Pitch Black Records has announced the release of the official tribute to the late William J Tsamis (March 13, 1961 – May 13, 2021). Titled A Crack in the Sky – A Tribute to William J Tsamis, the album is scheduled for release on May 13, 2022, the first anniversary of his death.


A true hero of the heavy metal underground and beyond, the legacy of guitarist and composer William J Tsamis will forever be deeply intertwined with the name of Warlord. Formed in liaison with drummer extraordinaire and perpetual bandmate Mark Zonder, Warlord managed to rise to prominence amidst crushing competition right in the middle of the post-NWOBHM / US heavy metal explosion of the early 1980s. Among the main distinguishing factors that contributed to Warlord’s elevated position in the pantheon of US Metal is the characteristic and classically-trained guitar- and songwriting prowess of William J Tsamis. Like no other musician of the times, he had the ability to marry earth-shattering heaviness with melodic sensibility in the creation of larger-than-life compositions that, when draped in language and imagery related to the eternal battle between good and evil, reached unparalleled intensity and grandeur.


In addition to his work with Warlord, William J Tsamis also channeled his creativity into the lesser known, but equally potent and arguably more personal projects Lordian Winds and Lordian Guard. Of special notice are the two Lordian Guard albums he released with his late wife Vidonne Sayre Riemenschneider on vocals, which despite material shortcomings come across as some of the most unique and brutally honest heavy metal records of the 1990s.




Although Warlord never attained mass popularity on the magnitude of some other acts at the time, the continued impact of William J Tsamis’ works on heavy metal should not be underestimated. Like all great guitarist-composers, Tsamis developed his mode of expression that is as instantly recognizable as it is difficult to pin down with words. Adhering to the European school of classically-influenced electric guitar playing, he managed to combine the primeval force of heavy metal with a deep-trawling sense of majestic melancholy.


Such a unique approach always wins out in the end, and the upcoming tribute album is a testament to the influential role William Tsamis’ music has played, and continues to play, on heavy metal musicians of all backgrounds and ages across the globe.


Approved and endorsed by Warlord’s management, A Crack In The Sky features brand new recordings of timeless classics, all exceptionally covered by 16 outstanding bands, young and old, hailing from different parts of the world. Clocking in at just a few seconds over 79 minutes, this is as “full” an album as it could get.


Special mention must be made to the album’s liner notes which include a foreword by Mark Zonder along with brief statements by each participating band. Furthermore, a few industry individuals and artists have been invited to share their thoughts about Bill Tsamis in a special “In Memoriam” section within the album’s liner notes. The liner notes of any album are of course an integral part of it, but in this case, they are of particular importance as they are a powerful portrayal of what Bill Tsamis has meant to people; both as a musician and as a person. For this reason, Pitch Black Records will be making a special digital edition booklet (14 pages) freely available for anyone to download on the release date.


A Crack in the Sky – A Tribute to William J Tsamis will be released in the following formats:


• CD Digipak (deluxe 3-panel)
• CD Book (hardbound 20x20cm book, including download code and limited to 100 copies – exclusively available from Pitch Black Records and select partners)
• Double-LP (including download code, released in association with Vinylstore)
• Digital


The album’s cover and artwork have been created by the talented Giannis Nakos (Remedy Art Design) with photography kindly provided by Chris Del Grande. Mastering and additional mastering was handled by renowned producer Arthur Rizk.





Tracklisting:


Mirror – “Aliens”
Sumerlands – “Lost And Lonely Days”
Stray Gods – “War In Heaven”
Twisted Tower Dire – “Mrs. Victoria”
Claymorean – “70,000 Sorrows”
Eternal Champion – “Stygian Passage”
Arrayan Path (feat. Paolo Viani) – “The Rainbow”
Forsaken – “Lucifer's Hammer”
Firewölfe – “Battle Of The Living Dead”
Steel Shock – “Child Of The Damned”
Solitary Sabred – “Black Mass”
Wotan – “Winds Of Thor”
Reflection – “Winter Tears”
Galaxy – “Penny For A Poor Man”
Comet Rider – “Soliloquy”
Socrates Leptos – “A Crack In The Sky (Outro)”





For more information and preorders, head to pitchblackrecords.com.

