During a question-and-answer session at the 2025 Steel City Con, which was held December 5-7, 2025 in Monroeville, Pennsylvania, legendary BLACK SABBATH bassist Geezer Butler was asked if there is a possibility of him collaborating in the future on new music with either one of the two other living members of the original SABBATH lineup, guitarist Tony Iommi and drummer Bill Ward. Geezer responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I was actually gonna do some… Tony's got this great album that he is doing right at the moment. He's just in the process — I think he's in the process of mixing it right now, so it should be out sometime [in 2026]. He's got this great singer from Sweden on it. And he wanted me to do three bass tracks, but he wanted me to do them in England, and I can't go to England until June [of 2026]. So if he can hang on that long, I might collaborate with him back in June, if he can wait that long."

Late last month, Iommi shared a year-end video message in which he said that he will "definitely, definitely" release his new solo album in 2026. "I'm really looking forward to that," he said. "I'm enjoying doing it, and it's been great fun, and I really hope you enjoy it."

Tony previously talked about his long-awaited new solo album during a July 2025 appearance on SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk". He said at the time: " I was doing my own album until [the 'Back To The Beginning' event] came up, and then, of course, I had to stop and concentrate on [preparing for] the SABBATH [performance]. But I'm continuing next week on trying to finish off what I started with this album. And then who knows what I'm gonna do then? It's great, really, 'cause if something pops up, I'll do it, if I want to do it. So it's a good thing."

Asked if his upcoming album is a Tony Iommi solo record with guests on it, like he has done before with 2000's "Iommi", the guitarist responded: "At the moment, no. I've got one singer on it at the moment, which I originally thought of different singers. But it started off as it's gonna be an instrumental album, and it's gone from I've got some instrumental stuff, but then I thought, 'Oh, I wanna try it with a singer.' And so that's what I've been doing."

Tony also spoke about his appearance on "Rocket", the first single from British pop singer Robbie Williams's "Britpop" album. The rock track, which was written by Robbie, Karl Brazil, Tony Iommi and Tom Longworth, features a signature guitar solo from the heavy metal pioneer.

"[Robbie] asked me if I'd play on this track, and I didn't realize he was gonna release it as a single," Iommi said. "And then he wanted to do a video with it. Oh my God. But it was great to do that. And I enjoyed doing that. And it's great now — I can do different stuff when I want, really, and I'm enjoying it."

Tony added: "I can't stop. I have to carry on. I enjoy what I do. And it's great being creative. And I love to create music. That's what started me off and that's what will finish me off, probably. But I love it. And there will be — yes — more from me. And I'm getting more involved in — we spread our wings with the [BLACK SABBATH] ballet and different things. And there's a lot more things to come. So I'm looking forward to that."

In 2024, Iommi released an instrumental track, "Deified", to accompany the arrival of another new fragrance. The song saw Iommi reunite with longtime collaborator Mike Exeter, who played keyboards and handled production, with Laurence Cottle (who played on BLACK SABBATH's "Headless Cross" album) on bass. The recording lineup was rounded out by FEEDER and Robbie Williams drummer Karl Brazil, with Ben Andrews scoring the orchestrations.

Three years earlier, Iommi unveiled "Scent Of Dark" — his first new music in eight years at the time — alongside an accompanying cologne.

At the time of "Scent Of Dark"'s release, Iommi revealed that he had "four or five hundred" unused riffs on his phone, with plans to arrange and record some of them for his various projects.

"Scent Of Dark" and "Deified" were the product of a friendship struck up during the pandemic between Iommi and Sergio Momo, acclaimed perfumer, and designer for Xerjoff, well known for its unique and individual creations and collaborations in the fragrance world. Sergio is also an accomplished guitarist, and his fine fretwork can be heard on both songs.

Iommi previously spoke about his upcoming solo album during a June 2024 appearance on Full Metal Jackie's nationally syndicated radio show. He said at the time: "I am writing stuff now for my own, for an album. So that's exciting too. And there's no pressure. I just do stuff when I feel like it, because, obviously, I've got a life to live and I like to do all the different stuff. But I've really enjoyed doing this stuff, as I did with Ozz [BLACK SABBATH singer Ozzy Osbourne] when I'd done a couple of tracks for his last [solo] album ['Patient Number 9'], which was good, to work with Ozz again. And I'm quite open for all that now. Whatever comes, and I like it, I do it."

Asked if he is going to release a "proper record" or if he will just make individual songs available whenever he feels like it, Iommi responded: "No, I'm gonna do a record. And I've got a lot of stuff. But now we're actually getting around to sort of putting it together, myself and the engineer. So it's been good fun, really. And as I say, there's no pressure. I can just do it — I don't have to do it by next week. And because of everything else [that has] been lurking around, I have to take my time in doing things. But it's been fun. And that's what it's all about, really. And I'm looking forward to actually doing it and an album coming out."

When and if Iommi's new solo album surfaces, it would be his third, after 2000's "Iommi" and 2005's "Fused".

Joining Iommi on "Fused" was ex-DEEP PURPLE bassist/vocalist Glenn Hughes and drummer Kenny Aronoff, whose resume includes the "Iommi" album and a long run with John Mellencamp.

Nearly two decades ago, Iommi told Launch that he, Aronoff and Hughes had a great time making the "Fused" record. "It was like a load of nutters, quite honestly," he said. "We all let loose in the room. It was just like being kids, because Kenny, you know, [laughs] he was, like, he's so, like, up, and full of energy, and you've got Glenn [makes crazy sound] and Kenny [makes crazy sound] — bloody hell! It's almost too much, you know, but it worked."

SMASHING PUMPKINS frontman Billy Corgan and Dave Grohl of the FOO FIGHTERS are among the guests who were heard on "Iommi". The LP also featured guest appearances from Philip Anselmo of PANTERA, Henry Rollins and SYSTEM OF A DOWN's Serj Tankian as well as Skin of SKUNK ANANSIE, Peter Steele from TYPE O NEGATIVE, and THE CULT's Ian Astbury.

In February 2017, SABBATH finished "The End" tour in Birmingham, closing out the quartet's groundbreaking 49-year career.

"The End" was SABBATH's last tour because Iommi — who was diagnosed with lymphoma in late 2011 — can no longer travel for extended amounts of time.

Iommi revealed his cancer diagnosis in early 2012, shortly after SABBATH announced a reunion tour and album. He underwent treatment throughout the recording of the disc, titled "13", and the subsequent tour to promote it.

The BLACK SABBATH guitarist successfully underwent an operation in January 2017 to remove a noncancerous lump from his throat.

"13" was the first album in 35 years to feature Iommi, Osbourne and Butler all playing together.

Bill Ward was on board for the SABBATH reunion when it was first announced 14 years ago, but backed out soon after. The drummer later claimed that he sat out the recording and touring sessions because of unfair contractual terms, although the members of SABBATH have hinted in other interviews that he wasn't physically up to the task.

All four original members of SABBATH were present when the band announced its final reunion in late 2011. But Ward split from the group in 2012, citing an "unsignable" contract, and Osbourne, Iommi and Butler carried on with their Rick Rubin–produced "13" LP and extensive international touring without him.

The July 5, 2025 "Back To The Beginning" event at Villa Park in Birmingham, United Kingdom marked the original BLACK SABBATH lineup's first performance since 2005 and the quartet's final live appearance.

Ozzy played a five-song set with his solo band before being joined by Iommi, Butler and Ward for four classic SABBATH tracks: "War Pigs", "Iron Man", "N.I.B." and "Paranoid".

Ozzy's death certificate revealed that he died on July 22 of a heart attack. The certificate filed in London also said Osbourne suffered from coronary artery disease and Parkinson's disease.

In a new interview with Rev. Tom Brice of Sportzwire Radio, Greek guitar virtuoso Gus G., who joined Ozzy Osbourne's band more than a decade and a half ago, spoke about the upcoming album from his band FIREWIND. Due later in the year via the Frontiers Label Group's new imprint BLKIIBLK, the follow-up to 2024's "Stand United" LP will mark the return of singer Henning Basse (METALIUM, SONS OF SEASONS, WITHERING SCORNGus said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "There's [been] a lineup change [in FIREWIND]. Henning Basse's back in the band. For those maybe that don't remember or don't even know, Henning, he's been with us, on and off, since the early days, to be honest, since 2006, 2007. He helped us finish a tour originally, and then he joined the band 10 years later, 2016. We made a really cool record together called 'Immortals'. Then he was outed by the end of the 2010s. And now he's back in — new music, new concept album."

Regarding FIREWIND's switch from AFM Records to BLKIIBLK, Gus said: "I think what they did with Frontiers is that they launched this imprint [BLKIIBLK] to release the heavier stuff, basically, because Frontiers is more catered towards AOR music and more like WINGER and JOURNEY and those bands and that kind of stuff. And then they had a lot of metal stuff, and I think maybe they felt that confused fans, so they launched a heavier label and they have legendary bands like BIOHAZARD and MEGADETH. And we're honored to be on that roster."

Asked how important it is, for him as an artist, to still put out new music at this point of his career, Gus said: "For me it's very important. I think it's very important to keep moving, to keep being creative, not just resting on your laurels. And, 'Okay, we had a couple of great albums, like, 20 years ago.' I mean, so what? That was cool. It's great, of course, to have a great body of work a great catalog, it's important, I think, to build that. But for me it's also important to keep creating. I mean, right now, to be honest with you, I'm working on two albums. I just finished my new solo record. And that's gonna come out this year. And then I'm pretty much wrapping it up on the new FIREWIND record. So, I've written over 20 new songs. So, for me, it's important to keep writing. And I have other ideas laying around. I just wanna keep releasing music, if I feel inspired, if I feel, of course, that have to say something as an artist. If I don't feel like I have to say something, then, yeah, it's okay — you don't have to say something all the time. But as long as I'm feeling inspired, I will keep doing it and I will keep putting out new music if I feel it's good."

FIREWIND announced a split with singer Herbie Langhans in November, explaining in a statement that the band "'borrowed' Herbie from AVANTASIA for as long as we could, but our schedules and needs kept clashing, with all the increasing touring obligations. We understand Herbie's situation and we thank him for his time in the band, the awesome music we made together and wish him all the best."

Basse's history with FIREWIND goes back to 2007, when he first stepped in as a touring vocalist on the "Allegiance" tour, and later became a defining voice during FIREWIND's post-hiatus era from 2016 to 2019, leaving a lasting imprint on the acclaimed album "Immortals".

FIREWIND's latest album, "Stand United", featured nine brand new songs produced with Dennis Ward (MAGNUM, UNISONIC),as well as a cover of the 1980s pop rock classic "Talking In Your Sleep", originally recorded by THE ROMANTICS but given a metal twist in the style of FIREWIND.

FIREWIND released a concert album/Blu-ray, "Still Raging", in September 2023 via AFM Records.

Blazing a trail across the global metal scene for over two decades, FIREWIND stand as a pillar of modern melodic power metal. Combining anthemic choruses, dazzling guitar work, and soaring vocals, FIREWIND bridge the gap between classic heavy metal and modern power metal sensibilities. With influences ranging from RAINBOW and JUDAS PRIEST to HELLOWEEN and SYMPHONY X, their sound is as timeless as it is energetic.

The band's discography includes standout releases like "Allegiance" (2006),"The Premonition" (2008),and "Immortals" (2017),each demonstrating FIREWIND's knack for fusing melody and technical mastery. Their 2020 self-titled album marked a rebirth of sorts — introducing Langhans (AVANTASIA, SINBREED) and delivering a heavier, more aggressive edge without sacrificing the band's signature hooks.

At the center of it all is Gus G., whose explosive yet lyrical guitar style has earned him global recognition and endorsements, from playing stadiums with Ozzy Osbourne to headlining clubs with FIREWIND. Known for his precision, tone, and deep-rooted love for heavy metal, Gus G. is both the heart and architect of FIREWIND's sound.

