ONCE BITTEN, the new band featuring past members of GREAT WHITE — Tony Montana from the multi-platinum era and co-writer of some of their biggest hits, and powerhouse vocalist and former member of GREAT WHITE, Andrew Freeman — along with longtime members of JACK RUSSELL'S GREAT WHITE, Robby Lochner, Dan McNay and Ken Mary, has released an official animated music video for its debut single, "Rockin' Like The 80's".

Staying true to the legendary GREAT WHITE sound, the band moves forward following the passing of iconic GREAT WHITE frontman Jack Russell, building on the legacy and opening a new chapter. With Freeman front and center, ONCE BITTEN delivers a no-holds-barred anthem that channels pure 1980s swagger, nostalgia, and unapologetic rock 'n' roll energy.

"This track is a full-on celebration of the '80s vibe we all lived for," says Montana. "It hits hard in the live set alongside the old hits. When you play it, you feel that young-band spark again — reckless, raw, and alive."

"Jack left a massive legacy," adds Freeman. "We're not here to replace it, we're here to honor it. 'Rockin' Like The 80s' is about carrying that spirit forward, giving fans a modern twist on the radio hits of that era."

The new single slides seamlessly alongside classic GREAT WHITE staples like "Rock Me", "House Of Broken Love", "Face The Day", "Can't Shake It", "Call It Rock N' Roll", "Mista Bone" and the timeless "Once Bitten, Twice Shy".

When "Rockin' Like The 80's" was first released last October, ONCE BITTEN said in a statement: "'Rockin' Like the 80's' is our tribute to the era we grew up in — the time when GREAT WHITE was at its peak. It's packed with the sounds, the energy and the vibe of that decade… but most importantly, it's dedicated to YOU — our friends and family who've stood by us through JACK RUSSELL'S GREAT WHITE and now with ONCE BITTEN. From running band pages, to spreading the word, to showing up at shows — you've been part of the journey, and we are grateful and feel blessed for the friendships we've made along the way. This song is our open letter of thanks."

In a video update, Freeman said about "Rockin' Like The 80's": "Tony Montana wrote this awesome song. I tracked the vocals for it. It's a fun song, and it's trying to bridge the gap between the '80s generation and today. And it's brilliant. Tony wrote the whole thing, and it's brilliant. Tony and Robby Lochner, I think, gets an honorable mention. I know he did something on it as far as writing is concerned."

Regarding ONCE BITTEN's future plans, Andrew said: "Basically, ONCE BITTEN is JACK RUSSELL'S GREAT WHITE with me singing. So the guys that played with Jack all those years are in the band, and we were doing some shows and we're doing songs, we're writing songs. Because why not? Because they don't wanna stop playing, and I don't blame 'em. So we're making music, 'cause that's what we do. And we weren't blessed with a brand name where we could just go out and do whatever we want. But we can do whatever we want, and we are."

ONCE BITTEN performs GREAT WHITE classics and new hits.

Tony first came on the scene as the bassist for GREAT WHITE on the tour for "Once Bitten…" and was part of the band through its most successful period. After spending time away, he reunited with original GREAT WHITE singer Jack Russell, first playing bass and then guitar in JACK RUSSELL'S GREAT WHITE.

Russell's death was announced by his family in a social media statement on August 15, 2024.

The news of Jack's passing came less than a month after he announced that he was retiring from touring following a diagnosis of Lewy body dementia.

Russell was performing with his version of GREAT WHITE when a pyrotechnics display sparked a nightclub fire that killed 100 people at a 2003 concert in Rhode Island. At the time of the fire, the group that was on the road was called JACK RUSSELL'S GREAT WHITE. Guitarist Mark Kendall, who founded GREAT WHITE with Russell in 1982, later said he was asked to join Russell and his solo band on the tour to help boost attendance. Guitarist Ty Longley died in the blaze.

Russell exited GREAT WHITE in December 2011 after he was unable to tour with the group due a series of injuries, including a perforated bowel and a shattered pelvis. Jack largely blamed these injuries on his alcohol and painkiller addictions as well as the prednisone drug he was prescribed.

Russell sued his onetime bandmates in 2012 over their continued use of the GREAT WHITE name after Jack had taken a leave of absence from the band for medical reasons. A short time later, Russell was countersued by Kendall, rhythm guitarist/keyboardist Michael Lardie and drummer Audie Desbrow, claiming the vocalist's self-destructive behavior was damaging the GREAT WHITE name (they also alleged he was charging promoters less for his own touring version of GREAT WHITE). The parties settled in July 2013 without going to trial, with Russell performing as JACK RUSSELL'S GREAT WHITE up until his death while the others are continuing as GREAT WHITE.

"The Ballad Of Judas Priest", a new documentary about legendary Grammy-winning English heavy metal band JUDAS PRIEST and their epic journey to the top of rock and roll, will receive its world premiere at the 76th Berlinale - Berlin International Film Festival, set to take place February 12-22.

The Berlinale is a unique place of artistic exploration and entertainment. It is one of the largest public film festivals in the world, attracting tens of thousands of visitors from around the globe each year. For the film industry and the media, the eleven days in February are also one of the most important events in the annual calendar and an indispensable trading forum.

The Berlin International Film Festival enjoys an eventful history. The festival was created for the Berlin public in 1951, at the beginning of the Cold War, as a "showcase of the free world". Shaped by the turbulent post-war period and the unique situation of a divided city, the Berlinale has developed into a place of intercultural exchange and a platform for the critical cinematic exploration of social issues. To this day it is considered the most political of all the major film festivals.

Co-directed by documentary filmmaker Sam Dunn and RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE's Tom Morello in his directorial debut, the documentary will celebrate the legendary band's lasting impact on music and culture with their influence reaching far beyond metal. Featuring unforgettable anthems and pop culture staples like "Breaking The Law" and "You've Got Another Thing Comin'", "The Ballad Of Judas Priest" will capture the passion, resilience and enduring legacy of a band whose music and story continue to inspire generations.

Dunn commented: "Super proud to announce that our JUDAS PRIEST doc 'The Ballad Of Judas Priest' will premiere at Berlinale - Berlin International Film Festival this February. Beyond excited for all our German metalheads to get the first look."

Rising from humble, working-class roots in Birmingham, U.K., to become global rock legends, JUDAS PRIEST didn't just help shape heavy metal culture — they forged it. Widely credited as being one of the pioneers of the heavy metal genre in the 1970s, JUDAS PRIEST has sold more than 50 million records and released 19 studio albums for their legion of dedicated fans around the world. In 2022, they were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. With their 2024 album "Invincible Shield", the band became the first heavy metal act to release studio albums 50 years apart. The album drew widespread acclaim, receiving a Grammy nomination for "Best Metal Performance". This fall, they will be joined by Alice Cooper for a co-headlining tour across 22 North American cities.

JUDAS PRIEST said: "We have lived and breathed metal for over five decades, and finally in this documentary we are summoning our congregation to officially witness our lives uncensored, in a never-before-seen way…the cassock comes off, revealing PRIEST in all its metal glory!"

Co-directors Morello and Dunn said: "While some may know JUDAS PRIEST for their huge hits that have shaped the heavy metal genre, there is so much more to their story. Tracing their incredible 50-year journey, this film will capture how JUDAS PRIEST both defined the sound and look of metal, but also made it a more inclusive place along the way. We are grateful to the band for allowing us such intimate, unfiltered access to their lives and look forward to bringing this film to the metal masses around the world."

The documentary is a production of Banger Films and directed by Sam Dunn and Tom Morello. Producers include Scot McFadyen and Sam Dunn. It is executive produced by Tom Morello, Rick Krim, Sheila Stepanek and Jayne Andrews. Tom Mackay, Krista Wegener and Abby Davis serve as executive producers for Sony Music Vision. Sylvia Rhone is executive producer for Epic Records. The film is presented and distributed by Sony Music Vision.

JUDAS PRIEST's current touring lineup consists of singer Rob Halford, bassist Ian Hill, guitarists Richie Faulkner and Andy Sneap and drummer Scott Travis.

PRIEST guitarist Glenn Tipton was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease more than 15 years ago but announced in early 2018 he was going to sit out touring activities in support of PRIEST's "Firepower" album. He was replaced by "Firepower" and "Invincible Shield" producer Sneap, who is also known for his work in NWOBHM revivalists HELL and cult thrash outfit SABBAT.

Released in March 2024, PRIEST's latest album, "Invincible Shield", entered the U.K. chart at No. 2, just behind Ariana Grande's "Eternal Sunshine".

Prior to "Invincible Shield"'s arrival, PRIEST's highest U.K. chart achievement was with 1980's "British Steel", which reached No. 4.

PRIEST's 2018 album "Firepower" entered the chart at No. 5.

"Invincible Shield" was JUDAS PRIEST's fifth Top 10 album, after the aforementioned "British Steel" and "Firepower", as well as 2014's "Redeemer Of Souls" (No. 6) and the 1979 live album "Unleashed In The East" (No. 10).

"Invincible Shield" landed at No. 1 in Germany, Finland, Sweden and Switzerland, as well as No. 5 in France, No. 8 in Italy and No. 16 in Australia.

