In a new interview with Nick Bowcott of Sweetwater, EXODUS guitarist Gary Holt was asked about the comment in his memoir "A Fabulous Disaster: From The Garage To Madison Square Garden, The Hard Way" where he referred to himself as "a traveling clothes salesman". He explained (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): " That's all any of us are now. I mean, some bands — METALLICA, I'm sure, could do well without selling a single shirt — but for bands like EXODUS, we're a traveling pop-up store. We play music, so you'll come in and visit our store. I mean, we're lucky — I still get some royalties and stuff. If your guarantees cover the entire cost of the tour, you're way ahead of the game, because then the merchandise is yours. So you can go home with some money."

Holt went on to say that if anybody orders merchandise from his Holt Awaits online store, he will most likely personally put the package together before shipping it off to the buyer.

"[It's] my own shirts with all my tasteless serial killer merch and celebrity guitar picks and making fun of everything," he said. "If you order that, if I'm home, I'm the guy putting it in the thing. I'm not hiring someone to do it. There's no warehouse. I'm sitting in my office, and it's me stuffing that t-shirt in that poly mailer. But these are the things we have to do to stay ahead to keep the bills paid."

Gary previously talked about his online merchandise store this past July in an interview with Germany's Metal.de. He said at the time: "People think, 'Oh, you're a rich rock star.' No. I sell shirts, and I sell them outta my fucking closet. All right. Pack this one up, label it, send it off. But no, that just helps. It doesn't pay the bills. It helps to keep pay the bills. It helped really a lot in the pandemic. But I don't know. If I honestly retired, I'd probably do more producing. I'd stay in music. But sometimes I daydream about not leaving the house. 'Cause I hate leaving — I hate getting on the plane to leave — but as soon as I arrive, I have fun."

Holt was also asked about EXODUS bassist Jack Gibson's recent comment that he and his bandmates are "traveling t-shirt salesmen". Gary said: "[Selling shirts is] where we make our money. We're lucky… If you're in a band where the money you're paid to play covers your expenses and the t-shirt money is yours, you're doing really well. Because everything, especially since the pandemic — tour buses cost way more money. Everything costs more. Airfare costs more. It's fucking hard. We do okay, we do pretty good. But then when you come home and you don't work for two months, that money you made has to cover, stretch out over all of it. So it's not what people think."

In a July 2024 interview with Danielle Bloom, Gibson was asked what advice he would give to musicians who are just starting out, as well as to those musicians who maybe are a little jaded at this point in their career. He responded: "I don't know what to tell young musicians today because I am jaded. And it isn't that I'm just jaded, it's that there's no music business anymore.

"When I was young, there was a path, there were steps to take," he explained. "You got your band together, you put your music together, you started looking for shows, and if you could draw people to your shows, then the next step was that label people would be interested. Then you had to get your promotional pack together to give to the labels that were interested. And then you tried to get signed and then you tried to make records and sell records And those steps don't exist at all anymore. Now the step is make a band — or not even make a band. Let's just go viral. I don't know to do that. Don't ask me how to fucking do that. I'm in my fifties. I don't know how to do that shit. It's totally a mystery to me. I don't know how things get popular now, other than just total luck. So I don't know.

"Here in Nashville [where I live now], young musicians, they ask me that all the time," he continued. "And I kind of feel like a dick when I'm answering, because I'm, like, 'Guys, I don't know.' I don't know what makes things tick. The bands that are real popular, I don't know why those bands are popular. And I'm not saying that they're not good; I just don't know why those ones are the ones that stand out from the other ones right now. It all kind of sounds the same to me. I guess it's probably because I'm just old. But I don't know what direction to give anybody."

When Bloom noted out that "we are living in different times" right now, Gibson concurred. "There's no business," he said. "Once they started giving the music away, there's no business. We don't sell shit for records. If we don't go out and sell t-shirts, we don't make money. I'm a t-shirt salesman. I'm not a musician. I'm literally a traveling tchotchke seller. That's what we do. We play music to try to get people to the store and sell them our fuckin' stuff with stuff printed on it. That's the business. If you can't fill up a room, 50,000 units moved on the Internet, then they don't wanna talk to you. And any day now, we're all gonna lose our jobs to these fuckin' robots. Once the A.I. figures out how to actually make music that people enjoy, they're not gonna pay us to do shit."

After Bloom expressed her belief that people will always be interested in seeing live music being performed by humans, Jack said: "Well, that's true. But at this point in time, most of the music business isn't that; most of it is licensing and commercial jingles and music editing and music recording. All that's gonna just disappear. There's gonna be 50 people out there who make music that people are interested in that can't be reproduced. And then the rest of it… Like, who's gonna pay somebody to write music for a movie? Or pay an orchestra, pay 60 people to come in and perform it when one guy can just go [punch a few commands into a computer] and it comes out. And we're not gonna know the fucking difference. Things are changing so fast that I don't really know what to say."

Earlier this month, EXODUS filmed music videos for three songs from the band's upcoming studio album, tentatively due next spring via Napalm Records. The clips are being helmed by Jim Louvau, a musical and visual creative artist based in Phoenix, Arizona, who previously worked on EXODUS's music video for the song "The Fires Of Division" from the band's previous LP, 2021's "Persona Non Grata".

The Alquimia 7 channel on YouTube has uploaded video of ASESINO (Spanish for "assassin" or "murderer") — the death metal/grindcore project featuring FEAR FACTORY guitarist Dino Cazares and FEAR FACTORY/STATIC-X bassist Tony Campos (on bass/vocals) — performing a special "Dino Cazares-era" BRUJERIA set on December 19 at 1720 in Los Angeles, California. Check out the clips below.

