In a new interview with Talking The Talk With Don, former SCORPIONS drummer Herman Rarebell, who wrote the lyrics for some of the group's most classic songs, spoke about a possible reunion with his longtime bandmates. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH>NET): "The last drummer they had was James Kottak. He passed away. I'm very sad about this because he was a good guy. And then I wrote an e-mail to them. I said, 'Why don't we do something together again?' And you know what? I didn't even get an answer. After 20 years being with those fuckers, not even an answer. I said, 'Okay, fuck you. Fine.' Because I can do my own thing — no problem. They can't. Because the chemistry we had was unique. And if you fuck that up, it's gonna be hard to replace. And the people out there, the fans, they're not stupid. They can hear it immediately. They wrote me so many e-mails: 'What happened?' I don't wanna explain all the time. Everybody can do in life what they want. That's why we have a free will. And so I respect this.

"For me, the band has been over since 1996," Herman explained. "There was nothing which they released after I left which knocked me out, where I said, 'Wow, this is amazing.' Even the last album, Rudolf [Schenker, SCORPIONS guitarist] told me, 'It's gonna be like the 'Blackout' album.' I said, 'It has nothing to do with 'Blackout'. You should have got Dieter Dierks, [SCORPIONS' longtime] producer, back with the band and me writing some lyrics for you. And then we'd have a great album. But otherwise, what is this? Why you do this?' No answer."

Asked at which point he felt SCORPIONS were starting to "lose the plot" with their musical direction, Herman said: "Really after [the ballad] 'Wind Of Change' [from the 1990 'Crazy World' album], you could see the direction. Klaus [Meine, SCORPIONS singer] obviously was all for it to go in this direction, but in my heart, I'm still a hard rock guy. So for me, I wanted to rock more, not go in ballad land. For me, there was nothing to do anymore from the creativity point. So, I said to myself, 'Well, you have to do something else.' And that's exactly what I did.

"When I look back on it, there's nothing to regret," Rarebell added. "Look at the band now. As [former SCORPIONS guitarist] Michael Schenker says in every interview, 'What have they done after Herman left?' There's no more hits. The fans write me many e-mails: 'Why don't you do something that you did before on [1980's] 'Animal Magnetism', [1982's] 'Blackout', [1979's] 'Lovedrive' and this kind of albums?, which were pure rock albums. And this is where my heart is, and that's what I wanted to do."

Earlier this month, Herman was asked by Scott Itter of Dr. Music which of the band's albums is closest to his heart. He responded: "Actually, two or three. 'Animal Magnetism'. The follow-up, 'Blackout'. I wrote a lot of lyrics in this one. Also the album title was me again. Then, of course, the one with Michael on it, 'Lovedrive'. I think those are my three favorite ones. Then, of course, [1977's] 'Taken By Force', there's one favorite song on there, 'The Sails Of Charon'.

"But I tell you what — what I don't like anymore — the albums, really, after 'Crazy World'," he explained. "Just the one [1993's] 'Face The Heat' with [producer] Bruce Fairbairn; that was nice. But everything after that, I wasn't a fan anymore. That's probably the reason why I left. I couldn't see any more progressing. So I said to the band, 'It's time for me to do something else.' I didn't wanna go along this way, 'cause after 'Wind Of Change', Klaus said to me, 'I'm gonna write more songs like this.' I said, 'You can do this, but I'm not with you anymore.' Then came another one out, which I couldn't listen to this. And I left then. Then I said, 'That's it for me. I stay in rock.' I wanted to stay in rock. I don't wanna drift up in the 'Wind Of Change' way. Great song, but it wasn't for me. For me, I'm more in the direction of 'The Sails Of Charon' and songs like this."

Back in September 2021, Rarebell blasted his former SCORPIONS bandmates, calling them "rude" and accusing them of "greed" over their apparent refusal to allow him to rejoin the band. Rarebell, who was a member of the SCORPIONS from 1977 to 1995, discussed the possibility of his return to the group in an interview for Classic Rock magazine. Asked if he was disappointed not to have been invited back into the fold following the 2016 dismissal of longtime drummer James Kottak, Herman said: "I'll tell you how disappointed I am. I sent them a message offering my services, and never even got a reply. I thought that was very rude. Now I hear the SCORPIONS are claiming their new album will be a return to the glory days of the eighties. If they're serious about that, they should get [former bassist] Francis [Buchholz] and me back, and also Dieter Dierks who produced all those classic albums. You know why they won't do that? Greed. It would mean having to share everything five ways and not three."

Rarebell also criticized his former bandmates for seemingly not giving him enough credit for their commercial success in the 1980s. "The band never mention me in interviews, which I find ridiculous," he stated. "But there's a new documentary in the pipeline from ITV on the band. I am being interviewed for this, so I can finally set the record straight on my role."

In an interview with Classic Rock Revisited, Herman stated about the huge commercial success of SCORPIONS' 1982 album "Blackout": "Mercury Records was totally behind us and they believed in us. They wanted us to keep making albums. They wanted us to grow and do better each time out. 'Lovedrive' went gold. 'Animal Magnetism' went gold and then 'Blackout' was the first one to go platinum. [Rudolf] Schenker / [Klaus] Meine / Rarebell was a great songwriting team. You can see that from how many successful albums we had. After I left the band, they didn't have any more hits."

Rarebell also talked about the inspiration for the lyrics to "Rock You Like A Hurricane", which was released as the lead single from SCORPIONS' ninth studio album, 1984's "Love At First Sting". "Those lyrics were very easy to write," he said. "I woke up early in the morning after fucking and doing cocaine all night and I opened up the curtains. 'It's early morning, the sun comes out. Last night was shaking and pretty loud. My cat is purring and she scratches my skin.' She had scratched my back during our lovemaking. I just sat down and wrote it right then and there. It was five in the morning and the girl was still in bed as I was sitting there writing it. The next day, I said to Rudolf, 'I have some great lyrics for that riff you have.'"

Rarebell is currently promoting the upcoming HERMAN RAREBELL & FRIENDS studio album "What About Love?", which will be released on April 11 via Metalville Records. The LP features Herman's re-recordings of 12 songs with good friends and great musicians as a tribute to the greatest hits of the 1980s — a time that was a golden age for him personally. Former OZZY OSBOURNE bassist Bob Daisley can be heard on this album, as can Dann Huff, who was a studio musician on some of the greatest albums in pop history, as well as Howard Leese from the legendary U.S. rockers HEART and singer Michael Voss (CASANOVA, MAD MAX, MICHAEL SCHENKER).

California rock veterans TESLA have reached a new milestone on Spotify, surpassing 300 million streams of their catalog on the music streaming service.

TESLA's catalog consists of 11 studio albums, along with a handful of live releases and compilations and one acoustic LP.

Back in January 2024, TESLA bassist Brian Wheat, who manages the band and started a company called J Street Entertainment Inc. to help develop young artists, blasted Spotify for the paltry payments the music streaming service pays out to music rightsholders. He told MANOWAR bassist Joey DeMaio's "Words Of Power With Joey DeMaio" podcast: "If you had 500 million streams, so that stream, let's just say it equates to someone listening to your song. When we were on radio, if we had one play on the radio station, we got four cents. Now for one play, you get one 200 millionth of a cent. But people are still listening to it. So we're getting raped — badly — and no one wants to say anything about it or do anything about it. It's just, like, well, this is the new way. So the record companies are involved, and then you have Spotify. And listen, for the huge, huge artists — the LED ZEPPELINs and THE BEATLES and all that stuff — they're getting paid better than you or I are getting paid, or the kid that's just starting out at Active Rock and he's got one song. But when [TESLA's] 'Modern Day Cowboy' came out, we had all this airplay. We got played and there was a fair wage. Now you don't, and then people aren't buying your record, so you're not getting that buck a record that you used to get for selling it, because no one's buying it. I mean, vinyl sales are up — yeah, great — but no one's selling those kind of records, unless you're Taylor Swift or Miley Cyrus or something. But a rock record selling 150,000 copies physically is miraculous. I mean, there's maybe three artists that can do that."

Last month, TESLA released the official music video for the electric version of "All About Love", the title track of the band's latest six-song EP, "All About Love".

Released last November, "All About Love" includes four versions of "All About Love" (acoustic, electric, hybrid, live); a live version of "Walk Away", a concert favorite from "Reel To Real, Vol. 1"; and another new song, "From The Heart", an instrumental track by guitarist Frank Hannon.

Some fans criticized TESLA for adopting a 1980s-style polished production for "Shock". The follow-up to June 2014's "Simplicity" was helmed by DEF LEPPARD guitarist Phil Collen, whose own group is no stranger to slicked-up, glossy-sounding recordings.

