LAMB OF GOD has entered a California studio with longtime producer Josh Wilbur (KORN, MEGADETH, GOJIRA, TRIVIUM) to record some of its brand music, tentatively due later in the year.

The news of the Richmond, Virginia metallers' latest recording session was shared by members of BODY COUNT who posted a photo of guitarists Ernie C and Juan Garcia, along with LAMB OF GOD singer Randy Blythe, in the studio, and they included the following caption: "When your friend @drandallblythe invites you to do back up vocals on brand new @lambofgod material…you show up and support. And the new LAMB OF GOD is slamming!!! Great job guys".

LAMB OF GOD's upcoming effort will be the follow-up to the band's self-titled album, which was released in June 2020 via Epic Records in the U.S. and Nuclear Blast Records in Europe. That LP marked LAMB OF GOD's first recordings with Art Cruz, who joined the band in July 2019 as the replacement for the group's founding drummer, Chris Adler.

"Lamb Of God" was recorded with Wilbur and included special guest appearances by Jamey Jasta (HATEBREED) and Chuck Billy (TESTAMENT).

Two years ago, LAMB OF GOD bassist John Campbell told Media Mikes about the band's continuing working relationship with Josh: "I would have to look on the Internet to see how long we have been working with him. [Laughs] I want to say that he first started working with us on 'Sacrament'. That was in 2006 and we have been working with him ever since."

He added: "Josh Wilbur is an amazing person professionally and as a human. He is incredibly creative and very aware of things like this. He goes in to an album to try and create the best possible piece of art he can. Josh is great with suggestions and helping us along in the process. He understands the band and all of our personalities very well and that's a godsend."
























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In a new interview with Remy Maxwell of Audacy Check In, JUDAS PRIEST singer Rob Halford was asked if he agrees with guitarist Richie Faulkner's recent comment that the band's upcoming album will be more musically "progressive" than 2018's "Firepower". He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Yeah, the metal is there. But here's the thing: we've tried our best not to replicate anything that we've done. From 'Rocka Rolla' all the way through to 'Firepower', each record has had a distinctive character. And it's tough because fans go, 'We want another 'Painkiller',' 'We want another 'British Steel'.' And [it's, like], 'Dude, we've already done that.'

"Fans know that we're a band that is always full of adventure and trying new stuff," he continued. "And so, yeah, this has got probably some more progressive elements that we've never really delved into before. And that's exciting, because, again, it gives us and our fans another opportunity to see a different side of PRIEST. But it's still metal. There's just more of it. There are more notes than there were before."

Earlier this month, Faulkner told Canada's The Metal Voice about the progress of the songwriting sessions for PRIEST's next album: "Since the 'Firepower' tour, we all went our separate ways, like we do, and we've always got ideas coming up; me, Rob and Glenn [Tipton, guitar], we sort of start to put ideas down. And we got together in early 2020 — me, Rob and Glenn; and [co-producer and touring guitarist] Andy Sneap was there as well — and we pooled all our ideas together and we started the first writing session. So we got together a batch of songs that were by no means finished, but they were developed enough that we could call them songs. So we could give them working titles. They were demos, if that makes sense. So we had a batch of demos. And then since then, we've been trying to find an opportunity where we can all get together and develop 'em further and record them. But, obviously, with the restrictions of the lockdown and the pandemic…"

He continued: "We wanna be together as a band to iron out those creases. If the three of us got together with a group of songs and we played them together, it's, like, 'Oh, that one needs a bit of fat trimmed there,' 'That's too long' or 'We need to put some more guitar solos in there.' It becomes evident when you play together what songs need. So we've been looking for an opportunity to do that. It's been tough with the travel restrictions — some of us live over here; some of us live over there — so it's been tough. But we have started recording some and getting it put together with those restrictions, because we wanna get it done, but it's obviously taking longer than we'd like, really, because of the pandemic. Obviously, now we've got the tour coming up and hopefully we can get on the road and stay on the road, so we're gonna work around that flow. So I wouldn't like to say when it's gonna be finished and when it's gonna be out, but we are working on it and we are dedicated to getting it done, getting those songs down and then getting it out to the world. But, obviously, we're nowhere near a release date, but we are dedicated on working on it and getting it done to the best of our ability, for sure."

As for the musical direction of the new PRIEST material, Faulkner said: "Whenever you start a record, you never know how it's gonna turn out. So you might start with an idea of what it's gonna be, and as it kind of rolls on, it comes out something different. So you don't quite know. And also it's really hard to sum up your own music, I find, without sounding really pretentious. But I think this one — it's not 'Firepower 2', I don't think. It's its own thing, it's its own animal. If anything, I would say it's a bit more progressive in places, and in places it's got a bit more of that 'Killing Machine' swagger."

Faulkner added: "I know everyone says, 'Oh, is it the next 'Painkiller'?' or 'Is it the next…?' whatever… I don't know if they'd ever done it, but I know we've never done it when I've been in the band; we've never tried to recreate an album. It's always we try to create an album that stands on its own legs. So I think it's definitely a little bit more progressive than 'Firepower' and, as I said, in places it's got a little bit of that 'Killing Machine' angry swagger attitude going on. But again, as I said, we're waiting to see what it turns out like, 'cause it could turn out completely different."

Last March, Halford confirmed that PRIEST's next album will see the band reuniting with the "Firepower" production team consisting of Sneap, longtime collaborator Tom Allom and engineer Mike Exeter (BLACK SABBATH).

