In a new interview with Rock Feed, John Cooper, the frontman and bassist for the Grammy-nominated Christian rock band SKILLET, once again spoke about his intensely strict religious upbringing where all pop music, black clothes and even Christian rock music was banned and how it shaped his view of religion. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "There is a ton of hypocrisy in Christianity, in the church — there just is — and I find it personally disgusting…

"I don't wanna get into a deep Bible lesson, so I'm not gonna preach to anybody. I'm gonna tell something that I believe. Take it or leave it, everybody.

"I think what I love about Christianity — one of the things — is it gives you a framework for everything that happens in life," he continued. "It is the difference between saying that my life, John Cooper's life, the reason that I exist is for me to be happy and to feel good and to get the things I want and to be my most authentic self. That is one way to look at life. The Christian viewpoint is this: the reason that I exist is actually not about me and the things that I want. The reason that I exist as the creature is to give glory to the Creator. And so whatever he wants from my life is fine; whatever he wants from my life is right. And it gives you a framework of understanding relationships with parents, with wives, husbands, with kids, with friends, with business. There's no sphere of life that comes outside of the Lordship of Jesus Christ. That's the idea of Christianity that I just find so peaceful, because then everything makes sense. And whatever happens — if I get COVID, if my wife gets COVID or cancer or whatever happens, I know it's within the framework of my life is here to glorify the one who created me. So I don't deserve to be selfish and I don't deserve to treat you — whoever human being watching this program right now — I don't deserve to treat you as a lesser person than me 'cause we are both the same; we've been created in the image of God. And that is a beautiful picture. Part of that means that I look at my mom who loved me and did her very best to raise me, and I say she's just like me. She had good intentions and she had a lot of great stuff, and I think she missed it on some stuff. And I miss it on some stuff. And my wife misses it on some stuff. And so then you begin to give grace to one another to say, 'I think that they're wrong about that, but hey, I'm not God and I know I do a bunch of stuff wrong.'"

Cooper added: "So, for me, Christianity wasn't about all the hypocrisy, even though the hypocrisy is real and I find it personally disgusting. When you see these preachers that are making millions of dollars and begging for money, that doesn't seem like Christianity to me. When you see these preachers that are talking about 'you get your life right' but they're having affairs and hiring prostitutes, those people make me want to punch them in the balls. So that stuff is disgusting, but it teaches you to have grace for other people because other people are just as messed up as I am."

In various interviews over the years, John has said that he "always had faith in God" and that his mother was a "Jesus fanatic." He also claimed that he was willing to put his career on the line to take a stand for Christ.

Last April, Cooper told the "Undaunted.Life: A Man's Podcast" that it was perfectly fine for Christians to play rock music. "I would say that music is created not by the Devil; [it is] created by the Lord," he said. "All things were created by God. So instead of thinking that the Devil owns a genre of music, I would say capture that music and bring it back into subjection under the Lordship of Christ."

Cooper recently published his first book, titled "Awake & Alive To Truth (Finding Truth In The Chaos Of A Relativistic World)". It "tackles the reigning philosophies of our day of post-modernism, relativism, and the popular view of the goodness of man-and combats these viewpoints by standing on the absolute truth of the Word Of God," the book's description reads.

Frontiers Music Srl announces the release of the new studio album from Radioactive, X.X.X. on March 11. Radioactive, first started in 1991, is masterminded by Swedish guitarist/songwriter/producer Tommy Denander and X.X.X. will be the fifth album overall under this moniker and the first new release since 2015.


Today, fans can get their first taste of music from the album with the release of the single/video, "Monkey On Our Backs", which features lead vocals from Jerome Mazza. Watch the video below, and pre-order/save X.X.X. here.


As with past Radioactive albums, X.X.X. features a stunning list of guest vocalists lending their talents to the proceedings. Robin McAuley, Robbie LaBlanc, Jerome Mazza, Clif Magness, Christian Ingebrigtsen, and Daniel Byrne all contribute their talents here. Tommy also brought in a very special guest, none other than renowned producer Mutt Lange (Def Leppard, AC/DC), who co-wrote two tracks, "Move It" and "I Have A Dream", with Tommy and Olle Romö and provided background vocals for them as well. Erik Grönwall (ex-H.E.A.T.) also contributed to the writing of "I Have A Dream" and the rest of the tracks were written by Tommy and Olle Romö, who also plays drums on the album. Additional drums are provided by Neil Anami with all other instruments (guitar, bass, and keyboards) handled by Tommy.




Tommy says, "What a perfect way to celebrate that my Radioactive project is turning 30 by signing a new and very exciting multi-album deal with the great Frontiers label! It’s crazy to think that I recorded the first album "Less Is More" with Jeff Porcaro, Mike Porcaro, Steve Porcaro, and David Paich as my backing band in Los Angeles  way back in 1991. These Radioactive albums have opened so many doors in my almost 40 year long career, and when I see the gold and platinum records on my walls from Paul Stanley, Alice Cooper, Deep Purple, Ricky Martin, Anastasia, Umberto Tozzi, and so many more, I often shake my head and think back to being a kid and starting with music. I wish I could travel back and tell my younger self that all of this would be my future! To celebrate this anniversary I’m going all in to make the best album of my life and I’m more than thrilled about the people involved.”


After some years of working as a studio musician in Sweden, Tommy Denander moved to Los Angeles in 1987 at just 19 years old. He quickly befriended some of the top players in town, from the guys in Toto to David Foster, Bill Champlin, Michael Landau and more. When Toto played in Sweden 1991, Tommy asked them if they would play on his album if he got signed to a record deal. To his amazement, they all said yes. As luck would have it, just a few days later, Tommy signed with Sony Music and in October of that year he traveled to Los Angeles to start the recording of the first Radioactive album with Jeff Porcaro, Mike Porcaro, Steve Porcaro, and David Paich as his backing band.


A few years later, once the album was completed, Tommy had added a long list of legendary singers and musicians such as Bobby Kimball, Fergie Frederiksen, Joseph Williams, David Hungate, Fee Waybill, Jason Scheff, Alex Ligertwood, David Foster, Randy Goodrum, Vince DiCola, Abe Laboriel, Neil Stubenhaus, Dave Boruff, Michael Thompson, Bruce Gaitsch, Dean Parks, Greg Phillinganes, and more (we told you the list was long) to the appearances on the album. The release, "Ceremony Of Innocence” was released in 2001 and received warm reviews worldwide, charting in both Europe and Japan.


Three more albums followed and for each of the records, Tommy managed to put together a sensational cast of musicians. The overall list includes such musical giants as Fergie Frederiksen, Tony Franklin, Marcel Jacob, Steve Overland, Bobby Kimball, Jeff Porcaro, Steve Porcaro, Greg Phillinganes, Dean Parks, Andreas Carlsson, Yngwie Malmsteen, Bruce Kulick, Neal Schon, Michael Landau, Kelly Keagy, John ”jr” Robinson, Robin Beck, James Christian, Gary Barden, Bruce Gaitsch, Phillip Bardowell, Abe Laboriel, Michael Thompson, Steve Lukather, Vinnie Colaiuta, Jeff Paris, Steve Augeri, Jimi Jamison, Dan Reed, Jean Beauvoir, Chris Ousey, Kevin Chalfant, and more.


Radioactive X.X.X. will surely be another gem in Tommy's storied (and ever growing body of work) and a true delight for AOR/melodic rock fans.





Tracklisting:


"Monkey On Our Backs" ft. Jerome Mazza
"The Deed Is Done" ft. Robin McAuley
"Remember The Ghosts" ft. Robbie LaBlanc
"Written In The Scars" ft. Christian Ingebrigtsen
"If Today Was Your Last Day Alive" ft. Jerome Mazza
"Move It" ft. Robin McAuley
"Youman Unkind" ft. Robbie LaBlanc
"I Have A Dream" ft. Jerome Mazza
"Voodoo Queen" ft. Robbie LaBlanc
"Drag Me Through The Mud" ft. Daniel Byrne
"California Ways" ft. Clif Magness


"Monkey On Our Backs" video:

UK grindcore pioneers, Napalm Death, performed the title track of their 1997 EP, Breed To Breathe, at the 2021 edition of Bloodstock Open Air, held last August at Catton Hall and Gardens, Walton-on-Trent, England. Watch pro-shot video of the performance below:





Continuing the fearless exploration of their legendary sound’s outer limits, Napalm Death recently announced the release of a new mini-album, entitled Resentment Is Always Seismic - A Final Throw Of Throes, out February 11 via Century Media Records.




Resentment Is Always Seismic - A Final Throw Of Throes is a partner recording to Napalm Death’s latest, much acclaimed Throes Of Joy In The Jaws Of Defeatism album from 2020, concluding matters through vital, tumultuous grindcore and shockwave ambience.


While currently on the road across North America, Napalm Death frontman Mark “Barney” Greenway checked in with the following comment about the upcoming release: “You can certainly consider “Resentment Is Always...” as an extension of - or partner recording to - the “Throes…” album. We had long since wanted to put a mini-album out – in the spirit of the old days – and found we had enough quality tracks even after all the “Throes...” bonus tracks to do that. Hopefully this mini holds some nice twists in its own right for people, and certainly covering “People Pie” by Slab! made us really stretch ourselves, which feels great artistically. In the end, resentment is certainly seismic – it can trigger the complete erosion of humanity in many situations. That was the point that I really wanted to hammer home overall.”


“Narcissus”, the furious opening track of the release, is being launched today as small foretaste of the mini-album. Check it out at full volume below.