Photo credit: Andy "Elvis" McGovern

During a January 13 appearance on SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", CHEAP TRICK bassist Tom Petersson spoke about the open-heart surgery he underwent nearly five years ago. Asked if he is "doing all right" now, the 75-year-old musician said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Yeah. It was really a thing that there were no symptoms. It was a birth defect that they had to kind of take care of, and it just kind of found it by accident. So since there were no symptoms… The heart operations are all different for different reasons, but everybody says, 'Well, you're gonna feel so much better.' But no, I didn't. I felt fine [before the surgery]. So, no, I didn't feel any better [after the operation]. But I think I would've probably died if I hadn't done that, but there you go. So I feel better about that."

He added: "I'm on the fence, really, honestly — whether it was better or not. Maybe it was better just not to know. [It's not something I wanna] have to go through again. That doesn't sound like fun, and it isn't, honestly. It's not fun… It takes a lot out of you. It's scary."

As a result of his surgery, Petersson was forced to sit down during CHEAP TRICK's April 2021 appearance on "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert".

Back in May 2021, Petersson told Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station that he felt "all these different things" after going under the knife. "It's a lot of psychological stuff that you don't hear about or think about — post-traumatic stress," he said. "And it's scary. It's kind of like being in an auto accident — you're not thinking of it that much at the time, and later you look back on it and you think, 'Holy shit. That was close.'"

According to Petersson, he "didn't have any problems in addition to" his heart issue, which was good. I was in good shape, and it was something they discovered unexpectedly," he said. "I didn't have any symptoms. But it was the kind of thing where without knowing about it, you would just all a sudden suddenly drop dead. I was, like, 'Okay. I'm in. Open-heart surgery? Sounds good to me.'"

Petersson is one of the three founding members of CHEAP TRICK — alongside singer Robin Zander and guitarist Rick Nielsen — who are still in the band. Drummer Bun E. Carlos stopped touring with the band in 2010 and was replaced by Nielsen's son Daxx.

CHEAP TRICK's 21st studio album, "All Washed Up", was released last November.

Produced by CHEAP TRICK with longtime associate Julian Raymond and mixed by five-time Grammy Award winner Chris Lord-Alge (GREEN DAY, DAVE MATTHEWS BAND),"All Washed Up" was recorded at various studios in Nashville and Los Angeles through 2024.

CHEAP TRICK, the iconic rock band hailing from Illinois, has been rocking stages and winning over fans with their timeless sound for over five decades. Known for their electrifying live performances, catchy melodies, and innovative songwriting, CHEAP TRICK has become a staple in rock music history. With hits like "I Want You to Want Me", "Dream Police", "The Flame" and "Surrender", this legendary band continues to inspire and entertain audiences with their signature blend of hard rock and power-pop sensibilities.

CHEAP TRICK is part of the very fiber of American music, inspiring and delighting generations with their unique union of massive melodies and razorblade riffs, their own special brand of mischievous wit and maximum rock 'n' roll. They achieved mainstream popularity in the U.S. in 1979 with the triple-platinum live album "At Budokan" and a Top 10 single, a live recording of "I Want You to Want Me". More success followed with the album "Dream Police" in 1979, which reached No. 6 on the Billboard 200.The band experienced another resurgence in the late 1980s when they topped U.S. charts with the power ballad "The Flame".

Inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2016, CHEAP TRICK maintain an almost constant touring schedule, having performed live more than 6,000 times since their formation, selling more than 20 million albums and building a dedicated cult following.

In a new interview with Don De Leaumont of the Talking The Talk With Don podcast, TWISTED SISTER's founding guitarist Jay Jay French spoke about the group's announcement that he and his longtime bandmates are reuniting for a 50th-anniversary world tour in 2026. The reunion will feature TWISTED SISTER's three core members: French, frontman Dee Snider and longtime lead guitarist Eddie Ojeda. Bassist Mark "The Animal" Mendoza won't be joining the celebration. Russell Pzütto, who has toured with Snider's solo projects, will replace Mendoza on bass. Joe Franco, who briefly played with the group in the mid-1980s, will sit behind the drum kit, stepping in for A.J. Pero, who passed away in 2015 at the age of 55.

Asked if 2026 will see TWISTED SISTER embark on an "extensive" tour or if fans should expect "something that's a little more controlled, like maybe the 14- or 15-show run" that Jay Jay and his bandmates "would usually do", the guitarist responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Probably very controlled, because it was never an intention to do it again. Never. I had to be talked into it. And do you really wanna do it? And in a way it's a victory lap tour. It's called 'Twisted Forever, Forever Twisted'. It's 50 years of me and Eddie and Dee, who we've been shoulder to shoulder since February of '76.

"Most people who have no idea of the history of the band don't realize it — we've played with 10 different bass players and drummers," Jay Jay explained. "They don't even understand that. They don't get it. We know it…

"So, it's called 'Twisted Forever, Forever Twisted', or I call it 'Sex, Prescription Drugs And Rock And Roll'," the guitarist quipped. "That's my secondary tour name."

Asked if there are some TWISTED SISTER songs that have yet to be played or that haven't been played enough that he would love to bring out on the 2026 run, Jay Jay said: "There probably are some, but the problem is when you're doing 60 minutes or 75 minutes, 'cause that's what you're contracted for, you're in the same dilemma that any other band is that's been together 50 years with a million albums. And that dilemma is this. Do you play the 17 songs everybody wants to hear, or do you replace a couple of them with other more obscure stuff? That's always the big question. And my answer to that question is, if you're playing for the fans, you give them exactly what they want. That's my theory. If you're playing for yourself, it's different. But if you're really playing for the fans and you understand most of them wanna hear these 17 [songs]… I guarantee you, if we laid out, 'These are the songs we're gonna do. But we're gonna remove two of them to put two things in. Which one should we remove?' Nobody's gonna want a single song removed. That's the problem. That's the problem. 'Let's take out 'Destroyer'.' 'Let's take out 'You Can't Stop Up Rock 'N' Roll'.' 'Let's take out 'Tear It Loose'.' 'Let's take out 'The Kids Are Back'.' No. That's the problem. So the problem is we're gonna get together, we're gonna rehearse and we're gonna play a bunch of songs. And we have in our mind a couple songs we haven't played much, and we're gonna give it a shot, see how it sounds. We're gonna see how it sounds."

Last November, Dee spoke to "Steve And Rik's POTcast", the podcast hosted by Steve Whiteman of KIX and his friend Rik Parks, about why he changed his mind about returning to the road, nine years after the completion of TWISTED SISTER's "40 And Fuck It!" farewell tour, and after he repeatedly slammed KISS and MÖTLEY CRÜE farewell tours and subsequent reunions as mere cash grabs. Dee said: "Why am I doing a reunion with TWISTED SISTER? [Sighs] I'll say that it was my idea. The [other] guys [in the band] couldn't even believe I was making the call. And it had to do with — I said this publicly already — I had a little bit of a health scare. It was okay, and it was okay, but it was enough to make me say, 'Wow, that was weird.' I never had to think about those things before. And I'm 70 years old, and I'm, like, 'Do I wanna go out like that, go silently, or do I wanna go kicking and screaming?' And I picked up the phone and I called up John [Jay Jay] and Eddie, Jay Jay and Eddie, and said, 'What do you think about getting together?' And they couldn't believe I was suggesting it, 'cause I told 'em,'[It's] not happening. [It will] never happen.' But circumstances, particularly [since] this was emotional circumstances, made me change my mind. Am I regretting it? A little bit right now, sorry to say. [Laughs]"

Regarding how his voice is right now and whether he is capable of getting through a 90-minute or two-hour set with TWISTED SISTER, Snider said: "I know that I've lost a note. My voice is powerful as fuck. But I'm missing my top notes, and I hate that. I hate that because I know where they were… So I don't like that fact that I've lost a note or two on the top. And damn if I'm not aching. I was always aching back in the day, but it's a different kind of aching. And I don't like that either."

He added: "People go, 'Damn, dude.' I go out there [and make guest appearances] with [POISON frontman] Bret Michaels or Lita Ford or whoever, and people go, 'Holy crap, man. Your voice sounds as strong as ever. And you haven't missed a step.' I go, 'For four songs. Yeah, I'm great for four songs. But 90 minutes, 75 minutes, 60 minutes. That's a lot.' But, yeah, it's a lot to carry. So, I'm gonna start. I've got like a local band. I moved to North Carolina now. I built a family compound. So I've got everybody here. But I'm gonna start weekly rehearsing the set with a local band, just to get going."

When Whiteman noted that Snider is "brave" to stage a TWISTED SISTER reunion after not performing a full set with the band in nearly a decade, Dee said: "I'm [either] brave or stupid. Up till TWISTED's retirement, and we did that in 2016 — I mean, first of all, I was 175 pounds, and I was shredded. I had a 29-inch waist. I was 62 years old, and people were going, 'What the actual fuck is going on there?' And I'd take my shirt off at every show and people would go, 'Damn, look at that guy.' I saw wives hitting their husbands, going, 'Why don't you look like that?' But what I really loved is the smiles, man. When you hit start singing and you are on and you're still delivering, the audience would just light up. And I'd see fathers doing like this to their sons, going, 'That's Dee fucking Snider.' They were being transported back to their youth through the performance. And it was the way they remembered it and I looked the way they remembered. And I loved that. And I walked away and said, 'Okay, I don't wanna ever see a look of dissatisfaction.'"

