Los Angeles rockers BLACK VEIL BRIDES have released the official music video for their song "Born Again". The clip, which was directed by Vicente Cordero of Industrialism Films, can be seen below.

"Born Again" is taken from BLACK VEIL BRIDES' latest album, "The Phantom Tomorrow", which came out last October via Sumerian Records. The third concept LP from BLACK VEIL BRIDES and the band's most-ambitious release to date is comprised of a dozen tracks, including the band's first-ever U.S. Top 10 Active Rock single "Scarlet Cross".

The cover artwork for "The Phantom Tomorrow" was created by Eliran Kantor, known for his work with TESTAMENT, HATEBREED, HAVOK and Andy Black, to name a few. "The Phantom Tomorrow" was produced by Erik Ron (GODSMACK, DANCE GAVIN DANCE, BUSH) and co-produced by guitarist Jake Pitts.

BLACK VEIL BRIDES singer Andy Biersack told Rock Sound about "Born Again": "'Born Again' was a song that was written later in the process. We felt like we needed to have a song that represented the joy and the idea of rebirth with these characters in 'The Phantom Tomorrow' finding what they thought might be their savior in Blackbird. Through the story you find that there have been sightings of this character, there's this old legend of the idea of the Blackbird, this thing that's passed from generation to generation, and now this is 'The Phantom Tomorrow' and the people in the underground saying, 'This is our chance. We're gonna be born again,' singing in the streets. 'This is our opportunity to get out of the shit that we're dealing with with the Ninth Circle and all of the rules and the stipulations and the things that they have to go through. So this is meant to be kind of a joyous moment on the record before ultimately you discover this Blackbird character."

Biersack previously discussed the lyrical themes covered on "The Phantom Tomorrow" in a 2021 interview with "Cutter's Rockcast". He said: "It's a concept record. The story is essentially the idea… In our society, especially now, we have this love of building up heroes and obsessing over other people who often don't give a shit about you or anybody else, and we kind of have these false idols and heroes. And so the story is kind of about taking this mythological character and the people putting all of this power on to them, and then ultimately turning their back on the character because nobody can fulfill the dreams and ideas that you put on somebody else. So it's an alternate version of our own timeline where our obsession with heroes and the iconography of somebody that's aspirational kind of gets out of control and becomes our whole society."

Regarding how he came up with "The Phantom Tomorrow" concept, Andy said: "In January of [2020], I just kind of sat down and started writing this story. I do a lot of drawing when I'm writing as well. I'm not great, but I like to be able to represent my ideas in that way. So I wrote out this whole story and drew character designs, and then, about a week and a half later, we were set to enter the studio, and it just kind of coincidental that this whole rush of this idea came to me. And so I went to the studio with everybody and said, 'Look, this is what I think we should do,' and laid out the story and the plot and the ideas. 'Cause we've done concept records before. The kind of method that we've found is best is I give the concept and the ideas, as far as the narrative perspective, to the band, and then that is how we write as a band together, to get tone and how we are gonna get through this journey. I will take those songs and then go basically write the lyrics to serve the story and plotlines along the journey from song one to the last song.

"There are unfortunate kind of shackles that are put on it — meaning that you've gotta write within the context of what you're writing," he continued. "But I tried to keep this one more open-ended where it's applicable… 'Cause I didn't wanna write about stuff I don't know; I wanted it to be about my experience. And there's really nothing about our story that doesn't mimic the current situation, whether it's on a personal level with people that I've known, or on a sociopolitical level, with the craziness of the world right now. The ideas are universal, and so that made it a little bit easier to kind of get through the journey."

In November 2019, BLACK VEIL BRIDES announced the addition of bassist Lonny Eagleton to the group's ranks. He joined the band as the replacement for Ashley Purdy, who exited the group earlier that month.

Eagleton previously played with Biersack (a.k.a. Andy Black) on his solo tour.

Acclaimed Mongolian rock band THE HU has released a new single called "This Is Mongol" ahead of its second studio album, due later this summer via Better Noise Music. With "This Is Mongol", as with all of THE HU's music, the group connects the world to Mongolian culture and its unique core values of natural preservation and spiritual connection with the earth. These core values are on full display in the new, epic John Connor Hammond-directed video for "This is Mongol", also released today. The deeply meaningful lyrics uplift the Mongol people, as the band wishes for prosperity and peace among all.

Previously debuting at No. 1 on the World Album and Top New Artist charts with its 2019 debut album "The Gereg", THE HU is excited to start dropping new music for fans. Currently on the "Black Thunder" tour, THE HU also recently played at Coachella, earning an array of critical acclaim. They will also join FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH and MEGADETH on tour later this summer.

Speaking about the "This Is Mongol" video, THE HU singer and tumur hhuur player Jaya said: "We shot in the Mojave Desert, Nevada and the environment reminded us of Gobi Desert in Mongolia. We enjoyed shooting the video, which happened during our tour and gave us a little break to reminisce about home. The song perfectly matched the environment we made the video in. It was one of the best memories we created as a band and it was special because our producer Dashka was with us to oversee the whole process."

Enkush, who also sings and plays the morin khuur, shared his thoughts on THE HU's tour dates with FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH and MEGADETH: "We grew up listening to MEGADETH and can't express how much they have inspired and motivated us to do what we love every day, so you can only imagine our excitement for our next tour with them. Everybody knows MEGADETH is one of the four biggest trailblazers in thrash metal and to be performing with a modern band such as FFDP is truly going to be legendary. Although it will be our first time performing with them, we will bring our A-game on this tour."

Thrilled to be sharing more of their Mongolian roots, producer Dashka said: "Creating this song meant so much to me. We are announcing our arrival through music and specifically through this song. In these uncertain times, I hope we are bringing positivity, empowerment and strength to fight for better days."

Over the last several months, THE HU has been recording new material in its homeland of Mongolia and shared an update from the studio with fans on their YouTube channel. While on its current headlining tour, THE HU has been teasing the new music from its upcoming sophomore LP, out late this summer. The tour continues tonight, May 13, in Portland, Maine and will see the band journey across the southern U.S. through May 29, landing in Dallas, Texas before ending in Mexico City on May 31.

On the morin khuur and serving as a vocalist, Gala stated about THE HU's recording process: "Our second album was recorded during COVID lockdown, where we used the time to put our best effort and astounding amount of energy to focus on the work. Therefore, it is our hope to present our listeners with unique songs that have their own characteristics."

Temka, who plays the tovshurr and sings background vocals, also spoke about the upcoming LP: "The new album has great quality, composition, melody and overall it is sensational. The lyrics that Dashka wrote consist of our traditional values, virtues and wisdom of our ancestors. Our fans can expect to hear and feel the messages we try to deliver through our songs, such as love and respect for parental love, the importance of sustainability and cultural heritage. We can't wait for our fans to listen and enjoy our second album and are excited to be performing for fans whom we have yet to meet. We will see you very soon and send our regards to our fans all over the world."

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH has set an August 19 release date for its new album, "AfterLife". The official lyric video for the LP's second single, "IOU", can be seen below. The clip provides a first ever sneak peek into the Metaverse project the band has been working on. The interactive virtual world will be a gamified fan club experience, developed on the near photorealistic Unreal Engine and providing an extension of FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH's existing fan club app in the near future.

"'AfterLife' was hands down my favorite record to make," says FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH guitarist Zoltan Bathory. "It is our ninth album, so at this point we have legions of loyal fans and our signature sound is more than established. It became its own island, our ground zero we operate from and we can always come back to. So when we started this record, there was an excitement of impending musical adventures. We knew we could step away as far as we wanted to; there was a freedom of truly 'anything goes.' This resulted in an album that is way more diverse than our previous ones while it feels more unified, because there is a framework of overarching stories in Ivan's [Moody, vocals] lyrics and interconnecting musical motifs between songs. It was not planned as a concept album, but we were so hyper-focused on painting a complete picture, it somehow feels like one... We are very proud of it and are just as impatient as the fans waiting for the release. Can't wait to share it."