In September 2023, TESLA released the official music video for its cover of AEROSMITH's "S.O.S. (Too Bad)". The song is a bonus track on TESLA's live album, "Full Throttle Live!", which arrived in May 2023. The LP includes the band's "Time To Rock!" single, plus other songs, all recorded in August 2022 at Full Throttle Saloon in Sturgis, South Dakota.

In September 2021, original TESLA drummer Troy Luccketta announced that he would "take a little time from the road" to spend with family and friends. He has since been replaced at TESLA's gigs and in the recording studio by Steve Brown, the younger brother of former DOKKEN drummer Mick Brown.

TESLA's debut album, 1986's "Mechanical Resonance", went platinum on the strength of the hits "Modern Day Cowboy" and "Little Suzi". The 1989 follow-up album, "The Great Radio Controversy", produced five hits, including "Heaven's Trail (No Way Out)" and "Love Song", which hit the pop Top Ten.
New milestone reached at Spotify, our catalog has surpassed 300 million streams.

John Cooper of Christian rockers SKILLET, who regularly speaks about his faith in secular spaces and voices his opinions on hot-button social and political issues, recently joined Michael Knowles for a no-holds-barred game of "yes or no" — where the questions are tough, the debates are real, and there's no room for dodging. Asked if the stereotype "rock star lifestyle" applies to Christian bands, Cooper said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET):  "Yeah. Well, it shouldn't, but unfortunately it does… Everybody does stupid stuff, and a lot of people present as something that they are not, whether it's hypocrisy or whether it was just a game or whether they fell into sin, whatever may happen, lapse in judgment.

"I was naïve when I first got into the scene," he continued. "I just thought everybody's gonna be totally like-minded and it's gonna be whatever. And then you get into it, and then you're, like, 'Oh my gosh. I think he's hitting on my wife. I'm pretty sure he is hitting on my wife.' Same thing in politics… I honestly haven't been that much around the whole political world, but in the last few years I have been, and I'm, like, 'You mean the same guy that keeps talking about God and country is here?' This kind of seems like a grift to me, and this is just about making money. And so some of that stuff is really disheartening. So I'm sad to say the answer is yes."

John has written in depth about his views in the two books he has released so far, "Awake & Alive to Truth", which came out in December 2020, and "Wimpy, Weak, And Woke", which became available in late 2023.

In an interview with Baptist News, Cooper said that he is "always an open book" when it comes to the way he speaks to the media. He said: "We are outspoken about Christ because we're outspoken that he is the only way to heaven, but not just about Christ. We're also outspoken about moral issues. I speak about the abortion stuff all the time. I speak about the transgender theory being taught in schools. I stand for biblical traditional sexuality. We say them proudly, we say them boldly, we say them with compassion toward people who don't agree with us, but we do speak the truth."

Cooper told Baptist Press about how his faith directs him to speak out on cultural issues: "If Jesus is the truth, then that means He has something to say about culture, politics, abortion and sexuality. The Bible has something to say about these things."

In various interviews over the years, John has said that he "always had faith in God" and that his mother was a "Jesus fanatic." He also claimed that he was willing to put his career on the line to take a stand for Christ.

In April 2021, Cooper told the "Undaunted.Life: A Man's Podcast" that it was perfectly fine for Christians to play rock music. "I would say that music is created not by the Devil; [it is] created by the Lord," he said. "All things were created by God. So instead of thinking that the Devil owns a genre of music, I would say capture that music and bring it back into subjection under the Lordship of Christ."

SKILLET's latest album, "Revolution", arrived in November 2024 via the band's Hear It Loud imprint.

In a new interview with Shawn Ratches of Laughingmonkeymusic, Stephen Pearcy spoke about his reunion with his longtime RATT bandmate Warren DeMartini for a handful of shows this spring and summer. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET):  "How it came about is an interesting story. It all happened around [this year's] M3 [Rock Festival], and some friends of ours over there said, 'Hey, what would it take for you and Warren to headline M3?' And I'm, like, 'Come on. I haven't talked to the guy in eight years.' And the instigation just fired him up, fired me up, and now we've got a handful of shows. And rehearsals went really good the last few days in L.A. And wow — it's amazing. It's like there's the real guy, you know what I mean? Even I'm going, 'Fuck, there's the real dude.'"

Pearcy and DeMartini will perform a set of RATT classics on April 5 at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut, followed by an appearance at the 2025 edition of the M3 Rock Festival, set to take place May 2-4 at the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland. Pearcy and DeMartini are also scheduled to perform at Rock The Dam 8 in Beaver Dam, Kentucky, on July 26.

Playing alongside the singer and guitarist at all three shows will be former RATT and QUIET RIOT guitarist Carlos Cavazo, former RATT and ROUGH CUTT bassist Matt Thorr and former SLAUGHTER drummer Blas Elias. Thorr and Elias are both current touring members of Pearcy's solo band.

According to Pearcy, rehearsals for the upcoming shows have lived up to his expectations. "It's sounding really good," he said. "And we're doing a couple of songs that people have been asking for, like 'Givin' Yourself Away' and 'Dangerous But Worth The Risk' and just, whoa. So it's exciting 'cause I don't even play those in my [solo] set."

He added: "I'm telling you, we have some surprises, so it's gonna be very cool… We have a lot of songs, and I never really thought about it. I can actually go out and do the video set, video tour. We have, like, 16 videos. It's, like, holy shit. Even 'Givin' Yourself Away' was a single and video in Japan, not in the U.S."

Regarding the fact that drummer Bobby Blotzer and bassist Juan Croucier, who were both members of RATT's classic lineup, are not playing with Pearcy and DeMartini at the upcoming shows, Stephen said: "Do you know what it is? I had to be really careful with how we went about getting Warren and I, getting reacquainted. And bringing in everybody — besides, everything's not that copacetic — everything's cool to that extent, and then not cool. I didn't want it to be about the band RATT with 'who's this?' and 'who's that?' And in the beginning it was, like, 'Well, let's try it with just Warren and I for a bit and see how it works and take it from there.' But there's no reason for Warren and I to try to make it a RATT thing because it is a RATT thing. I think people will get it. It's a celebration of our music, the legacy. It's not about, 'Oh, we've gotta get the original dudes together.' I don't think people really give a shit."

He continued: "Well, if I had my way, it would be Robbin [Crosby, late RATT guitarist], myself and Warren. So that's why these days I really don't push anything because I think people, they get it when I go out there. They're enjoying it. And this is just an extra special added attraction with Warren coming in. And it's brilliant, at a time where it's never say never, So I'm looking forward to it. We're both looking forward to it. Everybody's excited, pumped. It's a great set. We have a lot of music to play, and we'll take it from there."

As for the possibility of more Pearcy/DeMartini shows to come in the future, Stephen said: "We're taking it really slow here. Besides, I don't wanna go out, nor does, I think, he does wanna go out and do some brutal hundred-city tour. That'll never happen."

Another project that Pearcy says is in the works is an official RATT documentary. "I've been accumulating stuff… and hopefully it can go down sometime this year," he said. "It's gonna be a lot of work., compiling 40 years of shit, and especially going into the RATT vault and locating all of these things and, and then burning all these things and getting them and working."

Pearcy and DeMartini will headline the final night of M3 Rock Festival on May 4.

During an appearance on the January 29 episode of SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", Stephen said about the lineup of his new band with DeMartini: "We're gonna have Carlos out there, which is cool. And I'm bringing in Matt Thorr on bass, who's pretty much an original RATT guy from 1981, '82, when Jake E. [Lee] and Warren pulled in. And then we're taking Blas Elias on drums from SLAUGHTER and my band. And we're ready to go."

Added Warren: "When I moved up to L.A. to join RATT, I stayed at a house with Jake E. Lee for a few months, and, it was like a three-bedroom [house], and Jake had one, and Matt had the other, and this other musician had the third. And I was on the couch. But Matt goes way back with [RATT]. I'm actually kind of looking forward to checking that out again. He was playing bass at the time I joined [RATT]."

Regarding why they are not playing the M3 show under the RATT banner, Pearcy said: "Well, I'll tell you right straight up — it's not about RATT. It's about the legacy of our music. And who better to deliver it, because we don't have all the proper original elements, which would include [late RATT guitarist] Robbin [Crosby]. So we just decided — no. This is great. This is perfect. I mean, we don't wanna hit a brick wall. We want this nice and smooth. So that's what we intend to do. It's not about that — it's about the legacy of RATT. Period."

DeMartini went on to say that he is open to playing more shows with Pearcy in the future, assuming that everything goes will with the M3 gig.

"Since we announced the M3 show, other stuff has come up," he revealed. "When this [M3 concert] came up, I was treating it as a one-off, but everything has a momentum, or it can have a momentum. And in this case, it just feels better and better.

"I've always wanted to play these songs to the people, like we always have," he added. "So I'm totally game to doing more."