Tipton was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease eight years ago after being stricken by the condition at least half a decade earlier. Tipton announced in early 2018 he was going to sit out touring activities in support of "Firepower". He was replaced by Sneap, who is also known for his work in NWOBHM revivalists HELL and cult thrash outfit SABBAT.

Bassist Ian Hill is the sole remaining original member of PRIEST, which formed in 1969. Halford joined the group in 1973 and Tipton signed on in 1974. Rob left PRIEST in the early 1990s to form his own band, then came back to PRIEST in 2003. Founding guitarist K.K. Downing parted ways with the band in 2011, and was replaced by Faulkner.

Some of the other members of PRIEST have also dealt with various health setbacks in recent years. Halford recently publicly revealed that he battled prostate cancer during the pandemic. He previously mentioned his cancer battle in the new chapter added to the updated paperback edition of his autobiography, "Confess". In "Confess", Halford revealed that he was diagnosed with cancer after experiencing symptoms for at least a couple of years.

In July 2020, Rob underwent prostatectomy, an operation where the entire prostate gland is removed plus some of the tissue around it, including the seminal vesicles. After more cancer was found last year, he went through radiation treatments in April and May 2021 and eventually got then all-clear in June 2021. He also had an appendectomy after a tumor was discovered on his appendix.

Faulkner suffered an acute cardiac aortic dissection during the band's performance at the Louder Than Life festival in late September. Faulkner was rushed to the UofL Health - Jewish Hospital where the cardiothoracic surgery team needed approximately 10 hours to complete a life-saving surgery.

Joe Satriani says that he has stopped pushing for CHICKENFOOT to reunite for more live shows and possible new music.

The supergroup, which features the legendary guitarist alongside former VAN HALEN singer Sammy Hagar, ex-VAN HALEN bassist Michael Anthony and RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS drummer Chad Smith, has been largely inactive since 2012 when it toured with Kenny Aronoff on drums due to Smith's busy schedule with his main band.

In 2018, CHICKENFOOT reunited at the Fillmore in San Francisco during the fifth annual "Acoustic-4-A-Cure" benefit concert. The even marked the band's first performance together in just over two years.

Asked in a new interview with SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" if he believes CHICKENFOOT still has some "unfinished business" to take care of, Satriani told host Eddie Trunk (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I think so… I believe the last time that I was in the worst mood about CHICKENFOOT, I was at your studio and you were surprised, I think, when I had said that I'd be into working with other people 'cause I had kind of thrown my hands up in the air with those guys. After that, I kind of backed off bugging, because I thought I just don't wanna be that guy. That's the guy that's always saying, 'C'mon, guys. Let's get the group back together.'

"I still think that it has to happen from the other side there, because they're so busy. Like, Chad right now is about to launch a worldwide tour with the CHILI PEPPERS and a new album," he continued. "So the reality is that he won't really have time for quite a while. It's not my place anymore to be the guy bugging him about it. But Sammy and I talk every week, and it's all cool. Everyone's on good terms. It's just a question of how do we fit it in to this crazy world we live in."

Last March, Anthony told the Morristown, New Jersey radio station 105.5 WDHA that CHICKENFOOT will reunite for more live shows and possible new music. "I think there'll definitely be some kind of CHICKENFOOT [activity] in the future," he said. "Sammy and I, we talk about it all the time, and I text with Joe and Chad all the time, if we're not speaking. And I know Joe really wants to do it."

Michael, who has spent most of the last few years playing with Sammy in THE CIRCLE, continued: "It's kind of funny, 'cause we start doing THE CIRCLE thing, and Sammy gets all enamored with THE CIRCLE. He's all, 'Oh, yeah. It's THE CIRCLE this and that.' But you never know. He might wake up tomorrow and go, 'Oh my God. CHICKENFOOT — let's do a CHICKENFOOT gig.'

"I definitely think that CHICKENFOOT will do something else," Anthony reiterated. "Whether we'll record another album, which would be great — I'd love to do that. But I'd love to just together and even just do some shows — do a bunch of shows with those guys. 'Cause that's actually some of the best times I've ever had on the road. Believe me — touring with Chad Smith is like touring with no other… Even hanging out with Chad since he's been sober, he's still crazier than some of the most crazy people I know.

"But we definitely have a great time. And I definitely feel that we'll [get together], if not to record some new stuff, hopefully in the near future to at least get together and play some shows together."

Three years ago, Joe told Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station that "the door is always open" for CHICKENFOOT to play again, "because there's a true connection between the four of us, and we'd all do it in a second."

In March 2017, CHICKENFOOT released "Divine Termination", its first new tune in five years, on "Best + Live", the band's first-ever best-of collection.

CHICKENFOOT's most recent album of all-new material was "Chickenfoot III", the band's second LP, issued in 2

KIX guitarist Ronnie Younkins, who is unable to tour with the band because he has been placed under house arrest after repeatedly getting in trouble with the police, discussed his battle with alcoholism in a new interview with Adika Live!. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I'm just glad to be alive, and I'm glad that my daughter and my son and my wife talk to me. And I'm glad the guys in the KIX band still talk to me.