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH's follow-up to 2020's "F8" was once again recorded at the Hideout Recording Studio, the Las Vegas, Nevada facility owned and operated by Kevin Churko, the Canadian record producer/engineer and songwriter who has worked on all of FIVE FINGER's albums beginning with the band's sophomore release, 2009's "War Is The Answer".

"AfterLife" will be FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH's first album with its latest addition, renowned British virtuoso Andy James, who replaced Jason Hook in 2020. James was previously featured on "Broken World", a song that was included on the second installment of FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH's greatest-hits collection, "A Decade Of Destruction – Volume 2", which came out in the fall of 2020.

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

"AfterLife" track listing:

01. Welcome To The Circus
02. AfterLife
03. Times Like These
04. Roll Dem Bones
05. Pick Up Behind You
06. Judgment Day
07. IOU
08. Thanks For Asking
09. Blood And Tar
10. All I Know
11. Gold Gutter
12. The End

Since FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH's debut album, "The Way Of The Fist", came out in 2007, the band has released six consecutive albums that were certified gold or platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) as well as two chart-topping greatest-hits albums. In addition, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH has earned numerous national and international awards and honors over the last decade, such as the prestigious Soldier Appreciation Award by the Association Of The United States Army, an honor bestowed upon only one other recording artist before them: Elvis Presley.

"F8" debuted at No. 1 on rock charts around the world, with Top 10 mainstream chart debuts in the USA, Austria, Australia, Canada, Finland, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, the U.K. and more. It produced four No. 1 hit singles with "Inside Out", "A Little Bit Off", "Living The Dream" and "Darkness Settles In", the latter of which saw the band tie DISTURBED's record for most consecutive No. 1s on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Airplay chart with seven chart-toppers in a row. The band has amassed over eight billion streams and three billion video views to date and has sold over one million tickets between 2018 and 2020 alone.

Last month, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH announced a 2022 U.S. headlining tour presented by Live Nation. Kicking off in Portland, Oregon on August 19, the trek will span over 30 dates, closing out on October 15 in Salt Lake City, Utah. The band will be joined on tour by rock icons MEGADETH, with additional support from THE HU and FIRE FROM THE GODS, promising an intense multi-faceted night of heavy rock music.

Photo credit: Travis Shinn

MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE has surprise-released a new song called "The Foundations Of Decay". The band's first new music since 2014 was made available ahead of MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE's U.K. tour later this month.

"See the man who stands upon the hill," frontman Gerard Way sings in the track. "He dreams of all the battles won. But fate had left scars upon his face, with all the damage they have done."

MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE broke up in 2013, three years after the release of its fourth studio album, "Danger Days: The True Lives Of The Fabulous Killjoys". A new song titled "Fake Your Death" arrived in 2014 as part of a greatest-hits compilation, "May Death Never Stop You". Since then, Way released his debut solo album, 2014's "Hesitant Alien", and several standalone singles. He also saw his award-winning comic book "The Umbrella Academy" adapted into a Netflix series.

Way's bandmates also pursued various solo projects. Guitarist Frank Iero released a pair of solo albums, and bassist Mikey Way formed a group called ELECTRIC CENTURY. Guitarist Ray Toro briefly toured with a project called REGGIE AND THE FULL EFFECT, and released a solo recording in tribute to a transgender teen who committed suicide.

Reunion rumors first arose in 2016, when the group posted a cryptic video on social media. It turned out to be for a 10th anniversary reissue of the band's 2006 album "The Black Parade". The band stated at the time, "We are not touring and there is no reunion planned."

MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE played its first concert in seven years in December 2019 in Los Angeles.

A full-fledged tour, which has been postponed several times due to the coronavirus pandemic, will kick off in Europe next week before eventually making its way to North America, and dates in New Zealand and Australia will then follow in 2023.

The North American leg of MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE's tour will launch in August.

Photo by Devin Sarno

HAIL THE HORNS, the newly formed trip featuring Tony Campos (bassist of STATIC-X and FEAR FACTORY),Marc Rizzo (guitarist of ILL NIÑO and formerly of SOUFLY),and Opus (drummer of DEAD BY WEDNESDAY),will release a new original single "H.T.H.", on June 3 via Mindsnap Music, distributed by Von Artists, Ltd. (The Orchard).

The lyric video for "H.T.H." can be seen below.

Opus states: "'H.T.H.', which are simply abbreviations for our self-titled track, is a nod and an 'ode to' some of the classic heavy metal songs and bands that we grew up on that influenced us all. Tony, who is singing leads on this track, took some songtitles, words and lines from obvious metal songs and made them work writing them into song complete lyrics. Our idea was to have that same 'Metal Militia'-type vibe. I believe we accomplished that."

"H.T.H." was produced, mixed and mastered by Nicky Bellmore, who has previously worked with TWISTED SISTER singer Dee Snider (and also plays drums for Dee's solo band),George" Corpsegrinder" Fisher (CANNIBAL CORPSE),Jamey Jasta (HATEBREED),DEAD BY WEDNESDAY, GENERATION KILL, TOXIC HOLOCAUST, and many more.

HAIL THE HORNS tour dates:

Jun. 02 - Brick By Brick, San Diego, CA
Jun. 04 - La Santa, Santa Ana, CA
Jun. 05 - Harlow's, Sacramento, CA
Jun. 07 - Hawthorne Theatre, Portland, OR
Jun. 08 - El Corazon, Seattle, WA
Jun. 10 - Peavine Taphouse, Reno, NV

SOULFLY parted ways with Rizzo last August due to personal differences. A permanent replacement guitarist has yet to be announced. FEAR FACTORY's Dino Cazares played guitar for SOULFLY on the band's last two U.S. tours.

Rizzo joined SOULFLY in 2004, and has since appeared on all of the band's subsequent records, including "Prophecy" (2004),"Dark Ages" (2005),"Conquer" (2008),"Omen" (2010),"Enslaved" (2012),"Savages" (2013),"Archangel" (2015) and "Ritual" (2018). In 2007, Rizzo became a member of CAVALERA CONSPIRACY, the side project of SEPULTURA co-founders, brothers Max and Igor Cavalera, and has performed on all CAVALERA CONSPIRACY releases including "Inflikted", "Blunt Force Trauma", "Pandemonium" and the critically acclaimed 2017 LP "Psychosis".

BEHEMOTH frontman Adam "Nergal" Darski has once again been acquitted of charges that he disrespected one of Poland's national symbols.

Back in January 2018, it was announced that Nergal was being formally charged by Polish authorities in a case involving the band's "Republic Of The Unfaithful" tour artwork and merchandise, which was said to be "insulting" to the national coat of arms of Poland, a stylized white eagle with a golden beak and talons, and wearing a golden crown, in a red shield. Three months later, Nergal posted an update via Instagram, revealing that "all the absurd charges" against him were "dismissed." But then in July 2020, he shared a new message on his social media revealing that the case had been reopened and the matter was being investigated further.

In early 2018, the case was referred to court by the District Prosecutor's Office in Gdańsk, northern Poland, which said that an expert on heraldry and iconography determined that the tour's artwork featured "a distorted image of Poland's national emblem."

The artwork "included elements and symbols considered Satanist and anti-Christian, with the aim of conveying content far removed from the historical and state ideology," the prosecutor's office said.

Nergal and Maciej Gruszka, who, as BEHEMOTH's webmaster, promoted the tour online, were accused of publicly affronting the Polish national emblem, which carries a maximum sentence of one year in prison. Also charged was Rafał Wechterowicz, the graphic artist who worked on the BEHEMOTH artwork.