Asked if Blotzer and Croucier will have any involvement in the M3 and other gigs Pearcy and DeMartini plan to play together, Stephen said: "No, no, no. Not on this. No. Like I say, we wanted it to be about the music and Warren and myself delivering it, because it is gonna be a little different. If you were to throw the other guys in the mix, it wouldn't be exactly what it is now, the opportunity."

On the topic of what he has been doing in the seven years since he last played with Stephen, Warren said: "What I always did and what I always do. When I'm not sort of dealing with all the stuff that we deal with in life, I drift back into the studio and either start working on something that I hear in my head or refining something that I have going. So it's been a really nice thing to be able to do all this time, because basically since Stephen and Robbin and I wrote 'Round And Round', it's, like, 'Okay, you can be a writer if you wanna be,' so that's what I do, basically."

Asked if he missed being on stage and being in front of an audience, Warren said: "Oh, of course. It's hard to find words to describe the kind of energy that we have with our audience. It's just fantastic… I did do some gigs with some friends, like the last one was with Billy Gibbons and Sebastian Bach, and we would all play each other's songs. It was two or three songs each. And stuff like that kind of kept it burning, but this is the real fire."

As for a possible setlist for the M3 show, Warren said: "I think we need to really look at the whole catalog. I mean, we did — what? — six records with Atlantic, and we've done three through other labels. There's probably a lot of deep cuts that would be just totally awesome for this." Stephen added: "Oh, yeah. I can think of a few right now — 'Between The Eyes', 'Hard Time', 'Eat Me Up Alive'." Warren continued: "'Givin' Yourself Away' would be cool." Stephen chimed in: "Oh, that would be cool, actually."

Last year, Pearcy celebrated the 40th anniversary of RATT's classic debut album, "Out Of The Cellar", by performing it in its entirety and in sequence for the first time.

RATT exploded on to the national scene in 1984 with the release of "Out Of The Cellar". Featuring an undeniable hook and legendary music video, lead single "Round And Round" hit No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100, while "Out Of The Cellar" reached No. 7 on the Billboard Top 200 and was certified triple platinum. Two more charting singles followed with "Back For More" and "Wanted Man". RATT started the tour as an opening act, but by the end of the tour had climbed to arena headliner.

RATT returned in 1985 with its second full-length album, "Invasion Of Your Privacy". Certified double platinum and also reaching No. 7 on the Billboard 200, "Invasion Of Your Privacy" also featured the classics "Lay It Down" (No. 40 on Billboard Hot 100) and "You're In Love".

"Dancing Undercover" followed in 1986 as RATT toured North America with a then-brand new Los Angeles band called POISON as the opening act. Lead single "Dance" hit the Billboard Hot 100 and spawned another music video hit with "Slip Of The Lip", while "Body Talk" was featured in a key scene in the Eddie Murphy film "The Golden Child". "Dancing Undercover" became RATT's third consecutive platinum album and reached No. 26 on the Billboard 200.

1988's "Reach For The Sky" saw RATT return to the Top 20 of the Billboard 200 album charts, peaking at No. 17. Driven by the bluesy hit and MTV favorite "Way Cool Jr.", "Reach For The Sky" was also certified platinum and became RATT's fourth album in a row to move well over a million copies. "I Want A Woman" was also a successful single and the video captured the excitement and energy of RATT live.

RATT released its last full-length record of the Atlantic era, "Detonator", in 1990. Music was changing, but "Detonator" was still a success, peaking at No. 23 on the Billboard 200 and going gold. It was the first RATT album to feature major outside songwriting contributions (Desmond Child, Diane Warren) and guests (Jon Bon Jovi, Michael Schenker). Lead single "Lovin' You's A Dirty Job" hit No. 18 on the rock chart while the power ballad "Givin' Yourself Away" reached No. 39.

In 1991, they released the single "Nobody Rides For Free" from the hit film "Point Break", starring Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze.

In January 2021, Pearcy told SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" that he was open to the idea of making a new RATT album with all the surviving members of the band's classic lineup.

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

Just finished up rehearsals for the upcoming Pearcy/ Demartini shows, man this band sounds killer! So cool having these...

Posted by Blas Elias on Monday, March 24, 2025

JPL Productions has uploaded video of original KISS guitarist Ace Frehley's entire March 22 concert at SeaWorld Seven Seas Food Festival in Orlando, Florida. Check out the footage below.

Ace's setlist was as follows:

01. Shock Me (KISS song)
02. Deuce (KISS song)
03. Cherry Medicine
04. Rock Soldiers (Frehley’s Comet song)
05. Love Gun (KISS song)
06. Rocket Ride (KISS song)
07. Parasite (KISS song)
08. Detroit Rock City (KISS song)
09. Rip It Out
10. She (KISS song)
11. New York Groove (Russ Ballard cover)
12. Cold Gin (KISS song)
13. Ace Frehley Guitar Solo
14. Shout It Out Loud (KISS song)
15. Rock And Roll All Nite (KISS song)

Ace's current backing band consists of Ryan Spencer on bass, Jeremy Asbrock on guitar and Scot Coogan on drums.

During an appearance on the February 27 episode of SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", Ace confirmed that he is working on "Origins Vol. 3", the sequel to Frehley's 2016 and 2020 collections of cover songs that inspired the former KISS guitarist. He said: "I decided to reconnect with my old producer Alex Salzman. So, it won't be me and Steve Brown," referencing the TRIXTER guitarist/vocalist who helmed Ace's latest solo album, 2024's "10,000 Volts". "It'll be me and Alex Salzman collaborating on that record since Alex did 'Origins Vo. 1' and 'Vol. 2' and we have a formula that we came up with and it seemed to work."

Ace continued: "I was listening to the [first two 'Origins'] records last night on YouTube in my office on my desk. I have a set of Bose speakers, and the albums sound just as good as the new album, '10,000 Volts'. So, I'm gonna go back to my old formula with Alex. And maybe I'll bring back Steve to do the [next all-original] album since he's a very, very good songwriter and guitar player and engineer as well."

Asked if he has decided which songs he will cover on "Origins Vol. 3" yet, including whether he will once again do remakes of some KISS songs, Ace said: "I haven't decided. I have a list of about 50 songs, so… I really don't wanna give anything away. It's too soon."

Regarding the possibility of "Origins Vol. 3" being released in 2025, Ace said: "I could have it ready [this year]. I can do the album in a month because I don't have to write the songs. That's the beauty of the 'Origins' series. I don't write. So, the recording process is pretty seamless and rapid because all I have to do is Ace-ify it. [Laughs]"

Released in September 2020, "Origins Vol. 2" featured cover versions of THE BEATLES' "I'm Down", DEEP PURPLE's "Space Truckin'", LED ZEPPELIN's "Good Times Bad Times", THE ROLLING STONES' "Jumpin' Jack Flash", THE KINKS' "Lola" and THE JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE's "Manic Depression", among others. A cover of the 1975 KISS tune "She" also appeared as a bonus track. Guests on the set included CHEAP TRICK's Robin Zander, Lita Ford and former KISS guitarist Bruce Kulick.

Released in April 2016, "Origins Vol. 1" debuted at No. 23 on The Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 16,000 equivalent album units. The CD featured KISS frontman Paul Stanley joining Ace on FREE's hit "Fire And Water", Slash trading leads on THIN LIZZY's classic "Emerald", Ford singing and playing lead on THE TROGGS staple "Wild Thing", then-ROB ZOMBIE guitarist John 5 playing guitar alongside Ace on the classic KISS composition "Parasite", and PEARL JAM's Mike McCready playing guitar with Ace on KISS's "Cold Gin".

In a 2016 interview with The Aquarian Weekly, Frehley admitted that doing the first covers album was "the record company's idea. To be honest with you, initially, I wasn't that excited about the project, because I had just come off the high of the success of 'Space Invader', which is all originals except for a cover of 'The Joker'," he said. "It was almost, like, 'Okay, I'm going to go through the motions and get this out of the way and then jump into the studio for my next real studio album.' But I've gotta tell ya, man, once I started the process and started remembering the groups that influenced me, narrowing down which songs I thought were going to be best for the record, and then started the recording process; I really started getting more excited about it."

"10,000 Volts" came out in February 2024 via MNRK Music Group (formerly eOne Music).

The official music video for the "10,000 Volts" track — directed by Alex Kouvatsos from Black Wolf Imaging — was released in late November 2023. A clip for "Cherry Medicine", which was directed by Justin H. Reich of Three Thirty-Three Creative and produced by Reich and Steve Seabury, followed in February 2024.

