During an appearance on a recent episode of the GUNS N' ROSES-centric "Appetite For Distortion" podcast, JANE'S ADDICTION guitarist Dave Navarro once again spoke about the fact that he nearly became a member of GN'R two decades ago after Izzy Stradlin's departure from the Axl Rose-fronted group. "Axl really wanted me to join the band," Dave said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). "And we talked nearly every day about ideas and the way the band could work with me in it. [But] at that time in my life, I was just simply not present enough to do it. I had an audition with the band that I actually didn't show up to because I was immersed in my drug addiction and I just simply couldn't show up in that shape. But it happened the way it happened. I went on to go and be in the [RED HOT] CHILI PEPPERS. And, oddly enough, [CHILI PEPPERS bassist] Flea ended up joining JANE'S ADDICTION for a tour, and [GUNS N' ROSES bassist] Duff [McKagan] ended up joining JANE'S ADDICTION for a tour. So at this age now, it's all water under the bridge and we're all part of this collective musical family and we all played together a myriad of times. But the degrees of separation with those guys and us are way less than six."

Although Navarro never performed live with Rose, he played on the GUNS N' ROSES song "Oh My God" which was a featured track on the soundtrack to the 1999 Arnold Schwarzenegger movie "End Of Days".

Regarding how his appearance on "Oh My God" came about, Navarro told "Appetite For Distortion": "Axl called me one day and said, 'I'm working on this record. It's for the 'End Of Days' soundtrack. Do you wanna come and play guitar on it? And I was, like, 'Fuck yeah! Of course I do.' So I was given a location and a time and a studio and I showed up with my gear. And there was 10 people in the studio. And I was, like, 'Where's Axl?' And they were, like, 'He's coming. He's coming. But let's get started anyway.' I said, 'Okay.' And I sat down and I plugged in. They played the track. I said, 'This fucking sounds great.' And I recorded a couple of passes. And then, I shit you not — I swear — all of a sudden I hear in the background, 'Yeah, that sounds really good. Why don't you keep that one?' And what it was was Axl on speaker phone from his home listening in the whole time. I was, like, 'What?' It was just Axl's voice out of nowhere — like out of a fucking speaker. Then he kind of gave me some direction, and I was, like, 'Okay, cool.' And then we were stoked, and that was that. It was a very strange [experience] but I love that it was strange. You know what I mean? Because it makes the story so much juicier and more fucking just memorable and fun."

Navarro, best known for his longstanding role in JANE'S ADDICTION, joined RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS in 1993 following the departure of John Frusciante. He played lead guitar on RHCP's 1995 album "One Hot Minute" before leaving the band in 1998. He has also released two solo records, including 2001's "Trust No One".

Navarro and Billy Morrison (Billy Idol) are currently promoting the third "Above Ground" benefit concert, set to take place on December 20 at The Fonda Theatre in Hollywood, California. Proceeds from the event will be donated to MusiCares, the leading music charity that acts as a safety net for the music community.

Orginally, "The Chase" was intended to be part of Pat Reilly's album Path To Transcendence, released January 3rd of 2020. However, at that time, Pat Reilly couldn't find a vocalist that fit what he was looking for.


Opportunity knocked in 2021, and Pat Reilly, a huge fan of Evergrey, was able to bring Tom S. England (also of Silent Skies) aboard. The lyrics written by Tom S. England were inspired by two concepts: finding comfort in isolation and seeing in the dark through the depths of confusion ( metaphorically ).


"It is an incredible honor to have had the opportunity to work with Evergrey's Tom S. Englund, whom I believe to be one of the best vocalists in modern metal," says Pat Reilly, "I knew his vocals would be just perfect for this song."




Tadpole Jones from the band Meridian Parkway had actually laid the drum tracks for "The Chase" during the recording session for Path To Transcendence. Pat Reilly produced "The Chase" as well as playing guitar and bass. He also wrote all of the piano, synth and choir parts.





"The Chase" was mixed and mastered by Kevin Antreassian (The Dillinger Escape Plan) of Backroom studios whom Pat Reilly previously worked with while recording with band Fellahin Fall.


The lyric video was created by John Kaimakamis, (Fate's Warning, Badd Kharma) who is well-known audio engineer, video editor, digital designer and a photographer for Metal Hammer in Greece.


Order music here.





(Photo - Karen Naqvi)

Swedish progressive rock outfit, Jonas Lindberg & The Other Side, recently signed with InsideOutMusic for the release of the upcoming new album, Miles From Nowhere, due out on February 18. The band have released a video for the song "Oceans Of Time", which can be found below.


Led by multi-instrumentalist and composer Jonas Lindberg, the new album consists of seven songs which spans the full range of the progressive rock landscape - from the soaring ”Summer Queen” (led by Jenny Storm), to the folksy instrumental ”Astral Journey” to the closing title track; a sprawling 25 minute epic which features none other than Roine Stolt Pale Rider (The Flower Kings, Transatlantic) on lead guitar.


Jonas Lindberg on signing with the label: “It’s a great honor to be on this label alongside such great acts like Dream Theater, Yes, Jethro Tull among others! Being a fan of the genre myself, many of the bands on the label are big influences and longtime favorites of mine.”




Miles From Nowhere is available for pre-order here on CD, Gatefold 2LP+CD & as Digital Album.


