Tony Martin, who fronted BLACK SABBATH from 1987 to 1991 and then again from 1993 to 1997, confirmed to Almost Human in a new interview that he recorded some demos for the band's "Dehumanizer" album during a period when Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler were having a hard time getting along with a returning Ronnie James Dio. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "They fired me [prior to the start of the 'Dehumanizer' sessions], which, by the way, was a complete surprise. I didn't see that coming at all. In fact, I was walking out of the door to go to rehearsals for the next album, and the phone rang just as I was leaving the door. And my manager [was on the other end of the line], and he said, 'You'd better sit down, kid.' I [was, like], 'Go on. What?' And he said, 'They don't want your services anymore.' [I said], 'What? You're kidding me.' I just didn't see that coming at all. So, wow, okay. I was just so shocked by that, I didn't know what to say, do or anything.' But within weeks I was back — it was four, five, six weeks maybe, something like that. I got a call from Tony Iommi saying, 'This isn't going very well [with] Dio.' I said, 'Oh, really?' And he said, 'No. Can you come back?' And I said, 'No. I can't come back. I've already started doing my solo stuff and I've moved on.' [And he said], 'Okay. Okay.' So then a few months went by, and he called me again. And he said, 'Are you sure you can't come back? It's really not working.' So they invited me to go to the studio when they were recording the stuff, so I went down there. And I did try to get some melodies and stuff, but they were short of time, as usual. And I said, 'Look, if I'm gonna do this, I need to rewrite this whole thing. I need to take it away and sit with it and work it out.' They said, 'We don't have the time for that.' [So I said], 'I'm gonna have to leave it with you. Probably the best thing to do is just continue with Dio, and then we'll talk afterwards.' So even through the Dio period, there was connections, and I was still talking to Tony. In fact, I went to the show [they played] in my hometown with Dio. Actually, Dio wasn't pleased at all to see me there. 'Cause, obviously, Tony Iommi had invited me. And, of course, Dio comes offstage and I'm still backstage. He was not impressed with that at all. So there was a connection going through the 'Dehumanizer' thing pretty much most of the way through — not in a constant way, but on and off."

Asked if he did any studio recordings for "Dehumanizer", Martin said: "Yeah, I did try. I just couldn't get anything that was gonna sound better than what they'd done [with Dio]. And I have to make it sound like Tony Martin. There's no point in asking me to do it if you don't want me to sound like me. So at that point I was kind of thinking, 'I don't really wanna just keep copying people's stuff.' I did try and I did put some demos down. But I doubt very much — in fact, I'm 99 percent certain there's nothing left of [those recordings]. I've got a couple of brief cassette copies of something I tried, but it's really horrible quality — just a cassette thing. It just reminds me of the day. Yeah, I did give it a go. But I don't think I could better, really, what they'd done. So we sort of moved on, really."

BLACK SABBATH released six albums with Martin on vocals: "The Eternal Idol" (1987), "Headless Cross" (1989), "Tyr" (1990), "Cross Purposes" (1994), "Cross Purposes Live" (1995) and "Forbidden" (1995). Eventually, Martin and his "Forbidden"-era bandmates were ousted when guitarist Tony Iommi reunited with SABBATH's fellow original members.

In a 1992 interview with Guitar World magazine, Iommi stated about the "Dehumanizer" period: "Getting back together with Ronnie James Dio was a little rough in the beginning — there were all kinds of egos bouncing around. We had been separated for 10 years, and it took us a long time to get to know each other again.

"Tony Martin had been our singer for the last three albums, and I must admit, I did feel bad that we had to let him go. But the truth is he wanted to get out. He was getting more into writing for other people instead of performing SABBATH material. He understood the situation with Ronnie, so it really wasn't a problem.

"Before we [Iommi, Dio, Butler and drummer Vinny Appice] started writing 'Dehumanizer', we talked about what we wanted. We decided to make a very heavy BLACK SABBATH record that had a real natural sound and a ton of doomy riffs — nothing too jolly.

"The material is sort of a cross between the old stuff and 'Heaven And Hell'. It has a raunchy sound — something I think had been missing from SABBATH over the last few years. This is very much a classic BLACK SABBATH record. In fact, I didn’t expect it to come out quite this good."

In a 2012 interview with Über Röck, Martin said that he was "surprised" to see Iommi criticizing him in the guitarist's "Iron Man: My Journey Through Heaven And Hell With Black Sabbath" book (referring to the Martin period, especially the touring phase following the release of "Cross Purposes" in 1994, Iommi lambasted his former singer as "unprofessional" and having "no stage presence"). Martin said: "I mean, they never said anything to me. Surely, if you've got a problem, the first person you should say something to is the person that's in the band with you... It sounds like a really stupid thing to say, as they didn't say anything to my face — and, if that's the case, then more fool them for not saying anything, because, you know, we could have fixed it. I said to them, endlessly, that if there was anything they wanted changed, done differently, just to say and we could fix it, but clearly, they didn't, they hadn't got the guts to, obviously, and to write about it in a book afterwards seems a bit daft to me. I'm not bitter about it, but it is surprising... It seems a bit stupid to say that after the event."

Six years ago, Iommi told I Heart Guitar that "it's a shame" that "it took a lot for people to accept" Martin as SABBATH's vocalist. "It's taken all these years later for people to say, 'Oh blimey, that was a good band with good singing.' So it took a long time to get people to really realize how good it was."

In 2018, Iommi spent time in the studio remixing "Forbidden" for a future release. The LP, which features Martin, drummer Cozy Powell and bassist Neil Murray, is often regarded as SABBATH's worst studio recording.

Martin's new solo album, "Thorns", will arrive on January 14 via Battlegod Productions and Dark Star Records. Among the guest musicians appearing on the LP are Scott McClellan (who helped write the album), Danny "Danté" Needham (VENOM), Magnus Rosén (HAMMERFALL), Greg Smith (ALICE COOPER, RAINBOW, BLUE ÖYSTER CULT) and Martin's youngest son Joe.

David Lee Roth's entire Las Vegas residency has been canceled. A representative for the House Of Blues at Mandalay Bay confirmed the news to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

When the first two shows of Roth's residency were called off last week, his camp issued the following statement: "Due to unforeseen circumstances related to COVID and out of an abundance of caution for those working and attending the shows, the David Lee Roth performances schedule for Dec. 31, 2021 and Jan. 1, 2022 have been cancelled. Refunds will be automatically processed, and ticketholders will be notified directly."

Roth's performances on January 5, 7 and 8, January 14-15 and January 21-22 have now also been scrapped.

Nevada governor Steve Sisolak said on Monday (January 3) that the state recorded an "alarming" number of new COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations this holiday season. In a statement, he encouraged all Nevadans who are unvaccinated to receive one of the available COVID-19 vaccines. He also implored Nevadans to wear face masks in indoor public settings, regardless of their vaccination status. Those who are sick should stay home and seek COVID-19 testing, he added.

In October, the legendary VAN HALEN singer announced that he was ending his career with his Vegas shows during the first weeks of January. "I am throwing in the shoes. I'm retiring," Roth told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. "These are my last shows." He added: "I'm not going to explain the statement. The explanation is in a safe."

Roth also reflected on the passing of his longtime bandmate, legendary VAN HALEN guitarist Eddie Van Halen, who died of cancer a year ago.

"I thought I might have been the first, frankly," Roth said. "I might have thought the Marlboro Man would've got me. Hey, Ed, objects in the rear-view mirror are probably me. And my doctors, my handlers, compelled me to really address that every time I go on stage, I endanger that future.

"I am encouraged and compelled to really come to grips with how short time is, and my time is probably even shorter," he added.

"I know that when I am in the audience, whether you come out with a ukulele or a marching band, all I ask you give me everything you've got to give," he said. "That's what I did for the last 50 years. I've given you all I've got to give.

"It's been an amazing, great run, no regrets, nothing to say about anybody. I'll miss you all. Stay frosty."

In March 2020, Roth postponed the final six shows of his Las Vegas residency due to the coronavirus pandemic that is spreading across the globe.

Roth's latest Vegas residency kicked off on January 8, 2020 with a 15-song set that included 10 VAN HALEN classics and five songs from his solo career. Backing the now-66-year-old singer were lead guitarist Al Estrada from the VAN HALEN tribute band ERUPTION, rhythm guitarist Frankie Lindri, bassist Ryan Wheeler, keyboardist Danny Wagner and drummer Mike Mussleman.

Roth explained that he chose Vegas as the place to debut his new band because "this is where you come to celebrate and do the victory dance, whatever that means to you."

In a February 2020 interview with StarTribune, Roth openly wondered whether his first tour since VAN HALEN completed its 2015 run of shows would be the last time he would perform.

"I'm calling it 'The Last Tour'," he said at the time, "and then underneath it in parentheses: 'Unless It Isn't'. ... At my age, everything is a possible farewell tour."

"It's been a long great trip, a long great run," he continued. "But this kind of music requires the kind of energy that people in their 20s bring. You know what NFL stands for: Not For Long. It's similar in rock. I remember the days when we would stand around and say, 'Let's go have a cigarette.' And that's what we did: Four guys having one cigarette. I remember those days. They go by fast, so enjoy them while you're in them."

In February/March 2020, Roth performed as the opening act for the North American leg of KISS's "End Of The Road" farewell tour.

Roth's 2020 Vegas residency wasn't the first time he had set up shop in Sin City. Back in 1995, Roth completed a Las Vegas engagement at Bally's Hotel and Casino and another short run at MGM Grand.
























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We are seeing an alarming number of COVID-19 cases & hospitalizations reported after the holidays. We are working with health districts and other partners to provide resources to combat this surge.

Get vaccinated & if eligible, get a booster.https://t.co/ufUgXTpoJa pic.twitter.com/9GVRCuTfZ0

— Governor Sisolak (@GovSisolak) January 3, 2022

According to Billboard, the 64th annual Grammy Awards, which was originally set to take place January 31 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, will likely be postponed to a later date due to the omicron variant.

A Recording Academy spokesman told the music industry magazine that no decision has been made and urged caution against speculation set off by an unnamed source.

Last year, the 63rd annual Grammy Awards was also postponed due to concerns over the spread of COVID-19. The show eventually happened on March 14, 2021 at the Los Angeles Convention Center (moved from Staples Center, the former name of Crypto.com Arena).