In a new interview with the "Murray Adventures" podcast and "The MGM Morning Show With Matt Murray" on 103.7 WMGM Rocks in Atlantic City, DEF LEPPARD drummer Rick Allen spoke about his "Legends" art series, which consists of lifelike-yet-impressionistic portraits of musicians who have influenced him, from Jimi Hendrix to Freddie Mercury to John Lennon to Charlie Watts and Eddie Van Halen. Regarding how he decides which artists to paint, Rick said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "These are all musicians, singers, songwriters that have inspired me over the years. The last one that I did, I mean, to me, it was pretty obvious — Charlie Watts. If it wasn't for Charlie Watts, I wouldn't be on the phone with you now. I think it's the end of an era. He inspired so many to pick up a pair of sticks. And it was just my way of paying homage to him. And then another person that I really, really looked up to and I had the honor of meeting, it's Eddie Van Halen. So all of these people somehow touched my life and somehow inspired me to do what I do today."

When Murray pointed out that Watts always had a "smooth, calm and collected" approach to playing drums, Allen said: "That's true and that was the mood that I tried to bring into the painting that I did. He's just got this sort of content look about him, like he's got nothing to prove. But he was a smoking drummer. I think in many ways he was very underrated. But without Charlie Watts, THE ROLLING STONES wouldn't have sounded the way that they did. Just in the same way that if you took Keith Moon away from THE WHO, it wouldn't necessarily have been the same."

Allen became the drummer for DEF LEPPARD at age 15. As one of the world's best-selling music artists, DEF LEPPARD have sold more than 100 million records worldwide, two albums with RIAA diamond certification (10 million albums sold) and were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2019.

At the height of worldwide fame in 1984, he had a car accident that changed his life. Rick lost an arm, but turned personal tragedy into spiritual transformation and continued his musical career. While he was already a hero to millions of young people, he soon added millions of new admirers. Since then, Rick has been reaching out and giving support to others all over the globe by sharing his personal experiences and his love of drumming. Over the past 13 years, Rick has reached out to teenage cancer patients, children with special needs, at-risk youth in crisis, families of domestic violence and veterans who have served in Vietnam, Desert Storm, Iraq and Afghanistan. He was awarded the Humanitarian Award by Maria Shriver's Best Buddies of CA in 2002 and in 2012, was also awarded the prestigious Wounded Warrior Project's Carry It Forward Award. Rick continues his work helping wounded warriors through Project Resiliency's Warrior Resiliency Program sponsored by his charity foundation the Raven Drum Foundation.

An integral part of Rick's creative life went public in 2012. After years of personal photographic work, Allen ventured into the fine art world with a blockbuster debut collection of abstract artwork built from rhythm. Allen has become a pioneer in the new medium, utilizing drumsticks and rhythm to dictate abstract visuals on canvas.

That debut collection, in 2012 featured 300 pieces, quickly sold-out in its initial offering to the public and boasted a sold-out exhibition. A second collection, released in 2013 and titled "Rock-On-Canvas", met with a similar exceptional reception and helped to forge a relationship with America's leading fine art retailer Wentworth Galleries.

Rick said: "Music, art and photography have been passions of mine since I was a boy. My life has been a journey of transformation and my art is a reflection of the many facets of dreams and perceptions that have shaped me. Each piece has a story and a connection to my life from my roots in England, my life changing car accident, journey to America, travels around the globe and to my deep connection to Wounded Warriors and their struggle to heal. The collection intends to express messages of hope, transcendence and the human condition."

Daryl Hall has confirmed that he was asked to join VAN HALEN following the departure of David Lee Roth more than three and a half decades ago.