““Narcissus” just seemed to fit the bill as one of those rampaging tracks that we always seem to gravitate towards as an album opener. The low-slung concrete mixer bassline at the start really ushers it in nicely. It was written at a time when the ‘alt-right’ was parading itself around, so lyrically I like to think it exposes the vanity and personality cult of that whole thing,” added Greenway.





The 8-track mini-album comes with a total playing time of 29 minutes and will be available as Ltd. CD Digipak, Vinyl as well as in the Digital Album format.


The vinyl edition will come as 12” (at 33 ⅓ RPM) on 180g vinyl, available in the following variants/limitations:


- Black LP - unlimited
- Transp. Red LP - 1500x copies via CM Distro & Webshop Europe & all US outlets
- Clear LP - 300x copies Nuclear Blast
- Silver LP - 300x copies via EMP
- Transp. Green LP - 500x copies via Napalm Death


Pre-order here.





Tracklisting:


"Narcissus"
"Resentment Always Simmers"
"By Proxy"
"People Pie" (Slab! Cover version)
"Man Bites Dogged"
"Slaver Through A Repeat Performance"
"Don't Need It" (Bad Brains cover version)
"Resentment Is Always Seismic (Dark Sky Burial Dirge)"


"Narcissus":





Napalm Death recently announced a next edition of their Campaign For Musical Destruction tour across Europe for February/March, this time featuring support by Doom, Siberian Meatgrinder and Show Me The Body. Dates below.





Tour dates:


February
3 - Magdeburg, Germany - Factory
4 - Wrocław, Poland - Concert Center A2
5 - Budapest, Hungary - A38
6 - Wien, Austria - Arena
7 - München, Germany - Backstage
9 - Manchester, UK - Club Academy
10 - Glasgow, UK - Classic Grand
11 - Buckley, UK - The Tivoli
12 - Birmingham, UK - Hammerfest
13 - London, UK - Electric Ballroom
15 - Paris, France - La Machine Du Moulin Rouge
16 - Besançon, France - La Rodia
17 - Marseille, France - Le Jas Rod
18 - Biarritz, France - Atabal
19 - Mérignac, France - Krakato
22 - Paderno Dugnano, Italy - Slaughter Club
23 - Nürnberg, Gerrmany - Z-Bau
24 - Brno, Czech Republic - Sonor
25 - Leipzig, Germany - Werk 2
26 - Herford, Germany - X-Herford
27 - Utrecht, The Netherlands - Tivoli


March
1 - Hamburg, Germany - Gruenspan
2 - Oberhausen, Germany - Turbinenhalle
3 - Lindau, Germany - Club Vaudeville
4 - Mannheim, Germany - Alte Feuerwache
5 - Berlin, Germany - Astra
6 - Eindhoven, The Netherlands – Dynamo

SOULFLY mainman Max Cavalera says that he doesn't know yet who will play second guitar for the band when it launches its U.S. tour next month. The 35-date trek will kick off on February 7 in Las Vegas, Nevada and make stops in Seattle, Minneapolis, Nashville, and Baton Rouge, among other cities, before concluding in Gallup, New Mexico on March 19. Joining SOULFLY on select dates will be 200 STAB WOUNDS.

In August, SOULFLY parted ways with longtime guitarist Marc Rizzo due to personal differences. A permanent replacement guitarist has yet to be announced. FEAR FACTORY's Dino Cazares played guitar for SOULFLY on the band's last U.S. tour which took place in August and September.

Earlier today (Friday, January 14), Max took part in Zippo Encore's "Art Of Rock" livestream series and spoke about SOULFLY's upcoming tour. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Right now we don't know who's gonna play guitar for SOULFLY. So I think we're just gonna kind of keep doing that — just inviting some really cool-ass friends like [Dino]. It's so cool that we have amazing friends like that in the industry. That you can call Dino up and he's available. So [it's] just really great.

"We don't know who we're using for this next tour — we're still working on that — but that was so much fun, man, because Dino… We grew up together," Max continued. "I was a huge FEAR FACTORY fan. I helped them get signed [to Roadrunner]. And then, of course, he plays on 'Eye For An Eye' on the first SOULFLY [album]; he plays guitars on it. So when we invited him to do that tour, it was a perfect match. And the fans, they lost their shit. It was so cool. Sometimes I would stay on the bus and I'd watch Dino get out of the bus and he'd just get mobbed; 10 kids would just surround him. I was, like, 'Oh, this is cool, man. This is what's up. This is some true metal shit right here.'"

Rizzo addressed his split with SOULFLY in an interview with "The Ex-Man" podcast hosted by Doc Coyle (BAD WOLVES). Speaking about the circumstances that led to his exit from the band, Rizzo said: "There's a lot of confusion that goes on there, obviously. Everybody knows the history of the band — a lot of confusion. Which is all right — there's confusion everywhere in this world. But I definitely was putting in more than what I [was] getting out, obviously, and I think the fans have recognized that. They see the live show turned into that, the records turned into that. It's pretty obvious what was going on. I've got hundreds of fans writing me every day understanding online here. It is what it is. It's the politics of the band. It's Max's [Cavalera, SOULFLY frontman] band — that's definitely his thing. Was I doing more as the years went on? Absolutely. And, obviously, you can see that in live shows. The live show's right there in front of you — in black and white — what was going on. So, when this whole [pandemic] hit, it was just, like, 18 years in, and I'm working a day job now, and I wasn't really getting great advice, per se, as far as what to do, as far as certain things and how to get loans [from the government] or whatever it was. I tried filing for those things. I took the information that was given to me, and none of it made sense. I couldn't figure out anything. I tried applying for some of these things, and I couldn't figure it out. So, however the other two guys in the band — Max and Zyon [Cavalera, SOULFLY drummer] — got whatever loan [to help them financially during the pandemic] is beyond me. If I can't figure it out, then I'm sure they couldn't figure it out. So there must have been some sort of band accountant or somebody that did stuff [for them]."

Marc went on to say that his working relationship with SOULFLY simply "ran its course. Honestly, I think I stayed too long," he said. "I probably should have quit — I wanted to quit about five [or] six years ago. That's when things, in my opinion, just started to go downhill. There's a lot of things that are just obvious, again, if you watch the live show that I'm not even nitpicking about — the fans are talking about. If you go to any message board, the fans always talk about the same things about the live show. I think five or six years ago, I really probably should have split. But I felt bad, and I felt I had some loyalty to everybody and I didn't wanna leave everybody hanging. Obviously, I had a major part in the riffing in the live show and on the records. But, thankfully, everything went down the way it did. COVID opened my eyes to a lot of things, and I'm in a way better place now."

In August, Max told Metal Kaoz that Marc has been spewing out "lies and bullshit" in some of his recent interviews regarding his departure from SOULFLY. "All these accusations — it hurts," he said. "It hurts to hear. After everything that we did for him, which was a lot — we put him on all the records and always took really good care of him, always really, really gave good treatment to him. To hear him backstabbing us like that, it's just not nice. He's obviously trying to get fans to be against me and make him the victim… It just sucks to hear all that. It definitely hurts me when I hear all these accusations that I know are lies and bullshit; it's all fabricated by his crazy mind. I don't know. It's a strange situation."

He added: "I don't want to turn this into an ugly thing. I don't wanna talk bad about him; I really don't. Of course I don't like those accusations, and it's bullshit, but he has the right to say whatever. But I think we treated him really good through all those years. We put him on the map pretty much. When he joined the band, not many people knew him. Just a little bit of gratitude would have been nice. Because even on 'Max Trax' [Cavalera's twice-weekly Internet video series in which he discusses the inspiration for many of the songs spanning his nearly 40-year music career], when I mentioned that I fired him, I thanked him for the 18 years of SOULFLY, and I said good luck on his projects. I'm not bitter. I don't wanna be a bitter guy."

Rizzo joined SOULFLY in 2004, and has since appeared on all of the band's subsequent records, including "Prophecy" (2004), "Dark Ages" (2005), "Conquer" (2008), "Omen" (2010), "Enslaved" (2012), "Savages" (2013), "Archangel" (2015) and "Ritual" (2018). In 2007, Rizzo became a member of CAVALERA CONSPIRACY, the side project of SEPULTURA co-founders, brothers Max and Igor Cavalera, and has performed on all CAVALERA CONSPIRACY releases including "Inflikted", "Blunt Force Trauma", "Pandemonium" and the critically acclaimed 2017 LP "Psychosis".

Max and his bandmates have spent the last few months working on the follow-up to 2018's "Ritual" at Platinum Underground in Phoenix, Arizona with producer Arthur Rizk, who has previously worked with CAVALERA CONSPIRACY, POWER TRIP and CODE ORANGE.

Progressive rockers, Haken, are excited to announce the return of the band’s original keyboard player, Pete Jones, to the fold. He will make his debut on the band’s upcoming live dates in support of their most recent album, Virus’, released in 2020.


The band comments: “We are truly thrilled to welcome Pete back into Haken. Pete is a phenomenally gifted musician and, in the short time since his return, he has breathed new life into the band, inspiring us to explore fresh and exciting musical territory. This is a new era for Haken and we cannot wait to share it with all of you!”


Pete adds: “I'm thrilled to rejoin the fellowship, after following the band closely over the years and watching them grow. It was great to reconnect with Rich on the Nova Collective record, and then to work more closely with the guys over the past couple of Haken albums. I can't wait for the next chapter, and am pumped to be a part of it!”







The band recently announced the postponement of their European tour dates, with new dates soon to be announced. Their North American tour alongside Symphony X is set to go ahead starting May 10 in New York City, running through the month and ending June 12, in New Jersey. Find the full list of dates here.


