MASTODON drummer Brann Dailor has revealed that he contracted COVID-19, the disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, immediately after the band's recently completed U.S. tour with OPETH. "Right when I got home from tour, I had COVID — like the day I got home," he told Art Of Rock in a new interview (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). "I tested positive. I got pretty sick, actually. I was sick for a couple of weeks. I was down and out. But I guess the good news of it was it didn't happen while we were on tour and it happened when I got home. So I was, like, 'Oh, I'm sick.' And I had the opportunity to be sick and I didn't have to get on stage and play and stuff, which I've done with the flu many times; it's one of the worst feelings ever, but you've gotta bring the music to the people. It doesn't matter how you feel — do it."

According to Dailor, he has played a number of shows in the past when he didn't feel a hundred percent healthy. "Many times I'd be laying backstage, on one of the couches backstage, just feeling like death, thinking to myself, 'I don't know how I'm gonna pull this off,' and then getting up there," he said. "I've had some of my best shows when I've been sick as a dog. So I don't know what happens there. But something else takes over. Maybe a couple of NyQuils [cough, cold and flu medicine] and you're feeling like you're out of your mind and you get up there and just play the drums and your body takes over. I don't recommend it."

Dailor went on to say that MASTODON is planning on returning to the road later this year. "We will announce something soon," he said. "We're just waiting for it to completely solidify and come all together. But, yeah, there'll be some dates coming up soon.

"It's a strange world, isn't it?" he continued. "It's been a strange time. Nothing's really stable right now, unfortunately. We kind of thought that, 'Okay, we're back. Everything's back, right?' But it's, like, hold your horses, I guess. But I think that things are moving in the right direction. We should have a nice, big announcement soon for another tour in the States."

This past November, MASTODON was announced as one of the "Best Metal Performance" nominees at the 64th annual Grammy Awards, which will be held on April 3, 2022, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The progressive metallers were nominated for their song "Pushing The Tides", the first single from their latest album, "Hushed And Grim", which came out in October.

The follow-up to 2017's "Emperor Of Sand", "Hushed And Grim"was recorded at West End Sound, which is located inside of Ember City, the rehearsal facility that members of MASTODON manage in Atlanta. Helming the effort was Grammy-winning producer/mixer/engineer David Bottrill, who has previously worked with MUSE, DREAM THEATER and TOOL, among many others.

The "Hushed And Grim" artwork was created by longtime MASTODON collaborator Paul Romano, who also designed the sleeves for "Crack The Skye", "Blood Mountain", "Leviathan" and more.

"Emperor Of Sand" debuted at No. 7 on the Billboard 200. That LP was nominated for the 2018 Grammy Award for "Best Rock Album," and its opening track, "Sultan's Curse", won the Grammy Award for "Best Metal Performance."

Voltagehawk has released their debut full length album Electric Thunder w/ TLG Entertainment/ INgrooves. Electric Thunder takes you on a cosmic journey through Voltagehawk's rock and roll planet. 


The band blends unique guitar tones and hard-hitting drum beats with a mix of lively yet meaningful lyrics to bring to life their other-worldy vision. Electric Thunder is a true rock and roll record- assertive and zealous balanced with an old school groove. With this worthy full length album under their belt and a new video for featured track "The Cosmic Hangman" to support it, Voltagehawk proves that they're here to make their mark.







"On 10/17/17 I was dead. I had drank myself into oblivion. Years of depression, abuse, and confusion as a child had finally caught up with me. As I lay unconscious, I was at perfect peace; no pain, no ringing in my ears, just floating for 9 minutes as the paramedics brought me back. I heard a voice inside my mind ask if I wanted to stay in the cosmic womb or if I would stop drinking. Those were my only options. I chose to give up the bottle, accept help for the first time in my life, and enter a treatment program. It changed everything. My moment of peace in the cosmic womb let me know that there was something after this life, but not what they had taught me as a child. The reception of my new found life was mixed. As I went on a journey of amends, I was embraced by some and rejected by others. I was told that without religion I couldn’t possibly have changed. They were wrong, I had changed.


“The rule of the papacy has long cast judgment on those seeking change outside the constructs of religion or faith. This song is an anthem for the undamned, unfallen, and unredeemed. Rebirth is not a battle between heaven and hell, but a battle between mind and body."