Cazares co-founded BRUJERIA in 1989 and appeared on the band's first three albums — "Matando Güeros" (1993),"Raza Odiada" (1995) and "Brujerizmo" (2000). He left BRUJERIA in 2005 to focus on other projects.

Over the course of the last three and a half decades, BRUJERIA has boasted a revolving lineup of high-profile musicians, including FAITH NO MORE bassist Billy Gould, ex-FEAR FACTORY drummer Raymond Herrera and CARCASS bassist/vocalist Jeff Walker.

ASESINO has spent the last few years sporadically working on material for its long-awaited third album.

The band's second disc, "Cristo Satanico", came out in 2006.

As with BRUJERIA, ASESINO's lyrics are sung entirely in Spanish and with the same subject matter of death, violence and perversion.

ASESINO sometimes plays SLAYER covers live, most notably "Angel Of Death" and "Raining Blood".

ASESINO made a guest appearance as a group of Mexican doctors in episode 57 of "Metalocalypse" on Adult Swim.

Just a few days away to this rager! Are you on deck with tickets? If not, then get to clicking!

https://www.etix.com/ticket/p/61803368/asesino-live-los-angeles-1720

Posted by Daniel Dismal on Tuesday, December 16, 2025

On December 5, former MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson performed at Music Factory in Cremona, Italy as part of the fall 2025 European leg of his "Bass Warrior Tour". The trek featured Ellefson and his solo band performing select cuts from his well-known catalog of MEGADETH hits, solo material and other hard rock and metal favorites which inspired him during his 40-year music career. Accompanying Ellefson on this tour was Italian guitarist and musical director Andy Martongelli, a longtime friend and collaborator who has been by Ellefson's side during his solo ventures, "Basstory", ELLEFSON-SOTO and ALTITUDES & ATTITUDE tours across Europe.

Fan-filmed video of the Cremona concert can be seen below (courtesy of Loud And Proud Italy).

When the "Bass Warrior Tour" was first announced, Ellefson said in a statement: "I've approached my career as that of a musical warrior, always accompanied by my bass guitar. I eagerly anticipate bringing these songs back to the stage, while sharing introspective and entertaining anecdotes about their creation. It's been a wild ride of low notes and high stakes!"

Ellefson was originally in MEGADETH from the band's inception in 1983 to 2002, when the group briefly broke up because MEGADETH leader Dave Mustaine suffered severe nerve damage that left him unable to play.

Mustaine reformed MEGADETH 21 years ago. Originally setting out to record a solo album, Mustaine enlisted studio musicians to play on what ultimately became MEGADETH's 2004 "The System Has Failed" comeback album, subsequently recruiting former ICED EARTH bassist James MacDonough to take Ellefeson's place for the album's touring cycle.

Ellefson sued Mustaine in 2004 for $18.5 million, alleging that the MEGADETH guitarist/vocalist still owed him substantial merchandise and publishing royalties. In January 2005, the case was dismissed in court, and five years later, Ellefson rejoined MEGADETH.

In his first book, Ellefson admitted that he became a salaried employee upon his return to MEGADETH 15 years ago. He told Metal-Rules.com in an interview: "Going from being a co-founding owner to just a sideman musician was initially why I didn't come back in 2004. I was not happy with the participations that were presented to me. In recent times, coming back, I found great joy in doing music with a lot of other people in other settings that helped me fall back in love with playing music. Now I can come back into or go into musical situations and be able to be there for a purpose and level of pay. Being a sideman absolves you from being involved in all the other stuff. At this point in my life, I would rather leave that stuff on the sidelines. Like American Express says, 'membership has its privileges,' being a sideman has its benefits. In my case, it helps retain a friendship too. In order to have a friendship, I had to give up some ownership."

During a February 2021 appearance on Mitch Joel's "Groove - The No Treble Podcast", Ellefson reflected on his legal battle with Mustaine, saying: "I firmly believe Dave and I ended up in that situation because he and I were not directly communicating. There was a new manager, a new lawyer, a new team of people, and they were all trying to impress the client, so they were just, 'Well, we're just doing whatever the boss tells us to do.' And it's, like, wait a minute — your job is to manage and counsel and direct your client, and — in my opinion — avoid litigation, avoid these things. Those people are no longer here — they've all been let go, thank God — and once most of them were let go was when Dave and I had an opportunity to come back and reconcile. And as soon as Dave and I get in a room, it's, like, 'What the hell are we fighting over? Get your guitar. Let's play. Let's jam.' And then it becomes about the music, and there it is. So when we keep it on that level, it goes well. When the business people and the lawyers and the people come in and they try to sort of put logic around it, that's when the trouble [begins].

"I've always said MEGADETH is completely illogical — there's no logic to it at all," he continued. "And there's not really supposed to be, because it's something of the heart — it's not of the head; it's of the heart. I always say the longest journey is the 15 inches from the head to the heart. To memorize it is one thing, but to know it by heart is another thing. And that's what we do as musicians — we don't just memorize it; we have to really [know] it by heart. And that's what a group is — a musical setting is about that. And, of course, there has to be some sort of business dynamic around it to kind of make it work, I guess — at least for the accountants."

Ellefson was fired from MEGADETH more than four years ago after sexually tinged messages and explicit video footage involving the bassist were posted on Twitter.

🎸 05 DICEMBRE 2025
– UNA NOTTE STORICA IN COMPAGNIA DI David Ellefson
Preparati a vivere un evento unico nel suo...

Posted by Cris Cris on Sunday, November 30, 2025

Swedish doom folk pioneers WITCHCRAFT will release a new five-song EP, "A Sinner's Child", on March 13 via Heavy Psych Sounds Records. The LP's soul-stirring title track can now be streamed below.