Haken lineup:


Ross Jennings
Richard Henshall
Charlie Griffiths
Pete Jones
Conner Green
Ray Hearne


(Photo - Rob Skarin)

Arjen Anthony Lucassen (Ayreon) is set to release the new Star One album, Revel In Time, on February 18 via InsideOutMusic. Revel In Time is now available for pre-order, along with the reissues of Victims Of The Modern Age and Space Metal.


Today, Arjen is pleased to share the new single and video for the title track featuring Brandon Yeagley and Adrian Vandenberg. Watch the clip below.


Arjen has this to say about the video: “Dear friends, you better hold on tight for this absolutely zany clip... here is the 4th single: ‘Revel In Time’! It’s based on the equally zany movie ‘Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure’. It was filmed in Holland and the U.S. and of course... in outer space.




This is definitely the most varied Star One album so far. After the epic ‘Lost Children Of The Universe’, the fast and furious ‘Fate Of Man’, the complex and proggy ‘Prescient’ we now have this deliriously wild ride for you with ‘Revel In Time’. I sure hope you have a sense of humor, ha ha!


I hope you will enjoy this Amazing Flight in Time and Space. Thanks for your support as always, looking forward to reading your comments. Be excellent to each other! Arjen.”





The new album comes more than 10 years since the previous release and is due out on February 18 via InsideOutMusic.


Arjen explains the decision to return with a new Star One album: “Ayreon is like the mothership for all my music. It contains all the different musical styles that I like to listen to and that I love to create. But I’m always looking for challenges and trying to create something new and original as well. Working within a set of constraints forces you to do that, so sometimes I like to limit myself and focus on just one style. For example, with Star One I focus on the metal-side of Ayreon. That means you won’t hear the exuberantly liberal use of acoustic instruments that are so often featured on Ayreon albums, like violin, woodwinds, cello, horns, dulcimer, mandolin, etc.”


The album will come as Ltd. 2CD Digipak, Ltd. Deluxe 3CD+Blu-Ray Artbook (incl. a poster of the cover artwork), and as 180g Gatefold 2LP (incl. the album on CD & an LP-Booklet).


CD2 features alternate versions of the same songs as CD1, but with different vocalists. Also available will be a 5.1 mix, a high-res audio version, and an exclusive, hour-long Behind The Scenes video, on the Blu-ray included in the Artbook.


Pre-order here.





Revel In Time tracklisting:


CD1:


"Fate Of Man" (Vocals: Brittney Slayes, Guitar solo: Michael Romeo)
"28 Days (Till The End Of Time)" (Vocals: Sir Russell Allen, Guitar solos: Timo Somers)
"Prescient" (Vocals: Michael Mills and Ross Jennings)
"Back From The Past" (Vocals: Jeff Scott Soto, Guitar solo: Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal
"Revel In Time" (Vocals: Brandon Yeagley, Guitar solos: Adrian Vandenberg)
"The Year Of ’41" (Lead vocal: Joe Lynn Turner, Vocalization: Will Shaw, Guitar solo: Joe Hoekstra, Synthesizer solo: Jens Johansson)
"Bridge Of Life" (Vocals: Damian Wilson)
"Today Is Yesterday" (Vocals: Dan Swanö, Mood synthesizers: Lisa Bella Donna, Guitar solo: Marcel Singor)
"A Hand On The Clock" (Vocals: Floor Jansen, Hammond solo: Joost van den Broek
"Beyond The Edge Of It All" (Vocals: John Jaycee Cuijpers, Guitar solo: Arjen Lucassen)
"Lost Children Of The Universe" (Vocals: Roy Khan, Choir: Hellscore Choir, Guitar solo: Steve Via)


CD 2:


"Fate Of Man" (Vocals: Marcela Bovio)
"28 Days (Till The End Of Time)" (Vocals: John Jaycee Cuijpers)
"Prescient" (Vocals: Will Shaw)
"Back From The Past" (Vocals: John Jaycee Cuijpers)
"Revel In Time" (Vocals: John Jaycee Cuijpers)
"The Year Of ’41" (Vocals and synth solo: Alessandro Del Vecchio)
"Bridge Of Life" (Vocals: Wilmer Waarbroek)
"Today Is Yesterday" (Vocals: Arjen Lucassen)
"A Hand On The Clock" (Lead and backing vocals: Marcela Bovio and Irene Jansen (verses))
"Beyond The Edge Of It All" (Vocals: Mike Andersson)
"Lost Children Of The Universe" (Vocals: Tony Martin)





"Prescient" video:





"Fate Of Man" video:





"Lost Children Of The Universe" lyric video:

MÖTLEY CRÜE frontman Vince Neil played his first concert of 2022 last night (Friday, January 14) at Hollywood Casino in Columbus, Ohio. Fan-filmed video footage of the performance can be seen below.

The Columbus show marked Neil's second live appearance since he reportedly broke his ribs while performing with his solo band at the Monsters On The Mountain festival at LeConte Center in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee on October 15. Fan-filmed video of that gig showed the 60-year-old rocker walking to the front of the stage with his guitar strapped around him. He encouraged the crowd to clap along while playing the 1989 MÖTLEY CRÜE hit "Don't Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)" when he suddenly fell and dropped out of the camera's view almost instantly. TMZ later reported that there was a small gap between the speaker and the stage that Neil didn't notice. His roadie and a security guy helped him get to his feet, and Vince "limped away."

Last May, Neil made headlines when he struggled to complete his solo concert at the Boone Iowa River Valley Festival in Boone. Based on fan-filmed video footage of the gig posted on YouTube, the rocker, who hadn't performed in more than a year and a half due to the COVID-19 pandemic, began losing his voice several songs into his set, which consisted exclusively of CRÜE classics and cover songs previously recorded by the band.

MÖTLEY CRÜE's "The Stadium Tour" with DEF LEPPARD, POISON and JOAN JETT & THE BLACKHEARTS was originally scheduled to take place in the summer of 2020 but ended up being pushed back to 2021, and then to 2022, due to the coronavirus pandemic.

In December 2019, CRÜE manager Allen Kovac told Fox Business that "some of" the bandmembers had enlisted outside help to get in shape for the trek. Kovac was referring to criticism of Neil for his supposed diminished singing ability and weight gain, as well as the health status of guitarist Mick Mars, who has been dealing with a chronic form of arthritis that led him to undergo a hip replacement.

Kovac explained: "Some of them are working with a trainer, some of them are working with a nutritionist to make themselves the best they can be. The greatest insecurity for an artist is: Is anyone going to care about my music? Is anyone going to buy a ticket? We were in November [2019] when the discussions were happening, and these guys were already into regimens of how they get ready for a tour."

Speaking specifically about Neil, Kovac added: "Let's see what Vince sings like and looks like when the tour goes out."

CRÜE bassist Nikki Sixx also said that Vince was "killing it" while working with "trainers" and "nutritionists" in preparation for "The Stadium Tour".

Fan-filmed video of VIXEN's January 17 performance at RokIsland Fest in Key West, Florida can be seen below.

Last July, Lorraine Lewis spoke to The SDR Show about how she ended up becoming the new lead singer of VIXEN following the departure of Janet Gardner. She said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "The crazy thing is that, honestly, the night before Roxy [Petrucci, drums] called me to join, I had actually reached out to my booking agent to tell him I was done with [my longtime band] FEMME FATALE. I just had enough, a lot on my shoulders. I have a really good day job, the love of my life. And I was just, like, we had a really good run — six years with the girls — and I just felt done. And so I called him to tell him. And the very next day Roxy calls me and asks me if I'd be the lead singer of VIXEN. That's, honest to God, how it happened. And I was, like, 'This is so weird. 'Cause I just called [my booking agent] last night and told him I'm done.' So it was one of those things. I was really done with FEMME. I'd had a great run and I was ready to say goodbye. And Roxy called and I told her I was done. She was, like, 'What do you mean 'done'?' I'm, like, 'I'm done done.' She's, like, 'Done what?' And so I said, 'I'm done with FEMME. I'm done with singing. I'm just gonna chill.' And she's, like, 'No, you're not. You're gonna join VIXEN.' And so she presented what was going on. And I told her I was gonna think about it, talk with my husband, figure it out, and make sure that I could hit some of those soaring notes that VIXEN was famous for. And when I felt that I could do that, and [once] everything fit into place, I called and said, 'Let's do this.' So it wasn't that hard of a decision. I had really put FEMME to bed at that time."

Lorraine also confirmed that VIXEN was working on material for a new studio album.

"This past year, things have been so disjointed with everybody living everywhere and not being able to travel [due to the pandemic]," she said. "Britt [Lightning, a.k.a. Brittany Denaro; guitar] and I have been pretty good about getting together on Zoom and working things out. Roxy has been writing. We've all been separately, and then together as well. So things are in the works. We're not ready to release anything right now. But I'm hoping that now that we're gonna be kicking shows into gear, the glue will start happening again and we'll be able to get some stuff recorded together as a band."

Lewis went on to say that she is "so thrilled to be the singer of VIXEN. I'm so stoked to be carrying on the legacy of the band," she said. "So I'm honored. And I just wanna keep rockin'."

Prior to officially joining VIXEN in January 2019, Lewis had already performed with the band in March 2018 in Durant, Oklahoma while Gardner was recovering from surgery.

Gardner, Petrucci and Ross are considered to be part of VIXEN's classic lineup, along with founding guitarist Jan Kuehnemund, who died of cancer in October 2013.

Gardner contributed lead vocals to VIXEN's most commercially successful studio albums — "Vixen" (1988), "Rev It Up" (1990) and "Tangerine" (1998) — as well as the group's latest release, 2018's live album "Live Fire".