 -Daniel Fenton, Voltagehawk





While recording at Electric Thunder Studios with Geoff Piller, Mastering by Brian Lucey at Magic Garden Mastering (Black Keys, Ghost, Arctic Monkeys, Dr. John, Marilyn Manson) the band put together an energetic, fast paced, melodic opener set and quickly found themselves supporting national touring acts including Beasto Blanco (Chuck Garric of Alice Cooper), The Pink Spiders, Goodbye June, Toke, and Duel.


Continuing on its mission to fuse melodic Nashville songwriting sensibilities with raw Rock and Roll power, Voltagehawk is excited to release its debut full-length 13 song space epic Electric Thunder.


Electric Thunder follows a young heroine's journey through space and time as she comes to realize she is the only translator for the most important message Earth has ever received.

Finnish death metal band Torture Killer has provided an update on their new EP:


"It's now been nine years since our last release, Phobia (2013) - after a long creative dry season, as we were approaching the end of the decade, we finally had some fresh ideas for new Torture Killer music. Going back to the analog recording was something that had been on the back of our minds for some time. When we heard that Santeri (the guy who recorded Phobia and I Chose Death) had left the business - it was the time to explore that path. Now or never. None of us liked where the modern production had gone, and if the best of the best, our idols couldn't get it right... what did we have to lose? In February 2019 we entered Astia Studios with hopes to come out with a new, all analog EP. The beginning of a nightmare that would last for the next two years.


Some of the unorthodox approaches of recording that were done during the Astia sessions were instantly apparent when listening to the final mixes. We let our guard down at a moment when we should've known better. Rather than having a ready-to-go master in our hands, we had a reel of sub-bar level recording that had cost us the amount of a full length album. I'd burn that reel in an oil-barrel before having anyone else hear it the way it was. A disappointment like that takes the life out of you for months. You don´t even want to think about it. But as the months rolled on, we started to look for options where to fix the problems we had. Analog studios are few and far between. The ones that could run the reel we had were even fewer. But at the end we found a place, and in January 2020 we entered JJ Studios.




While we fixed the original flaws of the Astia sessions, we still struggled with the mix and at the end decided we had no choice but the let go of the all-analog dream and mix the EP ourselves with a help of a friend, Taneli Hatakka, who runs a home studio near the place we live. During the winter months of 2021 we finally finished the EP.


Like I said earlier, it´s been a nightmare, but it was worth it. We took a financial hit but fuck it. It's the end result that matters. Love the songs on the EP, love the sound and can´t wait for you to hear it.


Right now we are waiting our label to announce its release. Why the wait then? Because of the comeback of the vinyl format, all the pressing plants have a line of 4-6 months for all releases. We have an amazing cover art for this done by our old friend, Wes Benscoter, the same guy who did our cover art for Swarm! - and we want this done the right way - CD and LP. More news as they come.


So, in conclusion, thanks for sticking with us - we are still here and are about to drag you into the void."


(Picture by Toni Forssell, courtesy of Torture Killer's official Facebook page)


 

Kid Rock has threatened to cancel concerts on his upcoming tour if venues require fans to show proof of vaccine or potentially have other COVID-19 safety protocols in place.

In a Facebook video, Kid Rock assured fans that he and his team did extensive research and are confident that they hadn't booked a gig at a venue with a hard vaccine mandate.

"If there are any venues — I'm not aware of any — they're gonna be gone by the time we get to your city," he said. "If they're not, you don't have to worry, you'll be getting your money back — because I won't be showing up either. If you think I'm going to sit out there and sing 'Don't Tell Me How To Live' and 'We The People' while people are holding up their fucking vaccine cards and wearing masks — that shit ain't happening."

Kid Rock did not clarify whether he would play shows at venues where a negative COVID-19 test is required. However, according to Rolling Stone, several arenas where he is booked to perform — including PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, New Jersey, and the Xfinity Center in Mansfield, Massachusetts — require proof of vaccine or a negative COVID test from within 72 hours.

Kid Rock's U.S. tour with FOREIGNER and GRAND FUNK RAILROAD will kick off on April 6 at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana, making stops across the U.S. in Nashville, Boston, Chicago, and more before wrapping up with two shows in Detroit. JASON BONHAM'S LED ZEPPELIN EVENING will appear on select dates on the 24-city "Bad Reputation Tour", with a special appearance by Trey Lewis at all shows.