Following the monumental critical success of WITCHCRAFT's 2025 comeback album "IDAG", the heavy rock unit has returned with a striking and intimate new chapter.

WITCHCRAFT's founder, vocalist, and visionary Magnus Pelander strips the sound to its soul on this new EP. Moving between the melodic proto-doom depth of songs like "Drömmen Om Död Och Förruttnelse" and "Själen Reser Sig", and the luminous folk of lead single "A Sinner's Child" and its sequel "Sinner's Clear Confusion", to the soulful acoustic dirge of "Even Darker Days", these songs are woven from a more personal, immediate thread by the magnetic multi-instrumentalist.

The "A Sinner's Child" EP presents Pelander's songwriting in its most stirring and vulnerable form — a direct conduit to the haunting melodies and emotional depth that have defined WITCHCRAFT's legacy for over two decades. It's a testament to the timeless power of a voice, a melody, and the raw materials of rock, distilled to their essence, and a potent epilogue to "IDAG".

The storyline of WITCHCRAFT's growth, from Pelander's starting the band in Örebro in 2000 in the wake of his prior outfit NORRSKEN's disbanding. A generational landmark of a 2004 self-titled debut helped spark a retroist movement that has become its own subgenre, but WITCHCRAFT never stopped growing. 2005's "Firewood" and 2007's "The Alchemist" introduced more progressive sounds, and five years later, the pointedly modern "Legend" established in 2012 that they had moved beyond the analog worship they had been a part of pioneering within the contemporary heavy rock and doom scene.

In 2016, the 2LP "Nucleus" introduced fuller-toned doom, and 2020's "Black Metal" diverged into moody acoustic minimalism familiar to some fans from Pelander's early solo work, but different from anything WITCHCRAFT had done prior. "IDAG", then, was the tie that drew all of this — more than two decades of exploring and growth — together.

KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons spoke to CBS News about his appearance in front of a Senate subcommittee hearing on the American Music Fairness Act, which would require that artists are paid when their recordings are played on the radio. Asked by "CBS News 24/7 Mornings" anchor Vladimir Duthiers what his argument is and what he is hoping lawmakers took away from his remarks, Gene said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Congress must pass a bill called the American Music Fairness Act. American music — we invented rock and roll, blues, hip-hop, country and western, jazz, all of it. It comes from here. America's music is the music of the planet. Whether you're talking about Bing Crosby singing 'I'm dreaming of a white Christmas', written by Irving Berlin, perhaps almost a hundred years ago, all the way to today's music. Elvis Presley has never been paid a single penny for all the — God knows — tens of thousands of hours you heard his voice coming out of AM and FM radio. I'm gonna say this again: your favorite artist does not get paid a single red cent when you hear their voices emanating from AM and FM radio. Meantime, the radio industry itself just made 14 billion dollars — that's with a 'b' — by selling advertising. And by the way, more power to them. I'm not here to demonize them, but it's time to pay artists something — somewhere between nothing and 14 billion dollars that the radio industry takes in. So this is a loophole that's got to be filled — not so much for me; I'm doing okay. I make a living. But all the new artists, every little one of those pennies helps them survive. For God's sakes, our children and our children's children are gonna be tomorrow's stars, which means the world's stars. Let's give 'em a chance. Right now if their songs are played on AM and FM, they're getting zippo, zero."

Asked if he thinks think his plea has fallen on deaf ears or if the lawmakers will "actually get this legislation done," Gene said: "I had the pleasure to meet the speaker of the house, some face time, and Senator Marsha Blackburn, and also Mr. [Adam] Schiff on the Democratic part. They are aligned with the idea that this has gotta be fixed. I had some personal face time with the president alone, just generally talking about family and stuff. I won't mention what else we talked about, but this will pass because it's an injustice that has long been overdue.

"I'd like to stress that there's a profound difference between streaming, and AM and FM radio," Simmons clarified. "We're only talking about AM and FM. My companion, when I drive down the highway, is AM and FM. I turn on my favorite station, and as I go from city to city, I turn on [the radio and] I wanna hear Sinatra. Frank Sinatra estate was never paid a single penny all those millions of times you heard Sinatra sing those songs. Celine Dion, Whitney Houston never made a penny when you heard them on the radio, but radio stations made a ton of money. And so have lots of other people. We're not talking about writers or publishers. They were paid. But the reason I tune in is not because somebody wrote a song or somebody hooted a flute someplace. I wanna hear Elvis or Whitney or the newest artists. They get paid nothing and that's gotta get fixed right now."

Gene testified before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee's Intellectual Property Subcommittee on Tuesday, December 9 during a hearing on the American Music Fairness Act (S.326/H.R.861),legislation to close the radio loophole and compel radio corporations to pay performers for playing their music.

During his seven-minute speech, which can be seen in its entirety below, Simmons stressed the importance of passing the bill that would force AM/FM radio stations to pay royalties to the copyright holders of respective works played.

"Thank you, Mr. Chairman," Gene said in part. "I was happy to see many of you this Sunday where KISS, our little band, was honored at the Kennedy Center with President Trump. I'm proud to say I first met President Trump years before he got into politics. And I'm happy to remind everyone here in this room that our President Trump signed the Music Modernization Act in 2018. This bill updated copyright protection for the digital era.

"The world is changing. We've got to stay ahead of the curve and legislators need to be informed on all of these things because, let's face it, you do the work of the people. We elect you, and we hope and we expect you to do the will of the people.

"I'm grateful to President Trump for his leadership on issues important to our artists past, present and future.

"I'm here to kindly ask all of you, both Republicans and Democrats, to help us remedy a situation — an injustice, let's call it for what it is, an injustice that's been ongoing for many, many decades. I'm gonna tell you what I mean.