"The message that I have to share is that if you get sobriety, do everything in your power to stay there because if you go back out… The disease of alcoholism and drug addiction is progressive. It's categorized as a disease. And it's potentially fatal. This is a disease that causes poor behavior, bad behavior, insane behavior. I mean, I would become — it talks about it in the 'Big Book' of Alcoholics Anonymous — Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. I would turn into Mr. Hyde. And even when I wasn't drinking, the physiology of my brain was all messed up so I was always kind of distant from everyone and just not with it. I tried to straighten up and do shows and stuff, and the guys could tell I wasn't playing up to par. I wasn't kidding anyone; I was just kidding myself. And it took my third arrest and being locked down and put in jail and then to getting locked down — thank God — from jail into a rehabilitation center for six months. And I thanked the judge for locking me in there for six months because now I could drive to work and if I see a liquor store, I just go by and [think] 'poison.' Anything that would ruin my life — I don't entertain the idea of a drink. I go to meetings every day. I try to share with others. I'm reading my 'Big Book'. I'm working on step four right now, which is searching and personal and moral inventory of my life. It's got to do with resentments, angers and fears. So I'm working on that right now. And I'm in a good place — I really am."

Ronnie, who is being temporarily replaced in KIX by Bob Paré, an accomplished musician who studied at the Music Institute in Los Angeles and taught music theory and guitar at several institutions, including Western Maryland College and Maryland Institute of Music, continued: "I miss the guys in the KIX band and everything, but they got tired of putting up with my shit. They gave me chance after chance after chance. A guy named Bob Paré — a great guitar player, a friend of mine, a friend of the band, of course — has taken my place, and it's all good. I miss 'em. I miss playing, I miss the whole ritual of it — working on the guitars, packing. I love traveling; I miss that."

Circling back to his recovery, Ronnie said: "I do everything told and I do everything suggested. And I will have one year sober and clean on the 28th of this month. And that's the longest I've had since my 21 years of sobriety. And I'm holding on to my dear life to that. So after the 28th of this month, I'll work on my second year. One day at a time. It's so true.

"I went through a lot of beautiful times in sobriety — a lot of beautiful things with my family, my daughter, my son and my wife. And the guys in the band talk to me; I'm grateful for that."

Last month, KIX singer Steve Whiteman told Canada's The Metal Voice that "[Ronnie] was pretty much being supervised in a halfway house for about a year. And I believe he's finally got his freedom. So we're just kind of waiting to see how he continues to recover," he said. "Because it got ugly there for a while. And we wanna make that he's got his family life together, his own life together, before bringing him back into this temptation that's just around all the time. So we're all pulling for him. We're in touch with him. It's a waiting game at this point — just to make sure that, unsupervised, he's gonna be able to keep it together.

"I know the fans would love to have him back, and we would love to have him back, but it's gotta make sense for everybody," he continued. "And right now we've got the guy that had come in to help us out to replace Ronnie, Bob Paré, is just doing an amazing job, and I don't wanna rock the boat at this point to take a chance. So it's a wait-and-see game to see how he continues to recover and can he continue with his sobriety and get his life back together."

Last November, Whiteman addressed Younkins's condition in an interview with "The Chuck Shute Podcast". He said: "Last I spoke to [Ronnie], he's working, like, two normal jobs. He's still living in a rehabilitation clinic, and he still has a ways to go. Even when he's set free to go out into the world, like he did before, we still have to make sure that he's gonna be able to stay clean and sober. But right now he seems like he's doing really well. He's following all the rules and he's doing everything he can to get his life back in order."

Steve went on to say that Ronnie was sober for 20 years before relapsing and spiraling back down into addiction.

"He got Hep C, and he had to use intravenous needles to battle the Hep C, before the newer treatment came out," Whiteman said. "And we all think that that just kind of took his mentality back to the days when he was using. I mean, that's speculation, and you'd probably have to ask him that, but it seems like that's when things flipped for him."

Whiteman previously discussed Younkins's battle with addiction in a June 2021 interview with Sonic Perspectives. At the time, he said: "It's been an up-and-down adventure with Ronnie over the past five or six years. Sometimes he doesn't show up to gigs, and Brian Forsythe has to take over and play all the parts. Then he comes back for several months and does really well, only to fall off the wagon or get in trouble with the police. This last time, he got into trouble with the police and is currently in a halfway house under house arrest. That's the biggest reason he is not out with us now. We were looking at Bob Paré a couple of years ago when Ronnie was going through a bad stretch, but Ronnie bounced back. When he shows up, he does great, so we didn't make the move back then. This time we were forced to."

Whiteman clarified: "I'm not saying that Ronnie is out of the band. We are just saying [he is not gonna tour with us] until he gets it together [and] his family and these people that are helping him say he is good to go. We are not going to bring him in until he is ready. He has shown in the past he can't be sober on the road. Being out there in a rock and roll band is a very bad environment."

He added: "We have a long history of 40 years together. You want to give him the benefit that he is going to recover and do well. There have been so many times over the last five or six years [when] we didn't know if he was going to make it."

Younkins previously opened up about his drug addiction five years ago, saying that his "disease had gotten worse" after he relapsed several years earlier following two decades of sobriety.

Younkins missed a KIX concert in Pennsylvania in March 2017 when the rest of the group was unable to reach him. He was eventually found "not in great condition and very upset," according to TMZ. A month later, his bandmates revealed that he was "headed to a rehab facility" and promised that his spot in KIX would be "waiting for him" once he was ready to resume playing with the group.

While Younkins was in rehab, he took time out to join his KIX bandmates for a performance in June 2017 at the Sweden Rock Festival, where he gave a wide-ranging interview to Metal Rules that also touched upon his continued battle against substance abuse.

