ALICE IN CHAINS guitarist/vocalist Jerry Cantrell has weighed in on the fact that PANTERA's surviving members Philip Anselmo (vocals) and Rex Brown (bass) have united with guitarist Zakk Wylde (OZZY OSBOURNE, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY) and drummer Charlie Benante (ANTHRAX) for a world tour under the PANTERA banner.

Anselmo and Brown, along with Wylde and Benante, are headlining a number of major festivals across North America, South America and Europe and staging some of their own headline concerts. They are also supporting METALLICA on a massive stadium tour in Europe and North America.

According to Billboard, the lineup has been given a green light by the estates of the band's founders, drummer Vincent "Vinnie Paul" Abbott and guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott, as well as Brown, who in 2021 said Wylde wouldn't tour with PANTERA if a reunion were to happen. It's unclear what changed his mind.

Cantrell discussed his views on the PANTERA comeback in a new interview with Lipps Service With Scott Lipps. Asked if he has had a chance to catch one of the shows on the "celebration" tour, Jerry said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I have. I saw them with METALLICA, I think at SoFi [Stadium in Los Angeles], and I've seen many, many clips of the guys.

"I'm really glad that they're doing that," he continued. "I think it's a cool celebration of the music. Also, being in a band with a couple of key members who are not here, I know that that takes a certain type of courage to get up there and celebrate what you did, and you wanna do it as well as you can for the fans that wanna see it. And Zakk and Charlie do a great job. I mean, I don't think it could have been done with either one of those guys out of the mix."

Back in December 2004, just a couple of days after Dimebag was murdered, Cantrell told the Dallas Morning News that the PANTERA guitarist was a one-of-a-kind character — a hard-partying Yosemite Sam who had a tender, more nurturing side.

"He was a deep soul," Cantrell said. "He was always there with a smile ... which is why this doesn't make any sense at all. Why would anyone have a beef with him?"

Cantrell recalled the time Dimebag borrowed his Yukon truck and returned it full of graffiti and adhesive stickers. "That's the kind of guy he was. ... He loved to pull pranks on you. ... He always had a joke and a smile."

In a 2018 interview with Rolling Stone, Jerry said that he knew Vinnie Paul and Dimebag longer "than I've known the guys in my own band." He explained: "I met Vinnie and Dime in '85… Back then, I had quit college with a couple buddies of mine and was working doing asbestos abatement all around the Dallas and Houston area, where I lived for about a year. We got paid really well to do it because it's a shit job, but what we would do is we'd work all day and then we'd go to clubs at night and check out bands. And there was a great club called Cardi's where rock bands came through all the time. I saw Yngwie Malmsteen there. I saw TALAS there. And I saw PANTERA there, when they had Terry Glaze singing.

"I loved their band. I was mesmerized by Darrell, and I loved how Vinnie played. I remember we talked a little bit after their show and we just hit it off. So, actually, I knew Vinnie and Dime longer than I've known the guys in my own band. I didn't meet Layne [Staley] and Sean [Kinney] and Mike [Starr] until I was 21. I was 19 when I met Vinnie. That's a long time, man. We reconnected a few years later when they had found Phil, and PANTERA came out with 'Cowboys From Hell' and we came out with 'Facelift'.

"Vinnie and Dime, they both had such a great sense of humor. At the same time, Vinnie was a guy who was extremely driven. A smart guy who could think on a lot of different levels — not just rockin' out, but also about business. I think early on he was probably the guy who handled a lot of that stuff. He was a smart cookie. And he was a true fan of rock and roll, like myself. That's why we both wanted to do it. We wanted to do what our heroes did, and do it well, at the top level you could do it at. And Vinnie did that.

"PANTERA were a revolutionary band for metal, and he completely influenced a whole generation of drummers. The way he played, the way he sounded — he had a kind of industrial sound to his drum. Nobody else was like him. And the motherfucker's meter was just spot on. I never heard him get off the groove or miss a beat, ever. He was a fucking machine.

"In whatever he did, Vinnie lived his life unapologetically. I always respected that about him. He was a guy who achieved his dreams, and worked his ass off to get there. And he always tried to have a good time doing it. And he and Dime were always really great with their fans. No matter the circumstance or how shitty they might be feeling, they wouldn't miss an opportunity to take a picture with somebody or have a shot with them. They went out of their way to make every person feel welcome and at ease and create a good time for them.