"Bing Crosby recorded perhaps one of the biggest songs of all time, 'White Christmas'. What's more American than that? Written by Irving Berlin. It's been on radio, AM and FM — later on FM; originally in AM — millions of times. Every Christmas we, and around the world, are listening to 'I'm dreaming of a white Christmas'. That's America's song. Everyone received money — the radio station sold advertising, the plumber who fixed the plumbing got paid, the disc jockey got paid. The only person that was never paid for the airplay was Bing Crosby, which is astonishing.

"I wanna talk about why this is called the American Music — you gotta stop there — American Music Fairness Act. Yes, it's an act that's fair because there isn't fairness ongoing right now, but it's American music. America. Last time I checked Zimbabwe gave the world no music. I can't sing you a French song, and nobody else. It's America's music that rules this planet. Elvis [Presley], baby, the king. Elvis, who sang hundreds and hundreds of songs, and I met the gentleman when he was alive, and sadly Elvis never got a penny for all the times, all the millions of times that his music was played around the world. If you go to Africa… you hear that music. That is our emissary. That's bigger and cooler and better than any foreign minister that goes on. American culture spreads with our music, with our pop culture. Elvis never got a penny.

"This bill, when it's passed, 'cause the word 'if' is for losers… We are gonna pass this bill. It is bipartisan. You will do the will of the people because 70% of the United States of America in a recent poll said, 'We want this injustice cured now and once and for all.' Getting close to the finish line does not work… We're only talking about AM and FM radio and paying our Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, even my newest best friend George Strait, who's a co-winner, proud winner of the Kennedy Honors. I walked up to George and we started talking about family and 'where you from?' 'I'm from Texas,' and I said, 'I'm from Israel. Same thing, planet Earth.' And we started talking and trading stuff and I told him, 'George, do you know one of your biggest songs, 'Amarillo [By Morning]', which has been broadcast on AM and FM radio hundreds of thousands of times, do you know you never got a penny for any of those broadcasts?' He looked around, he said, 'What do you mean?' Because he sings other people's songs. 'What do you mean?' He turned to his handlers. 'No, that's true.' How do you defend that?

"How do we dare come in second to Russia, an alleged country led by a despot when they do a better job of paying our king of rock and roll, and we're gonna stand by and not pay today's artists and future artists, because, let's face it, our children are tomorrow's stars. They're gonna claw and fight their way up to the top, and it's really hard to do it. And once you reach the top of Mount Olympus, which is in the center of America, baby — don't kid yourself; it ain't in Greece. This is the land of opportunity where greatness is possible… When you work hard and you get to the top, what do you got? Zipperoni. That's not the American way. If you are against this bill, you are un-American. You cannot let this injustice continue.

"It looks like a small issue. There are wars going on and everything, but our emissaries to the world areElvis and Frank Sinatra. And then when they find out we're not treating our stars right, in other words, worse than slaves… Slaves get food and water. Elvis and Bing Crosby and Sinatra got nothing for their performance. You've got to change this now for our children and our children's children, and I know you will. The president will sign this once all you guys, respectfully, get your act together and put this across the board. Let's do the right thing. God bless, America."

Simmons testified alongside Michael Huppe, president and CEO of SoundExchange, the non-profit designated by Congress to collect and distribute digital streaming royalties to artists. Huppe has helped lead the fight in recent years to build support for the American Music Fairness Act, a bipartisan bill that ensures radio corporations play by the same rules as every other music delivery platform that pays performers royalties.

AM/FM radio remains the only major music delivery platform in the United States that still refuses to pay performers for their work. Apple Music, Spotify, Pandora, SiriusXM, YouTube and TikTok all pay performers, while the corporate radio industry earns billions of dollars each year without paying artists fairly. The United States stands as the world's only democracy that still refuses to pay artists, putting it in the same league as North Korea, Iran, and Cuba. Even Russia and China pay performers royalties.

Simmons, who started his career as a small-venue musician and was honored at the Kennedy Center on December 7, was one of more than 300 major artists who sent a letter to Congressional leaders earlier this year urging them to pass the American Music Fairness Act. His support has helped breathe new life into this effort — today's hearing marked the first time in more than a decade that the Senate had held a hearing on the American Music Fairness Act.

The American Music Fairness Act is sponsored by Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Congressman Darrell Issa (R-CA). The bill takes a balanced approach to ensure artists are fairly compensated when their songs are played on AM/FM radio, require big radio corporations to finally pay their fair share, and help small independent broadcasters thrive. The legislation is supported by a diverse coalition of artists, broadcasters, labels, and music lovers:

Broadcasters, such as the Alliance for Community Media, Common Frequency, Media Alliance, the National Federation of Community Broadcasters (NFCB),Prometheus Radio Project and REC Networks — which represent a broad coalition of community broadcasters — also support AMFA.

Last month, more than a dozen major artists asked Congress not to pass legislation requiring AM radio in new vehicles without also closing the radio loophole for artists.

More than 300 artists sent a letter to Congressional leaders in February urging them to pass the American Music Fairness Act.

Country music icon Randy Travis memorably testified before the House last year urging adoption of the legislation.

Four members of JOURNEY's current touring lineup performed a medley of the band's songs "Lights", "Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'" and "Don't Stop Believin'" on the season 28 finale of the NBC singing competition show "The Voice" on Tuesday, December 16.

Coaches Michael Bublé, Snoop Dogg and Reba McEntire hit the stage and sang a cover of "Lights", accompanied by Schon and the rest of the JOURNEY musicians. Some season 28 fan-favorite artists were also featured in the performance. The medley ended with a rousing cover of "Don't Stop Believin'".

The official video of the performance can be seen below.

