JUDAS PRIEST singer Rob Halford makes an appearance in the music video for the song "Push Comes To Shove" from the rock supergroup BAD PENNY, which features former QUEEN + PAUL RODGERS bassist Danny Miranda, BLUE ÖYSTER CULT drummer Jules Radino and guitar virtuoso/songwriter Mike Holtzman. BAD PENNY's previous releases feature former JOURNEY lead singer Steve Augeri and QUEENSRŸCHE vocalist Todd La Torre.

Halford took time prior to rehearsals for JUDAS PRIEST's most recent tour to drop the vocals to "Push Comes To Shove", a metallic, Arabic-tinged track featuring a syncopated guitar-drum battery. The track has just been released and can be streamed below.

"This song just grabbed me," Halford said. "It's mysterious, dark, and sexy." New York-based metal singer Militia Vox, who has been dubbed one of the greatest female rock vocalists of her generation, rounds out a powerhouse duet.

"Danny and I came up with the music and melody for this one," said Holtzman. "We knew we had something special… these exotic world-music elements, the inner dialogue, the heavy groove…it just needed extraordinary voices to bring it home. We are thrilled Rob and Militia agreed to sing it. They absolutely killed it."

After scoring radio hits with their debut singles, the bluesy rocker "Voices In My Head" (sung by La Torre) and the power ballad "Lose Myself" (sung by Augeri), BAD PENNY took a turn towards classic metal with "The Mirror Lies", again featuring La Torre on vocals. "Push Comes To Shove" delves further into dark and heavy territory.

"The object of this band is to tap into sounds and genres we love, and not to pigeon-hole ourselves as this-or-that," said Holtzman. "We want to keep ourselves and our listeners surprised and challenged. There are a few more cool twists and turns ahead."

For more information, visit Badpennyband.com.




Judas Priest’s ROB HALFORD and Bad Penny guitarist Mike Holtzman laid down some heavy sounds for our upcoming single...

Posted by Bad Penny on Tuesday, July 6, 2021

FOO FIGHTERS brought backstage guest Gene Simmons out on stage during their December 4 show at Park MGM's Dolby Live theater in Las Vegas.

After FOO FIGHTERS frontman Dave Grohl called out a fan near the front who bore a resemblance to the KISS bassist/vocalist, Dave addressed the real Simmons, standing off stage right. Simmons, wearing a face mask, walked out and waved to the crowd and apparently handed Grohl a bill as a token of his gratitude.

Simmons mentioned his appreciation for the FOO FIGHTERS during an interview a year ago with Gulf News. While doubling down on his claim that the rock genre was "finally dead," he said: "Rock is dead. And that's because new bands haven't taken the time to create glamor, excitement and epic stuff. I mean, FOO FIGHTERS is a terrific band, but that's a 20-year-old band."

Back in 2014, Gene's KISS bandmate Paul Stanley told Rolling Stone that he was also a FOO FIGHTERS fan. It's funny, there were times that I would hear music on the radio — just something great — and not know who it was and very often it was FOO FIGHTERS. It's incredible to think of somebody coming out from behind the drums [with NIRVANA] with such a full concept as Dave has had and create music. I mean, the first FOO FIGHTERS album, that's just Dave. So the template and everything he's been working from is bigger than anyone expected from the guy who was just viewed as the drummer of NIRVANA."

Earlier this week, Grohl and producer Greg Kurstin wrapped up the eight-part second year of their "Hanukkah Sessions" series with a rendition of KISS's "Rock And Roll All Nite". For the accompanying video, Grohl and Kurstin painted their faces in full KISS makeup.

A few years ago, Grohl told The Pulse Of Radio how he got to know Stanley outside of the music business. "I see Paul Stanley every morning at drop-off 'cause our kids go to school with each other," Dave said at the time. "Paul is not only a great dude, but a great dad. He's there at 7:30 every morning with his kid and it's the greatest — I mean, it's inspiring. Like, of course, I love KISS and I'm inspired by him as a musician, but when I see him being, like, a dude — being a dad — it's like, that's the coolest thing in the world to me."