TRIVIUM's Matt Heafy has updated his fans on his quest to get his entire body tattooed.

The 35-year-old Orlando, Florida-based musician, who got his first tattoo in 2005, has asked his social media followers for ideas for the front portion of his full bodysuit.

Earlier today, Heafy took to his Instagram to share a photo of his progress, and he included the following message: "I need some ideas… I'm a ways away still - but what eventually should be the front suit piece I get? I'm torn between several classic Japanese legends, beast, warriors… but maybe I'm overlooking one. What do you think?"

A few years ago, Heafy told Tattoo.com in an interview that the music industry has "definitely made tattoos a more acceptable thing in popular culture. I think that before music became an 'industry,' it was the ancient Japanese who influenced tattoos by turning them into an art form," he explained. "Unfortunately, now it seems like Japan is regressing to being against tattoos. But with the rest of the world, I think it's funny because of all the stereotypes about tattoos kind of work. For instance, if you see a person who looks like they're in a band and they're covered in tattoos, chances are they're probably in a band. I think it's a great thing that tattoos allow bands to express themselves — and in this sense, the music industry doesn't have the same limitations that other industries have. I also think that music is another way people can express themselves and who they are as a person."

Heafy also discussed some of his specific tattoos, saying: "My right arm was my first piece. It's Brian Bruno's representation of an early Japanese piece by Kitagawa Utamaro. It was called 'Ascending Dragon'. That was when our album 'Ascendancy' was about to come out; it felt like the stars aligned. Kitagawa Utamaro was known more for his pieces of Geishas; I had never really seen him do a dragon piece. After doing years of research on a wooden triptych of the dragon, I had Brian do this piece. I thought he would be the best American tattoo artist to do Japanese tattooing. From there, Kahlil [Rintye] moved into Brian's spot (Kahlil was also trained in Japanese tattooing). He ended up doing my second tattoo, which is on my left arm. It is an interpretation of an old piece in Japanese storytelling done by Yoshitoshi. It's of a samurai named Watanabe no Tsuna fighting Ibaraki no Doji at Rashomon gate. I believe that piece was created in the 1700s or 1800s, so I had Kahlil basically duplicate it on my left arm. Then I have my wedding band tattooed on my left hand, and that's a Japanese 'Ensō,' which is an existentialist symbol based on the philosophies of perfection, imperfection, completion, and incompletion."

Heafy was born in Iwakuni, Japan to a Japanese mother and an American father. His father, formerly a member of the United States Marine Corps, is half Irish and half German. After wrapping up his enlistment at Camp Pendleton, Heafy's father settled his family in Orlando, Florida, where Matt's budding love of music began to flourish.
























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Swedish occult rockers GHOST will release their fifth album, "Impera", on March 11 via Loma Vista/Concord. The official music video for the LP's latest single, "Call Me Little Sunshine", can be seen below.

"Impera track listing:

01. Imperium

02. Kaisarion

03. Spillways

04. Call Me Little Sunshine

05. Hunter's Moon

06. Watcher In The Sky

07. Dominion

08. Twenties

09. Darkness At The Heart Of My Love

10. Griftwood

11. Bite Of Passage

12. Respite On The Spital Fields

"Hunter's Moon", which was originally released in September, is also featured in the latest blockbuster installment of the legendary film franchise "Halloween Kills". The "Halloween Kills" soundtrack arrived on October 15 via Sacred Bones, with the film hitting theaters (and Peacock) the same day as well.

Produced by Klas Åhlund and mixed by Andy Wallace, GHOST's "Hunter's Moon" plays as the "Halloween Kills" end credits roll, and will be released January 21 as a collectible seven-inch single by Loma Vista Recordings. "Hunter's Moon" can be streamed, purchased, and/or pre-ordered in its vinyl incarnation. The retail version of the seven-inch will feature the special B-side "Halloween Kills (Main Title)", performed, produced and engineered by John Carpenter, Cody Carpenter and Daniel Davies.

"Hunter's Moon" features OPETH's Fredrik Åkesson on guitar and THE SOUNDTRACK OF OUR LIVES founder Martin Hederos on the piano. Producer Max Grahn and "A Ghoul Writer" are listed as the song's composers and lyricists.

In a recent interview with the KLAQ radio station, GHOST mastermind Tobias Forge spoke about how the extraordinary world events of the last couple of years have served as an inspiration for the band's new material. He said: "The album that I have been working on, I came up with that concept years ago. We played in Seattle in 2013, 2014 — something like that — we played at Showbox At The Market. [Editor's note: The concert took place in April 2013.] I remember that day I came up with the idea for this record, this upcoming record. Because I got a book called 'The Rule Of Empires'. So, basically, I wanted to make a record about the rise and ultimately the unescapable fails and falls of empires. And an idea like that can take — at least me — quite far. So once you get that idea of, like, 'Oh, now I know what the pile is gonna look like. I know now what not to put in there.' And it was the same thing with [2018's] 'Prequelle' [album]; it was gonna be about the great death, a medieval, primordial threat of annihilation which was, I guess I wouldn't say carnal but maybe a tiny tad more spiritual and philosophical death, with the ever presence of actual termination, whereas this record about the empires was gonna be a little bit more practical, I guess; a little bit more, I don't wanna say political. So it wasn't really hard to be inspired by the last couple of years."

The book Forge referenced is apparently "The Rule Of Empires: Those Who Built Them, Those Who Endured Them, And Why They Always Fall", in which author Timothy Parsons gives a sweeping account of the evolution of empire from its origins in ancient Rome to its most recent twentieth-century embodiment. He explains what constitutes an empire and offers suggestions about what empires of the past can tell us about our own historical moment.

In March 2020, at final show of GHOST's "Prequelle" tour in Mexico City, Mexico, the band officially introduced Papa Emeritus IV, the new character who will front the act for its next LP phase.

Forge performed as a "new" Papa Emeritus on each of the band's first three LPs, with each version of Papa replacing the one that came before it. Papa Emeritus III was retired in favor of Cardinal Copia before the release of 2018's "Prequelle".

As previously reported, GHOST will be the featured musical guest on the Thursday, January 20 episode of "Jimmy Kimmel Live!", airing at 11:35 p.m. ET on ABC.

Four months ago, GHOST announced a 26-date co-headlining U.S. arena tour with VOLBEAT and special guests TWIN TEMPLE, coming to cities including Seattle, Denver, Chicago, Houston, and Phoenix. The trek will kick off on January 25 in Reno, Nevada and conclude on March 3 in Anaheim, California.

Former MEGADETH members David Ellefson and Jeff Young reunited last week in Los Angeles for interviews to be included in the upcoming feature-length documentary "This Was My Life: The Story Of Nick Menza". Ellefson has signed on as a co-producer of the film, and also will provide narration to guide the viewer through the exploration of the late MEGADETH drummer's life.

On Sunday (January 16), Ellefson took to his Facebook to share photos of him with Young, and he included the following message: "Was great to connect with Jeff Young this week while in LA doing interviews for the 'This Was My Life: The Story Of Nick Menza' documentary. Also many other friends, Mega staff and crew from over the years who gladly came together to share stories and fond memories of our beloved Nick."

Last September, Screaming Butterfly Entertainment announced a partnership with Ellefson and his Ellefson Films on "This Was My Life: The Story Of Nick Menza".

"This Was My Life" will be the first-ever film to memorialize Menza's legacy and celebrate his life exactly how it was. It is described in a press release as "an unflinching exploration into the life of one of the most successful thrash-metal drummers of all time, authorized by the Menza family. From his childhood all the way through to the end of his life including a true blow-by-blow account of the repeated failed attempts of the classic 'Rust In Peace' lineup."

"This Was My Life" will feature rare and never-before-seen photos and video footage from Nick's archived VHS tape collection, personally filmed by Menza himself from 1988 through 1991. Included will be exclusive content showcasing Nick working at the studio, personal home movies, casual time and party time with his fellow bandmembers, as well as other well-known artists of the era that Nick toured with. A screenshot from the film was recently released that featured an interview with former LAMB OF GOD/MEGADETH drummer Chris Adler.

Late in the evening on May 21, 2016, Nick collapsed after suffering a heart attack during a concert with Chris Poland and Robertino "Pag" Pagliari in their band OHM: at The Baked Potato in Studio City, California and was pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital. The Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner said Menza died of hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.

Ellefson was fired from MEGADETH last spring after sexually tinged messages and explicit video footage involving the bassist were posted on Twitter. At the time, Ellefson was accused of grooming an underage girl through videos and online messages. David has denied the allegation and has repeatedly said the woman in question had been a willing, consenting adult at the time of their virtual sexual encounter. Ellefson accompanied his denial with an alleged screenshot of a statement from the woman with whom he was supposedly involved at the time. In it, the woman admitted to recording the alleged intimate communications she had with Ellefson and called herself "naïve" for sharing them with a friend without the musician's permission.

David was in MEGADETH from the band's inception in 1983 to 2002, and again from 2010 until his latest exit.

In 2004, Ellefson filed an $18.5-million lawsuit against Dave Mustaine, alleging the MEGADETH leader shortchanged him on profits and backed out of a deal to turn Megadeth Inc. over to him when the band broke up in 2002. The lawsuit was eventually dismissed and Ellefson rejoined MEGADETH in 2010.

Young's entire career with MEGADETH was spent recording and touring in support of the band's 1988 platinum-selling album "So Far, So Good...So What!"