In a new interview with Patrick Kielty of Ireland's long-running RTÉ One talk program The Late Late Show, THIN LIZZY guitarist Scott Gorham was asked what he thinks the band's legacy is to the next generation of musicians. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, I really hope that we inspired a younger generation to get out there and just play. You don't have to make money at it, you don't have to have records, success and all that; you just gotta get out and play. If you're thinking that you're gonna go out there and you're gonna get rich, that's kind of the wrong way of looking at it. You need the absolute love of getting out there and not really caring about all the rest of it. I mean, you should care about it — absolutely — but it shouldn't be the absolute sole goal. It's getting out there and doing it."

In 1974, Gorham moved to the United Kingdom and joined Irish rockers THIN LIZZY. The now-74-year-old Californian musician would perform on ten best-selling albums, including "Jailbreak", "Johnny The Fox", "Bad Reputation" and "Live And Dangerous", and on the hit singles "The Boys Are Back In Town", "Rosalie", "Dancing In The Moonlight (It's Caught Me In Its Spotlight)" and "Waiting On An Alibi".

Back in September 2021, Gorham quit BLACK STAR RIDERS in order to focus on what he said at the time would be his recording and touring commitments with THIN LIZZY.

Gorham was BLACK STAR RIDERS' founding guitarist, having formed the band in 2013 with a number of other THIN LIZZY members who wanted to put out new material under a new moniker. The original lineup comprised Gorham, Ricky Warwick, Damon Johnson, Marco Mendoza and Jimmy DeGrasso.

Last year, Gorham told Guitarist magazine that he was still hoping to revive THIN LIZZY for future live appearances.

"I'm waiting for the right caliber of player," he said at the time. "I can't just pick somebody off the line. For me, there's gotta be something special about them. I don't want to break the chain of great guitar players coming through THIN LIZZY. I know they're out there. So hopefully, it's not gonna take too long for something to happen…"

THIN LIZZY leader Phil Lynott died in 1986 at the age of 36 after years of drug abuse.

THIN LIZZY are unquestionably one of the true icons of British rock. Nobody has ever sounded like them, yet they have influenced countless others.

Lynott's poetic lyricism, the unmatchable dual guitar precision, the ability to joust with epic melodies and make them memorably intense, all of this is part of the LIZZY heritage. And what they have left behind is peerless, powerful and influential. The invocation of an era, the evocation of timeless music.

During a question-and-answer session at the 2025 Steel City Con, which was held December 5-7, 2025 in Monroeville, Pennsylvania, legendary BLACK SABBATH bassist Geezer Butler was asked if he has any more solo albums "in the tank". He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Oh, gosh. I've got tons of stuff. Since we finished the last SABBATH show [at 'Back To The Beginning' in July 2025], I've just been going through all the stuff that I've written since the '80s onwards and updating everything. And what held me back before, I didn't have a singer when I'm at home, but A.I. [artificial intelligence] came along. [Laughs] So all my songs now, I've updated them all and I'm using an A.I. singer to bring all the lyrics out. So now I can take it to singers that I'm gonna be working with and go, 'This is what I want on the album,' so they've got a better idea. Before I was just, like, playing them a bass riff or something, going, 'Can you sing to this?' And they'd be going, 'Yeah.' [Laughs] But it's so much better now, 'cause you can sit in your studio and do everything on A.I. and then take it to proper musicians and let them take over. It's really helped me. A lot of people think it's cheating."

Asked what his songwriting process is like, Geezer said: "With SABBATH — SABBATH, we'd sit down in a room together and just jam and jam and jam until somebody came up with something that we could work with. Once we had a good riff to write to, we'd finish the music part of it. Ozzy [Osbourne, SABBATH vocalist] would sing his vocal line, then I'd write the lyrics. So it mainly came from jamming."

The nineties were a testing time for many of rock's iconic leaders of the seventies. The nostalgia era that is now an industry of its own had yet to really come to prominence and many of the musicians who were there at rock's dawn were left floundering as the new decade rolled around and an innovative and fresh wave of "alternative" rock dominated the music world.

1995 saw the release of Geezer's first solo album, "Plastic Planet", followed in 1997 by "Black Science", with "Ohmwork" completing the trilogy in 2005. In October 2020, all three albums were made available for the first time ever on vinyl via BMG, with both CD and LP using newly updated cover artwork.

"Plastic Planet" was originally released under the name G/Z/R and featured Burton C. Bell of Californian industrial/groove metal pioneers FEAR FACTORY on vocals and is considered a classic of '90s metal. The album perfectly melded Geezer's roots in doomy blues rock to the industrial influenced metal sound that was a key element in pushing the genre forward in the nineties.

Alongside Bell for this recording was a long-time collaborator of Geezer's, Peter Howse (nicknamed "Pedro" by Butler, from a character in the TV show "Four Feather Falls"). Howse was a founding member of the GEEZER BUTLER BAND in 1985, and has written and played in all versions of GZR/GEEZER. Drums were handled by Deen Castronovo, providing the pounding rhythms that propel the heavy grooves and mechanical metallic edge on "Plastic Planet". Lyrically, Butler channelled technological, sci-fi and dystopian subjects mixed with the social issues tackled on "Drive Boy, Shooting" and "The Invisible", themes that perfectly matched the then futuristic sounds within.

Returning in 1997 with "Black Science" and originally released this time under the name GEEZER, this album saw Butler once again working with drummer Deen Castronovo and guitarist Pedro Howse, and like "Plastic Planet", was produced by Butler and Paul Northfield (RUSH, ALICE COOPER, SUICIDAL TENDENCIES, DREAM THEATER). Bell was unable to provide vocals this time due to commitments with FEAR FACTORY, but his industrial boots were more than adequality filled by the then completely unknown Clark Brown who stepped up to the plate and delivered an impressively powerful vocal performance over the album's high-energy and heavy power grooves.

It wouldn't be until 2005 that Geezer would get the chance to continue his solo explorations, having returned to SABBATH for the 1997 edition of Ozzfest, remaining in the band ever since, but in 2005 he released "Ohmwork", this time under the name GZR. Once again, the recording was undertaken with Clark Brown on vocals and Pedro Howse on guitar, the difference this time being that drum duties were handled by Chad E. Smith (the veteran St. Louis drummer, not the RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS percussionist of the same name).

With "Ohmwork", gone were the industrial metal influences of the previous decade, but Butler still steadfastly refused to hark back to the past and kept everything contemporary, drawing on influences, as a keen follower of music, on everything that was happening in rock at the time. From the pedal to the metal of "Aural Sects" to the epic, neo-psychedelia of "I Believe", "Ohmwork" was a fitting finale to Geezer's solo album trilogy.

A founding member of BLACK SABBATH, Butler is also the lyricist of such SABBATH classics as "War Pigs", "Iron Man", "Paranoid" and others.

At the aforementioned "Back To The Beginning" concert, Ozzy and the other original SABBATH members performed four songs for more than 40,000 people at Villa Park in the band's original hometown of Birmingham, United Kingdom and 5.8 million more on a livestream. Ozzy also played a five-song solo set while seated in a bat-adorned throne.

Geezer's autobiography, "Into The Void: From Birth To Black Sabbath - And Beyond", arrived in June 2023 in North America via HarperCollins imprint Dey Street Books.

During an appearance on Podcast Rock City, a podcast dedicated to all things KISS, original KISS drummer Peter Criss was asked what it was like to be among the 2025 Kennedy Center honorees who were presented with their medals by U.S. president Donald Trump during a ceremony in the Oval Office on December 6. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It was a dream. I could not believe this kid from the streets of Brooklyn who grew up in four rooms with seven people is standing in the Oval Office. It was surreal. The worst thing was [original KISS guitarist] Ace [Frehley] wasn't there. I really miss him dearly. We were very close. But his daughter was there, and his wife Jeanette, who's a little kind of ill, but she was there, and [his daughter] Monique was there. And what touched me about it the most was the president got up from the desk and walked around and gave Jeanette a hug in her wheelchair, and then gave Monique a big hug and put the medal on her. That brought tears to my eyes. I miss him dearly. There's a big loss without Ace."

Later in the chat, Criss said that he was "sorry" he and Ace never made an album together. "That was a dream of mine, that him and I would do an album together," he said. "I'm sorry that never happened. And Ace did more solo albums than any of us in [KISS]. He's done, like, 10, easily, solo albums, more than us. He was working on his new album before his tragic accident, and he was getting ready to go on another tour. He was 74. God bless him. And there'll never be another."

On December 7, the three living original members of KISS — Criss, guitarist/vocalist Paul Stanley and bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons and drummer Peter Criss — reunited on the red carpet at the Kennedy Center Honors in Washington D.C., less than two months after Ace's death.

Stanley, Simmons and Criss were all clad in black tuxedos and medals as they made their entrance at the John F. Kennedy Center For The Performing Arts for the 48th annual Kennedy Center Honors, which was hosted by Trump and also honored songwriter George Strait, actors Michael Crawford and Sylvester Stallone and singer Gloria Gaynor.

Last month, Peter was asked what it was like spending time in Washington D.C. for the 2025 Kennedy Center Honors. Criss said at the time: "A dream. I'm a big history kid, so we got here early. I wanted to see where Lincoln was assassinated, which was very heavy. I had tears. We went over where he passed. Then we went to the archives, which no one's allowed. And I saw Declaration Of [Independence], all these amazing things, all this great stuff. I'm a big history kid, so it's been cool."

Peter continued: I'm a kid from the streets of Brooklyn. I never thought ever I'd be doing something like this. And it's been such a good year. I have a new album coming out December 19th. My birthday's the 20th. I'm turning 80, and here I am at the Kennedy Center. Wow. So it's been a really 'wow' year for me. I'm a very Catholic kid, so I'm gonna go to church all week next week when I get home… God couldn't have given me more stuff, for a kid from the streets of Brooklyn. I can't believe I was in the White House. Holy mackerel, the White House."

The drummer went on to say: "I wish my parents were here to see it. And we lost our guitarist five weeks ago, Ace. He had a horrible accident. I wish he was here.

"It's a dream. It's almost surreal," Peter added. "The Oval Office I was in last night with the president. I have not slept. Last night I finally laid my head, I slept nine hours, which was a miracle because I have insomnia, and I couldn't believe today that I was gonna be sitting here and meeting all these [people]."

Asked what it has been like attending the Kennedy Center Honors without Frehley, Stanley said: "Well, it's still a celebration, and we can mourn him and celebrate what we've accomplished. I'm really the child of the American dream. We came here with nothing. Our parents were people who fled during World War II and aspired to something great, worked hard and never expected a handout. And we're the result of that. So it's an honor to be here."

In a separate statement about last year's Kennedy Center Honors, KISS said: "From the very beginning, KISS has been about proving that anything is possible with hard work and passion. We're deeply honored to receive the Kennedy Center Honors, and proudly share this recognition with our fans and all those who have been a part of creating this legacy. This honor would not be possible without the irreplaceable contributions of our founding partner, Ace Frehley. knowing how much this award meant to him, we celebrate this milestone as we mourn his loss."

Trump praised last year's honorees as "perhaps the most accomplished and renowned class of Kennedy Center honorees ever assembled."

According to Billboard, Ace became only the third person to receive a Kennedy Center Honor posthumously, following two other group members who likewise died after the groups' awards were first announced: Glenn Frey of EAGLES and Phil Lesh of GRATEFUL DEAD.

Throughout its 48-year history, the annual Kennedy Center Honors Gala has become the highlight of the Washington cultural and society calendar.

The 2025 Kennedy Center Honors gala was turned into a broadcast special that aired on CBS and Paramount+ on December 23.

Criss released his new solo album, simply titled "Peter Criss", on December 19.

"Peter Criss" was Criss's first solo release since 2007's "One For All", which arrived 13 years after his previous solo LP.

At the time of his death, Frehley was working on "Origins Vol. 3", the sequel to Ace's 2016 and 2020 collections of cover songs that inspired the former KISS guitarist.

Ace's latest solo album, "10,000 Volts", was released in February 2024 via MNRK Music Group (formerly eOne Music).