This year's Grammy nominations were announced on November 23, 2021. The nominations were announced during a livestream from the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles, which featured Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. and Board Of Trustees chair Tammy Hurt, as well as some special guests.

Up for the the "Best Metal Performance" award at the 64th annual Grammy Awards are DEFTONES, DREAM THEATER, GOJIRA, MASTODON and ROB ZOMBIE.

The eligibility period for the 64th annual Grammy Awards was September 1, 2020, through September 30, 2021.

The 2022 ceremony will be the first since The Recording Academy announced that it has made significant changes to its awards process to ensure that the Grammy Awards rules and guidelines are transparent and equitable. The show no longer uses anonymous review committees to determine its nominees. Now, all nominees are based solely on thousands of votes from the Academy's voting members. They also changed the number of categories in which Academy members can vote and added two new awards.

In January 2020, former Recording Academy CEO Deborah Dugan filed a discrimination charge against the Recording Academy of Arts & Sciences, alleging she was being retaliated against for reporting misconduct within the Academy. In the 46-page complaint, Dugan further alleged that "the Grammy voting process is ripe with corruption," detailing secret committees the group used to "push forward artists with whom it has relationships." She said that as many as 30 artists who were not selected by the 12,000 voting members were added to the possible nomination l

Jeff Scott Soto has once again said that he has not idea why he was fired from JOURNEY.

Soto, who previously sang with Yngwie Malmsteen, joined JOURNEY about a week and half into a six-week summer 2006 tour with DEF LEPPARD, after Steve Augeri began having vocal issues. Soto had earlier worked with JOURNEY guitarist Neal Schon and drummer Deen Castronovo in the short-lived side project SOUL SIRKUS. JOURNEY named Soto its permanent lead singer in December 2016 before firing him just five months later.

Jeff discussed his time with JOURNEY during a recent interview with Argentinian journalist Lucas Gordon. Asked what caused his split with the band, Soto responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "The problem is I don't know. That's the problem. If I knew what the problem was, if I knew the reason why I got fired, then at least I could be at peace with it; I could find a way to discuss it or talk about it. But I'm not legally supposed to talk about it, because when we finally… It got to the point where we had to take it a legal side of things. But to get away from the legal side, I signed a document that I wouldn't talk about anything negative, anything bad about them. And I don't wanna talk negative; I don't wanna talk about anything bad. But if I knew the reason… And this is not bad — I'm not saying anything bad about them; I'm just telling you the truth. My truth is if I was told why I was fired, if I was told 'your voice sucks,' if I was told I killed one of the guys' dogs, if I made somebody in their family angry, if I was told the reason why I was fired, I could make peace with it. But to this day, 14 years later — whatever it is — I don't know. I don't have the answers. I was never given a proper reason. The only thing I was told was they had a change of heart. It didn't make sense to me. If you have a change of heart, call me up and we can say goodbye, we can hug and say, 'Hey, hopefully I can get a couple of tickets to the show with the new singer.' That kind of stuff. You can leave as friends. I came in as friends; I wanna leave as friends."

He continued: "To this day, I say it in every interview when I'm talking about JOURNEY, if they're willing to be friends, if they're willing to… I don't have an olive branch, but there's a term, if you extend the olive branch and somebody accepts it, then you can be one again. I have been extending that olive branch and I'm happy to be on friendly terms with them. I'm 55. I don't wanna leave planet earth with any enemies. I don't wanna leave with anybody hating me. I don't wanna leave with any arguments. I wanna leave with peace in my heart with everybody. And that's including JOURNEY. That's including Yngwie. That's including anybody that [I had] any problems [with] or any bad history together. So as far as I'm concerned, I would love to be able to sit down with Neal one day and hug it out and talk and be friends again. I don't want anything from them. I don't wanna be in another band with him. I don't wanna do SOUL SIRKUS again. I just want peace — I want peace, love and harmony, so that way, when I die, I can rest easy knowing that everything went in a positive way. That's all I care about."

Three years ago, Soto told "The Robbcast Podcast" that performing JOURNEY's classic songs originally sung by Steve Perry was no easy task. "It was difficult — it was really, really difficult to adapt," he admitted. "First of all, my voice was already kind of going through its changes. If I had gotten that JOURNEY gig even five years earlier, I would have destroyed, I would have just killed the range, the intensity of what Perry left behind."

Asked if JOURNEY ever made him an official member of the band, Jeff told "The Robbcast Podcast": "In December of 2006, when the entire DEF LEPPARD run was done for the year, there was an official press release that they inducted me as their permanent singer at that point. And this is the part that kind of pisses me off still to this day, because there's zero mention, there's zero attention brought to the fact that I was even in the band and I did those tours. You look at the JOURNEY web site, I don't exist — my name is not there. It goes from Perry to Augeri to Arnel [Pineda]. It's like it didn't exist. It's kind of strange. How can that not exist when I have… I have photo clippings. I even still have URL sites that show you when I was officially made a member of the band. And then for them to act like it didn't exist or to say that they wanted a signature sound and I was only supposed to be a hired gun and just to get them through the tour, that kind of bums me out, man. 'Cause have at least enough respect to tell the truth or to even sugarcoat it and say, 'Yeah, Jeff was a permanent member of the band, but we realized, as we were going into that, that it was a decision we had to change and that's why we moved on or eventually got Arnel,' or whatever. Because I was in the background listening to Neal doing interviews when we were doing the European tour, saying I was their new singer and that we could finally get past the ghost of Steve Perry and blah blah blah. I was there, and I heard all of that. And to not have that acknowledgement now, it just hurts."

Last year, Soto told the "Rehired" Internet show that he was left in a precarious position once he was fired by JOURNEY.

"I don't really go into defense mode unless I'm being attacked where it's not justified," he explained. "I went more into warrior mode, kind of survivor mode — what do I do next, kind of thing. And to be honest with you, I was just more hurt about the situation and only hurt in the sense of, everything on their social media, web site, whatever, anything that had to do with me being in the band was removed. There was no photo of me; my name was gone. It literally went from Steve Perry to Steve Augeri to Arnel Pineda. And it stinks. It stinks to feel like I didn't matter. That validation, to be able to front that band, to be able to sing those songs and to front them, and the trust and respect they gave me to be able to do that is completely washed away, because I can't even be part of their history.

"I didn't expect an invitation to the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, I didn't expect my name to be dropped, but even just to be able to see some level of positivity of my time with them, and to not have any of it, that's the part that hurt," he added.

Perry sang on many of JOURNEY's best-known hits, including "Open Arms", "Any Way You Want It", "Don't Stop Believin'" and "Who's Cryin' Now".

EXODUS drummer Tom Hunting has opened up about his battle with squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the stomach.

The 56-year-old, who underwent a successful total gastrectomy in July 2021, discussed his ordeal during an appearance on "Put Up Your Dukes", the new podcast hosted by ex-EXODUS singer Rob Dukes. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Through that, they also found mesothelioma on my abdomen, and I got surgery for that too. And that's kind of what they're keeping an eye on now. And I'm getting immunotherapy.

"Chemo is like a nuclear bomb — they put it in you, and it goes in there and kills everything: cancerous cells, healthy cells; it all just gets obliterated," he explained. "And it's hard — it's hard on your body; it's hard on your everything.

"So that's where I'm at in the journey right now. I'm getting immunotherapy. Like I said, chemo is like a nuclear bomb that kills everything, and immunotherapy is more like… it trains your immune system to go in and kill any rogue activity on a cellular level. It's a lot like some of the HIV medicines they have nowadays, and it's a lot like the COVID vaccine. It tells your immune system to go out and kill this. If it's rogue and it's in your body, it trains your immune system to go kill it."

Hunting went on to say that he is "down with the science," adding that "it's taken me this far. And I get to live."

Tom told Rob that he wants to use his experience as a cancer survivor to interact with others who may be going through a similar situation.

"I'm not qualified now, but I think in a couple of more months, they deem me qualified to talk to other people about this disease, and I'm gonna do it," he said. "'Cause I want people to know about it and I want people to get checked. Just going public with it — I don't do social media, but what I read on the EXODUS [sites] was, like, 'Hey, I'm having gut problems too,' and, 'I'm gonna go get checked out now.' I hope people get the answers they're looking for."

"I'm not saying those drugs that they give you for your gut are bad. They get you by. But if you're having what you think is a gut problem, tell 'em you wanna get scoped. 'Cause some of those scans and some of those tests, they won't pick up what's going on inside there.

"Since I'm on this journey, dude, they're fucking scanning me constantly," Tom added. "'Cause they wanna see how I'm reacting to what they're doing too. So it's all part of the science and the evolution of the science. If they can help me live — and I love my life — and I can help them develop the science to help the next batch of people who you know are gonna get this shit, that's a win-win."

Hunting rejoined his EXODUS bandmates on stage in early October at the Aftershock festival in Sacramento, California.

EXODUS tapped John Tempesta to play drums for the band at Psycho Las Vegas in Las Vegas, Nevada in August and at Full Terror Assault in Cave In Rock, Illinois in September while Hunting was recovering from surgery. Tempesta was a member of EXODUS from 1989 until 1993 and played on the band's albums "Impact Is Imminent" (1990) and "Force Of Habit" (1992).

A GoFundMe campaign to help Hunting with medical expenses had previously raised more than $114,000 — including $5,000 from Tom's former EXODUS bandmate, current METALLICA guitarist Kirk Hammett, and $1,500 from FOZZY singer and wrestling superstar Chris Jericho.

EXODUS released its new album, "Persona Non Grata", on November 19 via Nuclear Blast Records. The LP was recorded at a studio in Lake Almanor, California and was engineered by Steve Lagudi and EXODUS. It was produced by EXODUS and was mixed by Andy Sneap. For the third time in the band's history, they returned to Swedish artist Pär Olofsson to create the album artwork.

"Persona Non Grata" is the follow-up to 2014's "Blood In Blood Out", which was the San Francisco Bay Area thrashers' first release since the departure of Dukes, and the return of Steve "Zetro" Souza, who previously fronted EXODUS from 1986 to 1993 and from 2002 to 2004.

The official trailer for the long-awaited documentary about former HANOI ROCKS singer Michael Monroe is available below.