Jeff made headlines in December 2009 for accusing Mustaine of, among other things, "dissing, exaggerating and just plain lying on some level about nearly every talented musician that has passed through his dysfunctional little ensemble." He also disputed Mustaine's claim in an interview that Young's drug problem led to MEGADETH's 1988 Australian tour being called off and the group being "banned" from performing in the country.


Was great to connect with Jeff Young this week while in LA doing interviews for the "This Was My Life: The Story of Nick…

Posted by David Ellefson on Sunday, January 16, 2022

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH's Ivan Moody has once again opened up about his struggles with alcohol addiction. The singer, who celebrated his third year of sobriety last March, previously said that he nearly died due to an alcohol-related seizure and woke up surrounded by EMTs and his daughter holding him while crying. He also admitted that he went to rehab five times before the last time finally stuck.

Moody's near-death experience was recounted in FIVE FINGER's music video for the song "The Tragic Truth" which was released last week to coincide with Ivan's 42nd birthday.

Earlier today, Ivan released an Instagram video in which he answered a couple of fan-submitted questions regarding "The Tragic Truth" clip. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "The question that keeps coming up more often than not is about my death. First off, was it real? Yes. I tried to quit drinking by myself, on my own, for four days, and the fourth day my body shut down, I went into seizure and I died. I was handing my daughter a glass of water one second, and we'll get into the next.

"Two, what did I see? Now, for you to hear this, for one you have to ask yourself, do you believe in life after death?" he continued. "I myself grew up a skeptic — very science ridden. Half of my family was Christian and the other half was Catholic, so from the get-go I was confused, and I found holes in the system all the way through it. Organized religion was never something I really bought in to. Needless to say, rebel as I do, I went hunting for answers. Far and wide, theology became my thing. I studied everything from Buddhism to paganism, Wicca — which is still very close to my heart, as a lot of you know — and Satanism. No, not the stuff you see on TV — not sacrificing cats and enchantments and shit like that — the real work; the stuff that actually includes empathy. But that's a whole another story; we won't go there. Needless to say, it all became moot at one point when I died. It was nothing like anything that you think or that I thought for that matter or could have imagined. There was no light."

Ivan added: "I told Zoltan [Bathory, FIVE FINGER guitarist] it was like becoming a part of the universal hum — complete peace. It wasn't cold; it wasn't hot. There was no burden of any sort. And for a brief second, I was free. And all these memories, which is, I'm assuming, why people say your life goes flashing before your eyes, started flashing before my eyes. And I saw things from my infancy all the way up to that moment. And I remember thinking, 'This is too good. And I'm not ready for this. I have more to do.' And I'm not saying that; I truly remember thinking that. And out of the distance, I heard a voice, and it was my daughter, just like the video, when you see the hand come out and grab mine. And I don't know how to explain it, and believe me when I tell you this, I don't think some things are meant to be explained, but my heart lit up, clenched — I could feel it — and I became mass again. And I [felt myself coming] right back into my body. Truth. And I opened my eyes, and it was wet. And I looked up and it was my daughter, holding my head [and] crying on my face. And above me were two EMTs with paddles. And I remember them asking me questions. And the very first words out of my mouth [were], 'Please don't tell the fans.' Documented. My first concern was that I was going to let you down and my bandmates. Not the fact that my beautiful daughter was holding my head or that I was a fucking drunk or I just had this disease and I couldn't fight through it; none of it occurred to me. The only thing that mattered was that you and my bandmates still had faith in me, because music is all I have; it's my whole connection to everything."

In September 2018, Moody told the WEBN radio station that he was "back and forth for a while" in his struggle to stay sober. "I'd do three months, then relapse." He added: "Recovery, you have to be committed; it's an honest program, and I wasn't being honest with myself at the time. I'm very, very proud of the progress I've made."

Moody went on to credit several of his friends and musical peers with helping him get through some of his darker moments. "Rob Halford [JUDAS PRIEST] is the person that I called a lot of the time when I was in recovery," he revealed. "I think he's been sober now for going on 40 years — maybe, I think, a little longer than that; I could be wrong. But Jamey Jasta [HATEBREED] — another one. Jamey's been sober now for [two decades]; Jonathan Davis [KORN]; so on and so forth. So these were all people that I looked to when I was struggling, and I was very, very lucky and blessed to have them on my team."

Moody also revealed that he was sober but massively hung over during his onstage meltdown in Europe in 2017, with the band sending him home after that and later welcoming him back on a "probationary" basis after both Phil Labonte from ALL THAT REMAINS and Tommy Vext from BAD WOLVES filled in on a couple of tours.

Originally released in 2011, "The Tragic Truth" appeared as a bonus track exclusive to the iTunes edition of FIVE FINGER's third album, "American Capitalist", and was also included on the second installment of the group's greatest-hits collection, "A Decade Of Destruction – Volume 2", which came out on digital and CD formats in October 2020.

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH's most recent album, "F8", was produced by longtime collaborator Kevin Churko and debuted at No. 1 on rock charts around the world with Top 10 Mainstream chart debuts in the USA, Austria, Australia, Canada, Finland, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, the U.K. and more. "F8" features No. 1 hit singles "Inside Out", "A Little Bit Off", "Living The Dream" and "Darkness Settles In".
























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Former JUDAS PRIEST guitarist K.K. Downing has paid tribute to vocalist/bassist Burke Shelley of legendary Welsh rockers BUDGIE who died on Monday, January 10 at the age of 71.

Earlier today (Friday, January 14), Downing took to his social media to write: "It is with much sadness that I hear that our great Bass player, singer, and songwriter Burke Shelley has passed away.

"I have so many treasured memories when supporting BUDGIE on those great and extensive tours of the UK, I think we felt a special bond as both bands were perusing a direction together that was in some way different to everyone else back in the late 60s early 70s.

"Before I knew the band, I was a huge fan," he continued. "I used to look forward to turning on the radio late at night when a brave DJ named Kid Jensen used to play the band from a pirate radio ship somewhere in the North Sea,

"There can be no doubt that Burke Shelley was part of the embryo that became responsible for the creation of Rock, Hard Rock, Heavy Rock and Heavy Metal as we know it today. For this we can truly thank him. Burke can rest in peace knowing that we all that were there in the beginning or somewhere along the way will live the rest of our lives cherishing the music of BUDGIE, music that has always been a part of us and always will be.

"If I may I would like to extend sincerest thoughts and condolences to all of Birks family, friends, and loved one’s form both myself and fans all over the world," Downing added.

The news of Burke's passing was shared Monday by his daughter Ela. She wrote on Facebook: "It is with great sadness that I announce the death of my father, John Burke Shelley. He passed away this evening in his sleep at Heath Hospital in Cardiff, his birth town. He was 71 years old. Please respect the family during this time.

"With love, His four children: Ela, Osian, Dimitri and Nathaniel."

Two years ago, Shelley said that he was suffering from aortic aneurysm — a dangerous and abnormal swelling of the main artery that supplies blood to the body. He was also batting Stickler syndrome, a genetic disorder that can cause serious vision, hearing and joint problems. At the time, he told Wales Online that he turned down surgery because of the risk that it would cause irreparable spinal damage.

"I want to live what life I have left and not be crippled," he said. "I've got faith in God and have no worries about where I'm going. So I'll just go when He decides to take me and, in the meantime, I'll carry on doing what I want to do. Simple as that."

Shelley said the surgery he had in 2010 for aortic aneurysm resulted in damage to his diaphragm, leaving him unable to sing properly.

Often thought of as a cross between BLACK SABBATH and RUSH, the underappreciated outfit has influenced countless acts, despite enduring countless line-up shifts throughout their history.

The group originally formed in 1967 in Cardiff, Wales, comprised of Shelley (vocals, bass), Tony Bourge (guitar) and Ray Phillips (drums), and by the early 1970s they'd inked a deal with MCA Records.

This early lineup remains BUDGIE's most definitive, due to the fact that it spawned three of the group's finest albums — 1971's self-titled debut, 1972's "Squawk" and 1973's "Never Turn Your Back On A Friend" — while the group's quirky song titles became somewhat of a trademark for the trio (such ditties as "Nude Disintegrating Parachutist Woman", "Hot As A Docker's Armpit", "In The Grip Of A Tyrefitter's Hand" and "You're The Biggest Thing Since Powdered Milk").

Despite building a sizeable following in their homeland (while never breaking out of cult status stateside), Phillips left the group prior to their fourth album, 1974's "In For the Kill!", replaced by newcomer Pete Boot, which would in turn set off a flurry of steady lineup changes over the years for the group (the only constant BUDGIE member from the beginning was Shelley). Further releases were issued throughout the '70s, including 1975's "Bandolier".

Shelley and company would remain together for a few more years before splitting up quietly by the mid-'80s. But almost as soon as they disbanded, several high-profile groups began covering BUDGIE classics, including METALLICA ("Crash Course In Brain Surgery" and "Breadfan"), IRON MAIDEN ("I Can't See My Feelings"), while back in their early club days VAN HALEN was known to cover the title track from "In For The Kill!"


It is with much sadness that I hear that our great Bass player, singer, and songwriter Burke Shelley has passed away.

...

Posted by K.K. Downing's Steel Mill on Friday, January 14, 2022





Judas Priest have strong memories of great times with Burke Shelly from our tours together. We send our love with condolences for his family friends and fans

— Judas Priest (@judaspriest) January 13, 2022

"Like millions of others around the globe, we're ready to rock again," says LOVERBOY guitarist/co-founding member Paul Dean about their return to recording and the concert stage in 2022.

The band's new single, "Release", due in mid-January on all digital streaming platforms, is a full-throttle rocker Paul had been working on, at first intended for an unnamed metal band which approached him as a songwriter/producer to work with them. But when that didn't pan out, Dean decided to reach out to the other members of LOVERBOY to gauge their interest in recording it as their next single, which became "Release".