Lindberg had this to say about the new album: "Miles From Nowhere is my fourth release and second full length album with my progressive rock project Jonas Lindberg & The Other Side. It was recorded between 2019 and 2020, in part during the pandemic, and is a followup to my 2016 release called Pathfinder. This album is much more "symphonic" in a way with much longer songs and it even features a couple of epics. The lyrics are also much more personal in a way, and reflects a lot upon things happening in my life between both albums. While I considered Pathfinder to be a band effort at the time, on this one I'm playing a lot of the instruments myself and even singing lead vocals on a couple of tracks. In part due to logistical difficulties caused by the pandemic. It also features some more guest musicians than just the lineup of my original project members, with one of my biggest influences in the genre, Roine Stolt guesting on the epic title track."


”It’s such an honor to have one of my biggest influences in the genre playing on one of the tracks! I’m so happy that he wanted to do it. Roine’s solo follows one of Jonas Sundqvist’s strongest vocal tracks ever, and he somehow managed to top that. Such a great guitar player,” says Lindberg.





Tracklisting:


"Secret Motive Man"
"Little Man"
"Summer Queen"
"Oceans Of Time"
"Astral Journey"
"Why I’m Here"
"Miles From Nowhere"
PT I - Overture
PT II - Don’t Walk Away
PT III - I Don’t Know Where You Are
PT IV - Memories
PT V - Miles From Nowhere


"Oceans Of Time" video:





Album teaser:

Styx have released a lyric video for "Sound The Alarm", featured on their latest album, Crash Of The Crown, released back in June via the band’s label, Alpha Dog 2T/UMe. Find the clip below.


Styx’s holy mission for cutting Crash Of The Crown was crystal-clear to its co-creator from the get-go. “Absolutely no obstacles were going to get in the way of how we approached creating this album,” Shaw concludes about the herculean recording efforts of his fellow COTC makers. “And everything came out exactly the way we wanted to hear it.”







Tracklisting:


"The Fight Of Our Lives"
" A Monster"
"Reveries"
"Hold Back The Darkness"
"Save Us From Ourselves"
"Crash Of The Crown"
"Our Wonderful Lives"
"Common Ground"
"Sound The Alarm"
"Long Live The King"
"Lost At Sea"
"Coming Out The Other Side"
"To Those"
"Another Farewell"
"Stream"


"Sound The Alarm" lyric video:





"Save Us From Ourselves" lyric video:





“Reveries” lyric video:





"Crash Of The Crown" lyric video:





It’s been four years since legendary rockers REO Speedwagon and Styx joined forces for a summer co-headlining tour. While the world has changed since then, fans’ desire to rock out hasn’t. Styx and REO Speedwagon are telling you to close those laptops and get out of your sweatpants, because they’re set to once again bring their rock & roll classics to the masses, this time with special guest Loverboy for the Live & UnZoomed tour that kicks off May 31 in Grand Rapids, MI at the Van Andel Arena.


Below you can find the complete routing, as well as a video with more info about the tour. Tickets on sale now.


Styx’s Tommy Shaw agrees, “I can’t think of a better way of touring the USA next year than with good friends we’ve known for years and performed with on many a stage. What a great night of music this will be!”


REO Speedwagon’s Kevin Cronin said, “Tommy (Shaw) and I have done a number of Zoom performances together during the pandemic, and REO and Styx are ready to go get UnZoomed, and out on the road for our fifth U.S. tour together. Add our great friends Mike Reno and the Loverboy guys, and I am totally psyched. If I wasn’t performing in it, I would totally come out to see this show. See you all, LIVE and UNZOOMED!”


Loverboy’s Mike Reno proclaimed, “We can’t wait to take the stage and rock this summer, it’s gonna be awesome. These are all the groups I grew up with, and I’m there too. Best tour of the summer…guaranteed.”





Tour dates:


May
31 - Grand Rapids, MI - Van Andel Arena


June
1 - Cuyahoga Falls, OH - Blossom Music Center
3 - St. Louis, MO - Hollywood Casino Amp.
4 - Tinley Park, IL - Hollywood Casino Amp.
7 - Milwaukee, WI - American Family Insurance Amp.
8 - Clarkston, MI - DTE Energy Music Theatre
10 - Noblesville, IN - Ruoff Music Center
11 - Cincinnati, OH - Riverbend Music Center
13 - Rogers, AR - Walmart Amphitheatre
14 - Kansas City, MO - Starlight Theatre
17 - Alpharetta, GA - Ameris Bank Amphitheatre
18 - Tampa, FL - MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amp.
19 - West Palm Beach, FL - iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre


July
8 - Denver, CO - Ball Arena
9 - Salt Lake City, UT - USANA Amphitheatre
12 - Auburn, WA - White River Amphitheatre
13 - Ridgefield, WA - RV Inn Style Resorts Amp.
15 - Mountain View, CA - Shoreline Amphitheatre
16 - Irvine, CA - FivePoint Amphitheatre
19 - Chula Vista, CA - North Island Credit Union Amp.
20 - Phoenix, AZ - Ak-Chin Pavilion
22 - Austin, TX - Germania Insurance Amp.
23 - Dallas, TX - Dos Equis Pavilion
24 - Woodlands, TX - Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion


