbert and even starting a charity or project in the late musician's name. "We talked about ideas to do a benefit to raise money for kids in schools, but we can't do anything that has his name on it," Labonte said.

Labonte also confirmed that ALL THAT REMAINS has always paid everything owed to Herbert's estate and will continue to do so.

"We've made sure that that our accountants and all the people that work with us know any money that is owed to Oli Herbert's estate must be paid to Oli Herbert's estate," Labonte explained. "And we have absolutely no interest in not paying. It's not worth any kind of hassle for the amount of money."

Former MÖTLEY CRÜE singer John Corabi spoke to Australia's May The Rock Be With You about his upcoming autobiography, "Horseshoes And Hand Grenades", which is tentatively due on June 14 via Rare Bird Books. It was written with the help of MÖTLEY CRÜE historian/author Paul Miles.

Regarding the writing process for the book, Corabi said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It was tedious. I wrote it with a guy from Melbourne [in Australia], Paul Miles. He was very thorough with his research, and we kind of conducted it like an interview. And then he put it in like a transcript form and then sent it to me and then I went through it and I crisscrossed things off and then I rewrote things and then I sent it back. And we did this — God — eight or nine times. So it was very tedious, but it was also… It was good and bad. There was very cool moments in the book where I was kind of happy and I kind of relived that while I was reading it. And then there was other moments where it was, like, oh my God. Leaving MÖTLEY, the lawsuit, divorces… And I was just going through some of the insanity. A couple of times I had to walk away from it, go make myself a coffee or a tea and then come back and get back into it. And I'm, like, 'Oh my God. I'm getting a fucking stomach ache over this.' But at the same time, I think it was a bit cleansing as well. So it was cool — definitely an overall positive experience."

Asked if "Horseshoes And Hand Grenades" covers his time with MÖTLEY CRÜE in great detail, Corabi said: "I really tried to make the book not about any of the people that I was in the bands with or any of the women that I was married to. It's more like what I was going through mentally and physically going from a pauper to joining MÖTLEY CRÜE — the excitement, all those things. And then also how I felt when I was leaving the band or going through a divorce or whatever. So it's really kind of more an in-depth look into me trying to process everything and how I was feeling while all of this shit was happening. And we go all the way back to the very beginning — like birth. So the book is long; you definitely get your money's worth with the book. Everybody that's read it so far is pretty pleased. They're, like, 'It's a great read. It goes into depth.' And, again, it wasn't written to throw anybody under the bus. I'm just being as truthful as possible. And hopefully, I keep my fingers crossed that I don't piss anybody off."

Corabi joined CRÜE in 1992 as the replacement for the group's original singer, Vince Neil, who was dismissed due to personal differences. With Corabi on vocals, MÖTLEY CRÜE released one critically acclaimed full-length CD, which ended up being a commercial failure in the wake of grunge despite a Top 10 placing on the album chart. When Neil returned to the fold in 1997, Corabi was left on his own and formed the band UNION with ex-KISS guitarist Bruce Kulick.

Last year, Corabi told Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station about his book: "It goes all the way back to, obviously, me being born, but it talks about my parents. My grandparents were first-generation Italians from the Calabria section of Italy. My mother's side of the family, I talk about them. It talks about me being born, my childhood being very kind of 'Wonder Years' — whatever — and then just it completely derailing and falling apart. And it goes into everything. There's a lot of things that fans don't know about me — some of my marriages. It talks about, again, my youth, childhood. I dive into the Uncle Jack stories.

"Basically, the book is really kind of a testament to [the fact that] I knew at a very young age that I wanted to do what I'm doing for a living," he continued. "Now, has it panned out the way that the magazines, the articles — you know, Learjets, limousines and all that other stuff? Probably not. But I'm still pushing forward, still trying to find my slice of the pie. But it's really kind of a testament to perseverance. And it goes right from the time I took my first breath to maybe a year ago."

When asked in an interview with 80's Glam Metalcast if he is concerned at all about what his former bandmates will think about his book, Corabi responded: "To be honest with you, I don't really think that I'm telling anybody anything that they didn't already know. What the book really kind of goes through is me joining the band, being in the band, leaving the band, and it really kind of explains my mental state. Obviously, the MÖTLEY thing, all of it's been so publicized with [the band biography] 'The Dirt' and just interviews and different things like that. I'm just explaining how I was feeling while certain things were happening and how I feel like I fit with the band but I never really did. So I'm kind of talking about my mental state through the whole thing. So I don't really think I'm saying anything that will surprise anybody. And to be honest with you, and I don't mean this to sound weird, but I don't really care what those guys think... The minute they told me they were bringing Vince back, I walked away from it and I kind of accepted everything. It's not me who keeps bringing it up. I'm still writing new music. I've done — in the last 10 years, between my solo records and the records I did with THE [DEAD] DAISIES and the new music that I'm doing, I think I've done five or six records. So I'm past it, I'm over it, I don't even think about it.

"Paul talked to me about doing a book, which I really didn't want to do in the beginning," he continued. "But he said, 'You know what, dude? You're just one of these guys that, like, even though you kind of had a few chapters in 'The Dirt', you're largely a mystery. There's not a lot of stuff that people know about you. And I think your story is pretty fascinating.' So I was, like, 'Okay. Whatever. We'll do the book.'