He continued: "Somebody was reviewing our show and said, 'When a reunion is good, it makes you feel young again. When it's bad, it makes you realize how old you've gotten.' And I wanna be the first part. And the review was, like, 'TWISTED SISTER made me feel I was 19.' But I never wanna be that guy where people go, 'Yeah, time's passed,' and make people feel old, just looking at me on stage."

Snider added: "But, yeah, I feel a great weight to make sure I'm in shape, to make sure my voice in shape and start rehearsing those three, four, five, 10 songs, to get there and not let people down. I don't wanna do it."

TWISTED SISTER recently announced its first reunion concerts as part of the band's 50th-anniversary tour. The Snider-fronted act will perform at a number of European festivals next spring and summer, including at Sweden Rock, Copenhell and Graspop Metal Meeting.

Snider previously talked about why he changed his mind about returning to the road in a recent interview with John "JP" Parise of Long Island, New York's 102.3 WBAB and Tampa, Florida's 102.5 The Bone radio stations. He said: "First of all, I own [my previous] statements [about not wanting to stage a TWISTED SISTER reunion]. I said that and more. I singled out bands. I named names. I ranted and raved about this, and I expected to get excrements for this, but I'm getting hit hard.

"I'm not gonna lie, and I can only tell you so much, but this is the total truth," he continued. "I turned 70 this year and I had a health scare. And I'm okay… And it shook me up… I won't say [exactly what it was], and I'm okay. But it really made me re-evaluate a lot of things. [When I was] 40, 50, 60, I thought I was superhuman. TWISTED SISTER retired 10 years ago when I was ripped to shreds. And then [at] 70, something happened and it was a re-evaluation, quite honestly. And part of that re-evaluation was looking and saying… Am I ready to go? Well, you never know when you're gonna go quietly to the night. You never know when your time is up. And do I really wanna do that without rocking one more time. And I stopped doing solo stuff a few years back as well. I mean, I go out and I join Bret Michaels or Lita Ford on stage [during their shows] for a couple songs, but I don't go out and perform. And upon talking to my wife and re-evaluating, it was I, me, who called the [other] guys [in TWISTED SISTER]. I called them. They never called. I mean, we talk, but they never brought it up because I was, like, 'This is not happening, guys. It is done. It is over, just like I told everybody.' But, like I said, I had a life-changing experience and re-evaluation of a lot of things, and I reached out. I said, 'Guys, what do you think about doing it one more time?'"

According to Dee, Jay Jay and Eddie didn't immediately jump at the opportunity to return to playing live shows with TWISTED SISTER. "It was a conversation," Snider explained. "At this point, do we wanna take this, for lack of a better word, victory lap, so to speak? But it was a conversation. And then everybody goes, 'Well, how can you not, with Alice [Cooper] out there [at the age of 77]?' Alice told me... I said, 'Dude, when are you gonna retire?' He says, 'I'm looking forward to singing when I'm 80.' So he's got no plans. [Mick] Jagger's out there [playing shows at age 82]. Paul McCartney's doing three hours [at age 83]. Now I know he doesn't run around like I do, but the same time, you go, well, there's precedents. People are out there into — there are octogenarians out there [touring] now. So we decided to go for it and go out on a high note."

After JP criticized some of the media's coverage of TWISTED SISTER's return, particularly as it relates to reports of the band "touring" again, Dee said: "It doesn't say that in the press release. I checked. I'm seeing, 'Tour.' 'They're hitting the road again.' Wait a minute — who's hitting the road? We're flying first class on an air jet airplane. Private plane.

"I'm sorry, folks. People are saying, 'Come to this town, come to that town.' No, man," he clarified. "This is a handful of dates — I'm thinking it's about 20, 25 shows around the world, festivals almost exclusively. And it's not a full-blown tour or anything like that. It's a celebration for us, and I hope you're celebrating with us for the fact that 50 years ago, next year, we got together — me, Eddie and Jay Jay — and we, against all odds, we had success."

Asked by JP "how big the dump truck full of money" was "that showed up in [Dee's] driveway" that convinced the singer to reunite TWISTED SISTER for the band's 50th anniversary, Snider said: "I'm gonna be honest. The numbers are getting higher and higher and higher, but it wasn't really where I — I had this place in mind, and it wasn't there. But like I said, honestly, it wasn't about the money. Yeah, if there was no money, I'm not gonna do it. I'm not gonna lie about that. But it really was this sort of looking in the mirror going, 'Hey, man, that was scary. And I don't wanna go out like that.' I do not wanna go out quietly. Kicking and screaming, man — that's the way I wanna go."

Dee also talked about the challenges of preparing for TWISTED SISTER live performances, particularly as it relates to the physical demands of stepping on a stage for an hour and a half. He said: "I always had a mixed relationship with the concerts. I did so much prep and I got so into it, it was so intense, I made myself miserable. When I go out there, it's the greatest moment in my life for 90 minutes, and I get off the stage and I feel really good for about 15 minutes, half hour, and then I start [to think], 'Oh no. I've gotta do this again tomorrow.' And I start getting manic. And [my wife] Suzette would never come out the road with me. She said, 'You're miserable. You sit in the room, you obsess.' I sit there, and I'm not one of those people, but I sit there writing a list of the exact time I've gotta eat my protein and what time I've gotta do my neck stretches and a hot bath and vocalizing. I write it down on a sheet, and I check it off. I'm, like, manic. And so that's another reason why going back to it, there's a lot of discomfort in the whole — and being away from the family and being away from my wife, 'cause she doesn't wanna be anywhere near me, which I understand. So, this way of doing it, going out and doing a show on a weekend and going out, there'll still be that day of getting ready for the show because it's sort of my method. But at least after the show, Suzette will be out there and we'll go and we'll enjoy wherever we are for a few days and relax until the next one comes. So it'll be one day of intensity as opposed to just an endless day after day after day of obsessing and making myself crazy."

During a September 10 appearance on SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", Dee stated about Mark's absence from the TWISTED SISTER 2026 tour: "I can only simply say irreconcilable differences and leave it at that. I can't get into the weeds and I can't go down that path. And I won't. But irreconcilable differences. People change, and however it is, and I'm not saying he changed; maybe we changed whatever it is. So in deciding who to use on bass, my bass player on the last two Dee Snider albums, 'For The Love Of Metal' and 'Leave A Scar', was Russ Pzütto. And he was Mark Mendoza's bass tech, and a great bass player… So, he did an amazing job on those two albums. He was a great guy to tour with. The band all knew him from years of working with TWISTED, and again, he seemed like a likely choice. As a matter of fact, one time he was Mark's choice to fill in for him. And one gig, it was in Belgium at Graspop, and Mark couldn't make it, and Russ stepped in and played with TWISTED. So he actually has performed with TWISTED once before."

Asked if he thinks the door is open for Mark to play with TWISTED SISTER again at some point during the reunion tour, Dee said: "I can't imagine it right now. I can't imagine it right now. I mean — I plead the fifth. I can't go beyond that. But things have happened that I don't see being reconciled, hence the term 'irreconcilable differences.'"

French previously addressed Mendoza's departure in a statement to Rolling Stone, explaining: "Me, Dee and Eddie have performed as TWISTED SISTER for nearly 50 years with 10 different bass players and drummers. The band has never discussed internal realignment before and has no intention of doing it now. Suffice to say that almost all bands with a 50-year history have gone through realignment as a byproduct of time. We wish Mark well in his future endeavors."

Franco played on TWISTED SISTER's 1987 album "Love Is For Suckers". Mike Portnoy, who took over for Pero after he died near the end of TWISTED SISTER's 2016 run, is busy touring with DREAM THEATER and is unable to participate in the upcoming TWISTED SISTER live activities.

In a separate interview with Joe Rock of Long Island's rock station 102.3 WBAB, Jay Jay was asked if there is any chance of TWISTED SISTER releasing at least one new song to coincide with the group's upcoming shows in 2026. The last new track French and the rest of TWISTED SISTER recorded was "30", which TWISTED SISTER laid down for the 25th-anniversary reissue of the "Stay Hungry" album in 2009. Jay Jay said:
"We played ['30' live]. I love the track. We made a video. It's a great song. And Dee [Snider, TWISTED SISTER singer] predicted that nobody would care. We played it several times on the tour following the release, and Dee said, 'This is the bathroom song coming up, everybody.' People were looking around going, 'What's that bathroom song?' You know the point in the show where someone says, 'This is a new track,' and you all get up and go to the bathroom? He goes, 'We have a bathroom song that's coming up. I'll give you plenty of warning.' And so he made such a point of saying it that nobody would get up and go to the bathroom, 'cause now they were completely humiliated. So he'd say, 'Coming up in two songs is the bathroom song.' And we would play it, [and] everyone was there, everybody clapped."

