Former JUDAS PRIEST guitarist K.K. Downing spoke to "The Rock Show With Lee Graham" about how he came up with the idea of adding a second guitarist to the band's early lineup, thereby creating the legendary twin-guitar sound that is synonymous with the Rob Halford-fronted outfit. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We were just a four-piece for quite a long time, really. And that particular period kind of set a precedent, I think, for everything that I thought was in my mind as best as I could do it, really. The goal was to be heavy, whatever that meant. And what it really meant was to be emotional with attitude and to be different to what other people were doing, because what other people were doing had a different target audience. So kind of that's what it was about. And then, as time went on, the idea came about… We managed to get a record deal but they said, 'Look, there's too many bands who have the same lineup — FREE, LED ZEPPELIN, BLACK SABBATH, whatever. What about you guys having a saxophone player?' And I go, 'No way. You can keep your record deal.' 'A keyboard player?' 'No. Sorry.' So I sat and thought about it. I thought, 'Can we get a record deal and appease these guys?' And I'm thinking maybe a second guitar player. And I really thought that was a good idea, for lots of reasons. It would fill out the sound when I'm doing a solo. And I'm thinking if we can get another guitar player that can write, and he's a lead guitar player as well, we'll be two lead guitar players, two strong songwriters, it will fortify the band. And musically, we can venture into worlds that people haven't gone into yet. I had this crazy idea we can create heavy harmonies. And we did have a go at that. Because usually harmonies… 'Cause at the time you heard bands like THE ALLMAN BROTHERS and the JAMES GANG and the great WISHBONE ASH, and I wasn't a great fan because it kind of sounded a bit too light. 'Cause that's what harmonies do — when you start to build harmonies, they start to sound like chord structures, which they inevitably will, 'cause harmonizing with one note will build a chord. So I'm thinking we'll create… And we ventured out. And we eventually did. There is such a thing as diminished harmonies. You can stack minor thirds together — fine. It will sound not too pleasing to a lot of people, but to me it sounded great; it was dissonant."

He continued: "We got together [with Glenn Tipton]. And obviously, musically, what Glenn and myself brought together maybe didn't always agree, but I had a great appreciation, and I think Glenn did as well, is the fact that a band, it's a combination of people. And so some of the more melodic stuff, the slightly more commercial stuff that Glenn would come up with, I was in acceptance of that because I'm thinking that if we wanna really be successful with our music, then we really do need to broaden our horizons. And obviously, the combination worked incredibly well."

On January 10, JUDAS PRIEST revealed that it would perform as a four-piece when it returns to the road in early March. A few hours later, the band's touring guitarist Andy Sneap, who co-produced the group's 2018 album "Firepower", released a statement to BLABBERMOUTH.NET in which he said that he was "incredibly disappointed" by PRIEST's decision to carry on as a quartet and thanked the iconic outfit for the "mind-blowing" opportunity to share the stage with one of his favorite bands. Meanwhile, PRIEST fans were understandably upset about the band's decision to forgo its classic twin-guitar attack sound and made their feelings known on social media. Some even called for the return of Downing, who joined PRIEST in 1970 and remained in the group until 2011. On January 15, JUDAS PRIEST released a statement announcing that it was reversing its decision to tour as a four-piece, explaining that the bandmembers "decided unanimously" to continue their live shows "unchanged" with Rob, Ian Hill (bass), Richie Faulkner (guitar), Scott Travis (drums) and Andy.

Last week, Downing said in an interview that it was "very, very strange" for PRIEST "to even think about" the possibility of going out as a quartet. "I'm like everybody else. I'm totally bemused," he told the "Rock Of Nations With Dave Kinchen" classic rock show. It was just so extreme and insulting in a way, I guess, and insulting to Glenn as well. It was kind of a slap in the face, saying, 'Okay, you two guys did it, but we think just one guy could do what…' It kind of made us and everything that we've done and created, saying it was all superfluous, really, and didn't really have the value that… I'm sure Glenn will agree with me that it does have a value."

Ted Nugent has blasted a former top speechwriter for George W. Bush for criticizing Donald Trump Jr. over a recent speech in which the former first son lamented that conservatives had "ceded ground in every major institution in our country."

Last month, Peter Wehner penned an op-ed for The Atlantic in which he took issue with Trump Jr.'s December 19 remarks at the America Fest Conference hosted by Turning Point USA. Wehner wrote: "Throughout his speech, Don Jr. painted a scenario in which Trump supporters — Americans living in red America — are under relentless attack from a wicked and brutal enemy. He portrayed it as an existential battle between good and evil. One side must prevail; the other must be crushed. This in turn justifies any necessary means to win." He also slammed Trump Jr.'s character, which he called riddled with "corruption, ineptitude, and banality." He went on to lambaste the 45th president's oldest son as "intensely unappealing and uninteresting" and "a crude, one-dimensional figure who has done a remarkably good job of keeping from public view any redeeming qualities he might have."

Nugent weighed in on Wehner's comments during a recent episode of "The Nightly Nuge", a news-style clip in which Ted offers his take on the news of our world every night "in a concise, fiery fashion that [is] totally Ted." The outspoken conservative rocker said: "I would like to just make sure I remind everybody that George W. Bush and the entire Bush gang are the 'Deep State,'" referencing a term that describes a group of people who are believed to control the levers of power irrespective of who is in government. "They manifest wokeism; they genuflect at the altar of denial. Donald Trump Jr., on the other hand, is a truth-logic-and-common-sense, Constitution, Bill Of Rights, Ten Commandments, Golden Rule, Declaration Of Independence, be-the-best-that-you-can-be, law-and-order American, which is why there's a division. Because Donald Trump Jr. and the Nugent family and all my friends and neighbors, all my hunting buddies, fishing buddies, all my Second Amendment and First Amendment ralliers across America, we stand with Donald Trump Jr. and Donald Trump Sr. and good families who genuflect at the altar of the American Dream, life, liberty and pursuit of happiness.

"George W. Bush and his speechwriter were scam artists," Ted continued. "They aren't to be trusted. They represent a Deep State of criminal abuse of power.

"So God bless Don Jr. and not so much anybody associated with the Bushes."

Last April, George W. Bush described the modern-day GOP as "isolationist, protectionist, and to a certain extent, nativist." "It's not exactly my vision" for the party, Bush told NBC's "Today" show. "But, you know, I'm just an old guy they put out to pasture."

Nugent, who recently resigned from the board of the National Rifle Association (NRA) after 26 years, has called Donald Trump "the greatest president in our lifetime." He also said the billionaire real estate mogul represents "the heart and soul of the best American families out there."

