MEGADETH kicked off the 2022 leg of "The Metal Tour Of The Year" with LAMB OF GOD, TRIVIUM and IN FLAMES last night (Saturday, April 9) at Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

MEGADETH's setlist was as follows:

01. Hangar 18

02. Dread And The Fugitive Mind

03. Sweating Bullets

04. She-Wolf

05. Trust

06. Conquer Or Die

07. Dystopia

08. Symphony Of Destruction

09. Peace Sells

10. Holy Wars... The Punishment Due

Fan-filmed video can be seen below.

The 2022 leg of "The Metal Tour Of The Year" will hit a further 21 cities before wrapping in Allentown, Pennsylvania on Sunday, May 15.

Last month, MEGADETH bassist James LoMenzo discussed the band's setlist for the 2022 leg of "The Metal Tour Of The Year" during a bassist roundtable video chat with Knotfest's Ryan J. Downey. "You have to take into account that Dave's [Mustaine, MEGADETH frontman] been through a lot with his voice, so a lot of the songs that we pick are predicated on [the fact] that he is healing correctly," the bassist said at the time, referencing Mustaine's recent battle with throat cancer. "So that's part of it as well. But it's a long road ahead. We're always swapping in songs. We've got a whole pile — they're all sitting, waiting to be let loose. That's the great thing about being in this band, is that there's just an inexhaustible catalog.

"I don't know how to say this delicately, so I'll just say it. The truth of the matter is when you go to see a lot of your favorite bands — let's be the fan guy; okay, let's go to see our favorite band… I remember when JUDAS PRIEST was doing all of 'Nostradamus'," he continued. "It was a good record, but it wasn't 'Hell Bent For Leather'. And I've gotta say that people wanna hear the songs that they love. Why wouldn't you play them for 'em?

"So that's the problem with a band like MEGADETH," James added. "And there are bands, as we move along — all bands, as you move along, you start just getting this giant catalog. And how do you get enough in there to give the core fans what they really want as opposed to the esoterics? You try and throw a thing here and there, but you've gotta keep the hits, man."

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

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

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

Asked in an interview with Melodic.net what it has been like for him to play with MEGADETH on "The Metal Tour Of The Year" last summer after such a long absence from the band, James said: "Well, I'm really having the best time. Dave's [Mustaine] been really welcoming and supportive, and the band as a whole is just fantastic. It's a real powerhouse. Dirk is a dream drummer for this type of music, and Kiko's just so musically deep. Dave's playing as good or better than ever and now that he's on those Gibson guitars, his sound is so much more gut punching then I remember it."

Regarding how he ended up returning to MEGADETH, James said: "Dave's management reached out at first to see if I'd even be available, which I really wasn't, but after a call with Dave, I realized how important for MEGADETH and even for myself this would be. Time was ticking, so I knew it would be a crunch, but having been here once before the re-learning curve was a tad less steep. I made some arrangements with the Fogerty camp, and they were gracious enough to allow me a leave to do this."

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












Megadeth - Dread and the Fugitive Mind [Live In Las Vegas, 2022]

Megadeth - Dread and the Fugitive Mind [Live In Las Vegas, 2022]

Realicé una edición simple con dos videos.

?: Monica Botello/Germain Tlaxca.

Posted by Megadeth of Destruction on Sunday, April 10, 2022



THE METAL TOUR OF THE YEAR II kicks off in Las Vegas, Saturday, April 9. See you there ??? metaltouroftheyear.com

Posted by Megadeth on Friday, April 8, 2022

DISTURBED frontman David Draiman has been criticized on social media for suggesting an oversimplified solution to the student loan crisis.

Apparently in response to yesterday's news that the federal moratorium on student loan repayments, which was set to end next month, has been extended through August 31, Draiman shared a 2019 political cartoon from Rick McKee, the staff cartoonist at The Augusta Chronicle. In the cartoon, a professor can be seen standing next to a huge white board and using a pointer to highlight to a student the two-step solution to the student debt crisis: "1. You took out a loan. 2. Pay it back."

As expected, Draiman's tweet was met with an overwhelmingly negative reaction from many of his followers, some of whom directed their ire at his band.

"We should all just pull up our bootstraps and sell 17 million records by making monkey sounds with our mouths," one person wrote.

"It's been a while since you've been relevant. Probably gets mistaken as rogan at the mall', another user tweeted.

"So glad I hated DISTURBED as a kid. Knew there was a reason"," a third person said.

"Dude in a washed-up band with more money than most people will ever see tells poor people to just 'pay back their crippling debt'", a fourth person tweeted.

A couple of other Twitter users also blasted the 49-year-old Draiman for using a shirtless photo of himself as his profile picture.

"This is funny coming from a dude who doesn't even have a shirt on in his pfp", one person wrote. "Youre almost 50", another user added.

In response to criticism of his Twitter profile photo, David wrote: "I was comfortable lol. Not sure why that makes it funny, but go ahead, knock yourself out".

One person who was seemingly in agreement with Draiman was former JUDAS PRIEST singer Tim "Ripper" Owens, who wrote: "Are they gonna pay off my mortgage ? I'm waiting for that as well".

Nearly 46 million Americans have $1.6 trillion in federal student loans.

A little over 10 years ago, in quarter two of 2011, Americans owed roughly $905 billion in student loans, which means that U.S. student debt has increased by more than 91% in the past decade.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. federal government enacted a freeze in student loan repayments since March 2020.

Draiman recently sold his house in Honolulu, Hawaii for more than $6 million and announced plans to relocate to Miami, Florida.