"It started out as a frustrated call to action, after months of lockdown, and morphed into a metal anthem about the loyalty and commitment of that audience," said Dean, with lyrics inspired by Sam Dunn's 2005 documentary "Metal: A Headbanger's Journey". They could well apply to LOVERBOY itself, going strong more than four decades after forming in Calgary in 1979.

"The communal aspect of heavy rock is almost like a religion," says Paul. "I've always been a big metal fan. My son and I have seen many of those bands in concert."

Paul started with no music, just the phrase "I need a release," and eventually finished writing it, before soliciting the other members of LOVERBOY, starting with lead singer Mike Reno, who contributed vocals and some evocative lyrics like "It's a frontal attack/It's a matter of fact." And when he continues, "Thinkin' bout me and you/Couldn't stop if we wanted to/It's a bond that can't be broken/Never broken," Reno could be talking about the long-term relationships within the band or with their own steadfast fans. Paul recorded Mike's vocals in a single afternoon at Reno's Vancouver home studio. "Mike always provides that great energy," says Paul.

Doug Johnson then added his trademarked keyboard riffs. "He's such an amazing player and an essential part of the band," acknowledged Dean. Then drummer Matt Frenette and bassist Ken "Spider" Sinnaeve, who joined the band in 2001 when original member Scott Smith drowned in a boating accident, provided the always-solid foundation, making "Release" a potent LOVERBOY anthem in the style of "Working For The Weekend", "Hot Girls In Love", "Lovin' Every Minute Of It" and "Turn Me Loose".

Working remotely, Frenette sent Dean seven different possible drum "takes" for the track. "That was amazing," said Paul. "It totally blew me away. And Matt was very helpful in putting the video together as well, he had some great ideas."

Dean adds, "Looks like we're finally going to get that 'Release' this January, when we play together live for the first time in nearly two years!"

LOVERBOY's upcoming tour dates include January 23 with Rick Springfield at the Ilani Cowlitz Ballroom in Ridgefield, Washington and headlining shows March 3 and March 4 in Windsor and Sarnia, Ontario. LOVERBOY will then join fellow rockers STYX and REO SPEEDWAGON for the Live Nation-promoted "Live & UnZoomed" tour that kicks off May 31 in Grand Rapids, Michigan at the Van Andel Arena.

LOVERBOY has four multi-platinum albums, including the four-million-selling "Get Lucky", and a trio of double-platinum releases in their self-titled 1980 debut, 1983's "Keep It Up" and 1985's "Lovin' Every Minute Of It". Their string of hits includes, in addition to the arena-rock anthem "Working For The Weekend", such staples as "Lovin' Every Minute Of It", "This Could Be The Night", "Hot Girls In Love", "Heaven In Your Eyes", "Turn Me Loose", "When It's Over", "Heaven In Your Eyes" and "Queen Of The Broken Hearts".

Blackie Lawless has shot down Chris Holmes's claim that the guitarist was "screwed" out of receiving royalties on the W.A.S.P. albums that he performed on.

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

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

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

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

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

Last fall, Holmes spoke about his time in W.A.S.P. in an interview with TotalRock Radio. He said: "Blackie, while I was in the band, made some really bad decisions — really bad decisions — that killed the band.

"I've known him since I was 18, 17 — when he supposedly got done playing with the [NEW YORK] DOLLS or whatever; I knew him them. And not in my farthest dream could I think in the first album that that would have happened with him. It got so unbearably about him than anything else. It was radical. The band was four people when it started; that's what made us. And then with Tony [Richards, drummer] gone; [Blackie] has to be on the cover [of W.A.S.P.'s second album, 1985's 'The Last Command']. His idol was Muhammad Ali. And that's only one person; it's not a team. That's what he wants. On the road, he's made some bad decisions. And I even would tell him about it, and he wouldn't listen to me.

"W.A.S.P. could have been a good band if he could have kept all the people together. I guess it's a good band now."

Holmes went on to say that he learned "a lot of things" from playing in W.A.S.P. However, he was quick to point out: "If I would have understood what was going on in the beginning, about what happens after a record is done and what happens in between — you record it and it goes out from the label, what they do — if I would have known what goes on there, I would have only done one album. That's it. I would have said, 'Fuck you. I'm not doing it that way.' But I didn't know. And if you're not told there's a meeting, well, you don't go to the meeting, right?"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Progressive rock and roll legend Ian Anderson, founding member of JETHRO TULL, was asked in a new interview with Jeff Gaudiosi of MisplacedStraws.com about his band's place in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. He responded: "Well, so far, it's a sense of relief that I haven't had to face the embarrassing prospect of being invited into the Hall Of Fame, to be inducted into the Hall Of Fame, because I've long maintained the position that the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame is an American institution about American-inspired music. It doesn't necessarily preclude musicians of other nationalities, but I think it's gotta be essentially — it's about American music. Not necessarily exactly rock and roll — we're not talking about Chuck Berry or Little Richard or Elvis Presley or whatever, but we're talking, broadly speaking, pop and rock music. There is a certain sort of American styling, and certainly THE ROLLING STONES, for example, would fit that perfectly because they owe everything to American music, whereas, I guess, JETHRO TULL, apart from the first album, I would say [there's] not a lot of Americana in the musical styles that I tend to work with. So I don't think we are appropriate as inductees into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame."

He continued: "But the other side of the coin is when the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame opened its doors, it did so with a few JETHRO TULL exhibits, which I provided to them, and they were in Cleveland when the place was shiny and new and I went to take a look. It's not as if we're divorced from that whole thing entirely, but I think there's a slight difference when it comes to being inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. And luckily, I'm not gonna be faced with an embarrassment of having to claim that I'm washing my hair that night and I can't actually come to wherever it is they do such things."

Ian added: "Historically, Jann Wenner [co-founder and publisher of the popular culture magazine Rolling Stone], who is, as far as I know, still one of the kingpins who sits on that board and decides who will be admitted through its grand portals, he's always had a huge dislike of JETHRO TULL, from Rolling Stone days onwards. So we're not on his list of favorites for sure, and that's fine; that's fine by me. But genuinely, I respect the institution of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame enormously, but I don't think we really belong in there. I can think of a few artists who probably do, who are not part of that. They owe so much to American music, and American music owes something to them too, because they have continued to keep that flame of musical Americana alive throughout the world, even if they're not citizens of the USA."

Despite the fact that artists are eligible for the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame 25 years after the release of their first album or single, iconic hard rock and metal bands like IRON MAIDEN and JUDAS PRIEST have yet to be recognized by the institution, which inducted GUNS N' ROSES in that group's first year of eligibility.

The Rock Hall didn't induct BLACK SABBATH until 2006, and METALLICA followed three years later.

Rock Hall rules state that artists become eligible a quarter century after their first records were released, but the Hall also claims that other "criteria include the influence and significance of the artists' contributions to the development and perpetuation of rock 'n' roll," which is, of course, open to interpretation.

Eligible for induction since 1999, KISS didn't get its first nomination until 2009, and was finally inducted in 2014.

DEEP PURPLE was eligible for the Rock Hall since 1993 but didn't get inducted until five years ago.

PRIEST was on the ballot for Rock Hall induction two years ago, but failed to receive enough votes to make the class of 2020.

Having been eligible for induction since 1999, PRIEST was previously on the ballot for the 2018 class of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, but was ultimately left out of the inductee list.

IRON MAIDEN was on the ballot for Rock Hall induction last year, but didn't make the class of 2021.

IRON MAIDEN was on the ballot for Rock Hall induction last year, but didn't make the class of 2021.

JETHRO TULL famously won the "Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance" Grammy Award over METALLICA in 1989, which is still considered to be one of the most controversial moments in rock and metal history.

The clip below features Nightwish vocalist Floor Jansen performing with singer Henk Poort at her solo show at AFAS Live in Amsterdam, Netherlands on September 1st, 2021.


Floor: "In lockdown, Henk Poort and I reunited to perform another musical classic together. 'Dangerous Game' from the Jekyll & Hyde is a favorite of us both. We hope you enjoy this live performance of a quarantine cover performance."







The setlist was as follows:


Set 1:


"Ever Dream" (Nightwish)
"Storm In A Glass" (Northward) 
"Nemo" (Nightwish) 
"Mama" (Samantha Steenwijk cover) 
"Sweet Curse" (ReVamp song - with Henk Poort) 
"Dangerous Game" (from Jekyll & Hyde - with Henk Poort) 
"Euphoria" (Loreen)
"Face Your Demons" (After Forever) 
"Winner" (Tim Akkerman cover)


Set 2:


"Slow, Love, Slow" (Nightwish)
"Shallow" (Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper cover) 
"Strong" (After Forever) 
"Élan" (Nightwish) 
"Energize Me" (After Forever) 
"Qué Se Siente" (Rolf Sanchez)
"Bridle Passion" (Northward) 
"Our Decades In The Sun" (Nightwish)
"Wolf And Dog" (ReVamp) 
"The Phantom Of The Opera" (Andrew Lloyd Webber cover - with Henk Poort)


"Storm In A Glass"





"Ever Dream"

Ted Nugent says that he doesn't take his exclusion from the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame personally.

The conservative rocker, who been eligible for the honor as a solo artist since 2000, has enjoyed a remarkably successful and eventful musical career over the past five decades, but his music is increasingly overshadowed by his political outbursts.