Leading up to the 2020 presidential election, Nugent teamed up with Donald Trump Jr. on the campaign trail.

Frontiers Music Srl have released progressive metal act Lalu's new album, Paint The Sky. Watch a lyric video for the title track below, and order/save Paint The Sky here.


Lalu is a musical project originally founded in 2004 by the French composer and producer Vivien Lalu, son of Noelle and Michel Lalu (members of the ‘70s French progressive act Polène). Paint The Sky is the first album, and third album overall from the band, released under the new partnership between Vivien and Frontiers.


Paint The Sky is easily the most accomplished and mature album put together by Vivien thus far in his career. Being the son of two progressive musicians from the '70s and growing up surrounded by progressive music, Vivien always wanted to craft a true-to-its-roots progressive rock album. He spent a lot of time laying down the basics for the new effort and along with this new album comes a change in vocalist specifically designed for this more progressive version of Lalu. In May 2020, Vivien announced Damian Wilson (Arena, Headspace, Threshold) as the lead vocalist for Paint The Sky. Lalu's lineup on the album is rounded out by Jelly Cardarelli (on drums) and Joop Wolters (guitars and bass).




Guests on Paint The Sky include Alessandro Del Vecchio, Alex Argento, Gary Wehrkamp, Jens Johansson, Jordan Rudess, Marco Sfogli, Simon Phillips, Simone Mularoni, Steve Walsh, Tony Franklin, and Vikram Shankar. See tracklisting below for details on which tracks they appear on.


Lalu's first full-length album, Oniric Metal (2005) garnered critical acclaim upon its release, and marked a new chapter for Vivien and his insatiable need to create mind-expanding, cinematic music. Lalu's second opus, Atomic Ark (2013) featured vocalist Martin LeMar, bassist Mike LePond (Symphony X), guitarist Simone Mularoni (DGM), and world class drummer Virgil Donati (Planet X, Steve Vai, Allan Holdsworth). Additional contributions came from Jens Johansson (Stratovarius), Joop Wolters, Jordan Rudess (Dream Theater), Marco Sfogli (James LaBrie), Mike Andersson (Cloudscape) and Peter Wildoer (James LaBrie).


Spring 2014 saw Vivien venturing out on a unique live tour, hosting only a few select shows featuring the all-star Atomic Ark line-up of Martin LeMar, Mike LePond, Simone Mularoni, and Virgil Donati, adding Joop Wolters as a second guitarist on stage. After a few weeks’ practice, the tour culminated in the live recording of their set during the final stop. Produced by Vivien and mixed and mastered by Simone Mularoni at Domination Studio, the digital-only Live At P60 was released in June 2015.


Paint The Sky now marks the latest installment in the ever evolving musical odyssey that is Lalu. Come join the journey!





Tracklisting:


"Reset To Preset
"Won’t Rest Until The Heat Of The Earth Burns The Soles Of Our Feet Down To The Bone" (ft. Jens Johansson)
"Emotionalised"
"Paint The Sky" (ft. Steve Walsh, Tony Franklin, Alessandro Del Vecchio, Jens Johansson, Gary Wehrkamp)
"Witness To The World" (ft. Marco Sfogli)
"Lost In Conversation" (ft. Jens Johansson)
"Standing At The Gates Of Hell"
"The Chosen Ones" (ft. Jordan Rudess, Simone Mularoni)
"Sweet Asylum"
"We Are Strong"
"All Of The Lights" (ft. Vikram Shankar)
"Paint The Sky" [Instrumental] (ft. Tony Franklin, Simon Phillips, Alex Argento)


"Paint The Sky" lyric video:





"The Chosen Ones" video:





Lineup:


Damian Wilson - Vocals
Jelly Cardarelli - Drums
Joop Wolters - Guitars & bass
Vivien Lalu - Keyboards

During an appearance on the latest episode of the "Sing For Science" podcast, LAMB OF GOD frontman Randy Blythe joined Georgia state social psychologist Dr. Tony Lemieux for a conversation about identity politics, intergroup conflict in America, pathways to radicalization, mob psychology and more.

Speaking about the fact that social media's "alternative facts" are creating our alternative realities, Blythe said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Everyone's interpretation of reality is subjective, but there is an objective reality. And that appears to have been thrown out the window. And I think when people are presented with facts that go against the system of beliefs they've constructed around this identity around their political beliefs, they don't stop and go, 'Hmm, maybe I'm wrong.' I think they experience extreme cognitive dissonance. And the way that they deal with that is just to ignore the facts. And we've seen that a lot lately: 'That didn't happen'; 'I never said that'; blah blah blah. It's, like, yes, you did. These are easily provable things. Veracity is important. It does exist. But lately it seems to have been thrown out the window. And I certainly think social media has helped push that forward."

Blythe also addressed the fact that there is a surge in science denial at a time when we need to follow science-based practices if we want to find our way out of this pandemic. He said: "I think one thing we've seen with the coronavirus pandemic that has been problematic is that because the science on this is new and it's imperfect, and science is a process — it grows… When you get additional knowledge, additional data to analyze, you gain more understanding. Science doesn't have all the answers at all the times; it's a process. So that being said, I never thought I'd see the demonization of science that I'm seeing right now. But it's a growing thing. So I think it's hard for people to accept, when they look to people in positions of leadership, for them to say, people in positions of leadership saying, 'I don't know. We have to do more research.' And I think that has led to a lot of the conspiracy theory stuff, because people just don't wanna accept, 'Hey, we don't have all the answers right now. I know this sucks. But we have to hang in there and wait.'"

When asked what he thinks needs to be done to help deliver us from the current state of affairs, Blythe said: "I've come to the conclusion that there's questions that aren't being asked. And part of it, personally, on my part, I have to watch for my biases and my judgmental nature, as it were. But when people think very, very differently about reality than you do, in certain things, I think it's important, if you have the chance, to ask these people, 'What makes you think that way? Why do you feel this way?' instead of just saying, 'You're a fucking idiot' or writing them off. Because there's a myriad of factors that have brought people to this system of belief. It's not just like one day they woke up and decided, 'I'm going to totally distrust science.' Something has brought them to this point. So, for me, I think that is achievable on an individual level only.