The singer and his DISTURBED bandmates are working on material for the follow-up to 2018's "Evolution" album, tentatively due later in the year.




Slow news day for you guys? Lol.

Whatever gets you the clicks I guess.

— David Draiman (@davidmdraiman) April 7, 2022








pic.twitter.com/l3Z2j3c2Z5

— David Draiman (@davidmdraiman) April 6, 2022








Are they gonna pay off my mortgage ? I’m waiting for that as well

— Tim 'Ripper' Owens (@TimRipperOwens) April 6, 2022








pic.twitter.com/Tj4lEyoPKC

— Horny on Leyndell (@DungeonSimp) April 6, 2022






We should all just pull up our bootstraps and sell 17 million records by making monkey sounds with our mouths.

— Stanitarium (@TheStanitarium) April 6, 2022






Remember when you did a cover of “Land of Confusion?

You didn’t really read the lyrics, did you?

— Pʀᴇtty ғᴀtᴇ ᴍᴀᴄʜiɴᴇ (@_terminalghost) April 6, 2022








Man, if you can’t trust the millionaire rock stars to believe in the words they record, who can you trust? pic.twitter.com/qgl4hTf6a6

— Pʀᴇtty ғᴀtᴇ ᴍᴀᴄʜiɴᴇ (@_terminalghost) April 6, 2022








The Poverty "Crisis" Solved: pic.twitter.com/EWnpMvXCQO

— Papercut Cinema (@PapercutCinema) April 6, 2022








So glad I hated Disturbed as a kid.

Knew there was a reason.

— Indianapolis Car Racing???☮️ (@NCO61) April 6, 2022








It's been a while since you've been relevant. Probably gets mistaken as rogan at the mall.

— Hail Sagan (@FeedbackNFuzz) April 6, 2022








I was comfortable lol. Not sure why that makes it funny, but go ahead, knock yourself out

— David Draiman (@davidmdraiman) April 6, 2022








pic.twitter.com/9APanMRsZw

— ? Grindcore Cowboy ? (@jimychangas) April 6, 2022








Yes and no.

Universities should be capped on how much they can charge and/or raise tuition a year

Unfortunately, many/most people have to make decisions about 5-6 figure college debt when they're 16 & haven't worked a day in their lives

Hold Ppl AND universities accountable

— Chiune Sempo Sugihara (@ChiuneSempo) April 6, 2022








College loans are predatory. Why as a society do we have to make it difficult for our citizens to get an education and be productive members of society? Shouldn’t we make that process as easy as possible? The more educated people we have, the better we will be. Problem solved.

— Little D Mac (@LittleDMac1) April 6, 2022








Youre almost 50 pic.twitter.com/bg5ec8CqRI

— IBJDPCNT643 (@IBJDPCNT644) April 6, 2022








What are your thoughts on usury?

— ???????????? ? (@ChuckETERNAL) April 6, 2022








pic.twitter.com/WezLwyUFpD

— ÖmRīff (@om_riff) April 6, 2022








1. You make terrible music 2.Take it back.

— ⚰️ (@theheavyheathen) April 6, 2022








Dude, your band Papa Roach sucked back in the day.

— ? Grindcore for Breakfast ? (@brad_dk) April 6, 2022








Make better music bald head

— Tony (@Nofvckzgiven) April 6, 2022








Dude in a washed-up band with more money than most people will ever see tells poor people to just "pay back their crippling debt"

— Kali Manlet (@doomy_boi) April 6, 2022








Shit take

— yeet the rich (@Shredbot9000) April 6, 2022








old man from douche rock band thinks his opinion is worth something

— ☣??????? ????????☢ (@Steejyy) April 6, 2022








how does it feel to live a lie, David? With albums full of anti-establishment songs while you simultaneously grift from movement to movement. Sucking toes of elite thieves that could erase your existence from every digital platform and music store in an instant if they so choose?

— LAIKA (@LYQXA) April 6, 2022








when Disturbed covered Land Of Confusion, I guess the sympathy for the victims of our perverse world do not extend to the kids whose parents indoctrinated them into a broken system by cosigning a loan before they were old enough to fuck as full-fledged adults or drink alcohol.

— LAIKA (@LYQXA) April 6, 2022








Spoiler: it's called predatory lending. Loan sharks. Ramping up prices for tuition when it should be free, then bleeding people dry with absurdly high interest rates. Many people have paid back what they owe several times and still owe tens of thousands of $$$ in interest.

— Amber Alex ⚧️ new song out now (@misandryalex) April 6, 2022








Couldn’t have said it better myself.

— ElderGodsdoom (@eldergodsdoom) April 6, 2022








Millionaire rock star can shut all the way the fuck up.

— KWLyricist (@KWLyricist) April 6, 2022








Your band f*cking sucks as much as your opinions.

— Luc (@lcfrst2) April 6, 2022








Spoken like a rich person

— Kurt (@KurtCameronMus1) April 6, 2022








pic.twitter.com/QLkNo5SBME

— ?? TURD MURDER ?? (@murder_turd) April 6, 2022








Wow, guess David was not “down with the shirtness,” lol. pic.twitter.com/zWMqWW8nX1

— ?? TURD MURDER ?? (@murder_turd) April 6, 2022

Ted Nugent has defended Florida's controversial new "Don't Say Gay" law, saying that it is about giving parents "the right to guide and nurture and educate their children."

The law, titled "Parental Rights In Education", has been dubbed by critics the "Don't Say Gay" law because it seeks to ban discussion of gender and sexuality issues with younger students. Proponents of the law point out that it doesn't mention the word "gay" although it does, however, contain the terms "sexual orientation" and "gender identity," each twice. The most notable part of the law provides that "classroom instruction by school personnel or third parties on sexual orientation or gender identity may not occur in kindergarten through grade 3 or in a manner that is not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards." The law, however, does not define key terms like "age appropriate" or "developmentally appropriate." It doesn't even define the term "classroom instruction."