August
5 - Virginia Beach, VA - Veterans United Home Loans Amp.
6 - Charlotte, NC - PNC Music Pavilion
8 - Nashville, TN - Ascend Amphitheater
10 - Raleigh, NC - Coastal Credit Union Music Park
12 - Bristow, VA - Jiffy Lube Live
13 - Camden, NJ - BB&T Pavilion
16 - Toronto, ON - Budweiser Stage
17 - Saratoga Springs, NY - Saratoga Performing Arts Center
19 - Mansfield, MA - Xfinity Center
20 - Holmdel, NJ - PNC Bank Arts Center
21 - Wantagh, NY - Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater

In a new interview with "The Scotty Mars Show", THREE DAYS GRACE singer Matt Walst weighed in on the online feud between fellow Canadian rockers Danko Jones and MONSTER TRUCK frontman Jon Harvey. Danko has been very critical of Jon's contribution to Kid Rock's new single, "Don't Tell Me How To Live", in which Kid — whose real name is Robert "Bob" Ritchie — rants against "woke" culture and the mainstream media at a time when "every opinion has a millennial offended."

Speaking about whether he and his bandmates ever voice their political views publicly in order to sway their fans one way or the other. Matt said: "I feel like that has become a thing now, where either you're left or right. We tend to just stay in the middle and listen to everybody. I feel like everybody's choosing sides. Man, we don't care. If you believe this, that's your thing. Yeah, we don't get into that."

Walst went on to say that while he hadn't yet heard Kid Rock's "Don't Tell Me How To Live" at the time of the interview, he was an admirer of his music and performance style.

"Kid Rock, he's got this raspy, cool — it's almost old, Southern-type rasp to it," he said. "I'm a big fan. I actually got to hang out with Bob a few times. I watched him fly a helicopter to Chad Kroeger, the singer of NICKELBACK's yard and land in the yard and then come up to the studio. And he started listening to songs that we were working on for [my pre-THREE DAYS GRACE band] MY DARKEST DAYS stuff. And then he played the Commodore in Vancouver and we got to go hang out and party with him before and then watch his show. It was a lot of fun. And he flies. So he was actually piloting the thing — with somebody else with him. I remember him just landing right in the yard. 'Oh, Bob's here.'"

THREE DAYS GRACE will release its seventh studio album, "Explosions", on May 6 via RCA Records. The official Jon Vulpine-directed music video for the LP's first single, "So Called Life", was released last month. The song is the first new original music from THREE DAYS GRACE since the Juno Award-nominated "Outsider" album came out in 2018.

THREE DAYS GRACE recently announced more than a dozen U.S. dates for April and May 2022, including a number of headlining concerts and radio shows as the support act for GODSMACK.

In 2019, THREE DAYS GRACE extended its record for the most No. 1s in the 38-year history of Billboard's Mainstream Rock Songs airplay chart, with "Right Left Wrong" its 15th No. 1 single on the tally.

"Right Left Wrong" is featured on "Outsider", THREE DAYS GRACE's sixth full-length album and fifth consecutive Top 40-charting LP on the Billboard Top 200.

THREE DAYS GRACE's other No. 1 singles include "Misery Loves My Company", "Chalk Outline", "World So Cold", "Never Too Late", "Just Like You", "Animal", "Pain", "Home" and "Infra-Red".

"Rucker", a new horror film starring SLIPKNOT and STONE SOUR frontman Corey Taylor, will be released on VOD on January 4, 2022 via Giant Pictures. The movie's official trailer can be seen below.

The film's official synopsis, courtesy of ComingSoon, which premiered the trailer: "For the past 30 years Rucker the trucker has devoted his life to traveling the road as a mass serial killer. When Rucker picks up unsuspecting Maggie, she makes him the subject of her trucker documentary. But her life takes a dangerous detour when Rucker recruits her to complete his masterpiece: A connect-the-dots roadmap portrait of his ex-wife comprised of the women he's killed who resemble her."

"Rucker" was previously described as a genre-bending terror film about a serial killer trucker who attempts to salvage family relationships. Olympic College film professor Amy Hesketh serves as the film's director and fellow OC professor Aaron Drane produced the film. Both are credited with co-writing the screenplay.

Corey portrays the titular character's trucking buddy. Taylor had previously appeared in the film "Fear Clinic", which was written and produced by Drane.

"It was as easy as Aaron reaching out to me," Taylor said of how he ended up involved in "Rucker". "He and I worked together on 'Fear Clinic', and apparently I left a lasting impression. He sent me 'Rucker' and we were able to make the time work, and it was boom, boom, boom — the rest is history."

Drane was thrilled to have Corey involved with the "Rucker" film. "He's a rock star," Aaron said. "I mean that in every sense of the word. He is one of the coolest guys I know, and he's somebody who has to function at a very high level, yet really goes far out of his way to help other people achieve their art."

Taylor said he had "a great time" working on the film in Bremerton, Washington and added that they even "found a role" for his now-wife Alicia.

Drane said that "Rucker" is not your typical slasher flick. It relies less on jump scares and more on leaving the viewer with a lingering sense of dread.

"When you watch a horror film, when you participate in the content and the characters, you feel a sense of shared vulnerability," Drane said. "What we tried to do with this film was tap into the human experience and the underlying fears associated with real-life issues. It's real-life horror."

A longtime fan of horror films, Taylor was featured prominently in the "In Search Of Darkness" documentary, which came out in 2019.