"We were talking about crowd psychology or group psychology," he continued. "My job is to be in front of large crowds, and also I've been in large crowds in some rather contentious situations where the group mentality has taken over. It's impossible to change the mind of a mob. If there's a riot going on, you can't walk into the middle of a riot and say, 'Hey, everybody, what are you rioting about? This isn't right. You shouldn't do this.' You can't change the mind of that mass organism which is what it becomes. But if you can talk to an individual and say, 'Why are you angry? What are you upset about? What is causing you to express yourself in this manner?' and have an open conversation and maybe present your viewpoint, an alternate view to what's going on, maybe you can meet in the middle somewhere. And that can only really happen on an individual basis. I can get up and spew my ideas of reality in front of a crowd, and it will either be sort of people that already agree with the kind of things that I believe in, and thus I'll be preaching to the converted, or it's gonna be a bunch of people throwing bags of dogshit at me or whatever. It's impossible to alter the mentality of a crowd, but you can engage with an individual. So I think it's important for people to have individual conversations, one on one, and that gets harder and harder, I think, as people retreat more and more into their phones and their use of phones to communicate."

LAMB OF GOD's latest, self-titled album was released in June 2020 via Epic Records in the U.S. and Nuclear Blast Records in Europe. The follow-up to "VII: Sturm Und Drang" marked LAMB OF GOD's first recordings with Art Cruz, who joined the band in July 2019 as the replacement for the group's founding drummer, Chris Adler.

"Lamb Of God" was recorded with longtime producer Josh Wilbur (KORN, MEGADETH, GOJIRA, TRIVIUM) and includes special guest appearances by Jamey Jasta (HATEBREED) and Chuck Billy (TESTAMENT).

Progressive rock and roll legend Ian Anderson, founding member of JETHRO TULL, spoke to Canada's "The Rockman Power Hour" about the inspiration for the title track of the British band's first studio album of new material in over 18 years, "The Zealot Gene". He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It would be easy to say, 'Oh, he's talking about Donald Trump here.' I mean, too easy. In fact, it's a compendium of characters. I can easily name at least six or eight people in the world today — political leaders or national leaders whose populist policies are frighteningly dangerous. It's all about dividing people.

"In a democracy — in a true democracy, like in your country or mine, or a pseudo-democracy, like in some other countries — winning by a small margin is the reality of today, and so dividing people is way of winning affiliation. So you'll find in those countries led by populist leaders, people love them or hate them in pretty much equal measure, but it usually tilts towards right-wing, traditional, conservative values. Even those who perhaps think, 'This guy is really not a good leader, but he's all we've got.' There are the ardent Trump supporters, and then there are those who are dyed-in-the-wool ideological Republicans. They wouldn't necessarily be comfortable voting for Donald Trump but they want to maintain their Republican origins and so in the USA, that would be the case. Canada is a much more liberal country altogether, and there are many countries in Europe where coalition governments are the norm. But in my country and in the USA, it tends to be pretty much divided."

"The Zealot Gene" will see a January 28 release on InsideOut Music. A record that began to take shape as early as 2017, "The Zealot Gene", in many ways, seeks to defy convention during a time when the business of being a touring and recording artist has never faced more uncertainties.

With more than 30 albums to their credit and sales totaling more than 50 million, JETHRO TULL is one of the most successful rock bands of all time with a catalog that contains classics that still resonate today.

The band currently consists of:

Ian Anderson - Flute, Acoustic Guitar, Harmonica, Vocals

Joe Parrish-James - Guitar

Florian Opahle - Guitar (album only)

Scott Hammond - Drums.

John O'Hara - Piano, Keyboards, Accordion

David Goodier - Bass

In a new Revolver "Fan First" interview, CANNIBAL CORPSE frontman George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher shares his personal journey as a fan, from discovering BLACK SABBATH to a seismic moment watching DEATH's Chuck Schuldiner to his experiences in the early Florida death metal scene and his upcoming solo album.

Speaking about how Schuldiner inspired him to sing death metal, Fisher said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I saw DEATH play in Baltimore, Maryland, where I'm from, in 1987 or '88. It might have even been a little bit later, but I'm not sure. I know that 'Leprosy' had not come out yet. We had 'Scream Bloody Gore'. And 'Scream Bloody Gore' was great, but I did not really understand the power of Chuck Schuldiner's voice until that show. And there was, like, 25 people there; there was barely anyone there. And they were supposed to play with this band called DEAD BRAIN CELLS — D.B.C. from Canada — and D.B.C. couldn't play, so DEATH, I think, had a longer set. And I was literally standing right in front of Chuck Schuldiner; he was right there in front of me singing and playing. And when they played 'Infernal Death', 'Die! Die!', when he did the high [note], that changed my whole world; that changed my world like BLACK SABBATH did. I said to myself, 'I wanna sing like that. That's what I wanna do.' And I was listening to all these bands. I was probably singing stuff in my room, trying to be Jeff Becerra [POSSESSED] and Tom Araya [SLAYER]. When I saw Chuck Schuldiner, and then, all of a sudden, all these other waves of death metal bands started coming along, I knew that I wasn't ever gonna be singing or singing, like, thrash; I was gonna be singing growling and death metal."

He continued: "Chuck is less of a growler than, say, what most modern death metal singers are, like Glen Benton [DEICIDE] or John Tardy [OBITUARY]. But those high screams, if you've ever listened to us, then definitely he has the biggest hand in me ever wanting to do those. Chuck Billy on [TESTAMENT's] 'The Legacy' record, [the song] 'First Strike Is Deadly', the scream on that and some of the other higher screams he did on those records, it was amazing. Rob Urbinati from SACRIFICE [as well]. But Chuck Schuldiner was the one. When I saw it live, I was, like, 'Holy…' 'Cause he just stood there. It looked so effortless. He was singing like he was some 250-pound guy that could bench press 700 pounds and throw you across the street with one hand. And he's a little unassuming guy — a nice guy. But he sounded like Satan. It changed my world. It made me really go, 'Okay, I'm not trying to do this anymore. I'm gonna be a death metal singer. I don't have any reservations about which way I'm going. I'm going this way and this way only.'"

"Corpsegrinder" is due on February 25. The 10-song effort was co-produced by Nick Bellmore (DEE SNIDER, KINGDOM OF SORROW) and Jamey Jasta (HATEBREED) and will be made available through Jasta's new label, Perseverance Music Group. A song from the LP, "Acid Vat", features a guest appearance by Fisher's CANNIBAL CORPSE bandmate Erik Rutan.

Legendary Rotting Christ leader, Sakis Tolis, has released the first song from his upcoming solo album. A video for the song, "Among The Fires Of Hell", can be found below.





Says Tolis: "My dear friends, This is the first song from my upcoming solo album, 'Among The Fires Of Hell', that I would like to share exclusively via my Official Channel. This gonna be a D.I.Y. release with songs that I did write during harrowing "Lockdowns" and I felt like sharing with you these wild times free of charge. Thanks for your attention and hope you will enjoy my new creation."




Sakis previously revealed: "My upcoming solo album hich will be released independently and proudly via my own label and will be shared free of charge via all music platforms."