French continued: "But I guess here's the important point. If you're gonna play 15 songs or 16 songs, whatever the amount songs are, and you laid them out on a grid and you said to a fan, a real fan, 'Okay, we're gonna play this, this, this, but we're gonna put this new track in and we're gonna take this track out.' How do you think the vote would go? You know the answer to that question would be 95-5 against or maybe 99-1 against. And that's the truth. That is simply the truth. I don't care how you wanna cut it, but when you're a classic band like us who's had a ton of product out there and we have five albums and everybody knows who they are, and with [returning TWISTED SISTER drummer] Joe Franco on drums, we're gonna play songs from the album that he played drums on, 'cause he was a bonafide member of the band, it becomes a situation where if we did, what are we taking out to put that in? And that becomes a Dee issue. I trust his vibe as a frontman to control the audience, 'cause he's great at it, have control of the ebb and flow of the night. Now, having said that, he wrote a song and he presented it to us and we're considering recording it. We're considering it, and if we do, then we may play it. But we haven't done it yet. It could happen. However, like I said, if you asked a hundred fans what they wanna hear, you would get a response of almost zero on a song they didn't know."

Three years ago, TWISTED SISTER staged a one-off reunion at the Metal Hall Of Fame in Agoura Hills, California. On hand to be inducted into the Metal Hall Of Fame were Snider, French, Mendoza and Portnoy. Ojeda was absent from the event after contracting COVID-19; filling in for him was Keith Robert War. TWISTED SISTER played a highly charged three-song set consisting of the staples "You Can't Stop Rock 'N' Roll" and "Under The Blade", as well as the anthem "We're Not Gonna To Take It".

TWISTED SISTER's original run ended in the late '80s. After more than a decade, the band publicly reunited in November 2001 to top the bill of New York Steel, a hard-rock benefit concert to raise money for the New York Police And Fire Widows' And Children's Benefit Fund.

In a new interview with Ernest Skinner of Canada's Border City Rock Talk, Joel Hoekstra addressed last year's cancelation of a concert in Serbia by members of WHITESNAKE.

A press conference was held in late May 2025 in Belgrade, Serbia to announce the participants of the 58th Guitar Festival in Zaječar, which was scheduled to take place from August 28, 2025 to 30, 2025 at Kraljevica. The conference featured guests Marco Mendoza, Dino Jelusić (a.k.a. Dino Jelusick) and Ivan Keller, who announced an exclusive performance at Guitar Festival by the band WHITESNAKE EXPERIENCE BY THE MEMBERS OF WHITESNAKE. The event was supposed to be the only concert in the world featuring members of the legendary band WHITESNAKE: Hoekstra, Jelusić, Mendoza, drummer Tommy Aldridge and keyboardist Michele Luppi. However, within just a few weeks, the WHITESNAKE EXPERIENCE concert was canceled, with Serbia's Vreme reporting at the time that some of the musicians who were booked to appear at the festival objected to other artists' mixing of politics and culture.

Asked by Border City Rock Talk if there are any plans for WHITESNAKE EXPERIENCE BY THE MEMBERS OF WHITESNAKE to play any shows in 2026, Joel responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "No. That was something that was really just set up [to be a one-off thing]. We did one of those [in July 2023], technically in France, just over the border from Switzerland. I think we were staying in Switzerland, but the gig was in France [at the Guitare En Scène festival]. And it was just kind of called 'all-star band featuring members of WHITESNAKE', and it was just kind of something that David [Coverdale, WHITESNAKE's founding singer] said, 'Yeah, that's cool with me.' And that was fine. As it turns out, this 'WHITESNAKE EXPERIENCE' thing, there was some language involved there that got out ahead of what we were doing. I mean, it was intended to be a one-off gig."

Joel continued: "Anything long term with that, that would have to come from David. This was meant to be just kind of, like, 'Hey, let's get together and have some fun and do a one-off,' and suddenly all [there was] this traction online about it being a project. The only thing David had given approval for was for us to do a one-off. There was no talk about this being a full-time thing. That was — I don't know where it got started, I don't know who to attribute that to, but it got out ahead of itself. I made a social media post trying to say, like, what's everybody doing. That's not what this is. [It was supposed to be] just a one-off. And David, to his credit, was cool with all that. And anything like that, somebody who spent their life building a brand, building WHITESNAKE, if it was gonna turn into anything — even a one-off was something that I personally wanted to talk to David about and be, like, 'Is this cool with you?', out of respect [and] out of loyalty. But anything long term, that, I think, would have to come fromDavid. I don't think that would be us putting something together and going, 'Is it cool with you if…?' So, that would be something that David would say, 'I'm interested in doing this.' And as far as I know, there's not really anything really happening with that. There was, I think, rumors and not a whole lot there, to be honest."

Hoekstra, who joined WHITESNAKE in 2014 as the replacement for Doug Aldrich, also spoke about his current relationship with Coverdale after the singer's recent announcement that he was retiring.

"[David] is absolutely a great guy to work for and with," Joel said. "So as far as that friendship and camaraderie, all that's still there. And I don't think that'll go away just because he's chosen to retire, which is well earned and has my full support. I mean, dude, what are you gonna say? That's great. I'm really, really happy for David. What a career. I mean, what a career. Any of us would be so lucky to be able to say that: 'Oh, yeah, I joined DEEP PURPLE at a young age and then formed my own band and had this amazing 45-year run' or whatever it's been with WHITESNAKE. And not only that, but to do the COVERDALE/PAGE stuff. And to be a great guy to boot, on top of it all. So, for me, everything with David is golden. And I wish him nothing but the best."

Last June, a short time after WHITESNAKE EXPERIENCE BY THE MEMBERS OF WHITESNAKE's concert at the 58th Guitar Festival in Zaječar was announced, Hoekstra took to his social media to share a BLABBERMOUTH.NET headline announcing the performance, and he included the following message: "Just so everyone understands clearly what is happening. This is not a band. This is not a project. This is an isolated show and nothing more.

"We actually did one of these already July 21, 2023 at Guitare-en Scene in France. I believe we were just billed as 'All-Star Band' for that. Tommy Aldridge and Reb Beach were unavailable for that. Perhaps Tommy's involvement in this upcoming show and the decision (by others) to bill it as WHITESNAKE EXPERIENCE has caused the stir.

"I had reached out to David Coverdale regarding Guitare-En Scene (when I was asked to participate) to make sure that the appearance was ok with him. That call was placed out of respect and quite simply, to do the right thing. David essentially replied 'sure, have fun!'

"When this upcoming show in Serbia was booked, I did the same thing and David came back with the same reply. David has not endorsed this as a project or band. He simply gave me permission to participate. Any misleading info making this seem like it's more than one show is inappropriate and sensationalistic in nature.

"I've also seen some people wondering why Reb Beach isn't going to be there and it's my understanding that Reb was unavailable for the show.

"I know this all seems a bit much, but I don't think it's fair to anyone involved to have this appear as if we are doing anything more than a 'show'.

"So, thank you DC for giving your blessing to us to go have some fun and play together!"

At the May 2025 press conference, Mendoza emphasized that he and the other musicians chose to hold this unique global concert in Serbia, specifically in Zaječar, because they had always been warmly welcomed in the country and had sold out shows in Belgrade.

"Tradition and quality are very important to us, and the Guitar Festival, with its 58-year history, is something you must respect and cherish. Your audience is one of the best in the world, and I believe they will enjoy this performance with us," he said.

Dino added: "We're preparing a special setlist of WHITESNAKE's greatest hits. Singing the songs of my childhood idol David Coverdale is a special honor and pleasure for me. Although I've performed with big names in the rock world in the meantime, WHITESNAKE's songs suit me best, and playing with such a fantastic group of musicians is pure hedonism for me."

In a November 2023 interview with Chris Akin Presents, Jelusić, who was enlisted by WHITESNAKE for its last European tour, was asked if there was any truth to the rumor that he was brought in to assist David Coverdale with the lead vocals on the trek. He responded: "Well, since there's no official statement on what everybody was guessing… And I was actually hearing a lot of stories from behind that I'm actually brought in to replace [David]. He never really officially asked me, but I heard from a very close person that he kind of was thinking about that. So I don't wanna say that it is like that 'cause I heard it from a close person, so I don't wanna state that.

"But, to me, WHITESNAKEisDavid Coverdale, and I would never wanna take that spot, to be honest with you," Dino continued. "I don't wanna be a little, young guy that sounds great singing David Coverdale songs. I am myself and I wanna do stuff myself. I wanna do it with my own songs.

"David CoverdaleisWHITESNAKE, and if the band should end because he wants to retire, the band should end because he wants to retire," Jelusić explained. "'Cause this way you can find somebody to replace Steven Tyler, somebody to replace Robert Plant, and the bands can just go on and on and on. I don't think that's the point.

"I sang a lot, obviously, live. If you came to see WHITESNAKE, you noticed — you could notice that. I sang 'Slide It In' half-half with him, and I covered a lot of ground, along with Michele [Luppi], the keyboard player. So there was a lot of work; it was a lot of work. And I enjoyed the tour. We had a great time with [European tourmates] FOREIGNER and EUROPE, both bands that I love. And, yeah, it was really cool."