The singer-songwriter — best known as one half of HALL & OATES — broached the topic of his hypothetical link-up with VAN HALEN in a new interview with "Out Of The Box With Jonathan Clarke", which airs on the New York radio station Q104.3. Asked if it's true that Eddie approached him about stepping into the role of the band's frontman after Roth's exit, Daryl laughed and said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, yeah. Actually, yes. I knew those guys [VAN HALEN] really well; we actually shared some people — crew and things like that. And Eddie came to a show with [his then-wife] Valerie [Bertinelli] — this goes back, you know — and David had just left the band. And Eddie said, 'Do you wanna join VAN HALEN, man?' He was half joking, but I think he was serious — I really do believe he was serious. And I took it seriously. I went, 'Meh, I think not. I think I've got my own shit going on.'"

Hall also confirmed that the iconic keyboard hook in VAN HALEN's "Jump" was inspired by HALL & OATES's song "Kiss Is On My List". "That is correct," Daryl said. "That's what [Eddie] always told me. He said that inspired 'Jump'."

You can hear the full conversation below.

Hall wasn't the only singer Eddie reportedly approached about joining VAN HALEN before he recruited Sammy Hagar to front the band. Former JOURNEY vocalist Steve Perry told Rolling Stone in a 2020 interview that he was "honored" when Eddie asked him to come to Los Angeles and jam but that he felt he wasn't "really suited" to representing VAN HALEN's "legacy up to that point". Patty Smyth of the group SCANDAL also said that she was asked to join VAN HALEN but that she ultimately declined because "they were heavy drinkers" and she didn't want to relocate to Los Angeles. "I was, like, 'I'm from New York. We don't move to L.A.,'" she recalled in a 2020 interview with Stereogum.

VAN HALEN eventually recruited Hagar, who sang on four studio albums between 1986 and 1995 before he quit the group in 1996. Hagar rejoined for a 2004 tour but left again after that, paving the way for the most recent reunion with Roth, which began in 2007 with a world tour.

Hall is an inductee into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame with the best-selling duo of all time. He is also the star of his very own award-winning web series-turned-TV staple "Live From Daryl's House", as well as a successful venue owner with Daryl's House, a restored live music space in Pawling, New York.

Photo credit: Stuart Berg

In a new interview with Andy Hall of the Des Moines, Iowa radio station Lazer 103.3, punk rock icon Henry Rollins once again discussed his decision to stop making music 15 years ago after spending well over a decade recording and touring with ROLLINS BAND, his alt-rock powerhouse. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I had no more lyrics. I no longer thought in lyrical form. If you made me sit down and write a song, I'd have to write it like someone who just likes listening to the radio or make something rhyme. 'Love — dove…' Hmmm. A chorus? Oh. No. Call Paul McCartney, 'cause I'm not him. And so one day, it was just over.

"I'm not a musician. I can't play an instrument," he continued. "I can pick them up and carry them, but I can't play them. And so it's not like I'm looking for a career in music.

"Please, remember — I was working in an ice cream store. My favorite band, BLACK FLAG, said, 'We need a new singer. You're crazy. You wanna audition?' And I'm, like, 'Well, let's see. It's either scooping ice cream and moving on to another minimum wage job after I'm sick of this one, or I can go humiliate myself in a practice room and audition for BLACK FLAG.' And, obviously, you know what I chose. And so my life has been, 'What am I doing here?'

"I'm not a musician," Henry repeated. "And once I didn't have the overwhelming urge to write lyrics, I can't be like songsmith guy and just architect my way through a song. If I don't have it, I don't have it — and many people will tell you I never had it to begin with. [Laughs] But be that as it may, it's too late now; the tape has been rolled.