Earlier this week, Kid Rock released three new songs: "We The People", "The Last Dance" and "Rockin'". The most controversial track of the three, "We The People" features the chorus of "Let's go, Brandon," conservative code for "Fuck Joe Biden" (born when a NASCAR reporter misheard a crowd, reporting that they chanted in support of racer Brandon Brown when they were actually chanting expletives toward the U.S. president), and also takes aim at the mainstream media, CNN, TMZ, Twitter and Facebook, as well as mask mandates and COVID-19 restrictions.




New video message from Kid Rock regarding the upcoming tour, vax mandates, new music, and MORE. '

For tour info go to https://kidrock.com

To hear the new music go to https://smarturl.it/KR-NewMusic

Posted by Kid Rock on Thursday, January 27, 2022

In a major interview discussing KISS's classic "Destroyer" album, Paul Stanley admitted that he had a really hard time dealing with producer Bob Ezrin's decision to give the Stanley-penned classic song "God Of Thunder" to Gene Simmons to sing. "Let's put it mildly," Stanley says in the new issue of Rock Candy magazine. "It was crushing and devastating. We'd understood and agreed that the role of the producer on 'Destroyer' was to have final say and make decisions. When I played 'God Of Thunder', Bob immediately said, 'Oh, that's great. That's for Gene.' I was just devastated. The idea of a song so quickly being passed off from me to someone else… It was difficult, and it remained a sore point, even when I heard it finished."

When the "Destroyer" album was first released in March of 1976, "God Of Thunder" was quickly recognized as both a KISS classic and Gene's signature song. Soon Stanley was forced to admit that Ezrin's decision to give the bassist and vocalist the tune was absolutely right. "It's so much a Gene song," says Stanley. "It's truly a highlight of who Gene is, and it would never have been as great a song if I'd sung it. Never. Bob was right and Gene did a great job. And at least I have the satisfaction and the joy of knowing that the song that personifies Gene is mine."

In the Rock Candy cover feature, Stanley and Simmons go deep into the mechanics of making their breakthrough album, while also revealing the concerns they had at the time after some of the first people they played the album to weren't crazy about it. "They didn't find it heavy enough," admits Stanley. "And coming on the heels of 'Alive!', which really captured the rawness of the band, I understand. But we did what we needed to do."

Rock Candy also brought together five acknowledged KISS experts and fanatics to try to decide on the best albums the band have produced in their career of almost 50 years. The panel consisted of Michael Brandvold, former KISS webmaster and host of the much-loved KISS podcast "Three Sides Of The Coin"; Larry Mazer, erstwhile KISS manager; Frank Novinec, guitarist with HATEBREED and KISS obsessive; Ross Sampson, Rock Candy's digital supremo and lifelong KISS fan; Mark Cicchini, rabid KISS collector and "Three Sides Of The Coin" cohort. The unofficial KISS podcast "Three Sides Of The Coin" has over 7.5 million plays since it was founded in 2012, with over 450 weekly episodes.

Read this 12-page KISS feature and many other fascinating stories including SCORPIONS, ANTHRAX and Steve Vai in issue 30 of Rock Candy.

Rock Candy is a 100-page, full-color bi-monthly rock magazine, created in the U.K. It covers the sights, sounds and smells from the greatest era in hard rock music, the '70s and '80s. Put together by respected U.K. rock journalists Derek Oliver, Howard Johnson and Malcolm Dome — all frontline writers for the legendary Kerrang! magazine in the golden era — Rock Candy is available in print format with a free digital download version for anyone who buys the mag online at www.rockcandymag.com.

WHITESNAKE leader David Coverdale, who collaborated with Jimmy Page on a well-received album nearly 30 years ago, was asked in a recent interview with the "Radio Forrest" podcast whether it's fair to say that Robert Plant is the lone holdout for another LED ZEPPELIN reunion. Despite promoter-led attempts to get the band to reform for a series of concerts, Plant remains committed to his new musical direction in the roots and blues-based "Americana" field.

Coverdale said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "That's not my territory at all. All I can tell you is that I would love for Jimmy Page to have his dream fulfilled to once again tour with LED ZEPPELIN. And Jonesy [LED ZEPPELIN bassist John Paul Jones] — they're great. And Jason [Bonham] is the obvious choice [to play drums for a reunited LED ZEPPELIN] — you know, the gene pool. [Late LED ZEPPELIN drummer] John [Bonham] was such an integral part — much more important than some people are aware, to have a drummer like that. It makes you structure music entirely different so the drums breathe. [They made] beautiful, perfect records."