Am I seeing you TONIGHT?
Bayside Stadium at SeaWorld Orlando 7PM
Grab your tickets and VIP experiences at www.acefrehley.com and I will see you there!
🚀🎸💥

Posted by Ace Frehley on Saturday, March 22, 2025

Just days after SHINEDOWN singer Brent Smith told a Canadian radio station that the band's upcoming eighth studio album was "probably 85 percent done", SHINEDOWN guitarist Zach Myers painted a less optimistic picture about the progress of the LP's recording sessions. In a new chat with Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station, Zach said about the follow-up to 2022's "Planet Zero" (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I'm not gonna come in here and 'Brent Smith' it and go, 'Oh, yeah. The record's done.' I love him to death. He's my best friend in the whole world, but he's like… My merch guy will send me [Brent's] press clips and [Brent will] go, 'The record's 80 percent done.' I'm, like, 'No, it's not. It's not.' Here's the dirt… Let's get to Blabbermouth right now.

"We're working on it," Zach clarified. "We've done this differently than we've ever done a record, so there's really no… It will be out this year — I think. [Brent] says July/August. I don't know when it's gonna be out. I think it's gonna be out this year. We've never done it this way. We've never released songs before a record was done. Usually a record's done, artwork's done, everything's done, here's the singles. And we wanted to do it different this time. We are in a different world.

"Do I ever think we'll stop making records and just make singles? No," Zach explained. "I don't think we'll ever be that band. I've always said that I believe an album is a portrait of who that artist was at the time that they made it. But we're not done with it.

"People go, 'How's the record?' And I'm, like, 'What record?' We're working on it," Myers repeated. "We have a lot of really good songs. Half of them are recorded, half of them are not. They're demoed, but they're not recorded."

Predicting that Brent will be "so mad" to see the guitarist disputing the timetable for the new SHINEDOWN album, Zach added: "You know what he does? Here's what he does, and I said this earlier today. He likes to put it out in the atmosphere 'cause then he has to be accountable. I like that. It's, like, 'If I say it's coming out this year, I have to make it come out this year. So I've gotta get to work on it.' But we've got a lot of touring to do in the meantime. So I'm trying to figure out where this finishing the record fits in. But, yeah, it's a work in progress.

"'SHINEDOWN eight' will happen," Zach reiterated, referencing the band's recently released two singles, "Three Six Five" and "Dance, Kid, Dance". "We're working on it. These are the first two things that we had to put forth for that.

"I can see the Blabbermouth headlines next to each other: 'Brent Smith Says 80 Percent Of The Record's Done.' 'Zach Myers Says, What Album?'"

"Three Six Five" and "Dance, Kid, Dance" were made available on January 24 via Atlantic Records.

When Smith spoke to Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada rock radio station 104.9 The Wolf earlier this month, he stated about SHINEDOWN's upcoming LP: "We're working on the eighth studio record right now, but we wanted to release these two songs, 'Three Six Five' and 'Dance, Kid, Dance' kind of to give everybody a bit of an idea of what the record was gonna feel like. The last two records we've done have been conceptual pieces, so we wanted to make sure that this record — there's definitely a lot of experimentation on this new record, but there's a lot of different styles and what have you. So when we were putting the tour together and kind of figuring out how we were gonna do the timeline, 'cause we haven't announced the album just yet — we're probably 85 percent done with it."

Regarding the lyrical inspiration for "Three Six Five", Smith said: "'Three Six Five' kind of has two different heartbeats in a lot of ways. I think the point of what 'Three Six Five' is representing is that time is precious, but it's not promised. And last year, in our band, on a personal level, we lost some family members last year that it was unexpected and it was deeply emotional for all of us. And that song was really born out of the sense of loss that we had during that time. I mean, I'll be very honest with you about it — Eric [Bass], our bass player, and also the producer, engineer and the mixer of the last two SHINEDOWN records, the producer, engineer and the mixer of the current one that's getting ready to be released, he lost his dad suddenly last year, and then he lost his father and he lost his aunt a couple of months later after that. His wife Kelly, she lost her sister. I lost my granny last year, towards the back half of the year. But in a lot of ways, I think that 'Three Six Five' was born from… You grow up with that impression that when a family member, especially a grandmother or a mother or a father, the patriarchs, if you will, when they pass away that they're gone, and that's not the case. They may be physically gone, but everything that they taught you and everything that they gave you and the time that they spent with you and how you pay it forward and who you are as an individual, you carry them with you. So they're never really gone; they're everywhere. But it is a song about that reflection of just saying, 'Man, I wish I had one more day with this person or even if I just had one more hour just to tell them what they meant to you and how much they mean to you. But you know what? You'll see 'em again. But while you're here, that song is such a deep meaning. And it doesn't even have to be somebody that you've necessarily lost. It could be somebody that you kind of fall out of touch with and what have you, but what they taught you, you keep that in your spirit every single day. And the other side about the dynamic of time is precious and it's not promised is it's a roll of the dice. And if you've been second-guessing what you want for your life or who you are or what you think you can and will be and what you can accomplish, don't have the mindset that you're not capable of going after what you really want for your life. Whatever your dreams may be, and don't focus so much on the plan B. Whatever your A plan is, go after that. It can change at any given moment. And that's the point in the song where it says a lot can happen in a year. So, quit wasting time and go after it."

As for "Dance, Kid, Dance", Brent said: "'Dance, Kid, Dance', man, we literally just wanted to write a song that you could dance to. It's a little bit more in depth from that. But it's a social commentary song about all of the things that are going on. It's a song sung from a lot of different points of views. But at the end of the day, it's met with this over… We wanted it to just be unabashed, we wanted it to be something that had an attitude, but just made you wanna move. So, that's why we chose to do the drops after the pre-chorus and then the chorus and then the solo section and all those different aspects of it. It was a four on the floor. We wanted it to be punk rock, but, again, we wanted it to have an attitude. It got the seal of approval from my son early on, which is always a good thing, 'cause he's 17 years old and he'll let me know if something's corny. So, once he gave us the approval, we were, like, 'All right, let's go.'"

This past January, Brent addressed the fact that "Three Six Five" and "Dance, Kid, Dance" are musically completely different from each other, telling Audacy Check In: "I think it definitely had a bit more tempo than maybe the last song that people were familiar with on maybe the more mainstream-leaning, pop-leaning-type songs. So we kind of bumped up the BPMs a little bit on that. And 'Dance, Kid, Dance', we just went to the wall with that."

He continued: "It's interesting. I had a friend of mine the other day say to me, 'Are you a rock band? Are you a metal band? Are you an alternative band? Are you a pop [band]? What are you?' And I'm, like, 'We're just SHINEDOWN.' We play in a big sandbox.

"We've always been a genre-bending band because we're inspired by a lot of different styles and we're constantly evolving," Brent said. "So we felt like the right move, with the first new material that people would hear from us, that we gave them kind of two sides of us."

Elaborating on SHINEDOWN's need to explore a variety of different styles on each album, Brent said: "I think along the way, people started to get pigeonholed or they started using boxes or 'stay in your lane' or 'you're only this genre'.

"When you expand your palette sonically or what have you, you're just trying to reach as much of the audience as you can. Some days you feel like you wanna throw down and rock, some days you're a little bit more emotional. But that's the beauty of music, man. It constantly evolves. And the only thing that we've ever done in this band is anybody from anywhere at any time, we wanted them to be able to know that SHINEDOWN has a lot of peaks and valleys, kind of like a rollercoaster ride. But there's something for everyone."

Last month "Dance, Kid, Dance" reached the No. 1 slot at Active Rock radio. The song is SHINEDOWN's 20th No. 1 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart and their 22nd song to reach No. 1 on Mediabase's Active Rock chart. When the song entered the Top 5 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart, SHINEDOWN tied with the FOO FIGHTERS for the artist with the most top ten songs in the chart's history at 32 total songs.

Recently, SHINEDOWN announced it has added the historic Kia Forum in Los Angeles to the band's already massive headline tour. The "Dance, Kid, Dance" tour kicks off on April 25, and the 36-date run is one of the largest run of shows (and venues) the band has ever put on. It will be the first time the band has ever headlined some of the country's most legendary venues, including Madison Square Garden (July 20),Bridgestone Arena (May 10),Boston's TD Garden (July 19) and more. Joining them on the tour are BEARTOOTH and BUSH (on select dates) and Morgan Wade for all shows.

Smith and Bass co-wrote "Three Six Five", and "Dance, Kid, Dance" was co-written by Smith, Bass and Dave Bassett. The songs were produced by Bass at his own Big Animal Studio in Charleston, South Carolina.

During a March 27 Instagram Live session with Z2 Comics, IRON MAIDEN singer Bruce Dickinson spoke about the upcoming release of "The Mandrake Project: Year One" book, which collects the first four issues in the comic series that accompanied the arrival of his latest solo album, 2024's "The Mandrake Project". Asked if there will be a sequel to the book, Bruce said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, it's 12 episodes, so these are four of them. And then there's another four, and then there's another four, and then we're gonna have one giant book at the end. But yes, the answer is yes. And there's gonna be, of course, a sequel to 'The Mandrake Project', to the album, with [my solo band] THE HOUSE BAND OF HELL. And funnily enough, I was in a studio today, scoping out the studio where we are going to record the new album. So that's exciting."