JOURNEY's founding guitarist Neal Schon has shared a 2026 New Year's Day message in which he paid tribute to the people who "helped shape" the band from its inception more than 50 years ago.

Two months ago, the 71-year-old musician and his bandmates announced plans for their "Final Frontier" tour, a 60-date North American trek that will kick off February 28 at Giant Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania, and run through July 2 in Laredo, Texas.

Billed as "A Special Evening With Journey", the tour will feature a new stage production and a career-spanning setlist packed with the band's biggest hits, along with a handful of deeper cuts for longtime fans. All dates are being promoted by AEG Presents. The trek will feature Schon alongside keyboardist Jonathan Cain, lead vocalist Arnel Pineda, keyboardist and vocalist Jason Derlatka, drummer and vocalist Deen Castronovo and bassist Todd Jensen.

On Thursday (January 1),Schon took to his social media to write: "Dear friends, as we move into 2026, I want to take a moment to honor the voices, the believers, and the people who helped shape the heart and soul of JOURNEY from the very beginning.

"JOURNEY's original voice was forged with Gregg Rolie, whose vocals, musicianship, and spirit helped define who we were in those earliest days. That foundation mattered — it gave journey its first identity and set the stage for everything that followed. As the band evolved, longtime manager Herbie Herbert played a pivotal role in encouraging us to expand that sound. It was Herbie who inspired the idea of bringing in a new voice — someone who could take the songs to another level. Years earlier, I had already met Steve Perry a few times, even giving him a ride back to his car after an AZTECA show in the city. Life has a funny way of circling back, and that connection ultimately helped lead to one of the most defining chapters in JOURNEY's history. Steve's vocals and songwriting helped create a body of work that continues to resonate across generations and remains a cornerstone of our legacy.

"JOURNEY's story continued to move forward through the talents of all of us — myself, Jon, Ross Valory, Aynsley Dunbar, Robert Fleischman, Steve Smith, Randy Jackson and Deen — with Steve Augeri singing, helping the band move into a new and successful chapter in 1998 during an important period of transition. Later, Jeff Scott Soto stepped in and helped carry us through a tour when it was needed. I'm grateful to both Steve and Jeff for their contributions and professionalism during those moments.

"For the past 17 years, Arnel Pineda has carried these songs forward with passion, respect, and heart. Arnel remains very much a part of JOURNEY, and we're all looking forward to being back on the road together for the upcoming tour.

"Long before JOURNEY, there were people who believed in me when I was just a kid finding my way. I owe deep gratitude to my brother Jackie Villanueva, who took me under his wing, brought me into the city before I even had a driver's license, and introduced me to the club owners who opened doors for me. Jackie helped connect me with Elvin Bishop, who played a huge role in getting me started and believing in me. After I won a blues guitar shoot-off contest that Elvin was holding, he took me to the Fillmore West in San Francisco — where I had the honor of meeting B.B. King and sharing the stage with him. Jackie is in heaven now, but his influence has never left me. I carry that gratitude with me every day, along with my thanks to Elvin for believing in a young guitarist and helping change the course of my life. Jackie also introduced me to Herbie Herbert, who at the time was Carlos Santana's guitar tech. Jackie brought me to the studio where SANTANA was recording, and I am forever thankful for that moment in time — it opened the door to my career, ultimately leading to 'Santana III' after I was asked to join the band.

"JOURNEY has always been a collective effort—musicians, managers, crew, and fans — coming together to create something lasting. As has been shared publicly, Jonathan Cain has expressed that this tour represents his farewell chapter, and we respect that. What remains constant is the music we have created for you.

"For more than five decades, I have been fortunate to create songs with musicians that became the soundtrack to people's lives. That is something I'm profoundly grateful for — and something we're excited to celebrate together on this upcoming tour."

During an appearance on a December 2025 episode of "700 Club", the flagship television program of the Christian Broadcasting Network, Cain stated about the "Final Frontier" tour: "Yeah, it's actually gonna be two years. It's time for me, at my age. I wanna live my life, and the road just is so consuming and it just seems like a good time to get off, for me. And I just love our fans, and I wanna do it in a proper farewell, to say goodbye. So it should be a lot of fun. We're starting up in Pennsylvania, going to Canada and around. And, of course, we have another year. So it'll be spread out over two years. I think they added Japan; we're going to Japan. And there's a Hawaii run. But we'll get to see the fans one more time and I'll get to say thank you and I'm grateful."

Last October, Cain shot down reports that he was leaving JOURNEY, telling "Nashville's Morning News": "Well, that was kind of misinformation. What [I] really said … was that I was gonna do these next two tours [with JOURNEY] and just kind of wrap it up. 'Cause I felt like I didn't wanna die on the road in my sleep at 80 years old, like John Lodge did, of THE MOODY BLUES. I was very, very disturbed when I saw that [John had recently died]. But it just feels like a good time to enjoy my grandkids and my family. I've given a lot. I've given enough."

He added: "I would never, ever duck out on my fans without saying goodbye, because I'm grateful for them and I always, always planned on doing one last hurrah. So this is gonna be it for me."

Asked if that means that his next run of shows with JOURNEY will be his last, Cain said: "Well, it'll be two years... So two different tours will be [my last run with JOURNEY], yeah. I don't know what Neal is planning. I think Neal said he wants to go on and go on. And that's not me."

Dear Friends ,

As we move into 2026, I want to take a moment to honor the voices, the believers, and the people who...

Posted by Neal Schon on Thursday, January 1, 2026

In a recent interview with Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station, singer/guitarist Chris Robertson of Kentucky rockers BLACK STONE CHERRY spoke about the band's upcoming EP, "Celebrate", which will be released digitally on March 6, 2026 via Mascot Records. The effort consists of six original tracks and an inspired cover of SIMPLE MINDS' "Don't You (Forget About Me)" featuring Tyler Connolly (THEORY OF A DEADMAN). Regarding why he and his BLACK STONE CHERRY bandmates chose to release an EP this time around instead of a full-length record, Chris said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET):  "I think for us, man, it's like… We've gotten to a point as a society, in my opinion, where we want something new faster than we ever have. A new iPhone comes out every September. The new thing, it comes out — it's like once a year, there's new, there's new, there's new, there's new. And if you look at album cycles, an album cycle is typically like a two-year thing. You put out a record and you go tour for the next 18 months to two years. We don't live in this society anymore. And looking at it, a band can put out a record and then the fans want more new music six months later. And we were, like, 'You know what? We've got these songs right here ready to go. We believe in them as wholeheartedly as we do in an album. They tell a story. They paint a picture. They do the thing. Let's put it out and just see what the response is.'"

Chris continued: "We've been doing this now for 20 years. And in 20 years we've put out eight records, a couple of blues EPs, a few live records. We put out stuff as often [as], or more often than, most. But we just wanted to try something different this time, ultimately, to see how that kind of goes over with the way we all consume stuff now."

Noting that the music market is losing its space for full-length albums as young music consumers increasingly gravitate towards singles, Chris added: "It was a heartbreaking realization when I realized that I'm probably in the minority when it comes to the music listeners of people who will actually put on an album and just listen to the whole thing as it was intended to be played. We live in a society now where you can pull anything up on your phone, make your own playlist for any mood you're in. So it's different, man. But I grew up putting on vinyl records that my dad had, or cassettes. Cassettes, it wasn't easy to skip a song. It's easier to skip a song on vinyl than a cassette. You gotta sit there and work for it on a tape, man. And cassettes were the thing in the early '90s. CDs hadn't really taken off, at least at my household yet; we were still on the cassette world. So, dude, I just put on a tape and let it play a lot of times. But, dude, those cassettes sound better than vinyl or CDs, in my opinion. There's something about that tape, man. And then it gets worn in — I don't know. It gets a little fuzzier sounding, feels a little more like home when you put your headphones on."

"Celebrate" was produced by BLACK STONE CHERRY and recorded at High Street Studios in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

"Celebrate" track listing:

01. Celebrate
02. Neon Eyes
03. Caught Up In The Up Down
04. I'm Fine
05. Deep
06. What You're Made Of
07. Don't You Forget About Me (featuring THEORY OF A DEADMAN's Tyler Connolly)

In a separate interview with Terrie Carr of Barrett Media, Robertson stated about the material on "Celebrate": "We started writing this stuff, and for the last several releases, we've written just pretty much on the bus. Then we get in the studio and put it together the rest of the way. With this stuff, we decided we wanted to get together, not on the bus. So we started getting together at [guitarist] Ben's [Wells] house and just writing songs together. It was really refreshing to do it that way and not to be confined to the back of a bus. There is something different about the new stuff. I haven't been able to put my finger on it yet, but it just feels different. It feels like every time we make music, I kind of end up in the same scenario. I don't know how to describe it. It's different, but still sounds like us. There's just a different energy. I'm glad because it means we're not repeating ourselves over and over. I'm super excited for people to hear this stuff."

BLACK STONE CHERRY put out its latest album and eighth overall, "Screamin' At The Sky", in 2023. Earlier this year, the Kentucky rockers dropped "This Is Black Stone Cherry's RSD Album. The Band Really Likes It" for Record Store Day.

This past fall, BLACK STONE CHERRY completed a month-long "Celebrate" tour across the U.S., featuring support from THEM DIRTY ROSES and AYRON JONES.

BLACK STONE CHERRY is:

Chris Robertson - vocals, guitars
Ben Wells - guitars
John Fred Young - drums
Steve Jewell Jr. - bass

Daron Malakian, composer, guitarist, vocalist and a founding member of SYSTEM OF A DOWN, returned to music producer Rick Rubin's podcast "Tetragrammaton" to reflect on his lifelong relationship with heavy metal. Using music as a guide to discuss how different styles, sounds, and eras shaped his identity as an artist, Daron talks through what he listens for in metal, including riffs, mood, aggression, and atmosphere, and how those elements influenced his own songwriting and creative direction.

Looking back on how he ended up playing guitar for METALLICA for a couple of shows in July 2000 when METALLICA singer-guitarist James Hetfield injured himself in a jet skiing accident, Daron said in part (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET):  "When I was 12 or 13, at that point I had been playing the guitar for a year. I was with these guys in my school that, in their dad's garage, we would play METALLICA covers. That's pretty much all we'd play — a bunch of METALLICA covers. And a big part of how I learned how to play the guitar was playing either [BLACK] SABBATH, METALLICA, [IRON] MAIDEN, sometimes SLAYER. My friends really didn't get SLAYER, but they loved METALLICA. But I loved SLAYER and I would fight with them over it. [Laughs] But we would play these METALLICA covers, so I knew all these METALLICA covers. When I got older, I knew them, and so we were on tour with METALLICA on the 'Summer Sanitarium' tour."

Daron continued: "I met METALLICA on stage playing with them. I never met them before. We're the first band. Nobody knows us. It's 1999, maybe, at this point. [SYSTEM OF A DOWN's] 'Toxicity''s [album] not out yet. We're on our first album. And we are on the 'Summer Sanitarium' tour. It's us, a band called POWERMAN 5000, Kid Rock was on there, I think KORN was on there, and METALLICA. It was, like, five bands on the bill. We were the first band that opened up [when people are walking in]. Nobody knows who SYSTEM OF A DOWN is at this point. And so we're on that tour, and James Hetfield, along the way, gets injured. I don't know. They told me he was going water skiing or something, and he got injured. So they didn't cancel the show. So all the opening bands played, and then METALLICA still went on stage. And [then-METALLICA bassist] Jason Newsted was singing, and then they brought the guys from KORN on and they kind of played like this CHEECH & CHONG cover song or something. They didn't know what to do, because James wasn't there. And I turned to my tech and I go, 'Listen, man.' I go, 'Go tell their tech that I know a lot of their shit,' 'cause I've learned it playing it in this garage with these other guys. I go, 'I know a lot of their shit from, you could say, '…And Justice For All' and back. Next thing you know, my tech goes and talks to their guitar tech and then my tech comes back to me. He's, like, 'All right, come with me.' [I'd] never met METALLICA before. And I'm telling you, METALLICA was the first concert I ever went to in my life. I was a huge METALLICA fan. FAITH NO MORE opened up for them. 'Justice For All' tour. So next thing you know, I go on the other side of the stage. I get handed a Les Paul; I think it was one of [METALLICA guitarist] Kirk Hammett's Les Pauls. And they're, like, 'All right. Go.' 60,000 people. [Laughs] Yeah. 60,000 people. I'm in my after show. I am wearing Lakers fucking sweats. I'm not even ready to get on stage. I'm wearing a white tank top and Lakers sweats, and I just completely was there just watching METALLICA. Next thing you know, I get handed a guitar and they go, 'Go.'"