On December 14, Schon took to his social media to write that he would take the stage at "The Voice" with "members of the current JOURNEY touring band" to promote JOURNEY's upcoming tour. He later clarified that he would play with Deen Castronovo (drums and vocals),Jason Derlatka (keyboards and vocals) and Todd Jensen (bass),adding that keyboardist Jonathan Cain and singer Arnel Pineda "could not make" the show.

Schon wrote: "There were many other great TV opportunities that I had to turn down.

"I want to work and promote after being off for close to a year."

Last month, JOURNEY announced the "Final Frontier" farewell tour, set to launch in early 2026. Presented by AEG Presents, the first North American leg of "Final Frontier" will consist of 60 dates, kicking off on February 28 in Hershey, Pennsylvania, and wrapping up on July 2 in Laredo, Texas.

Billed as "A Special Evening With Journey", the "Final Frontier" tour promises an "all-new, special evening with stage production across North America with their catalog of global chart-topping hits, including 'Don't Stop Believin'', 'Any Way You Want It', 'Faithfully', 'Lights' and more in a celebration of legacy, love and the fans who made it all possible."

JOURNEY has had 19 Top 40 singles and sold more than 100 million albums worldwide since forming in 1973.

Schon is a three-time Hall Of Fame inductee, having been inducted into the Oklahoma Hall Of Fame, the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame and the Grammy Hall Of Fame. Cain is a recipient of two BMI songwriter awards and was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame as a member of JOURNEY.

Edsel Records has set a March 6, 2026 release date for RAINBOW's "The Temple Of The King: 1975-1976", the most comprehensive collection of the opening phase of RAINBOW's career to date, and is the first in a series of anthology sets covering the career of legendary guitarist Ritchie Blackmore. The nine-CD set, newly mastered by Andy Pearce and Matt Wortham, is housed in deluxe seven-inch packaging featuring a 24-page booklet including memorabilia, photos and sleeve notes by music writer Rich Davenport.

The set spans RAINBOW's first two years and includes the band's debut album, "Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow"; their breakthrough record "Rising" and the extended German concerts that were compiled as part of the double live album "On Stage". The final two discs comprise rare recordings, many of which are featured on CD for the first time, including band rehearsals, single edits, and rough mixes.

RAINBOW was initially formed as a Ritchie Blackmore solo project in the early months of 1975, after a DEEP PURPLE tour of the previous year. On that tour, they were supported by the American band ELF. The singer of ELF, Ronnie James Dio, left an impression on the already legendary guitarist Blackmore. Blackmore asked him to sing on a cover of the song "Black Sheep Of The Family". The sessions went so well that a full album began to take shape, with Blackmore and Dio collaborating on original songs. Blackmore had such foresight in this project, he solely financially funded the work and thus began the mystical musical world of RAINBOW. The resulting record, "Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow", was recorded between February and March 1975 at Musicland Studios in Munich, Germany. With Blackmore's composing prowess and Dio's mystical lyrics, the band was set to take fans to a new level.

The album's unusual stylistic blend of hard rock and classical music was partly inspired by Blackmore taking up the cello to help him break free of the confines of conventional guitar chord progressions. "Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow" was a top 15 hit in the U.K. and top 30 in the U.S., and was such a positive experience that in the summer of 1975, that Blackmore left DEEP PURPLE to commit himself fully to RAINBOW.

Recruiting bassist Jimmy Bain, keyboard player Tony Carey and ex-JEFF BECK GROUP drummer Cozy Powell, Ritchie Blackmore's RAINBOW undertook their first tour. By 1976, the band's name had been shortened to RAINBOW, and a second album, "Rising", was recorded in February of that year once again at Musicland. "Rising", with its iconic sleeve of a fist holding a rainbow in a mystical scene, only features six tracks, including two epic compositions on side two, one of which, "Stargazer", is widely regarded as a RAINBOW classic and a landmark in hard rock. The original musical stylings are often touted as the first neo-classical metal band. It was the perfect melding of Ritchie's guitar wizardry and Ronnie's soaring powerful vocals.

Taking the album on the road in 1976, the band added DEEP PURPLE's "Mistreated" to their setlist, and song lengths were stretched to include improvisational sections. The band recorded shows in Germany and Japan, which were edited and compiled as the live album "On Stage", released in the summer of 1977. Three of the German shows from Cologne, Düsseldorf, and Nürnberg are being released together for the first time outside of Japan on "The Temple Of The King: 1975-1976".

By the end of 1976, RAINBOW had established itself as one of the cornerstones of British rock, and, under the leadership of the never-predictable but ever-astonishing guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, would become synonymous with some of the most loved and popular rock songs of the '70s and '80s.

Rock band HAWTHORNE HEIGHTS invites fans to join them in celebrating their acclaimed album "If Only You Were Lonely" in 2026 with a special 20th-anniversary tour. Featuring special guests LETLIVE. and CREEPER, the tour's first leg kicks off on March 5 in Lexington, with stops to follow in Denver, Seattle, Los Angeles, Dallas, Austin and more.

Tickets, including VIP packages, will be available on Friday, October 31 at 10 a.m. local time at hawthorneheights.com.

"The best thing about looking back on the last 20 years is that you can do it without the fear of the past, but with the reverence that comes with the time that has actually passed," shares HAWTHORNE HEIGHTS frontman JT Woodruff. "I feel like all of the noise of that time period was drowned out by the panic and stress that we were living under, when creating 'If Only You Were Lonely'. The pressure of creating a second album was almost too much to enjoy the magic we were creating, or even thinking about it as magic at all. While the fans never saw anything going on behind the scenes, 'If Only You Were Lonely' is a true tale of triumph and tragedy that changed our lives forever. It has all the haunting hallmarks of a fairy tale and horror movie, but rolled into a tightly wound package of true life chaos. During all of that chaos, we never gave up hope, which is why we are happy to finally do a tour of this magnitude, to show our fans that life is an experience that will challenge every single emotion that you are capable of."