"When Dime was killed, that was such a shock to all of us. But the fact that Vinnie had to live with the vision of that, it still haunts me to this day. Goddamn. I can't even get my mind around that. But he had his own path."

Up until his passing, Vinnie remained on non-speaking terms with Anselmo, whom the drummer indirectly blamed for Dimebag's death.

Vinnie Paul and Dimebag co-founded PANTERA. When PANTERA broke up in 2003, they formed DAMAGEPLAN. On December 8, 2004, while performing with DAMAGEPLAN at the Alrosa Villa in Columbus, Ohio, Dimebag was shot and killed onstage by a troubled schizophrenic who believed that the members of PANTERA were stealing his thoughts.

Vinnie passed away on June 22, 2018 at his other home in Las Vegas at the age of 54. He died of dilated cardiomyopathy, an enlarged heart, as well as severe coronary artery disease. His death was the result of chronic weakening of the heart muscle — basically meaning his heart couldn't pump blood as well as a healthy heart.

LORDOFTHE80S has uploaded video of EXODUS's November 23 concert at Preserving in New Kensington, Pennsylvania. Check out the clips below.

EXODUS kicked off "The Battle Of '24" tour on November 2 in Tampa, Florida and is thrashing its way across North America, ultimately concluding the trek on December 7 in Los Angeles, California. The tour marks EXODUS's first headlining run in many years.

Earlier in the month, EXODUS released its cover of the AC/DC classic "Beating Around The Bush". The track, which features a guest solo by former EXODUS guitarist Rick Hunolt, was originally recorded during the sessions for EXODUS's 2021 album "Persona Non Grata" but had not been released until now.

"Persona Non Grata" was recorded at a studio in Lake Almanor, California and was engineered by Steve Lagudi and EXODUS. It was produced by EXODUS and was mixed by Andy Sneap. For the third time in the band's history, they returned to Swedish artist Pär Olofsson to create the album artwork.

"Persona Non Grata" is the follow-up to 2014's "Blood In Blood Out", which was the San Francisco Bay Area thrashers' first release since the departure of the group's lead singer of nine years, Rob Dukes, and the return of Steve "Zetro" Souza, who previously fronted EXODUS from 1986 to 1993 and from 2002 to 2004.

In a new interview with "Reckless" Rexx Ruger of Pod Scum, EYEHATEGOD guitarist Jimmy Bower was asked if there is any new music in the works for the follow-up to the band's 2021 album "A History Of Nomadic Behavior". He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Very much so. We have a lot of stuff written. It's just a matter of getting in the room and putting it all together. We stayed so busy that we haven't had a chance to work on the new record, but when we would do jam sessions, we always record everything. We have like all kind of cool stuff that we just need to get together and put it together. We're leaving December 4th to go to the U.K. for three weeks. And then that ends it up for the year. So hopefully in January [we can] get in the room with EYEHATEGOD and start finishing up writing for that."

Regarding the songwriting process in EYEHATEGOD, Jimmy said: "We'll go to the room. Usually nine times out of 10, Mike [IX Williams, vocals] doesn't come to practice, but we'll go up there and we do like a blues jam or something and then we get riffs out of that. We improvise probably the first hour of our practice, and then if we have a show or something, we'll practice the songs, but we always try and work on what we wrote in that improvisation. It's just always been that way.

"I'm not the sole writer," Jimmy clarified. "Our new drummer, Aaron Hill, plays guitar too, so he writes. Gary [Mader, bass] writes. I'm just the only guitar player now, but back in the day Brian [Patton, former EYEHATEGOD guitarist] would write as well.

"EYEHATEGOD, to me, is just now starting to graduate into writing songs. Before, it was just part, break, part, break, part, done. And it's been fun, with that style of riffing and everything, to try and up it and write songs."

In March 2021, EYEHATEGOD released its first new full-length album in seven years, "A History Of Nomadic Behavior", via Century Media Records. The LP was produced by EYEHATEGOD, Sanford Parker (YOB, VOIVOD) and James Whitten (THOU, HIGH ON FIRE),with mixing by Whitten. The band recorded at HighTower Recording and Hypercube studios. The artwork for the LP was created by Gary Mader and Mike IX Williams.