Corey told Syfy network's "Metal Crush Mondays" how he first got into horror movies: "My mom took me to see the 'Buck Rogers [In The 25th Century]' movie when I was a kid. I must've been four or five, but the trailer before the movie was John Carpenter's 'Halloween'. You've just got these incredible visuals, this sense of it's autumn, it's Halloween and there's just this dude in the background of every shot. I can remember as a five-year-old just being transfixed. Like, I suddenly didn't care about Buck Rogers. I think it was the one moment in my life that really galvanized my taste in what my young mind thought was cool. It was actually a couple years later that I actually got to watch it and to this day it's one of my favorite movies."


























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In a new interview with Metal Wani, MASTODON singer/bassist Troy Sanders was asked to what he attributes the band's longevity. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I attribute the longevity to two main things, I believe. Number one is that we have, thankfully, over time continued to grow together. In any human relationship, you always hope for the best, but it's very natural for people to grow apart. And that's very normal — a normal thing to happen. So the good fortune and fate that we've stuck together and continued to grow together. And number two is that we're all still incredibly passionate about creating music. Thankfully, none of us have a personal writer's block where… We're not the main songwriters, so if someone's only coming up with one or two ideas for this album, well, don't worry — the other guys have you covered because we're a band in the true sense of the word, I believe. So the two points is that we've thankfully grown together, and we've all continued to share this… The fire in our bellies to create has yet to be extinguished. So those two things are keeping us together."

Last month, MASTODON — which was formed in Atlanta in 2000 and has eight studio albums to its credit — was announced as one of the "Best Metal Performance" nominees at the 64th annual Grammy Awards, which will be held on January 31, 2022, at the Crypto.com Arena (formerly the Staples Center) in Los Angeles, California. The progressive metallers were nominated for their song "Pushing The Tides", the first single from their latest album, "Hushed And Grim", which came out in October.

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

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

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

Dream Theater keyboardist Jordan Rudess has shared a portuion of his December 12th Patreon livestream performance dedicated to The Beatles. Check it out below. 


To listen to the entire stream and enjoy lessons, live chats and more, join Jordan's Patreon here.







Dream Theater's new album, A View From The Top Of The World, is available in a limited Deluxe 2CD+Blu-ray Artbook, Special Edition CD Digipak, Gatefold 180g 2LP+CD+LP-booklet. The Blu-ray contains a 5.1 surround sound mix with full album animations, plus ‘Digging For A Spark - A View From Inside DTHQ’, a specially filmed documentary that gives a glimpse behind the scenes of the band’s new home-base and the making of the new album.


A View From The Top Of The World was produced by John Petrucci, engineered and additional production by James “Jimmy T” Meslin and mixed/mastered by Andy Sneap and is available for pre-order here.


Dream Theater - comprised of James LaBrie, John Petrucci, Jordan Rudess, John Myung and Mike Mangini - was in the middle of a sold-out world tour in support of their last release Distance Over Time and the 20th anniversary of Scenes From A Memory when a Global Pandemic brought the world to a stop. The musicians found themselves at home with LaBrie in Canada and the rest of the group in the States. As fate would have it, they’d just finished construction on DTHQ (Dream Theater Headquarters) - a combination live recording studio, rehearsal space, control room, equipment storage, and creative hive. With LaBrie in Canada, he initially wrote with the band via ZOOM on a monitor in DTHQ. In March 2021, he flew down to New York, quarantined, and recorded his vocals face-to-face with Petrucci. The album ultimately threaded together lean and uncompromising hooks with tried-and-true technical proficiency.


“We just love to play our instruments,” observes Petrucci. “That never goes away. I love to be creative, write, and exercise that part of my mind. We’ve been able to do this for a long time, and we don’t take it for granted. Whenever we get together, we know we can’t disappoint ourselves or our fans, so we manage to try even harder.”


“We approach every album like it’s our first,” adds LaBrie. “It’s been such a great ride, but we’re not going to stop.”





A View From The Top Of The World tracklisting:


"The Alien" (9:32)
"Answering The Call" (7:35)
"Invisible Monster" (6:31)
"Sleeping Giant" (10:05)
"Transcending Time" (6:25)
"Awaken The Master" (9:47)
"A View From The Top Of The World" (20:24)


"Invisible Monster" video:





“The Alien” video:





Deluxe Box Set trailer:

NHC - comprised of guitarist Dave Navarro, drummer / vocalist Taylor Hawkins, and bassist Chris Chaney - have released a video for their new song “Lazy Eyes”. Directed by Todd Newman, it was filmed at the legendary Troubadour in West Hollywood, California on November 23rd.





NHC is the result of pure, unharnessed creativity and the world’s biggest Mutual Appreciation Society; the guys – who all knew each other socially as staples of the Los Angeles rock world – came together over the last year and just played, giving themselves no rules or limits. For Hawkins, who had played alongside Chaney in the mid-'90s in Alanis Morissette’s band, it was a chance to play with the one and only Dave Navarro, whom Hawkins calls “the best lead guitarist in alternative rock.” For Navarro, it was an awakening of everything he loved about playing – feeling his own playing had plateaued, NHC’s song creation brought him back to his instrument in new and inspiring ways.




Indeed, “new and inspiring” are the best adjectives to describe these three legends when they are together in the same room. Often finishing each other’s sentences, the trio have found unfettered joy working on music together, and could not be more excited to get two more songs from this project out into the world.   