In a new interview with Brandy Richey of Pittsburgh's 105.9 The X radio station, HALESTORM frontwoman Lzzy Hale spoke about the band's upcoming follow-up to 2018's "Vicious" LP. She said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We just finished our new album. We're actually getting mixes and masters back as we speak. But during the time that we were writing it, I got a lot of inspiration by just the stories and just people living their lives and survival stories and literally just conversations that I've had with these people. So, in turn, I feel like even just as an artist, it was a really neat way for me to find myself again and see myself in them, but also in turn I feel like everyone's going to see some of themselves on this album. So, yeah, it's a beautiful thing."

Last month, Lzzy told the 105.7 The Point radio station about the musical direction of the new HALESTORM material: "This album is absolutely a banger. It's on eleven. We have really just kind of exceeded all of the energy that has come before on these albums, both technically, music-wise, vocally, drum, lyric-wise. I think because of the roller-coaster ride when we were making this record, and just through the pandemic and all the different phases of that, we just kind of looked at each other, like, if the future is unknown and we don't know whether we're actually going to be out and playing these things, everything has to be, like I said, at eleven. It's HALESTORM elevated.

"It was kind of funny. My bass player, Josh [Smith], he was showing some new songs to his parents. And his dad is, like, 'Wow. You really just grabbed on to your sound.' And I'm, like, 'We have a sound?' [Laughs] I didn't really think about it that way before. But, yeah, it's very us."

According to Lzzy, she and her bandmates recorded the new HALESTORM album in a different way. "This is the first time that we've ever had dual producers," she explained. "We went back with Nick Raskulinecz [who helmed 'Vicious']. And then I ended up doing my vocals with Scott Stevens from THE EXIES. He's like a brother from another mother with me. We've written together before, and we've known each other for probably just shy of a decade now. He and I, we produced and did all the vocals for [HALESTORM's recently released single] 'Back From The Dead' with each other, because I went out to L.A. And then we ended up sending it to Nick, and Nick's, like, 'This is just absolutely amazing. We have to do every song this way.' So we kind of did it differently. We ended up with the bare bones of a demo. I ended up finishing all of my vocals — like dunzo — before we ended up building the track musically. So it's kind of like building a pyramid upside down. But it ended up really just having this different energy, because what we were able to do with the lyrics and melody and all the vocals being done would really accentuate all of that — matching the theme to whatever I was singing about, but also just kind of really supporting the vocals musically when we went in to do the guitars and drums and bass. It's so crazy — it definitely has this very forward, very aggressive nature to it because of the way that we did that."

"Back From The Dead" was released in August. The official music video for the track, directed by Dustin Haney (Noah Cyrus, Luke Combs) and produced by Revolution Pictures, features Lzzy and the rest of the band in a morgue and cemetery somewhere between life and death.

Raskulinecz first helmed HALESTORM's 2017 effort "ReAniMate 3.0: The CoVeRs eP" and was previously described by Hale as the group's "fifth member."

Lzzy and her brother Arejay formed the band in 1998 while in middle school. Guitarist Joe Hottinger joined the group in 2003, followed by Smith in 2004.

In December 2018, HALESTORM was nominated for a "Best Rock Performance" Grammy Award for its song "Uncomfortable". Six years earlier, the band won its first Grammy in the category of "Best Hard Rock/ Metal Performance" for "Love Bites (So Do I)".

In a new interview with Metal Express Radio 's Matt Zaniboni, HELMET frontman Page Hamilton said that we must try to get along better, regardless of political, religious or socioeconomic differences. "We're just human beings," he said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). "We're all essentially the same. Race, religion, sexual orientation, whatever it is — as long as you're not hurting anybody else [and are] compassionate. That's something that touring has been a gift for me, to get to spend 35 years [on the road] and meeting people of all walks of life all over the world. It's not just about this country and then this state and then this county and then this city, and 'we hate you because you're in a neighboring town…' It's, like, c'mon, man. Knock it off. It's the human race. It really is. I believe that in my heart.

"I know that [comedian] Bill Burr was right," he continued. "Eighty-five percent of people are cool — even if you disagree with them politically. I have people in my life that I disagree with. I grew up in a family with a Republican mother and father and a Republican younger brother and sister — all four of them. I'm the only leftie in the family. And they gave me shit for years and years and years, but we didn't fight. I understand where they were coming from, and they understood where I'm coming from.