Directed by Saku Perinnön, the one-hour-and-17-minute documentary details the rise and fall of HANOI ROCKS and the band's return in the early 2000s. Former members Sami Yaffa and Nasty Suicide share their recollections from the band's past while Andy McCoy is featured in archival interviews and footage. Also interviewed for the film were Slash and Duff McKagan from GUNS N' ROSES, Chris Shiflett from FOO FIGHTERS, as well as Michael's mother.

Last spring, Monroe, who was born as Matti Antero Kristian Fagerholm in 1962 in Finland, spoke about the documentary during an appearance on a video podcast hosted by Todd Kerns, the bassist of SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY AND THE CONSPIRATORS. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "[It's gonna be] the whole story of my life, pretty much, based around the 10 years [I spent] in New York. But it starts with the beginning of HANOI, and [it's] really a documentary of my life and me. So that's in the works. But it's the kind of thing you only make once in your life, so I wanna make sure it's [done properly].

"People always say, 'What about making a movie with actors?' It's always kind of corny when people act as somebody," he continued. "But after the documentary is made, then I don't care anymore. But I wanna make it as great as possible. 'Cause it's a fascinating story, even if I say so myself.

"We already interviewed Slash and Duff [McKagan from GUNS N' ROSES] and Chris Shiflett [FOO FIGHTERS] for the original version, but we're gonna now start over and make it a documentary movie that's not only about all my accomplishments. Of course, it's great to have all these cool, great names say things about me that describe my character. But, really, make it a fascinating story, so people who do not give a shit about me or even rock and roll will be interested in watching."

Even though HANOI ROCKS was formed in Finland, their trashy, hedonistic, decadent hard rock/pop-metal boogie influenced many Los Angeles acts, including GUNS N' ROSES and MÖTLEY CRÜE.

HANOI ROCKS originally broke on to the hard rock scene in the first half of the 1980s, becoming one of the first Finnish bands to make an international impact. HANOI ROCKS's career was subsequently derailed after the 1984 death of drummer Nicholas "Razzle" Dingley, who was killed in a car accident caused by MÖTLEY CRÜE's Vince Neil. Internal tensions and the commercial disappointment that was 1985's "Rock & Roll Divorce" led to Monroe leaving the band that year, thus putting an early end to HANOI ROCKS.

Monroe's latest solo album, "One Man Gang", was released in 2019 via Silver Lining Music.

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 73-year-old musician, who was diagnosed with early-stage lymphoma a decade ago, stated in the three-minute clip (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Hello. Well, it's that time of year again. Another year — 2022. Can you believe it? Time just flies by so quick nowadays. It's been a real busy year for me, though. I've been doing a lot for the SABBATH box sets that we've had the last year, which has been interesting. I've been doing a lot of interviews, as the rest of the band have done interviews as well. So it's been good, and they've been received really well.

"A couple of interesting things have happened to me in the last year," he continued. "One being they named a fossil after me — a 480-million-year fossil, which they've called Iommi. That was brilliant. I never thought that would happen. And the next thing that happened which I, again, would never have believed is I've got my own perfume out. I was approached by Xerjoff, the luxury Italian perfume company, if I'd do my own perfume. And God, I said, 'Yeah.' I mean, that's really great for me, 'cause I've always been interested, for many, many years, in different colognes and aftershaves and whatever else. And that seemed a great opportunity to be able to get involved in something, and I have been involved with Sergio Momo, the CEO of Xerjoff, from day one. For the last two years, we've been working on this, and it's coming out really good. I also wrote a track called 'Scent Of Dark'. I was working with Mike Exeter, the engineer/producer, at my house, and we came up with this track. And I played it to Sergio, he liked it, and we've used it as the track to support the perfume. And it came out really well — I really enjoyed it, and the response has been fantastic on it. I'm continue in that vein of writing stuff like that. It was a great experience for me. And we had strings on it. It was really good. Sergio also played some guitar on it. So that worked out well. That was interesting and a good project. And we did a video with that, which was good fun, to support it. And my wife played the ghost at the end of the video, and the beginning of the video, so have a look.

"Another thing I did [is] I worked with Ozzy [Osbourne, SABBATH singer] on a track for his [upcoming solo] album," Tony added. "I wrote this track and he's done some great vocals on it. I was really pleased with what he's done; he's singing really well. So that was another project we did.

"I would also like to thank my longtime friend Ralph Baker — my manager and friend for 30-odd years. It's amazing, really. He's done a great job and he doesn't get the credit, or he hasn't got the credit that he deserves. He's been behind the scenes working hard, and he's been there night and day for me. It's been great. And thanks, Ralph.

"And finally, I'd like to thank all the fans out there, you people. You've been great and stuck by me, and you've been brilliant. And I'd like to wish you all the very best for 2022. Have a great year. Thank you."

SABBATH's final tour, "The End", concluded in February 2017 in Birmingham, closing out the quartet's groundbreaking 49-year career. "The End was SABBATH's last tour because Iommi 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 bassist Geezer Butler all playing together.

FOZZY has parted ways with longtime drummer Frank Fontsere and has replaced him with Grant Brooks (THROUGH FIRE).

The Chris Jericho-fronted outfit announced Fontsere's departure in a social media post earlier today. The band wrote: "After almost 2 decades, Frank Fontsere is stepping down as the drummer of FOZZY to focus on his family and other projects. We wish him nothing but the best and thank him for his years of maximum rock!

"However, we are SO excited to announce that after an extensive audition process, our good friend Grant Brooks is the new drummer for FOZZY!! We are stoked to unleash the pure energy & talent that Grant brings to the band and we are ready to EXPLODE in 2022 ... as we look forward to the BIGGEST year in our history! Love you guys and see you soon! - Chris, Rich, Billy & PJ."

In a separate statement on his personal Facebook page, Brooks said that he was exiting THROUGH FIRE after four years and that he is "super excited" about his new gig.

He wrote: "For 4 years I have played with THROUGH FIRE. I joined the band in the summer of 2017, starting with some of the biggest festivals I have played in my music career- from Louder Than Life with OZZY OSBOURNE to Sonic Boom with FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH, followed by touring across the USA several times. Being with THROUGH FIRE took me from being a local musician to a national touring artist and I will never forget these memories with my brothers who will always be my family. However, my time has come to an end with THROUGH FIRE. There is no bad blood and they will continue to shine with the new music coming out, that I love and know all of you will as well!

"Having said all that, I'm very happy to announce that I have accepted the offer to be the NEW official drummer for FOZZY! I'm super excited to start this journey with my friends and crew in the band. So thankful for this amazing opportunity!

"Huge shoutout to Rich Ward, aka The Duke and Chris Jericho for reaching out to me and offering me the gig.

"My first shows will be on the Jericho Cruise setting sail from Miami, Florida to Nassau, Bahamas on March 14-18!

"Thank you all for the support and can't wait for the future. So many more exciting announcements coming soon!"

Fontsere was a founding member of FOZZY, having formed the group in 1999 with Jericho and guitarist Rich Ward.

FOZZY will release its new album, "Boombox", on April 15. The LP, which includes the top 10 singles "Nowhere To Run" and "Sane", was once again produced by Johnny Andrews.

FOZZY's "Save The World" 2022 U.S. tour, featuring special guests GFM, KRASHKARMA and THE NOCTURNAL AFFAIR, starts on March 31 in Detroit, Michigan and wraps on May 16 in Sauget, Illinois. Additionally, to celebrate the arrival of "Boombox", FOZZY will play an album-release party on April 11 at Irving Plaza in New York City, where fans will be able to purchase and listen to the full album exclusively in advance of the release.

FOZZY debuted a brand new song, "Purifier", during its September 2021 concert in Flint, Michigan and has been performing it live ever since. Back in July, FOZZY played another new song, "The Vulture Club", during its concert in Iowa City, Iowa. The band also performed its latest single, "Sane", live for the first time.

In May, FOZZY dropped a video for its first new song in two years, the aforementioned "Sane", which hit one million views in its first two weeks. This first-of-its-kind video was filmed on the longest wooden roller coaster on the planet today.

In the summer of 2020, Chris revealed that FOZZY's next LP would contain 12 songs, including one cover.

Ward and Andrews once again did "the lion's share" of the songwriting for the new LP, which was recorded primarily in Atlanta, Georgia.

In addition to producing "Judas", Andrews previously co-wrote FOZZY's "Lights Go Out" track back in 2014. He has also written songs with the likes of ALL THAT REMAINS, THREE DAYS GRACE and HALESTORM.

In November 2020, FOZZY appeared in its first global live streaming event from Madison Studios in Atlanta, Georgia.

FOZZY is Chris Jericho (vocals), Rich Ward (guitars, vocals), Grant Brooks (drums), Billy Grey (guitars) and P.J. Farley (bass).




FOZZY ANNOUNCES NEW DRUMMER!! pic.twitter.com/bYiEYWmrbm

— FOZZY (@FOZZYROCK) January 3, 2022






Hey guys, I have an announcement to share!

For 4 years I have played with Through Fire. I joined the band in the...

Posted by Grant Brooks on Monday, January 3, 2022

In a new interview with Metal Global, Gary Holt discussed the fact that EXODUS is composed of members with different political ideologies. "We're in one of the last of a dying breed — opposite ends of the political spectrum that still love each other and get along," he said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). "If the whole world could be more like EXODUS, we'd be a lot better off. [Laughs]

"Three-fifths of EXODUS are conservatives and two-fifths are liberal, with one of them — me — being kind of a centrist; I'm kind of in the middle," he continued. "And we're still just brothers for life.

"You don't argue politics and religion with people you disagree with; that's what they always say. So, as a band, we don't sit on the bus and start arguing about politics. We'd rather talk about UFO versus RAINBOW, which one is better."

Back in April 2020, Holt spoke in more detail about the different political opinions within the EXODUS camp, telling the "No Fuckin' Regrets With Robb Flynn" podcast: "Everybody knows I'm liberal on hella shit, but I'm also super conservative on hella shit too. And those are just my own opinions, and I leave them off my [social media] 'cause it starts a huge fight. People are, like, 'Ah, liberal snowflake EXODUS.' And I'm, like, motherfucker, three-fifths of EXODUS are Trump-loving Republicans — the majority of the band. Lee [Altus, guitar], Jack [Gibson, bass] and Zetro [Steve Souza, vocals] — it's full-on."