Stream/download "Among The Fires Of Hell" at Bandcamp, and stay tuned for updates.

Steve Vai and Ibanez have revealed the "Hydra." This one-of-a-kind instrument is the realized vision of a collaboration that's been five years in the making. It is a beast of an instrument — a one-bodied, two-headstock-ed, three-neck-ed creature that encompasses, among other things: 7 and 12-string guitars; a 4-string ¾ scale length bass; 13 sympathetic harp strings; half-fretless necks; single-coil, humbucking, piezo, MIDI and sustainer pickups; floating and hardtail tremolo bridges; phase splitters; and much, much more. Director Garson Yu and his team at yU+co were brought on to capture a deep look in to this magnificent creation which can be screened below

Vai comments: "We absolutely respected this instrument by having the brilliant Garson Yu and his team at yU+co create this phenomenal Hydra reveal video. The guitar geek in me is stunned every time I see it. This video captures the splendor and mystique of the Hydra in intimate detail. The conception and construction of the instrument was a monumental feat of creativity by a whole group of inspired people, and I could not be more happy with the way this video came out. Imagine being a half an inch tall and exploring the Hydra as an adventurer. It would be like exploring an alien planet. Sign me up!"

Yu says: "When I first saw the instrument at Steve's studio, I was stunned. I thought this was a creation that didn't belong here on earth — it looked extraterrestrial to me. When Steve played a track that he composed with the Hydra, I told him that it sounds so transparent and open, complex and spiritual on many levels. When we were filming, I put the guitar on the turntable and looked through the lens: It looked like an alien spaceship. It's epic. I told myself we need to create a video that has the same transcendent feeling of this instrument. My team and I are honored to be part of it."

Ibanez artist relations manager Mike Orrigo states: "'The 'Hydra', as Mr. Vai has appropriately dubbed it, started off as a concept that Steve approached Ibanez with several years ago. While it was understood then that the task to turn Steve's vision into reality would be a tremendous undertaking, we were undeterred by the challenge. Fueled by Steve's inspiration, our team of designers, engineers, and luthiers worked tirelessly together in order to create a truly one-of-a-kind instrument, remaining as true to the initial vision as possible. This incredible reveal video, produced by yU+co, perfectly captures the same feeling of awe and amazement that this magnificent beast of an instrument imparts on to all who are able to witness it in person!"

On January 28, the day of the release of Vai's new studio album "Inviolate", a one-of-one NFT of the Hydra reveal video will be auctioned via OpenSea. The highly coveted collectible features the video, plus unlockable bonus content that will be revealed to the buyer. Additional assets will be added over time for the winner to access. The opening bid has been set at 1 ETH. Once the auction is live, interested parties can access to bid here.

This is Vai's first foray in to the NFT space. There is consideration to broaden offerings in the future encompassing a deeper initiative to continue collectible drops focused on his vast collection of iconic instruments played throughout his career. Keep an eye on Vai.com for more detail.

"I feel this instrument has the potential to be historical," says Vai. "It's unique in various ways and its construction is inspired. And there's a song that was written on it that honors the potential of the instrument. This "Hydra reveal video" is the first video made that intimately details many of the unique aspects this guitar embodies."

Over the course of a more than 40-year career, Vai has routinely transformed what would appear to be outrageously impossible into something very, very possible… and still also pretty outrageous. From his days as Frank Zappa's "stunt guitar" player to his more recent expansive and exploratory solo work, Vai has continually challenged notions of traditional guitar playing and composition — and on more than one occasion even reimagined the very instrument itself.

Vai's newest and 13th solo album, "Inviolate", is a nine-song opus that pushes the boundaries of instrumental guitar music. The body of work presents his most focused, streamlined and perhaps invigorating music in years. "It's very 'Vai,' whatever that means," he says, and then laughs. "Someone else might be better than me at explaining what that is. But it's just very honest music. Because a lot of my records, they're long and there's a lot of concepts and playing around with stories. This one has none of that. This is nine pretty dense all-instrumental compositions that I wanted to capture and record so I could get out there and play them live for people."

SEVENDUST has commenced work on material for the follow-up to 2020's "Blood & Stone" album.

Earlier today, the official SEVENDUST social media was updated with a couple of photos from the Instagram accounts of guitarist Clint Lowery and singer Lajon Witherspoon, and it was accompanied by the following message: "Writing sessions have begun for the next album... The boys are hard at work! #sevendust".

Last month, SEVENDUST released a digital expanded edition of "Blood & Stone". "Blood & Stone Deluxe" contained five new tracks, including three never-before-released remixes and two newly recorded songs. Jake Bowen of PERIPHERY, Richard Wicander of FIRE FROM THE GODS and Justin deBlieck, formerly of ICE NINE KILLS, provided remixes and the band finished recording "All I Really Know" and "What You Are" specifically for this release. "Blood & Stone Deluxe" was released via all digital partners via Rise Records and was produced by Michael "Elvis" Baskette.

Witherspoon told Audio Ink Radio about the recording process for "Blood & Stone": "I feel like we've grown as not just artists but men, personally. I feel like we're seasoned, if that makes sense. Maybe we're just like an old wine. We've had time to really know each other. We're brothers. It's easy for us when we're in the studio. It's like a well-oiled machine, once we get back in there. That's where the magic happens, is when we're looking at each other. It always reminds me of when we first got together, whenever we get together, as long as we've been together. It's just because there's a certain light that comes on. It's always been great to have that."

Witherspoon also talked about SEVENDUST's longevity, saying: "You can't just call yourself a band just because you've got a group of people together. I think it's a group. I feel like you have to have a band when you've gone through a lot of things together, not only the good times, but the bad times. You've seen life together. You've seen death together with each other. You've helped each other. You've done all those types of things over the last 25 years, and that's the reason why I can say I'm very proud to be in SEVENDUST the band, not SEVENDUST the group."

He continued: "There are some bands out there — there's a lot of bands out there — and there are a lot of groups. I think it takes heart. I think it takes compassion. I think it takes some respect. To treat each other equally, like what we're trying to do in the world today, I feel like that's something that's kept us together. It's not one guy with a Ferrari and another guy with a Hyundai, which those are nice cars, too. I'm just saying in the scheme of things. So, I think that's something that's kept us together, too, is that not one guy's better or feeling better. When we get in a room sometimes, it feels like even though we're older men, I still feel like we're those kids that were in the recording room, wondering, how are we going to pay rent for the month? What show are we going to play? And it's a good feeling to feel happy after all these years."