Asked in a recent interview with The Real Music Observer about the validity of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame considering that a number of rappers and non-rock artists have been inducted while other deserving acts have been overlooked, Nugent said in part (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "When I criticize the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame… Let's take me out of the equation. Let's say I don't qualify — which is ridiculous — but let's pretend I don't qualify. But why ABBA before STYX? Why Patti Smith before TRIUMPH? Why Grandmaster Flash or Jay-Z at all? I mean, to think that they would qualify before the artists I just mentioned, and myself included, it's just dishonest and it's literally disrespectful to the gods of this music — Chuck [Berry] and Bo [Diddley] and all the gods that created this incredible soundtrack. But I don't take it personally because I don't need it. And quite honestly, the authenticity of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame has been so tainted by the inclusion of not just non-rockers but anti-rockers. Madonna? Really? So I find it offensive on that level.

"I go back to the people thinking I hated Grandmaster Flash," he continued. "I don't hate anybody… I don't take this stuff personally but I find it offensive to real rockers, to real rock artists and to real rock and roll fans. Because Grandmaster Flash in the Rock And Roll… And I hope he's happy, I hope he's healthy and successful. But Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame? Why don't we just go down to Chuck Berry's grave and take a shit on it? That's what that represents to me. And it's unforgivable."

Ted has railed against the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame a number of times in the past, including in a 2017 interview with the Q103 radio station in Albany. At the time, he stated about his exclusion from the institution: "Jan Wenner, the founder of Rolling Stone [magazine] and the boss hog at Rock And Roll Of Fame, he hates freedom, he hates the Second Amendment, he hates me, because I'm on the board of directors — quite proudly — of the National Rifle Association for, like, twenty-six years with some of the highest votes except for Charlton Heston [NRA's president]. And I couldn't be more proud of that, 'cause the NRA is the ultimate family, grassroots organization that fights for the right to defend ourselves. What kind of numbnut would be against that? And so I'm on the board of directors of the NRA, Jan Wenner hates the Second Amendment, so that's the only reason I'm not in the Rock And Roll Of Fame. And until they get their heads out of their ass, I'm more than happy to do what I do and do it with all the vim and vigor that I do it every night."

Nugent added: "Hey, write this down. My name is Ted Nugent. I am the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Eat me!"

Asked if he would show up for his Rock Hall induction if he eventually got the nod, Nugent said: "Oh, hell yes! And you know what I would do? I would lead… I've seen a lot of the ceremonies, and they're so moving. All of us that love music, how do you not just shed a tear of joy when you see Bob Seger and certainly ZZ TOP and Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley and James Brown… Are you kidding me? These are the gods of the soundtrack of our quality of life. But you know what I will do? And I will do it. I will lead the most important moment in the history of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, because I will get on bended knee and I will say a prayer for Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley and Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis and THE VENTURES and James Brown and Wilson Pickett and Otis Redding and the Motown Funk Brothers and THE BEATLES and THE [ROLLING] STONES and THE KINKS and Howlin' Wolf and Buddy Guy and B.B. King and Freddie King and Albert King… you know what I'm saying? Because Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame is paying tribute and homage to geniuses who gave us the ultimate soundtrack for our American Dream. I'm all in, man, I'm genuinely moved, and I'm glad there is a Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame."

Last July, Nugent resigned from the board of the NRA after 26 years, saying he was stepping down "due to constant scheduling conflicts."

On their soaring, self-titled debut, melodic hard rock supergroup Out Of This World skillfully underlines the combination of well-made songs with passion: a perfect and rare constellation when the stars are aligned correctly. Forged by Kee Marcello of Europe fame, vocal thunder Tommy Heart (Fair Warning), bassist Ken Sandin (Alien), and drummer Darby Todd (Devin Townsend, Gary Moore, The Darkness), Out Of This World is a dream come true for everybody out there who is mourning the loss of quality melodic hard rock. It’s no wonder this record has already become a massive hit in Japan.


The group recently announced their signing to Atomic Fire Records, releasing their self-titled debut album, including three bonus tracks as well as a seven-track bonus live album on January 14, 2022.


To coincide with the album release, the band has shared an official video for the song "In A Million Years". Check it out below.







"Our eponymous Out Of This World may sound like a hard promise to keep, but honestly, it describes it to a tee," comments Kee Marcello.


Tommy Heart states, "After having released our first record in Japan, we are super pumped to let our music be heard from the rest of the world as well. Very happy to be a part of the Atomic Fire Records family! We are working together since only a couple of months, but I can already tell, I have a great feeling about this team that understands our music and our vision so well!"


"Asked about my all-time favorite hard rock albums, I would always mention the self-titled Fair Warning classic from 1992, it's a true masterpiece," says Atomic Fire Records CEO and label manager Markus Wosgien. He adds, "And if we talk about Europe, I think everyone grew up with their ‘80s and early ‘90s classics. To be working with Kee Marcello as well as Tommy Heart now is a dream come true. Close your eyes, enjoy this beautiful album and you will feel like a lovestruck teenager again."


It's no coincidence that Marcello's latest endeavor bears the name of that legendary multi-platinum Europe album released back in 1988. "When I told people about my new project, someone suggested I call it something like Kee Marcelo's Europe. But that's terrible," he laughs. "I hated it. Tommy suggested to call it Out Of This World, simple as that. Just as the Black Sabbath guys and Dio did with Heaven And Hell."


The same vibe, the same ear for melody, the same hooks permeate an album that was brought to life with the vigor and passion you wouldn't exactly expect in a rock star who's seen it all and done it all in the past forty years. "I've always concentrated on music, and my passion for that never changed," he says. "I've never changed style; I've never tried to do anything I'm not doing well."


Out Of This World beams with a freewheeling and overflowing sense of fun, musicianship, and togetherness. It's an effortless flux that's just not normally found on a debut. "You have to remember that Darby, Ken, and I go way back," the legendary axe-man notes of his rhythm section. "We did hundreds of gigs together and are as tight as a thumbscrew. Same thing goes for Tommy and I. We clicked instantly when working together for the first time a couple of years ago. We have this almost brotherly connection. We're literally reading each other's minds, man. There was no stumbling block, it was all a self-playing piano."


It’s the same for vocalist Tommy Heart who's been around in this game forever as well. "You meet, you play, and sparks begin to fly," he describes the chemistry between the members. "We don't even talk that much. We simply let the music speak. We touch our hearts when we play which is something that's incredibly rare to find. Nobody has to explain himself; everybody is doing just what anybody else would do at that moment." Heart was instantly hooked when he realized that Out Of This World was more than a one-off thing between bored musicians in lockdown. "I don't like these temporary projects," he muses. "This here is the real deal."


"With Out Of This World, though, it never felt like a project," says Marcello and he admits: "It felt like a band from day one. This is why the album turned out so well. It has a genuine band feel to it." At their very first rehearsal session in Marcello's hometown of Gothenburg, they sketched a couple of songs that would later wind up on their debut, namely “Twilight,” “Lighting Up My Dark,” and “In A Million Years.” "We actually found ourselves right in the middle of our first recording session without even knowing it," he marvels. "Everything felt so natural and so good that writing the rest of the songs was a walk in the park."


Graced by additional key wizardry courtesy of Deep Purple’s very own Don Airey and embellished by a Ron Nevison mix (Kiss, Bad Company, Ozzy Osbourne, Meat Loaf, Heart, Chicago, Damn Yankees, etc.) who reunited with Marcello for the first time since producing Europe's Out Of This World a staggering thirty-three years ago, the songs masterfully transport the bygone era of melody driven, anthemic hard rock into the present. From uptempo rocking first single “Hanging On” via “In A Million Years,” originally written for Europe's Prisoner In Paradise, to colossal anthem “Lighting Up My Dark,” and prog-rock playground “Staring At The Sun,” Out Of This World solitarily resurrect a genre we thought was lost long ago.





Tracklisting:


“Twilight”
“Hanging On”
“In A Million Years”
“Lighting Up My Dark”
“Staring At The Sun”
“The Warrior”
“Up To You”
“Ain’t Gonna Let You Go”
“Only You Can Teach Me How To Love Again”
“Not Tonight”
“Twilight” (Demo Version)*
“In A Million Years” (Demo Version)*
“Lighting Up My Dark” (Demo Version)*


*Bonus tracks


Bonus Live CD/LP
“Let The Good Times Rock”
“Burning Heart”
“Save Me”
“Open Your Heart”
“Momentum” (Instrumental)
“Superstitious”
“Ready Or Not”


“Hanging On” lyric video:

Fan-filmed video of HALESTORM's Lzzy Hale joining EVANESCENCE on stage during the latter band's January 14 concert at the Heritage Bank Center in Cincinnati, Ohio to perform a cover version of LINKIN PARK's "Heavy" can be seen below. The show was part of the rescheduled dates of EVANESCENCE and HALESTORM's U.S. co-headlining tour, which will run through January 21 in Newark, New Jersey.

Lzzy and EVANESCENCE singer Amy Lee have been performing "Heavy" at every stop on the current tour. Lzzy spoke about the decision to cover the track in an interview with the 105.7 The Point radio station. She said: "[Amy and I] were lobbing a couple of ideas back and forth and then, all of a sudden, we landed on LINKIN PARK. And [we thought], you know what? That would be really cool because inadvertently it would be a tribute to [late LINKIN PARK singer] Chester [Bennington], but also, everything that this song has been about, we've all been through that — everybody. And so it's almost this like very church moment where you walk out onstage and you're, like, 'All right. This is my church. These are my people. We're all doing this together.'"