Speaking about his health, Ronnie said: "My disease has gotten worse. I had 21 years of sobriety at one point. Got sober and cleaned up in 1989, but I'd get on… A long story short, what led me back out was complacency in my program. I wasn't doing enough of my work for the AA program like I did in the early years. Then I went on Hepatitis C treatment, or they should call it punishment, the old one that has many side effects, in 2010. One of them being insomnia, and the doctor put me on Ambien, and it fucked me up. It's a sleep drug, and I got hooked on it, and then I wasn't working the program, like with my mom's death — I worked through that at ten years sober. I worked through that with my sponsor. [My] dad died, like, in 2012. Some other shit had happened, and I worked through [it], and some serious things happened.

"We all have issues," he continued. "We all have shit happen in our lives and, you know, I worked through them in the program, but my when my father died, and I was complacent in the program, and I was already high on this fucking Ambien. I said, 'Fuck it.' And, I went out, and I started doing heroin and cocaine again within a month after my dad's death, and it's been nothing but downhill since. I've been through two rehabs, [in] 2014 [and] 2015."

Drug and alcohol rehab statistics show that the percentage of people who will relapse after rehab and even a period of some recovery ranges from 50% to 90%.

Most people do not manage to quit their addiction with their first attempt. They may try and fail a number of times before they manage to secure lasting sobriety.

For addicts that fall back into drug use, there is no guarantee that they will ever be able to stop again; their relapse may turn out to be a death sentence.

Over time, the life of the addict tends to deteriorate. This means that when people relapse, they may be going back to a life that is even worse than before.

Bob was a session musician for several independent label releases, and has spent most of his long career performing live in the Maryland and Washington, D.C. area with various bands, including FORCER, EVER RISE, PROJECT: EUPHORIA and, most recently, the RUSH tribute band SUN DOGS with KIX bassist Mark Schenker.

Marking its 40th anniversary this year, Metal Blade Records will make its debut release, "Metal Massacre Volume One", available for the first time since 1984 on limited-edition vinyl. Originally released on June 14, 1982, "Metal Massacre" showcased the best of Los Angeles's unsigned acts of the time such as METALLICA, RATT and MALICE, and has since become a cornerstone of Metal Blade Records, which was founded by Brian Slagel. This special release will be available worldwide on April 22.

The 40th-anniversary reissue track list includes all songs originally featured on the first and second pressing of the iconic compilation. This limited-edition Ruby Red vinyl variant will be available to 5,000 copies worldwide at Metal Blade Records, and 2,000 copies pressed on clear vinyl exclusively available at Metallica.com. The first 250 U.S. pre-orders at Metal Blade Records will receive an exclusive patch.

This special reissue marks the first of many Metal Blade Records activities happening across the world to celebrate the label's 40th year as a pioneer and champion of heavy music.

Multiple events throughout the U.S. are scheduled including the Metal Blade Records-sponsored tour featuring CANNIBAL CORPSE, WHITECHAPEL and REVOCATION. The tour is currently hitting all four corners of the U.S. through March 26. Regional events across the U.S. have begun, starting with Chicago's favorite metal kitchen Kuma's Corner celebrating the label all year long with a unique, hand-curated menu including the Slagel-style burger Hit The Lights Mac N Cheese, the Metal Massacre burger and the Eric Wagner / TROUBLE burger ($1 of every Metal Blade-related burger will be donated to the National Multiple Sclerosis societies of Illinois and Colorado).

The Metal Blade Museum will open its doors in Las Vegas later this year where fans can see memorabilia and artifacts dating back to the label's inception.

On June 10-11, Metal Blade Records will act as presenting sponsor at Decibel magazine's Metal & Beer Fest in Philadelphia, headlined by one of Metal Blade's most controversial acts, CANNIBAL CORPSE.

Until more events are announced, head to metalblade.com/40thanniversary and stream a special '80s-inspired playlist, personally selected by Slagel, featuring some of the era's hottest bands including ARMORED SAINT, D.R.I., FLOTSAM AND JETSAM and tons more. One-of-a-kind, exclusive designs helmed by the masterful and malevolent minds of metal's most sought-after artists will be available for a limited time — Ed Repka (MEGADETH, VENOM, NUCLEAR ASSAULT), Eliran Kantor (TESTAMENT, SOULFLY, SODOM), Travis Smith (OPETH, OVERKILL, SLAYER), Sam Didier (HAMMERFALL, AMON AMARTH).

At the brink of the '80s, Los Angeles was cementing itself as the rock 'n' roll nucleus of the United States. A longtime fan of the local rock scene, Slagel spent many nights inside L.A.'s locales seeking out the most authentic, heaviest, unique bands to hit the West Coast. Alongside friend John Kornarens, the two split the "Metal Massacre" project in half — Slagel responsible for artwork and mastering facilities, while Kornarens secured a studio to make the record. "We were using the Yellow Pages a lot, total amateurs navigating the record like a high school project," says Kornarens. And that compilation was the foundation of Slagel's Metal Blade Records, one of the premiere heavy metal record labels of all time.

The first pressing of "Metal Massacre" contained 10 tracks, with the closer "Hit The Lights" by METALLICA. This was the first song drummer Lars Ulrich and guitarist James Hetfield wrote together. "When I was putting together the compilation, he called me up," Slagel recalls of his conversation with a teenage Ulrich. "He was jamming with James and a couple other guys in their garage playing covers of DIAMOND HEAD and everything. Lars asked me, 'Hey, if I put together a band and give you an original song, will you put it on the record?' And I said, 'Sure, of course.' So that was basically the beginning of METALLICA."

"On the day of mastering, Brian and I had all of the songs ready except for Lars's new band called METALLICA," Kornarens explains. "The session was to start at 3 o'clock and we were standing on a Hollywood sidewalk waiting for Lars to show up with material from his new band, and moments later he finally arrived and pulled a cassette out of his back pocket."