"This divisive sort of tone is something that is… We've gotta continue to fight to dispel that kind of anger and hatred," Hamilton, who formed HELMET in early 1989, added. "The truth is the truth, man. Seven hundred thousand people [in the U.S.] are dead from this [virus]. As Jen Psaki, the White House spokesperson, said, the virus sees no borders or political affiliations. It's gonna kill whoever it's gonna get into."

HELMET's first official live album, "Live And Rare", was released on November 26 via earMUSIC. It was made available on heavyweight black vinyl as well as a CD digipak edition and digital.

Although HELMET disbanded in 1997, Hamilton revived the band in 2004, and the group has continued to tour and record.

HELMET's latest album, "Dead To The World", was released in October 2016 via earMUSIC.

Don Dokken spoke to Tigman of the Poughkeepsie, New York classic rock radio station 101.5 WPDH about the progress of the songwriting sessions for DOKKEN's new LP — the group's first since 2012's "Broken Bones". He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We just finished our new album. We finally got it done, which was hard with COVID and all the guys living in different states, and I couldn't play guitar. But luckily, when we did 'Broken Bones', our last album, Jon [Levin, guitar] and I had written, like, 12 or 14 songs left over, so we picked through 'em and picked the best and wrote some new ones. And I got my pen and paper out, and we'd write on the road and we'd write over Skype. I'd never recorded an album over Skype before. You send a track to the bass player, he records it and sends it back. I send a track over to BJ [Zampa, drums], his house, and he cuts the drums. Then I hop on a plane from Santa Fe, come down to L.A. and stay at Jon's for a few days. And we'll just bang it out. And I just go into producer mode and try to create the best songs. And we're really happy with it."

Asked when the new DOKKEN album will be released, Don said: "Well, it's coming out on Silver Lining [Music, the label owned by Thomas Jensen, one of the founders of Germany's Wacken Open Air festival]. And we just don't know what to do because this COVID thing, it's like… Now they've got the new [variant] — omicron, or whatever it's called. It seems like every month there's a new variant, and we're supposed to do a European tour in the spring — like, eight countries — but it's out of control there."

Regarding the musical direction of the new DOKKEN material, Don previously told The Metal Voice: "We're kind of going retro. I mean, look, you write what you write as a musician — your life changes, the world changes, you write what you write. You're influenced by new bands and other music. But I know where my bread is buttered as far as the classic DOKKEN sound, and Jon's really good at doing that. And so I said, 'I think we should write a record between the lines of 'Tooth And Nail' [1984] and 'Under Lock And Key' [1985].' And that's kind of the direction I'm writing in right now."

DOKKEN released an album called "The Lost Songs: 1978-1981" in August 2020 via Silver Lining Music. Featuring sleeve art by renowned U.S. artist Tokyo Hiro (MOTÖRHEAD, MOTLEY CRÜE), the effort contains material written and recorded by a hungry young Don Dokken as he embarked upon a journey which started in Southern California and Northern Germany.

DOKKEN's classic lineup — Don, guitarist George Lynch, basist Jeff Pilson and drummer "Wild" Mick Brown — reunited for a short Japanese tour in the fall of 2016. The trek marked the first time in 21 years the four musicians had hit the road together.

A DOKKEN concert DVD focusing on the band's reunion tour, "Return To The East Live (2016)", was made available in 2

Edmonton, Canada’s thrash metal maniacs Tymo have a new album The Art Of A Maniac slated for release early next year. They have already released the first single off this record, the angry, fast punch-in-the-face “Sanity Clause”, which was the introduction to a release that is considerably more thrash-oriented than the previous Purge & Reset that came out in 2017.


Following up the initial single comes “Mars Attacks”, which according to the band is possibly their new anthem. It is about the film and comics of the same name; Martians annihilating the human race and taking over the Earth. Tymo explains further:


“It was the song that really got the album going! We had already written ‘Sanity Clause’ and ‘The Roy Parson Project’, but they weren’t finished in time for the release of our previous album Purge & Reset. It is our current favorite and it’s already becoming a fan favorite live! We have always been a big fan of the films and comics, it was more than appropriate to write a song about the Martians slaughtering all of the humans! If you love old-school Exodus, you will love Mars Attacks!”