Polish symbols are protected against public profanation and insult. According to Lexology.com, any public use that could be damaging or insulting may be considered a criminal offense. Therefore, it is important not to use any national symbol (even if artistically processed) in a way that could be deemed as disrespectful or offensive.

On Friday (May 6),the District Court in Gdańsk issued a judgment in the case. In the opinion of the court, the graphic design on the poster is not an image of the Polish emblem. As judge Monika Jobska stated, "the subject of the public insult described in Article 137 of the Criminal Code must be, inter alia, the emblem. Not a graphic design, graphic design referring to or similar to an eagle. According to the opinion of one of the experts, the design was created from scratch by the author and does not constitute a modification of the emblem of the Republic of Poland," said the court in its ruling.

Included on the poster was a white eagle without a crown; instead of the crown, devilish horns grew out of the bird's head. The eagle was inscribed with two snakes, skulls and an inverted cross. The eagle was placed on a red background, and the whole style was reminiscent of the Polish coat of arms. Above the eagle there is also the inscription "Rzeczpospolita Niewierna" (The Republic Of The Unfaithful").

The judge said: "The symbols used in the poster were understood as contrary to faith. For these people. faith is synonymous with Polishness. The Polish state is a secular state." The judge added that this case did not concern violation of religious feelings but state feelings.

Earlier today (Saturday, May 7),Nergal took to his Instagram to weigh in on the latest acquittal. He wrote: "Fuck yeah! Acquitted again !!

"This has begun over 3 years ago, when one of the PIS politicians felt that BEHEMOTH has offended Polish National Emblem with a design which was used to promote Polish leg of a BEHEMOTH's tour. Obviously, nothing of such was happening. And it's been sooo clear for everyone except for the right wing politicians and their fans. Yet the the politicized prosecutor's office launched an investigation and accused us of insulting the Polish emblem.

"3 years ago the first court hearing was held," he continued. "Eventually we won and were all acquitted. Then, the prosecutor appealed and the appellate court recalled the case to the 1st instance for reconsideration. And now we have been acquitted again! But the story continues, have your fingers crossed. Still, it's the second battle won in a row!

"ANOTHER battle won!" Nergal added. "Thank you all who made that happen, thank the Judge for being fair, open minded and reasonable. And brave in such strange times...

"ART & logic vs. religious fanatics 3 : 0".

This is not the first time Nergal had encountered legal problems in Poland related to his social media activities. In February 2021, he was convicted for offending religious feelings by a court in Warsaw. The charges stemmed from an image the Polish musician posted on social media showing a foot stamping on a picture of the Virgin Mary. At the time, Darski was ordered to pay a fine of 15,000 złoty (approximately $4,000) and court costs of almost 3,500 zloty (approximately $942).

Darski later contested the judgement and the case was eventually dismissed. In the ruling, the judge wrote the photo in question was posted on Nergal's social media and was therefore only made available to a specific group of people who could read it after observing the disclaimer at the top of the page: "The content presented on this profile may offend your religious and other feelings. If you don't want that to happen, stop following me."

After the February 2021 verdict against him was announced, Nergal told The Irish Times that he was appealing his conviction because not doing so would have resulted in him having a criminal record and therefore not being able to tour in many countries, including the United States and Australia.

"I don't think the public know the details of the level of harassment I have been through," he said. "It is getting monstrous, and it is a growing tide of censorship and harassment. Every few weeks, I have to check myself in at the police and go for different hearings and spend a fortune on lawyers with all the costs around court cases.

"I am being the perfect target," he continued. "The Polish authorities just pick on me. It is not a secret that a prosecution officer has me as his favorite scapegoat. He follows my Instagram account. Can you imagine that? It's insane and absolutely unprecedented."

In 2011, Nergal was acquitted in Poland on charges he insulted religious sentiment when he called the Catholic Church "the most murderous cult on the planet" during the band's September 2007 performance in Gdynia and tore up a copy of the Bible, calling it "a book of lies."

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July 8 will see the release of the second in a series of half speed mastered studio albums from The Who; The Who Sell Out and Tommy.


These limited-edition black vinyl versions have been mastered by long-time Who engineer Jon Astley and cut for vinyl by Miles Showell at Abbey Road Studios with a half-speed mastering technique which produces a superior vinyl cut and are packaged in original sleeves with obi strips and certificates of authenticity.


Regarded as one of the most important albums of all time, Tommy is a rock opera about a Deaf Dumb and Blind Boy, which, when released in 1969, reached No. 2 in the U.K. charts and No. 7 in the U.S. The album contains songs such as “Pinball Wizard,” “The Acid Queen” & “I’m Free” and is packaged in the original sleeve artwork.




Released in 1967, The Who Sell Out was the third album released by the band and is revered for being one of the first concept albums, celebrating the short-lived pirate radio stations of the late 60s with its groundbreaking use of fake adverts and jingles between songs.


Highlights include such as “I Can See For Miles,” “Armenia City In The Sky” and “Tattoo,” and as with Tommy, it has been mastered by long-time Who engineer Jon Astley from the original tapes and is housed in its original sleeve with obi and certificate of authenticity.


Pre-order The Who Sell Out here, and Tommy here.





The Who Sell Out tracklisting:


Side 1
"Armenia City In The Sky"
"Heinz Baked Beans"
"Mary Anne With The Shaky Hand"
"Odorono"
"Tattoo"
"Our Love Was"
"I Can See For Miles"


Side 2
"Can’t Reach You"
"Medac"
"Relax"
"Silas Stingy"
"Sunrise"
"Rael (1 And 2)"





Tommy tracklisting:


Side 1
"Overture"
"It’s A Boy"
"1921"
"Amazing Journey"
"Sparks"
"The Hawker"


Side 2
"Christmas"
"Cousin Kevin"
"The Acid Queen"
"Underture"


Side 3
"Do You Think It’s Alright?"
"Fiddle About"
"Pinball Wizard"
"There’s A Doctor"
"Go To The Mirror!"
"Tommy, Can You Hear Me?"
"Smash The Mirror"
"Sensation"


Side 4
"Miracle Cure"
"Sally Simpson"
"I’m Free"
"Welcome"
"Tommy’s Holiday Camp"
"We’re Not Going To Take It"


(Photo - Rick Guest / NEC Group)

On May 1st, guitar legend Paul Gilbert (Mr. Big, Racer X) performed at the Dallas International Guitar Festival in Dallas, TX. Fan-filmed viideo of the entire show is available below.


The setlist was as follows:


"Green Tinted Sixties Mind" 
"Blues for Rabbit"
"Argument About Fleetwood Mac"
"Scarified"
"Stairway to Heaven"
"Peace of Mind"
"Just Like A Technical Difficulty"
"Last Child"
"Boogie Medley" 
"Daydream about Rocky"
"Hello North Dakota"
"Rock Me Baby"
"Highway Chile"




Guitar: Paul Gilbert
Bass: Pete Griffin
Drums: Bill Ray

Metallica have released an official video of their performance of "Blackened", filmed in Porto Alegre, Brazil on May 5. Check it out below:





Ernie Ball has released the official film supporting their latest artist signature string collaboration with guitarist/vocalist James Hetfield of Metallica (see below). Papa Het’s Hardwired Master Core Signature Strings are available here.







Co-developed with Hetfield over the past decade, Papa Het’s new Hardwired Master Core set consists of James’ unique never before offered 11-50 gauge combination, ideal for his aggressive style and technique. These limited edition signature sets are housed in a compact tin box with custom artwork designed by James.