Regarding what it was like performing the material from "The Mandrake Project" on tour with his solo band last year, Bruce said: "It was brilliant, actually — so much so that I'm doing it again. We did a couple of warmup shows here [in Southern California], the [Whisky A Go Go] and then the one in Orange County. But now we are — well, we're doing about 20-something shows across the whole of the USA and Canada. So, yeah, we'll make a start at introducing people to me and THE HOUSE BAND OF HELL and everybody."

Dickinson added: "We're gonna do some stuff off 'Mandrake' which we didn't do in Europe — 'Shadow Of The Gods', which I think is the most played track on the record, certainly at least on YouTube and stuff like that. And it's a pretty cool song, so we'll be doing that. And some other stuff."

Hinting at some other possible additions to the setlist for his solo shows in2025, Bruce said: "Shortly we've got a re-release, completely remixed, re-imagined, re-engineered with additional parts, orchestras, string sections, horn sections, [of my second solo album, 1994's] 'Balls To Picasso'… And that's coming out, I think, sort of like midsummer. So that'll be out at the same time as the tour as well."

Joining the IRON MAIDEN singer on the "The Mandrake Project Live 2025" North American tour will once again be his 2024 backing band, featuring Dave Moreno (drums),Mistheria (keyboards) and Tanya O'Callaghan (bass),alongside the group's latest additions, Swedish guitarist, songwriter and multi-platinum-credited producer Philip Näslund and Swiss session and touring guitarist Chris Declercq (who played on Dickinson's "Rain On The Graves" single). Bruce's longtime guitarist and collaborator Roy "Z" Ramirez is not part of the touring lineup.

"The Mandrake Project Live 2025" North American tour kicks off in Anaheim, California at the House of Blues on August 22 and takes the band across North America including shows in New York, Los Angeles, Texas, Florida and Canada, with festival appearances at Rocklahoma (Oklahoma) and Louder Than Life (Kentucky),with more to be announced. The tour also includes a quick return to Brazil for the prestigious The Town festival at the City Of Light in São Paulo.

Prior to the April 12, 2024 Whisky A Go Go show, Bruce last performed with his solo band on in August 2002 at the legendary Wacken Open Air festival in Germany.

Roy played guitar on Dickinson's 1994 album "Balls To Picasso" and went on to produce, co-write and perform multiple instruments on Bruce's subsequent three solo albums, "Accident At Birth" (1997),"The Chemical Wedding" (1998) and "Tyranny Of Souls" (2005).

O'Callaghan is an Irish musician who joined WHITESNAKE in 2021 and toured with the David Coverdale-fronted outfit the following year. She also hit the road with Dickinson last year as part of a performance of Jon Lord's "Concerto For Group And Orchestra" on nearly a dozen dates in Europe and South America.

Californian drummer Moreno previously played on "Tyranny Of Souls" and has worked with BODY COUNT, Jizzy Pearl, Dizzy Reed and Steve Stevens, among others.

Italian keyboard wizard Mistheria has collaborated with an array of artists live and in the studio, including Rob Rock, Mike Portnoy, Jeff Scott Soto and Joel Hoekstra.

"The Mandrake Project" arrived on March 1, 2024 via BMG.

Bruce and Roy recorded "The Mandrake Project" largely at Los Angeles's Doom Room, with Roy doubling up as both guitarist and bassist. The recording lineup for "The Mandrake Project" was rounded out by Mistheria and Moreno, both of whom also featured on Bruce's last solo studio album, "Tyranny Of Souls", in 2005.

Dickinson made his recording debut with IRON MAIDEN on the "Number Of The Beast" album in 1982. He quit the band in 1993 in order to pursue his solo career and was replaced by Blaze Bayley, who had previously been the lead singer of the metal band WOLFSBANE. After releasing two traditional metal albums with former MAIDEN guitarist Adrian Smith, Dickinson rejoined the band in 1999 along with Smith.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Z2 (@z2comics)

2024 was the year of IRON MAIDEN singer Bruce Dickinson, as he rocked the world with the release of his seventh solo album, "The Mandrake Project", and an accompanying tour across Europe and South America. Never content to simply do the expected, Dickinson also released a companion comic series by the same name as an integral part of "The Mandrake Project" identity. The series, which had been brewing in Dickinson's head for over a decade, was received to thunderous acclaim.

Now, Z2 is proud to announce the impending release of "The Mandrake Project: Year One" on August 5, 2025, which collects the first four issues in the series, along with the prologue (previously only available in the vinyl release of the single for "The Afterglow Of Ragnarok"). Additionally, the oversized 12"x12", 184-page volume deluxe editions include an extensive series of interviews and essays recounting the road Dickinson and the creative team took in bringing the album, tour, and comic series to life. With an introduction by "Sons Of Anarchy" creator Kurt Sutter, the book is housed in an exquisite slipcase with a rotating embossed Mandrake dial and is bound with a sealing ribbon and gilt paper edging. The case also contains four exclusive foil collectors cards and the cast metal "The Mandrake Project" medallion seen in the comic and music videos.

"The Mandrake Project" is a dark, adult story of power, abuse and a struggle for identity, set against the backdrop of scientific and occult genius. Created by Dickinson, the comic series is scripted by Tony Lee and stunningly illustrated by Staz Johnson for Z2 Comics.

When asked about the book's release, Dickinson said: "Finally we are at the end of the beginning. I honestly have to pinch myself to believe that Volume 1 of 'The Mandrake Project' is upon us. I sometimes get the feeling that I am not fully in control of the story, and that some other entity is squeezing the blood out of my subconscious and turning it into ink on the page before my very eyes. We are just getting going. We are all… formed… of the dead."

In May 2024, Dickinson became a patron of the William Blake Cottage Trust, which owns and preserves William Blake's only surviving house. In homage to the storyline and with total reverence for "The Mandrake Project"'s inspiration, the Z2 team collected soil from the grave of the legendary English artist and poet, which was mixed into the ink for the printing of "The Mandrake Project: Year One" Deluxe Editions.

Bruce added: "William Blake has given me so much over the years and I want to repay the debt by helping to restore the Cottage. Despite his impact on the world, there is no center for Blake, nowhere people can visit to see where he actually lived and worked during a key part of his life. I want to change this."

The oversized 12"x12" Deluxe Edition with spinning slipcase and the limited, signed platinum edition will only be available directly from Z2 at Z2Comics.com, while a 9"x9" smaller hardcover edition without slipcase will be available via Z2's retail partners Amazon and Barnes & Noble in the United States, and at HMV UK (Exclusive HMV Cover + Trading Card),as well as many independent comic and music shops worldwide.

When asked about "The Mandrake Project: Year One", Z2's editor-in-chief Rantz Hoseley shared: "You pray for collaborators like Bruce Dickinson. While we've always taken pride in the presentation and production of our books, Bruce challenged us to exceed our previous best, and we happily took that challenge on. The end result is a design so ambitious and lush it'll make your jaw drop, and we cannot wait to have you dive into this beautiful beast of a book!"

Preorder yours today at Z2comics.com/BruceDickinson.

This summer Dickinson takes "The Mandrake Project" on the road for his first extensive North American solo tour in almost 30 years.

A year ago, Bruce told Side Jams With Bryan Reesman that his favorite American superheroes growing up were Doctor Strange, the Silver Surfer and the Human Torch. Dickinson explained: "As an adolescent, the Silver Surfer is just pissed off about everything in general, but always permanently. And that was me, you know? And then Dr. Strange, he can control everything. And as an adolescent, I can control nothing. So I was, like, 'I want to be him.' And then I didn't know anything about girls, but the Human Torch can set fire to himself. He could fly. And all the girls were, like, 'Yeah, I want to jump his bones.' I'm, like, 'I want to be him too.' Those were my three comic go-tos."

Bruce said he bought up a lot of back issues of "Doctor Strange" and "Silver Surfer" at a comic book shop in Chicago before he began working on the new series a decade ago.

"By the time I went to Z2, who were already working with MAIDEN on the 'Piece Of Mind' comic, I said, 'Look, I've got this crazy idea. You're probably going to throw me out because you've got too much on your plate. But how do you fancy doing a 'Watchmen'-style comic?'" Dickinson told "Side Jam". "And I think they thought it was just going to be like one page. When I gave them 20 or 30 pages of synopsis and script and character sketches and backstory and world, they were' like, 'This is really cool.' That's when they put me in touch with Tony Lee. I was doing the story for 'Revelations', and Tony and I did the script together. I realized then [that a] comic script is not like any other kind of script I've ever written. This is a whole different world, a whole different regime, even the dialogue. Now I could do dialogue that would maybe work in a screenplay, and sometimes it would work in a comic. But other times it wouldn't work in a comic. I would never have written something like that. I would have done something more wordy. It's getting the feel of where dialogue's going and getting the feel of where the frame sits on the page."