Malakian added: "You gotta understand. Our band's not big yet. I'm still a kid. I'm 22 years old. I can't even believe that we're even allowed to open up for METALLICA. So this is all new to me at this point of my life. And they put me out there, and I turn and I'm, like, 'Hey.' It's Lars [Ulrich, METALLICA drummer], it's Kirk, it's Jason Newsted, who was the bass player at the time. They're, like, 'What do you know?' I go, 'I don't know. 'Master Of Puppets'.' 'Okay. Count it in.' We're playing fucking 'Master Of Puppets'. I'm up there with METALLICA playing 'Master Of Puppets' in front of 60,000 people. And I'm, like, 'Who's gonna sing?' I said, 'Fuck it. I'll go sing.' And I sang. And then there's this thing that happened where in the middle of 'Master Of Puppets', it has this slow part. Instead of going into that slow part, they went into '[Welcome Home] (Sanitarium)'. And I didn't know they were gonna do that. And we went in and we did the middle part of 'Sanitarium' and then came out of it and went back into 'Master Of Puppets'. I mean, you would think we were rehearsed it, but we didn't rehearse it. And I didn't even know it was gonna happen. And it happened. And I'm up there and I am playing METALLICA with METALLICA in front of an audience where I would've been in the fucking cheap seats just three years ago.

Elaborating on what happened after that initial gig, Daron said: "I got off stage. Next thing you know, they're coming to me. They're, like, 'Hey, dude, James isn't gonna be able to play for a few nights. They want you to come and play with them fucking everything.' And next thing you know, Kirk Hammett's in front of me with a guitar and I go, 'Hey, bro, I know all your old stuff, but I don't really know the 'Load' and the 'Reload' and all that stuff.' So Kirk's trying to teach me stuff off 'Load'. And then next thing you know, they're, like, 'Hey, get your shit from your bus, 'cause you're flying on the private jet with us now.'

"So the first plan was to have me play a whole set with them," Daron explained. "And I was preparing for that, and I was relearning all the old stuff and trying to learn all the 'Load' stuff. And so I flew with them and everything, and then they decided, 'Hey, it would be a cooler thing if we invited different bandmembers from the different bands that were on the gig.' So the next night I was up on stage with METALLICA again. And I knew I was supposed to play 'One'. And I got there and I was ready to play 'One', and I turned to — I forgot — maybe Jason or Kirk or someone, and I'm, like, 'Who's gonna sing?' Because I had no idea. They turned to me and they were, like, 'Bob.' And I'm, like, 'Who the fuck is Bob?' And I see Kid Rock come up. And I didn't know Kid Rock's name was Bob. And so Kid Rock comes up and he sings the first night and we did 'One'. And it's really fucking cool because 'One' has the whole [middle section], and I'm thinking, 'Dude, you're playing this shit with fucking METALLICA.' You're turning around and it's, like, Lars. It was crazy. I'll never forget it. And even after that, their techs would come up to me in different tours and be, like, 'Dude, don't think we forgot what you did. You brought it that day. I don't wanna say, like, 'You saved the show,'' but they were kind of, like, ''You fucking brought it. They were struggling. And then you got up, you did 'Master Of Puppets'.' Yeah, man. That happened. Oh, man. I'll never forget it. Even though my band is where we're at right now, it still brings goosebumps to my… that I had a chance to experience that at that point of my career."

As a songwriter, vocalist, producer, and guitarist / multi-instrumentalist, Grammy Award-winning Daron Malakian creates from a limitless palette. Like painting a moving target, he seamlessly integrates elements of rock, punk, metal, pop, psychedelia, electronic, and Armenian stylings into a living sound untethered from tradition and bound only to inspiration. The music grows and evolves with him. Under the moniker of DARON MALAKIAN AND SCARS ON BROADWAY, he continues to approach his craft with an alchemist's open heart, an absurdist's appreciation for the ridiculous, and an artist's attention to detail. Malakian introduced SCARS ON BROADWAY with its self-titled debut in 2008. The LP bowed in the Top 20 of the Billboard 200, spawning fan favorites such as "They Say", "Serious" and "Funny". The follow-up, "Dictator", arrived exactly a decade later during 2018. In addition to praise from Billboard, Revolver and more, Rolling Stone hailed it as one of the "20 Best Metal Albums of 2018."

The world initially got to know Malakian as a co-founder, songwriter, vocalist, producer (alongside Rick Rubin) and guitarist for SYSTEM OF A DOWN whose legacy encompasses global sales of over 42 million records, a Grammy Award and countless sold-out stadium shows. Now, the same creative instinct and internal compass led him to "Addicted To The Violence", the third full-length offering from SCARS ON BROADWAY, which came out in July.

Image credit: Metal Injection

In a new interview with Mexico's Monterrey Rock, DREAM THEATER keyboardist Jordan Rudess spoke about the band's upcoming spring 2026 tour of Latin America. The progressive metal giants are continuing their "An Evening With Dream Theater" run that celebrates DREAM THEATER's latest album, "Parasomnia", by performing the LP in its entirety, as well as playing the entire seven-movement masterpiece "A Change Of Seasons" for the first time since drummer Mike Portnoy's return as well as other classics and fan favorites from the band's catalog. Rudess said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "This is gonna be really, really cool, 'cause we've been touring for the over a year now. And we have our original drummer [Mike Portnoy] back, and so there's a lot of excitement and a lot of energy. And we've been enjoying ourselves. And now finally we're gonna be coming to Latin America, South America for this leg of the tour. So it should be really exciting for all of us."

Regarding the setlist for the upcoming tour, Jordan said: "We've been having a lot of fun playing all of 'Parasomnia'. Of course, that's our latest album, and bringing it to life was pretty special. Not only musically have we figured out how to present that, but also all the visuals that we have and all the special effects to really bring this to life and to make it something that is really strong and really special. So that's gonna be great. And then as far as playing 'A Change Of Seasons', this is an epic DREAM THEATER track. It's very important to the catalog of music we have. It's very personal to Mike Portnoy, 'cause he wrote it about his mother. And it's also a really great piece that we all really love playing. It's very dynamic. It gets very big and very grand and also [has] quiet moments. And not only is it something that's wonderful to play and also very personal and emotional to play, it also has an anniversary as well. So there's a lot of meaning behind it."

DREAM THEATER played its first concert with Portnoy in 14 years on October 20, 2024 at the O2 Arena in London, United Kingdom. The drummer, who co-founded DREAM THEATER, played on 10 of the band's albums over a 20-year period, from 1989's "When Dream And Day Unite" through 2009's "Black Clouds & Silver Linings", before exiting the group in 2010. Portnoy returned to DREAM THEATER in October 2023 after being replaced by Mike Mangini, who played with DREAM THEATER across five studio albums and accompanying world tours.

DREAM THEATER kicked off its summer/fall 2025 "An Evening With Dream Theater" U.S. tour on September 5 at Santander Performing Arts Center in Reading, Pennsylvania. The 30-city trek ran through October 25, when it wrapped in Long Island, New York.

DREAM THEATER kicked off the spring/summer 2025 leg of its "40th Anniversary European Tour" on June 3 at Logomo in Turku, Finland.

"Parasomnia" came out on February 7, 2025 via InsideOut Music. The LP was produced by DREAM THEATER guitarist Jphn Petrucci, engineered by James "Jimmy T" Meslin, and mixed by Andy Sneap. Hugh Syme returned once again to lend his creative vision to the cover art.

"Parasomnia" is an eight-song, 71-minute set which was recorded at DREAM THEATER's DTHQ studio on Long Island, New York. It is the follow-up to 2021's "A View From The Top Of The World", which debuted at in the top 10 of Billboard's Top Hard Rock Albums, Top Rock Albums and Independent Albums charts. Six songs on "Parasomnia" are over seven minutes and the closing epic "The Shadow Man Incident" clocks in at nearly 20 minutes.

The North American leg of DREAM THEATER's 40th-anniversary tour kicked off on February 7 at The Met in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The trek was "An Evening With Dream Theater" and was the first tour of North America since Portnoy's return to the lineup,. The tour concluded on March 22 in New York City.

Portnoy, Petrucci and bassist John Myung started DREAM THEATER as MAJESTY in 1985, after meeting at the Berklee College Of Music in Boston. Singer James LaBrie came on board in 1991, while Rudess joined in 1999.

Prior to Portnoy's return to DREAM THEATER, the drummer and Petrucci worked together on the latter's 2020 solo album, "Terminal Velocity", and toured together. Portnoy and Petrucci also joined Rudess and bassist Tony Levin for a third studio album as LIQUID TENSION EXPERIMENT in 2021.

JUST ANNOUNCED! 📢 We can't wait to return to Mexico 🇲🇽 Colombia 🇨🇴 Peru 🇵🇪 Argentina 🇦🇷 and Brazil 🇧🇷 in April/May 2026!...

Posted by Dream Theater on Monday, December 8, 2025

Alex Van Halen has revealed that is about to begin work on a new album with TOTO guitarist Steve Lukather. "I'm getting ready to do this record with Lukather and a couple of other people," the VAN HALEN drummer told IRON MAIDEN's Nicko McBrain on the "Metal Sticks" podcast. "It should be exciting."

Last March, Lukather shot down reports that he would play guitar on a new VAN HALEN album.

De Telegraaf, the largest Dutch daily morning newspaper, reported that Alex was working on a collection of previously unreleased, unfinished VAN HALEN recordings, with Lukather helping him to complete it. The VAN HALEN drummer said of the project in a paywalled article (via Guitar World): "Ed and Steve Lukather were very good friends and they often worked together. There is no one who can do this process with me as well as he can."

Lukather, seemingly surprised about Alex's comment, is quoted in the same article as responding: "Did Alex say that? Oh, in that case the news is true. Ed, Alex and I were very close for years. It is true that we worked on it together."

On March 15, 2025, Lukather took to his Instagram to clarify his possible involvement in a new VAN HALEN album, saying: "For the record: Ever since Alex Van Halen dropped some we were gonna work together I think there is a huge misunderstanding.

"I will NOT EVER play a guitar note on a VH song ever!.

"Al asked me to help him go thru a ton of unfinished recordings of Al and Ed writing and recording that never saw the light of day. As of now thats all I got.

"The fact that ANYONE would think for even a second that I would play anything on this is ridiculous. I have too much love and respect for that and ... I play nothing like Ed.. more as a co-producer or something. I am honored Al would ask me though.

"Lets see ..."

Alex had previously said that there was enough VAN HALEN material in the vaults for another "three or four records". Speaking on an episode of Chris Jericho's "Talk Is Jericho" podcast, Eddie's brother said: "I've talked about it loosely, and I am rather superstitious, but I can say a couple of things that I've mentioned before. We're gonna go through the 'vault' and go through some of the musical ideas that were there."

He added: "There was some good stuff in there. And you have to remember, when in the thick of it, sometimes the really great stuff kind of passes you by. And it's not until you revisit it going, 'Whoa, I forgot about that. This kicks ass.' But that takes time. And you wanna do it right. I wanna do it right."

Eddie Van Halen and Steve Lukather had collaborated on several projects in the past, including Michael Jackson's "Beat It", on which Lukather played the main riff and Van Halen played the solo. Eddie also played bass on Lukather's debut solo album and made a guest appearance on Steve's 2003 Christmas LP "Santamental".