BraveWords is premiering the new track; check it out below!





The Art Of A Maniac is due out on February 5, 2022 and is recommended for fans of Megadeth, Slayer, Lich King, Municipal Waste, and Exodus. Preorder on Bandcamp.





Tracklisting:


“Tymonicide”
“Sanity Clause”
“Mars Attacks”
“Estrogenocide”
“Age Of Deception”
“The Roy Parson Project”
“War Beneath The Skull”
“The Art Of A Maniac”
“Alcholocaust”


Teaser:





“Sanity Clause”





(Photo by: Dana Zuk)

The Coda Collection will present an exclusive global live streaming event — "40 Years Of Metallica" — a special two-night event celebrating 40 years of METALLICA.

Powered by streaming partners Amazon Music and Prime Video channels, the exclusive free global live stream will showcase the band's full hometown performances on December 17 and December 19 at San Francisco's Chase Center.

While in-person tickets were available exclusively to members of the group's Fifth Member fan club, now METALLICA fans across the globe will be able to view both performances 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) beginning at 9 p.m. PT /12 a.m. ET / 5 a.m. GMT / 2 p.m. JST each night. The shows will then be made available exclusively at The Coda Collection/Prime Video channel for subsequent viewing.

METALLICA fans will also be able to watch films featured as part of the SF Takeover Film Fest, including "Cunning Stunts" and "Orgullo, Pasión, Y Gloria: Tres Noches En La Ciudad De México" at The Coda Collection/Prime Video channel for the weekend.

The 40th-anniversary live stream and films are just the beginning, kicking off an extensive partnership between The Coda Collection and METALLICA, which will include a full slate of concert films, documentaries, and additional content spanning the band's career arriving on the channel exclusively throughout 2022, alongside popular music films from the likes of FOO FIGHTERS, Jimi Hendrix, GRATEFUL DEAD, and many more.

For more information on "40 Years Of Metallica" and to sign up for a tune-in reminder, go to this location. To see a full list of the Metallica San Francisco Takeover activities and get daily updates, go to www.metallica.com.

METALLICA is also teaming up with Amazon Music to release "The Metallica Takeover", a guest-hosted station available exclusively to Amazon Music Unlimited subscribers and Prime members. The band members will break down stories spanning the evolution of their music, set to a curated soundtrack featuring their biggest hits, fan favorites, and deep cuts.

"The Metallica Takeover" is the latest DJ Mode station to premiere on Amazon Music — a brand-new, on-demand listening experience that combines the personalization, control, and breadth of catalog of streaming with the vibrancy and personality of DJ-hosted radio. Fans can hear "The Metallica Takeover" now on Amazon Music, by simply asking "Alexa, play The Metallica Takeover" in the Amazon Music app for iOS and Android, and on Alexa-enabled devices.

Launched in February 2021, The Coda Collection is available exclusively via Prime Video channels. This unique, subscription streaming offering features an exclusive, curated selection of the most iconic music documentaries, concert films, and episodic series spanning decades and genres paired with a complementary website exploring new perspectives on music and featuring exclusive interviews with some of the biggest names in music.

The Coda Collection is available to Amazon Prime members in the U.S. now for $4.99 per month with a free seven-day trial.

To explore The Coda Collection and to sign up for a free seven-day trial, visit www.codacollection.co.

This past July, METALLICA announced details of its massive 40th-birthday celebration: The band will mark this milestone by inviting the worldwide METALLICA family to join them in their hometown of San Francisco for two unique live shows featuring two different setlists December 17 and 19 at Chase Center. Tickets for these shows were made available only to registered members of METALLICA's Fifth Member fan club.

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 will be 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 drummer Lars Ulrich and guitarist/vocalist James Hetfield, 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. METALLICA's newest release, the "S&M²" album and film, arrived in August 2020 on the band's own Blackened Recordings label. "S&M²" chronicles METALLICA and San Francisco Symphony's September 6 and September 8, 2019 "S&M²" concerts that served as the grand opening of San Francisco's Chase Center and reunited the band and Symphony for the first time in 20 years. "S&M²" brings those historic shows back to life, capturing more than two and a half hours of James, Lars, Kirk Hammett and Robert Trujillo joining forces with the nearly 80-strong San Francisco Symphony, legendary music director of the orchestra Michael Tilson Thomas and conductor Edwin Outwater.