He continues: "That is how we are approaching the 'Lonely World Tour'. We will be playing the entire album, with a career spanning setlist, that is a full-on rollercoaster ride designed to make you forget what you are going through alone, while hopping in the car so we can all go through it TOGETHER. Whether you are coming for a night of everlasting nostalgia, or prepared to exercise some lifelong demons, you will be in a room full of people who are ready to share this experience as life is supposed to be shared. TOGETHER."

Ahead of the upcoming anniversary tour, HAWTHORNE HEIGHTS will be on the road this fall for a number of headline dates in addition to supporting CHIODOS on the "All's Well That Ends Well" tour this November and December. Fans can also catch the band on the E.N.D. Cruise in January, and at Sonic Temple festival and U.K.'s Slam Dunk festival in May.

HAWTHORNE HEIGHTS, formed in Dayton, Ohio in 2001 , built their reputation on emotionally raw songwriting, blending the urgency of post-hardcore with the melodic sensibilities of early 2000s emo and punk. Frontman JT Woodruff's lyrics often explore themes of distance, identity, and perseverance, drawing on both personal experiences and the band's deep roots in the alternative music scene.

Throughout their long and storied career, HAWTHORNE HEIGHTS have overcome obstacles at every turn — but these challenges often came from external forces, from unscrupulous record labels and shifting musical trends to unimaginable personal tragedy that threatened to derail them.

Despite the odds, the quartet — JT Woodruff (vocals, guitar),Mark McMillon (guitar, backing vocals),and Matt Ridenour (bass, backing vocals) — has persevered. They've earned two gold albums (2004's "The Silence In Black And White" and 2006's "If Only You Were Lonely"),written some of the genre's most enduring anthems ("Ohio Is For Lovers", "Saying Sorry"),and remained a relentless touring force nearly two decades after their formation.

Early 2026 leg of "Lonely World Tour":

March 05 - Lexington, KY @ Manchester Music Hall
March 06 - Bloomington, IL @ Castle Theater
March 09 - Minneapolis, MN @ First Ave
March 12 - Denver, CO @ Summit
March 13 - Salt Lake City, UT @ The Depot
March 14 - Boise, ID @ Treefort Music Hall
March 15 - Spokane, WA @ Knitting Factory Spokane
March 17 - Seattle, WA @ El Corazon
March 18 - Portland, OR @ Roseland
March 21 - Anaheim, CA @ House of Blues
March 22 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Belasco
March 23 - San Diego, CA @ House of Blues
March 24 - Tempe, AZ @ Marquee (Half House)
March 25 - Albuquerque, NM @ Sunshine Theater
March 27 - Dallas, TX @ House of Blues
March 28 - San Antonio, TX @ Vibes Event Center
March 29 - Austin, TX @ Emo's
March 31 - Houston, TX @ House of Blues
April 1 - Little Rock, AR @ The Hall

Press photo credit: Sarai Kelley

KISS legends Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley recently spoke with Vladimir Duthiers of "CBS Mornings" about their road to stardom and being among the 2025 Kennedy Center honorees who were presented with their medals by U.S. president Donald Trump during a ceremony in the Oval Office on December 6.

Reflecting on the fact that original KISS guitarist Ace Frehley died less than two months before he was supposed to be honored alongside his bandmates, Gene said:  "The saddest thing of all is that Ace couldn't live long enough to see this amazing thing."

Paul chimed in: "You can't build something without a strong foundation. And Ace and Peter [Criss, original KISS drummer] and Gene and I are that foundation."

Gene added: "We are there at the finish line with Peter. And Ace is up there and he's gonna be watching and proud."

Stanley went on to say that KISS receiving the Kennedy Center honor is the culmination of decades of hard work.

"We are products of the American dream," he explained. "There are opportunities, and they're not always the same for everybody, but you're willing to work hard and find out how much something matters to you by how much you're willing to work to get it."

Other Kennedy Center Honors recipients this year were actor Sylvester Stallone, singers Gloria Gaynor and George Strait and actor-singer Michael Crawford.

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

Before presenting Simmons, Stanley and Criss, along with Frehley's daughter Monique, with their medals, Trump called KISS an "incredible rock band" and acknowledged Ace, "who now is resting in peace", adding that the guitarist's "beautiful daughter is here to accept the award."

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

The day of Frehley's passing, Simmons, shared a touching statement reflecting on the guitarist's impact and the Kennedy Center Honor.

"Our hearts are broken. Ace has passed on," Gene wrote. "No one can touch Ace's legacy. I know he loved the fans. He told me many times. Sadder still, Ace didn't live long enough to be honored at the Kennedy Ctr Honors event in Dec. Ace was the eternal rock soldier. Long may his legacy live on!"

Trump announced the honorees in August during a press conference at the performing arts center.

When KISS's Kennedy Center Honor was first announced, Simmons told TMZ: "KISS is the embodiment of the American Dream. We are deeply honored to receive the Kennedy Center Honor."

Stanley added: "From our earliest days, KISS has embodied the American ideal that all things are possible and that hard work pays off. The prestige of the Kennedy Center Honors cannot be overstated and I accept this on behalf of the long legacy of kiss and all of the band members who helped create our iconic band."

Frehley, meanwhile, called the Kennedy Center Honor "a dream come true that I never thought would materialize."

Criss kept his statement simple, saying: "I feel so blessed. This is the greatest honor of our career."