Jelusić was previously a member of the multi-platinum-selling band TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA and DIRTY SHIRLEY (with George Lynch),ANIMAL DRIVE and recorded with many others. Dino has been singing, touring and recording since the age of five. Other than being a frontman, his main instrument are keyboards but he also plays bass, guitar and drums. He finished music academy and did theater work.

When Jelusić's addition to WHITESNAKE was first announced in July 2021, David said in a statement: "I am absolutely delighted to welcome the extremely gifted Dino Jelusick to WHITESNAKE. We've had our eyes and ears on him since we played Zagreb together two years ago. You're going to love him!"

In October 2021, Coverdale spoke about Dino's addition to WHITESNAKE, telling Antihero Magazine: "He's going to be the way I have two guitar players.

"I've always seen WHITESNAKE as an orchestra," he explained. "I don't see it as a band-band. I don't want two guitarists playing exactly the same song, or just harmony guitars, I want two opposing… you've got the incendiary Joel Hoekstra, entirely different to the electrifying Reb Beach. And this is not to overwhelm Michele. Michele's totally secure. I adore him and what he brings to WHITESNAKE.

"In 2019, Dino's band opened for us in Zagreb, and this is very rare for me, and I went, 'Who the fuck is that?' And I was going, 'Wow, that kid's great.' And Joel said, 'Yeah, I worked with him in the TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA. He's a great guy.' And I said, 'That guy's a 'Snake', dude.' And I said, 'Don't say anything yet. I'm going to keep my eyes and ears on him.'

"So, I think it's going to be fantastic," Coverdale added. "I'm going to have an orchestra of keyboards for a lot of songs on WHITESNAKE which are big epics, that make them even more musically orchestrated without having an orchestra on stage with us.

"I mean, the guy's great, I can't wait to sing with him. I already have [two] singers who are good enough to be frontman singers, with Michele Luppi and Reb Beach; they are really great singers. What's wrong with having another one? And I think he's a super guy… It's got to be exciting to me and adding another spice to an already good cocktail."

The 74-year-old David announced his retirement in a video message on November 13, 2025, telling his fans before a remake of WHITESNAKE's 2011 song "Fare Thee Well": "Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, brothers and sisters of the 'SNAKE, a special announcement for you.

"The last few years has been very evident to me that it's time really for me to hang up my rock and roll platform shoes and my skin-tight jeans. And as you can see, we've taken care of the lion's wig. But it's time for me to call it a day."

Coverdale expressed his gratitude to his loved ones and fans, who have supported him as the frontman for both WHITESNAKE and DEEP PURPLE, but said it was time for him to enjoy his retirement.

"I love you dearly. I thank everyone who's assisted and supported me on this incredible journey. All the musicians, the crew, the fans, the family. It's amazing."

Coverdale raised a glass as he delivered his parting message, "Fare thee well," referencing WHITESNAKE's song of the same name.

WHITESNAKE canceled several European shows in the summer of 2022 and pulled out of a North American tour with the SCORPIONS due to David's "continued treatment for a persistent upper respiratory infection."

Coverdale had both his knees replaced with titanium in 2017 after suffering from degenerative arthritis. He later explained that he was in so much pain with arthritis in his knees that it hampered his ability to perform live.

Prior to the pandemic, WHITESNAKE had been touring in support of its latest album, "Flesh & Blood", which was released in May 2019 via Frontiers Music Srl.

In a new interview with George Dionne of KNAC.COM, vocalist Brian Vollmer of Canadian hard rockers HELIX was asked if he and his bandmates have ever given serious thought to retirement. Brian responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Not really. You always have your bad days when you get up out of bed and you go, 'What the hell am I doing this for?' But no, not really. This is what makes me the happiest in life, performing, writing, doing the same thing I've done for 50 years. But a lot of bands are quitting just because the lead singer's losing their voice; they can't sing anymore, especially with rock and roll. It's a distorted sound."

Brian continued: "I was lucky because I lost my voice in 1976 and I was told I would never sing again, and my manager sent me to a voice coach by the name of Edoardo Johnson, who was the youngest member of the New York Metropolitan Opera, and he taught out of a basement of a church in Hamilton, Ontario. And I went, and Ed took me aside, put his arm around my shoulder and went, 'Just stick with me, kid, and do what I tell you to do, and your nodes will go away.' Because I had nodes, polyps. And I didn't take any time off. I was still playing six, seven nights a week. And by the end of that year, I got rid of my nodes. And I never looked back. And I kept going to Ed until he died. He was like a father to me. And I started teaching myself around 1989. I have some successful students. The girls from KITTIE went to me. Tim Hicks, who's a country star. He's had two or three top 10 hits. He studied with me."

In a separate interview with the Heavy Metal Mayhem radio show, the interviewer noted that HELIX never broke up in the five decades since the band's inception. "That's correct," Brian concurred. "The closest we came to breaking up, I think, was probably when [former HELIX guitarist] Paul [Hackman] died in a car accident in 1992. He was my writing partner, and so the question obviously came up: 'Are you gonna continue on?' I went, 'Well, I don't really know how to do anything else.' And we got heavily criticized for that decision. And I just said to people, 'What am I supposed to do? I haven't done anything else for 15 years. And I wouldn't know what to do, except maybe dig a ditch or something.' And so we continued on, and I did a lot of independent albums. And once again, we got heavily criticized because people would say, you'd have a half a million dollars to work with when you did a Capitol album, and now you're doing 'em for fifteen thousand dollars. And I kept putting them out. And then we got signed to Sanctuary in — it was about 2004 or something like that, in 2006. And Sanctuary came to me and gave me money for each one of those albums. And then I went and bought my first rental house, and I ended up selling that a couple years ago. And that's my pension today. So the story does have a happy ending."

Asked by Super Cool Radio how important it is for him and the rest of HELIX to continue to make new music and not just rely on performing the band's classic songs, Brian said: "It's one of the main reasons that I'm still around. I got into this business to perform and write music. And I've never understood my peers that go, 'Oh, there's no money in this. I'm gonna quit putting up new music' and blah, blah, blah, whine, whine, whine. For me, that's what it's all about: putting out new music. I love it. That's where I get my biggest charge in life. Or being on stage. And so if I can keep doing this, like I said, and make money, I'm doing it. I wanna be like Johnny Cash. You're in bed dying and writing songs."

He added: "Well, here it is, too: it's also a financial thing. If you're spending, say, twenty thousand dollars on an album, which is probably what I spend, it's all a tax deduction, so you might as well invest in yourself because if you can't invest in yourself, who can you invest in? So that's what I've done over the years. I told my students that as well: invest in yourself. Take money that you've made at the end of the year and sink it back into the live act or recording or something that's gonna further your career. If you're just taking all the money and spending it, you're limiting yourself. And that's why I've continued to make albums over the years."

HELIX's new full-length album, "Scrap Metal", will be released on January 23, 2026 via Perris Records. This will be the 14th HELIX release on the label.

"Scrap Metal" features five previously unreleased tracks that retain the "classic" 1980s HELIX sound. The remaining five songs were previously made available on other releases such as "Old School", "half-ALIVE" and "B-Sides".

The new LP's first single, "Stuck In The '80s", features Sean Kelly (Gilby Clarke, CONEY HATCH, Lee Aaron) on guitar.

HELIX recently finished playing shows with NAZARETH as part of the "Bending The Rules" tour, the latter band's farewell trek of Canada.

HELIX was formed in 1974 in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. In 1976, the twin-guitar attack of Brent "The Doctor" Doerner and Paul Hackman joined the band, helping shape the group's signature sound. After releasing two independent albums, HELIX signed with Capitol Records, launching their major-label career with "No Rest For The Wicked" (1983),featuring the breakout hit "Heavy Metal Love". The band gained further international success with "Walkin' The Razor's Edge" (1984),driven by their iconic anthem "Rock You", which received major MTV airplay, along with a controversial X-rated version of the video.

Throughout the 1980s, HELIX continued to release acclaimed albums and tour worldwide, sharing stages with KISS, ALICE COOPER, MOTÖRHEAD and Ian Gillan. Despite the tragic loss of guitarist Paul Hackman in 1992, Brian Vollmer carried the HELIX torch forward, working with various top-tier musicians, including members of BRIGHTON ROCK, KILLER DWARFS, HAREM SCAREM and CRASH KELLY.

HELIX's legacy was further cemented in 2003 when they were humorously featured in an episode of the "Trailer Park Boys" television show sparking renewed interest in their music. In 2005, Vollmer released the book "Gimme An R!", documenting his life on the road and in the studio. In 2010, Vollmer released "Smash Hits…Unplugged", an acoustic reimagining of HELIX classics.

According to The Sun's "Bizarre" column, METALLICA is "90 percent" done negotiating the terms of a Sphere residency in Las Vegas, set to take place in 2027 after the group's scheduled "M72" world tour dates conclude in July 2026.

A "mole" told the British tabloid newspaper that "METALLICA having a residency at the Sphere is all anyone is talking about on the [Las Vegas] Strip. They have been to see the bosses and met all the tech team to talk through and plan out a show in principle."