Austin-based Alvies, a direct-to-consumer cowboy boot company, has announced its newest boot, the BFG. The boot was co-designed with Billy F Gibbons as part of a licensing agreement with the legendary ZZ TOP frontman.

Alvies says the limited-edition boot is a first-of-its-kind collaboration in the boot industry.

"We haven't seen anything like it before," said Alvie Faulkenbery, co-founder and president of Alvies. "We wanted to work with a famous Texan to design a boot that represented their style... BFG was a no-brainer. Billy's unique vibe and the fact that he has shared Texas with the world for more than 50 years made it a perfect fit."

Gibbons was involved in every step of the design process and the boots truly represent the BFG signature style. Billy brought inspirations directly from hotrod culture, rock 'n' roll flair, and Old Hollywood glamour to the boot's design. "Gibbons and I have succeeded in making a brand-new kind of cowboy boot," stated Faulkenbery.

Handmade from premium cowhide leather at Alvies's factory in Mexico, the boot is full of custom details. The shaft and toe bug stitching is inspired by the West Coast hotrod pinstriping style pioneered by the infamous Von Dutch. A ¼ snip toe and a slightly higher "riding" heel were used to add some rock 'n' roll showmanship. The boot even features special pocket into the pullstrap of each boot to accommodate a guitar pick featuring Gibbons's logo pre-loaded into each pocket.

"Both Billy and I are delighted with the design," said Faulkenbery. "The BFG stands on its own and complements Billy's signature style. Brisk sales are anticipated based on the positive early reception and pre-orders. We're on track and prepared to sell the entire stock by the holidays."

Production is limited to 3,000 pairs with 1,000 in each of three colors (black, brown and oxblood), available for now only at alvies.com. A portion of the sale of each BFG boot will be donated to the National Independent Venue Foundation. The NIVF's mission is preservation and nurturing independent music venues around the U.S.

Alvies is an Austin-based brand that sells handmade cowboy boots and leather flip-flops. Originally founded as the world's first direct-to-consumer cowboy company selling from its converted Airstream camper in downtown Austin, the company shifted to an online sales model in 2020. Alvies is focused on broadening the appeal of the cowboy boot as everyday footwear by making boots that break in fast, are comfortable enough to wear all day, and durable enough to hand down to the next generation.

SKID ROW guitarist Dave "Snake" Sabo has paid tribute to the band's late singer Johnny Solinger who died in June at the age of 55. His passing came a little over a month after he announced he was suffering from liver failure.

During an appearance on SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", Sabo said about Solinger's death (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It's a terrible, terrible tragedy. It's a really big loss. It was really hard when we had heard about it. We had heard that he was sick. We didn't understand to what degree. But we reached out to him and we had some communication with him.

"Johnny was one of those guys — he just had a sweet, sweet soul about him," Snake continued. "[He was] never malicious, always kind-hearted, always with a smile on his face. And he was a good guy. I mean, we were together for nearly 15 years, and we were friends throughout the whole thing. Our separation of the band and him was simply because it just wasn't working anymore, just from a standpoint of where we were headed as a band and where he kind of was headed as a singer. But there was no hate there at all; to be honest with you, [we had] nothing but love for the guy. And I don't say that because he's passed away; I said that when we split up. I mean, there was absolutely no animosity whatsoever. And he's gonna be missed, 'cause he is a part of the history of this band — a big part. And I'm grateful for the time that he gave us and allowing us to make records with him and together. And I'm fond of those records — I'm fond of the EPs and 'Thickskin' and 'Revolutions Per Minute'. That's a big part of our history that helped us to get here where we are now. So I'll always be thankful for him and I'll always miss him. And I appreciate you bringing that up, because he needs to be talked about more often. I feel he kind of gets lost in the sauce, and that's not fair to him or his memory."