Writing sessions have begun for the next album... The boys are hard at work! #sevendust

Posted by Sevendust on Tuesday, January 25, 2022

Jon Schaffer has released a digital edition of a new Iced Earth album, entitled A Narrative Soundscape, via Ravencraft Productions. Order the album at Amazon, and listen to the full set via the YouTube playlist below.


The album is made up of 15 tracks, originally available with the purchase of the deluxe edition of Schaffer's first book, Wicked Words And Epic Tales (Wicked Words, LLC). A Narrative Soundscape is a completely re-imagined delivery of the lyrics of Iced Earth songs created exclusively for the release. Longtime collaborator Jim Morris worked with Jon Schaffer on these versions.







A Narrative Soundscape tracklisting:


"Dystopia" (A Narrative Soundscape)
"Declaration Day" (A Narrative Soundscape)
"Wolf" (A Narrative Soundscape)
"Dante’s Inferno" (A Narrative Soundscape)
"Melancholy (Holy Martyr)" (A Narrative Soundscape)
"Dracula" (A Narrative Soundscape)
"Raven Wing" (A Narrative Soundscape)
"Angels Holocaust" (A Narrative Soundscape)
"The Clouding" (A Narrative Soundscape)
"Something Wicked Trilogy" (A Narrative Soundscape)
"Watching Over Me" (A Narrative Soundscape)
"Seven Headed Whore" (A Narrative Soundscape)
"Damien" (A Narrative Soundscape)
"A Question of Heaven" (A Narrative Soundscape)
"Come What May" (A Narrative Soundscape)











(Photo - Tim Tronckoe)

Architects have announced the release of their live album, For Those That Wish To Exist At Abbey Road, on March 25, which captures a historic livestream performance at London's iconic Abbey Road studios, spiritual home to legends like The Beatles and Pink Floyd.  Watch the video for the colossal version of the first single, "Impermanence", below.


The album features a reimagined orchestral version of their critically acclaimed, UK #1 album, For Those That Wish To Exist, which aired as a global streaming event on December 11 last year.


The band’s performance on the album is backed by Parallax Orchestra, made up of some of country's best and most versatile classical musicians, arranged and written by Simon Dobson, Parallax Orchestra's conductor and a three times British Composer award (BASCA) winner for his compositions.




Pre-order the album here.





Tracklisting:


"Do You Dream Of Armageddon?" (Live From Abbey Road)
"Black Lungs" (Live From Abbey Road)
"Giving Blood" (Live From Abbey Road)
"Discourse Is Dead" (Live From Abbey Road)
"Dead Butterflies" (Live From Abbey Road)
"An Ordinary Extinction" (Live From Abbey Road)
"Impermanence" (Live From Abbey Road)
"Flight Without Feathers" (Live From Abbey Road)
"Little Wonder" (Live From Abbey Road)
"Animals" (Live From Abbey Road)
"Libertine" (Live From Abbey Road)
"Goliath" (Live From Abbey Road)
"Demi God" (Live From Abbey Road)
"Meteor (Live From Abbey" Road)
"Dying Is Absolutely Safe" (Live From Abbey Road)


"Impermanence" video:





Architects will be touring the UK in May 2022. Dates are listed below.





May
2 - Leeds, England - First Direct Arena
3 - Nottingham, England - Motorpoint Arena
5 - Cardiff, Wales - Motorpoint Arena
6 - London, England - Alexandra Palace
8 - Glasgow, Scotland - The SSE Hydro


Tickets on general sale here.

Australian progressive metal band, Teramaze, fronted by guitarist and band founder Dean Wells, alongside Chris Zoupa, Andrew Cameron and Nick Ross, recently released a brand new song, "Ticket To The Next Apocalypse", featuring guest vocalist Jason Wisdom of Death Therapy.


Watch a new guitar playthrough video, as well as the official visualizer, below:










The band previously released the song "Battle". A video can be found below.


Said Dean Wells: “The song ’Battle’ was written during the extensive lockdowns that happened in Australia in 2021. Our lockdowns were especially harsh and drawn out in Melbourne where we live. The song was birthed from watching all of the protests, and people fighting for their basic human rights and freedoms. This whole event made me realize, more than ever before, the sheer power of the media and its utter manipulation of the public. It's so much greater than I ever thought it could be. ‘Battle’ is an anthem written to give hope and inspire people to stand and fight for what they truly believe in, even against all odds."

During an appearance on MACHINE HEAD frontman Robb Flynn's "No Fuckin' Regrets With Robb Flynn" podcast, BLACK VEIL BRIDES singer Andy Biersack spoke about his decision to get sober more than six years ago. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It was just one of those situations where I was so young. All I wanted in the world was to be in a rock band and to go on tour and to get to do this thing that I had this dream to do. I didn't really socialize much growing up. Basically, my childhood was I'd play sports and then I'd come home and I'd paint my face and I'd sing into the mirror and then I'd go to hockey practice or whatever and then I'd come back and paint my face and sing into a mirror and dream of drawing and making costumes. So because of that, there wasn't really much time for friends; I was just kind of a loner kid. And I never really built friendships; I didn't know how to act around other people. And then I'm touring regionally in a car, things are happening and we go play a basement to five people. Well, that's five more people than I thought were gonna be there, and they all say, 'Hey, you're the shit.' And I'm, like, 'Oh, that's awesome. I am the shit. And you're 22; you must know everything about the world.' And so as it happened, being so young and then heading into a career in music, I started kind of piecing together a personality based on these other people that I was around. And everybody in the bands were older than me, and everywhere we'd go on tour were older than me, and I just saw them as they know what their life is; this is what you do. You've gotta party hard, you've gotta be crazy and you've gotta cultivate this personality. And it just became by the time I'm 21, 22, I've just got this weird suit of armor that I've made of this thing that I've read somebody say in an interview and this aesthetic choice that somebody made and all this stuff that I'm kind of taking and making it into whatever my thing is. And by the time I hit my mid-20s, I was just kind of over it."