Nugent weighed in on the legislation, which was officially signed into law by Florida's Republican governor Ron DeSantis, during yesterday's (Wednesday, April 6) edition of "The Nightly Nuge", a news-style clip in which Ted offers his take on the news of our world every night. The 73-year-old musician said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "[My wife] Shemane and I work very closely with some real commandos, some ex-special forces guys that are tracking down child sex traffickers. And there's a term in that world of child sex trafficking and pedophilia known as 'grooming.' And you wanna start at a very early age to impact the undeveloped, mushy minds of youth to accept evil. And it goes right back to this whole gender control by our government, media, academia, Big Tech. These people are pure evil, and they are grooming young people to accept the most evil of controls, and that is to sway them into total slavery of power abusers like the government, like academia, to control their minds. And I don't know what the endgame is, but it's about control, and it's about, if nothing else, mental and spiritual slavery of young people. That they're not teaching reading, writing and arithmetic or history, and that they're graduating people with high school diplomas in Philadelphia that cannot read. You can open the page of a book, you can lay a newspaper in front of them, and they can't read but have a high school diploma.

"Our corrupt, evil, tyrannical powers that be in government, media, Big Tech, academia and Hollywood are grooming the youngest of Americans to control them in the most evil of ways, because this is the foundation of child sex trafficking, when you can destroy their identity and destroy their north spiritual compass," he continued.

"So, when we're talking about allowing children to choose their gender… In New Jersey, I understand that parents in some jurisdictions aren't allowed to put the gender of their child upon birth because they have to wait till the child decides later on, even though it's clearly a boy or a girl. And now parents are fighting back because as the media and government lies through their teeth — every hour of every day — claiming that the bill in Florida is 'Can't Say Gay' [sic] bill. The word 'gay' doesn't exist. The bill is about giving parents the parental right, the most instinctual, clear and present parental right to guide and nurture and educate their children and avoid strangers to indoctrinate them as early as kindergarten. And they call it 'Can't Say Gay' bill. Nobody ever said anybody can't say gay. It's about parental rights.

"So these are indicators that the media and this man Joe Biden are absolute serial liars with a very dangerous and evil agenda to twist the minds of the most precious amongst us — our own children," Nugent added. "So Shemane and I stand up, and more and more parents are standing up. And we did a rally in Florida recently where parents are now running for school boards and they're finding out the horrific agenda of this transgender, homosexuality. And if you wanna transgender, that's… a shame. If you're a homosexual, we support… your choice. But don't you dare try to indoctrinate these innocent young children. And that's their agenda."

A recent ABC News/Ipsos poll found that more than 6 in 10 Americans oppose legislation that would prohibit classroom lessons about sexual orientation or gender identity in elementary school.

At least two of Nugent's fellow rock musicians recently publicly criticized the "Don't Say Gay" law. Last month, DISTURBED singer David Draiman, who announced plans to relocate to Miami from Honolulu, took to his Twitter to share a Miami Herald article about protests that have erupted in Florida after the passage of the controversial bill in the state legislature, and he included the following message: " This is fucking ridiculous. #GAYGAYGAYGAYGAYGAYGAY".

Draiman later added: "Yes, I read the bill.

"I have an 8 year old son who has classmates whose relatives are LGBTQ+. We have many friends that are LGBTQ+.

"Kids are going to ask questions about the world around them and they deserve honest, real answers."

The same day, AVENGED SEVENFOLD frontman M. Shadows weighed in on Draiman's initial tweet, writing: "As a parent of a 7 and 9 year old they have asked about sex and used the word 'gay' in derogatory fashion. Kids are aware at this age so I feel the quicker we explain and show empathy for all people the better… including in school. (I read the full bill.)"

Former VAN HALEN bassist and current MAMMOTH WVH frontman Wolfgang Van Halen has reflected on the passing of FOO FIGHTERS drummer Taylor Hawkins, whose death shook the music world late last month. Speaking to Jonathan Clarke, host of "Out Of The Box" on Q104.3, New York's classic rock station, he said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I only met [Taylor] once. I saw him live many times, but I met him… He came to a [VAN HALEN] show in San Diego on the 'A Different Kind Of Truth' tour in 2012. And he came backstage. And him, my Dad [legendary VAN HALEN guitarist Eddie Van Halen] and I talked for — gosh — it had to be, like, 45 minutes when we had to leave in a half hour; we kind of stayed. It was really cool. I remember… It blew my mind. He told me that him and [FOO FIGHTERS frontman] Dave Grohl had listened to the 'A Different Kind Of Truth' album, and he told me specifically they were geeking out on the song 'China Town' where I tap the intro with Pop. And they were, like, 'That's so awesome.' And that blew my mind as a 21-year-old person — God, I'm 31 now — that Dave Grohl and Taylor Hawkins had sat and geeked out to me playing bass. That blew my mind.

"He was just such a cool, awesome guy," Wolfgang added. "I've been heartbroken. It's like a kick in the gut. [He was] way too young, man. I don't even know what to say."

Wolfgang also talked about how he and his MAMMOTH WVH bandmates decided to cover FOO FIGHTERS' "My Hero" at each concert on their U.S. tour after Taylor's passing as a way to honor the late drummer.