Back in November 2020, a little over a month after Eddie's death, Lukather reflected on his friend's passing, telling Metal Master Kingdom: "It's hard for me, man, 'cause the wound is still very deep. I'm very honored to have been Ed's friend — really a friend; not just a guitar buddy who had a beer with him once. [There is] 40-plus years with him, Al and I.

"I know all the guys [in VAN HALEN]. I love all the guys. I'm Switzerland [when it comes to their relationships with each other]. I was just on Sammy's [Hagar] show. He was beautiful to me. Mike's [Anthony] always nice to me. The brothers [Ed and Al] and I have always stayed very close. I've been in touch with Al more than anybody. And Janie [Eddie's widow] sent me some wonderful pictures of Ed and I when we were younger that she found somewhere. And I've been in touch — I talked to Wolf [Eddie's son] once. I'm gonna leave him alone. He's got his mom.

"This is a hole in my heart that won't go away. He was a real friend of mine, okay? We didn't get together and talk about guitars and stuff unless we wanted to play each other something new or brag about our kids. And really, we spent the last half of our relationship bragging about each other's sons, 'cause they both play. We always had that in common — the sons and the guitar. We have a lot in common off the gig that has nothing to do with [music].

"I loved the man. There's nothing to argue about how great he was as a musician. I don't have to. Who's gonna argue? He was one of the greats to ever pick up rock and roll guitar — he changed everything. And he was my friend. And I miss my friend more than anything. I miss the roar of one of his vehicles scaring the fuck out of my neighbors. And the way he laughed, and the way he fucking hugged me whenever he came by...

"The last thing I have in my phone is just a heart that he sent me.

"It's hard for me to talk about because it's an open wound. But I imagine how his family [feels]. My heart goes out to everybody in the Van Halen family."

Eddie died on October 6, 2020 at St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica, California at the age of 65.

The iconic VAN HALEN axeman died from complications due to cancer, his son confirmed.

VAN HALEN was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2007.

Rolling Stone magazine ranked Eddie Van Halen No. 8 in its list of the 100 greatest guitarists.

Legendary BLACK SABBATH guitarist Tony Iommi has shared a year-end video message in which he outlined some of the projects that kept him busy during the last 12 months. The 77-year-old musician, who was diagnosed with early-stage lymphoma nearly a decade and half ago, stated in part in the four-minute clip (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): " Hello, everybody. I hope you had a great Christmas. We have; we had a great time. 2025 for me started off really well. And we had the Tony Martin [-era BLACK SABBATH re-]release of 'Eternal Idol' come out. And shortly after that I was asked by [British pop singer] Robbie Williams's drummer Karl Brazil if I'd play on a track with Robbie, which, of course, I said, 'Yes, that would be great.' And as far as I was concerned, it was gonna be an album track, but then Robbie released it as a single, which is even better. And we did a video for it. And the track was called 'Rocket', and I really enjoyed it. It was really different for me to do that. We also had the launch of my new web site, which I was very pleased with. SABBATH got together, the original SABBATH [members], and we were presented with the Freedom Of The City [award] from [our original hometown of] Birmingham, which was absolutely amazing. I mean, I never thought we'd ever get that, which is a great honor. And also around Birmingham, they'd done 'Summer Of Sabbath', which meant that they had a lot of paintings around of SABBATH on the walls, and it was really good. And all Birmingham became sort of a SABBATH city. It was really great seeing [fellow original SABBATH members] Ozzy [Osbourne], Bill [Ward] and Geezer [Butler] for Freedom Of The City. And at that point, of course, we were into rehearsals for the 'Back To The Beginning' show at the Villa grounds in Birmingham. And the amount of bands that turned up to support SABBATH on that was just fantastic. What a great event. And, of course, it raised a lot of money for charity. It's just unfortunate and sad that Ozzy passed away a couple of weeks after that, which, you know, may he rest in peace."

Iommi continued: "And on a brighter note, I had the release of the Laney TI100 limited-edition amplifier. And I also used those on the 'Back To Beginning' [show], which are really great amps. I really like 'em. And Laney have done a great job on that. And also in August I had the release of the Gibson Tony Iommi pickup. Then in September we had the second run of the 'Black Sabbath - The Ballet', which went amazingly well. It completely sold out in England. And [Birmingham Royal Ballet director] Carlos Acosta and all the team had done just a fantastic job. And I did play on the London shows, a couple of the shows, with them, and in Birmingham. So it went really good. They are so amazing, those dancers and choreographers and all that, and I take my hat off to them. Really good."

Tony added: "Then in November, December, we had a guitar ruffle for Heartlands hospital for their cancer unit, the new cancer unit, which they have done. So we tried to raise money to buy beds and all the equipment that they need. I'm glad to say we raised 53,000 pounds, which is amazing. Thanks to you guys. Also, there's a Gibson documentary coming out very, very soon. And then, of course, in 2026. I shall have definitely, definitely my solo album out. And I'm really looking forward to that. I'm enjoying doing it, and it's been great fun, and I really hope you enjoy it. But I'll keep you more up to date as we go on, what's happening with that and when it's gonna be released. In the meantime, very happy new year and take care. All the best."

Tony previously talked about his long-awaited new solo album during a July 2025 appearance on SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk". He said at the time: " I was doing my own album until [the 'Back To The Beginning' event] came up, and then, of course, I had to stop and concentrate on [preparing for] the SABBATH [performance]. But I'm continuing next week on trying to finish off what I started with this album. And then who knows what I'm gonna do then? It's great, really, 'cause if something pops up, I'll do it, if I want to do it. So it's a good thing."

Asked if his upcoming album is a Tony Iommi solo record with guests on it, like he has done before with 2000's "Iommi", the guitarist responded: "At the moment, no. I've got one singer on it at the moment, which I originally thought of different singers. But it started off as it's gonna be an instrumental album, and it's gone from I've got some instrumental stuff, but then I thought, 'Oh, I wanna try it with a singer.' And so that's what I've been doing."

Tony also spoke about his appearance on "Rocket", the first single from Williams's "Britpop" album. The rock track, which was written by Robbie, Karl Brazil, Tony Iommi and Tom Longworth, features a signature guitar solo from the heavy metal pioneer.

"[Robbie] asked me if I'd play on this track, and I didn't realize he was gonna release it as a single," Iommi said. "And then he wanted to do a video with it. Oh my God. But it was great to do that. And I enjoyed doing that. And it's great now — I can do different stuff when I want, really, and I'm enjoying it."

Tony added: "I can't stop. I have to carry on. I enjoy what I do. And it's great being creative. And I love to create music. That's what started me off and that's what will finish me off, probably. But I love it. And there will be — yes — more from me. And I'm getting more involved in — we spread our wings with the [BLACK SABBATH] ballet and different things. And there's a lot more things to come. So I'm looking forward to that."

Last year, Iommi released an instrumental track, "Deified", to accompany the arrival of another new fragrance. The song saw Iommi reunite with longtime collaborator Mike Exeter, who played keyboards and handled production, with Laurence Cottle (who played on BLACK SABBATH's "Headless Cross" album) on bass. The recording lineup was rounded out by FEEDER and Robbie Williams drummer Karl Brazil, with Ben Andrews scoring the orchestrations.

Three years earlier, Iommi unveiled "Scent Of Dark" — his first new music in eight years at the time — alongside an accompanying cologne.

At the time of "Scent Of Dark"'s release, Iommi revealed that he had "four or five hundred" unused riffs on his phone, with plans to arrange and record some of them for his various projects.

"Scent Of Dark" and "Deified" were the product of a friendship struck up during the pandemic between Iommi and Sergio Momo, acclaimed perfumer, and designer for Xerjoff, well known for its unique and individual creations and collaborations in the fragrance world. Sergio is also an accomplished guitarist, and his fine fretwork can be heard on both songs.

Iommi previously spoke about his upcoming solo album during a June 2024 appearance on Full Metal Jackie's nationally syndicated radio show. He said at the time: "I am writing stuff now for my own, for an album. So that's exciting too. And there's no pressure. I just do stuff when I feel like it, because, obviously, I've got a life to live and I like to do all the different stuff. But I've really enjoyed doing this stuff, as I did with Ozz [BLACK SABBATH singer Ozzy Osbourne] when I'd done a couple of tracks for his last [solo] album ['Patient Number 9'], which was good, to work with Ozz again. And I'm quite open for all that now. Whatever comes, and I like it, I do it."

Asked if he is going to release a "proper record" or if he will just make individual songs available whenever he feels like it, Iommi responded: "No, I'm gonna do a record. And I've got a lot of stuff. But now we're actually getting around to sort of putting it together, myself and the engineer. So it's been good fun, really. And as I say, there's no pressure. I can just do it — I don't have to do it by next week. And because of everything else [that has] been lurking around, I have to take my time in doing things. But it's been fun. And that's what it's all about, really. And I'm looking forward to actually doing it and an album coming out."

When and if Iommi's new solo album surfaces, it would be his third, after 2000's "Iommi" and 2005's "Fused".

Joining Iommi on "Fused" was ex-DEEP PURPLE bassist/vocalist Glenn Hughes and drummer Kenny Aronoff, whose resume includes the "Iommi" album and a long run with John Mellencamp.

Nearly two decades ago, Iommi told Launch that he, Aronoff and Hughes had a great time making the "Fused" record. "It was like a load of nutters, quite honestly," he said. "We all let loose in the room. It was just like being kids, because Kenny, you know, [laughs] he was, like, he's so, like, up, and full of energy, and you've got Glenn [makes crazy sound] and Kenny [makes crazy sound] — bloody hell! It's almost too much, you know, but it worked."

SMASHING PUMPKINS frontman Billy Corgan and Dave Grohl of the FOO FIGHTERS are among the guests who were heard on "Iommi". The LP also featured guest appearances from Philip Anselmo of PANTERA, Henry Rollins and SYSTEM OF A DOWN's Serj Tankian as well as Skin of SKUNK ANANSIE, Peter Steele from TYPE O NEGATIVE, and THE CULT's Ian Astbury.

In February 2017, SABBATH finished "The End" tour in Birmingham, closing out the quartet's groundbreaking 49-year career.

"The End" was SABBATH's last tour because Iommi — who was diagnosed with lymphoma in late 2011 — can no longer travel for extended amounts of time.

Iommi revealed his cancer diagnosis in early 2012, shortly after SABBATH announced a reunion tour and album. He underwent treatment throughout the recording of the disc, titled "13", and the subsequent tour to promote it.

The BLACK SABBATH guitarist successfully underwent an operation in January 2017 to remove a noncancerous lump from his throat.

"13" was the first album in 35 years to feature Iommi, Osbourne and Butler all playing together.

Bill Ward was on board for the SABBATH reunion when it was first announced 14 years ago, but backed out soon after. The drummer later claimed that he sat out the recording and touring sessions because of unfair contractual terms, although the members of SABBATH have hinted in other interviews that he wasn't physically up to the task.

All four original members of SABBATH were present when the band announced its final reunion in late 2011. But Ward split from the group in 2012, citing an "unsignable" contract, and Osbourne, Iommi and Butler carried on with their Rick Rubin–produced "13" LP and extensive international touring without him.

The July 5, 2025 "Back To The Beginning" event at Villa Park in Birmingham, United Kingdom marked the original BLACK SABBATH lineup's first performance since 2005 and the quartet's final live appearance.

Ozzy played a five-song set with his solo band before being joined by Iommi, Butler and Ward for four classic SABBATH tracks: "War Pigs", "Iron Man", "N.I.B." and "Paranoid".

Ozzy's death certificate revealed that he died on July 22 of a heart attack. The certificate filed in London also said Osbourne suffered from coronary artery disease and Parkinson's disease.

Nita Strauss and husband and manager Josh Villalta announced on Instagram they are expecting their first child together.

Earlier today (Thursday, January 1),the 39-year-old Los Angeles-based guitar shredder for the ALICE COOPER band shared a peek at a sonogram and ultrasound and included the following message: "Looks like 2026 will be the best year yet. We've waited so long for this miracle and now the time is finally here! He will come into this world surrounded by so much love! So excited to meet our little man this summer".