Circling back to the prospect of a LED ZEPPELIN reunion, Coverdale continued: "I have no idea why it isn't happening. I'm just very happy that I have a great friendship and relationship, supportive, a mutual admiration society, with Jimmy. I had the great pleasure of [getting] the rights back to the COVERDALE PAGE record, and now we could do whatever we want with it. Because in 2023, it's the 30th anniversary [of the release of COVERDALE PAGE's eponymously titled LP]. And we have unreleased songs. We'll be doing a box set for that, as you can imagine."

Upon its release, "Coverdale Page" sold strongly, peaking at No. 4 on the U.K. album chart and No. 5 in the U.S. The album eventually went platinum in the U.S., despite the fact that the project as a whole was marred by the "LED ZEPPELIN clone" tag, including from Plant, who openly expressed his disdain for Coverdale, referring to him as "David Cover-version." Coverdale was equally vitriolic in his response, saying about the LED ZEPPELIN singer, "There's certainly no love lost between myself and Robert… I wouldn't send him cat food if he was starving."

Coverdale later apologized to Plant, saying in a 2013 interview with TeamRock Radio's "Classic Rock Magazine Show": "I hold [Plant] in the highest esteem as a human being, and as an artist, and I really would like to, you know, sit down, buy him a drink, shake hands and say: 'I'm really sorry," you know, "Can we be friends again?' I don't hold any animosity, just disappointment in myself that I took the bait and ran with some ugly things. Because it's not appropriate for somebody I respect so much."

LED ZEPPELIN's December 10, 2007 performance during the Ahmet Ertegun tribute concert was chronicled on the band's 2012 "Celebration Day" CD and DVD. The set, which featured Jason Bonham subbing for his late father on drums, marked Plant, Page and Jones's first full-scale show together since John Bonham's 1980 death.

After the the O2 Arena concert, Page and Jones were looking for a way to keep working and tried out several singers, including AEROSMITH's Steven Tyler and ALTER BRIDGE's Myles Kennedy.

The option for a three-quarter ZEPPELIN reunion ended when Jones accepted an offer to form THEM CROOKED VULTURES with Dave Grohl and Josh Homme. Page later said: "I guess that was a pretty definitive statement."

In a new interview with Montreal Rocks, guitarist Andreas Kisser was asked what makes a "perfect SEPULTURA show." He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It depends. There are so many variables during a day. I think the perfect show is when you really put everything out of the normal life or the normal day and you put yourself, during an hour and a half, in a different world and you really go to the stage and you go to a different place — you act different and you feel different. Every artist will tell you that. If you see somebody on stage, off stage is very different characteristics and atmosphere. So, once we are able to do that, that's great — that we're gonna enjoy ourselves and really sing the lyrics with our fans and lights and all the stuff and really be there without really thinking anything else. And I have to say we are like that naturally."

He continued: "It really helps, the whole atmosphere of being on stage, celebrating music and stuff and really enjoy ourselves and really play the songs that we want to play and not really think about, 'What's the formation of the band of this music or this album, which label and stuff?' We don't do like, let's say, a political setlist — we play [songs] from 'Bestial Devastation' to 'Quadra', everything; whatever we feel pleased like and whatever the concept of the tour is. And the fans, they don't wanna know about all this bullshit that happens backstage, like fights with labels and managers and all that crap; they wanna go there and really enjoy the music, and that's what we do. And as long as we keep this feeling and this spirit, it's gonna be a great show, for sure."

Formed in 1984 in Brazil, SEPULTURA has gone on to sell over millions of records and solidify its legacy as one of the greatest metal bands of the 1980s, 1990s, and beyond. Today, SEPULTURA is still going strong, 15 albums deep into one of the hardest-hitting discographies in history.

While the pandemic paralyzed the entire world and prevented bands from touring, Latin America's biggest metal export SEPULTURA refused to sit back and feel like animals trapped in a cage. Therefore, in early 2020, the band seized the moment to start its own weekly "SepulQuarta" video podcast in which they invited other famous musicians from all over the world to not only discuss important topics but also perform a track from SEPULTURA's massive catalog together with the group. The resulting full-length compilation was released in August 2021, with the album containing 15 classics featuring internationally renowned guests and friends.

SEPULTURA comprises Kisser, vocalist Derrick Green, bassist Paulo Xisto Pinto Jr., and drummer Eloy Casagrande.

SEPULTURA was formed in Belo Horizonte by brothers Max and Igor Cavalera, who are no longer with the band.