This past fall, Souza defended his past support of Donald Trump, telling Australia's "Scars And Guitars" podcast that "gas has gone up a full dollar since he's gone out of office" and "that nobody" in the current Biden administration is "really doing anything right now. I have not seen our government do anything; they're just sitting back like they always do and just cruise. I thought [former U.S. president Barack] Obama did the same thing. He just got in office and, 'I'm the president.' 'What are you doing today?' 'I'm just being the president. If something comes up, I'll get with it.' But I don't see him getting out there. Fucking Trump, you heard his goddamn name every day, whether you liked it or not. He was trying to close up the borders and build a wall. People didn't like that.

"Do you know, when I go to Australia or Mexico, I have to fucking get a visa to come into your countries. Why doesn't anybody have to have a visa to come into my country? That's bullshit. And that's all [Trump] was trying to do. But people [said], 'No, he's a racist, and he doesn't like Latin people.'"

Souza went on to say that he wasn't always a dyed-in-the wool Republican. "Through my life — I'm 57 years old — and I've voted Democrat many, many times," he said. "I vote for who the guy I think can do it. And over the last 10 years, I completely went right wing."

Three years ago, Souza said that he supported then-President Donald Trump, explaining in an interview: "The economy in the United States… the unemployment is the lowest it's ever been in the history of the United States. I think [Trump] making the attempt to go to meet [North Korean leader] Kim Jong-un, I think that's great — that's what you need to do. People need to touch together, not do it through channels."

In a 2016 interview, Holt ripped Trump, saying: "You can't believe anything he says, 'cause he's a serial liar… He won't even condemn David Duke's support. He pretended he doesn't know who he is… That was your moment, Donald Trump, to say… you know, to condemn the man, basically, but you pretended you were just ignorant of who he was, 'cause you don't wanna fuck with that vote. There are some fucking hillbillies out there who you want voting for you."

Holt went on to say that he was "in many ways a Republican" but that he hadn't been able to find "a candidate up there who wasn't walked around on a leash by the Christian evangelicals, because they're the death of the conservative movement anyway. And if they just stay out of women's wombs and just actually concentrate on running a country and not being beholden to those people, I would vote Republican in a second."

Holt added that he had had productive discussions about the political situation with his bandmates. "I know people, including my own bandmembers in EXODUS, who, you might not agree with them, but I'd love to see some uptight, metal-hating, I-know-everything-about-politics dude go up against Jack Gibson in an argument," he said. "It might come to a draw. It's a debate — like, if you disagree with him, you're not gonna win — but he knows his fucking facts. And we're not all idiots. We actually do know what's going on in the world around us."

EXODUS's latest album, "Persona Non Grata", was released on November 19 via Nuclear Blast Records.

SHADOWS FALL, the Massachusetts metal band which was at the forefront of the New Wave of American Metal scene that dominated the '00s, reunited to play a one-off show on December 18, 2021 at The Palladium in Worcester in their native Massachusetts. Also appearing on the bill were UNEARTH, DARKEST HOUR, WITHIN THE RUINS, SWORN ENEMY and CARNIVORA.

In a new interview with the Podioslave Podcast, conducted just days after the reunion gig, SHADOWS FALL singer Brian Fair stated about the comeback performance (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It was insane, man. It couldn't have gone any better than we could have hoped for. It was a long time coming. We sort of fizzled out as far as we never had a last big show to kind of head off into the sunset. We still all loved making music together, we all still loved playing shows, but life was just getting in the way. I was about to have my second kid; Paul [Romanko, bass] had already had a kid. It was just getting tough, so we sort of fizzled out. So, over the last few years, we would kind of, every now and then, just float the idea of, like, 'Yeah, we should probably play a show.' But then at five years, we were, like, 'All right. It's been long enough. We really wanna do this.' And we had a date, and we were all systems go, and then COVID happened. Literally, we were gonna announce probably three weeks before the world shut down. Thankfully, we didn't, so we could kind of just, like, 'All right…' It's not like we had to announce it and then retract. And it gave us some more time to really think about what we wanted to do.

"The key was for us we weren't trying to do like a quick throw-and-go, make-some-money-and-just-disappear thing," he explained. "We were, like, 'We want a sick bill that makes sense.' So once we got SWORN ENEMY, DARKEST HOUR and UNEARTH to sign on, we were, like, 'All right. That's where we wanna start. We want bands that make sense that are our crew.' And then we also wanted to get some local, kind of younger bands. Matt [Bachand, rhythm guitar] had been working with CARNIVORA forever. And we knew the WITHIN THE RUINS guys. And we were, like, 'All right, we've got our bill.' We knew it was gonna be at The Palladium before. That was like our backyard; that was like our hometown spot. We played so many metal fests and opened so many great shows [at that venue]."

Fair added: "And then we were, like, 'We also want to be razor-sharp prepared.' We were not known for rehearsing very diligently back in the day. We were kind of a lazy band when it came to practicing. We'd always get halfway through the set and be, like, 'We know 'Destroyer Of Senses'. We don't need to play it again.' And then you realize, 'We probably should have dusted it off.' So we really all focused and practiced like crazy, on our own and then together. And, man, that was probably as good as we've ever sounded. We were super ready. The crowd was incredible. We brought in an awesome crew and great production. We brought in the lights; we did the whole deal. We were, like, 'We're not nickel-and-diming this shit. It's gonna be a fucking party.' And it was, man. It was awesome. My family was out. I had the kids up on stage with me at one point. And Paul's kid came out. They got to see their dads being cool at least once, and not just on YouTube. The vibe was very celebratory. [There] was a crazy pit and people were going nuts, but it wasn't an angry vibe in there at all. It was very welcoming and very humbling as well."

Asked if there is any chance of SHADOWS FALL working on new music, Fair said: "We've talked about writing stuff, and there's a very definitive SHADOWS FALL approach to writing. So if Matt or Jon [Donais, lead guitar] or Paul had ideas that really made sense, I'd see us pursuing 'em. But nothing right now. All we wanted to do is get through this show — we wanted to get through it, see if we could pull it off, see how it went. And now we're, like, 'Okay, now we can think about if we wanna do something else.' But nothing planned right now. I know Jon and Matt are riff machines — I'm sure they've got stuff — but they do also have other projects they're working on too… But right now we're just kind of recovering a little bit, trying to make sure I get my neck back in shape."

SHADOWS FALL released a statement in August 2014 in which the bandmembers explained that financial difficulties made it virtually impossible for the group to continue as a full-time concern.

In August 2015, SHADOWS FALL played a few reunion shows on the U.S. East Coast, one year after completing what was being billed at the time as the band's "final" European tour.

SHADOWS FALL's latest album, "Fire From The Sky", released in May 2012 via Razor & Tie. The CD sold around 10,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 38 on The Billboard 200 chart.

Donais and Bachand recently launched a new project called LIVING WRECKAGE, in which they are joined by guitarist Matt LeBreton (DOWNPOUR), drummer Jon Morency (LET US PREY) and vocalist Jeff Gard DEATH RAY VISION.

Kelly Garni, original bassist and founding member of QUIET RIOT, joined the current version of the band on stage this past Friday (December 31) at Fremont Country Club in Las Vegas, Nevada to perform the classic song "Slick Black Cadillac". Video of his appearance can be seen below.

Two days prior to the gig, Garni took to his personal Facebook page to write: "Here's what I'm doing NYE. For the first time in 43 years, I will be doing a song with QUIET RIOT! I am very excited about it and hope to see many of my Vegas friends! And, you can't beat $30 to do anything in Vegas on NYE! Come on down and help me bring in the new year! Be advised: if you comment with any of that shit about 'this isn't really QR,' you will be GONE as soon as I see it. Besides, Rudy's back. Ain't that enough?"

A day after the show, he returned to his Facebook to share the above-mentioned video and he wrote in an accompanying message: "Last night was unbelievable! A big thanks to my QUIET RIOT family for having me and making me feel so welcome!"

Garni is best known for playing with Randy Rhoads and Kevin DuBrow in QUIET RIOT and playing on the two Japanese releases "Quiet Riot" (1977) and "Quiet Riot II" (1978).

Three years ago, Garni told The Metal Voice that he was fired from QUIET RIOT in 1978 after he shot a gun through the ceiling during a "big drunken plan" to kill DuBrow.

"People say I tried to kill Randy Rhoads with a gun," he said. "People call me out on that one all the time and I almost got into a fist fight with Ozzy [Osbourne] about it. Nothing could be further from the truth."

He continued: "When it comes to Randy, everyone thinks he was so angelic. Well, we used to go out and shoot guns all the time. One time the S.W.A.T. team was called at my house because we were firing guns off in my backyard. What happened was I had robbed a bar the night before and stolen all their liquor and I was very drunk. That's why Randy was at my house, because we were drinking and we were drinking for about six hours straight."

Garni went on to say: "Randy and I had an argument over whether we should kick out Kevin DuBrow from QUIET RIOT. People say that during that fight I tried to shoot Randy Rhoads and that is not true. I fired a bullet through the ceiling. The bullet went nowhere near Randy Rhoads and in no way would I ever try to kill my best friend. And yes, a pretty good fist fight happened — a rather violent one. Randy left my house bleeding pretty badly and so did I. But that is what friends and brothers do is they roll around the ground, beat each other up and that's all it was."

The fight resulted in Garni's dismissal from the band. "I was kicked out of QUIET RIOT because of this," he said. "I have no problems saying that. Once I started to pull a gun out, the management said, 'He is out of control,' which I agree to that decision that they made and have no issues with. I deserved to get fired from QUIET RIOT — totally deserved it."

Garni released his autobiography, "Angels With Dirty Faces", in 2012. A press release at the time described the book as "a very heartfelt and earnest look" at Kelly's life and music and said it offered an "all-access pass" into every corner of his world, including his lifelong friendship with Rhoads.

QUIET RIOT's current lineup includes bassist Rudy Sarzo who rejoined the band in 2021 after an 18-year absence.

Rudy was one of the members of QUIET RIOT's "Metal Health" lineup. He played bass on the classic LP, which sold over ten million copies and spawned the hits "Cum On Feel The Noize" and "Metal Health" and on the follow-up record "Condition Critical".