Solinger, who was a member of SKID ROW from 1999 to 2015, appearing on the "Thickskin" and "Revolutions Per Minute" albums, as well as the "United World Rebellion" and "Rise Of The Damnation Army" EPs, revealed his diagnosis in a social media update on May 8. He wrote: "It is with a heavy heart I must let everyone know what's going on with me and my health. I have been hospitalized for over the last month. I have been diagnosed with liver failure. And prognosis is not so good. As with most musicians I do not have health insurance and it’s very difficult to get proper care without it.

"I am currently under at least seven different medications and I need to have my abdomen drained off fluid that gets accumulated every couple of days. I have lost a lot of strength and will require physical therapy as well.

"At the moment, I am looking into putting together some sort of fundraiser to help with the medical bills and with the palliative care I will need in the coming months. I am kindly asking those of you who could help put this together to step forward. I would not be asking you all this if I didn't really need the help, but sadly this is where I'm at.

"I appreciate and want you all to keep me in your thoughts and send me all the healing vibes you can, but I get exhausted easily so I will ask you to please not call or text unless absolutely necessary. But please, if you can help in this difficult time, I will wholeheartedly appreciate it.

"Love you all. I will post a link where you can donate very soon but I wanted to update you on my condition."

Solinger was fired by SKID ROW in April 2015 and replaced by TNT singer Tony Harnell. Tony quit the group only eight months later, and was succeeded by the South African-born, British-based singer ZP Theart, who previously fronted DRAGONFORCE, TANK and I AM I.

SKID ROW bassist Rachel Bolan confirmed that Solinger was kicked out of the band, contradicting the singer's claim that he "decided to leave SKID ROW to pursue [his] solo career."

Asked what led to Solinger's departure from SKID ROW, Rachel said: "It was evident. There were certain things going on out on the road that kind of set us thinking… Things had been going on for a little bit. And, you know, I'm not here to say anything bad about the guy.

"At certain times, you just get the feeling someone isn't putting a hundred percent into things," he added. "And SKID ROW is very important to the rest of us. And we wanted to carry on with quality performances and quality songs, so we decided to make a change."

Asked if there was ever a time where they felt things were "clicking" and "100 percent right" between Solinger and the rest of the band, Rachel told "Eddie Trunk Live": "We were clicking big time. I thought we made a lot of great music together. And even with [the ongoing trilogy of] EPs, when we were in the studio, we were making great music. Snake [guitarist Dave Sabo] and I would write, and everyone came in and really sunk in. I think it was when we were in the studio that it really became evident that we all didn't have the same heart and soul… We weren't all putting the same heart and soul into it. And it's just one of those things, man. It's rough to make a decision like this, but we did."

Added Snake: "This has nothing to do with Johnny not being a good person; he's a really good person, and we all got along well. There's no animosity at all from our end. And these are terrible decisions to make, man. They're awful. The guy's been with us for fifteen years, and we saw a lot of miles of road together, and I feel extremely fortunate to have spent that time in a band with him. And he's a great singer and he's gonna be fine. He's gonna pursue his solo stuff, I guess, and that's what he should do."

On the topic of how Solinger reacted to being fired from SKID ROW, Snake said: "There was no screaming and shouting. We were both very respectful to one another. And we should be. I mean, like I said, we've traveled a lot of miles together, and this is not something that is easy in any way, but yet it's something that was necessary."

Asked how parting ways with Solinger was different to the split with Sebastian Bach in 1996, Rachel said: "That was a completely different situation. There was a lot of bad blood there, and… Yeah, it was a completely different situation. This is something, like Snake said, there's no animosity. It's just… We all didn't have our eyes on the same prize at this point, and it interfered. It interfered with moving forward. And that's why we made a change."

In late 2019, Solinger sustained injuries in a car crash and was forced to reschedule some of his solo sh

EVERY TIME I DIE says that it is working on its issues with singer Keith Buckley "privately."

On Friday (December 3), the Buffalo-based band announced that it would play the last three concerts of its current tour without Buckley, explaining that the frontman was taking time off from the road to "rest and prepare" for the band's upcoming holiday shows, the annual events dubbed "'TID The Season".

Buckley later issued a statement on social media in which he accused his brother, EVERY TIME I DIE guitarist Jordan Buckley, and his other bandmates of platting "to replace me this entire time." He added that he was being "ostracized" from the band he had "built for 20 years because I made a decision to do whatever it took to be a good human being."