Last August, METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich was asked by "The Howard Stern Show" if there was any truth to the rumor that the band was in talks for a Sphere residency in Las Vegas. Lars said: "I'm not going to confirm anything, because there's nothing to confirm. But I'm not going to deny it, because we're all such fans of this venue. All of our managers and our production people have been there and looked at it. It's something that we're considering, [but] nothing is etched in stone or green-lit. It's something that we're looking at at some point when the 2026 tour is done."

Ulrich continued: "I was there seeing U2 the first night, when they took that stage, I wanted to see it for myself before I saw it on YouTube or read about it. I was there, like everybody else that was there that night, I was completely blown away, and felt that was the beginning of another chapter in live performances.

"I'm not going to bullshit you, I would fucking love to do it, let there be no question about it," Lars added. "It's not signed, sealed and delivered, but speaking to me and asking my opinion, I would fucking love to do it."

A day later, METALLICA bassist Robert Trujillo also addressed the rumor that the band is in talks for a Sphere residency. Asked by SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" how he feels about the potential for doing a residency at the Sphere and whether he has been to the venue already to check it out, Robert said: "I haven't actually been there and checked it out yet. I like that. It's a mystery to me. Because everybody I know has, and they're just, like, 'Oh my God. This is incredible.' And I love all that. I love the visual experience. We have talked about it, we've met, had meetings about it. And I'm already thinking, like, 'Imagine this, imagine that,' 'cause METALLICA's music is so visual. I mean, imagine a song like 'Orion' and what you can do with that. The possibilities are endless. So, for me, it's like a dream come true.

"We'll see what happens," he continued. "I know we're talking about it, and hopefully this is gonna happen. And the fact that Lars talked about it on '[The] Howard Stern [Show]' yesterday is a great thing. It means that it's in the works.

"We've been going through so much lately," Robert explained. "There's been so much going on that sometimes you'll have a meeting about that, and then all of a sudden something else happens, and then you're in that mode, in this mode and whatnot. But it's definitely something that we wanna do and we're excited about, and we'll just have to wait and see how and when and if we can do this… No heavy rock band has [played at the Sphere yet], and there's a lot of history with our music and I think there's potential for a lot of visual stimulation on this. And I can't wait to be a part of it. So let's see what happens."

In April 2025, METALLICA guitarist Kirk Hammett was asked by The Hollywood Reporter if he and his bandmates would entertain the possibility of performing at the Las Vegas Sphere, the 17,600-capacity venue which has transformed live entertainment since opening in September 2023. He responded: "Oh, heck, yeah! That's a great example of how venues are changing. That's using modern technology to the fullest, to really up the levels of production and entertainment, connected to A.I. and making it a crazy experience."

A massive, spherical venue known for its immersive entertainment experiences, including concerts and films, featuring a state-of-the-art 16K resolution wraparound screen and a powerful sound system, the Las Vegas Sphere is nestled near the Venetian Resort and Wynn Las Vegas just off the Las Vegas Strip.

The Sphere has already hosted residencies from a number of legendary rockers, including U2, PHISH, DEAD & COMPANY and THE EAGLES.

U2 opened the building with 160,000-square-foot LED screens and 4D features, playing to more 700,000 fans across 40 sold-out dates from September 2023 through March 2024. The shows commemorated one of U2's most successful albums, the chart-topping 1991 release "Achtung Baby", played in its entirety, along with select tracks from other U2 LPs.

A global news event which saw the world's biggest rock band open the world's most state-of-the-art venue, "U2:UV Achtung Baby Live At Sphere" quickly became a pop culture moment and a must-see for music lovers everywhere. The show's stunning visuals and live music performance, combined with the venue's immersive technology elements, including the world's most advanced audio system, became an instant social media sensation as hundreds of thousands of fans shared their "U2:UV" experience across multiple platforms generating billions of impressions, making "U2:UV" a truly global phenomenon. One of the band's most ambitious creative projects to date, it saw them work once again with longtime creative collaborator and show director Willie Williams, artists including Es Devlin, John Gerrard and Marco Brambilla, and longtime partner and producer Brian Eno.

The first sports event to take place was the NHL Draft with the UFC following in September 2024.

Sphere's next-generation technologies include the world's highest-resolution LED display that wraps up, over and around the audience, creating a fully immersive visual environment. The venue also features the world's most advanced concert-grade audio system, Sphere Immersive Sound, powered by HOLOPLOT, which delivers audio with unmatched clarity and precision to every guest.

Richmond, Virginia metallers LAMB OF GOD have set a March 13 release date for their new album, "Into Oblivion", via Epic, marking the band's first full-length release in four years.

"Into Oblivion" finds LAMB OF GOD embracing their position as modern metal veterans, beholden to no one, with nothing left to prove. The 10-song collection references the band's roots, doubles down on their signature groove, and expands their approach, resulting in an album that feels both deliberate and untethered.

News of "Into Oblivion"'s March arrival is accompanied by the debut of its title track, "Into Oblivion", alongside a video directed by Tom Flynn and Mike Watts. Aggressive and as unforgiving as ever, the song pairs the band's musical ferocity with psychologically charged lyrics.

"For me, the album is about having the space to breathe creatively and not feeling like we have to keep up with any trend or expectation," LAMB OF GOD guitarist Mark Morton shares. "It feels nice to be untethered from any agenda beyond rallying around the notion of, 'Let's just make music that we think is cool,' which is really where it all started."

LAMB OF GOD vocalist Randy Blythe doesn't mince words on why the band decided to name the album "Into Oblivion", saying candidly: "Because that's where we're heading. In general, the album is about the ongoing and rapid breakdown of the social contract, particularly here in America. Things are acceptable now that would've horrified people just 20 years ago."

In the months leading up to today's announcement, the metal veterans released a pair of blistering singles that offered listeners a taste of the album's range. "Sepsis", the band's first new song since 2022, paid homage to the early '90s Richmond underground that shaped LAMB OF GOD's formative years. Consequence, in their "Heavy Song Of The Week" feature, noted the track's fresh approach, saying "Morton's riffs are bruising at this slower pace," and adding that Blythe bellows "like a heavy metal Nick Cave." "Parasocial Christ" followed, evoking classic LAMB OF GOD with a three-minute onslaught that Revolver dubbed an "anti-tech thrasher."

Produced and mixed by longtime studio collaborator Josh Wilbur, "Into Oblivion" was recorded across multiple locations tied closely to the band's identity. Drums were tracked in Richmond, Virginia, with guitars and bass recorded at Morton's home studio. Blythe recorded his vocals at the legendary Total Access studio in Redondo Beach, California, the birthplace of seminal punk records by BLACK FLAG, HÜSKER DÜ and DESCENDENTS.

Album pre-orders, including multiple limited-edition vinyl variants and signed copies, are available now. An unannounced first pressing of the album was quietly posted on the band's web site earlier this week, and sold out immediately.

"Into Oblivion" track listing:

01. Into Oblivion
02. Parasocial Christ
03. Sepsis
04. The Killing Floor
05. El Vacío
06. St. Catherine's Wheel
07. Blunt Force Blues
08. Bully
09. A Thousand Years
10. Devise/Destroy

LAMB OF GOD previously announced a spring North American tour in what promises to be the heaviest trek of 2026. Joined by KUBLAI KHAN TX, FIT FOR AN AUTOPSY and SANGUISUGABOGG, the tour kicks off on March 17. Tickets and VIP packages are on sale now via Lamb-of-god.com/tour.

"Sepsis" arrived during a milestone year for LAMB OF GOD. In 2025, the band celebrated the 25th anniversary of its discography, performed at the historic "Back To The Beginning" concert and subsequently released their thunderous take on BLACK SABBATH's "Children Of The Grave", along with appearances at several festivals, including Inkcarceration and Louder Than Life, and a headlining show at Richmond's new 7500-seat outdoor venue Allianz Amphitheater during its opening season.

LAMB OF GOD is Randy Blythe (vocals),John Campbell (bass),Mark Morton (guitar),Willie Adler (guitar) and Art Cruz (drums). Formed in 1994, the Richmond, Virginia-based band has released nine critically acclaimed albums, received five Grammy Award nominations, sold over three million albums, packed arenas around the world, and tallied over one billion streams and counting. Widely regarded as one of the most influential and innovative forces in modern heavy music LAMB OF GOD's most recent collection, "Omens", arrived in late 2022 , marking their sixth consecutive album to debut in the Top 15 of on the Billboard 200. Kerrang! noted that the album finds the band "as reliably heavy, violent, and pissed off as ever," and Consequence said the "album will break you down to nihilistic pieces."

In a new interview with France's Loud TV, ALTER BRIDGE frontman Myles Kennedy spoke about the lyrical inspiration for the band's eighth, self-titled studio album, which arrived last Friday, January 9, 2026 via Napalm Records. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I can assure you this record, there's not an ounce of political [content]. Nothing came from politics, but I've been fascinated [to see that people think that it did]… I've been hearing that. And I think it highlights kind of the state of the world that people are so — it's so on their mind, and they can try to apply it to anything. But no, these lyrics were all kind of inspired by a totally different set of circumstances, kind of interpersonal relationships and dynamics of dealing with toxicity and drama and how to navigate those waters. But yeah, there's not an ounce of politics on any of these songs. And so the fact that people are extracting that just highlights, I think, how at the forefront it is on everybody's minds. So, yeah, we could just clear that up right now."