"And so one morning I woke up and I went, 'I'm done,'" Rollins added. "And I looked in my hand and the metaphorical stone was in it that I took from the master's hand, and it was time to leave the temple. So I called my manager at the time, and I said, 'I'm done with music.' I can be pretty blunt with things like that. And he saw 10 percent of all of that just go up in smoke. 'No more sushi for you, son.' And he had a meltdown. He was, like, 'No.' And I'm, like, 'Well, yeah.' 'We'll do a greatest-hits tour.' 'We? You're not on tour with me.' And I had no greatest hits. And I don't wanna stand on stage and be a human jukebox because it wouldn't be a hundred percent sincere. It would be 98 percent, but it's the two percent that you'd remember after you left, going, 'Something was off.' Yeah, it's over, and I'm still there. And so I left into the great unknown and I stopped. Luckily for me, the talking tours were going, the book company was going, I was already doing voiceover, film, TV, hosting, writing for different publications. So I had things going on, so I just kind of filled in the music gap with all of that stuff and actually became busier because of all of it. And so it was a very quick decision which I've never regretted.

"I pivot pretty hard. Once I'm done with something, once I make my mind up, I'm done. And that's it. And I call the people I have to disassemble. Like, I called my bandmembers. I said, 'Fellows, we've reached the [end]. The long march is over. Thank you. And I'm out.' And they probably had no indication from me before those phone calls I made. And they were, like, 'Oh. Okay.' I said, 'Yeah. Thanks. It was great. And I can't do what I can't do. And call me if I can be of help with anything.' And that was it."

Rollins has toured the world as a spoken-word artist, as frontman for both ROLLINS BAND and BLACK FLAG and as a solitary traveler with insatiable curiosity, favoring road-less-traveled locales in places such as Nepal, Sri Lanka, Siberia, North Korea, South Sudan and Iran.

When he's not traveling, Rollins prefers a to keep a relentless schedule full of work, with gigs as an actor, author, DJ, voice-over artist and TV show host to name a few of the roles that keep him occupied.

As a spoken-word artist, Rollins regularly performs at colleges and theaters worldwide and has released a number of spoken-word recordings. His album "Get In The Van" won the Grammy for "Best Spoken Word Album" for 1995. As an actor, he has appeared in "The Chase", "Johnny Mnemonic", "Heat" and David Lynch's film "Lost Highway".

IRON MAIDEN singer Bruce Dickinson has wished his bandmate Steve Harris a happy 66th birthday.

During the question-and-answer portion of his March 12 spoken-word show at the House Of Blues in Las Vegas, Nevada, Bruce was asked by a couple of different audience members if he had wished Steve a happy birthday earlier that day. He then proceeded to lead the crowd through a rendition of "Happy Birthday" in honor of the founding MAIDEN bassist, who formed the band in 1975.

Since its inception nearly five decades ago, MAIDEN led the wave of British heavy metal music and became a global institution. Over the course of 47 years, the band has come to embody a spirit of fearless creative independence, ferocious dedication to fans, and a cheerful indifference to critics. IRON MAIDEN has built a following that reaches every culture, generation, and time zone. With over 90 million album sales, more than 2,000 live performances in 63 countries, tens of millions of fans and 17 studio albums of unerring quality, IRON MAIDEN has more than earned its proudly held status as one of the most influential and revered bands of all time.

One of the world's most storied musicians, Dickinson has been MAIDEN's internationally acclaimed lead singer for more than 40 years, and aside from the decades spent delivering high-octane performances with his larger-than-life persona, Bruce has lived an extraordinary off-stage existence too. A true polymath, Bruce is, or has been, an airline pilot and captain, an aviation entrepreneur, a beer brewer, motivational speaker, film scriptwriter, twice-published novelist, radio presenter, TV actor and a world-class fencer.

Dickinson's two-month North American spoken-word tour kicked off on January 17 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and will run through the end of March.

Bruce's spoken-word show is split into two parts. The first section sees him take a humorous and often satirical look at the world from his own very personal perspective, treating the audience to private insights into his drive and ambition, peppered with plenty of MAIDEN anecdotes, and a myriad of other experiences encompassing not just the giddy heights but also the extreme lows, as told first-hand in his inimitable anarchic style, punctuated with photographs, videos and sometimes even erupting into song a cappella, to illustrate a point. The final section of the evening is devoted entirely to the aforementioned question-and-answer session, with the opportunity to pose questions on any subject whatsoever. As Bruce's answers are all completely improvised — the more left-field and quirky the question, the more interesting and compelling the response is likely to be.