Nita and Josh got married in May 2024 at The Hollywood Roosevelt hotel in Los Angeles, California. Among the guests at the wedding were Nita's Cooper bandmates Alice Cooper and Chuck Garric, DISTURBED singer David Draiman and his now-wife Sarah Uli, DISTURBED bassist John Moyer and his wife Brandi, pop-rock singer Demi Lovato and her now-husband Jordan "Jutes" Lutes, and celebrity chef Chris Santos and his wife, actress Natalie Makenna.

Josh proposed to Nita during the record-release party for her latest solo album, "The Call Of The Void", on July 6, 2023 in West Hollywood, California.

Villalta and Strauss met in 2011 in the driveway of the Rainbow Bar & Grill in West Hollywood after being introduced by current Yamaha marketing manager Mike Taft.

In February 2024, Strauss proclaimed her love for Villalta in a social media post, sharing two different photos of the couple and writing: "When people post about relationships, myself included, we always tend to focus on the great times. Which makes a lot of sense! It's natural to put your best and brightest side forward on social media. What doesn't always get posted are moments like the second one.
I have found myself struggling a lot lately. And it's especially in those moments that I am so grateful to have @thejoshv as a partner.

"You all know how strong he is just by looking at him, but what you don't see on the outside is how strong he is mentally. He's able to carry the load for both of us at many times, to pick me up in those moments when I need him most, on top of all his own stresses and mental burdens. It's never 'too much' to be there, to push me to be my best and achieve even when I don't feel like I can. When I need someone stronger than myself, you are always there.

"Every day is Valentine's Day with you. I can't wait for a lifetime together from morning gym sessions to after show deep dish pizza, from traveling around the world to sleeping in our bed, and knowing that wherever you are will always be home. I love you!"

"The Call of the The Void" is a star-studded affair featuring guest vocals from DISTURBED's David Draiman, ARCH ENEMY's Alissa White-Gluz, HALESTORM's Lzzy Hale, MOTIONLESS IN WHITE's Chris Motionless, IN FLAMES' Anders Fridén, Hungarian-born vocalist/writer Dorothy Martin, Alice Cooper and Lilith Czar.

Nita released 2018's "Controlled Chaos" to mass acclaim from fans and media alike, with Metal Injection calling it "a great debut that — as its creator intended — leaves no doubt", and Guitar World stating "'Controlled Chaos' is a panoramic view of Nita Strauss's many strengths".

In March 2023, it was announced that Nita would return to Alice's band for his 2023 tour.

Nita spent eight years playing with Alice before joining Lovato's band in the summer of 2022.

Nita made her live debut with Demi in July 2022 with a performance of "Substance" on ABC's Emmy Award-winning late-night show "Jimmy Kimmel Live!".

Strauss had been playing with Cooper since 2014 when she replaced Australian musician and former Michael Jackson player Orianthi. She joined Alice in time for a mammoth MÖTLEY CRÜE tour. She was recommended to Cooper by the legendary rocker's former bass player and WINGER frontman Kip Winger.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by 𝐍 𝐈 𝐓 𝐀 𝐒 𝐓 𝐑 𝐀 𝐔 𝐒 𝐒 (@hurricanenita)

In a recent interview with Lyndsey Marie of the 93X radio station, MÖTLEY CRÜE bassist Nikki Sixx spoke about the band's upcoming "The Return Of Carnival Of Sins" tour celebrating the 20th anniversary of CRÜE's groundbreaking 2005-2006 "Carnival Of Sins" tour and the 45th anniversary of the band. The 33-city Live Nation-produced trek will kick off on July 17, 2026 in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania at the Pavilion at Star Lake and will feature support acts EXTREME and TESLA. Asked how EXTREME and TESLA were chosen to take part in the tour, Nikki said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It's who's available, which is not easy. And who's still around, which is really not easy. There's a few bands that we actually talked to about getting back together to do this tour with us, and there's a couple of bands I just couldn't get 'em to understand that it would be better for the fans than their egos. And so we try. And just TESLA and EXTREME both were available, and we couldn't believe it. We were so happy because that's just — from the opening chords of EXTREME to the last chords of MÖTLEY CRÜE, it's really good songwriting, and I just love good songs. Whether it's done METALLICA style, RAMMSTEIN style, Norah Jones style — I don't care — Al Green style, MÖTLEY CRÜE style, a great song is a great song. And it's just gonna be a night of just singing everything."

Last month, Nikki told Mike Hsu of the 100 FM The Pike radio station about "The Return Of Carnival Of Sins": "Listen, two of our biggest and most successful tours was the 'Dr. Feelgood' tour. And that's not to negate 'Girls, Girls, Girls' or any of that stuff, but that was a big peaking time for us and that album connected with people. And then the 'Carnival Of Sins' tour 20 years ago. That was unbelievable. It was such a fun experience. And we were just, like, 'It's an anniversary of that and that DVD and people still talk to us about that show.' We were, like, 'Well, what can you do now with technology that you couldn't do back then?' They didn't have video screens back then, and anything that you could do that would encompass and take over the imagination of all the people there. And that we had an opportunity to do that in [Las] Vegas on a couple things. 'In The Beginning', [which] starts off the 'Shout At The Devil' album, we had an amazing visual presentation of 'In The Beginning'. Mid-show, everything went dark and there's this, basically, devil talking to you, narrating that, which then led into 'Shout At The Devil'. And these are the kind of things, when you think about the 'Carnival' environment, how far we can take it — it's super exciting for us."

Regarding MÖTLEY CRÜE's choice of support acts for the tour, Nikki said: "We're really stoked with TESLA and EXTREME, because the idea of TESLA and EXTREME and MÖTLEY CRÜE is it's all about songs, however you interpret them. You can play 'em RAMMSTEIN style or you can play 'em George Thorogood style or you can play 'em whatever. A good song is a good song, and that's what I'm really excited about. We've had the best time when we look out at the fans. We did 'The Stadium Tour' [in 2022]. They were singing every Joan Jett song, all the POISON songs, all the DEF LEPPARD songs, all the MÖTLEY CRÜE songs. So this has a little feel of that. They're in sheds and stuff — they're not stadiums — which is a cool place to play in the summer outside."

Asked if the upcoming extensive tour is MÖTLEY CRÜE "putting a cap on it", considering his recent comment that leaving his family behind to go on the road was becoming increasingly difficult for him, Sixx said: "No. It's summertime. It's great to be able to go out and be with the band and the fans and not leave my family behind 'cause they're in school and all this kind of stuff. So, summers are a great time for bands that have been around for a while and have families because we can go out and play and still be able to be with our families. That's always kind of been the hardest part for me, is being separated from that. I'm a dad and a husband and a sobriety advocate and a musician before I am a rock star. Though that doesn't equate to me, but I understand that. But I'm just saying, I don't put all my eggs just in that basket 'cause it would feel very one-dimensional to me. I have a lot of dimension that I like to enjoy in my life. I have an animation company. That brings me amazing amount of creative joy, and great partners. And there's so many other things that I do as well as MÖTLEY CRÜE. So I'm really grateful, dude — really grateful."

He added: "And no, this isn't a cap on anything. And then plugging it into summertime, it just works for everybody. It's just a blast."

MÖTLEY CRÜE said that $1 from every ticket sold for "The Return Of Carnival Of Sins" will be donated to ASAP! (After School Arts Program) through the Mötley Crüe Giveback Initiative to fund hands-on arts programs for young people.

MÖTLEY CRÜE's Las Vegas residency launched on September 12 and at Dolby Live at Park MGM and ran through October 3. The shows had initially been set for spring but were rescheduled after frontman Vince Neil revealed he had suffered a stroke last Christmas.

In September, Vince said that he had actually had a series of strokes before he suffered the "big one" in his sleep last Christmas night, rendering him unable to get out of bed when he woke up the next day.

When MÖTLEY CRÜE originally postponed the Las Vegas residency, the band said it was because Neil needed a "medical procedure," but offered no further details.

In a new interview with J.J. Caithcart of Different Stages Radio, legendary rock vocalist Graham Bonnet (RAINBOW, MICHAEL SCHENKER GROUP, ALCATRAZZ, GRAHAM BONNET BAND) was asked about the status of his previously announced collaboration with former ARCH ENEMY and current NEVERMORE guitarist Jeff Loomis. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It's on pause, because Jeff is doing his own thing right now with his band [NEVEMORE]. He's getting that together. And he got in touch with us very recently. 'Cause I said to him, 'I'm gonna do this,' because I've written seven songs with him already, which I did a year ago, when we were gonna get it together.

"I'll tell you something: [Jeff is] great," Bonnet continued. "His arrangements are fantastic. And it takes you in another place… It actually is a guy playing guitar, like Michael Schenker. Michael Schenker has a certain way of playing which is very recognizable, and so does Jeff. And I was really pleased to have actually worked with him because it gave me a bit of an adventure and gave me a challenge to write words and melody to these songs that were quite long.

"So, [the songs are] all ready to go," Graham added. "I wish I could sing 'em to you now, or play them or something, but they're ready to go. And Jeff, he still wants to do it even after all his time when he's been getting his own band together and getting back on the road again or whatever. So I really hope we can do it soon, hopefully next year."

When Loomis's collaboration with Bonnet was first announced in June 2021, the two musicians were said to be writing music under the GRAHAM BONNET'S ALCATRAZZ banner. At the time, Graham stated about Jeff: "Jeff is a powerhouse of a musician, a brilliant writer and a great guy. His skills are unparalleled and I am thrilled at the prospect of recreating the magic of the early days of ALCATRAZZ but with a modern, heavier sound.

"When I first heard Jeff, I was astonished by his technique coupled with his great feel and incredible melodies."

Jeff was equally excited about the pairing, saying in a statement: "I'm super excited to be working with Graham Bonnet. I've been a longtime fan of his vocals and lyrics for many years, and it's going to be an honor to craft some amazing music together and play some select live shows."

Bonnet is a hard rock legend with a pedigree to back that statement up. His solo offerings and stints with RAINBOW, MSG, ALCATRAZZ and IMPELLITTERI prove he is one of the finest rock vocalists and songwriters of his generation. From his late 60s into his 70s, Graham has written and recorded some of the best albums he's ever done, including an album with GRAHAM BONNET'S ALCATRAZZ called "Born Innocent" in 2020, along with three records with his GRAHAM BONNET BAND: 2016's "The Book", 2018's "Meanwhile, Back In The Garage" and 2022's "Day Out In Nowhere".

In 1979, Bonnet auditioned for the frontman position in RAINBOW. With his James Dean image, the choice of Bonnet to replace Ronnie James Dio was subject to some questions. However, once the band heard Bonnet sing, they knew they had their man. With Bonnet at the mic, they recorded the "Down To Earth" LP, which became one of RAINBOW's most successful releases.

Graham moved on from RAINBOW in the early '80s to work on his solo career. He also played with MICHAEL SCHENKER GROUP, recorded several albums with ALCATRAZZ and had a short stint with IMPELLITTERI.

A founding member and the primary composer of the band NEVERMORE, Loomis has transcended his roots to become one of the most in-demand players and educators in metal. Today, he is also an accomplished solo artist, and he frequently takes part in clinics and other instructional events to share his deep knowledge with aspiring players around the world.

Loomis's complex shredding has been a central part of the progressive but powerful and thrashy edge often attributed to NEVERMORE's trademark sound since the band's formation in 1992. As the band's lone permanent guitarist, he's been responsible for some of the most awe-inspiring riffs modern metal has ever heard. Taking the classic techniques he learned from listening to legends like Jason Becker and Yngwie Malmsteen as a teen and applying his own ingenuity, Loomis has carved his own niche and created an instantly recognizable style.

Jeff Loomis press photo courtesy of Fender Musical Instruments Corp.

Professionally filmed video of OBITUARY's entire August 16, 2025 performance at the Dynamo Metalfest in Eindhoven, Netherlands can be seen below.