Back in 2016, Myles said that ALTER BRIDGE's "Show Me A Leader" single, from the band's then-new album "The Last Hero", was written about the disillusionment of people with their governments. He explained that he came up with the first line while listening to a political TV show in bed at ALTER BRIDGE bandmate Mark Tremonti's house. Kennedy told Classic Rock magazine at the time: "The lyric was written pretty quickly. I was lying in bed staying at Mark's house and heard the TV in the other room. There was a bunch of political business on TV and the line, 'Well, they're selling another messiah here tonight' came into my head. It reflects the frustration that people are feeling with the current state of things, leadership, a certain disillusionment. It definitely takes the pulse of where a lot of us are standing right now."

Tremonti added: "Throughout 'Show Me A Leader', Myles ran with that line lyrically and philosophically. It's good for this time, this climate in the world right now, with all the chaos going on and all the circus that is politics."

"Alter Bridge" is comprised of 12 all-new tracks, including songs like "Rue The Day", "Disregarded" and "Scales Are Falling", which will fit alongside any of the classic songs from ALTER BRIDGE's catalog.

"Alter Bridge" was once again helmed by the band's longtime collaborator and producer Michael "Elvis" Baskette and was recorded over two months last spring at the legendary 5150 studio in California and Elvis's recording studio in Florida.

ALTER BRIDGE's current lineup consists of Myles Kennedy (vocals/guitars),Mark Tremonti (guitars/vocals),Brian Marshall (bass) and Scott Phillips (drums).

ALTER BRIDGE will be touring in support of the release. The band is heading out on the "What Lies Within" tour. The 31-date European leg of the trek will kick off on January 15 in Germany and will wrap on March 5 in Nottingham, U.K. Support on the tour will come from DAUGHTRY and SEVENDUST. The band also announced a headline U.S. tour featuring FILTER or SEVENDUST and Tim Montana as support in select markets. The tour kicks off on April 25 in Orlando, Florida and runs through May 24 where it wraps in Tampa, Florida.

With one month to go until the release of the band's new record "Listen Up!", NEW FOUND GLORY is excited to give fans another taste with the latest single "Beer And Blood Stains". The song is out now and can be streamed below.

"This is the heaviest song on the record but it almost sounds like a party. At least that was the goal," shares NEW FOUND GLORY guitarist Chad Gilbert. "It's about an old venue we used to play when we first started. We'd play there pretty much every weekend. It was a lot of hardcore bands. Looking back now it was a dangerous place…so many fights and craziness — illegal things that wouldn't fly now. This song is about how much fun we had, but not realizing how close to the edge we were."

"Listen Up!" is set to be released on February 20, 2026 via Pure Noise Records. The band's first full-length in nearly six years, it is a collection of songs about resilience and hope through hard times.

NEW FOUND GLORY recently announced that they will be joining YELLOWCARD on the "Up Up Down Down" tour, along with special guests PLAIN WHITE T'S. The 24-city tour kicks off May 6 in Atlanta, with stops to follow in Chicago, Denver, Nashville, New York, and more before wrapping up on June 17 in Boston.

Prior to the tour, fans in Indonesia can catch NEW FOUND GLORY on May 3 at Hammersonic 2026. They'll also be performing at this year's Sonic Temple Art & Music Festival, taking place in Columbus from May 14 to May 17.

About "Listen Up!", NEW FOUND GLORY shares: "The overall message/theme of this album is to encourage hope through hard times, while also looking at the world as somewhat of a fly on a wall: seeing people's fear, negativity, and stress about small things that only scratch the surface of what life will eventually — but bring in a hopeful way. We want to encourage hope that the hard times will bring growth and strength. So the music is super fun and anthemic and loose feeling. We're singing loud and proud about the scars and not in a pity party sort of way."

The band continues: "There's also a lot of reflection. We're looking back at the good ol' days as reminders of all we've been through in life that led us to the people we are today. Sonically the album has that juxtaposition too. It's fun pop melodies mixed with the heavier, riffed songs."

It's been decades since NEW FOUND GLORY's likeness was chiseled on to pop-punk's Mount Rushmore, but as the quartet, formed in Coral Springs, Florida, in 1997, approach their landmark 30th anniversary, they still have a lot to say.

"We wanted to make something that really focused on how lucky we are," NEW FOUND GLORY guitarist Chad Gilbert explains of "Listen Up!", the band's eleventh studio album and first release for Pure Noise Records. "We've all gone through serious stuff in our lives, and I think the lyrics on this record are more meaningful and purposeful than ever. It's a positive outlet that hopefully keeps people going."

The album's spirit is indeed a testament to resilience, shaped not only by Gilbert's ongoing battle with an aggressive metastatic cancer but also the ever-evolving dynamic between him and his bandmates — vocalist Jordan Pundik, bassist Ian Grushka and drummer Cyrus Bolooki — as they continue to push each other creatively. It's the same full-hearted sentiment that colored their 2023 acoustic EP, "Make The Most Of It", here delivered in three-minute bursts of the band's trademark pop-punk sound: the shiny melodies that launched them on to "TRL" in the early 2000s, the ghosts of the tight-knit punk and hardcore scenes they came up in as teenagers.

That kinetic energy informed "Listen Up!" from its earliest stages of the writing process, with Bolooki and Grushka traveling to Gilbert's Nashville-area home to flesh out the songs the guitarist had been crafting. Sitting face to face with their instruments, the three fell into a rhythm of workshopping and arranging together, leaning into a riff-first mentality that harkened back to iconic songs like "My Friends Over You" and "All Downhill From Here" in what Bolooki calls a musical return to form.

At this stage in their decorated career, NEW FOUND GLORY's goals are straightforward: keep inspiring the next generation of artists and continue writing songs that help their audience — and themselves — find strength, courage, and joy. The band has come a long way from their humble South Florida beginnings, as detailed on the "Listen Up!" standout "Beer And Blood Stains", a nostalgic riff-factory detailing the band's early battle scars at local clubs, where danger meant more than catching a stray elbow in the swirl of a circle pit. "Looking back, was it fun or crime?" Pundik muses on the track before elevating the album's simple-yet-profound mission statement: "It's good to be alive."

"Listen Up!" track listing:

01. Boom Roasted
02. 100%
03. Laugh It Off
04. A Love Song
05. Beer and Blood Stains
06. Medicine
07. Treat Yourself
08. Dream Born Again
09. You Got This
10. Frankenstein's Monster

Reactivated San Francisco Bay Area metallers FORBIDDEN have signed with BLKIIBLK, the heavy metal imprint of Frontiers Label Group. The band's long-awaited follow-up to 2010's "Omega Wave" album is currently being tracked at Sharkbite Studios in Oakland, California with engineer/co-producer Zack Ohren for a tentative mid-2026 release.

Joining FORBIDDEN's founding guitarist Craig Locicero and bassist Matt Camacho in the band's current lineup are drummer Chris Kontos (formerly of MACHINE HEAD and ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT),guitarist Jeremy Von Epp and vocalist Norman Skinner (ex-IMAGIKA and NIVIANE).

FORBIDDEN commented: "When FORBIDDEN was 'reborn' in 2023, we knew we were going to write new music. That excited us. We also knew that we were in no rush to be signed or obligated to anything that didn't feel ideal. Well… that situation has finally revealed itself.

"We are elated to announce that FORBIDDEN has joined forces with one of our industry's biggest champions of heavy music and our old friend Mike Gitter at BLKIIBLK / Frontiers.

"Mike recently left Century Media to take over A&R at BLKIIBLK and envisioned FORBIDDEN as his first signing. It's the perfect home for all parties.

"FORBIDDEN and Mike Gitter all have histories and wealth of experiences to pull from. We're older, wiser and learned from our collective pasts. This situation couldn't be any more perfect.

"We're presently recording our first album in 16 years with enthusiasm and fire! Can't wait to share it with everyone."

During the most recent sessions at Sharkbite, Kontos laid down his tracks for eight new FORBIDDEN original tunes. FORBIDDEN also recorded "one super-secret cover song".

Last November, FORBIDDEN announced it had parted ways with VOIVOD guitarist Daniel "Chewy" Mongrain and replaced him with Von Epp.

Prior to entering the studio to record the new album, Locicero stated about Von Epp: "Locking horns with Jeremy has been creative, fun and seamless. He certainly knows his way around his guitar and recording gear. It's been the most detailed preproduction the band has done thus far."

Mongrain originally joined FORBIDDEN in July 2024 as the replacement for Steve Smyth.

Smyth exited FORBIDDEN in July 2024, saying in a statement that he "decided it's time to part ways with FORBIDDEN, and return to my band ONE MACHINE as priority, along with other projects on the horizon, and of course session work, and teaching music as always."