“Lazy Eyes” follows three previously released songs from NHC: “Devil That You Know”, “Feed The Cruel” and “Better Move On”.

Concordance is the latest EP from Canadian melodic death metal act Varius and now, their single “Lament Of Dissonance” has a lyric video to go with it.


Varius (various in Latin) pride themselves on being experimental, and constantly challenging the constraints of existing genres. This track was originally written as piano parts by drummer Vlad Prokhorov, and then reworked for guitar and bass.


Lyrically, the song describes a brilliant creative person cracking under the pressure of expectations of his audience. The band explains the premise behind the EP and further detail the track:




“We think this album represents a diverse but consistently heavy listening experience. All four songs are distinct in their approach and theme; they are almost representative of four different subgenres of metal. All four songs are consistently heavy and sound like they are related, as they should. We can thank our recording engineer Eddie Lucciola (414 Recordings) for the consistency in production. The song structures, riffs, and lyrics are where most of the diversity lies. The lead single, 'Lament Of Dissonance', is both a straightforward and experimental listening experience. The song has a simple, catchy structure and some different grooves by our standards. That song also has an interesting twist at the end. 'Lament Of Dissonance' definitely represents both the heaviness and the diversity of Concordance.”





Concordance artwork and tracklisting:





"Golden Crown" 
"Concordance Of The Legionfall" 
"Lament Of Dissonance" 
"Gut Shoveler" 
"P.I.S.S." (CD bonus track)


"Golden Crown" lyric video:





 

QUEEN guitarist Brian May tested positive for COVID-19.

The 74-year-old musician shared the news in an Instagram post, where he included a photo of his positive test result.

He wrote in an accompanying message: "Yep. The shocking day finally came for me. The dreaded double red line. And yes - definitely NO sympathy please - it has been a truly horrible few days, but I’m OK. And I will tell the tale. PLEASE take extra care out there, good folks. This thing is incredibly transmissible. You really do NOT want it messing up YOUR Christmas. With love – Bri".

May, who lives in London, had in the past attacked U.K. prime minister Boris Johnson over his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, telling The Independent: "I think it would have been impossible for anyone to make worse decisions than Boris. At every point he did too little too late. Hundreds, if not thousands, of our relatives died because of bad advice and because of the bad decisions that Boris made with [former health secretary Matt] Hancock and those other people."

He continued: "If [Johnson] had taken the precautions of shutting down the borders a year earlier, we wouldn't have been in the situation we were. And the fact that he's willing to trade lives quite openly for economic gain, I find horrific... completely unacceptable."

May compared it to "Winston Churchill going out in his garden and seeing the plans overhead and the bodies and going 'the bombs are dropping! The bombs are dropping! Should we hide? No, actually let's think of the economic consequences of hiding...'"

According to the BBC, the U.K.'s daily coronavirus cases record was broken for a third consecutive day on Friday, with another 93,000 reported.

London mayor Sadiq Khan said Friday's 26,000 new cases were having an impact on staff absences in the city's emergency services.
























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METALLICA played the first of two shows celebrating its 40th anniversary last night (Friday, December 17) at San Francisco, California's Chase Center.

While in-person tickets were available exclusively to members of the group's Fifth Member fan club, METALLICA fans across the globe were able to view the performance live from home or on mobile via Amazon Music, Amazon Music's Twitch channel, and Prime Video (with or without Prime on-demand viewing membership). The show — along with tomorrow night's (Sunday, December 19) gig at the same venue — will then be made available exclusively at The Coda Collection/Prime Video channel for subsequent viewing.

As of a week ago, limited tickets for Friday night's show were going for between $757 and $1,457 via Ticketmaster, while tickets for Sunday's concert were going for at least $582, with several higher-priced tiers.

The setlist for the December 17 concert was as follows:

01. The Ecstasy Of Gold (intro)

02. Hit The Lights

03. Creeping Death

04. Trapped Under Ice

05. Welcome Home (Sanitarium)

06. Orion

07. The Shortest Straw

08. One

09. Sad But True

10. Nothing Else Matters

11. King Nothing

12. Fixxxer (live debut)

13. Breadfan

14. No Leaf Clover

15. Frantic

16. The Day That Never Comes

17. Spit Out The Bone

"We are grateful that you have been along with us for 40 years, and we are so happy that you're here still after all this time," frontman James Hetfield told the audience at one point during the set. "It still blows my mind. Because we were created to do this. I know it."

He also confirmed, after a montage was shown that featured some of METALLICA's former members, that they would not be making guest appearances at the show. "Hopefully you got to see [the former METALLICA members] live at some point in your lives," he said. "We were blessed to have them in the band."

The 40th-anniversary shows see METALLICA return to Chase Center for the first time since the September 2019 "S&M²" concerts that also served as the venue's grand opening. It was impossible not to notice that fans from more than 60 countries traveled to the City by the Bay and completely took over San Francisco for "S&M²" weekend. That outpouring of positive vibes from around the world inspired METALLICA to invite those Fifth Members back — and this time, in addition to the two shows at Chase Center, METALLICA is curating other live music and comedy events, Blackened Whiskey tastings, and so much more all around the city during the long four-day weekend of celebrations starting on Thursday, December 16.