He continued: "I'd spent so much time trying to be this character that I had created in my mind and trying to portray this thing. We've gotten so much shit from the day that we started from so many people and it made me so mad and angry and I wanted to defend myself and defend my band. And more importantly, as a kid who came from a small town of modest means, who just wanted to be around other people who liked the same shit as me, I felt this sense of responsibility to our audience to be the guy who will stand up for them and fight against people that talk shit about the band. And I still do, but the way that I was doing it at that age was I'd get really drunk and we'd play three songs and I'd spend the rest of the show trying to fight people. It wasn't necessarily healthy. And then I would feel down and so I'd go to a hotel room and drink by myself and then try to write songs and just spinning out. And it just got to the point where I didn't have an addiction so much as it was just a crutch. It was, 'I'm doing this because I'm socially awkward and don't know who I am and this gives me a personality and makes me feel better about being outgoing and being this person that I wanna be.' And then it became, 'Well, I have to do that.' And then we'd make records. The first major label record we made, the producer told me that I sounded better when I was drinking. So, I'm 20 years old, not even legally allowed to drink, and I'm being told by an A-list producer on my first major label record, 'You sound better when you're drunk, so you should get drunk before we track vocals.' So then I'm, like, 'Well, I've gotta do this.' And so it just became this kind of self-fulfilling thing. And then my wife [Juliet Simms, a.k.a. Lilith Czar] is also a musician and she is somebody who had dealt with similar things. She started really young and had a very similar trajectory in terms of her life, and we both were just, like, 'We've just gotta cut this shit out,' and we just did it together. And now it's been the same amount of time for both of us, and we're exponentially happier and healthier people than we've ever been."

BLACK VEIL BRIDES' latest album, "The Phantom Tomorrow", was released in October via Sumerian Records. The third concept LP from BLACK VEIL BRIDES and the band's most-ambitious release to date is comprised of a dozen tracks, including the band's first-ever U.S. Top 10 Active Rock single "Scarlet Cross".

The cover artwork for "The Phantom Tomorrow" was created by Eliran Kantor, known for his work with TESTAMENT, HATEBREED, HAVOK and Andy Black, to name a few. "The Phantom Tomorrow" was produced by Erik Ron (GODSMACK, DANCE GAVIN DANCE, BUSH) and co-produced by guitarist Jake Pitts.

Kid Rock has 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.

"We the people in all we do reserve the right to scream, 'Fuck you!" he shouts in the song. "Wear your mask. Take your pills. Now a whole generation is mentally ill," he adds.

Elsewhere in the song, he raps: "COVID's near. It's coming to town. We gotta act quick, shut our borders down. Joe Biden does, the media embraces. Big Don does it, and they call him racist.

"Inflation's up like the minimum wage. So it's all the same. Not a damn thing changed," he exclaims.

He then calls for politically polarized Americans to come together, saying: "We gotta keep fighting for right to be free. And every human being doesn't have to agree. We all bleed red, brother, listen to me. It's time for love and unity."

The track concludes with sampled crowd chanting, "Let's go, Brandon."

In a Facebook video announcing the new tracks, Kid Rock described "We The People" as a "hard rock-rap tune."

"[It's] about, well, all the craziness going on in our world in the last few years and the politics and the polarization and social justice," he said. "You know, constantly for just being a Trump fan attacked in the media day in day out."

He added: "I don't mind taking a punch, but I hit back, motherfucker, and I hit hard."

"We The People", "The Last Dance" and "Rockin'" are all expected to appear on Rock's new album, "Bad Reputation", which is due latest this year.

As previously reported, Kid Rock will join forces with FOREIGNER and GRAND FUNK RAILROAD for a U.S. tour this spring summer. JASON BONHAM'S LED ZEPPELIN EVENING will appear on select dates, with a special appearance by Trey Lewis at all shows.

The 24-city "Bad Reputation Tour" 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 where Kid Rock holds records for most shows in a single season and highest ticket sales in the state of Michigan.

The sad news has come down that British music producer, engineer, and studio owner at InPhase Management, Kit Woolven, passed away this morning (January 26) at 71 years of age.





Woolven is credited with engineering Thin Lizzy's Black Rose: A Rock Legend and Renegade albums, as well as producing, engineering and mixing that band's records Chinatown, Adventures Of Thin Lizzy, and Thin Lizzy Live. He also has Producer/ Engineer/ Mixer credits on late Thin Lizzy singer Phil Lynott's releases Solo In Soho, and Philip Lynott Album.







Other titles that Kit worked on include David Gilmour's About Face (Engineer), David Bowie's Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps) (Assistant Engineer) and Magnum's On A Storyteller's Night (Producer/ Engineer/ Mixer).





He produced, engineered, and mixed for the Cathedral titles Carnival Bizarre, Supernatural Birth Machine, and The VIIth Coming, and did the same for UFO (High Stakes And Dangerous Men), Tony Iommi ("Wonderful Land" on Twang!: A Tribute To Hank Marvin & The Shadows), Steelheart (Wait), Cradle Of Filth (Dusk And Her Embrace), Anathema (Alternative 4, and Judgement), Dario Mollo/Tony Martin (The Cage), and many more.





Kit Woolven's cause of death is yet to be revealed, with a full statement expected in the coming days. R.I.P.

In a new interview with "That Fuzzing Rock Show", former QUEENSRŸCHE frontman Geoff Tate was asked how he keeps his voice in shape more than 40 years into his singing career. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Practice, honestly. [Laughs] Just keeping up with it. It's something that you have to keep using when you're a singer. And I think as a musician in general — if you don't practice, you get slow and you get out of shape. So you have to keep up with it every day. That's pretty much what I do. I try to live a moderate lifestyle, with, of course, some exceptions. 'Cause I'm getting ready to go do the Monsters Of Rock cruise at the end of the month, and that's always an exception because you just can't get away from the party; it's all around you. [Laughs]"

Tate's current tour is celebrating the 30th anniversary of QUEENSRŸCHE's "Empire" and "Rage For Order" albums.

1986's "Rage For Order" introduced a much more polished look and sound for QUEENSRŸCHE. The album featured keyboards as prominently as guitars, and the group adopted an image more closely associated with glam rock or glam metal than with heavy metal (of which glam metal was a subgenre). A video was filmed for the song "Gonna Get Close to You", originally recorded in 1984 by DALBELLO.

Released in 1990, "Empire" included the hit ballad "Silent Lucidity", which reached No. 9 on the Billboard singles chart, helped propel "Empire" to No. 7 on the album chart and earned two Grammy Award nominations.

Prior to the launch of the trek in early 2020, Tate told MisplacedStraws.com that he would take the "Empire 30th Anniversary Tour" to "as many countries as I can and playing the album in its entirety, which I've never done before. So that'll be real fun. In fact, I think there's some songs on that album that I've never, ever played live before, so it'll be a treat — for me, as well, I think, for the audience too," the former QUEENSRŸCHE singer said. "I'm really looking forward to that."

Tate told Eonmusic that one song from "Empire" that was rarely performed live is "Anybody Listening?" "When QUEENSRŸCHE was together, we never really put that song in our set," he said. "We just had a hard time playing it, for some reason; it just never jelled or felt right. And I'd really like to play that song again, and play it right."

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. 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.

Tate was replaced in QUEENSRŸCHE by former CRIMSON GLORY singer Todd La Torre.

Geoff recently celebrated the 30th anniversary of "Operation: Mindcrime" on European and U.S. tours.