Product features:


- Never before offered gauge combo (11, 14, 18p, 28, 38, 50)
- “Master Core” heavier core to wrap ratio
- Wound strings wrapped with Paradigm plasma-enhanced nickel-plated steel around ultra-high-strength tin-plated steel hex core
- Paradigm ultra-high-strength tin-plated steel plain strings
- Thicker sound
- Added pitch stability

According to Deadline, the iconic mockumentary "This Is Spinal Tap" is getting a sequel. Rob Reiner will return to direct, and original stars/writers Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer will reprise their roles as Nigel Tufnel, David St Hubbins and Derek Smalls, respectively.

The news of the "Spinal Tap" sequel comes after the Cannes Film Festival announced the original film will screen on the beach as part of the Cinema de la Plage sidebar on Wednesday, May 18.

Reiner, who will also be back in front of the camera as documentarian Marty DiBergi, told Deadline that the plan is to release the new "Spinal Tap" movie on March, 19, 2024, in time for the 40th anniversary of the first film.

"For so many years, we said, 'nah,'" he said. "It wasn't until we came up with the right idea how to do this. You don't want to just do it, to do it. You want to honor the first one and push it a little further with the story."

As for the new movie's premise, Reiner said: "They've played Albert Hall, played Wembley Stadium, all over the country and in Europe. They haven't spent any time together recently. The idea was that Ian Faith, who was their manager, he passed away. In reality, Tony Hendra passed away. Ian's widow inherited a contract that said SPINAL TAP owed them one more concert. She was basically going to sue them if they didn't. All these years and a lot of bad blood we'll get into and they're thrown back together and forced to deal with each other and play this concert."

Regarding his role in the upcoming film, Reiner said: "I'm back playing Marty DiBergi. The band was upset with the first film. They thought I did a hatchet job and this is a chance to redeem myself. I am such a big fan and I felt bad they didn't like what they saw in the first film. When I heard they might get back together, I was a visiting adjunct teacher's helper at the Ed Wood School of Cinematic Arts. I drop everything to document this final concert."

"This Is Spinal Tap" has become a cult classic since its first theatrical run 38 years ago. The film was produced independently on a shoestring budget of $2.25 million by a company owned by the four creators, Reiner, Guest, McKean and Shearer. Two years in production, the film was released in 1984. It soon became a cult favorite and spawned a genre that has come to be known as "mockumentary," inspiring many subsequent filmmakers. Phrases from the film's script have entered the general lexicon, including "none more black" and "it goes to 11," the latter phrase exemplified by the Tesla car, whose audio system's volume control goes to 11, as does that on the BBC's iPlayer.

Its reputation as one of the 20th Century's most enduring comedies has increased exponentially in the ensuing years. The film has garnered international praise and acclaim, having been included in "best ever" lists such as The New York Times Guide to the Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made; Total Film's 100 Greatest Movies of All Time list; Entertainment Weekly's 100 Greatest Movies of All Time where it appeared on the "Just Too Beloved to Ignore" list; and achieving the coveted No. 1 spot on Time Out London's 100 Best Comedy Movies list.

In 2002, the film's lasting appeal led the U.S. Library of Congress (the world's largest cultural collection),to designate it as a culturally, historically or aesthetically significant film.

Although "This Is Spinal Tap" was first released in 1984 in the U.S. and U.K., the band SPINAL TAP was actually created in the late 1970s. The band's rock musician characters "Nigel Tufnel" and "David St. Hubbins" were created by Christopher Guest and Michael McKean, with Harry Shearer creating bassist "Derek Smalls." SPINAL TAP's comedic sole claim to fame was as "one of England's loudest bands." Performing as their beloved stage personae in the company of a rotating cast of percussionists willing to risk the kit (as so many of their predecessors have been accident prone),SPINAL TAP has toured the world multiple times since the film's release. Hundreds of thousands of SPINAL TAP sound recordings have been sold over the ensuing decades and the film has been released on scores of video formats through the years.

In 2019, the band's creators concluded a new agreement with Universal Music Group. The band's recording of a full-length SPINAL TAP album featuring songs from the film is still available for physical sale, download and streaming today from UMG.

"This Is Spinal Tap" was released to little fanfare with some viewers convinced the bumbling dinosaurs — who had a knack of losing drummers in freak accidents — on screen were a genuine band. But word of mouth about the smartly observed film, which took a pop at bands such as STATUS QUO, LED ZEPPELIN and BLACK SABBATH, spread and it became a sleeper hit.

According to the Belfast Telegraph, McKean, Guest and Shearer prepared several scenes with Reiner but then ad-libbed. At the end of filming, they had more than 40 hours of footage, which was edited down to a more manageable form.

When "This Is Spinal Tap" was released, not everybody got that it was a "mockumentary." U2's The Edge immediately embraced it, saying: "I didn't laugh, I wept. It was so close to the truth." Ozzy Osbourne didn't understand it, saying the first time he watched it, he thought it was a real documentary. Early home video versions of the movie reportedly even had a disclaimer at the start and finish of the movie stating the band didn't really exist.

In a new interview with Australia's "Scars And Guitars" podcast, guitarist Waclaw "Vogg" Kieltyka of Polish extreme metal veterans DECAPITATED reflected on the fact all four members of his band were accused by a woman of gang-raping her after a concert in 2017 in Spokane, Washington. In January 2018, rape and kidnapping charges against the musicians were dropped by prosecutors in Washington state. At the time, the prosecutors filed a motion in Spokane County Superior Court dismissing the charges, citing only the "well-being of the victim" as the reason.

Looking back on the experience, Vogg said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It really was a really painful process and really traumatic. It's hard to imagine, if you're not in this kind of situation, how it was, how it is in reality. If you're suddenly going for something which is such a scary thing, because it was a scary thing.

"The worst thing [is] you're facing this kind of charges that are crushing your whole career and your personal life," he continued. "That's the one side. The other side is you're facing [the loss] of your longtime freedom if something goes wrong.

"It's so abstract that being in a big courtroom in front of all those people, seeing for the first time in your life judges and prosecutors and facing this. And the people, they're talking some things about you you didn't do, and they try to put you [in] prison like the worst people on the planet. And you say to yourself, like, 'Where I actually am? Is this just kind of a dream right now? Or is it real things going on?' It was a really irrational experience. And then all these days in a jail and all these months after.

"Yeah, it was very traumatic and really just unbelievable," Vogg added. "But you have to know right now we feel all way better than during this. 'Cause it was already a few years [ago], and we've been working hard to go out from this in every possible way. So right now we have a new album. We have stability in our families. And we start to actually forget about that [experience]… We take our lesson. We're trying to just go forward without any mistakes, to do just good decisions [in] life, and it looks like everything is going [in] the right direction."

Kieltyka, drummer Michal Lysejko, singer Rafal Piotrowski and bassist Hubert Wiecek were scheduled to begin trial in January 2018 in Spokane County Superior Court. But 11 days before the trial date, a Spokane County deputy prosecutor filed a motion dropping all rape and kidnapping charges without prejudice, meaning the four men could be prosecuted in the future.

Asked by "Scars And Guitars" if that means that the entire case is now legally behind him and his DECAPITATED bandmates, Vogg said: "Yes, that's for sure. The thing is that I don't want to explain what is this about because I would need to touch some things and talk about some people and about some procedures that we decided to not touch this topic. But it's just like a classic U.S. procedure about cases like that.

"I don't wanna talk much," he continued. "Because I could explain that, but I don't wanna deal with the monster. I don't wanna wake up the monster. This is all behind [us]. All the charges are dropped.

"Imagine [if we were] in a U.S jail and we're four guys who really did it. Do you really believe they would let us go like that? I don't think so. So that's it. I could go with that, but this interview shouldn't be about the law case in the U.S."