During his first term, Trump seemingly paid no attention to the Kennedy Center, often skipping the honors ceremony. He has since vowed to transform the marquee arts center, first ousting its leadership board, then filling the board of trustees with his loyalists.

In September 2020, Frehley called Trump "the strongest leader that we've got." Two years earlier, the original KISS guitarist also expressed his support for America's 45th president during an appearance on the "Juliet: Unexpected" podcast. At the time, he said about Trump: "Whether you love him or hate him, if you're an American and you're a patriot, you should get behind your president. He was elected. We live under the Constitution of the United States, and you're supposed to support your president. Love him or hate him, you're supposed to support him, or go move to another country.

"Being American, we have the right to free speech, and I'm all for everybody putting their two cents in on everything," he added. "But when musicians or actors get really verbal and jump on a bandwagon against our government, I don't agree with that."

The Kennedy Center Honors recognizes and celebrates individuals whose unique artistic contributions have shaped our world. Recipients have each had an impact on the rich tapestry of American life and culture through the performing arts. Whether in music, dance, theater, opera, motion pictures, or television, each Kennedy Center honoree has a unique place in the fabric of our nation and their influence has inspired audiences from all walks of life.

The honoree selection process includes solicitation of recommendations from former honorees, the artistic community, the Kennedy Center board of trustees, and the general public. This year's selected honorees were chosen based on the recommendation of the Center's special honors advisory committee.

Dalstrong, which focuses on producing precision-forged knives and premium kitchen tools, has created an ultra-limited edition, unapologetically over-the-top tribute to five decades of Thunderock. Meticulously crafted as a piece of functional culinary tool art, Gene Simmons's Hellfire Demon Axe reimagines the legendary Axe Bass in meat-cleaving form. Uniting the axe with Sammy The Serpent, this is a collision of KISS history, from humble New York City origins through mega-stardom to the "End Of The Road" at Madison Square Garden. A one-time-only release built to honor 50 years of KISS for the KISS Army who kept the faith, every detail, sharp edge and finish honors the stagecraft that defined generations of music.

Gene Simmons's Hellfire Demon Axe is a 650 unit limited edition. It'll only ever exist once, so use your headstart. The KISS 2-piece chef and paring knife set? Stock is limited on this first drop. Once word gets out, it's gonna go fast. And it's the same for the KISS steak knife set. Limited quantities... and this one's got cult classic written all over it.

In the video below, Dalstrong goes backstage with Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley at last month's "KISS Kruise: Landlocked In Vegas" event at Las Vegas' Virgin Hotels resort and casino complex to get their thoughts on the company's KISS collection knives and StudioForge Axe.

Dalstrong CEO and founder Dave Dallaire spent a lot of time working in professional kitchens and restaurants in his youth, watching and feeling the passion, excitement, and uncompromising drive for perfection. He watched line cooks and sous chefs break their backs, covered in grease and blisters, with no rest and no glory. These intrepid warriors are what make restaurants successful, and they are anything but traditional. They give their heart and soul day in and day out for their craft. Where were the exciting culinary tools to match their spirit?

Dalstrong was born from this insight, to better serve the modern needs and tastes of the men and women who are the heartbeat of the industry, to give culinary artists tools that take them to places beyond their imagination, to inspire limitless creativity with their cooking, and have more fun while doing it.

Dalstrong believes in the power of cooking to unite us and bring out the best in people, to break barriers and build community. The tools Dalstrong creates are made to empower your creative journey and, in some cases, take your professional career to the next level.

For more information, visit dalstrong.com.

Unleash the legend. ⚡ Presenting the KISS™️ x STUDIOFORGE™️ GENE SIMMONS’ HELLFIRE DEMON AXE, a once-in-a-lifetime...

Posted by Dalstrong on Friday, November 28, 2025

Calling all KISS Army, the show is about to begin! 🤘🎸

Introducing the KISS™️ Edition 2-Piece Knife Set, a duo forged...

Posted by Dalstrong on Thursday, November 27, 2025

Former MOTÖRHEAD and current SCORPIONS drummer Mikkey Dee is the featured guest on the latest episode of "Metal Sticks", the new podcast hosted by Nicko McBrain, the iconic drummer of IRON MAIDEN for 42 years, recently retired from touring, and Modern Drummer CEO David Frangioni. You can now watch the second part of the chat below.

Speaking about December 2024 near-death experience when he initially developed sepsis after spraining his foot, Mikkey said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I got caught with sepsis, and I was in the hospital for five weeks, struggling, really. From the beginning it was a struggle for my life, basically, I would say. I did not realize that at the time, of course, but the further down the road we went, I realized how serious this was. I had three operations on my right foot and calf. They had to cut open three times and stop the infection that my foot blew up, like an overcooked Christmas ham. It was unbelievable. And my liver and gallbladder was shutting down. I was yellow and I had a tremendous infection in my body. So I was fighting heavy for that. And I had so many doctors involved, from orthopedics to internal into infection. Three different hospitals in Sweden, and the nurses and doctors did an amazing job to keep me alive and not to even amputate my leg, because that was very close, to cut that bad boy off."

Mikkey continued: "It was very tough. And I'm still not recovered. I mean, inside I feel great. I'm bacteria free since many, many months, but the foot in itself kind of hurts in the joints. It's gonna take a long time for the swelling to kind of… I'm sure it's a little bit inflamed. And when I use my foot so much, it hurts a lot. By the end of a set, I have to kind of limp off the stage a little bit because my foot hurts tremendously. With that said, I'm playing a full set, and I feel that I'm reaching the level where I should be. I take the pain and I deal with it. And hopefully eventually this will go away and the swelling will go down a little bit more. And maybe we have to do some adjustments next year to my foot. I don't know."