Video footage of MEGADETH's Dave Mustaine teaching you how to play the band's classic song "Symphony Of Destruction" can be seen below. The clip was filmed at this month's Rock 'N' Roll Fantasy Camp in Deerfield Beach, Florida.

Rock 'N' Roll Fantasy Camp was created 26 years ago to provide real people the once-in-a-lifetime experience of connecting and jamming with their musical heroes. The Camp has provided unforgettable memories, advice and feedback for attendees worldwide. Camp events span over four jam packed days where campers join a band mentored by today's top touring musicians, and work up to final performances with the headliner rock stars at legendary venues from Abbey Road Studios in London, to Hollywood's Whisky A Go Go, to the Atlantic resort in The Bahamas.

Rock 'N' Roll Fantasy Camp was the focus of the tremendously successful 2021 documentary "Rock Camp: The Movie". "Entertaining", "inspiring" and "moving" are how critics, audiences and industry leaders described the documentary. The film follows four real people who attend Rock 'N' Roll Fantasy Camp and how it transforms their lives. These "rock campers" share the stage with superstar counselors including Roger Daltrey, Alice Cooper, Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Nancy Wilson, Joe Perry, JUDAS PRIEST, Sammy Hagar and many more. "Rock Camp" was directed by Doug Blush, who has worked on over a hundred documentaries (including Oscar winners "20 Feet from Stardom", "Icarus" and "Period. End Of Sentence.").

"Rock Camp: The Movie" has generated great word of mouth and buzz, scoring a 94% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The film has been featured on "The Today Show", "The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon" and on ABC News. The Washington Post called "Rock Camp" "an eye-opening treat," and The Chicago Sun-Times described it as "infectiously upbeat." Music industry critic and influencer Bob Lefsetz raves, "I couldn't turn it off. Rock and roll is a religion."

David Fishof, Rock 'N' Roll Fantasy Camp founder, has had a successful career as a sports agent, producer, promoter, and manager and is the founder and CEO of Rock 'N' Roll Fantasy Camp. Fishof produced the "Happy Together" tours, the MONKEES 20th-anniversary reunion tour, "Dirty Dancing Live" tours and "Classic Superfest" and others. He also created and produced RINGO STARR & HIS ALL-STARR BAND tours for 15 years.

KISS frontman Paul Stanley, who turned 70 on Thursday, January 20, has thanked fans for their well wishes and support.

On Friday, the singer and rhythm guitarist, who was born Stanley Eisen in New York City, took to his social media to write: "Thank You For All Your Kind Birthday Wishes.

"In recent years I've started to see my birthdays as a time for me to reflect on the past year and assess my life and actions rather than purely celebrating my making it through another year (which frankly I had little to do with). Did I tell my family and dear friends that I love them and did I show them? Did I embrace people with acceptance, tolerance and giving some the benefit of the doubt? Did I appreciate the daily gifts and miracles around me? I'm a work in progress but am always striving to do better. I'm doing pretty good I think. My birthday has so much more value for me with it being less about cake and presents and more about who I am in this big world. Thanks for being a big part of this last year.

"Always grateful, Paul".

Stanley was born with a facial deformity, microtia, which prevented his right ear from forming properly and left him deaf on the right side. He later said that his parents had their own problems and did not acknowledge or provide support for Paul's difficulties.

Stanley said it took him decades into adulthood and plenty of therapy to help conquer his lack of self-esteem.

Stanley's father, William Eisen, died last November at the age of 101.

KISS kicked off its second farewell tour, dubbed "End Of The Road", in January 2019. The global trek is expected to wrap in early 2023.




pic.twitter.com/xTKUrKlbEV

— Paul Stanley (@PaulStanleyLive) January 21, 2022

]

On March 25, Southern California metal masters Night Demon will release a special compilation album - titled Year Of The Demon - via Century Media Records. Comprised of the band's five standalone 7" singles from 2020, this 10-track collection features original songs, cover tunes, and previously unheard live recordings. For a first preview of the record, Night Demon has launched a new single - a cover version of Cirith Ungol's classic "100 MPH feat. Tim Baker (Cirith Ungol)". Preorder Year Of The Demon here.


Jarvis Leatherby (Vocals / Bass) comments: "2020 was certainly the 'Year Of The Demon' in so many ways! Never in our wildest imagination would we be releasing (5) 7" singles in a calendar year, and nowhere in our fans' imagination would one of the hardest touring bands of the last decade be sidelined (along with the rest of the world) by this virus that demonized our lives. We are proud to finally release these songs as a complete collection and include the rare B-sides that only saw the light of day on the collector's record player. Here's to 2022 and the future bringing us all something more to hope for. We have a lot more to come this year!"


When the world came to a gut-wrenching halt in March 2020, Night Demon's extensive touring plans were derailed; however, their creative flame burned brighter than ever. In the spring and summer of 2020, the band unleashed a series of five standalone, limited 7" singles, which their loyal legions voraciously devoured; all physical product sold out instantly. Aside from the original songs (which were also released on digital/streaming platforms), the single recordings were exclusive to the 7" vinyl pressings; they have never been made available to the public for purchase in any other format - until now, with Year Of The Demon.




For Night Demon fans that are ravenous for fresh material - 2022 truly is "the year of the demon.” In addition to the compilation due out in March, the band is excited to reveal that they are presently working on a new studio album, with a scheduled release date of November 4th, 2022. Stay tuned for more details coming soon.


Year of the Demon format details:
-Digital Album
-Ltd. CD Edition
-Black LP
-Silver LP [limited run: available at Nuclear Blast (100 units) and USA outlets (1000 units)]
-Lilac LP [limited run: available at CM Distro (500 units)]
-Sky Blue LP [limited run: band exclusive (300 units)]


Art by Don Phury:





Tracklisting:


“Empires Fall”
“Kill The Pain”
“Are You Out There”
“Vysteria”
“In Trance” (Scorpions cover, live feat. Uli Jon Roth)
“Fast Bikes” (LeGriffe cover)
“100 MPH” (Cirith Ungol cover feat. Tim Baker)
“The Sun Goes Down” (Thin Lizzy cover)
“Wasted Years” (Iron Maiden cover, live)
“Top Of The Bill” (Scorpions cover, live feat. Uli Jon Roth) 


“100 MPH”:





(Photo – Peter Beste)

Pelican will return to action in 2022 after a few years of unintentional hiatus. The band has announced they'll reissue their first three albums featuring "rarities, never-before-heard outtakes, demos, painstakingly remastered audio, and more" via Thrill Jockey, and will hit the stage with original guitarist Laurent Schoeder-Lebec.