"It's not a tell-all book about any band that I've been in; it's not a tell-all book about any of my marriages; it's basically a tell-all book about John Corabi from the minute I took my first breath till about a year ago or six months ago," he explained. "I have an ex-wife or two that it might piss off, and I don't give a shit about them either. So, whatever… [The book] is about perseverance and it talks about my life from the beginning to now. And the title is just about somebody that's been close a lot. It's a book about a guy that's been in all the right places but at all the wrong times. So it's pretty cool. It's fun."

Corabi went on to say that he doesn't hold a grudge against any of the guys in MÖTLEY CRÜE. "Honestly, it may not seem it, but I don't have any issues with the guys in MÖTLEY at all," he said. "I love those guys. I don't know why Nikki's [Sixx, CRÜE bassist] had a hair up his ass for the last couple of years about me; I couldn't tell you why. I don't know. I don't care. My only beef with those guys was I really wish they would have just left me out of ['The Dirt' biopic]. I really felt like — I don't know if it was intentional, if it wasn't intentional, but I really felt like my portrayal in the movie just made me look like a complete fucking babbling moron. And they also made it look like we were playing in high school gymnasiums to 10 people. Obviously, it wasn't great — we all know that; it's common knowledge — but the attendance wasn't that bad; not as bad as they made it look. So I wish they would would have just left me out of the movie altogether and whatever. But it is what it is. I don't care. I'm over it."

In February 2018, Corabi released a live album of his performance of MÖTLEY CRÜE's entire 1994 self-titled album, recorded on October 27, 2015 in Nashville, Tennessee. "Live '94: One Night In Nashville" documents the album in its entirety along with the bonus track "10,000 Miles", which was originally released as a bonus track on the Japanese version of the "Quaternary" EP.

Ex-DREAM THEATER drummer Mike Portnoy attended the group's concert on March 4 at Beacon Theatre in New York City. It was the first time Portnoy witnessed his former bandmates perform live since his exit from the iconic progressive metal outfit more than 11 years ago.

According to DREAM THEATER fans who attended the show, singer James LaBrie gave Portnoy a shoutout from the stage and Mike waved. Several fans also took pictures of Portnoy at the venue, with Mike and his wife reportedly watching the performance from near the Beacon Theatre soundboard.

The next day, Portnoy shared a few backstage photos from the concert and he included the following message: "After 36 years, I finally got to see my 1st DREAM THEATER show last night! It was a wonderful evening and it was such a pleasure to spend time with my old friends again".

Asked in a new interview with Pete Pardo of Sea Of Tranquility what it was like for him to see Portnoy at the New York concert, DREAM THEATER keyboardist Jordan Rudess said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, Mike and I have been friends [in the years since his departure]. Nothing really interrupted that. There was definitely a rough period, but that's obvious. It was great. It was brave of him. I'm sure it took some — I don't know what the word is — some courage, or whatever, to put himself in that position, 'cause it's a little awkward, especially 'cause there were some different guys with different situations going on, different relationships. So he was, like, 'I'm going,' and I think it's awesome that he did that. And it meant a lot — it meant a lot to everybody. It meant a lot to all of us, and it also managed to smooth out some of the relationships, as everybody knows; you see everything online. But it was great to see him. And I'm so glad he came. And it must be cool to go see a DREAM THEATER show. [Laughs]"

Last month, LaBrie told Sonic Perspectives that it was "great" to reconnect with Portnoy at the New York show. "The thing is that you get to a point in life where you've gotta… You can't carry around that. Don't carry around hate; don't carry around negativity," LaBrie said. "We carried it around far too long, as far as I'm concerned, and it didn't serve any purpose; it just served frickin' division. It was very divisive and very damaging.

"So, it's great to be back," James added. "We're talking to one another, we're chatting and all that stuff. And that's the kind of world that I wanna live in as opposed to negativity, hate and frickin'… It's just not worth it. It's not worth it."

Portnoy, who co-founded DREAM THEATER 37 years ago, abruptly quit the band in September 2010 while on tour with AVENGED SEVENFOLD. He has since been replaced by Mangini (ANNIHILATOR, EXTREME, STEVE VAI).

Portnoy was a guest on DREAM THEATER guitarist John Petrucci's second solo album, "Terminal Velocity", which was released in August 2020 via Sound Mind Music/The Orchard. The effort marked the first time Petrucci and Portnoy recorded together in over a decade, as well as their first time playing together since Portnoy departed DREAM THEATER.

In a 2017 interview with Rockhok, Portnoy insisted that had "no longing to reunite" with DREAM THEATER but said that he would return to his former band "for the fans." He explained: "The ball's in their court, to be honest. I have no longing to reunite with them; it's not something I necessarily am looking to do or want to do. I'm very content with all the eighty-seven bands I currently have going, so it's something I need. But I would do it for the fans, because I'm a very sentimental person and I have a lot of great, fond memories of those guys and the times. I'm a sentimental guy, so I would never close the door on it. So, really, the ball's in their court, honestly. [But] if you're asking me the odds [of a reunion happening], I would say, don't bet on it, because I know their personalities as well and I don't think they're the type that are looking backwards."

A couple of years ago, Portnoy told Loud that he left DREAM THEATER because he wanted to expand his musical horizons. "[I didn't] want to go to my grave and just be the drummer from DREAM THEATER," he said. "I knew there was way more to what I had to offer."

After 36 years, I finally got to see my 1st Dream Theater show last night! 🤣 It was a wonderful evening and it was such...

Posted by Mike Portnoy on Saturday, March 5, 2022