In October 2025, FORBIDDEN released the official Mike Sloat-directed music video for the band's second new song in over 15 years, "Mutually Assured Dysfunction". "Mutually Assured Dysfunction" and "Divided By Zero", which was made available in late June 2025, marked FORBIDDEN's first recordings with Mongrain, who was joined in FORBIDDEN's lineup by Locicero, Camacho and the group's recent additions, Skinner and Kontos.

FORBIDDEN's summer 2025 "40 Years Of Twisted Evil" European tour celebrated the 40th anniversary of the band's formation and the 35th anniversary of the release of FORBIDDEN's second album, "Twisted Into Form", which originally came out in March 1990 via Combat Records.

The first lineup of the resurrected FORBIDDEN — consisting of Locicero, Camacho, Skinner, Kontos and Smyth — made its live debut at a "secret" show in July 2023 at Baltic Kiss in Richmond, California under the TWISTED INTO EVIL banner.

Back in August 2024, Locicero seemed less enthusiastic about the prospect of signing with a record label, telling Bloodstock TV's Oran O'Beirne: "We don't have a record label. I don't want a record label yet. I have an opportunity to finally do this with no monkey… It's important to say that we have no delusions of grandeur either. I think that we understand more than anybody how much the industry has changed. I don't wanna get caught in the machine, and the machine can chew you up before you get creative. You can get stunted creatively if you agree too quickly. 'Cause we've been approached already. And I'm, like, 'Not yet.' We're not gonna go there yet.

"It's important for us to feel like we got our album done and artistically put together, lyrically," Craig added. "No one needs to fucking tell us how to do it. And I feel good about our chances of at least reigniting and kind of reforging our path again. 'Cause there's a spot for us. 'Cause we've got all our Bay Area brothers, but we're that band, we're a little more heavy metal, a little more melodic. We do things a little differently. So we have our own little spot. And I hope to have it all land where it's supposed to be."

STORY OF THE YEAR has released a new single, "Disconnected". The track is the second offering from the band's upcoming eighth studio album, "A.R.S.O.N.", due out everywhere February 13, 2026 via SharpTone Records.

"Disconnected" is a vulnerable, no-holds-barred track that captures the frustration of wanting to get better without knowing where to start and resisting the urge to implode in loneliness. Cathartic screams, punchy guitars and massive drums drive the song's intensity as STORY OF THE YEAR frontman Dan Marsala confesses, "I'm sick of being disconnected from everything I need." The music video is a moody, visually captivating accompaniment that captures the head-spinning feeling of being caught between the desire to heal and the feeling of falling apart.

"'Disconnected' is one of those songs that nicely encapsulates where we are creatively these days: big, anthemic vocals and massive guitar riffs over high-energy drums," explains STORY OF THE YEAR guitarist Ryan Phillips. "When I showed Colin [Brittain] the original version of the song, he loved everything besides the main guitar riff I had at the time. One day by chance I played him a song that I had planned for a solo record. It was this long piano piece that slowly gained momentum and then finally exploded into this really heavy low tuned whammy bar riff. He stopped the song and said, 'Dude, that's the riff we need. We have to use that as the main riff for 'Disconnected'.' He cut it together and it worked perfectly. Sometimes that's how it goes!"

"Disconnected" is the second track off of "A.R.S.O.N.", giving fans yet another early taste of the heaviness, raw emotion, and intense energy they can expect from the new record. It follows the first single, "Gasoline (All Rage Still Only Numb)", an explosive song about the consequences of reaching your breaking point that topped SiriusXM Octane as the No. 1 most-played track after release and is currently tied for the fifth most-added song on active rock charts this week.

With "A.R.S.O.N.", STORY OF THE YEAR push their sound forward while homing in on the raw honesty that defines them. The title, an acronym for "All Rage, Still Only Numb", sets the tone for an album that turns their explosive energy toward themes of anxiety, emotional unrest, and the shadows we carry. Fusing sharp modern post-hardcore with polished production and echoes of their early emo identity, "A.R.S.O.N." emerges as a charged, cohesive journey through what it means to survive yourself.

STORY OF THE YEAR exploded on to the scene with its groundbreaking debut "Page Avenue", one of the first albums of its kind to sell over a million copies. The breakout single "Until The Day I Die" quickly became both an enduring anthem and a mission statement for the band. What began as four friends working in a St. Louis pizza joint evolved into a movement, connecting deeply with fans through every era. From "Page Avenue" (2003) to "In The Wake Of Determination" (2005),"The Black Swan" (2008),"The Constant" (2010),"Wolves" (2017) and "Tear Me To Pieces" (2023) the band, comprised of Dan Marsala, Ryan Phillips, Josh Wills, and Adam Russell, has delivered a signature blend of melodic aggression, raw vulnerability, and anthems built to scream along to in the dark.

"A.R.S.O.N." track listing:

01. Gasoline (All Rage Still Only Numb)
02. Disconnected
03. See Through
04. Fall Away
05. 3 AM
06. Into The Dark
07. My Religion
08. Halos
09. Good For Me / Feel So Bad
10. Better Than High
11. I Don't Wanna Feel Like This Anymore

The "A.R.S.O.N." cover art was created by Marcus Wallinder and can be seen below.

Photo credit: Ryan Smith

After a nearly five-decade (and counting) career as one of his generation's defining rock bassists, Flea will release his first full-length solo album, "Honora", on March 27, 2026 via Nonesuch Records. Time and space have finally allowed him to return to his first musical loves: jazz and playing the trumpet. The album track "Traffic Lights", co-written with Thom Yorke and Josh Johnson and featuring vocals, piano, and synth from Yorke, is available today; you can watch a visualizer for it — with direction, animation, and illustration by nespy5euro — below. Flea and the HONORA band embark on an international tour, playing intimate venues in select cities, this May; see below for details.

For "Honora", which takes its name from a beloved family member, Flea composed and arranged the music, and also plays trumpet and bass throughout, joined by an elite crew of modern jazz visionaries: album producer and saxophonist Josh Johnson, guitarist Jeff Parker, bassist Anna Butterss and drummer Deantoni Parks. The record features vocals from Flea, as well as friends Thom Yorke and Nick Cave. Mauro Refosco (David Byrne, ATOMS FOR PEACE) and Nate Walcott (BRIGHT EYES),among others, also join the band. The album comprises six original songs — including one co-written by Flea, Johnson and Yorke — as well as interpretations of tunes by George Clinton and Eddie Hazel, Jimmy Webb, Frank Ocean and Shea Taylor, and Ann Ronell.

"Deantoni and I played what became 'Traffic Lights' the first day," Flea says. "Something about it reminded me of ATOMS FOR PEACE, so I sent it to Thom. Just knowing him, I thought it would be a rhythm and a sensibility that he would relate to. And I was right, he did. With a gorgeous melody and the words, you know, about living in the 'upside down' and how do you make sense of things when we're getting all this fake shit and real shit? Everyone has their ways of dealing with the world. But he's just the warmest, free-flowing, jamming motherf*cker."

Best known as a founding member and bassist for the RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS, Flea was first introduced to live jazz as a child, when family friends played the music together in his own living room. "It was the greatest thing I ever saw," he recalls. "The wildness, warmth and we of it. Straight Bebop. Boom. I knew there were higher things on this earth, way above the pettiness that had left me disheartened. The holy trifecta of my life, music, sports and nature was complete."

Though he dreamed of being like his heroes Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis and Clifford Brown, Flea's path went a different direction: His close friend Hillel Slovak asked him to pick up the bass and join his rock band when he was sixteen, leading Flea into a decades-long career with the hugely successful CHILI PEPPERS.

But late one night in 1991, in the midst of that band's ascent, Flea was acting in the now-classic Gus Van Sant film "My Own Private Idaho" when he shared with a friend, "I want to make an instrumental record with deep hypnotic grooves, trippy melodies layered on top, meditations on a groove." The caveat was that he first needed to get his trumpet-playing together.

As Flea neared his sixtieth birthday, he realized if he did not pick up the trumpet again, he probably never would. So he resolved to practice every day for two years — in the midst of a stadium tour with RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS, with a wife and newborn at home. At the end of those two years, he would make an album, regardless of where his knowledge or talents ended up.

Until "Honora", Flea had never been scared of making music before. He worried that the all-star band he had assembled would think he was "a non-playing motherf*cker, charlatan, rock poseur or fan." But, he says, "It turns out they were all the most genuinely supportive people, moving me deeply and daily with their generous spirits ... Sitting in a room and playing the music with them made me feel like I was on drugs. I was buzzing, tripping and floating around the studio. I love them, they truly gave of themselves. I bow all the way down."

Flea and the HONORA band on tour:

May 07 - Thalia Hall - Chicago, IL
May 09 - Opera House - Toronto, ON
May 10 - Théâtre Beanfield - Montreal, QC
May 12 - Webster Hall - New York, NY
May 13 - Black Cat - Washington, DC
May 16 - Fonda Theater - Los Angeles, CA
May 21 - Heimathafen - Berlin, Germany
May 22 - Paradiso - Amsterdam, Netherlands
May 26 - Koko - London, UK
May 28 - Alhambra - Paris, France