Williams previously said of the songs on the album: "We're not a political band, but it was hard not to be affected by the [pandemic-related] news from the past year. During this recording, I thought a lot about how stupid humanity has become and how America is now completely divided with these people who don't believe in science and blindly follow liars and nonsensical ideologies. Some of those feelings may have found their way into these songs, but it is mostly subliminal."

"A History Of Nomadic Behavior" followed a period that saw EYEHATEGOD on the road for three years, preceded by Williams suffering liver failure and a transplant. "We toured our asses off for three years and that's where 'A History Of Nomadic Behavior' basically comes from," Williams said before touching on his health challenge: "Death is a part of life; it's a roll of the dice. Sometimes you take life as it comes, other times you fight to stay alive."

EYEHATEGOD's previous album, a self-titled affair, came out in 2014. It arrived a decade and a half after its predecessor, 2000's "Confederacy Of Ruined Lives".

EYEHATEGOD's 1990 "In The Name Of Suffering" and 1993 "Take As Needed For Pain" studio albums are considered their seminal works and are often cited as pillars of the American sludge sound alongside ACID BATH, BUZZOV*EN and CROWBAR.

EYEHATEGOD 2024 lineup:

Mike IX Williams - vocals
Jimmy Bower - guitar
Gary Mader - bass
Aaron Hill - drums

Photo credit: Robb Duchemin (courtesy of The Noise Cartel)

In a recent interview with Guitar World magazine, BLACK SABBATH guitarist Tony Iommi was asked what he thought of his band's influence on the thrash movement, which was popularized by such acts as METALLICA, MEGADETH, SLAYER and ANTHRAX. He responded: "It was nice to hear those thrash bands paying tribute to us. It's great how they were able to push it forward into something new and turn it into their own thing. I was just coming up with things I liked. So it was brilliant to hear about other musicians liking what I'd done, taking the same kind of idea and improving on it, evolving it into their own sound. Like METALLICA, for instance, who probably learned things from us as well as other people. What they did with the metal sound, turning it into thrash, was fantastic. They've always been respectful toward us and they're lovely guys. I love their attitude toward things, the way they write and everything. It reminds us a lot of how we were — everyone in one room rehearsing together and taking it seriously."

METALLICA members Lars Ulrich and James Hetfield inducted BLACK SABBATH into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in March 2006 in New York City.

In a moving speech, Hetfield choked up as he painted a picture of himself as a nine-year-old introvert who found salvation in the din of Tony Iommi & Co. "He was drawn to them... like a shy boy to his own loud voice," Hetfield said at the event. "Those monstrous riffs lived inside him and spoke the feelings he could never put into words, sending chills of inspiration through him, from those gloomy lyrics and outlaw chords and all."

He added: "I realize that without [SABBATH's] defining sound, there would be no METALLICA, especially with one James Hetfield. Never have I known a more timeless and influential band. They have spread their wonderful disease through generations of musicians. They are always listed as an influence by heavy bands to this day. They are loved and highly respected as the fathers of heavy music."

Ulrich, for his part, said: "Obviously if there was no BLACK SABBATH, there would be no METALLICA. If there was no BLACK SABBATH, hard rock and heavy metal as we know it today would look, sound and be shaped very, very differently. So if there was no BLACK SABBATH, I could possibly still be a morning newspaper delivery boy — no fun, no fun.

"SABBATH join what I consider a very short list of artists who can claim to be synonymous with their specific genre of music," he added. "No matter how you fucking slice and dice it, when you say 'heavy metal,' the words BLACK SABBATH hover in the shadows fighting for pole position. On any given day, the heavy metal genre might as well be subtitled 'music derivative of BLACK SABBATH.' Sure, we're all respectful to BLUE CHEER, we're enamored with LED ZEPPELIN, we're in awe of DEEP PURPLE and, of course, admiring of STEPPENWOLF and John Kay's first uttering of the words 'heavy metal,' but when it comes to defining a genre within the world of heavy music, SABBATH stand alone. They took pre-existing elements of blues, rock and soul, threw in the right amount of darkness and street cred, and fused those elements with a previously undiscovered 'X' factor — whatever the fuck that was — creating something unheard, unexperienced, unique and utterly groundbreaking with their huge hymns of doom. BLACK SABBATH are an entity of their own — in my mind, the only word that fits is the word 'pioneer.' They were, and much more importantly, still are considered pioneers of all things heavy. All the metal bands and all the so-called subgenres of metal still trace their lineage to one place: four kids in their late teens from the black country of Birmingham who named their band after a 1963 Italian horror movie starring Boris Karloff. Subsequently they changed hard rock and by doing so the entire family tree of metal and everything that metal, for better or worse, stands for, was and will be forever both invigorated and elevated."