Former W.A.S.P. guitarist Chris Holmes has begun undergoing chemotherapy and radiation treatments in his battle with cancer in throat and neck.

Earlier today (Friday, March 11), the 63-year-old musician's wife and manager, Cathy-Sarah Holmes, who first shared the news of his diagnosis in a social media post last month, issued the following update on his condition: "Chris started the first chemo (he will have 3 rounds) last Monday. They don't let me sleep at the hospital then at 8pm I had to leave it was difficult. Chris said to the doctor 'Do you know in 10 years it is the first time my wife and I are separated' but when I arrived the next morning with a big smile he said 'I missed you'. He started also his radiation every day from Monday to Friday. He has nausea and can't eat very well because of this, but the first week of radiation was ok. He don't suffer for now any bad effects. He is getting tired quickly but it is normal apparently.

"I was watching him eat yesterday and I told him 'I will never imagine I will be so happy to see you eat' he laughed. He is in good spirit and positive.

"He asked the nurse, who is doing his radiation, to take pictures, this is one of them Chris want we share with all of you."

Holmes joined W.A.S.P. in 1982 and remained with the group until 1990. In 1996, the guitarist returned to W.A.S.P. and stayed with the band until 2001. Chris has not played with W.A.S.P. since.

Last year, Holmes told SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" that W.A.S.P. was "a group, a band" on the first LP. "And after that, the second album, it wasn't a group — it was a one-man show," he said. "And it's been a one-man show after that ever since. It's the way it is. Look at the records. It's the way it is in that band.

"W.A.S.P. never played any shows until I was in the band, so where does a band start — when they record or when they do their first show?" he continued. "I came in before the first show, and it was 'one for all, all for one.' But then when money came into it and fame, people changed — they change real bad. And I never changed. I don't change. I haven't changed the way I think, the way I am. I'm not gonna change. I am what I am.

"During the [making of the] second [album], I was told the manager wants to use Blackie's [Lawless, W.A.S.P. frontman] image [on the cover], which the manager didn't tell me that — Blackie told me that."

According to Chris, he, guitarist Randy Piper, drummer Tony Richards and Blackie were all part of W.A.S.P. initial management contract, but Blackie was the only one signed to the record label. "Everybody thinks we [all] signed to the label, but it wasn't [like that]," Holmes told "Trunk Nation".

"I never learned about the business till about 10 years ago," he explained. "How do you learn about the business? You've gotta be in there with the manager and all that stuff, so I was always kept from that… I put my trust into somebody, and [I found out later that he was] sticking a knife in my back. I didn't find that out until 2010 or '11.

"Once [W.A.S.P.] became [all about] one person, [my attitude was] 'Hey, I'll just do my thing, and leave me alone. I'll play my guitar.'"

Despite the fact that he only got songwriting credit on a a couple of the songs on each of the first four W.A.S.P. records, Holmes was adamant that his input was essential to the band's overall sound.

"If I would have quit after the first album, the way I play guitar, the way I play is really important to writing those songs," he told "Trunk Nation".

"If I hadn't joined in the beginning, it would have never worked. Blackie told me that the first day, when he came and talked to me to play in W.A.S.P. He says, 'I've got this band. It's not gonna work unless you're in it.' He told me that to my face."

In October 2020, Chris said that he would never consider returning to W.A.S.P. unless Lawless agreed to pay him the publishing royalties that he allegedly owes him. He told Canada's The Metal Voice: "A lot of people think I made money from W.A.S.P. I've never gotten my royalties, or even my songwriting. All the stuff that I wrote, I've never gotten paid one penny. And you know whose fault it is? It's my my fault for not knowing the business, how it is. I trusted somebody.