"The Mandrake Project" album was released in March 2024 via BMG. Bruce and his long-term co-writer and producer Roy "Z" Ramirez recorded the LP largely at Los Angeles's Doom Room, with Roy Z doubling up as both guitarist and bassist. The recording lineup for "The Mandrake Project" was rounded out by keyboard maestro Mistheria and drummer Dave Moreno, both of whom also featured on Bruce's previous solo studio album, "Tyranny Of Souls", in 2005.

In November 2023, Bruce told Brazil's Omelete about the lyrical concept for "The Mandrake Project": "So 'The Mandrake Project' is, one, is an album. It's the name of the album. The comic is a 12-episode graphic novel, kind of adult. There's lots of stuff in it — there's lots of sex and drugs and violence and all kinds of stuff. But it's basically a story about a guy who is looking for his identity, Dr. Necropolis. He's an orphan, he's a genius, and he hates it, and he hates life, but he's involved in The Mandrake Project. And The Mandrake Project aims to take the human soul at the point of death, capture it, store it and put it back in something else. And the guy that's running the project, Professor Lazarus, he has one vision of what's gonna happen with this technology, and Necropolis has other ideas. And on we go with the story."

Asked how he came up with the idea to mash together music and comics, Bruce said: "Well, I think they do kind of go together. They really do. Music and games, music and comics, comics and games, they're all related."

He continued: "Years ago, IRON MAIDEN, we were doing some cover art, and I said, 'Why don't we do a comic?', like the comics that I used to read when I was a kid… When I suggested doing some covers, comic covers, we did some single artwork for IRON MAIDEN, and I thought, 'You know what? This is kind of cool.' Then later, MAIDEN had a video game called 'Legacy Of The Beast'; we still do. But what came with a video game, somebody produced a series of comics. And I thought they looked fantastic, but they lacked a story. And that got me thinking, what if you had an album that had a story that could be turned into a comic and the two things would work together? As it happened, they've actually grown apart. So, the [original] album, in 2014, was gonna be one comic with the album — that's it. Then, COVID happened, other things happened, seven years went by, and I had a 12-episode graphic novel. And I went, 'I don't wanna restrict the album to being like a script for this.' These two things exist separately, but they inform each other. So you can look at the album and go, 'Oh, yeah, that's kind of related to the comic.' And you look at the comic and go, 'Oh, I see that might be a little bit related to the album,' but they're not dependent on each other. So you can buy the comic or you can buy the album — or both."

Dickinson made his recording debut with IRON MAIDEN on the "Number Of The Beast" album in 1982. He quit the band in 1993 in order to pursue his solo career and was replaced by Blaze Bayley, who had previously been the lead singer of the metal band WOLFSBANE. After releasing two traditional metal albums with former MAIDEN guitarist Adrian Smith, Dickinson rejoined the band in 1999 along with Smith.

Don Dokken (DOKKEN),Andrew Freeman (LAST IN LINE, GREAT WHITE),Nate Peck (FIREHOUSE),Lorraine Lewis (FEMME FATALE, VIXEN) and James Durbin are among the singers who performed at an all-star tribute to legendary vocalist Jack Russell, a founding member of the multi-platinum rock band GREAT WHITE, on March 25 (postponed from the originally announced January 14 due to the California wildfires) at the world-famous Whisky A Go Go in West Hollywood, California. Tony Cardenas-Montana, CTO of leading music technology company VNUE and longtime member of GREAT WHITE as well as Jack's touring band, played a key role in helping to organize the event, video of which can be seen in two parts below.

The tribute was hosted by comedian/actor Hal Sparks ("Queer As Folk", "Dude, Where's My Car") and benefited the Lewy Body Dementia Association and the Defeat MSA Alliance.

Jack Russell, a California native, was a multi-platinum recording artist known for his passionate and soulful voice. Jack brought unforgettable performances to chart-topping hits such as "Rock Me", "Save Your Love", "Once Bitten, Twice Shy", "House Of Broken Love", "Desert Moon", "Lady Redlight", "Call It Rock N Roll" and "Angel Song". These classics resonated on radio and MTV, solidifying Russell's place as a prominent figure on the rock scene. The multi-platinum success of "Once Bitten" (1987) and "...Twice Shy" (1989) cemented his status as an icon of 1980s rock.

Russell's death was announced by his family in a social media statement on August 15, 2024 — eight days after his passing.

The news of Jack's death came less than a month after he announced that he was retiring from touring following a diagnosis of Lewy body dementia.

Russell was performing with his version of GREAT WHITE when a pyrotechnics display sparked a nightclub fire that killed 100 people at a 2003 concert in Rhode Island. At the time of the fire, the group that was on the road was called JACK RUSSELL'S GREAT WHITE. Guitarist Mark Kendall, who founded GREAT WHITE with Russell in 1982, later said he was asked to join Russell and his solo band on the tour to help boost attendance. Guitarist Ty Longley died in the blaze.

Russell exited GREAT WHITE in December 2011 after he was unable to tour with the group due a series of injuries, including a perforated bowel and a shattered pelvis. Jack largely blamed these injuries on his alcohol and painkiller addictions as well as the prednisone drug he was prescribed.

Russell sued his onetime bandmates in 2012 over their continued use of the GREAT WHITE name after Jack had taken a leave of absence from the band for medical reasons. A short time later, Russell was countersued by Kendall, rhythm guitarist/keyboardist Michael Lardie and drummer Audie Desbrow, claiming the vocalist's self-destructive behavior was damaging the GREAT WHITE name (they also alleged he was charging promoters less for his own touring version of GREAT WHITE). The parties settled in July 2013 without going to trial, with Russell most recently performing as JACK RUSSELL'S GREAT WHITE while the others are continuing as GREAT WHITE.

In October 2022, GREAT WHITE officially named Brett Carlisle as its new lead singer. Carlisle joined the band as the replacement for Andrew Freeman, who sang for GREAT WHITE for only five months.

Carlisle made his live debut with GREAT WHITE on September 24, 2022 at the Cannery Casino Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Russell's autobiography, titled "The True Tale Of Mista Bone: A Rock + Roll Narrative", was released earlier last year via Gatekeeper Press. Penned by author Katelyn Louise "K.L." Doty, it features a sentimental foreword by Lita Ford, with additional commentary from Eric Singer, Eddie Trunk, John Kalodner, Kip Winger and others. The book, with a cover photo by legendary rock photographer Mark Weiss, is available in paperback, hardcover and e-book form.

For more information, visit www.jackrussellbook.com.

Hey friends, here it is! The rescheduled date for "A Celebration of the Music and Life of Jack Russell" show at the...

Posted by Tony Cardenas-Montana on Tuesday, January 14, 2025

Multi-platinum rock icons HINDER have shared their inspired single "Bring Me Back To Life", along with announcing their highly anticipated seventh studio album, "Back To Life", out May 23. The track, which follows the success of the band's heaviest track to date, "Everything Is A Cult", leans more into the melodic pop-rock space than perhaps the band ever has. It's the track that infused the celebrated quartet with new-found life and inspiration for a full album, forthcoming in 2025.

"When you've been writing songs for over 20 years, sometimes you run out of things to say," confesses drummer and founding member Cody Hanson. "In life in general, it's easy to become complacent and uninspired. That's why 'Bring Me Back To Life' is such an important track, not only for the album, but for our band as whole. After writing an entire album and then throwing it away in 2020, we had become discouraged and decided that we weren't going to release any new music, much less an entire album. However, as soon as we wrote 'Bring Me Back To Life', everything changed. Sometimes, it just takes one special song to breathe life back into a band, and this song became the catalyst for the entire album. Needless to say, we are very excited for the world to hear this one."

After a stacked 2024 that included more than a hundred tour dates, performances with CREED, THREE DOORS DOWN and DAUGHTRY, and the release of focus tracks "Live Without It" and "Everything Is A Cult", HINDER have hit the ground running in 2025. The band kicked off their U.S. headline run with support from SALIVA, KINGDOM COLLAPSE and Kelsey Hickman last month, highlighted by an intimate, packed-to-the-gills performance at Los Angeles's storied Whisky A Go Go. Now, the band will gear up for their highly anticipated seventh studio album, produced by Hanson and vocalist Marshal Dutton at BarCode Studios in Oklahoma City.

Lately, HINDER are feeling the intensity of a new energy. Nearly two decades into their career, the band hasn't just endured as a fixture of modern rock — it's evolved. The versatile Oklahoma City-based quartet creates emotionally compelling rock, from hard-hitting anthems to subdued, contemplative ballads. Now the band is looking to the future.