"When it happened… Taylor had been a huge champion of my pop's legacy after he passed; he wore the striped shorts at every show, and he always had an Eddie shirt on," Wolfgang explained. "He even did that one tribute concert and stuff. I feel like it's my duty to do… It's the least I can do; as a musician, it's the only thing I can do, is to honor him by playing one of their songs.

"We had been playing 'Them Bones' [by ALICE IN CHAINS during our set], and it's a really good time, a really great song, but I think we're just gonna play 'My Hero' for the rest of the tour. It's the least I can do."

Wolfgang has repeatedly cited Grohl as one of his "biggest inspirations." He told Bass Player magazine in a 2021 interview: "When [Dave] started the FOO FIGHTERS, he did everything himself on their first album. I wanted to have a go at that [on MAMMOTH WVH's debut], I guess, and I've always admired bands like NINE INCH NAILS, where the project emanates from one person and grows from there. That's kind of how I view it, even though it is still me. I view it more as a band than [a] solo project."

Earlier this week, MAMMOTH WVH was forced to cancel the remaining six shows of its "Young Guns" tour due to members of the touring personnel testing positive for COVID-19.

"Mammoth WVH" arrived last June, some five years after the former VAN HALEN bassist began piecing together ideas for his solo career.

In February, Wolfgang told SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" that he has already gathered plenty of material for MAMMOTH WVH's sophomore effort.

MAMMOTH WVH's touring lineup features Wolfgang on guitar and lead vocals, Jon Jourdan on guitar and vocals, Garrett Whitlock (TREMONTI) on drums, and Ronnie Ficarro on bass.

MAMMOTH WVH's debut album was released via Explorer1 Music Group/EX1 Records.

During its summer/fall 2021 U.S. tour, MAMMOTH WVH played a mixture of stadium shows with GUNS N' ROSES and headlining club gigs.




























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A post shared by Wolf Van Halen ? ? ? (@wolfvanhalen)

Guesting on Let There Be Talk with Den Delray, Def Leppard, former Dio guitarist Vivian Campbell spoke about the ability of guitar great Gary Moore and his influence on the musician. 





“I never, ever heard Gary More play something like he didn't mean it,” says Campbell. “He played everything like he wanted to murder his guitar, just a real intensity to his playing.




"The first time I heard Gary play it totally put something in me and I just became obsessed with Gary Moore. I got hold of every record he ever did and every record I could get my hands on and just try to listen to it and try to play like him, to emulate him. He covered so many genres; it was jazz fusion and then he did rock, he did blues, he ever did pop to some extent. But no matter what genre he was playing he just brought a real intensity to his guitar playing that no one has ever matched for me."


Def Leppard bounds back onto Billboard's Mainstream Rock Airplay chart, as its new single, “Kick”, debuts at #39 on the list dated April 9. The group reaches the ranking for the first time since March 2003, adding its 30th entry on the chart.


Def Leppard first appeared on Mainstream Rock Airplay with “Let It Go,” at its #34 best on the August 22, 1981, tally. The band boasts five #1s, among 17 Top 10s: “Photograph” (for six weeks beginning in March 1983); “Rock Of Ages” (one, June 1983); “Let’s Get Rocked” (one, April 1992); “Stand Up (Kick Love Into Motion)” (five, beginning in January 1993); and “Promises” (three, beginning in June 1999).


The band tallied six of its Top 10s from its landmark 1987 album Hysteria, reaching #3 bests with both “Love Bites” (which also topped the Billboard Hot 100) and “Armageddon It.”


Def Leppard released their twelfth full-length album, Diamond Star Halos, on May 27 via UMe. It marks the band’s first new work since 2015’s chart-topping self-titled, Def Leppard.





Diamond Star Halos can be ordered in multiple configurations, including a Deluxe Edition, 2LP Vinyl, Digital formats and more. Exclusive bundles including newly designed album merch have also launched. Order at the band’s official store, here.


The artwork for Diamond Star Halos is art in itself. The design follows pedigree with their instantly recognizable album covers from their celebrated past. With images by world renowned photographer and director Anton Corbijn, styling concepts by Maryam Malakpour and graphics by the UK based Munden Brothers, the design truly follows the band’s influence through their eyes today.


Written by the band over the past two years it features 15 tracks including the anthemic, stadium-ready singles “Kick” and “Fire It Up”, with guest vocals from Alison Krauss on “This Guitar” and “Lifeless”.  The album title references T. Rex’s “Bang A Gong (Get It On)” with nods to T.Rex, David Bowie and Mott The Hoople across the album, which mixes the sound of their classic spirit with modern fire.





Tracklisting:


"Take What You Want"
"Kick"
"Fire It Up"
"This Guitar" (featuring Alison Krauss)
"SOS Emergency"
"Liquid Dust"
"U Rok Mi"
"Goodbye For Good This Time"
"All We Need"
"Open Your Eyes"
"Gimme A Kiss"
"Angels (Can't Help You Now)"
"Lifeless" (featuring Alison Krauss)
"Unbreakable"
"From Here To Eternity"


"Kick" video:





"Kick" bloopers:









(Photo - Anton Corbijn)

Swedish death metal tyrants Demonical have issued a music video for a new song, titled "We Conquer The Throne", in anticipation of their seventh studio album Mass Destroyer, set for release on May 6th via Agonia Records. The video, which was directed by Tobias Rydsheim of Svartna Film, can be seen below.





Struck by a burst of inspiration, Demonical indulged in a creative spree immediately after the release of their antecedent offering,"World Domination; and with expertise worthy of death metal veterans, shaped it into Mass Destroyer. Developed in less than two years, the album reflects the energy that spawned its creation, and keeps to the Swede's HM2-beaten track, promising a few twists along the way. Adorned in an old fashioned attire, Mass Destroyer packs a gruesome punch, embodies organic sounding and delivers a truly fiendish experience from well-seasoned old-school death-dealers.