In a 1992 interview with Guitar World, Hetfield said that he "discovered BLACK SABBATH by digging through" his older brother's record collection. "Their album covers really drew me in," he said. "I immediately thought, 'I gotta put this on.' And when I did, I couldn't believe it. It was, like, 'Whoa! Heavy as shit.' SABBATH was everything that the '60s weren't. Their music was so cool because it was completely anti-hippie. I hated THE BEATLES, JETHRO TULL, LOVE and all that other happy shit."

Copenhagen-based hardcore quintet, Split, is poised to shake up the hardcore scene with their brand new track, “Cold Heart”, a fierce collaboration with heavy-hitters Dethrxner, offering a glimpse into the upcoming debut EP 2300, set to release in March.


Watch the accompanying music video below, with live footage from their recent show supporting Lifesick in Copenhagen.


"Our new track was inspired by Dethrxner, who are also featured on the song. ‘Cold Heart’ combines elements from rap, hardcore, and metalcore," vocalist Benjamin Jeppesen explains.

Former OZZY OSBOURNE guitarist Jake E. Lee has offered more details about last month's shooting which left him hit three times about 10 miles from the Las Vegas Strip. He was later taken to the Sunrise Hospital & Medical Center's intensive care unit.

The 67-year-old musician took to his social media on Thursday (November 28) to write: "I've been debating on publicly talking about getting shot and have decided that it would probably be good for me. Somewhat therapeutic, and by documenting it I can more easily put it behind me. And you might find parts of it interesting! At first it seemed too daunting but then I realized I can do it in parts. Like this:

"We were about 50ft apart when I heard the shots. I quickly realized he wasn't aiming at me. He was aiming at my dog! I threw my end of the leash at Coco and yelled to go home. He did. He's a good boy.

"The first shot to hit me was in my left forearm. Entered about an inch below the elbow on the underside. Exited topside. It felt like a burn. Not particularly painful, just like a quick burning sensation. I thought it must have been a graze. Fortunately it missed any bones, and my elbow joint, and has healed remarkably quickly. The scars aren't much bigger or darker than some of my age spots and I'd probably have to point them out for you to notice. All the fingers still move well. Initially lost the feeling on the back of my hand but it has been slowly coming back.

"In the spirit of giving thanks, I am most thankful my dog wasn't hurt, and also the damage to my fretting arm was minimal. Unlike the other wounds, which I'll get to in Part 2."

Lee previously explained that he walked his dog in the middle of the night because "I'm a night owl, always have been. My wife works graveyard in a casino. 2-3 in the morning is the middle of the day for us! And during the summer, with temps 115-120° [Fahrenheit] during the day, walking Coco in the early morning can still be over 100°. So we walk when it's coolest, and have for the last two years without mishap, until recently."

Gore House Productions proudly announces the release of Necrambulant's second full-length, Upheaval Of Malignant Necrambulance, to follow 2022's A Feast Of Festering Flesh (EP) and 2013 debut album, Infernal Infectious Necro-ambulatory Pandemic.





The sophomore album, due out on March 7, is a relentless record presented as an anthology of all that Necrambulant represents, horror, gore, and slamming brutal death metal. Musically, the band incorporated a full arsenal of death metal and slam to further define their self-described sound of "Inhuman Slam Grind". Lyrically, the album has something to offer on many levels of thematic brutality; zombies, serial killers, cannibals, sci-fi, and Warhammer.