HINDER's story begins in 2001, when Cody Hanson (drums),Joe "Blower" Garvey (lead guitar) and Mike Rodden (bass) met and activated their musical chemistry. The 2005 hit "Lips Of An Angel" from the band's debut album "Extreme Behavior", since certified three times platinum, topped the charts and remains a radio mainstay. Powerful lead vocalist Marshal Dutton joined them in 2015. Throughout their discography, HINDER has embodied an ethos of defiance and tenacity through gutsy lyrics, rousing melodies, and soaring choruses. Each album in their musical journey has reflected a progression, from the grittier early days of "Take It To The Limit" to the more introspective and exploratory energy of their most recent album, 2017's "The Reign".

HINDER emerges from the storm more focused and resilient than ever. With a renewed sense of purpose and drive, and still never afraid to take risks, HINDER is poised to continue forging its legacy as one of rock's most enduring and dynamic bands. The bandmembers' resilience and adaptability have kept them at the forefront of the modern rock scene for nearly two decades, and they will continue — in fact, they're just getting started.

Photo by Doug Schwarz

In a recent interview with The Hair Metal Guru, POISON drummer Rikki Rockett was asked about the possibility of new music from the glam metal icons. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I don't know. I am sitting right here. I would do it in a minute. I have a little studio out here… So I'm ready to work. I love touring and I love recording. I love the involvement on both ends of the music business — not the business part; I hate the business part of it. But playing and recording, anytime, man. I'm good to go."

POISON's last album of new material was 2002's "Hollyweird". An album of covers, "Poison'd", followed in 2007.

Back in 2018, POISON bassist Bobby Dall said that the band "should" be making a new studio album but claimed that he didn't know if it would happen. "I'm not going to bullshit you and say there's any [new music] in the process [of being made]," he told All That Shreds. "Would I like there to be? Yes. But, it's a matter of everyone having the time. Everybody in the band has other commitments. Some members have younger children than others. So between those two issues, it's difficult, and, you know, [there are] health issues as we get older. Should we be making a new record? Yes, definitely. But will it happen? I don't know."

In a 2017 interview, Rikki acknowledged that part of the reason the band hasn't been motivated to work on new music has been the fact that fans rarely show interest in hearing fresh material performed live when classic rock groups go on tour. "We could write the second coming of 'Talk Dirty To Me', and I don't know if people wanna hear it or not, and that's a frustrating thing; it really is," he said. "AEROSMITH was able to do it, but not everybody is. I mean, even THE ROLLING STONES have had problems with that in the last few years. So… I don't know. But I do think it's important to stay viable. For the 'über fans,' it's always a really, really good thing. And that's what you do it for — you do it for you, you do it for the real fans, the real true fans."

More recently, Rockett admitted that he and other members of POISON harbored some resentment toward frontman Bret Michaels, whose frequent tours as a solo artist caused the band to take a five-year break from the road.

"I think we need to get away from each other and do other things, but at the same time, I think he spent a little too much time away," Rockett said. "There's definitely some resentment, but not resentment like I want him to fail. I want him to do good. I just want POISON to be important too, and I would like [him] to put a little more energy into POISON."

Last October, Rikki confirmed to SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" that POISON is planning to return to the road in 2026 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the band's debut album, 1986's "Look What The Cat Dragged In".

A month earlier, Bret told Arizona Republic about POISON's plan to tour in 2026: "Yeah, that would be incredible. We've just got to work out all the moving parts. But all original members. There's so much planning goes behind that. When I'm out as Bret Michaels, it's simpler because I'm making all the end decisions. When you're in a band like POISON, it's a committee. You go in there, and you figure it out together. You make sure everyone's good. And hopefully, we can make that work in '26."

Asked if things were "good" between him and his POISON bandmates during the 2022 "The Stadium Tour" with DEF LEPPARD, MÖTLEY CRÜE and Joan Jett, Bret said: "Absolutely. I want to be very clear. Other than an occasional throwdown fistfight — I'm not making this up — we're like best friends. But there's no gray area. All of a sudden, we'll get in a fistfight. But the next day, we'll go out and play. We'll work it out like a band of brothers. 'The Stadium Tour' was amazing. We were having fun. We didn't get too many soundchecks. We just dealt with what we were given and were grateful to be there. DEF LEPPARD and MÖTLEY, they were amazing. They played great. But we just came out, and we knew we had one hour at 6 o'clock to go out there and give it everything we had. And it was one of the only stadium tours that from Live Nation's lips to everyone's ears, it was 98 to 100% filled when POISON went on."

Earlier in September, Michaels released a statement via social media in which he said that he was planning to "perform limited shows" in 2025 to focus primarily on his health, "starting with my diabetes which needs a tune-up, not to mention a little R&R." He added that 2026 "would be the perfect" time for a POISON 40th-anniversary tour, "with 40 awesome limited dates to go out, play real live hit songs, and rock the world."

Bret's explanation came two days after Rockett revealed on social media that Michaels was no longer interested in touring with POISON in 2025.

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

In 2018, POISON completed the "Nothin' But A Good Time" tour with CHEAP TRICK and POP EVIL.

Photo credit: Mark Weiss

BLACK SABBATH guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward have opened up to Rock Candy for the magazine's latest expansive cover story marking 50 years since the release of the band's seminal sixth studio album, "Sabotage", in 1975.

The three musicians recall the stresses and strains of going though litigation with their former manager, while at the same time trying to create new music that was designed to push the boundaries of what the Birmingham group had previously deemed possible.

"We were obviously immensely pissed off because we had hardly anything to show for five years of constantly touring, writing, and recording," Butler explained to Rock Candy editor Howard Johnson. "It was difficult dividing time between creating music and time spent in lawyers' offices, with QCs, and in law courts. But with our backs against the wall I think some of the songs on 'Sabotage' were the angriest that we'd ever written."

"It wasn't easy, because as it turned out the court case happened smack bang in the middle of recording 'Sabotage'," says Iommi. "One minute you'd be worrying about whether a riff was right for a song, the next you'd be sat in court."

Yet despite such immense outside stresses, SABBATH were absolutely determined to forge ahead on their musical journey.

"We were in an experimental phase at the time," says Butler. "We'd introduced different instruments on the [previous] 'Sabbath Bloody Sabbath' album, and once again were looking for new directions. Synths were relatively new at that time, so we had a go at introducing them on some songs. It was fun playing around."

With their backs against the wall, SABBATH dug deep to produce some of the most exciting rock music of the '70s — or any other decade.

"'Hole In The Sky' and 'Symptom Of The Universe' are two of my all-time favorite BLACK SABBATH songs," confirms Geezer. "I still love playing them, and they really come alive when we perform them live."

"I was really, really happy with the writing," says Ward. "I think we were expanding, allowing ourselves to expand. We'd come a really long way from the song 'Black Sabbath', as great as that song is. I thought the richness of what we were doing on 'Sabotage' was brilliant."

You can read the exclusive BLACK SABBATH "Sabotage" story in issue 49 of Rock Candy, together with in-depth stories and interviews with Billy Squier, ANGEL, MACHINE HEAD, Don Airey, L.A. GUNS, JETHRO TULL and more.

For more details, visit www.rockcandymag.com.

Rock Candy is a 100-page, full-color bi-monthly rock magazine, created in the U.K. It covers the sights, sounds and smells from the greatest era in hard rock music, the '70s and '80s. It is the brainchild of respected U.K. rock journalists Derek Oliver, Howard Johnson and Malcolm Dome — all frontline writers for the legendary Kerrang! magazine in the golden era.

Posted by Rock Candy Magazine on Friday, March 28, 2025

In a new interview with Chile's SonarFM radio station, BUSH frontman Gavin Rossdale confirmed that "mental health" is a "huge topic" on the band's upcoming album, "I Beat Loneliness". He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I think that it's such a relief that mental health is being given the attention that it deserves. We have lots of problems with mental health from people of all ages, from young kids all the way through to grown men, grown women, adults. There's lots of problems and terrible, crazy suicide rates. I mean, you can't believe it how many people commit suicide and how often.

"For me, always, to be a songwriter is to be as honest as possible, and it's ironic, you go as far inside yourself to be as honest as possible so that it actually weirdly connects with people," he continued. "The further away you go from people and just talk to yourself, you get out things that weirdly resonate with other people; they connect with other people."

Referencing specific tracks on "I Beat Loneliness", Gavin said: "Songs like 'We Are Of This Earth', which is a crazy song — very atmospheric kind of meditation on being human and how hard it is. We have a song, 'Everyone Is Broken', which is the only song that is in standard tuning. So it's sort of more universal. Everything else is super detuned and for people that like kind of weird, darker, heavier music. And I think that it's a really cohesive, cohesive record. And I'm really proud of it. Everyone was incredible on it."