The woman alleged she was gang-raped by the musicians in their tour bus bathroom after DECAPITATED's August 31, 2017 concert with THY ART IS MURDER at The Pin concert venue in downtown Spokane as part of the two bands' "Double Homicide" tour. The woman said entered the bus for drinks with the band before each member forced themselves on her.

Deputies later stated the victim had "significant bruising to her upper arms consistent with being restrained" and "small abrasions on her knuckles that were scabbed over." But DECPITATED's attorneys consistently argued their clients' innocence, with Vogg's attorney telling The Spokesman-Review that police officers may have been misinformed on what happens at metal shows that could explain the woman's bruising.

Andy Marsh, a member of THY ART IS MURDER, provided testimony for the defense, saying he saw the woman violently dancing in the mosh pit in front of the stage. "She was smashing her hands, arms and body against the metal barricade between the audience and the stage," he said in the court documents.

All four members of DECAPITATED were arrested on September 9, 2017 in Santa Ana, California after performing at the Observatory. They were held in Los Angeles County Jail before being extradited to Spokane.

The musicians were released from jail as they awaited trial. As part of their release conditions, they were ordered to stay in Washington and were required to turn in their passports. In the event that they did return to Poland, they were ordered to sign waivers of extradition, meaning they were agreeing to be extradited to the U.S.

The DECAPITATED members were released on their own recognizance and did not have to post a bond.

Their trial was scheduled to begin on January 16, 2018.

DECAPITATED will release its eighth studio album, "Cancer Culture", on May 27 via Nuclear Blast Records.

EXODUS and TESTAMENT paid tribute to THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER vocalist Trevor Strnad at the Columbus, Ohio stop of their "The Bay Strikes Back" tour.

At one point during EXODUS's set Wednesday night (May 11) at Newport Music Hall, singer Steve "Zetro" Souza told the crowd: "Before we go any farther, I have to dedicate this show to Trevor from BLACK DAHLIA MURDER. Another one, another great one we lost. So make some noise for Trevor."

Later in the night, TESTAMENT singer Chuck Billy introduced the song "WWIII" by telling the audience: "We're gonna play one right now and dedicate this one to Trevor of BLACK DAHLIA. C'mon, make some noise, everybody."

Video of both dedications can be seen below (courtesy of Singular Vision Productions).

Strnad's death was announced earlier on Wednesday by his THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER bandmates on social media. They wrote: "It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of Trevor Scott Strnad. Beloved son, brother, and Shepard of good times, he was loved by all that met him. A walking encyclopedia of all things music. He was a hugger, a writer, and truly one of the world’s greatest entertainers. His lyrics provided the world with stories and spells and horror and whimsy. It was his life to be your show." The band also shared the telephone number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.

Last November, Strnad shared on social media that he was having a difficult time dealing with the passing of his mother, who had "died a few weeks" earlier "very abruptly." "Even at 40 years old, it's still hard," he wrote. "We were close. I feel like a lost little kid. Props to the many of you out there who have dealt with this and made it out the other side."

In an April 2021 interview with Metal Injection, Strnad spoke about his battle with depression and alcohol dependence. At the time, he said: "At the rate I drink while we're gone on tour, it's just not sustainable for getting older. Being 40-plus and being able to do what I do well and not look like a shithead, I've gotta be better to myself. So that's really the impetus [for quitting drinking]. That's the heart of it. It's not that… I know I'm no fun [when I'm drinking]… It's to the point where I'm having 10 drinks a day plus to go on stage. And two weeks into it, I've been hung over every single day. I'm chasing that hangover with just more liquor, until the end of the tour [by which time] I have doubled my intake just to get by, basically. And it's not fun — it's disgusting; it sucks."

Strnad also revealed that he was about to undergo ketamine therapy as a way of treating his depression. "It's intravenous," he said. "They pump ketamine into you over the course of two weeks — three days a week for two weeks. And they put you in this euphoric state for a couple of hours. And eventually you've done it enough to where your brain makes new passageways, new synapses, and you stop doing these cyclic kind of thinking — self-defeating. I've been a lot better now, but there was times when shit got pretty fucking dark for me over the last two years. You can go there as an emergency if you're ideating suicide really crazily — they can take you in on an emergency basis. You're basically high as fuck and euphoric as fuck, and they just give you all these great chemicals — you release all these happy chemicals and stuff like that. And they just keep doing that to you until you kind of rewrite the way you think.

"Really, this put the nail in the coffin for me about the way I look at the world, and it's been heavy as fuck," he continued, referring to his life during the pandemic. "I feel like there's no happy ending for any of us in the way that we've set everything up — government and just everything. I feel like it's just gonna be darker and darker from here on out. And that's a lot for a person to think about all the time. It basically stole whatever little bit of innocence I had left or any little blinder I had on to the way shit is. It's been heavy, dude. This has been a heavy fucking thing for me… I'm arrested by all of this right now and by my own feelings. It's just brought my anxiety to an ultimate head, basically. It's to the point where I've gotta do something."

Formed in 2000, THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER — named after the infamous 1947 unsolved murder of actress Elizabeth Smart — had a number of shows scheduled for later this year, including a May 20 appearance at Daytona Beach, Florida's Welcome To Rockville festival.

THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER's latest album, "Verminous", came out in 2020. It was described in a press release as the band's "most dynamic, rousing and emotional release to date."

In a new interview with the San Antonio Current, bassist Mike Levine of legendary Canadian rockers TRIUMPH was asked what would have to happen to get the three members of the band to reunite for a full tour. He responded: "We would need to have the best medical people around us. [Laughs] All the ails of 70-year-olds that have been on the road to rock 'n' roll — playing loud music, sucking in flash powder smoke and dry ice smoke for years — to try to get us well enough to do 30 shows.

"In 2008, we had 30 shows done in Canada. That were already booked. And there were like 40 shows booked in America at that point. And then the recession hit. And it lasted through 2008, 2009 and most of 2010. When 2011 came, Live Nation called and the individual promoters said, 'What do you think?' We went, 'Eh, probably not.' We're now three and a half years older. We've got whatever ailments we've got, and it was never about the money. It was always about the legacy more than anything. Could we have made a bunch of money? Yes. But it would've been embarrassing if we only did half houses with the recession, with the Rust Belt in the Midwest, even San Antonio. You name it, everyone was hurting. No one can afford to go to concerts when they've lost their jobs. It's horrible. So, we just went, 'Let's take if off the table.' And every year the offers would come in to go do some stadium shows. And it's way too much work to do that, to get a crew, rehearse, to go out and do four shows. And it wouldn't be our show. We'd just be part of a package. It would be like doing another US Festival or something. The fans would want to see us indoors, with the big show, and if we didn't do it that way, then there's no point."

Levine previously touched upon TRIUMPH's aborted reunion tour a year ago in an interview with Rock History Music. At the time he said: "Well, we [reunited for] a couple of [shows] — in the 2000s. In 2008, we played over in Sweden — we did a festival there — and a show in Oklahoma, I think called Rocklahoma. And we were gonna go on the road, and then the recession came. There was plans, there was buildings on hold, everything was starting to fall into place. And then when the recession [came], we talked to the promoters, and everybody just said, 'For you guys, it would be embarrassing if you go out and do three quarters of a house instead of selling out.' It was horrible. Concerts were dying everywhere. You couldn't sell a ticket in the Midwest. It didn't matter who you were. THE BEATLES would have had trouble selling tickets. So we just [put it on hold]. And then the recession lasted a couple of years. And then we decide, you know what? We're a couple of years older. Maybe we can't do it — the idea of a big tour. 'Cause we were looking at maybe doing 60, 70 dates over the course of a year and a half or so. And the investment and the production and all that, to put it all together, and the time — just rehearsal time and everything else. So we decided, you know what? It's probably not in the best interest in all of us. It's not like everybody was going, 'Yeah, we've gotta do it.' We all just went, 'Not a good idea anymore.'"