"We think our new full-length will be well received by fans of our earlier work. We put out our somewhat experimental EP back in 2022 to a very mixed bag of reviews. We had kind of expected that particular release to receive some heat, as it was a bit of a departure from our previous sound. For the EP, we wanted short, to-the-point, less modern-sounding slam/death metal. We wanted it to have the sound of something like a reanimated corpse that had been lying out in the desert, dried out, dusty, and decayed; that was my approach to the vocal sound and some people dug it while others hated it. But with the new album being more of a return to form, we hope that it will be more well-received among fans who have been with us since the beginning as well as something fresh for our newer listeners to enjoy as well. The new album is just a relentless barrage of slamming brutal death metal. We strived for a no bullshit / no filler track list that will just pummel the listener with heaviness," says the band.


To infest the auditory canals of extreme metal fans around the globe, Necrambulant is unshackling their first single, "Chunked Pus Chowder", accompanied by a gruesome claymation video.


The band explains further on the track: "This is one that was written with more humor in mind than anything else. Just a song that's gross for the sake of being gr

TNT singer Tony Harnell has revealed that he recently underwent laparoscopic surgery, a surgical treatment used to treat localized prostate cancer.

The 62-year-old musician, who was born in San Diego, grew up in California and moved to New York when he was 16, took to his Instagram on Wednesday (November 27) to write: "Extra gratitude on this Thanksgiving. On August 1st I had successful laparoscopic surgery for aggressive prostate cancer. 5 days later I was rushed to the ER with sepsis and spent another 3 days in the hospital till they stabilized me.

"What a ride! Not sure how close I got to the exit door, but I'm deeply grateful to all of those who took fast action that day to save my life. I'm feeling better each day. Long recovery from this one.

"I couldn't have gotten through it without close friends, amazing doctors and my sweet Kristi. This is why I had to cancel some shows in August and decided to take the rest of 2024 to heal my body, mind and spirit. It took a lot out of me and still building myself back up.

"Thanks so much to all of you who've reached out and checked on me. This Thanksgiving is truly about giving thanks!

"Wishing you all a very happy Thanksgiving filled with love, peace and light. See you on the road in '25!

"P.S. GUYS, stay on top of your PSA tests every year!"

Harnell beat thyroid cancer in 2009 and later appeared in advertisements for the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists in order to share his story and help educate others about the warning signs of thyroid cancer.

TNT played its first concert with returning singer Harnell on June 2, 2023 at Jærnåttå in Bryne, Norway.

Harnell announced his return to TNT in November 2022, saying that he would reteam with guitarist Ronni LeTekrø and drummer Morten "Diesel" Dahl on stage in 2023 and beyond for select live appearances. The trio is joined in the current TNT lineup by returning bassist Sid Ringsby, who played with TNT for the first time on the "All The Way To The Sun" album in 2005 and has appeared with TNT at various concerts over the years.

In April 2021, Harnell, who has been in and out of TNT several times throughout its four-decade existence, told "The Chuck Shute Podcast" that he didn't rule out returning to the band. "Ronni and I, contrary to popular belief, we talk often," he said. "Most of the things that pushed us apart — again, contrary to popular belief — are business related. I'll just leave it at that. 'Never say never' is a good way to put it [regarding a possible new TNT album]. And there might be a time and a place."

Harnell's most recent split with TNT took place in October 2017, less than a year and a half after he rejoined the group. He later described his relationship with TNT in an "Unphiltered" interview as "a very long marriage. I'm here [in New York], they're there [in Norway] — they're across the pond really far away. It's a very difficult situation to be in without having a very unified business organization, and no matter what I did, I could not get the thing unified. We were just on two totally separate not only continents physically, but mentally, psychologically, we were on two different continents as well."

Harnell said that he "really, really wanted" his last collaboration with TNT to work out. "In my opinion, this was gonna be it — we were gonna stay together until I didn't feel like singing anymore," he said. 'I was gonna do other things and do other projects and so forth, but my goal was that TNT would be my band for at least another five years, maybe 10 years or whatever, until it ran its course. So this was kind of an unexpected thing."

TNT's latest studio album, "XIII", came out in June 2018 via Frontiers Music Srl. The band's thirteenth LP was TNT's first to feature vocalist Baol Bardot Bulsara, who replaced Harnell. Baol is a Spanish singer whose debut with TNT happened in front of 8,000 fans in November 2017 when the band opened for German hard rock legends the SCORPIONS in Oslo, Norway.

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