SCORPIONS performed live for the first time in more than seven months on March 15, 2025 at the 25th edition of the Vive Latino festival at the Estadio GNP Seguros (formerly Foro Sol) in Mexico City, Mexico. The show, which was streamed for free on Amazon Music, marked the band's debut live appearance since Dee's near-death experience. Filling in for Mikkey for several songs at the show was his son Marcus.

"My son Marcus stepped in and did half a SCORPIONS show in Mexico City, because we had to do this one-off show and my foot was not ready for a full show," Mikkey told "Metal Sticks". I could do maybe two or three songs and then the foot was done. And Marcus learned the whole set, came with me to Germany, rehearsed, learned the set, and we flew to Mexico City. And I played six songs and he went up and did seven songs, and I did the two encores. It was brilliant, and it was a hundred thousand people in the audience. And he'd never done shows like this, a 20-year-old guy, boy. And he's an amazing drummer, I know that. He jammed with MOTÖRHEAD when he was seven years old. I have video stuff when he is banging away. I showed Steve Lukather that one time, and he said, 'Man, that guy's got the whack.' So he actually saved my ass there."

In January 2025, SCORPIONS postponed their 2025 Las Vegas residency due to Dee's recovery from his hospitalization. Promoted by Live Nation and Caesars Entertainment, "Scorpions - Coming Home To Las Vegas 60th Anniversary Las Vegas Residency" eventually took place in August.

In January 2025, Mikkey, who was previously a member of MOTÖRHEAD for 23 years, revealed that he was recovering after spending most of the holiday season battling a "very serious blood infection (Sepsis)."

In a post on social media, Dee said he spent three weeks in a hospital in his hometown of Gothenburg, Sweden, during which he underwent "several operations." He thanked his doctors and nurses for their "excellent care" and said he was back "home fighting this bastard bacteria" and that his "numbers are all going in the right direction." Dee added he had a lot of "recovery and rehab" ahead and was aiming to be "back on the drum stool" for SCORPIONS' 2025 residency.

Dee offered more details about his health setback in an interview with the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet, saying the medical emergency began with a sprained foot that quickly swelled and became infected.

"It was surgery right away, the first of three," Dee said. "They cut away what was dead and infected and badly infested. It was not a good journey I was on… Another day and I'd be playing drums with [late MOTÖRHEAD frontman] Lemmy in heaven. I can say that."

A Swede of Greek descent, Mikkey has been known for his speed and precision since his mid-1980s stint with KING DIAMOND. After moving to Copenhagen to play with GEISHA in 1985, Dee joined KING DIAMOND, who were looking for additional members to complete their lineup. Dee played on the KING DIAMOND recordings "Fatal Portrait" (1986),"Abigail" (1987) and "Them", and continued to play as a session drummer for the recording sessions of the "Conspiracy" album (1989),after which he was replaced. He joined Don Dokken for his solo album, "Up From The Ashes" (1990),with the music videos for the songs "Stay" and "Mirror Mirror" receiving airplay on MTV's "Headbangers Ball". The band headlined their own tour, as well as opened for JUDAS PRIEST. During this time, Dee also filled in a short time playing for WORLD WAR THREE (WWIII).

Lemmy had been repeatedly asking Mikkey to join MOTÖRHEAD since 1985, and in 1992, when asked once again, Dee accepted the offer, replacing Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor. Dee's first gig with the band was on August 30, 1992 at Saratoga Performing Arts Center.

Dee has been a member of the SCORPIONS since 2016, having joined the band in the wake of MOTÖRHEAD's untimely dissolution following Lemmy's death. To date, Dee has only played on one of the band's albums, 2022's "Rock Believer".

Massacre Records is delighted to announce that Elysion have officially extended their long-standing agreement with the label, strengthening a partnership that has now spanned nearly two decades. This renewed collaboration marks a major milestone for both the band and the label, and promises even more bold and powerful music for fans worldwide.

Massacre Records’ label manager Thomas Hertler states: “I am very happy and proud that we could agree on a long-term contract extension with our Greek friends of Elysion. The band have started on Massacre Records with their debut back in 2009 and have become an important part of the label for 15 years now. Both label and band are excited about the new agreement and we are looking forward to some phantastic new albums coming from Elysion in the next years. Σας ευχαριστώ για την εμπιστοσύνη σας.”

The band add: “Elysion are proud to confirm the continuation of its collaboration with Massacre records. United by a shared vision and creative drive, the partnership moves forward stronger than ever. With new music on the way and bold plans ahead, the next chapter is already taking shape – louder, sharper, and true to the band’s identity.”

Formed in 2006, Elysion have steadily carved their name into the European metal landscape with a striking blend of gothic atmosphere, melodic depth, and heartfelt intensity. Over the years, the band – led by the commanding vocals of Christianna alongside the razor-sharp guitars of NiD and Johnny Zero, and the thunderous rhythms of Jannis K – has evolved into one of Greece’s most respected dark rock exports.

Since their debut album Silent Scr3am released in 2009 through Massacre Records, Elysion have continued to impress both critics and fans alike with their unique sonic identity: a potent fusion of gothic metal emotion and alternative metal energy. Their sophomore release Someplace Better (2014) expanded their sound with cinematic production values, while their latest chapter, Bring Out Your Dead (2023), solidified their reputation as boundary-pushing artists unafraid to dive into bold new emotional terrain.

Massacre Records’ belief in Elysion’s artistic vision – from their earliest days to their most recent evolution – makes this extension more than a contract: it is a renewed pledge to bring the band’s creativity to an ever-growing international audience.

Stay tuned: the best of Elysion is still ahead, and together with Massacre Records, the band is ready to unveil their most ambitious chapter yet.