As previously reported, Nugs.net, the leading music platform for live concert streams and recordings, has partnered with Round Hill Music for the global premiere of TRIUMPH's lomg-awaited feature documentary "Triumph: Rock & Roll Machine". Fans can tune in for the premiere event on Friday, May 13 at 8:30 p.m. EDT, which will kick off with an exclusive, moderated question-and-answer session with all three members of TRIUMPH — guitarist/vocalist Rik Emmett, drummer Gil Moore and Levine.

Tickets for the global streaming event can be purchased starting today for $19.95 exclusively at nugs.net/triumph. Streaming is available worldwide, with the exception of Canada. Tickets will be available through Sunday, May 15 at midnight EDT.

"Triumph: Rock & Roll Machine", produced by Emmy and Peabody award-winning Banger Films (ALICE COOPER, IRON MAIDEN, RUSH and ZZ TOP),covers TRIUMPH's humble beginnings as staples of the GTA circuit in the mid-'70s to their heyday as touring juggernauts, selling out arenas and stadiums all across North America with their legendary spectacular live shows — and way beyond.

Moore, Levine, and Emmett formed TRIUMPH in 1975, and their blend of heavy riff-rockers with progressive odysseys, peppered with thoughtful, inspiring lyrics and virtuosic guitar playing quickly made them a household name in Canada. Anthems like "Lay It On The Line", "Magic Power" and "Fight The Good Fight" broke them in the USA, and they amassed a legion of fiercely passionate fans. But, as a band that suddenly split at the zenith of their popularity, TRIUMPH missed out on an opportunity to say thank you to those loyal and devoted fans, a base that is still active today, three decades later.

Back in 2016, Moore and Levine reunited with Rik as special guests on the "RES 9" album from Emmett's band RESOLUTION9.

After 20 years apart, Emmett, Levine and Moore played at the 2008 editions of the Sweden Rock Festival and Rocklahoma. A DVD of the historic Sweden performance was made available four years later.

Doom godfathers THE OBSESSED have announced their new lineup. Joining frontman Scott "Wino" Weinrich and drummer Brian Costantino are bassist Chris Angleberger (TRANQUILIZER) and guitarist Jason Taylor (SIERRA, WITCHES OF GOD).

THE OBSESSED will play "a string of shows" en route to the band's appearance at this year's Ripplefest Texas festival, set to take place July 21-24, 2022 in Austin.

Says THE OBSESSED: "We look forward to seeing you out on the road! Tour dates coming soon."

THE OBSESSED released its first studio album in over 20 years, "Sacred", in April 2017 via Relapse Records.

Weinrich, who has also played with SAINT VITUS, SPIRIT CARAVAN, THE HIDDEN HAND and SHRINEBUILDER, announced THE OBSESSED's return in March 2016 on social media, explaining in a statement: "All over the world I've listened to friends tell me, 'We want you to bring back THE OBSESSED,' so I have decided to resurrect THE OBSESSED." He added that he was "waiting for the right combination of ability, attitude and personality to accomplish this goal."

Forged in 1976 in Maryland, THE OBSESSED weathered various lineup shifts and an on-again-off-again status over the course of a winding, forty-year history. The band released three now-legendary full-lengths — 1990's "The Obsessed", 1991's "Lunar Womb" and 1994's "The Church Within" — as well as a gaggle of seven-inch singles and compilation appearances.

"The Church Within" was Wino's most critically hailed album. Despite being co-released by Hellhound Records and the major label Columbia Records, the music-buying masses were not ready to embrace doom in 1994 and instead fixated on buying records by rehashed pop-punk bands. Several factors led to "The Church Within" becoming THE OBSESSED's last full-length album prior to the arrival of "Sacred". Despite not becoming a top-seller, the album remains hugely influential.

Hello friends, I am proud to announce the new The Obsessed lineup! On bass Chris Angleberger (Tranquilizer),on 2nd...

Posted by The Obsessed on Wednesday, May 11, 2022

Jeff Scott Soto says that his project with David Ellefson will release a full-length album later this year.

In March 2021 — two months before the former MEGADETH bassist found himself embroiled in a sex video scandal — Ellefson and Soto announced that they had been collaborating on some new material under the moniker ELLEFSON-SOTO. The ELLEFSON-SOTO version of the RIOT classic "Swords & Tequila" was simultaneously released across all digital streaming outlets via Ellefson's Combat Records.

In a new interview with KNAC.COM, Soto offered an update on his collaboration with Ellefson, saying (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I can confirm that it's actually happening. I can confirm that it's gonna be released this year. And I can confirm that it's a full-fledged album, it's a full-fledged commitment that we both put into it. We will be doing shows and dates, et cetera. But that's about all I can give you right now."

Jeff's latest comments come seven months after he was asked in an interview with Dr. Music if the rest of the material he recorded with Ellefson would eventually see the light of day. At the time, Soto said: "I'm hoping it will at some point. I've given David, as many people have, the space and the time to kind of deal with his own things.

"We were full-on getting that thing ready to bounce and to drop, et cetera, and, obviously, things were put on hold for that reason," he explained. "And it's just better for things to just kind of go away and kind of calm down, because we don't need the kind of press that comes with it, especially the comments [from] the Internet cowboys out there. Let it go away, let it just kind of slip under the rug, and I'm sure that stuff is gonna resurface. And the idea of it will resurface and get us out there… I'm sure we'll revisit it when the time is right."

This past January, Soto shared an Instagram photo of him with Ellefson and he captioned it: "Something brewing in Los Angeles today....#davidellefson".

When Ellefson's collaboration with Soto was first announced, David said in a statement: "Jeff and I have been friends for so many years that it's great to finally collaborate on some material together. He has such a distinctive voice and perfect style for some new ideas my guitarist Andy Martongelli and I have been composing. We are excited about the progress of it all and thought this would be a perfect time to give a little sneak preview."

At the time, Jeff added: "As COVID-19 became a big negative around the globe, it actually offered many artists a chance to finally collaborate with one another that might have never happened otherwise… As I have known David for many years, I knew from our other efforts outside of our day jobs that we could come up with some badass jams…and here we are, letting you in on our cool little secret."

Ellefson was fired from MEGADETH in May 2021 after sexually tinged messages and explicit video footage involving the bassist were posted on Twitter. At the time, Ellefson was accused of grooming an underage girl through videos and online messages. David has denied the allegation and has repeatedly said the woman in question had been a willing, consenting adult at the time of their virtual sexual encounter. Ellefson accompanied his denial with an alleged screenshot of a statement from the woman with whom he was supposedly involved at the time. In it, the woman admitted to recording the alleged intimate communications she had with Ellefson and called herself "naïve" for sharing them with a friend without the musician's permission.

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

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CANDLEBOX frontman Kevin Martin has announced plans to retire after the 30th anniversary of the release of the band's debut album in 2023. "I am retiring after next summer — yes, I am retiring," he told the 94.3 The Shark radio station in an interview that was conducted on May 7 (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

Noting that CANDLEBOX will celebrate its 31st birthday this coming October, Martin said: "I don't know if I would have ever thought that CANDLEBOX would be around this long. I wanted it, of course; I think every kid wants to have that opportunity and a career that lasts decades, and I'm very grateful that it has. But there comes a time where my responsibilities as a husband and a father supersede my responsibilities to the music that I make. And that's kind of where I'm at. I enjoy it, but it's not the love of my life anymore. And that's, I think, when you as an artist you kind of have to recognize that and step away from it. And if it means that five years after that I decide that I wanna go out and do some shows, I'll do it; if two years after that I decide I'm going to do some shows… But I won't be doing the full-band tours for two, three, four months. I don't wanna do that. It's really, really hard. And I miss my family. And physically, it's very taxing. The way I sing, it's acrobatic, so it's not something that I wanna be performing and not have my voice work. So I'd rather go out on top, I think, is the term."