Rossdale added: "I did a bunch of it before we went on tour, 'cause I didn't wanna go on tour, do the greatest hits and be creatively bankrupt, like lying, like, 'Oh, I don't create anything. I just re-sing these songs.' I felt too guilty on that. So I wrote a bunch of songs for that tour. Then when I came home, obviously I wrote a bunch more, and I just finished those up and we finished it. And then we've done the artwork; I just finished the artwork, I think, today. We actually got a beautiful web site where everyone, you go and put this web site in and it gives you any country around the world for suicide helpline."

Last month, Rossdale told São Paulo, Brazil's 89 FM A Rádio Rock radio station that "I Beat Loneliness" will include 12 songs. He said at the time: "We did a few new songs [during the last session]. I did a few before I left for tour. Then I went on tour, came back, and so, yeah, I think [there will be] 12 songs."

He continued: "I know that everyone [says] no one cares [about full albums anymore] and it's [all about] these singles, but I think that if I like an act, if I like a band, I just wanna hear their body of work. I don't wanna hear just one song. I'm a musician, so I wanna know what 12 ideas someone has, not just one idea. And so I'm excited for that. But I understand most people just listen to one song and move on, with so many bands. But [I'm] very excited about it."

Asked what fans can expect to hear on the new BUSH album, Gavin said: "Oh, it's in a similar vein to [2022's] 'The Art Of Survival' and [2020's] 'The Kingdom' — super detuned, super heavy, but there's moments of light. And so it's not like angst [all the way through], but it's just very… It is very sort of centered on people's mental health and well-being and those kind of challenges, because it becomes more and more apparent, people suffering more and more. So music is often the way that people — it's like a medicine. So it's really good to have heavy subjects within the songs, but the songs have loads of hope and light and lift you up. I want people to come see us and have a great experience. It's not a doom-and-gloom [collection of songs]; it's a sort of a, how do we fight the good fight?"

Gavin also spoke about the inspiration for the "I Beat Loneliness" title, saying: "The reason why I like that title — [there's] a song called that — is because anybody who has a degree of melancholy in their heart, and it's normal; sometimes you feel good, sometimes have a melancholy. And it's good to be reflective. You can't be smiling like a moron the whole time, like a maniac, so the idea of beating loneliness is that it's impossible, because you can't. But it's beautiful 'cause the idea is that if you feel you beat it, it's like a respite, and you're not in that mindset. But it's all temporary, because you come back and that sort of feeling can flood in. But I just like the idea 'cause it's impossible."

In January, Rossdale told Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada's 104.9 The Wolf radio station about "I Beat Loneliness": "I'm so thrilled about the record. It's successful to me because I'm really proud of it. And I think that people who like the band will be really, really into it and we might get some new fans as well. But it's good to feel fulfilled by when you make a record, and not, like, 'Oh, man. I should've done this, should've done that.' I think it's really good."

Earlier in January, Gavin told iHeartRadio's JD Lewis about the "I Beat Loneliness" title: "Well, it's one of those weird titles. It's an infinite title because you can never beat loneliness; you can just only beat it temporarily.

"I feel that the connection with the band and the power that we have, from talking to a lot of people that see us, is people can kind of connect with the music and connect with the words and make their own narratives about it," he continued. "But we've created this blueprint for people through the years.

"More and more mental health has been sort of brought to the discussion kind of around us all at the moment — people are talking about people's wellness a lot. And I've always been into that human-condition thing since the beginning of BUSH — it's like music of complaints and hopes and sort of disappointments and aspirations and all that stuff. So it's just like living.

"A lot of people are struggling so much that it's just such an ironic title, I thought," Rossdale added. "It's one of those things, when I thought of it and it just came, I was, like, 'Oh my god, it's a precious phrase.' And I just like that idea of that sense of bravado that you've beaten loneliness, because we all suffer from melancholia or whatever, and I think that's a healthy thing because it makes you reflective and sort of appreciative of the good times. And I'm not a negative person — I'm really positive — so I just think that you have to go through this sort of like storm clouds to get to the good bits. And so the title just stuck with me."

Rossdale also talked about the importance of youth mental health, especially as it relates to his three songs Kingston, Zuma and Apollo. He said: "I think it's absolutely essential, because I think that what happened is that with COVID, one of the biggest things for kids is COVID took away all that socialization. So all those two, three years where they were meant to be sort of learning how to be with their peers, I noticed with my own kids, that was taken away from them. They didn't have that time. And so I think that's been a real struggle for people, for kids especially, to learn how to adapt, how to be social, because they haven't had the same things that maybe we had. We didn't grow up through a pandemic. And so that is what really affects me. And kids are so mean — bullying in schools, ostracization, all that stuff. Kids are mean. And the way the world is set up is really scary for that."

Gavin went on to speak about the dangers of social media and how it is not an accurate reflection of society but more like a funhouse mirror distorted by a small but vocal minority of extreme outliers.

"Social media, expectations, people feeling they're not having a fulfilled life 'cause they look at Instagram or wherever and they see people with these great lives, when we all know that those lives are kind of hollow and have their have their troubles as well," he said. "But things are portrayed that people just get lost in that sort of rat race of thinking that they've gotta try and keep up with their friends. I mean, I look at Instagram and I'm always, like, 'Man, I need to live better.' I'm just, like, 'No, no, don't fall for it. Don't fall for it. Your life is fine. You have great things going on.' So I think that's where it's really difficult for kids, the sense that they're not in the right place at the right time. They're generally [of the opinion that they're] in the wrong place at the wrong time and everyone else is having a great time. And that's super dangerous for people to think that."

Rossdale previously talked about the "I Beat Loneliness" title in a December 2024 interview with Voice Of America's (VOA) "Border Crossings". Regarding why he chose to call the new BUSH record "I Beat Loneliness", the 59-year-old musician said: "Because I think that everyone is struggling the whole time." He added: "It's funny because when I reflect on the career that I've had and the songs that I've written, they do say that most people write one song over and over, and my theme that I've always dealt with is sort of people's mental health and their feelings and kind of the landscape of the landmines of hurt that we all live through. Everybody has so much broken stuff that they just sort of put the face on, go out and deal with it. But everybody having these crazy triggers — you see that suicide rates are insane, suicides among the military, the ex-military, men three times more likely to commit suicide as women. It's just people are hurting. And so my literal simple role in life, in that sort of Japanese concept of a vocation, is really writing songs about people and about feelings. And it's funny because when I began, it wasn't like that. You could just complain in songs, but I always wanted to have this sort of sense of hope, this sense of help and support and close community and people and love and friendship and kindness. And so I've written like that.

"So 'I Beat Loneliness', it's just probably the best title I've ever written because, of course, it's self-fulfilling in its impossibility," he continued. "'Cause you can't say you beat loneliness, 'cause if you say you beat loneliness, it means that you're a really melancholic person who beat loneliness for about 20 minutes, and it's coming back the next day like a boomerang. So I just like that idea of that bravado. It's strength. It's not bravado. It's strength in the face of adversity."

2024 marked the 30th anniversary of the release of BUSH's six-times-platinum debut album, "Sixteen Stone".

Last summer, BUSH celebrated its 30th anniversary with an extensive North American headline tour. The "Loaded: The Greatest Hits Tour" kicked off on July 26 in Bend, Oregon and included shows at PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, New Jersey and the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles. Most of the dates were produced by Live Nation. Jerry Cantrell and CANDLEBOX were the special guests on all dates.

BUSH released "Loaded: The Greatest Hits 1994-2023" in November 2023 via Round Hill Records. The set included a new song called "Nowhere To Go But Everywhere", which was written by Gavin and produced by Rossdale and Corey Britz.

With over 24 million records sold, one billion streams and a procession of No. 1 singles, the band — comprising Rossdale, Chris Traynor (guitar),Corey Britz (bass) and Nik Hughes (drums) — stand tall as rock outliers whose imprint only widens as the years pass. "Loaded: The Greatest Hits 1994-2023" (Round Hill Records),their first-ever greatest-hits collection, provides an expansive view of their incredible legacy with 21 tracks spanning nearly 30 years — from their breakthrough hit "Everything's Zen" to the aforementioned "Nowhere To Go But Everywhere".

"Loaded" included iconic hits from each of BUSH's nine studio albums as well as "Mouth" (The Stingray Mix) from the 1997 remix album "Deconstructed" and a cover of THE BEATLES' "Come Together" that saw a very limited release in 2012.

BUSH broke up in 2002 but reformed in 2010, and has since released five albums: "The Sea of Memories" (2011),"Man On The Run" (2014),"Black And White Rainbows" (2017) and the aforementioned "The Kingdom" and "The Art Of Survival".

"Black And White Rainbows" was crafted after Rossdale went through a divorce with pop star/reality TV judge Gwen Stefani in 2015.

Photo credit: Shervin Lainez (courtesy of 2b Entertainment)