Last night was unbelievable! A big thanks to my Quiet Riot family for having me and making me feel so welcome!

Posted by Kelly Garni on Saturday, January 1, 2022

The clip below was shot at UrRock Festival in Sarnen, Switzerland on November 12th, 2021. This was Firewind's first show in two years, as well as the first show with new frontman Herbie Langhans.


Video footage by Dani Gonzalez, Jimmy Tott and Stephanie Roux. Video edit by Gus G.


 







"New Found Power", the title of Firewind's new single and music video, perfectly describes the current spirit of the Greek power metal masters.


The band’s latest incarnation, since 2019, of course led by former Ozzy Osbourne axeman Gus G. is fronted by singer Herbie Langhans (Avantasia), a powerhouse vocalist par excellence. Langhans‘ addition to the group’s ranks gave a new kind of energy to Firewind and after the release of the band’s latest (self-titled) album in May 2020, now the new single, "New Found Power", continues the Firewind legacy with a heavy, uplifting power metal track of highest quality.


"New Found Power" is also part of the AFM Records label compilation, 25 Years Metal Addiction, which includes 30 rare or previously unreleased tracks and comes as 2CD digipak (out now).


"We recently met in our rehearsal room in Thessaloniki, Greece, to film what we all missed so much: playing together. That’s why the 'New Found Power' music video comes without fancy effects or anything: it’s just the four of us playing this cool new song and embracing it", Gus G. comments. "We really hope to see all our fans on the upcoming 20th anniversary tour. It’s been way too long and we can’t wait to celebrate 20 years of Firewind with a wild ride through our history."

Hailing from the birthplace of rock n’ roll, The Static Wake have released their heavy-hitting “Natural Selection”, which provides the soundtrack to criticism of climate change, nuclear war, corruption, and more that have massively effected the world.


The Static Wake first formed in 2019 as a culmination of Cleveland and Pittsburgh musicians, and later released their debut single, “Take This To Your Grave”, the same year. “Natural Selection” marks the five-piece unit’s first release of 2022.







“Natural Selection” begins with a blistering intro that leans heavily into the group’s crunchy and technical guitar skills before the drums enter and build the overall suspense of where the track is headed. As the track grows beneath the guitars, drums, and melodic synth work, frontman Radames Colón’s vocals metaphorically punch the listener in the mouth, opening the track with, “Fade with the memories of what we try to forget/A planet doomed and forsaken.”


“Writing the lyrics I took a lot of inspiration from what is going on with climate change along with different events that have happened in recent years,” vocalist Radames Colón says of “Natural Section”. “The song is more or less just my thoughts on the direction the world seems to be going.”


Evident through the track’s critical lyrics, reading, “We’ve awakened a monster we can’t control/Our selfishness taking its toll/Our self destruction will swallow us whole/This is our natural selection.”


The Static Wake’s “Natural Selection” was produced, mixed, and mastered by Danny Cullman at Silver Creek Studios. The five-piece previously worked with Cullman on their debut EP in 2020.





(Photo - Andrew Bastion Photography)

Former ANTHRAX and current ARMORED SAINT singer John Bush, who was offered an opportunity to join METALLICA in the early '80s but turned it down, spoke about his decision in a new interview with Waste Some Time With Jason Green. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I've been talking about this for many years now. I'm always gonna be completely super flattered about the fact that I was asked to join METALLICA back in the early '80s. It just was never meant to be my destiny, is what I always say. There's no other singer that should have been the singer of METALLICA other than James Hetfield. That was meant to be, and that's kind of the way I see it. Like I say, I'm always flattered that I'm always connected to the history of that band — it's a huge feather in my cap, so to speak — but at the end of the day, it just was not my destiny to be the singer of METALLICA. I had a different fate in store."

Bush also talked about joining METALLICA on stage on December 7, 2011 for the second of four intimate shows at the Fillmore in San Francisco as part of the week-long celebration of the band's 30th anniversary as a band for fan club members only. "Yes, that was very cool," he said. "That was an awesome experience. We did that at the Fillmore in San Francisco. It was the 30th-anniversary shows that METALLICA did, which were really, really cool. They had all these various guests coming on stage with them at the time — everyone from Ozzy [Osbourne] to King Diamond to Lou Reed to Marianne Faithful; a lot of people associated with METALLICA through the years. And ARMORED SAINT, we got to open for [METALLICA] that one particular show — one of the four — and then that was the day that I actually came on stage and sang 'The Four Horsemen' with them, which was an incredible experience. And the whole thing was really, really awesome — just a beautiful thing to be a part of. So I always have that as a great memory in my life. We had a couple of friends that were there that came with us, and my wife was there. And we had a lot of fun doing that. Like I said, I'm really flattered that METALLICA thought of me as a person that was good enough to be in their band. But, like I said, it just wasn't meant to be something that happened for the rest of the band's career."

Anther singer who was being considered for the frontman position in METALLICA was Jess Cox of Newcastle, England's TYGERS OF PAN TANG.

Bush later said in an interview: "METALLICA did ask me to join, but I said no for all the right reasons. People must think that's crazy, but you have to remember the scene then. METALLICA was nobody. ARMORED SAINT was hot; you have to remember that. Also, I was very tight with the [ARMORED SAINT] guys, back to elementary school in fact. ARMORED SAINT was getting interest from all kinds of places, and we had a lot of people starting to turn up at shows."

He continued: "METALLICA came to see SAINT at a gig in Anaheim, at The Woodstock in 1982. I heard they were interested in asking me to join, which they did later. The thing was that METALLICA was this new kind of thing, and nobody back then. I don't care what they say now; nobody could have predicted what would happen. I didn't know the guys either, so there was no real interest. It was great to be asked — in fact, a lot of people asked — but ARMORED SAINT was really strong.

"Some time after 'Kill 'Em All' had come out, I heard the same thing again, but I never understood that because James was singing great then and he was doing a great job. I understood the lack of confidence back in '82 but not for 'Ride The Lightning'. James owns that record."

In a 1989 interview with Metal Forces, drummer Lars Ulrich talked about what METALLICA could have sounded like had Bush ended up fronting the group. He said: "Only a couple of days ago, we were actually sitting around talking about how it would be now if John Bush had joined the band. Obviously, it's impossible to know how different it would have been, but I can't imagine METALLICA without James Hetfield up there growling into the microphone, fucking curved over and everything. It's really weird to think about it. I mean, nothing against John Bush — I think he's a great vocalist — but ... Well, thank God it didn't happen."

Video of SEPULTURA drummer Eloy Casagrande playing the song "Hope Refuge" from CASAGRANDE & HANYSZ, his prog metal project with João Hanysz, can be seen below.

CASAGRANDE & HANYSZ's debut EP, "Edge Of Chaos", was released in September. The effort was produced, recorded and mixed by Andre Kbelo and was mastered by Carlinhos Freitas.

Last summer, guitarist Andreas Kisser spoke to France's Loud TV about how Casagrande's addition to has affected SEPULTURA's sound.

"We're very lucky to have such great musicians here in Brazil, especially in drumming," he said. "We have great drummers and percussionists. You see [Carlos] Santana and all those great names, Paul Simon and stuff, always using some Brazilian here and there regarding the drum world. And Eloy started playing drums very early. He was made for SEPULTURA, man. I mean, he played in some other bands and stuff, but here with SEPULTURA, he's really exploding; he's really free to express himself the way he wants to, and SEPULTURA's music really provides that. And in exchange, he gave me especially to write many new possibilities. I think 'Machine Messiah' and 'Quadra' are the consequence of that interaction we have, which is great. It's so inspiring. It's fantastic.

"We are kind of always writing," he continued. "Sometimes he sends me some drum loops and I send him some riffs and stuff, and it's really cool that we build stuff from there. And he's a very professional guy — the best drummer in the world; at least for SEPULTURA he's the best. [Laughs]"

In February 2020, SEPULTURA singer Derrick Green told Australia's Everblack Media that Casagrande has had "a tremendous impact" on the group since he joined in 2011. "It's undeniable because he's such a strong force," he said. "He loves playing metal music. He's one of the most talented drummers I've ever seen, honestly. That power is consistent from beginning to the end. It really has rubbed off on all of us to really push ourselves further. He's such a perfect match for the band. He really is always influencing us in so many ways to really go beyond — above and beyond."

In 2019, Eloy told Drumtalk that he didn't care about the long-simmering feud between founding SEPULTURA members Max and Igor Cavalera and his current bandmates. "I respect all the history," he said. "I have total respect for the past drummers, Igor and Jean [Dolabella]. They are amazing guys, incredible guys, but we just live in the present. I really don't care what happened, what didn't happen. I respect all the music. I respect their music nowadays. It's just that we have to follow our path and that's it."

Casagrande joined SEPULTURA 10 years ago as the replacement for Dolabella.

SEPULTURA's latest album, "Quadra", was released in February 2020 via Nuclear Blast. The LP was created at Sweden's Fascination Street Studios with renowned producer Jens Bogren.

SEPULTURA comprises Green, Kisser, bassist Paulo Xisto Pinto Jr. and Casagrande.

Creator-Destructor Records presents Oakland, California-based melodic death metal band, Darkness Everywhere. The new act has completed production on their debut EP, The Seventh Circle, set for release in late February, today unleashing the lead single, “Reign Of Chaos”, alongside the cover art and more.


Darkness Everywhere unites vocalist/guitarist/drummer Ben Murray, guitarist Cameron Stucky, and renowned producer engineer Zack Ohren on bass. The band formed in late 2020 with the goal of writing songs heavily influenced by the classic mid-1990s Swedish melodic death metal sound. This isn’t the individual members’ first round around the block when it comes to melodic death metal, as Murray is a founding member of Bay Area band Light This City, and Stucky is a member of symphonic melodic metal act, Crepuscle. Ohren recorded and produced all of Light This City’s albums throughout the past twenty years and continues to be one of the leading metal producers in the industry, having worked with Machine Head, All Shall Perish, and many more.


The glory years of early In Flames, At the Gates, and Dark Tranquillity are what largely inform the sound and aesthetic of Darkness Everywhere. The core of the band is built on the feel of those legendary records, while offering a refreshing take on the no frills melodic death metal sound akin to the output of modern outfits Darkest Hour, The Haunted, and God Forbid. The band wastes no time in getting to the point of melodic death metal riffing and driving, thrashing tempos.