Although Martin plans on retiring from the road, he hasn't closed the door on making more music.

"I know that I've got another record I have to do," he said. "And people are saying, 'Well, if you do another record, you've gotta tour on it.' Well, that's not necessarily true. I would certainly want to and have people hear it, but I think that the case is that it's probably best for me to just accept that the mindset that I'm in and what I've decided for myself is what I need to do. As much as I may wanna keep singing and doing this and putting myself in the music the way I do, I have to recognize that I'm not in love with it the way I [once] was."

Kevin went on to say that "a lot of people" are telling him that he can't retire. "And a lot of those people are my bandmembers and my management," he revealed. "They're, like, 'You can't retire. People love you, and they love your music.' But like I said, man, I have got to put myself first emotionally in everything I do. And that's kind of where I'm at. I don't want to stop singing a song like 'Sometimes' that means the world to me, or 'It's Alright' or 'Far Behind' or 'You', because I love them, but I just know that it's the decision I have to make."

CANDLEBOX first formed in 1991 and helped lay the groundwork for the grunge genre, alongside notable bands such as PEARL JAM, SOUNDGARDEN, NIRVANA, and others.

CANDLEBOX has sold over seven million albums worldwide, scoring the megahits "Far Behind" and "You", which have garnered over 100 million streams, decades after their initial release. The band's new album, "Wolves", has been in the top 10 on two Billboard charts (Hard Music Albums and Alternative Albums).

This past March, it was announced that Warner Music Entertainment (WME),the television and film division of Warner Music Group, had partnered with Highway West Entertainment on a forthcoming new feature-length documentary, "Far Behind: The Candlebox Story". The film will explore the beginnings of what the world would come to know as the grunge scene, following CANDLEBOX on its rise to fame.

"Far Behind: The Candlebox Story" will feature footage and interviews with original bandmembers Kevin Martin, Peter Klett, Scott Mercado and Bardi Martin, in addition to Guy Oseary, famed SOUNDGARDEN/ALICE IN CHAINS manager Susan Silver, and others.

The film went into production in summer 2021 and is gearing up for a fall 2022 release.

Candlebox HUGE Announcement and Shark 10th Birthday Interview

As a part of our tenth anniversary, year long celebration, We went back stage at City Winery NYC to talk with Kevin Martin of Candlebox for what became some very candid and at times SHOCKING comments about the future. Jasper Martin Thank you for being such an important part of our ten year history

Posted by 94.3 The SHARK on Tuesday, May 10, 2022

In a new interview with the "ProgRock Digital" podcast, former KAMELOT singer Roy Khan, who is a devout Christian, was asked if his faith influenced the lyrics on the latest album from his reactivated pre-KAMELOT band CONCEPTION, "State Of Deception", which came out in 2020. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "CONCEPTION is not a religious band in any sense of the word. But we do allow… I mean, there's a couple of these lyrics that are quite Christian in the sense that I've used the Bible and I've used my own story to say something. But there's no direct reference to Christianity as such. But for me personally, it would have been awkward to not write about anything that has happened since it's been a pretty big thing, for me at least, and to my fans."

Khan announced his exit from KAMELOT in April 2011 after taking several months off to recover from a "burnout."

After his departure from KAMELOT, Khan joined a church in the coastal town of Moss, Norway.

Four years ago, Khan officially reformed CONCEPTION and released an EP, 2018's "My Dark Symphony", and a full-length album, the aforementioned "State Of Deception".

Khan reflected on the circumstances that led to him ending his long working relationship with KAMELOT during an appearance last fall on the "Breaking Absolutes With Peter Orullian" podcast. Roy, whose full name isRoy Sætre Khantatat, said: "That whole thing was a cocktail of several things that just happened to climax at that point. As you all, KAMELOT was getting more and more popular, so I was away months every year — like half the year at least I was gone. I was having a family, and that right there was starting to tear me apart. And then I was living my life not very healthy — let's put it that way — and I did a lot of stupid stuff back then that… I knew in my heart that it was going down the drain."

He continued: "I remember every night when I sang [the KAMELOT song] 'Karma', I would feel that this shit is gonna knock me on the back of the head at some point. If it's gonna tomorrow, [if] it's gonna be two years from now, I don't know, but the way I live my life, that's not gonna work — it's not sustainable. And then it happened. I knew for so many years, actually, that this was gonna not work out, and then, all of a sudden, it happened. I broke down. I had a full summer where I barely slept — like six to eight weeks where I didn't sleep a whole lot of hours during those six to eight weeks, and I was going really completely crazy. And in connection with that, a lot of stuff happened."

According to Khan, leaving KAMELOT after a 13-year run weighed heavily on him at the time.

"Quitting KAMELOT was the best decision that I've ever made, and by that I don't mean that… KAMELOT was a fantastic thing in my life, and Thomas [Youngblood, KAMELOT founder] and the other guys — it had nothing to do with them; it was all me and the way I lived my life, and I just couldn't take it any longer," he explained. "And I was also overworked — I worked all the time. Even when I was home. The first thing I'd do when I got back home is I would kick my shoes off in the hallway and I'd just sit right down at the computer and start working. I was really not a good husband and I was not a good father. Lots of things weren't good about me at that point.

"Quitting KAMELOT at that point, it was easy but it was hard," he elaborated. "It was easy because I didn't really have a choice. I was really wrecked. And at the same time, it was hard because I'd been working to get to that point my whole life, basically — 20 years, at least — and finally I was there. And then I threw the towel in and said, 'Hey, guys, I'm not coming in for the next tour.' 'Okay. Well, what's wrong?' 'Well, actually, I'm not coming back at all.' And obviously, everybody… My mom was, like, 'Are you kidding me? Are you serious?' Then the guys in the band, they thought that it was gonna pass. But I knew in my heart that summer [of 2010], already in August, I knew that that's it."

KAMELOT officially announced Tommy Karevik as its new lead singer in June 2012. The Florida-based band has recorded three albums so far with the Swedish vocalist: 2012's "Silverthorn", 2015's "Haven" and 2018's "The Shadow Theory".

Asked if he has listened to any of KAMELOT's recent material with Karevik, Roy told Italy's SpazioRock back in 2018: "Yes I have. I really like some of their new stuff. Sounds classical KAMELOT in my ears, and Tommy is a great singer."

Youngblood had previously discussed the role of religion in Khan's decision to leave KAMELOT, saying in a 2011 interview: "I know that there is a religious aspect to it that I can't really 100 percent explain. The religious aspect is something that I wanna let him to kind of talk about, but I know that he had been going to religion classes for whatever reason. Obviously, over the years of working together, being at times best friends and things like that, we have discussed all kind of topics about religion, so it's actually very surprising to me that this is where we are at now with him. But really, I don't really want to talk too much more about it because that's really something I think that he should come out about, in terms of what he believes or doesn't believe or whatever."

Fan-filmed video of SKID ROW's entire May 8 performance at the 13th edition of M3 Rock Festival at the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland can be seen below.

Featured songs in top video:

00:00 - Slave To The Grind
03:30 - The Threat
07:52 - Big Guns
11:55 - 18 And Life
16:05 - Piece Of Me
19:06 - Livin' On A Chain Gang
24:48 - Psycho Therapy
29:07 - I Remember You
34:54 - Psycho Love
40:06 - Monkey Business
47:19 - In A Darkened Room
52:24 - Makin' A Mess
56:39 - The Gang's All Here
1:01:01 - Youth Gone Wild

New SKID ROW frontman Erik Grönwall joined the band in January as the replacement for ZP Theart, who had been in the group for more than six years. Theart played his final gig with SKID ROW in February before being officially given the boot.