Geoff Tate says that he doesn't expect a reunion of QUEENSRŸCHE's classic lineup to ever materialize.

In April 2014, Tate and QUEENSRŸCHE announced that a settlement had been reached after a nearly two-year legal battle where the singer sued over the rights to the QUEENSRŸCHE name after being fired in 2012. Fellow original QUEENSRŸCHE members Michael Wilton (guitar), Scott Rockenfield (drums) and Eddie Jackson (bass) responded with a countersuit. The settlement included an agreement that Wilton, Rockenfield and Jackson would continue as QUEENSRŸCHE, while Tate would have the sole right to perform the albums "Operation: Mindcrime" and "Operation: Mindcrime II" in their entirety live.

During a January 24 appearance on SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", Tate was asked if he is hopeful that a QUEENSRŸCHE reunion will happen someday. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I'm honestly not really expecting that to happen, basically because we've been offered just obscene amounts of money to get back together and do one tour — one tour and we'd never have to tour again. And a couple of people in the band turned it down; they're not interested in doing it. So that would really be, I think, the only motivation that would get everybody together was an obscene amount of money. But that didn't work, so [laughs] there's really no hope for it after that, I think… Money is not the motivator, and getting together for an artistic dream isn't a motivator either, so what do you have? You have nothing. Obviously, both camps are happy in the position they're at. I know for myself, I love my life — I love what I'm doing and I love traveling and playing music for people. And so far, I'm still kicking it at 63, still happy and healthy."

Geoff went on to say that he is fine with the prospect of never returning to QUEENSRŸCHE and continuing to pursue his solo career and other projects for the rest of his time as a performing artist.

"We did hold it together for years and years and years," he said. "It was a really, really tightly run ship and it was very lucrative and we had a lot of great records and did a lot of world touring and made a lot of friends and played a lot of music together. And we had our time, and I'll aways be grateful for that time that we had. That was a time, and it doesn't mean that that time has to go on forever. There's new times to be had and there's more music to be made, there's more songs to be sung and more audiences to play music for."

Tate has gone back and forth on the subject of a reunion with QUEENSRŸCHE, telling The Rock Vault in November 2019 about the possibility of rejoining his former bandmates: "I think that would be something that makes sense, and I think it would be an interesting thing to do, if everybody could get in the same room and actually talk to each other." However, just eight months earlier, he dismissed the chances of a QUEENSRŸCHE reunion, telling Greece's "TV War" that he had "no interest in that. No. Not at all. [I have] absolutely no reason to," he said. "I don't need the money. That'd be the only reason to do it. Maybe if they paid me, like, 10 million dollars or something like that. [Laughs]"

He continued: "It was a good thing for a long time, and then it went really bad. And I just don't want that kind of negativity in my life. My life is so good, and I have such great friends and family. I travel the world and sing songs for a living. I mean, it's lovely. I have wonderful, positive people in my life, and to go back and be in that negative land again… aargh, I just couldn't do it. It's not worth it."

Tate previously described his time in QUEENSRŸCHE as "a strange, strange sort of relationship." He told The Metal Gods Meltdown: "We weren't really friends, you know — we were business associates. We had a wonderful entity that we shared called QUEENSRŸCHE, but it wasn't an equal sort of partnership as far as involvement goes. You know, so there wasn't a real camaraderie amongst everybody in the band… From my perspective and my involvement, it wasn't an emotional sort of brotherhood kind of thing that some people might think existed. That wasn't my reality with them."

Last year, current QUEENSRŸCHE singer Todd La Torre told "Paltrocast With Darren Paltrowitz" about the chances of Tate's return to QUEENSRŸCHE: "It's funny. I always hear, 'There'll definitely be an all-original lineup reunion. Every band does it.' And I'm thinking, if you knew what I know, I don't think that's gonna happen. And other than the optics of it, why? What's the point? We saw for 15 years what it sounded like."

In October, Rockenfield, who stepped away from QUEENSRŸCHE's touring activities in early 2017 to spend time with his young son, filed a lawsuit against Wilton and Jackson, alleging, among other things, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty and wrongful discharge. Rockfenfield also claimed that Wilton and Jackson did not include him in the recording QUEENSRŸCHE's latest album, "The Verdict", "despite his availability and willingness to participate."

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

QUEENSRŸCHE has used former KAMELOT drummer Casey Grillo for touring purposes since April 2