"After every album, when the album is done, how they split up the publishing with the publishing contracts, the publishing companies — that's where the money comes from," he continued. "I was never told about when that meeting was. Because the other guys in the band never wrote — I was the only one [other than Blackie]. So I'm the only one that they have to screw over to get all the publishing. So I was never told. Then when I dug into it in about 2006 or [2007], I went into Sanctuary Music, had a lawyer go in to find out where all my publishing is, and I was written in as a session player into all the records. And if you don't know about it, and you're not told, and you don't see, you don't know. So I trusted Blackie Lawless about that. And when I found out, it really kind of yanked me wrong. It yanks me wrong — it makes me see he was sticking a knife in my back from the first day, from the first album, and not telling me, and being my best friend."

Last month, Lawless shot down Holmes's claim that the guitarist was "screwed" out of receiving royalties on the W.A.S.P. albums that he performed on. Lawless discussed Holmes's tenure with W.A.S.P. in an interview with "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk". Asked to respond to Holmes's assertion in Chris's recently released documentary "Mean Man: The Story Of Chris Holmes" that he was financially taken advantage of during his time in the band, Lawless said: "I don't really know much about… I spoke to [former W.A.S.P. guitarist] Randy Piper a couple of years ago. I don't really know what's going on with the rest of the guys. And I'm not sure exactly what you're talking about with Chris about not being paid.

"Chris, at two different points in his musical career, received settlements from this band; he signed documents as such," Blackie explained. "And he was paid quite well.

"I haven't seen what you're talking about. The answer I'm giving you right now is based on what you just said to me."

The W.A.S.P. frontman went on to confirm that he hasn't seen Chris's documentary and was once again asked about Holmes's claim that there is money and songwriting credits that he didn't get that he's due. Lawless said simply: "That is not true."

During a November 2017 press conference in Moscow, Russia, Lawless was asked what he would say to those W.A.S.P. fans who continue to call for the band to reunite with Holmes. He responded: "People get divorced for certain reasons, and there's times when the kids want the parents to get back together, but sometimes it never happens. And this is one of those [times]. Sorry."


Please read the update below Cathy has asked me to share with you all.

“Thank you for all your messages for Chris, he...

Posted by Chris Holmes & The Mean Men on Friday, March 11, 2022

Fan-filmed video of SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY AND THE CONSPIRATORS' March 11 concert at the Tropicana Showroom in Atlantic City, New Jersey can be seen below.

SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY AND THE CONSPIRATORS kicked off a North American headlining tour on February 8, in Portland, Oregon. The trek is hitting 28 major cities, including Los Angeles, New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, Denver, Nashville, Dallas, Austin, Houston, and more, before wrapping up March 26 in Orlando, Florida.

SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY AND THE CONSPIRATORS are touring in support of their new album, titled "4", which was released in February via Gibson Records in partnership with BMG, "4" is Slash's fifth solo album and fourth overall with his band featuring Myles Kennedy (vocals), Brent Fitz (drums), Todd Kerns (bass, vocals) and Frank Sidoris (guitar, vocals).

For "4", Slash and the band traveled across the country together to Nashville, Tennessee and recorded the new album at the historic RCA Studio A with producer Dave Cobb (Chris Stapleton, John Prine, Jason Isbell, Brandi Carlile), revealing a stunning new sound and style all captured live in the studio. Cobb shared the band's desire to lay down the tracks live, in the studio including guitar solos and vocals — a first for the group.

The band's previous albums over the last decade — "Apocalyptic Love", "World On Fire" and "Living The Dream" — have continued on an upward trajectory, all achieving Top 5 Billboard charting debuts in the U.S. and reaching the Top 10 on 12 major charts across the globe

The new album "4" has the added history-making distinction of being the first-ever album to be released on the new Gibson Records label, which is headquartered in the iconic American instrument brand Gibson's hometown of Music City, Nashville. In light of the 30-year partnership between Gibson and the Grammy Award-winning Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame inductee Slash, it makes sense the new SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY AND THE CONSPIRATORS' album "4" was made available via Gibson Records.