Schoeder-Lebec quit in 2012 and was replaced by Dallas Thomas, who recently left the band.

"Hey all – we hope you have been keeping as well as possible since our band slipped into unintended dormancy at the end of 2019. Though the world remains as erratic today as it was when we put our summer 2020 dates on ice, we're thrilled (if a bit cautiously optimistic) to announce our intention to get back to work this year, including a slew of dates in Europe this Summer with a few more to come later in the year.

"The dates include our return to Dunk!Festival, rescheduled appearances at Hellfest and Freak Valley Festival, and a handful of headline shows. As with most everything these days, these performances are contingent on mitigation of the ongoing pandemic, so we urge everyone to continue to stay safe.

"Though supply chain woes render the timing somewhat unpredictable, the shows will roughly coincide with a the first phase of a thorough and long-gestating archival project we've been working on over the course of the pandemic: deluxe reissues of our first three albums via their new label home Thrill Jockey Records.

"Details for these are still pending, but you can expect rarities, never-before-heard outtakes, demos, painstakingly remastered audio, and more. We are so excited for the opportunity to breathe new life into these formative works.

"The bittersweet aura hanging over these developments is that our longtime guitarist Dallas Thomas has parted ways with the band in favor of other pursuits. He's been an intrinsic component of our live shows since 2011, joining in 2012 as a full fledged member in time for his integral and indispensable contributions to 2013's Forever Becoming and 2019's Nighttime Stories. The band will not be the same without him and we can't thank him enough for the years of incredible shows, recordings, riffs, and wild stories he shared with us.

"We do have a solution in place for our 2022 dates which will hopefully allay concerns and come as a welcome development to longtime fans of the band: joining us for the upcoming shows will be founding guitarist Laurent Schoeder-Lebec. We haven't had the opportunity to share a stage with him since 2011 and we couldn't be more thrilled that he's agreed to get back into the thick of it with us.

"Seeing as the last two years of the band has been spent in a somewhat uncharacteristic mode of reflecting on our past, it feels like a synergistic development that we can now channel this same energy on stage, reflecting the past through the prism of the present."

MÖTLEY CRÜE bassist Nikki Sixx, who celebrated the 20th anniversary of his getting sober last July, spoke about his journey in a new interview with Fox News. He said: "I love being sober for many reasons. Somebody told me recently, 'Man, you look pretty good with everything you've been through.' [Laughs] It was a journey. I was six years sober. I didn't quite get it. I mean, I got it, but I slipped and went out one day and then I was four years sober. And then I slipped. I didn't want to go back and forth. I checked myself into rehab 20 years ago because I wanted to get it. And then I wanted to pass that message on. I want them to see what recovery can look like."

Sixx struggled with substance abuse for years and was even supposedly declared clinically dead after a heroin overdose in 1987 made his heart stop for two minutes. The 63-year-old has since become actively involved in a recovery "program," which he credited for helping him transform his life and relationships.

"By letting go of self and ego, working a program that connects you to a higher power and giving back to those still struggling are just some of the important things you learn through sobriety," Sixx wrote when he celebrated nine years of sobriety in July 2013. "You get to repair the damage done from drink, drugs and horrific behaviors (that broke people's hearts who loved you."

The rocker, who detailed his near-fatal drug addiction in the best-selling book "The Heroin Diaries", added: "For me, taking away the substance just gave [me] an honest view of who I had become and then the healing started. I do believe without any program to help, many are just dry drunks and there is always a danger of them going out again. I've been there. It's not pretty. This is no joking matter to me, so I take it seriously."

Asked by The Guardian about a diary entry in "The Heroin Diaries" where he described himself as an "alcoholic heroin and coke addict getting into pills" and how he spent Christmas Day 1986 naked under the Christmas tree, clutching a shotgun, Nikki said: "Well, if you shoot enough cocaine, you go into a kind of psychosis, and I believed people were coming to get me. Scary place, let me tell you. It reads like some kind of a dark horror story or bedtime thriller. But in real life, the trauma that psychosis puts your body through is on a cellular level. You believe that you’re going to have an experience even though it's not really happening. I can remember those, because you come out of them, and it's scary. But you can only imagine what it would be like to be insane and not come out of it, or a version of that, like dementia."

Sixx is not the only member of MÖTLEY CRÜE who has battled alcohol addiction. Singer Vince Neil's 1984 drunk-driving accident killed HANOI ROCKS drummer Nicholas "Razzle" Dingley and seriously injured two others. He spent 15 days in jail and received five years probation.

"It was rough for everybody after that accident," Neil told USA Today in 2020. "I tried to stay sober for a few years, but it's tough when there's no support system around you. They were still doing coke and drinking and carrying on, and I just couldn't be a part of it."

Photo courtesy of Jason Shaltz / SiriusXM

ANTHRAX guitarist Scott Ian has paid tribute to his father-in-law, iconic rock singer Meat Loaf, who died on Thursday (January 20) at the age of 74.

Earlier today, Ian took to his social media to write: "There are so many stories to tell, and I know they will all be told over time. For now, what I know is that Meat's legacy will live on through his family - Pearl, Amanda and Revel. Their forever love for their father/grandfather (Papa Meat) outweighs the heaviness of their hearts.

"Thank you to everyone for the outpouring of love, we feel it.

"I love you Meat."

Ian and his wife, Meat's daughter Pearl Aday, celebrated their eleventh wedding anniversary on January 15.

Scott and Pearl met in 1999 when ANTHRAX was out on the "Maximum Rock" summer package tour with MÖTLEY CRÜE, which featured Pearl as one of its back-up singers. Their son Revel Young Ian was born in June 2011.

Aday was named after the infamous Janis Joplin and is the god daughter to Maria Muldaur. In addition, she and her band have opened for VELVET REVOLVER.

When asked what it was like having the iconic Meat Loaf as his father-in-law, Ian said in an interview: "It's like having anyone as your father-in-law. It's not like he's on stage when you're hanging out with the guy. We actually had dinner with him last night, and all we talked about was fantasy football. He's just a regular guy who happens to be a legendary rock star."

Meat Loaf's amazing career spanned six decades and saw him sell over 100 million albums worldwide and star in over 65 movies, including "Fight Club", "Focus", "Rocky Horror Picture Show" and "Wayne's World".

His "Bat Out Of Hell" remains one of the 10 top-selling albums of all time.

The Dallas-born singer's real name was Marvin Lee Aday.

His 1993 hit "I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That)" earned him a Grammy Award.

"Bat Out Of Hell" was also adapted as a stage musical, written by longtime collaborator Jim Steinman.
























View this post on Instagram









































A post shared by Scott Ian (@scottianthrax)