Formed in 1981 by Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, METALLICA has become one of the most influential and successful rock bands in history, having sold nearly 120 million albums worldwide and generating more than 2.5 billion streams while playing to millions of fans on literally all seven continents. The band's several multi-platinum albums include "Kill 'Em All", "Ride The Lightning", "Master Of Puppets", "… And Justice For All", "Metallica" (commonly referred to as The Black Album), "Load", "Reload", "St. Anger", "Death Magnetic" and "Hardwired... To Self-Destruct", released in November 2016 and charting at No. 1 in 32 countries.

METALLICA's awards and accolades include nine Grammy Awards, two American Music Awards, multiple MTV Video Music Awards, and its 2009 induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. In June of 2018, the band was awarded one of the most prestigious musical honors in the world: Sweden's Polar Music Prize.

After METALLICA finished its first 40th-anniversary concert at the Chase Center in San Francisco, California Friday night (December 17), guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo cut across town to the legendary Fillmore where they performed a late-night set of cover tunes with THE WEDDING BAND.

In addition to Hammett and Trujillo, THE WEDDING BAND's lineup for last night's show included their good friends Whitfield Crane (UGLY KID JOE), Mark Osegueda (DEATH ANGEL), Jon Theodore (THE MARS VOLTA, QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE) and Doc Coyle (BAD WOLVES, GOD FORBID).

Kirk told Cosmo Music about THE WEDDING BAND: "It's just really fun jamming with these guys. It's something different. For Rob and I, it's cool, because we get to indulge our love of funk and punk... I was listening to all sorts of crazy music in the '70s — a lot of funk, R&B — so I've always had a real appreciation of the music of that time. When I found out that Rob did, we started playing our favorite songs. Funk from the '70s is so unique, and it's almost a lost art because no one is writing songs like that anymore... We got together and started jamming out tunes, and it sounded amazingly good, and then we started to improvise, and it sounded amazingly good... It's primarily a way for Rob and I just to jam out. We love to jam; we love playing with people; we love to play funk. It's become a little bit of an outlet for us, but it's nothing really serious or anything like that. We're really open to anyone coming and playing with us. I even asked the other guys in [METALLICA] if they want to come by and jam. [We're] always open — this is not a closed-border sort of band situation. Anyone can come in and play, as long as they're good... It's so recreational, but musicians need recreational music as well. They need to play stuff that they don't really have to worry too much about, and that we don't have too much accountability over. It's just a light, cool, fun thing for us, and Rob and I need that, because a lot of times, we put so much into our performance. There's so much intensity, so much riding on having to execute this song and play the shit out of it. You've just got to put a lot of love and care into our band's music, and that's fine, and I love it – I'm super-passionate about it — but it's also fun to just go to Disneyland for a while and play some tunes that are just fun for you to play, inspired you, make you smile, make you sweat and make you go, 'Man, I needed that.' I think everyone needs something like that... It's just so fun. We're something that's not to be taken too seriously, because none of us want to take it that seriously."

Last year, Hammett confirmed that he and his METALLICA bandmates have begun working on the follow-up to 2016's "Hardwired… To Self-Destruct" album while in quarantine. A year earlier, Hammett said that he had already accumulated "a lot" of "kick-ass, great" ideas for METALLICA's next LP.

The METALLICA axeman famously lost his iPhone containing hundreds of riffs in 2014. About six months later, he told "The Jasta Show" podcast that he "was crushed" when it happened, but still expressed hope that it "might turn up."

Hammett is not credited on any of the songs on "Hardwired…To Self-Destruct".

He previously said that losing his phone was a "devastating" experience.

Despite the setback, Hammett said that he was pleased with how "Hardwired...To Self-Destruct" turned out.

"Hardwired… To Self-Destruct" debuted at No. 1 on The Billboard 200 album chart, selling 291,000 copies in its first week of release.
















Roll call for The Wedding Band at The Fillmore in San Fran in celebration of the Metallica 40th anniversary. It’s gonna be a party ??⚡️??

Robert Trujillo

Posted by Doc Coyle on Friday, December 17, 2021



The Wedding Band rides again! The cat is finally out of the bag. The All Star band featuring myself Kirk Hammett, Robert...

Posted by Doc Coyle on Thursday, November 18, 2021

MACHINE HEAD's Robb Flynn and Jared MacEachern held the latest "Electric Happy Hour" earlier today (Friday, December 17) during which they performed a "handful" of METALLICA covers — including "For Whom The Bell Tolls", "Damage, Inc." and "No Remorse" — in honor of the legendary band's 40th anniversary. You can now watch the session below.

Back in 2011, Flynn spoke to Revolver magazine about how MACHINE HEAD got to open for METALLICA on the "Death Magnetic" tour. "To me, one of the raddest things in the world was touring with METALLICA and watching 'Master of Puppets' — not 'Enter Sandman'," he said. "I get why 'Enter Sandman' is so frickin' huge, but to watch 'Master Of Puppets', this eight-minute song with a million parts in the middle of it with complicated choruses and off-time rhythms, to watch arenas every night sing every fuckin' word, that was amazing. There's this whole other part of music that can be well-written and well-constructed that can be somewhere over here [points away from him] and still translate to millions of fuckin' people.