Future installments of the "Metal Massacre" franchise would help boost SLAYER, OVERKILL, POSSESSED and countless other artists to legendary status. Metal Blade Records, home to current acts AMON AMARTH, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE, ALLEGAEON, CANNIBAL CORPSE and WHITECHAPEL, is still considered one of the most powerful forces of modern heavy metal.

"Metal Massacre Volume One" track listing 2022 reissue:

Side One:

01. STEELER - "Cold Day In Hell"

02. BITCH - "Live For The Whip"

03. MALICE - "Captive Of Light"

04. RATT - "Tell The World"

05. AVATAR - "Octave"

Side Two:

01. BLACK 'N BLUE - "Chains Around Heaven"

02. CIRITH UNGOL - "Death Of The Sun"

03. DEMON FLIGHT - "Dead Of The Night"

04. PANDEMONIUM - "Fighting Backwards"

05. MALICE - "Kick You Down"

06. METALLICA - "Hit The Lights"

SYSTEM OF A DOWN bassist Shavo Odadjian was asked in a new interview with KROQ's Kevan Kenney what, in his opinion, made his band so musically different from some of its peers. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "There was a lot of things. The music, first of all, we just kind of did our own thing. It wasn't that the other stuff wasn't good.

"We've been inspired by a lot," he continued. "We listen to a lot of music. Daron [Malakian, guitar] listens to a lot of music, [as do] Serj [Tankian, vocals] [and] John [Dolmayan, drums]. And I think it's the way it's also arranged. Daron has a really great ear and style and songwriting ability. So even if I brought riffs in, he just arranges 'em in a different way. And then Serj's vocals — those are not normal. And John's drumming, it is what it is. But, yeah, there's a difference, and we just kind of ran with it. And it's what we can do together. When we start playing, that's what we sound like together — those four guys."

SYSTEM OF A DOWN has toured intermittently since ending its hiatus in 2011, but has only managed to record two songs in the last 16 years, "Protect The Land" and "Genocidal Humanoidz". Released in November 2020, the tracks were motivated by the conflict between Artsakh and Azerbaijan, with all proceeds supporting humanitarian efforts in SYSTEM OF A DOWN's ancestral homeland of Armenia. Along with other donations from fans on their social pages, they have raised over $600,000.

In 2018, Malakian publicly accused Tankian of not wanting to record, with Tankian responding that creative and financial issues with Malakian led to the stalemate. In a message on Facebook, Tankian wrote that Malakian wanted to control SYSTEM's creative process, take more of the publishing money and be the only bandmember to speak to the press.

In an interview with Guitar World magazine, Malakian was asked about the chances of more new music from SYSTEM OF A DOWN in the near future. He responded: "I never say never, but at the same time, I'm not expecting to do any more with SYSTEM OF A DOWN right away or immediately after [these two songs]. It really does seem like our fans like these new songs. That's important to me."

He continued: "We've added two new songs to the SYSTEM catalog that are on the level with everything else that we've put out and our fans have accepted it that way, which means a lot to me. That's kinda where we're gonna leave it for now. If more happens later on, then we'll talk about that, but for now I will continue doing what I'm doing and everyone else will just continue what they're doing. It's all cool though, I'm really pleased with the response we got."

In a new interview with The San Diego Union-Tribune, Sammy Hagar, who recently kicked off his second residency at The Strat Hotel, Casino & SkyPod in Las Vegas, spoke about what it has been like for him to play shows during the pandemic. He said: "I've been very lucky. Nobody in my band has had COVID. I'm not a germaphobe, but I always wash my hands and I am really careful. I'm a big hugger and, nowadays, I hug with a mask [on]. It's horrible, if you want my opinion. It [expletive] stinks, and I hate to [tell] my fans, 'Make sure you're vaxxed and wear a mask,' but there is no choice. Either I say, 'Okay, I won't play (concerts) until this pandemic has gone away'; or: 'If we're going to do it, we have to do what we have to do to be safe.'

"I'm the most positive guy in the world, and this [pandemic] is so disheartening," he continued.

"Everyone tells me I should do a public service message [promoting COVID safety measures]. And I say, 'I don't want to be school teacher or principal. You tell them.' I'd rather just say, 'I'm playing a show, and here are the rules.'

"I know that all the [safety measures] are starting to wear thin, but it's even worse when you get sick," Sammy added.

A little over a year ago, Hagar told Radio.com that he was reluctant to play socially distant concerts, citing the example of a 10,000-capacity venue with 5,000 fans in the room.

"I just know that those 5,000 people are not going to stay in their seats and socially distance," he said. "The second we start getting it on and I start saying, 'Are we having any fun yet?' and holding the mic up in the air and [singing] 'Right Now', they're going to be at the front of the stage, all unsocially distanced. … It's going get criticized, or I'm going get sued or fined or something."

In June 2020, Hagar made headlines for an interview in which he said that he was willing to sacrifice himself to COVID-19 if it means saving the economy. At the time, Hagar was one of several musicians interviewed by Rolling Stone about staying at home instead of touring while coping with the uncertainties of the pandemic.

"I'm going to make a radical statement here. This is hard to say without stirring somebody up, but truthfully, I'd rather personally get sick and even die, if that's what it takes," Hagar began.

"We have to save the world and this country from this economic thing that's going to kill more people in the long run. I would rather see everyone go back to work. If some of us have to sacrifice on that, okay."