This past summer, OBITUARY bassist Terry Butler was asked by RichardMetalFan about the possibility of a new studio album from the veteran Florida death metallers. He responded:  "We're just kind of talking about, hey, maybe by '26 or '27 we'll have another album out, possibly. We haven't set any kind of release date. There's really no songs even recorded yet or anything like that. It's just kind of just amongst ourselves kind of kicking ideas around. That's it."

OBITUARY recently celebrated the 35th anniversary of its second album, "Cause Of Death", on a North American tour. Support on the trek came from NAILS, TERROR, SPIRITWORLD and PEST CONTROL.

OBITUARY's latest studio album, "Dying Of Everything", came out in January 2023 via Relapse Records.

In 2022, Decibel Books released "Turned Inside Out: The Official Story Of Obituary", the fully authorized biography of OBITUARY. The book was written by David E. Gehlke, author of "Damn The Machine: The Story Of Noise Records" and "No Celebration: The Official Story Of Paradise Lost".

In a 2023 interview with Invisible Oranges, OBITUARY drummer Donald Tardy stated about the six-year gap between 2017’s self-titled album and "Dying Of Everything": "COVID had everything to do with it. We've been sitting on this album for two years; we started writing it five years ago. When we did the SLAYER tour in Europe, we were hell bound to get home and write an album. The plans were to obviously ride the coattails and get back to Europe on a headlining tour and talk about a new album. But then COVID took everything out. So we realized that we had a fucking awesome start to an album, so what are you gonna do when you realize you're gonna be home for more than just months? We were home, so we just really focused on the songs that we had; wrote some more songs and really focused on, how can you make them killer? And then the recording process… we really took our time because we knew that we were not going to put an album out when we’re sitting on our couches because of COVID. So a lot of bands released records when they were sitting at home."

He added: "I'm not 20 years old anymore, and there's not that many more albums coming out of OBITUARY. This was the 11th one; this was the one we knew was super important. And so we've been sitting on it for two years. It's been finished and in our back pockets waiting for the world to open up, especially Europe. Because Europe hadn't seen us since 2016."

Regarding OBITUARY's longevity, Donald said: "My brother [OBITUARY frontman John Tardy] says it a lot of interviews, and I don't often repeat him, but we're doing something that we're having a good time doing. And if we don't have a good time doing it, we'll find something else to do. I think that's a great way to put it.

"My brother and I moved to Tampa, Florida from Miami, Florida in 1980. Within minutes, I met Trevor [Peres, OBITUARY guitarist] and I was only a 10-year-old kid. And by the time we were 12 years old, we already had the bug and we knew what we wanted; we wanted to be a band. And we've been best friends for 40-something years. And the longevity of the career with this band is simply that we're all brothers, we kind of get along, beyond just bandmates. We're lifetime friends, and, genuinely, we have a good time together. We're fortunate that we found each other in life, and we're good friends. And that's the success plan that kept OBITUARY together now for going on 35 years."

That same year, Donald told Kerrang! magazine that the extended hiatus he and his OBITUARY bandmates went on in 1997 was a positive experience. "Hindsight is 20/20," he said. "At the time we didn't know if that break was going to be one year, two years, six years or whatever it was. But, looking back, it was fantastic for us to step away and recharge, to get away from the music industry and that scene at the age that we were. And we were gone for long enough that we were hungry again when we got back onstage. It's weird to look back at how long ago that was. Our 'second career' has lasted longer than a lot of bands' entire existences."

In a new interview with Rock Daydream Nation, former URIAH HEEP singer Peter Goalby reflected on being asked by Ritchie Blackmore to join RAINBOW during the sessions for the latter band's 1979 album "Down To Earth", only to be let go a very short time later, with Blackmore eventually recruiting ex-MARBLES singer Graham Bonnet. Goalby said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It really hurt me, because I didn't understand what I'd done wrong. And it wasn't until — I think it was probably at least about a year that the story filtered through why, and the reason why is because I couldn't sing high enough — my range wasn't high enough. Now, my answer to that is I didn't ask to join RAINBOW. They asked me. And I read somewhere that Ritchie said words to the effect of, 'He was inadequate, so we sent him away.' And I thought, 'Well, thanks a million, Ritchie.' But a year later or two years later, I joined URIAH HEEP. That's what he said — he said, 'The top note of his range is an A.' That's not true. It's not true. If you listen to [URIAH HEEP's 1982 album] 'Abominog', there's a lot bigger notes than A going on in practically every song that I sang."

Peter continued: "I didn't understand what was expected of me. I'd never worked in a band. I'd always worked — because I was a writer, or I'm singing songs that are already established, and then I learn the song. I'd never worked in an environment where you walk into a rehearsal room and the band are already playing a riff and you're supposed to walk up and just scat and sing anything. I thought that was fucking stupid."

After the interviewer noted that Goalby could have handled all the songs from "Down To Earth" as well as the material from the Joe Lynn Turner era of RAINBOW, Peter said: "If you're in a band and you're learning a song, you can change the key. You can take the key down. I mean, people do it every day. So, when I did… I don't know whether I should tell you this. When I did my version of [RAINBOW's rendition of the Russ Ballard song] 'Since You Been Gone', and the answer's no, you're not gonna ever hear it. I've got it, but nobody's ever gonna hear it. I did it in a lower key. I think it was probably a tone down from Graham. Graham's got an incredible voice. He's almost got — I don't mean this in a bad way — he's almost got a female range. It just goes up and up and up, whereas most male singers, you get to a certain note and then you have to go into falsetto. Graham manages to open his throat up, which is fantastic. When I went to [then-RAINBOW bassist] Roger Glover's house and recorded the demo of 'Since You Been Gone', it was fine. As I say, I've actually got the demo, and Ritchie makes a mistake. How much is that worth? He makes a mistake on the demo; he plays the wrong fucking chords."

Earlier this month, Goalby released his "long-lost" solo album "Don't Think This Is Over".

Goalby was the lead singer of URIAH HEEP during the band's classic "Abominog" (1982) era and also wrote URIAH HEEP's 1980s hit "Blood Red Roses". He also sang on the band's albums "Head First" (1983) and "Equator" (1985).

In addition to URIAH HEEP, Goalby was the lead singer of TRAPEZE and FABLE but has now retired from the music industry after an illustrious career.

Peter had been living with the knowledge he'd recorded a solo album just after leaving URIAH HEEP but it was only when a poorly labeled DAT was spotted, at a storage facility over 30 years later, that the lost album was found.

The album was finished when his URIAH HEEP bandmates Mick Box (guitar) and John Sinclair (keys) added the final overdubs to the tracks in 2025. The nine-track album was personally overseen (from tape transfer, mastering and artwork) by Goalby.

Goalby explained the background to the release: "In 1987 I was offered a recording and publishing contract with RAK Records just after I'd left URIAH HEEP. I thought these songs would be very commercial in the 1980s and SMOKIE recorded 'Fallin' Apart'. I later found out the master tapes had been lost and I silently carried the disappointment that music I'd put my heart and soul into was gone forever. Never say never!"

The lost album's release follows the successful release of "Easy With The Heartaches" and then "I Will Come Runnin'".

All Peter Goalby solo albums are also available from Cherry Red.

In a new interview with Ralph Rasmussen of Radio Bypass, DANGEROUS TOYS and WATCHTOWER frontman Jason McMaster once again spoke about the time he was approached by PANTERA about possibly singing for the group before Philip Anselmo connected with the fellow Texas metal act. He said in part (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Yeah. To be fully correct, I was… This probably was in around '86, maybe early '87, but I know I have that timeframe almost spot-on. Mr. Abbott, ['Dimebag'] Darrell [Abbott, PANTERA guitarist] and Vinnie's [Paul Abbott, PANTERA drummer] father, called me on the phone and said, 'Hey, those are my boys, and I'm kind of managing them.' And I'm, like, 'Oh, I know who you are.' He was already kind of a legend in Texas, and PANTERA was already known. And I was in a band called WATCHTOWER, which is this progressive… Before you could put the words 'math' and 'metal' together, we were 'math metal'. We were this technical thrash band, this progressive thrash metal band, which is not… I mean, now it's commonplace for you to talk about extreme metal and have it be completely math rock and math metal, and there's so many different genres of what I'm kind of talking about. But anyway, WATCHTOWER is arguably the pioneer of that genre. But I digress. The point is I was in this really weird metal band. And that's how those guys knew me, and I knew them to be this kind of glam rock. They didn't have Philip [in the band yet]; they had [previous PANTERA singer] Terry Glaze, and they were a little bit more — I don't know — [like] DEF LEPPARD [or] BON JOVI. And that's fine. And they were kicking ass. They were a touring [band]. They would run around Texas and roll up through Oklahoma, go all the way to Nashville and play their way all the way back. And they were killing it. And they were young. And, everyone, I don't have to say it — they had Darrell. But Vinnie and Rex [Brown, PANTERA bassist] are these bad motherfuckers too. So as a band, [they were] unstoppable, no matter what. All my friends, we knew who they were, of course. So, Mr. Abbott calls me and I respectfully decline, because I'm about to have to replace a guitar player in WATCHTOWER, which was no easy feat because of the style of music it is. It's like you can't just call up, 'Hey, Joe, across the street, come and play a guitar.' 'Oh, I got five strings.' You have to have third eye wide open and be into MAHAVISHNU ORCHESTRA and RUSH in a blender on crush to understand what it is. And, anyway, I explained that to him and he was fine. Two weeks later, Vinnie calls me to basically say, 'Are you sure?' And this was an invitation to only audition."

Asked by Rasmussen if PANTERA was "kind of the biggest band in the area at that point in time", Jason clarified: "No. I didn't know them to be as far as what you would call the 'biggest' band. I mean, they had footprint and they had buzz. Years later I was blessed enough to get into a little conversation about what we're talking about with Darrell. And I'm, like, 'Why me?' Because, obviously, it's funny because they got Philip and ended up being this giant monster that defies genre of… They were thrash. For a minute, they were the heaviest thing on the radio. They were thrash and they were power metal and they were doom. Oh my God — the riffs and just Philip's voice and they were this conglomerate of everything. They were monstrous, and they were obviously breaking down walls, kicking ass and taking names with Philip. Whatever decisions they made, they made right ones. Obviously I was not the right guy, and I knew it prophetically somehow. And here's the thing, too — I got asked to audition for SKID ROW too, and it was verbatim the same storyline. [SKID ROW guitarist] Snake calls me one day, he calls me two weeks later: 'Are you sure?' Same answer I had."

Circling back to why he turned down an opportunity to audition for PANTERA, McMaster said: "Here's my real answer. When I'm leaving WATCHTOWER and I'm joining DANGEROUS TOYS, there's something that a lot of people don't realize. It was really hard to make that decision to leave something I was in almost a decade, and then go with these guys I knew for six months and go make a brand new record. In less than a year, I'm in arenas and on MTV, not in that order. But what's missing in this conversation, and this sounds selfish, maybe not, but this was something in that I had stuck to my shoe, I'll just call it, 'cause it wasn't something that I wore like a badge. I had a chance to sing my songs because in WATCHTOWER, they wrote the lyrics. I wrote the melodies. They may have had compositions that told me where they expected me to sing and what would resemble a verse, and a chorus, and a bridge, et cetera. But that's my voice and it's my melodies, and that's the way the song goes. And I had a lot to do with that. But I didn't write the lyrics, so that part was missing in my skillset, and I needed to sharpen that knife, and this was a chance for me to do it. So by the time the SKID ROW offer to audition — to be a hundred thousand percent clear — obviously they're doing the right thing too, and I have mad respect for them as well and their decisions that they've made too. And it's probably tough in the shoes that they are wearing right now. They stuck to their guns. It must be hard to have a different singer every few years. But they're still a badass band and they're obviously unstoppable and respect to that. But the point: I had a chance to be a songwriter, so when I'm saying this to these guys, I'm still working on this right here, and I don't need to tell you that in so many words. And to give you a little bit of introspect, if that's even a word, into where I am. And so, now that I have my own songs to sing, I feel a lot better, maybe even about being a replacement singer. And I have pretty much been a replacement singer since I got it all figured out."