He added, "It's amazing to see how passionate those dudes still are about music. They don't have to give a shit about music at this point. They don't have to care about other bands. They're fucking METALLICA. But there were times when I'd sit there and talk to Lars [Ulrich] or [James] Hetfield and listen to them geek out on a band. Lars and I went and saw THE SWORD, and he's singing every word and doing air guitar to all the right parts. I'm like, 'You know every fucking word to THE SWORD's songs?'"

Flynn also spoke about having one of his musical idols, James Hetfield, join MACHINE HEAD on stage on May 16, 2009 and May 17, 2009 in Oberhausen and Cologne, Germany, respectively, to perform the song "Aethetics Of Hate", taken from MH's 2007 album, "The Blackening". According to Robb, the jam came about when Hetfield walked into MACHINE HEAD's dressing room and the two started talking. When Hetfield noticed there was an electronic drum kit set up in the corner of the dressing room, Hetfield took a seat behind the kit.

"He said, 'Do you know any 'TALLICA?'" Flynn said. "I'm like, 'Do I know any METALLICA?! Fuckin' call it.' So we did 'Master Of Puppets'. Then he goes, 'Do you know any MAIDEN?' And I'm like, 'Fuckin' 'Wrathchild'. And then I realize, 'Oh my God, I'm jamming with Hetfield and he's on the fuckin drums, playing it killer.' Then he says, 'Let's jam [MACHINE HEAD's] 'Aesthetics Of Hate'.' I'm like, 'You know 'Aesthetics Of Hate' on the drums?' He knew every fuckin' drum beat, every part, and that ain't an easy song to play. While we're playing, Dave [McClain, then-MACHINE HEAD drummer] comes in and goes, 'He's playing my drum parts. This is amazing!' To see a band at that level and think, 'Wow, man, those dudes are still fans. They still love music' is kind of a revelation. But I mean, I don't know why I didn't know [they still loved metal]. I think I might have thought they'd be different now because they're huge and they're METALLICA."

ICED EARTH guitarist Jon Schaffer has apparently returned to social media, just days after he was sued by District of Columbia Attorney General Karl Racine in an effort to recover the millions of dollars the city spent to defend the U.S. Capitol during the January 6 attack.

Earlier today (Friday, December 17), the official ICED EARTH Instagram account shared its first post in a year — an advertisement for the band's official merchandise store.

The social media activity comes three days after a lawsuit was filed n federal court in Washington, D.C. accusing 31 members of the extremist groups Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys — including Schaffer — of "conspiring to terrorize the District" on January 6, calling their actions "a coordinated act of domestic terrorism." According to CNN, the lawsuit cites the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871, a federal law created after the Civil War to protect civil rights and, as Racine noted, "to protect against vigilantes and insurrectionists."

"I think the damages are substantial," Racine told The Washington Post. "If it so happens that it bankrupts or puts these individuals and entities in financial peril, so be it."

The 84-page complaint, which can be found at this location, describes Schaffer as "a founding, lifetime member of the Oath Keepers." It goes on to say: "Schaffer was criminally charged and indicted for his role in perpetrating the January 6th Attack. In connection with a promise to cooperate with investigators and potentially testify in criminal cases related to the conspiracy to commit the January 6th Attack, Schaffer pleaded guilty to the entire Statement of Offense in the criminal action brought against him, which included two felony offenses: (1) trespass of the Capitol while armed with a deadly or dangerous weapon and (2) obstruction of an official proceeding of Congress. The Criminal Complaint filed against Schaffer—as well as Schaffer's Plea Agreement and the accompanying Statement of Offense describing his conduct—are publicly available documents that are hereby incorporated into the Complaint by reference."

"No one bore the brunt of this gutless attack more than the courageous law enforcement officers including the men and women of the DC Metropolitan Police Department who went into the fire and violence with one objective in mind: remove the violent mob and restore our country's fragile democracy," Racine said at a news conference.

"The defendants, as you know, were not tourists, nor were they acting patriotically," he added. "They were vigilantes, members of a mob, insurrectionists who sought to crush our country's freedoms."

As part of his April 2021 plea deal, Jon entered into a cooperation agreement with the government.

Although Schaffer was initially charged with six crimes, including engaging in an act of physical violence and targeting police with bear spray, he pleaded guilty to only two charges: obstruction of an official proceeding of Congress; and trespassing on restricted grounds of the Capitol while armed with a deadly or dangerous weapon. The first charge is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, while the second carries up to a 10-year prison term.

In his plea agreement, Schaffer acknowledged that on January 6, 2021 he was in Washington to attend the "Stop The Steal" rally at the Ellipse in Washington, D.C. to protest the results of the presidential election, which he believed were fraudulent. Schaffer wore a tactical vest and carried bear spray, a dangerous weapon and chemical irritant used to ward off bears. When the rally finished, Schaffer joined a large crowd that marched from the Ellipse to the Capitol, where a joint session of Congress, presided over by Vice President Michael Pence, was in session to certify the electoral college vote results. Shortly after 2:00 p.m., members of the mob forced entry into the Capitol building, disrupting the joint session and causing members of Congress and the Vice President to be evacuated from the House and Senate chambers.