Hagar suggested that if the cost of human lives is necessary for the economy to fully recover, he was willing to die from the coronavirus. "I will die for my children and my grandchildren to have a life anywhere close to the life that I had in this wonderful country. That's just the way that I feel about it," he continued. "I'm not going to go around spreading the disease. But there may be a time where we have to sacrifice. I mean, how many people die on the Earth every day? I have no idea. I'm sorry to say it, but we all gotta die, man."

After the Rolling Stone article was published, Hagar released a statement in which he revealed that the interview was done a month and a half earlier and insisted that he would do his part in "getting back to work in a safe and responsible way and getting this economy rolling again."

Hagar kicked off his 2022 "Sammy Hagar & Friends" Las Vegas residency on February 9, entertaining fans with a high-energy performance of some of his greatest hits, including "There's Only One Way To Rock", "Right Now" and "Finish What Ya Started", and gave fans a preview of a handful of songs that will be on his upcoming album. His Las Vegas Strip residency continued on February 11 and February 12, with subsequent shows on Wednesday, March 23, Friday, March 25 and Saturday, March 26. Fans can expect to hear songs from his MONTROSE, VAN HALEN and CHICKENFOOT days. Every night delivers a different show and in the first six shows, alone, the "Sammy Hagar & Friends" residency performed more than 100 different songs.

Sammy is joined at the shows by his supergroup THE CIRCLE, featuring Hagar's fellow Rock And Roll Hall Of Famer and former VAN HALEN bandmate Michael Anthony, drummer Jason Bonham and guitarist Vic Johnson

Mike Stone says that his latest stint as QUEENSRŸCHE's guitar player has "been going great."

Since last May, Stone has been handling second-guitar duties in QUEENSRŸCHE, which announced in July that longtime guitarist Parker Lundgren was exiting the group to focus on "other business ventures."

Stone originally joined QUEENSRŸCHE for the 2003 album "Tribe" and stayed with the band for six years before leaving the group.

In a new interview with "Rockin' Metal Revival", Stone stated about how his return to QUEENSRŸCHE came about: "Life throws things at you sometimes. And it was one of those things. I had just moved across the country — my wife and I — and I had been doing a jazz gig for the last — man — eight to 10 years; that was the main thing I was doing, which I really enjoy. We decided to move to the Southwest, and we did, and we were here for about a month. We did a bunch of stuff around the new place and getting settled. And I said to Laura, 'Man, I should probably get on it and start looking for some jazz gigs.' She's also a bass player in a jazz band. We were here for about a month and literally the next morning I got a call from Eddie Jackson [QUEENSRŸCHE bassist] seeing if I was available to do some shows. And I said, 'Wow! That sounds like a lot of fun.' [Laughs] And so I went and did a few shows. And I've been doing it now since May, I believe it was. And it's been going great."

Asked if it was a hard decision to come back to QUEENSRŸCHE this time around, he said: "It wasn't hard in the sense that… A lot of people, I don't know if they even realize, but a couple of years ago I filled in on an entire SCORPIONS tour; we did, like, three weeks with the SCORPIONS, and I filled in at the last minute. And it was a lot of fun. And that was my first time out with the lineup as it is now, and, wow, what a great time. And I said to Eddie and Michael [Wilton, guitar] at the time, 'If you ever need anybody, just call me.' So I'm glad they did. And like I said, I was happy to do it."

According to Stone, he has always kept up with QUEENSRŸCHE's music, even during the years when he was out of the band. "I listened to a few things," he said. "Every time they had a new release, I'd check out a few tunes to see where they were at. I always had a good relationship with the guys, so it's always nice to see what you friends are doing. Obviously, when I got the call to come back to the band and play, I dug in deeper. And I think their new records are great. [Laughs]"

Stone also confirmed that he will play on QUEENSRŸCHE's upcoming studio album which is currently being recorded with producer Chris "Zeuss" Harris. "It's deep in production right now as we speak," he said. "The guys started the first week of January and [are] making a lot of progress. I have a number of things to play on the record, which I've been back at my place and I have tracks that I'm gonna be playing on. And I've been working up things for that. And I'm gonna be flying down to the studio this coming Monday to go record my parts, which I'm very excited about."

Lundgren, a former member of original QUEENSRŸCHE singer Geoff Tate's solo group who was also briefly married to Geoff's stepdaughter Miranda, announced his departure from QUEENSRŸCHE in a social media post on July 2, 2021.

The now-35-year-old musician wrote: "For several years, I have been deeply immersed in collecting and selling guitars, as well as rare and fascinating musical instruments. This passion led to the opening of my guitar store Diablo Guitars in 2019. Since then, my business has grown and I recently acquired a storefront with a full-service repair shop. In 2020, my wife and I opened Lucky Devil Latte, which has quickly expanded to multiple locations. With these new endeavors and ensuing responsibilities, my time to devote to QUEENSRŸCHE has become increasingly strained, and I no longer am able to commit the time and focus it deserves. For these reasons, I have made the difficult decision to step down from my role as guitarist in QUEENSRŸCHE.

"I want to thank my friends, family, and fans for making the past 13 years an amazing journey. I wish nothing but the best for my fellow band members, crew and everyone who has supported us.

"I hope to have your continued support as I pursue new ventures."

The remaining members of QUEENSRŸCHE added in a separate statement: "For over a decade, it has been a great pleasure watching [Parker] evolve and flourish as a guitarist, songwriter, and most importantly, a wonderful human being. Parker will always be family to us and we wish him all the success in the world with his new endeavors. Take hold, brother!"