The Seventh Circle refers to the Dante’s Seventh Layer Of Hell, where acts of violence in life are punished in death. The endless torture inflicted upon human souls for their past sins of hatred is an all-consuming reality in the lyrical themes of the seven songs that comprise Darkness Everywhere’s debut EP. The record was recorded in late 2020 at Sharkbite Studios in Oakland, engineered and produced by Zack Ohren, and completed with cover artwork by Samuel Nelson. Additionally, The Seventh Circle features guest vocals from Laura Nichol (Light This City) on “Survival Of The Sun,” John Henry (Darkest Hour) on “The Grand Impact,” and X on “The Seventh Circle.”


The lead single from Darkness Everywhere and The Seventh Circle, “Reign Of Chaos,” is now playing at all digital streaming services. Listen below.


The Seventh Circle will see digital release on February 25 through Creator-Destructor - the label owned and operated by the band’s Ben Murray - with a vinyl version to follow shortly after. Find digital pre-orders here.





The Seventh Circle tracklisting:


"Apocalyptic Nightmares"
"Darkness Everywhere"
"The Grand Impact"
"Lost Dimensions"
"Reign Of Chaos"
"Survival Of The Sun"
"The Seventh Circle"


"Reign Of Chaos":





Lineup:


Ben Murray – guitar/drums/vocals
Cameron Stucky – guitar
Zack Ohren – bass


(Photo - Michelle Nisbet)

UK-based rockers, Black Spiders, performed at the 2021 edition of Bloodstock Open Air, on August 15 at Catton Hall and Gardens, Walton-on-Trent, England. Pro-shot video of the band's full set can be seen below.


Setlist:


Intro/"Death Comes Creepin'"
"Stay Down"
"Fly In The Soup"
"What Good's A Rock Without A Roll?"
"Balls"
"Wizard Shall Not Kill Wizard"
"Give Em What They Want"
"KISS Tried To Kill Me"
"Stick It To The Man"
"Good Times"
"Stabbed In The Back"
"Just Like A Woman"
"Down To The River"
"Teenage Knife Gang"
"Blood Of The Kings"

Are we threatened with technological enslavement? Warsaw-based heavy metal band, Scream Maker, answers affirmatively with their new dystopian video, "Mirror, Mirror", which is promoting their new album, BloodKing, out on January 27. You can watch the music video below.


"Artificial intelligence, computers and automation could be a blessing, but in the wrong hands, such as those of autocratic rulers or oligarchs, they become a threat to our freedom. This is what we sing about in this song. The corrupting nature of power is a main theme throughout the entire album. The lyrics were written before the pandemic, but they are even more relevant today," says Sebastian Stodolak, the band's frontman.







Scream Maker is a Warsaw-based heavy metal band that has been on the market for over a decade. Scream Maker has released four music albums, including the one described above, played over 300 concerts, including those at the Metalfest festival and the Przystanek Woodstock festival, as well as six tours in China. The group has opened for Judas Priest, Megadeth, Motorhead and Saxon, among others. The band is also known for its collaboration with Jordan Rudess (Dream Theater), Alessandro Del Vecchio (Jorn) and for organizing a memorial concert in memory of Ronnie James Dio. The band music is played on the airwaves of Antyradio, "Trójka", Radio Wnet or Radio Rzeszów.


The new album of Scream Maker is entitled BloodKing. It will see the light of day on January 27. The band is already conducting a pre-sale. Just send an email to screammakerband@gmail.com.


The band's last album, Back Against The World, was released in 2016, and since then the band has been busy with touring.


"We've already toured China 6 times, we organize the Dio memorial every year. The songs for the new album have been composed long ago, but there was a lack of breath to sit down, rip, mix and release them," says Sebastian.


Jan Radosz, the band's bassist, who recorded the album, adds that, "while the sound of the previous two albums was the responsibility of Alessandro Del Vecchio, known, among others, from Jorn Lande's band, this album we entrusted to our compatriot Tomasz "Zed" Zalewski. But Alessandro also worked on it mixing two tracks. I think the album also stands out in terms of drums. Here Kuba Mikulski and Przemek Nalazek shared their talent."


Sebastian laid down the melody lines, Jan co-arranged and recorded the tracks, but it is primarily Michał Wrona who is behind the compositions. "I think that on this album we show a bit different face than on the previous albums, much more aggressive and progressive at the same time, although we don't avoid traditional, catchy classic heavy metal themes. It's hard to get rid of Judas Priest or Iron Maiden inspirations," adds Michał.


The album consists of as many as 15 compositions, which opens up a real space for diversity. Thrash motifs of the title track "BloodKing" contrast with melodic compositions like "Join The Mob" or progressive "Candle In The Wind".

Amaranthe have released the new video below, stating: "In the spirit of our new single and gaming anthem, 'PvP', Elize and Olof test their VR skills playing Beat Saber. We hope you enjoy this video! And that you can play the game better than us..."





After delivering the official anthem for the Swedish team at the international e-sports world championship, Amaranthe followed up with level two and unveiled a music video for "PvP".







Directed by Poland's Grupa13, who previously worked with the band on "Archangel" and "BOOM!1", the video can be found below. Stream or download the song here.





Lineup:


Elize Ryd - vocals
Olof Mörck - guitars, keyboards
Henrik "GG6" Englund Wilhelmsson - vocals
Johan Andreassen - bass
Morten Løwe Sørensen - drums
Nils Molin - vocals

Dutch symphonic metal legends, Epica, have released an HD remastered edition of their music video for "The Phantom Agony", the title track of their first full-length studio album, released in 2003 via Dutch label, Transmission Records.


Says Epica: "To kick-off our 20th Anniversary year, we’re throwing the full HD remastered version of ‘The Phantom Agony’ at you! This was the first-ever music video we released back in 2003. it took about 5 full days and nights to shoot this epic story dealing with witch-hunts, it is very cool to look back at this starting point of our career and to see it leading to where we are today. Enjoy!!"

Ian Parry celebrated his 40th year as a professional singer songwriter with the release of the new album by his melodic power rock / neo classical metal band, Rock Emporium. The album, Brute Force, was released in mid-2021 via Metal Mind Productions.


Parry has released a video for the album opener, "In Isolation", stating: "Happy New Year everyone. 2022 kicks off with a new video clip from Rock Emporium 2 Brute Force, 'In Isolation'. This powerful melodic classic metal track written by Bob Wijtsma (music) & Ian Parry (lyrics & vocal melody), features the very talented musicians whom performed the music on 'In Isolation' from the Brute Force album:


Ian Parry - vocals
Bob Wijtsma (Ex-libris) - guitar
Kris Gildenlow (Kayak/ Pain of Salvation) - bass
Jereon van der Wiel (Odyssice/ Rock Emporium) - Keyboards  
Sander Zoer (Delain) - drums.




"Filmed on location in the Netherlands by Lars Wijtsma and I did the outdoor scenes in France last summer which was lots of laughs also with the band again. Hope we do get a chance to play live again soon. Stay safe Ian."





Brute Force was produced by Ian and mixed by engineer / producer/ guitarist Fabio Calluori at Sonic Temple Studios Italy (Heimdall/Stamina/Sellitto).





Brute Force features heart breaking and powerful performances and songs, which go from strength to strength with a compelling impulse to listen again. Alongside Ian Parry are musicians/singers out the world of metal & members of well-known bands such as:


Beth-Ami Heavenstone (Graham Bonnet band)
Timo Somers (Delain)
Martin Helmantel (Elegy)
Barend Courbois (Blind Guardian)
Allan Sorensen (Royal Hunt / Pretty Maids)
Patrick Rondat (Jean-Michel Jarre / Consortium Project)
Patrick Johansson & Svante Henryson (Malmsteen)
Kris Gildenlöw (Pain of Salvation / Dial)
Luca Sellitto (Stamina)
Walter Cianciusi, Enrico Cianciusi & Dario Parente (Jeff Tate Band / Headless)
Ivar De Graaf (Within Temptation / Kingfisher Sky)
Bob Wijtsma (Ayreon)
Jeroen van der Wiel (Odyssice / Rock Emporium 1)
Sander Zoer (Leah/Delain)


Special guest singers include Wade Black (Crimson Glory /  Leatherwolf / Seven Witches); Stefano Sbrignadello (Stamina) and Ani Lozanavo (Ani Lo Band). Additional guest: guitar solo on the bonus track "One Vision" performed by Fabio Calluori (Heimdall).





Tracklisting:


"In Isolation"
"Darkest Secrets"
"‘Til The Day I Die"
"My Confession"
"Brute Force"
"Fairytale"
"Lethal Injection"
"Rings Of Fire"
"Dreamworld"
"Where Do We Go From Here"


Bonus track for Japan & Sub-licensing:
"One Vision" (Tribute to Queen & Freddie Mercury)

George Lynch says that he was the one who originally suggested to John 5 to release an album via a series of music videos, one song at a time, before unleashing the full-length effort.

In 2019, John 5 adopted an interesting approach to issuing his "Invasion" LP — instead of releasing it all at once; he made it available one song at a time, with an accompanying music video, on the first day of each month for several months, before dropping the album in July of that year.

During appearance on "Guitar Autopsy", the video podcast hosted by Rusty Cooley, Lynch discussed the idea of releasing a series of singles a couple of months apart before unveiling the full album. After Rusty floated the prospect of making individual songs available prior to the release of the actual LP, Lynch said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I had that exact same thought a few years ago, and I was talking to John 5. I was at [a studio] in Burbank and John was there. There was a little studio there, a guitar-centric studio, and he was working in there. And I was talking to him and the engineer about that idea — that actual same idea, what you just said. I was, like, put out a song a month, you buy the song a month, and we're gonna have a video for each song. And then, at the end of the year, we'll take those 12 songs and we'll repackage it and resell it as a CD and get paid twice and do this whole thing with a bonus track and all this stuff. He turned around and did exactly that. Not that it was my proprietary idea, but it just kind of [was], like, 'Wow.' Then I remember going back in there and him telling me about it like it was his idea. Or no — it was his engineer who was telling me about it. 'Yeah, man, we're gonna do this thing…' I go, 'Yeah, that's kind of what I was telling you about, like, a year and a half ago. But that's cool.'"