"A huge inspirational boost hit us so why waste time and wait? Just hammer while the metal is hot," explains the band, as to what seems to be a tried and true process, that already preceded Hellsworn (2009), Death Infernal (2011) and Darkness Unbound (2013). "The outcome is here, our seventh full-length and another vicious Demonical assault of Stockholm-style death metal madness and beyond," the band comments. "Once again and as always, we wanted to crawl back in time and explore the early days of death metal but with traces and hints of various other metallic subgenres."


Mark Riddick (Absu, Arsis) added his gruesome touch to Mass Destroyer in designing the fiendish cover artwork. Glashuset and Sellnoise Studios were used for recording with Johan Hjelm and Jonas Arnberg behind the helm, while Karl Daniel Liden mixed and mastered the album at his Tri-Lamb Studios.


"We worked with the same production team as last time and the result turned out nothing but great," the band continues. "A dynamic and breathing album we all feel very satisfied and proud off. Can’t wait to destroy the masses!"





Album formats:


- Digipak CD
- Box CD
- Tape
- LP (Black, Red and PD)
- Digital


Clothing:


- TS
- Zipped hooide


Pre-order here.





Tracklisting:


"We Conquer The Throne"
"Sun Blackened"
"Fallen Mountain"
"Wrathspawn"
"Dödsmarsch"
"Lifeslave"
"Cemented In Ire"
"By Hatred Bound"


"Fallen Mountain" lyric video:





The May release of Mass Destroyer will see the band head out on a headlining string of six dates in Germany and Czech Republic with Nervochaos and Repuked as support.





Lineup:


Christofer Säterdal - vocals
Eki Kumpulainen - lead guitars
Johan Haglund - rhythm guitars
Martin Schulman - bass
Ronnie Bergerståhl - drums


(Photo - Jens Ryden)


 

UK thrash band Solitary will release their gig at Bloodstock Festival in 2019 as a CD/DVD package on April 22nd via Metalville Records. XXV: Live At Bloodstock also contains studio bonus tracks and extra video footage.


"Within Temptation" is the new recording of a fan favorite by the thrashers from Preston, UK. The song is included as a bonus track on the upcoming XXV: Live At Bloodstock CD/DVD package and can be seen below.







On Sunday, August 11, 2019, Solitary took to the stage at the Bloodstock Open Air festival in the U.K. and delivered a breathless, battering, glorious set of pure thrash metal. The band were celebrating their 25th anniversary of resolute, neck-snapping thrashing, and the Bloodstock performance was a victorious statement of jubilant defiance. The band gave everything that day, as they always have done on the stages of the UK and Europe for the last quarter of a century, and the crowd responded in kind. There was something special in the air, and it’s all here to be relived on CD and DVD with the stunning XXV: Live at Bloodstock package. From the rampaging riff assaults of "Trigger Point Atrocity" and "The Edge Of Violence" to the anthemic "Architects Of Shame" and crowd-pleasing classics like "Keep Your Enemies Closer" and "Requiem," every moment of that Bloodstock set is here to be relived or discovered. This is the ultimate representation of Solitary onstage, as close as you can get to their live intensity without diving into the pit.


XXV: Live at Bloodstock comes with a deluxe booklet and a host of bonus material on both the CD and DVD. Back in 2019, Solitary released a limited-edition EP called XXV which featured three re-recordings of Solitary fan favorites – those studio tracks have been remixed by Mike Bew (Cancer) and remastered by Martin Buchwalter (Accuser, Destruction, Tankard) and appear on the XXV: Live At Bloodstock CD. The DVD portion of this monster release features, alongside the complete Bloodstock set, a pre-show interview with frontman Rich Sherrington and all eight of Solitary’s promo videos to date.





Tracklisting:


CD
“Blackened Skies”*
“Trigger Point Atrocity”*
“Keep Your Enemies Closer”*
“The Edge Of Violence”*
“Architects Of Shame”*
“The Diseased Heart Of Society”*
“Unidentified”*
“Requiem”*
“Requiem” **
“Within Temptation” **
“Keep Your Enemies Closer” **


*Live At Bloodstock
**XXV (Remixed & Remastered)


DVD
“Blackened Skies”*
“Trigger Point Atrocity”*
“Keep Your Enemies Closer”*
“The Edge Of Violence”*
“Architects Of Shame”*
“The Diseased Heart Of Society”*
“Unidentified”*
“Requiem”*
Pre-show Interview
“Keep Your Enemies Closer” **
“Unidentified” **
“Wait” **
“Abominate” **
“I Will Not Tolerate” **
“Catharsis” **
“Spawn Of Hate” **
“The Dark…The Resilient”**


*Live At Bloodstock
**Promo Videos 


 

SALIVA frontman Bobby Amaru says that "the timing wasn't right" for the band's planned reunion with original vocalist Josey Scott.

Scott left SALIVA at the end of 2011 after 15 years with the group, reportedly to pursue a solo Christian music career. He was quickly replaced by Amaru, who can be heard on SALIVA's last four releases: "In It To Win It" (2013), "Rise Up" (2014), "Love, Lies & Therapy" (2016) and "10 Lives" (2018).

In October 2019, Scott announced that he was returning to SALIVA, explaining at the time that he wanted to get together with his former bandmates and "write a badass record." Less than a year and a half later, in March 2021, SALIVA guitarist Wayne Swinny poured cold water on those plans, saying that the reunion with the singer "never really got off the ground."