Four and a half years ago, McMaster told Waste Some Time With Jason Green about being approached by PANTERA about auditioning for the band: "I like talking about this, only because it clears up some things. I was offered an audition. I never auditioned. I didn't accept the offer to audition.

"[Darrell and Vinnie's] father called me first, which was interesting, that someone who could have been my dad is calling me, 'Hey, I'm Mister… And I'm looking…', kind of management style, and I'm just a dude, and I'm going, 'Woah, this is trippy.' And I turned him down. And then Vinnie calls me, like, two weeks later, and the same kind of a thing happened.

"But we — as in my scene in Austin — we had heard about people talking, 'Man, I saw this band PANTERA, and they played this, and they played METALLICA,'" he continued. "But they were saying they would play DEF LEPPARD — they would play the popular hard rock and heavy metal songs. It didn't matter if it was this new thing called thrash or whatever. I don't think that they were covering DESTRUCTION or SODOM or CELTIC FROST or VENOM, like me and my friends kind of wanted to, but they were [playing] the popular stuff. They were doing club circuits. They were wearing pink and purple and green and yellow on stage. They had big hair. And so it was kind of, like, the whole, 'Well, do you call them posers?' Well, you're not a poser if you believe what you do. And they were good. And everyone said how good they were. Darrell was always a guitar legend in Texas. The guy probably never had any lessons and he just learned from slowing down VAN HALEN songs. [He was] an incredible talent, and everyone knew it, even though there was never a citing of any of that, because in my circle, it was a little more hardcore.

"So, '86 comes around. WATCHTOWER's first record is out, 'Energetic Disassembly'. It's getting attention globally — still on an underground level, of course… We helped… I know it's a big crown to wear for me to say this, but I will insert the word 'arguably' WATCHTOWER, and if not myself, had a giant hand in kickstarting the thrash, the metal thing in Austin, Texas in '82.

"So, yes, the PANTERA camp calls me. [WATCHTOWER] was losing [guitarist] Billy White [at the time]. He was ready to jump ship from WATCHTOWER and start playing different styles of music and just rock guitar… So the last two shows we played with Billy White were the only two shows that WATCHTOWER ever played out of the state of Texas, and they were in the Bay Area in the first of October of 1986. I believe it was right before that that the PANTERA camp had called me to see where my head was.

"Years and years later — I think it was '95 — I'm standing behind the backline with Darrell and some of his party boys. It was PANTERA, of course, with TYPE O NEGATIVE in San Antonio, at Sunken Gardens… And I had a chance to just basically get right in Darrell's head and go, 'Dude, why me? 'Cause you hooked up with Philip, and this is working. This is some brutal, really awesome, I'll just call it rock music. This is exactly where you guys needed to be.' And he's, like, 'Man, Jason, you just had a good buzz. Everyone that we knew in the Dallas/Fort Worth area' — I'm paraphrasing — 'knew your name and was a fan of WATCHTOWER. And you were on a list. That's it.' It was a simple answer, and I was, like, 'Oh, okay. Well, that makes sense.' I realized how big of an honor it was by the time they blew up. And I was, like, 'Wow. These guys are cool.'"

According to McMaster, he had no idea at the time he was approached to audition for PANTERA that they would one day turn out to be such an influential metal act.

"I'll put my hands on the table and show you all my cards and everything by saying the riffs from 'Cowboys From Hell', who knows if they were even written at that point?" Jason said. "Who knew that they were going into this completely hardcore and/or arguably creating their own style of 'groove' metal. I don't really like the term, but it became a thing. As well as that they could thrash too. Who knew? 'Cause I didn't. I just thought they were this kind of glam rock band that did the cover band circuit, and that's all I knew about 'em… But I was really kind of blinded by my own worries with WATCHTOWER."

In a new interview with U.K.'s Metal Hammer magazine, Dave Mustaine insisted that MEGADETH won't be like other veteran hard rock and heavy metal bands, such as MÖTLEY CRÜE and SLAYER, who had announced farewell tours, only to return to the live stage a few years later. "I don't think so," he said. "You see the scuttlebutt that is associated with bands like that. You know they never follow through with it and stick to their word."

Although MEGADETH is not planning on releasing any studio album the band's upcoming self-titled effort, which is due in January 2026, Mustaine didn't rule out the possibility of a live album documenting MEGADETH's final tour.

"Look, it all depends on how the statements are crafted," he said. "So, we're doing no more studio albums. Does that mean there might be a live album at the end of all of this? Yeah, it certainly looks that way."

As for how he plans to keep himself busy after MEGADETH has stopped performing live, Mustaine said: "Well, there's so much still going on now that I don't really want to think about that too much. I can't really conceive of an end right now."

He added: "I don't think there is going to be a morning after. I think for all of us, we're always going to be in MEGADETH. We're always going to be brothers now and best friends, and we're always going to be responsible for making some of the most fun music that bassists and guitarists and drummers will ever want to play."

Earlier this month, Mustaine was asked by Spain's MariskalRockTV if he remembers the day that he decided it was time to announce the final round of his career. Mustaine responded: "No. No, 'cause I just brought it up. I didn't decide. We were working in the studio [on MEGADETH's upcoming self-titled album], and it just had been a really difficult few weeks. We were trying to get everything done, and it obviously was important to us to make sure that the record was done right. And we had a bunch of deadlines we ran up against that was making it hard and stuff like that. And my hands were hurting really bad. And then I just said one day to my management, 'You know, I don't know how much longer I'm gonna be able to do this.' I didn't say, 'Hey, I wanna retire right now.'"

Elaborating on the issue with his hands which is preventing him from playing his guitar at a hundred percent, Mustaine said: "Yeah, you can look right here on this hand. There's a line right there that's sticking up. That's something called Dupuytren's contracture, and it's gonna make my finger come down like this. It's already started, where it's kind of bunching up a little bit. And then if you look at the tips of my fingers, they're severely arthritic. So, all those bumps makes it really painful to play."

Asked if he has contemplated undergoing surgery to correct the issue or if he has already done that, Dave said: "I'm gonna wait for that until I'm ready to try it, because if I try it now and I'm 95 percent, and I do a surgery and it sets me back, that would've been a bad decision. If I wait until my hands are causing a problem and I try it and it doesn't work, well then I've toured everywhere, I've said farewell to everybody and I'm not leaving stuff unsaid or unfinished."

According to the Mayo Clinic, Dupuytren contracture is a condition that causes one or more fingers to bend toward the palm of the hand. The affected fingers can't straighten completely.

There's no cure for Dupuytren contracture. Treatments can relieve symptoms and slow how quickly the condition gets worse.

In a separate interview with SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", Mustaine spoke about MEGADETH's recently announced "farewell" tour, which will officially launch in 2026. The trek, dubbed the "This Was Our Life" tour, will be in support of MEGADETH's upcoming "final", self-titled album, which will arrive in January, and will mark the end of more than four decades of musical history for the 64-year-old musician.

Asked why "Megadeth" will be the band's final album and why he decided to embark on a "farewell" tour at this point of his career, Mustaine said: "It had been a long time coming — just physical stuff that was going on with my hands… My hands were letting me down. And there were other things that were difficult because of all the stuff going on in my neck and my trunk. All that area there has arthritis and it has discs that are bulging. I've got a broken lumbar bone. Of course, you know I have my back fused, up by my shoulders, by my neck. And just a lot of stuff."

Mustaine continued: "I always said when it got to the point where I was unable to give a hundred percent every night, that's when I was gonna start considering winding down. And it wasn't that I was unable to give a hundred percent, because we finished the record, and I think we did a good job on it, but there was a period when we were working and I said to my manager, I said, 'I don't know how much longer I can do this. My hands are really hurting.' And I didn't mean to set the ball rolling. Honestly, I just was making conversation, and it turned into me talking to the band guys and sleeping on it and talking to my family and praying on it. And the answer was clear to me that by the time we're done with the record, I'm gonna know how the record's gonna do. If the record does really well, then I'll be able to have one last really good tour. And the part about the farewell thing, it's kind of like the same thing, isn't it? We've got some dates that we wanna play to say goodbye to our friends."

Dave added: "The thing is we're an American band, but we play everywhere. So it's not like we just are weekend warriors, like country acts here in the States. We've got a lot of touring to do in order to do our farewell properly."

After host Eddie Trunk noted that a lot of veteran artists overstay their welcome and don't gracefully bow out of the music scene after they are no longer able to perform their songs properly, Mustaine concurred.  "I don't think there's any reason [for us] to [keep playing when we are not able to deliver a hundred percent]," he said. "I mean, unless you're financially in a bad way and you need to keep playing, which, by the grace of God, I've been successful. I've been able to pay all my bills. All the band guys, they all get their paychecks on time. We do everything right by the book. So, some people, like I said, they may have to keep playing, because there's nothing else for them to do. Now, when I think about, what am I gonna do after I hang the guitar up, that's in relation to touring, and I believe that I'm going to keep doing music in some way, shape or form. But not in the fashion that I was doing with MEGS because if I can't do it and I need to stop playing with my first love, I'm not gonna go out and try and do it again with someone else."

Last month, Mustaine told Kerrang! magazine that MEGADETH's farewell run of shows could last a long time. "We're easily talking about touring for another three to five years," Dave said. "And if we're going to be doing it for that long then, shit, I'll be looking at the birthday I don't even want to think about," he added, referencing the fact that he will turn 70 in 2031.

As someone who overcame addiction to drugs and alcohol and beat throat cancer, Mustaine added: "I'm not caught up in longevity and stuff like that, and being one of those guys who can play until he's in his 80s. I have to remember that people live and they die. And I need to take good care of myself."

"Megadeth" will be released on January 23, 2026. The follow-up to 2022's "The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!" will be made available via Mustaine's Tradecraft imprint on Frontiers Label Group's new BLKIIBLK label.

In a press release announcing MEGADETH's final album and farewell tour, Mustaine thanked fans for their commitment and love while celebrating the band's impact on the music world.

"There's so many musicians that have come to the end of their career, whether accidental or intentional," Mustaine said. "Most of them don't get to go out on their own terms on top, and that's where I'm at in my life right now. I have traveled the world and have made millions upon millions of fans and the hardest part of all of this is saying goodbye to them."

He continued. "We can't wait for you to hear this album and see us on tour. If there was ever a perfect time for us to put out a new album, it's now. If there was ever a perfect time to tour the world, it's now. This is also a perfect time for us to tell you that it's our last studio album. We've made a lot of friends over the years and I hope to see all of you on our global farewell tour.

"Don't be mad, don't be sad, be happy for us all, come celebrate with me these next few years. We have done something together that's truly wonderful and will probably never happen again. We started a musical style, we started a revolution, we changed the guitar world and how it's played, and we changed the world. The bands I played in have influenced the world. I love you all for it. Thank you for everything."

For its final album, MEGADETH once again worked with Chris Rakestraw, a producer, mixer and engineer who previously worked on MEGADETH's last two LPs, the aforementioned "The Sick, The Dying... And The Dead!" and 2016's "Dystopia".

Guitarist Teemu Mäntysaari joined MEGADETH two years ago. He stepped in as the replacement for Brazilian-born guitarist Kiko Loureiro, who announced in September 2023 that he would sit out the next leg of MEGADETH's "Crush The World" tour in order to stay home with his children back in Finland. It was later revealed that the now-38-year-old Finnish musician would continue to play guitar for MEGADETH for the foreseeable future, with Loureiro seemingly having no plans to return.

Mäntysaari was born in Tampere, Finland and began playing guitar at the age of 12. In 2004, he joined the band WINTERSUN. He has also been a member of SMACKBOUND since 2015.

In addition to Mustaine and Mäntysaari, MEGADETH's current lineup includes drummer Dirk Verbeuren and bassist James LoMenzo.

Photo credit: Ross Halfin