Lynch added: "I never ended up doing it. And I wondered how it worked out for him — if that actually was a smart way to go. Because the downside is you've gotta be promoting and marketing everything for a whole year versus a regular record album cycle, [which is] 30 days now, or 45 days or something."

Back in 2019, John 5 told "Wired In The Empire" that "releasing a new song and a new video every month" was something he had "been working on for a long time." He added: "I think it's a really great way to do something like that. It keeps the record alive and keeps people interested in what's going on with everything so a record doesn't die in a month or something. It keeps the record alive for a little while and it's wonderful. It really has been working out well. The songs — we've been having a lot of fun playing them and we've really been having a great time."

Over the past four years, Lynch has appeared on recordings by THE END MACHINE, KXM, ULTRAPHONIX and SWEET & LYNCH. He released his first-ever full-length instrumental album, "Seamless", in August via Rat Pak Records.

John 5's latest solo album, "Sinner", came out on October 29 via Big Machine Records. The LP was produced and mixed by Barry Pointer at Riott House Studio in North Hollywood.

New video of former IRON MAIDEN singer Paul Di'Anno receiving lymphatic drainage treatments in Zagreb, Croatia can be seen below.

A lymphatic drainage massage relieves swelling that happens when medical treatment or illness blocks the lymphatic system. It involves gently manipulating specific areas of the body to help lymph move to an area with working lymph vessels.

The 63-year-old musician, who has battled a number of health issues in recent years and is currently in a wheelchair, traveled to Croatia to undergo knee surgery.

Last January, Kastro Pergjoni, operations director of the Cart & Horses pub in Stratford, London, England where IRON MAIDEN made its live debut in 1976, launched a crowdfunding campaign on JustGiving for Di'Anno to be treated privately. More than £13,000 was raised — roughly the cost for surgery on one of Paul's knees. A second crowdfunding campaign was launched over the summer and has raised more than £13,000 of a £26,000 target.

Di'Anno reportedly underwent an operation in 2016 to remove a "rugby ball-sized abscess" on his lungs and required a knee-replacement operation on both knees after getting involved in several motorcycle accidents over the years. As a result, Di'Anno was forced to sit down while performing at his most recent shows.

Di'Anno recorded two classic albums with IRON MAIDEN — a self-titled effort in 1980 and "Killers" in 1981 — before being fired and replaced by Bruce Dickinson. He went on to front a number of other bands, including KILLERS and BATTLEZONE, and released several solo records.

In March 2011, Di'Anno was sentenced to nine months in a U.K. prison after he falsely collected government benefits by claiming he suffered nerve damage to his back that prevented him from working.

Di'Anno completed his first North American tour in early 2010, 17 years after he was deported following a prison term for guns and drug offenses.

Pergjoni, who has been behind Cart & Horses since 2016, leasing the pub from the building's owners who are converting the beer garden and car park into flats, discussed his fundraising efforts during a 2020 appearance on the "Uncle Steve's Iron Maiden Zone" podcast. Asked if he has approached the members of IRON MAIDEN themselves to contribute in some way to the Di'Anno campaign, Kastro said: "Myself, no, I haven't, to be honest, because I don't wanna put things… What's the best way to say it now? It's not up to me to go to them, because I have no connections with IRON MAIDEN themselves. Even when I [need to approach] Steve [Harris, IRON MAIDEN bassist and founder], I go through his friends or his sister sometimes or close friends that he's got to get stuff from him. But to go to MAIDEN for something that is related to MAIDEN, I don't think that it is me personally, or Cart & Horses, the ones to contact them. I'd love if they come forward and just cover whatever is left or say whatever, but I don't think it's down to me to go to MAIDEN. Because [Paul's] got friends and he's got connections with MAIDEN more than I have, so if MAIDEN wanted to, or if somebody else wanted to, they would have done it. But so far, nothing, unfortunately, no."

In a December 2019 interview with the Spanish web site Mariskalrock.com, Di'Anno said that he was lucky to be alive after developing a deadly infection several years ago. "I had sepsis in Argentina," he revealed. "I was very, very sick. I just about made it home to England and then straight to hospital. I had operations done on both legs. At the moment, I've only got one knee. The other knee has been taken out, but there's no new knee put in, so it's been a cement thing. But I wanna play, obviously, but I can't do that until I'm fixed. I haven't stopped playing music, and I've got no plans to retire — I wanna keep playing — but I need to get well."

Elaborating on his recovery process, Di'Anno said: "I'm not getting better and better — not yet, until I've had both of my knees operated on. The next operation is gonna be to take my left knee out and then put a replacement straight away, which then I've gotta do rehab to try to stand up on that one leg. And then I can sort of move about on crutches after a while, which would be fantastic. I may have to sit down on the stage, but if I can get up on one leg, it makes it easier for flying and things like that. I still may have to travel around on a wheelchair a bit, but if I'm playing on stage in a wheelchair, at least I can hop about on the crutches and then maybe sit down and sing. Unfortunately, this is gonna be the rest of my life, because of sepsis. I was so lucky. The sepsis really hits you hard, and on the London plane home from Argentina, everyone was saying to me, 'Hello, sir. Are you okay? Are you okay?' And I'm, like, 'Yeah, why don't you fuck off and leave me alone?' sort of thing. I didn't realize I was actually dying. And when I actually got home and I collapsed on the floor, I had my cell phone with me. I was on my own, 'cause my wife and kids were over in America. I got the ambulance people. They came down and they kicked my door in and took me to the hospital. I spent eight months in that hospital... And you've got 45 minutes to pump you full of antibiotics or you'll die. I just about made that."

Pressed about whether he is optimistic that he will be able to return to the stage someday, he told Mariskalrock.com: "Yeah. Fuckin' damn right. If I can't play music, I might as well fuckin' kill myself… I may have to sit down on the stage in a chair, but at least I can go back on stage… And then, when they do the right leg, then I'll be all right to do everything. It's gonna take time."




www.maidencroatia.com/helpdianno

Do your best and help Paul Di’Anno get back on his feet. He needs you more than ever. Join the large community of fans who helped Paul get the best possible treatment and get back on stage in 2022. We were given a special opportunity to announce the release of a special, red leather edition of ‘Killers’ book + shopping bag. The purchase will help raise funds for Paul’s operation in Croatia and his rehabilitation. By the way, this leather edition was sold out more than two years ago, but a small number of additional copies from the author’s archive have been released and will be available only here, in order to raise funds for Paul’s recovery by purchasing this rare and highly sought-after edition of the book. We will start sending all the books to customers around January 10th 2022. Each customer will receive a numbered hardcover book, signed by the author, shopping bag and a thank you card with signature and dedication from Paul Di’Anno. Pre-order on www.maidencroatia.com/helpdianno

Posted by Stjepan Juras on Thursday, December 30, 2021

In the 17-minute video below, DEEP PURPLE drummer Ian Paice shares some of his personal practice footage and talks about how he gets ready for recording albums.

Some consider Paice to be the forefather of today's rock drumming. Such hits as "Space Truckin'", "Hush", "Fireball" and "Smoke On The Water" prove that Ian was helping create a genre that would last many years to come. In fact, throughout DEEP PURPLE's long career, which has seen numerous changes among the other personnel, he is the only drummer the band has ever had. When the group dissolved in 1976, Ian joined PURPLE vocalist David Coverdale to form WHITESNAKE. After a short hiatus, DEEP PURPLE reunited in 1984 for the "Perfect Strangers" release and has not stopped performing since.

In 2020, Paice was asked during a question-and-answer session with fans if he has ever felt the need to play double-bass drums. He responded: "Well, not really. The only time I ever really did it was on 'Fireball' because it added something to the track. The way the riff rolled along, it needed that power of two kicks.

"When I was growing up, the only guy who actually used two bass drums that I knew about was the wonderful Louie Bellson," he continued. "And even he had not really what you'd call mastered it. There are some wonderful young drummers around these days who've got the two-bass-drum thing down to an incredibly fine art. But I've always preferred to have to think in patterns.

"Sometimes with the bass drums, it's not where you put the note, it's where you don't put the note, and that makes it work," he explained.

DEEP PURPLE's latest studio effort, an album of covers titled "Turning To Crime", came out on November 26 via earMUSIC. The LP contains DEEP PURPLE's versions of great rock classics and musical jewels — including songs originally recorded by Bob Dylan, FLEETWOOD MAC, Bob Seger, CREAM and THE YARDBIRDS — carefully chosen by each member of the band.

JOURNEY drummer Deen Castronovo was unable to join his bandmates for their performance at of "Any Way You Want It" and "Don't Stop Believin'" in New York City's Times Square for "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve With Ryan Seacrest" after testing positive for COVID-19. Filling in for him was his longtime tech Steve Toomey.

Asked by a fan on Instagram why Deen didn't play with JOURNEY at last night's event, guitarist Neal Schon responded: "Covid".

Castronovo appeared to be looking forward to playing with JOURNEY in New York. On Thursday (December 30), he shared an Instagram photo of him behind his kit and added the following caption: "Hope you all had an AWESOME Holiday ! Off to NYC?to perform with @journeymusicofficial for @rockineve! Who will be ringing in 2022 with us?!"

Castronovo returned to JOURNEY in July and has been performing with the band ever since, initially sharing the drum duties in the group with Narada Michael Walden. Walden, bassist Randy Jackson and keyboardist/backing singer Jason Derlatka all joined JOURNEY in 2020 following the band's acrimonious split with drummer Steve Smith and bassist Ross Valory. Jackson — who previously played with JOURNEY during the mid-1980s — was forced to miss all the recent gigs because he is reportedly recovering from back surgery.

Filling in on bass for JOURNEY for the band's recent Las Vegas residency at The Theater at Virgin Hotels was Todd Jensen, a veteran musician who has played for various artists, including the bands SEQUEL, HARDLINE and HARLOW, as well as David Lee Roth, Ozzy Osbourne, Steve Perry, Alice Cooper and Paul Rodgers.

Prior to the residency, Jackson had been replaced at JOURNEY's 2021 shows by Marco Mendoza, who had played several shows in 2019 with Castronovo and JOURNEY guitarist Neal Schon under the "Neal Schon's Journey Through Time" banner.