Hale also talked about her musical chemistry with Lee, saying: "There's something otherworldly that happens when I sing with her live onstage. And it's something that I can't necessarily put my finger on, that feeling. I've done thousands of other collaborations in my life, and this is very, very special. She is, obviously, a phenomenal singer; that's not even cutting it — phenomenal. But there's something that happens when we sing together because of the different personalities; it's almost like this dance that happens. Amy has likened it to a well-matched tennis match where we both have that trust because we both know that no matter what, both of us bring it; we're always on a hundred and ten. And so to be able to feel that again with her after so many years of not touring together and doing this… I don't know — I think I leave my body. When I'm onstage when that happens, all of a sudden the song's over and I'm, like, 'Wait. Did I just blank out? What happened?'"

EVANESCENCE and HALESTORM first toured together in 2012. Lee later guested on the track "Break In" on HALESTORM's 2020 "Reimagined" EP and Hale lent backing vocals to the EVANESCENCE song "Use My Voice" and appeared in the accompanying music video.

EVANESCENCE is on tour supporting last year's "The Bitter Truth" album. HALESTORM is promoting its latest single, "Back From The Dead", which recently became the band's sixth No. 1 at rock radio.

Messor Grandis Productions has announced March 25th as the international release date for Grand Harvest's debut album, Consummatum Est.


Consummatum Est contains nine tracks of versatile-yet-focused metal music. Moving freely between the borders of death metal, doom metal, and black metal, the band focuses on portaying atmospheric and ethereal sonic landscapes that, together with the lyrics, will summon emotions and profound thoughts to the mind of the listener. Pay extra attention to the esoteric aspects of the lyrics, which perfectly blend with the music and present the different vocal styles - and Luciferian/misanthropic mindset - of singer and lyricist Dr. Häll. 


"Fatehammer" is the first single from Consummatum Est:







Grand Harvest aims to create dark and dismal doom-influenced death metal, with very clear ties to the past but with an additional heavy element and with darker subject matters. It is a true collective effort, with all band members contributing to the songwriting. 


Dark and misanthropic death/doom metal with hints of black metal and with epic/atmospheric elements that together lift the music to a versatile and transcendental level, without losing focus. A steady mix of old-school primitivity, ethereal dreamscapes, and esoteric sermons. 


The lyrics—stemming from the thoughts and revelations of singer and lyricist Dr. Häll—reflect a deep resentment of the misery and tyranny congenital to sentient being in general, and humanity in particular. A Luciferian gnosis of death, cast in the language of mystical eschatology, personal trials, and a peculiar brand of misanthropic empathy, led to a certain lyrical main theme: the blissful end of all things. The spirit and philosophy informing the lyrics permeate the very essence of the music and the perfect vessel to complete the entity that is Grand Harvest—a means to an end, the definitive end. 


Consummatum Est artwork and tracklisting:





"Sol Maledictor"
"The Harrow"
"No Paler A Horse"
"As The Vultures Descend"
"Crowns To Ashes - Thrones To Dust"
"My Desolate Sea"
"Fatehammer"
"In Memoriam - Magnus Invictus"
"Consummatum Est"





 

Previously only available to members of the Necrophazerz Fan Klub, the live video for "Zodiac", from Wednesday 13's 2019 album Necrophaze, can now be seen by all at this location. Enter password: r3druM.


Join the Wednesday 13 montly subscription Fan Klub to see more videos like this, weekly live stories, the fan klub comic book, exclusive merch and more.







In November 2021, it was announced that Wednesday 13 signed with Napalm Records:


Heavy horror punk icon, Wednesday 13, slithered from the cobwebbed depths of Charlotte, North Carolina in the early 90s - quickly making his way to the top of the horrendous heights of rock, punk and metal crossover with his electrifying, acclaimed solo music, relentless international touring and also as frontman of renowned horror punk supergroup, Murderdolls. Now, nearly 20 years after the formation of the group, Wednesday 13 is about to take his solo project to the next level by signing a worldwide contract with premier rock and metal label Napalm Records.


Wednesday 13 says about the signing: “We are excited to announce that we have signed with Napalm Records for the release of our next album, the ninth instalment of the Wednesday 13 catalogue, due out in 2022. The new album will be loaded with a full arsenal of Tricks and Treats that fans will Die for!”


In addition, Wednesday 13 is thrilled to announce a massive 2022 US headline tour, dubbed 20 Years Of Fear. Kicking off on March 23 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the tour will feature a special setlist spanning Wednesday 13’s entire career - making for a return to the road fans won’t want to miss. Three select dates will also feature a set from fellow punk/metal icon Doyle (see below). After visiting a slew of American cities, the tour will end on May 7 in Sacramento, California.


Wednesday 13 says about the upcoming headline tour: "After two years off the road, we are more than excited to get back out and play live. We will be headlining the USA playing a special career spanning 20 Years Of Fear setlist. It’s been 20 years since it all began for me with Murderdolls and I’m looking forward to celebrating all these years of music with our fans.”


Tickets are on sale now via local venues. This tour will be scary fun - don’t miss the chance to get wild with Wednesday 13.





Tour dates:


March
23 - Albuquerque, NM - Launch Pad       
25 - Austin, TX - Come And Take It Live
26 - Houston, TX - Warehouse Live Studio
27 - Dallas, TX - Amp'd Live
29 - Nashville, TN - Basement East
30 - Atlanta, GA - Masquerade
31 - Spartanburg, SC - Ground Zero


April
1 - Harrison, OH - Blue Note *also featuring Doyle
2 - Columbus, OH - The King Of Clubs *also featuring Doyle
3 - Pittsburgh, PA - The Crafthouse
5 - Harrisburg, PA - HMAC- Stage Of Herr
6 - Clifton, NJ - Dingbatz
8 - New Bedford, MA - The Vault
9 - Poughkeepsie, NY - The Chance *also featuring Doyle
10 - Syracuse, NY - Lost Horizon  
13 - Leesburg, VA - Tally Ho Theater
14 - Buffalo, NY - Ironworks
15 - Cleveland, OH - The Winchester
16 - Flint, MI - Machine Shop
17 - Grand Rapids, MI - The Stache - Intersection                     
19 – Ft. Wayne, IN - Piere's
20 - Hobart, IN - The Art Theater
22 - Angola, IN - Eclectic Room
23 - Joliet, IL - The Forge
24 - Bloomington, IL - Castle Theater
26 - Green Bay, WI - EPIC Events Center
27 - Belvidere, IL - Apollo Theater
29 - Colorado Springs, CO - Sunshine Studios
30 - Denver, CO - HQ


May
1 - Grand Junction, CO - Mesa Theater
3 - Tempe, AZ - Pub Rock
5 - San Diego, CA - Brick By Brick
6 - Los Angeles, CA - The Whisky A Go Go
7 - Sacramento, CA - Goldfield Midtown


 

HEART's Ann Wilson has released a music video for her cover version of the ALICE IN CHAINS classic "Rooster". You can now watch it below.

Wilson performed her version of "Rooster" when ALICE IN CHAINS was presented with the Museum Of Pop Culture (MoPOP) Founders Award in December 2020. "Rooster" is also the B-side on Ann's limited-edition 45rpm single, available for purchase at AnnWilson.com.

In a December 2020 interview with the Seattle Times, Ann stated about her version of "Rooster": "I wanted to remain true to the song as much as possible, but I wanted to make it my own. But really, honoring the original spirit of the song, which is cockroaches and flies and all this kind of stuff. [Laughs]. Before I knew what form the MoPOP thing was gonna take with the live performances, I made a video for 'Rooster' that was really dark. They decided not to use it because they wanted it to be a bunch of live performances. But sometime I'll put that video out because it's really cool. It's just maggots and war stuff and darkness and insanity."

When asked by Rock Cellar how she came to choose "Rooster" for her performance at the Museum Of Pop Culture event, Ann said: "Talking with [ALICE IN CHAINS guitarist] Jerry [Cantrell], who's a friend, about which song I should do, I said, 'How would you feel if I did 'Rooster'?' Because I'd sung with them on the record of 'Rooster' years ago. And he thought that was a really good idea, so that's what we did."

Back in 2006, ALICE IN CHAINS drummer Sean Kinney told The Aquarian Weekly about HEART: "Ann and Nancy are the most talented musicians and beautiful women I've ever met. They're just so cool and genuine and not weird diva-ed out shitheads. The talent they have is overwhelming, and the music they've made over the years is flawless.

Cantrell concurred, saying: "I'm from Seattle, man. We didn't have too many heroes coming out of our town. We had [Jimi] Hendrix and HEART, QUEENSRŸCHE and that was pretty much it. We didn't have a lot of nationally respected acts, and those were the people we had and they were real fucking quality bands. Quality music and quality people as well. I've known the girls for many years now. Seattle's not that big a town, so everybody pretty much knows everybody and we've spent many years hanging."

Kinney added: "They're really good friends, and we're from the same town. I grew up holding their foldout albums in one hand, holed up in my room at night… Nah I'm just kidding. They just became really good friends and they're such talented women with such amazing tunes. My sister turned me on to them when I was just a little kid, and I've been a fan ever since then. It's been really weird to be able to become friends with them and have opportunities to play with them… They've got to be the best female rock stars of all time in my book."

"The most powerful voice I've ever heard is Ann Wilson," Cantrell said. "Hands down. And the guitar work and the singing that Nancy does is incredible too. It's an amazing thing. They're legends in my mind.

"It's not like when Cher shows up and does 'do you beLIEEEVE' with a vocoder," laughed Kinney. "Ann'll just blow your brains out when she sings. I've been lucky enough to play with her and other singers are powerful, but if they don't change the mix in your monitor, she gets up and it knocks you off your drum throne. It's like, 'Wow, that's the shit right there.'"