In his plea agreement, Schaffer admitted that after arriving on Capitol grounds, he walked past barriers intended to restrict access to the public and to a set of locked doors on the Capitol's west side. At approximately 2:40 p.m., Schaffer positioned himself at the front of a crowd that broke open a set of doors being guarded by four U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) officers wearing riot gear. Schaffer admitted to being among the first individuals to push past the damaged doors and into the Capitol building, forcing officers to retreat. Schaffer and others advanced toward five or six backpedaling USCP officers while members of the mob swelled inside of the Capitol and overwhelmed the officers. The officers ultimately deployed a chemical irritant to disperse the mob. Schaffer was among the people who were sprayed in the face, after which he exited while holding his own bear spray in his hands.

After pleading guilty, Schaffer was released on the following conditions:

* Schaffer must submit to court supervision in the Northem Dlstrict of Indiana.

* Schaffer will surrender his passport and any other international travel documents.

* Must stay outside of D.C. except for court hearings and meetings with attorneys.

* Will be permitted to travel within the continental United States with notice to pretrial services.

* Schaffer cannot possess any firearms or explosive devices, including legally owned firearms. Any firearms must be removed from his home.

As part of the plea deal, Schaffer agreed to cooperate with investigators and potentially testify in related criminal cases, according to CNN. In return for Schaffer's assistance, the Justice Department might later urge the judge to show leniency during his sentencing.

Also as part of the agreement, the Justice Department has offered to sponsor Schaffer for the witness protection program.

The 53-year-old musician was the first Capitol riot defendant to reach a plea deal.

The Indiana chapter of the Oath Keepers distanced itself from Schaffer after his arrest, claiming he was not a member of the local group. But the national organization, which sells lifetime memberships for $1,200, has not commented on his alleged affiliation with the group.

At a November 2020 Donald Trump rally in Washington, D.C., Schaffer was videotaped walking behind a Florida couple, Kelly Meggs and Connie Meggs, who were accused of being among 10 members of the Oath Keepers to have played a leading role in the Capitol assault. According to federal authorities, Kelly and Connie Meggs plotted for weeks ahead of the attack, attended training sessions and recruited others. Kelly Meggs is the head of the Oath Keepers' chapter in Florida.

Following the initial reports that Schaffer was involved in the riot, his ICED EARTH bandmates distanced themselves from his actions. Singer Stu Block and bassist Luke Appleton later posted separate statements on social media announcing their resignations. BLIND GUARDIAN frontman Hansi Kürsch also quit DEMONS & WIZARDS, his long-running project with Schaffer. The allegations also apparently affected Schaffer's relationship with his longtime record label Century Media, which had released albums from both ICED EARTH and DEMONS & WIZARDS. As of mid-January, the Century Media artist roster page did not list either band.
























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TAIPEI HOUSTON, the new band featuring Myles and Layne Ulrich, sons of METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich, performed last night (Thursday, December 16) at the August Hall in San Francisco, California.

Fan-filmed video of the concert, which was part of a series of METALLICA's "San Francisco Takeover" events to help mark the group's 40th anniversary, can be seen below.

TAIPEI HOUSTON played its first show in September at Alex's Bar in Long Beach, California.

Since joining Instagram in August, TAIPEI HOUSTON has already amassed 12,600 followers.

Back in April 2020, Lars posted a video of Myles and Layne's blistering take on THE BEATLES classic "Eleanor Rigby". At the time, he described their rendition to Rolling Stone as "this insane, three-minute BLUE CHEER, crazy, garage-rock version of 'Eleanor Rigby'.

"Obviously, there's been some incredible versions of 'Eleanor Rigby' along the way, but I'm pretty sure there’s never been one that had this kind of sound, this kind of feel, this kind of energy and madness to it," he said. "I was, like, 'You know what, boys? You done me proud.'"

23-year-old Myles, who plays drums, has spent time at Berklee College Of Music, while 20-year-old Layne, who plays bass and sings, studied at NYU.

Lars had Myles and Layne with former wife Skylar Satenstein. He also has another son, 14-year-old Bryce, with "Gladiator" actress Connie Nielsen.

Lars and model Jessica Miller got engaged in July 2013 and married two years later. It is the third marriage for Lars, who was previously married to Debbie Jones and Satenstein.


























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Professionally filmed video of HEART's Ann Wilson and her solo band THE AMAZING DAWGS performing covers of classic songs by QUEEN, John Lennon, THE WHO, AEROSMITH and LED ZEPPELIN on August 18, 2021 at the Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom in Hampton Beach, New Hampshire can be seen below.

Four months ago, Wilson and THE AMAZING DAWGS released a live EP called "Howlen Live". Joining Ann in the group are Tom Bukovac on lead guitar, Tony Lucido on bass, Paul Moak on guitar and keyboards, and Sean Lane on drums.

In April, Ann released another new single, "Black Wing". It is one of several songs the HEART frontwoman recorded in the fall of 2020 in Seattle with the help of local musicians, including current HEART bassist Andy Stoller and keyboardist Dan Walker. In addition to "Black Wing", Wilson recorded "Tender Heart" as well as covers of Steve Earle's "The Revolution Starts Now" and ALICE IN CHAINS' "Rooster", all three of which have been released as singles, plus another original, "The Hammer", which came out in February.

Earlier in the year, Ann said in an interview that there are no plans for HEART to work on new music in the immediate future.

HEART toured North America in the summer of 2019 after a nasty split that kept the Wilson sisters estranged for three years.

Ann's 2018 solo album, "Immortal", contained cover versions of classic songs by artists who have passed away.