Lundgren, who joined QUEENSRŸCHE in 2009, previously sat out some of QUEENSRŸCHE's U.S. shows in September 2018 when the band was on tour as the support act for SCORPIONS.

Wilton and Jackson are the sole remaining original members of QUEENSRŸCHE, which split with Tate in 2012 and replaced him with ex-CRIMSON GLORY frontman Todd La Torre.

QUEENSRŸCHE has released three albums thus far with La Torre — 2013's "Queensrÿche", 2015's "Condition Hüman" and 2019's "The Verdict".

Last October, original QUEENSRŸCHE drummer Scott Rockenfield filed a lawsuit against Wilton and Jackson, alleging, among other things, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty and wrongful discharge.

Rockenfield hasn't performed with QUEENSRŸCHE in five years. The band has used former KAMELOT drummer Casey Grillo for touring purposes since April 2017.

The drum tracks on "The Verdict" were laid down by La Torre.

PEARL JAM frontman Eddie Vedder paid tribute to Mark Lanegan during his concert in Seattle last night (Tuesday, February 22).

Lanegan, the lead singer of the SCREAMING TREES and fellow icon of the 1990s Seattle music scene, died on Tuesday in Killarney, Ireland, at 57. No cause of death was specified in the statement posted to Lanegan's official Twitter account.

Taking the stage at Benaroya Hall, Vedder addressed Lanegan's passing, telling the audience: "I got here about four o'clock and all of a sudden my body started shaking a little bit, and I started to feel really terrible. And I think it was because I was having an allergic reaction to sadness. Because we lost… there's a guy called Mark Lanegan.

"There are a lot of really great musicians — some people know Seattle because of the musicians that have come out of the great Northwest. Some of those guys were one-of-a-kind singers, and Mark was certainly that, and with such a strong voice.

"It's hard to come to terms, at least at this point," he added. "But he's gonna be deeply missed, and at least we will always have his voice to listen to and his words and his books to read; he wrote two incredible books in the last few years.

"I just wanted to process it and put it out there and let his wife and loved ones know that people in his old stomping grounds have been thinking about him. And we love him."

Born November 25, 1964 in Ellensburg, Washington, Lanegan began his music career in the 1980s. In 1985, he became the vocalist for grunge group SCREAMING TREES; the group broke up in 2000. Lanegan would start a low-key solo career, but in 2004 Lanegan released his big breakthrough album "Bubblegum". In addition to leading the THE GUTTER TWINS, Lanegan was also involved in other musical projects, including hard rock band QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE, long-term collaborations with Isobel Campbell; and undertaken some surprisingly eclectic collaborations, such as co-writing and providing vocals for "Black River" by the electronic outfit BOMB THE BASS. He also lent his vocal talent to the highly regarded album "Above" by supergroup MAD SEASON and penned the theme song for Anthony Bourdain's award-winning TV show "Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown" with QOTSA frontman Josh Homme.

Lanegan is featured on five of QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE's last six albums — 2000's "Rated R", 2002's "Songs For The Deaf", 2005's "Lullabies To Paralyze", 2007's "Era Vulgaris" and 2013's "...Like Clockwork".

Last December, Lanegan released a memoir titled "Devil In A Coma" via U.K. publisher White Rabbit. The book detailed a "terrifying account" of his battle with COVID-19 which left him "slipping in and out of a coma."

Lanegan's previous memoir, "Sing Backwards And Weep", was published in 2020 by White Rabbit.

SYMPHONY X guitarist Michael Romeo spoke to Heavy Debriefings about the band's plans to work on the material for the follow-up to 2015's "Underworld" album. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I've got stuff and I've been working every day trying to come up with things. It's just slower — it's just kind of slower than normal, and I think it's just because of all the shit going on. It's hard to focus. It'll be fine, though. There'll be that day I come down here [to my home studio] and all of sudden, it's, like, 'Oh, shit. This is it. Here's the riff. Here's the whole idea.' Then I can't stop. Then it's just, like, 'Phewww…' The train's going. But it's taking me a little longer to get there than normal. 'Cause usually we'll talk about a record, I'll have some ideas and we'll start bouncing ideas around. And now it's just, like, a lot of, 'Oh, I'm not really sure. I've got this thing. I don't totally love it. It's good. Let me try something else tomorrow.' There'll be that one day when everything just clicks and it's, like, 'Ah, shit. Here we go. We're good.'"

SYMPHONY X will kick off its "25th Anniversary North American tour 2022" on May 10 at Irving Plaza in New York City. The 27-date trek will make stops in Montreal, Chicago, and Portland before concluding on June 12 in Montclair, New Jersey. Support on the tour will come from HAKEN and TROPE.

SYMPHONY X completed an extensive tour behind "Underworld" in 2016, including a U.S. run of shows with OVERKILL and a pair of headlining performances in Australia.

In July 2017, SYMPHONY X vocalist Russell Allen and his ADRENALINE MOB bandmates were involved in a crash that killed the group's bassist, David Zablidowsky.

In 2019, Allen — who has toured with TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA since 2013 — was injured during the rehearsals for TSO's annual winter trek and was unable to make the tour.

Romeo will release his new solo album, "War Of The Worlds Pt. 2", on March 25 via InsideOut Music. The record features guest vocals by Dino Jelusick (WHITESNAKE, TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA).

A group of CANNIBAL CORPSE fans at the band's concert in Pennsylvania shouted an insulting epithet for the band's former frontman Chris Barnes, apparently inspired by his recent comment that he "despises" what the death metal genre has become.