Amaru discussed Scott's failed reunion with SALIVA during a brand new interview with Chris Akin Presents. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "They had dabbled with the idea of getting back together and doing a tour and doing some stuff. And it looked like that was gonna happen. And I was all for that. I was like a fucking advocate for that, and I wanna let people know that. I was, like, 'Hell yeah! I think this would be great for the fans' and stuff. And then I think it just got weird — it got weird with certain camps. It was, like, 'Yeah, let's do this. This is gonna be awesome.' And then next thing you know, there's different managers and different agents and different people contacting Wayne and the band. And it was kind of, like, 'Wait a second. What we've been doing the past nine years, I don't wanna just throw that in the trash.' I think that was Wayne's deal. So it just didn't lineup; it didn't work out. And that's just the truth. Anyone can tell you anything else, but that's what happened. The timing wasn't right for that. It would have been great, 'cause it was 20 years; it would have made total sense. But certain people — I don't know — they just couldn't get on the same page."

When pressed about the fact that it was recently announced that SALIVA will reunite with Scott for a one-off appearance at this year's Blue Ridge Rock Festival, set to take place September 8-11 at the Virginia International Raceway in Alton, Virginia, Bobby said: "But I'm doing that show too. So what we're doing is we're taking the approach of kind of like what KILLSWITCH ENGAGE did and we'll feature, basically, two singers. So you'll have me — I'm gonna start the show — and then… I don't really wanna give away what we're gonna do, but it's gonna be awesome; it's gonna be great; it's gonna be cool. Yeah, so it's gonna happen. And just so people are aware, it's both singers. But I'm gonna do my thing; he's gonna do his thing. And I think it's great. It's gonna be awesome."

SALIVA's reunion with Scott at Blue Ridge was originally announced on March 18 by festival organizers via Twitter. They wrote: "It is Happening. For years it is has been highly rumored and demanded, now it finally takes place this September." Less than two weeks later, Scott shared the announcement on Twitter for the first time and included a simple two-word comment: "LETS GO!!!!!!" When one fan asked him, "Are u serious???", he responded: "Yes!"

When Swinny spoke to WRIF about SALIVA's failed reunion with Scott, he said that even though there were some initial discussions about Josey's return to the group, there was no follow-up to ensure that the plan was executed.

"If you wanna do something, do it," Wayne said. "But you can't just talk about it and have it magically happen. There's work, there's planning, there's stuff that goes into it, and none of that stuff was done early enough to pull it off.

"Yeah, there was some fan response, saying, 'Wow, yeah, that might be cool.' But it didn't get enough steam to take off," he explained. "All the preliminary stuff kind of got set up, and it just didn't jell.

"It just didn't make sense to stop what we [the current lineup of SALIVA] were doing and do that, because you've got momentum, we've got a groove going, the band's tight live. I didn't feel like we should give that up or give that a rest."

Last December, Josey took to his Twitter to write: "I want 2 apologize 2 my fans because I thought I was gonna reunite w/certain people & make u new music, & that fell through, but, I believe everything happens for a reason. There are no coincidences. A blessing in disguise. Now it's just u, & me, how intimate is that? #SV2022".

SALIVA released six albums with Scott and tasted platinum success and a Grammy nomination for its first big hit, "Your Disease".

Last May, SALIVA celebrated the 20th anniversary of its breakthrough major label debut, "Every Six Seconds", with a special project called "Every Twenty Years", an EP of classic songs re-recorded with Amaru.

Joe Satriani has praised Eddie Van Halen, saying the legendary VAN HALEN guitarist had "a right hand of doom." The 65-year-old California-based axeman, who is promoting his upcoming album, "The Elephants Of Mars", discussed Eddie's impact on guitar playing during a new interview with FaceCulture. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Eddie was such a wonderful compositional improviser and he was obviously a really great composer on guitar. He figured out a way to write these really fun songs, but they were really groundbreaking in how he arranged his guitar parts. You can hardly find any songs where he's strumming and then overdubbing some other part. It's a very different way of playing. He's in a trio, and he's trying to fill up the space with a kind of an orchestral style of playing. Then, of course, when he goes to solo, we know from his interviews that he improvised and he tried to capture the spirit of the song and of the band, I guess, of the live event, which is a whole kind of style in itself. It's very different than PINK FLOYD, the way David Gilmour would approach a song. And all equally valid but uniquely different. The odd thing about Eddie is that sometimes he would play stuff that didn't make any musical sense but made sense in terms of how much fun it was to listen to. When you heard the whole band, you went, 'Oh, that's so much fun,' but if you go back and you learn it note for note, you go, 'That doesn't make any sense at all.' [Laughs]"

Satriani continued: "There are no rules in music; there's just cause and effect. That's really what it is. And I think he understood that more than most people. He would never get held back by any kind of preconception that there was a rule that stopped you from doing this chord or that note or whatever. He just went with what felt right and what sounded right. And his sense of timing was probably the best I'd heard in decades. When he came along, I was, like, 'Wow. That guy's got a right hand of doom.' [Laughs]"

Back in November 2020, a month after Eddie's passing, Satriani was asked by the "Behind The Vinyl" podcast if he started using the technique of tapping notes on his guitar when he first heard Van Halen in 1978. He responded: "I'd been tapping before that. I think, just like Eddie, 'cause we were the same age and started playing pretty much at the same time, we saw other people on television doing it. So I saw the guitar players in WISHBONE ASH. There was a show in America called 'Don Kirshner's [Rock Concert]', and I think WISHBONE ASH was on one night. And I think my dad was watching it. And I just walked into the room for a second, and I looked and I see the guy playing with his fingers. And I'm, like, 'Oh my god!' I just went right up to my room, picked up my guitar and went, 'That's a great idea. I'm gonna do that all over the place.'