In March 2021, Castronovo revealed that he was on opiates for over a year while waiting to get his back surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 57-year-old musician, who had been sober for nearly five years after being fired from JOURNEY, shared his ordeal in an Instagram post. He wrote: "Opiates are evil and the withdrawals are murder."

Deen was dismissed from JOURNEY in 2015 following years of alcohol and drug abuse that led to him being sentenced to four years' probation for a variety of charges involving his now-wife.
























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JOURNEY performed last night (Friday, December 31) from New York City's Times Square for "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve With Ryan Seacrest 2022". The show marked the 50th anniversary of America's go-to annual New Year's tradition that celebrates the year's very best in music. The most-watched New Year's Eve celebration nationwide which featured iconic performances of the year's biggest songs aired live on ABC.

According to ABC, JOURNEY played "a special collection of notable and celebrated hits" at the event (consisting of the songs "Any Way You Want It" and "Don't Stop Believin'"), which was hosted by 17-time host and executive producer Ryan Seacrest (with co-host Liza Koshy).

Also scheduled to perform were Avril Lavigne and Travis Barker ("Sk8ter Boi", "Bite Me") and MÅNESKIN ("Beggin'", "Mamma Mia"), among others.

JOURNEY recently completed a month-long Las Vegas residency at The Theater at Virgin Hotels. Filling in on bass for JOURNEY for the six shows was Todd Jensen, a veteran musician who has played for various artists, including the bands SEQUEL, HARDLINE and HARLOW, as well as David Lee Roth, Ozzy Osbourne, Steve Perry, Alice Cooper and Paul Rodgers. Also part of JOURNEY's current lineup is returning drummer Deen Castronovo, who shared the drum duties in the band last year with Narada Michael Walden. Walden, bassist Randy Jackson and keyboardist/backing singer Jason Derlatka all joined JOURNEY in 2020 following the band's acrimonious split with drummer Steve Smith and bassist Ross Valory. Jackson — who previously played with JOURNEY during the mid-1980s — was forced to miss all the recent gigs because he is reportedly recovering from back surgery. Prior to the residency, Jackson had been replaced at JOURNEY's 2021 shows by Marco Mendoza, who had played several shows in 2019 with Castronovo and JOURNEY guitarist Neal Schon under the "Neal Schon's Journey Through Time" banner.

In June 2021, JOURNEY shared a new single, "The Way We Used To Be". The song was the multi-platinum band's first new music since 2011's album "Eclipse", and the first track released by the band's revamped lineup. "The Way We Used To Be" marks Walden and Derlatka's first studio recordings with the band, and Jackson's first since 1986's "Raised On Radio". The song was produced by Narada Michael Walden at his Tarpan Studios, with co-production by Schon and Cain.

Since the group's formation in 1973, JOURNEY has earned 19 top 40 singles, 25 gold and platinum albums, and has sold nearly 100 million albums globally. Their "Greatest Hits" album is certified 15 times-platinum, making JOURNEY one of the few bands to ever have been diamond-certified, and their song "Don't Stop Believin'" has been streamed over one billion times alone.

JOURNEY was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2017, and 2018's co-headlining tour with DEF LEPPARD was the band's most successful tour to date, landing them in the Top 10 year-end touring chart with more than 1 million tickets sold, and earning them the prestigious Billboard "Legends Of Live" touring award. March 2019 saw the release of "Escape & Frontiers Live In Japan", a live DVD/CD set from their concert at the Budokan in Tokyo featuring the band's first-ever performances of the albums "Escape" and "Frontiers" in their entirety. JOURNEY has also received a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame and were inducted into the Hollywood Bowl Hall Of Fame. Additionally, the band is the subject of the award-winning documentary "Don't Stop Believin': Everyman's Journey" about the band's resurgence upon adding Arnel Pineda as lead singer after founding member Neal Schon discovered the Philippines native on YouTube.

JOURNEY will team up with Billy Idol and TOTO for a North American tour in February, March, April and May.
























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SHINEDOWN has released a short teaser video for the band's upcoming seventh studio album.

The 42-second clip, which can be seen below, was accompanied by the message: "So it begins... #nowiknowmyabcs… Do you? #SD7".

Last month, SHINEDOWN singer Brent Smith 95.9 The Rat's Carl Craft about the new LP's more "stripped-down" approach: "We wanted to push everything to the front. And what I mean by that is we've proven that we can make these records that there's a lot of musicianship involved in it, and we have layered our records over the years because we love music and we love sound and we try to make really cinematic records. So with that, you have a lot of instrumentation that is not just drums, bass, guitar and vocals — we use orchestras, we use a lot of synthesizers, we use a lot of techniques that… We don't believe in… Don't tie your hands up when you're making a record. Make the record that you wanna make. And ultimately, though, what we wanted to do with this album was make it just as ferocious as the other records but not utilizing so much of some of the style that we've done in the past with layering and layering guitars, adding lots of synth beds, stacking the vocals."

He continued: "I come from the Freddie Mercury school when it comes to vocals and layering and backgrounds and things of that nature because I try — I say 'try' — try to use my voice as an instrument. But this is about really less is more. So the majority of this record is authentically drums, bass, guitar. There are piano songs; there's two really, really very intense-subject-matter piano songs that are gonna be in SHINEDOWN seven. But we wanted to make a real rock record, we wanted to make a real record where we focus on just making sure that the band is being heard the way the band needs to be heard. So, not a lot of layering. It doesn't mean it's any less powerful; it's just we're not dealing with a lot of stacks. We're just putting things left to right stereo, pushing everything to the front. The vocals aren't layered a ton — not a lot of effects on the vocals, so not a lot of delays and reverbs and things like that. A lot of the vocals on the record are dry and kind of right up in your face."

Smith also talked about the lyrical themes covered on the new SHINEDOWN album, saying they were inspired at least in part by the ongoing pandemic and resulting impact on the community, residents and businesses.

"Going through everything that the world went through last year, and we wrote the majority of the record last year, and this year, we couldn't turn a blind eye to everything that was going on," he said. "And we talk on this record, and we express on this record — we're not trying to dance around certain subject matter. We're trying to be very honest and very real. In a lot of ways, this is a very humanitarian record."

Asked if SHINEDOWN will "piss people off" with some of the lyrical positions that are taken on the upcoming LP, Smith said: "Possibly. But the thing about it is I don't necessarily think it's about pissing people off; it's about understanding what we all went through but where we need to go now. I think that it gets lost. It's never supposed to be about… And I say this because I'm being very, very bold and very honest about it. This country, it's not called the Divided States Of America; it's called the United States Of America, and we want people to understand that that comes down to the people; that comes down to us. And us being able to not only work with each other, to grow with one another. But when you have certain people in power that do not have your best interests in mind, you have to stand up and make your voice heard. When I see what's going on in regards to people's freedom of speech and it being censored and people being pushed into a corner because of their opinions and what have you. You need to be able to have constructive conversations with each other in order to get actual action to happen for positive change."

Regarding the first single from SHINEDOWN's seventh album, which is expected to arrive later this month, Brent said: "It honestly addresses everything that society has dealt with from a planetary platform, if you will — not just here in the U.S., but the whole world — what the last 18 months has been like, and, at least in our opinion, how we've gotta move forward.

"Listen, the record… We're talking about things that we've never talked about before," he revealed. "We're opening up the conversation into different subject matters that SHINEDOWN has never addressed. We have the full support of our label, our management and hopefully our fanbase, whether they've been there from day one or they're just kind of finding out who we are. But it's a record that I think some people will consider controversial, I think some people will consider to be very provocative, especially for SHINEDOWN, but it's also something that we feel that it is very important and that it is necessary… Don't get me wrong either — there's a lot of triumph on this record, but there's also a lot of having to take a step back and go, 'What's really going on? And how do we stop it from happening if it's going to be something negative on the human race as a whole?' Our society, the way that we live with one another, we share this planet with a lot of different organisms and creatures. It's not just about us. It's important that everybody really takes a step back and doesn't always make it about them. We have to work together — like, all of us; we've really gotta start working together with each other and really creating a positive change forward for not only society but also for this beautiful planet that we've been given."

The follow-up to 2018's "Attention Attention", which is tentatively due this spring, was recorded in part at a new studio in Charleston, South Carolina spearheaded by the group's bassist and producer Eric Bass.

In October, SHINEDOWN announced its 2022 North American tour, "Shinedown Live In Concert". Kicking off in San Francisco on January 26, the upcoming 22-date outing will see the acclaimed quartet travel throughout the West Coast, Canada, and more, with stops in Los Angeles, Phoenix, Denver, Las Vegas, Seattle, Calgary, Toronto, and Montreal. POP EVIL and AYRON JONES will support on select dates.

SHINEDOWN's film "Attention Attention", a cinematic experience of the band's 2018 studio album of the same name, premiered worldwide in September.
























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KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons was asked in a recent interview with the Toronto Sun about his New Year's resolutions and hopes for 2022. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I'd like to be a better, kinder, better-looking and richer guy. Not all of that's gonna happen, but I can certainly become a better person — be kinder, give more to philanthropy, reach out even to people who you disagree with completely. We all live on this planet, and you're not gonna be able to change everybody's mind. And that's okay. Agree to disagree. 'Hey, I don't agree with you. Let's go have some coffee.'"

Last year, Simmons told Art & Object that he hoped KISS would play another 200 shows before finally calling it quits.

"If I was in U2 or THE [ROLLING] STONES, both amazing classic bands, I could be Keith [Richards] or the Edge, wear a pair of comfortable sneakers and a t-shirt, and you're done, no fuss, no muss, easypeasy, no sweat," he said. "But no, I have to wear eight-inch platform heels. Each of the dragon boots weighs as much as a bowling ball. So you're walking around with two bowling balls on your feet, 40 pounds of armor studs, guitar, and all that stuff. Then I got to spit fire, fly through the air, it's exhausting. THE STONES, god bless 'em, can keep doing this into their eighties."

KISS launched its farewell trek in January 2019 but was forced to put it on hold in 2020 and part of 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"End Of The Road" was originally scheduled to conclude on July 17, 2021 in New York City but has since been extended to at least the end of 2022. The trek was announced in September 2018 following a KISS performance of the band's classic song "Detroit Rock City" on "America's Got Talent".

Last fall, KISS frontman Paul Stanley said that the final concert of the "End Of The Road" tour will likely happen within the next year and a half.