In late March, SKID ROW released its first single with Grönwall, "The Gang's All Here". The song is the title track of the band's upcoming album, which will arrive on October 14 via earMUSIC.

SKID ROW recorded most of "The Gang's All Here" in Nashville, Tennessee with producer Nick Raskulinecz, who has previously worked with FOO FIGHTERS, STONE SOUR, HALESTORM, EVANESCENCE, RUSH and ALICE IN CHAINS, among many others.

Grönwall was a member of the Swedish hard rock band H.E.A.T. with whom he recorded four studio albums — "Address The Nation" (2012),"Tearing Down The Walls" (2014),"Into The Great Unknown" (2017) and "H.E.A.T II" (2020) — before exiting the group in October 2020.

Grönwall was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in March 2021. Six months later, he announced that he was cancer free after receiving a bone marrow transplant in August. "Some anonymous wonderful human being somewhere in the world donated his/her blood cells so that I could get a second chance at life," he told Headbangers Lifestyle in January. "Sometimes I can just get tears in my eyes when I think about it. It's so beautiful that one person who is not connected to me in any way wanted to do that for me. He/she doesn't know that the blood cells were for me. It's completely anonymous."

Last September, Grönwall released his cover version of "18 And Life" via all streaming platforms.

In 2018, Grönwall debuted in the U.S. for 10 million viewers in NBC's live broadcast of Andrew Lloyd Webber's and Tim Rice's musical "Jesus Christ Superstar". Along with John Legend, Alice Cooper, Sara Bareilles and others, Erik played the key role of Simon Zealotes.

SKID ROW bassist Rachel Bolan recently told Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station about Grönwall's addition to the band: "Just the way he does things and his work ethic is one I've never seen other than the four of us that are already in the band. He just doesn't stop until he gets things absolutely right. Whether it's his version, what he thinks is right, or what we think is right, he works hard — he works hard. And you can see why he had the success he did overseas because he's a really, really hard-working singer that takes care of his instrument and that takes pride in his craft."

Rachel also reflected on SKID ROW's first live performance with Grönwall, saying: "Honestly, dude, from the minute he opened his mouth… His timing is impeccable. We knew it was gonna be cool. And each show has gotten even better, 'cause we're learning each other's rhythm on stage. When I walked away from that show, I said to Erik, I go, 'This was show one. I cannot wait for show one hundred. It's gonna be amazing.'"

Bolan previously talked about how Erik came to join SKID ROW during an appearance on the latest episode of SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation L.A. Invasion", recorded just hours before SKID ROW's first performance with the Swedish singer. "We toured together. H.E.A.T. was on tour with SKID ROW. What year was that? '18? And we'd hear him every night from the dressing room," he said. "And a couple of times, I was, like, 'Man, listen to this guy sing. He's phenomenal.' And then, I forget who told me, someone that was with us, 'Yeah, he won 'Idol' in Sweden.' And I was, like, 'Man, he's got pipes.' And I was listening. Then I went behind the monitor board a couple of times. And in my head, I'm, like, 'Wow! When SKID ROW has some downtime, I'm gonna get in touch with this dude and start a side project with him.' And obviously, that never happened. But as time went on and we got to the point to where we were with ZP and stuff, Erik was our first… I told Snake, I go, 'We've gotta check this guy out.' And along with Snake and the rest of the guys, and Nick, our producer, Nick Raskulinecz, were, like, 'He's the guy, man. Send him some songs.' So we sent him some songs that we were recording, just with a guide vocal on it, and it came back about 24 hours later, and we were, like, 'All right. He's the guy. Get him on a plane. Let's do this.'"

Held Hostage issued their brand new album, Great American Rock, digitally and on CD via FireRock Music Group on May 6. Tim "Ripper" Owens and Joe Lynn Turner provide guest vocals on the album. BraveWords is premiering the new music of "We Rock Hard" with Owens on vocals - watch below!





Tom Collier founding member/ lead guitarist/lead singer:




“The story behind ‘We Rock Hard’, is, when I was writing it, it was all about being on the road as band. We use to play 6-7 nights a week and unfortunately not everyone made it because they would lose their way and get caught up in drugs, alcohol and just couldn't perform. I had to make many hard decisions about firing people for the good of the band, because they could not perform and made partying their priority. I have always said the music should be your priority in a band. In the song the pre-chorus says, ‘We got nothing to lose but our own way. We stay the course, because that's how we play.’ It is still true to this day. Not just in Held Hostage but in many bands they have made the decision to not party and focus on the music first.


“Ripper was introduced to me 3 years ago by John Pettigrass from AEM. I was getting ready to record Epic and wanted a singer (other than myself) to sing the whole album. I had already worked with Joe Lynn Turner, and this was a hard rock album. I spoke to Ripper on the phone, and I sent him the title cut to Epic a song called ‘Lightning’. He loved it and said it was something, he could sink his teeth into. Then Great American Rock album, I had a singer but he wasn't working out and in the back of my mind Ripper was the only choice I wanted on the record. He really fits the band and he had some great input and did incredible job on the vocals. This record he was given free rein to change, add, whatever he wanted, and that's exactly what he did. He was instrumental in helping me produce the vocals to the record, sending me all sorts of advice and input. I would send him back a mix of the song for his thoughts. He would email me back with what he felt would work, and it worked fantastic.”


The album can be ordered now here, and look for the CD in retailers such as Target, Walmart, Barnes & Nobles and your local record stores.


FireRock Music Groups' Scott Braun, Creative Director/A&R, says. "This is a band rich in rock 'n' roll history and they bring with them, a great fan base and they feature some rock legends, on their new record. When I first heard the new record Great American Rock, we knew we had to sign them."


Collier: "I wanted to get back to the roots of American Rock 'n' Roll. Being able to bring Tim “Ripper” Owens back for a second album with us was such a thrill. I produced the album but I have to say, giving Ripper free reign on his vocals and taking suggestions from him, made this record exactly what we call it, Great American Rock. We also take on the issue of suicide of all ages, with our song 'Rise'. This is a side of Ripper the world has never seen."





Tracklisting:


"We Rock Hard" (featuring Tim "Ripper" Owens)
"Now We Ride (Bikers Life)" (featuring Tim "Ripper" Owens)
"Your Eyes" (featuring Tim "Ripper" Owens)
"The Master" (featuring Tim "Ripper" Owens)
"Hold On" (featuring Tim "Ripper" Owens)
"You Rock Our Way" (featuring Tim "Ripper" Owens)
"Take Me Away" (featuring Tim "Ripper" Owens)
"Be A Man" (featuring Tim "Ripper" Owens)
"Chaos" (Live)
"Rise (Stop Suicide All Ages)" (featuring Tim "Ripper" Owens)
"Fallen Brothers" (featuring Tim "Ripper" Owens)
"Show Me The Way Back" (Acoustic) (featuring Joe Lynn Turner)


Teaser:





Production Credits:


- Producer Tom Collier
- Engineer Ron Keck
- Recorded at Subcat Studios Syracuse NY
- Photo Credits Scott Braun, Dave Koegel
- Special Guest Vocalist Tim “Ripper” Owens 10 tracks
- Special Guest Vocalist Joe Lynn Turner, Special guest Bassist Mike Lepond (Symphony X, Ross The Boss), Drummer Ron Keck all on "Show Me The Way Back Home"


Held Hostage is:


Tom Collier - lead guitar/lead vocals
Scott Gregg - rhythm guitarist/backup vocals
Jeff Murray - drums
Dave Carrol - bass /backup vocals