Last month, Barnes — who exited CANNIBAL CORPSE in 1995, one year after the release of the band's "The Bleeding" album — took to his Twitter to say that he saw a January 19 Knotfest "A Death Metal Round Table" hosted by Staypuft Mallow and featuring appearances by current CANNIBAL CORPSE singer George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher, Trevor Strnad from THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, Chase Mason from GATECREEPER and Alex Jones from UNDEATH. "I just watched a 'death metal' podcast on YouTube that was done about a week ago with the 'top' death metal vocalists," he wrote. "It made me physically ill. I despise what this genre has become."

At the Reading CANNIBAL CORPSE show on Monday (February 21), some members of the crowd chanted "Fuck Chris Barnes" for nearly 20 seconds in between songs, after which Fisher responded, "You said it, not me." Fan-filmed video of the exchange can be seen below.

After Barnes left CANNIBAL CORPSE to form SIX FEET UNDER, he was replaced in the former band by Fisher.

Five years ago, Barnes spoke about the possibility of SIX FEET UNDER and CANNIBAL CORPSE one day touring together, telling "The Chainsaw Symphony" radio program: "That would be a tough one to put together, my friend. [Laughs] You wouldn't have any problems from my side of things, but I don't think other people would be agreeable to that."

He continued: "I don't think there's animosity [between us]. I think there's just protecting other people's feelings. I think that everyone knows certain things about everything and they'd like to see things a certain way, and that wouldn't portray things a certain way that they would wanna portray them. So… I'm being very general and trying to be diplomatic about it."

Barnes also talked about the circumstances behind his departure from CANNIBAL CORPSE. He said: "I just didn't like being around them, because I was being ridiculed, and I just didn't feel comfortable being in the same room with people that weren't very nice to me personally. And I was part of that too, so we had all of our own type of differences, personally, and I don't think it was gonna be able to be worked out. You know, mutual respect goes a far way when it comes to being in close quarters with people."

He continued: "I'm sure we'd do things differently [today] — I mean, I know we would. It's just the way things worked out. And I don't have any animosity towards those guys at all, and I don't think they do towards me. It's just that… It would be too confusing for things [if we were to tour together], I think, from their perspective."

Barnes added: "I'd do anything. I just like to see a lot of people out there with smiles on their faces; that's the only thing that's important to me, man. Like, seriously, if I see a big crowd of people that everyone's smiling, like, 'Oh, yeah! This is what we've been waiting for,' I'm ready then, man. If I see a small room of people that are just fired up to go, man, it just gets me going on stage, you know. And that's all I'm there for — that feeling, that sharing of energy, man. And I'll go for it any which way to get that any way I can with any person I can get it with. And if it gets to that means to an end, that's all that's important, man — that transference. And some people just don't see it that way, man, and it's cool.

"I'm not gonna be mean to anybody, and I never wanted to be. I'm my own person, and sometimes I'm put at fault for that, and I think we all are in our own way. And that's just life; those are the things we deal with as people."

SIX FEET UNDER's current lineup also includes another former CANNIBAL CORPSE member, guitarist Jack Owen.

SIX FEET UNDER's latest album, "Nightmares Of The Decomposed", was released in October 2020 via Metal Blade Records.

Fisher's solo album, titled "Corpsegrinder", will be released on February 25. The 10-song effort was co-produced by Nick Bellmore (DEE SNIDER, KINGDOM OF SORROW) and Jamey Jasta (HATEBREED) and will be made available through Jamey's new label, Perseverance Music Group.




during Cannibal Corpse’s set last night the whole crowd started chanting “fuck chris barnes” and this was corpsegrinders reaction. i absolutely love this so, enjoy.

Posted by Austin Long Sr. on Tuesday, February 22, 2022

Swedish heavy metal band LION'S SHARE has made a new song, "City Of The Night", available on streaming services and digital service providers.

LION'S SHARE guitarist Lars Chriss commented: "We wanted to kick off the new year with a 'full-on heavy metal riff mania.' We have already started recording the follow-up single, which will be in the same up-tempo heavy metal style. We hope to have that one out in April."

In late 2018, LION'S SHARE released a new five-track EP, plus its complete catalog — remastered with new artwork — on streaming services and digital service providers for the first time. The band have since released a few more digital singles, some of which will and some of which won't end up on the forthcoming full-length album.

Both Johansson and Chriss remark that they have always worked very well together, and at this point it feels the most natural to keep LION'S SHARE as a duo, with friends helping out wherever needed.

"We are aware our fans want a new album and the plan was to release one in 2020, but we all know what happened then," they said. "We had just started playing live again with a couple of headline shows in Germany in March and were gearing up towards a new album and tour. Since we think it's very important to tour behind a new album, we just have to wait until things go back to 'normal' again. Until then, we plan to release a new single every 2-3 months and keep building our fan base."

The LION'S SHARE catalog features appearances by members and ex-members of KISS, MEGADETH, KING DIAMOND, HAMMERFALL, SYMPHONY X, CHIMAIRA, THERION, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, CANDLEMASS, etc. Mixers include top engineers such as Jens Bogren (ARCH ENEMY, OPETH, SYMPHONY X, AMON AMARTH), Niklas Flyckt (one-time Grammy Award winner and four-time nominee) and Ronny Lahti (ROXETTE, EUROPE, Glenn Hughes).

LION'S SHARE has toured with bands like MOTÖRHEAD, MANOWAR, DIO, SAXON, ICED EARTH, NEVERMORE, U.D.O. (ex-ACCEPT), Dee Snider (TWISTED SISTER) and has played many of the major rock and metal festivals.