"My group of friends, everyone was tapping, but the great brilliance of Eddie was what he did with it," Joe continued. "And that's what you can say about everything. We knew the same chords — there's a million guitar players that know exactly the same 12 notes, the same chords, we buy the same strings, we're using the same guitars, pretty much. So what makes Eddie so special? Why did that genius just say, 'Well, I'll take that and just do this with it.' But he did, and all of us responded like it was godsent.

"The first time I heard Eddie was when 'Eruption' came to the radio, and I was sitting there with my guitar just jamming along with the radio, and, yeah, my jaw dropped. And I put my hands down and I went, 'Oh my god. I'm in the presence of greatness. That guy knows how to use things that I know.' It's, like, I've got all the tools laid out on my table just like him, but wow, look what he's doing with them.' And it just made me smile. I was so happy.

"The other part that made me so happy was because he played so aggressively and so melodically — the whole song, like it was a whole Eddie Van Halen world that he would show you," Satriani added. "But it was fun. It was rock and roll. It wasn't perfect. It wasn't pretentious. It was still, like, 'Let's just have fun.' And I thought, 'I need to get everybody that I know in this town to like this, because this is gonna be good for all of us guitar players that really wanna play.' Cause it was that attitude at the time — I was feeling like people were telling us, 'Slow down. Don't play so many notes. No feedback. Try to make your guitar sound like clean guitars from the '60s or something like that.' We were waiting for somebody like Eddie to come along and just like reinvent it. And he did. And it was truly great."

Eddie has said in the past that he was inspired to start doing the finger-tapping trick after watching LED ZEPPELIN at the Los Angeles Forum in the early 1970s. Jimmy Page played the solo from "Heartbreaker", using both hands to tap out notes on the neck of the guitar, which inspired Eddie to take the technique and refine it, enabling him to play a seemingly impossible flurry of notes and pinched harmonics.

"It's like having a sixth finger on your left hand," he explained in 1978, according to BBC. "Instead of picking, you're hitting a note on the fretboard."

DEEP PURPLE's Ritchie Blackmore reportedly claimed that he had seen CANNED HEAT guitarist Harvey Mandel using tapping onstage as early as 1968. DOKKEN guitarist George Lynch corroborated this, mentioning that both he and Van Halen saw Mandel employ "a neo-classic tapping thing" at the Starwood in West Hollywood during the 1970s. Mandel used extensive two-handed tapping techniques on his 1973 album "Shangrenade".

Eddie used the finger tapping technique during his legendary solo on the aforementioned "Eruption", voted the second best solo ever by Guitar World magazine.

"'Playing The Victim' and everything coming after it feels like the step forward we’ve always wanted to make with our music. It’s more aggressive, technical, and overall more catchy than anything we’ve done before, but it’s only the first of many. 'Playing The Victim' is just the tip of a very angry iceberg," says Christian Mayfield, vocalist for Acacia Ridge.


If there was ever a band that captured what it feels like to stand at the event horizon of a black hole, it’s Acacia Ridge. If there was ever a band that made you want to drive a ’72 Camaro through a brick wall just for the hell of it, it’s Acacia Ridge. If there was ever a band that captured the moment of agonizing adrenaline right before a tidal wave storms in, it could only be Acacia Ridge.


After the success of their first album, Watch Your Monarchs Fall, the band immediately turned their eyes to the future with the goal of creating heavier, more intricate, and overall better songs.




Enter "Playing The Victim", the first of a long line of earth-scorching singles that promise to redefine what Acacia Ridge is capable of. Their new music features faster guitars, catchier vocals, and the kind of drums that rearrange the inside of your ears. Acacia Ridge isn’t here to “defy-genre.” They’re here to make some damn good rock music.





"Playing The Victim" will be available on Spotify, Apple Music, and other major streaming platforms on April 15th.


(Photo credit: Zachary Phillippy)


 

Heart vocalist Ann Wilson recently spoke with Matt Wake of AL.com about her new solo album, Fierce Bliss, which will be released on April 29th via Silver Lining Music.


Of course, Ann's incredible musical career, which began with the release of Dreamboat Annie in 1975, is impossible to ignore. An excerpt from that interview, going back to the grunge years, reads as follows: 


Something a little different from your career, you sang backing vocals on the 1992 Alice In Chains songs “Brother” and “Am I Inside”. You’d had experience doing harmonies with Heart on stage and in studio. But what was different, cool and unique about intertwining vocals with the Alice In Chains guys?




Ann Wilson: "Yeah, they had great harmony ideas going. Never sweet harmonies, always wide intervals that were sort of haunting and dangerous sounding. And so when they asked me to come, I was thrilled because I’ve always loved to sing harmonies, and just sitting down and singing with Layne (Staley) and Jerry (Cantrell), it was totally cool."


"I just thought, this is great, you know, and one of the greatest parts is that they thought to ask me because it’s a big deal to bring a woman’s voice into their sound. So I thought that that was really, really great on their part to think that way. That’s great imagination."


"Brother":





"Am I Inside":





One of the premier hard rock vocalists of all-time, Ann Wilson smashed boundaries with her band Heart, the 8-times Platinum, 35 million-plus selling Rock and Roll Hall of Fame trailblazers who formed in 1973. During a decades-long career, Wilson rode the roller coaster of fame, fortune and madness, learning both joyous and hard, hard lessons along the way. Fast forward to Summer 2020, and a meeting with legendary veteran ‘artist’s lawyer’ Brian Rohan provided the catalyst for Fierce Bliss’s creation.


“Getting to know him, talking to him and his belief in me made me go: ‘the hell with this sitting around the house, I’ve always wanted to record at Muscle Shoals Sound Studios, I’m just going to go do it, I have some songs!” Wilson states firmly. “Brian recommended people to me that knew people in Nashville, so I met [famed Nashville session guitarist] Tom Bukovac and Tony Lucido at those Muscle Shoals sessions. I’d never met them before, and they really inspired me. It was like a big door opening. Put it this way, we’re now a band.”


With the musical chemistry organically established, Fierce Bliss came together quickly. “It grew from that first session at Muscle Shoals,” furthers Wilson, “I had originally intended to go in, record a few songs and see what I had, but it just took on this life. Jim Zumwalt, the attorney, got a hold of it and said I should look at a few other people. We went into Sound Stage in Nashville, where Kenny Wayne Shepherd came in and played on a couple songs. He was a whole other influence coming in, he just played his butt off, and with the gospel singers and everything else coming together, the whole project just started to grow. I’d known Warren Haynes from Government Mule for a while, we’d written a couple songs together with Government Mule playing, and those rounded out the record. So all of a sudden, where there was no record before, suddenly I had eleven cool songs that I really liked.”


Fierce Bliss is not just an album for fans of Ann Wilson and Heart, it is an album for everyone seeking a lavish ticket out of the sharp edges of an increasingly fraught society. Fierce Bliss also marks perhaps the first time in her illustrious career that Ann Wilson has truly felt the wind in her wings, something which might seem a strange statement given her pioneering history.


Fierce Bliss is available to pre-order here on CD Casebound Book (deluxe package), Vinyl and Digital formats.





Fierce Bliss tracklisting:


"Greed"
"Black Wing"
"Bridge Of Sighs"
"Fighten for Life"
"Love Of My Life" (feat. Vince Gill)
"Missionary Man"
"Gladiator"
"Forget Her"
"A Moment In Heaven"
"Angel’s Blues" *
"As The World Turns"


* Available on CD and digital formats only


"Missionary Man":





"Greed":





"A Moment In Heaven":





 

BLACK SABBATH bassist Geezer Butler has completed work on his memoir.

Earlier today (Wednesday, April 6), the 72-year-old British-born musician tweeted: "Just turned in the 1st draft of my book so I'm now thinking of titles. So far, I have: Into the Void, Basses Loaded, Past Forward, What The Butler Did, Bassic Instinct. Feel free to send me which of those you think would suit my #autobiography".

A year ago, Butler told Cleveland.com that he started writing a memoir "because when my parents died, I always wished I'd asked them a lot more things than I knew about. I don't really know much about my mum and dad, 'cause they were always just there," he explained. "So, I started writing a memoir for my grandkids to read, and that's been fun going through stuff — old times and growing up in Birmingham and all that."

In the fall of 2020, Butler told Australia's Wall Of Sound that his book would be "about growing up in Aston, Birmingham and how SABBATH came about." The bassist also reflected on everything he has accomplished in this past half a century, saying: "It's a great achievement to still be relevant 50 years after we recorded our first two albums. We honestly thought we'd last a few years, then be forgotten about. Fifty years ago any form of popular music was seen as a passing fad — people even thought THE BEATLES would be forgotten about after they broke up, but nobody then [realized] how powerful the nostalgia effect would be."

A founding member of BLACK SABBATH, Butler is also the lyricist of such SABBATH classics as "War Pigs", "Iron Man", "Paranoid" and others.

Butler, singer Ozzy Osbourne and guitarist Tony Iommi reunited in late 2011 and released a comeback album, "13", in June 2013.

In February 2017, SABBATH finished "The End" tour in Birmingham, closing out the quartet's groundbreaking 49-year career.

"The End" was SABBATH's last tour because Iommi, who was diagnosed with cancer in 2012 and is currently in remission, can no longer travel for extended amounts of time.

Although SABBATH will not tour again, Butler, Osbourne and Iommi have not ruled out recording together.

Geezer is the third member of the original SABBATH lineup to release an autobiography. Ozzy's memoir, "I Am Ozzy", debuted at No. 2 on the New York Times' "Hardcover Nonfiction" best-seller list. The book was published on January 25, 2010 in the U.S., nearly two years after it was first expected to arrive. "I Am Ozzy" chronicled the legendary metal icon's life from his working-class beginnings in Birmingham, England to his initial fame with BLACK SABBATH to his massive solo career and forays into television.

Osbourne won the "Literary Achievement" honor for "I Am Ozzy" at the 2010 Guys Choice Awards at Sony Pictures Studio in Culver City, California. Ozzy was presented with the award by Sir Ben Kingsley.

Iommi's memoir, "Iron Man: My Journey Through Heaven And Hell With Black Sabbath", was released in hardback in November 2011. It landed at position No. 35 on the New York Times' "Hardcover Nonfiction" best-sellers list. Da Capo reportedly paid a six-figure amount at auction for the rights to the 352-page book, which was described as "'Angela's Ashes' meets 'The Ground Beneath Her Feet' meets 'Spinal Tap'" by Foundry Literary + Media co-founder Peter McGuigan, who completed the North American rights deal for the memoir.




Just turned in the 1st draft of my book so I’m now thinking of titles. So far, I have:

Into the Void

Basses Loaded

Past Forward

What The Butler Did

Bassic Instinct

Feel free to send me which of those you think would suit my #autobiography

— Geezer Butler (@geezerbutler) April 6, 2022