Earlier today, EVERY TIME I DIE announced that it was canceling the last three shows of its current tour and clarified that it was trying to resolve its issues with Keith before next weekend's holiday gigs.

"We apologize to the fans this weekend for the cancelation of the remaining 3 shows of the Radical tour," the band wrote.

"Keith Buckley is a crucial member of EVERY TIME I DIE and we apologize if our previous statement made it seem as if he was in recovery or came off as insensitive to the issues at hand. We are working on things privately now.

"Please give us a moment. And we will all see you at Tid The Season."

This past July, Keith revealed that he was nine months sober after separating from his wife of over a decade and starting a new relationship. He talked about his decision to get clean during the pandemic in a recent interview with Alternative Press. He said: "One of the first things I realized was that I really liked who I was when I was drunk. That's a very strange thing to say for a lot of people because there's such negative connotations to it. But I always felt like my day-to-day was so overrun by other people's shit, their energy, their words, their requests, their needs. Drinking just helped center me and get me back to my own vibe. I was, like, 'Okay, that's a feeling that I cherish. What do I need to do to get to that without drinking?' I stopped drinking, and then I really just chased it, like, 'What do I love, and what don't I love?'

"The cool thing about the pandemic was clocks didn't matter," he continued. "Daylight didn't matter. It was a perfect chance to just sit and be with yourself and understand how you worked. I actually liked being that vulnerable person that I was when I was drunk. Why don't I just be vulnerable all the time? So I'll stream, and I'll do a Patreon where there's literally a camera in my house. How much more vulnerable could I get?

"It works well because, aside from being a social experiment in vulnerability, it is also a way that I found to make it financially stable to where I don't have to actually go get a job and risk my health or my daughter's health. I could stay here surrounded by the people I love. I could be vulnerable as long as I want to, and then if I feel like I'm starting to get uncomfortable, I can just shut it down. I'm learning how to be truthful in what I say and making sure that if I am vulnerable, I don't mentally check everything that I'm saying."

EVERY TIME I DIE's ninth studio album, "Radical", was released in October via Epitaph.

"'TID The Season" will take place in EVERY TIME I DIE's hometown of Buffalo, on December 10 and December 11. The band will also support post-hardcore act UNDEROATH on the road early next year.




We apologize to the fans this weekend for the cancelation of the remaining 3 shows of the Radical tour.

Keith Buckley is a crucial member of Every Time I Die and we apologize if our previous statement made it seem as if he was in recovery or came off as insensitive to…..

— Every Time I Die (@everytimeidie) December 4, 2021








…the issues at hand. We are working on things privately now.

Please give us a moment.

And we will all see you at Tid The Season.

— Every Time I Die (@everytimeidie) December 4, 2021

BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE frontman Matt Tuck spoke to NME about the fate of the six songs which were recorded during the sessions for the band's recently released self-titled album but were left off the final track listing, to be made available at a later date. Asked if the unreleased material follows in the same direction as "Bullet For My Valentine", Tuck said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "They're part of the same writing and recording process. Some of them are quite different and unique. We didn't want wanna put them on 'cause they were curvebally. But they were curvebally enough to have a spotlight on 'em post-album. We wanted the album to be a really solid, cohesive body of work from front to back and we didn't wanna throw too many creative curveballs in the album. We thought it was actually better to keep them off for standalone singles post-record and maybe have some kind of really crazy EP maybe at the end of the cycle, just so people can hear them, so they get the light of day. But, yeah, they're heavy, they're interesting, they're pushing boundaries and they're super exciting."

As for whether he thinks BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE's next album will be a mixture of 2018's "Gravity" — which he had previously described as "probably our most mellow/experimental record" — and the self-titled LP, Tuck said: "It really depends. In a year's, two years' time, whenever we decide to kind of get involved with that, we're just gonna do what we do — we're gonna see what comes out, what feels natural, what makes us happy, what makes us scared, what makes us motivated. And coming off the back of 'Gravity' and this album, we're just gonna that whole process of confidence and no-fear attitude into the writing process, and as soon as we start smiling and high-fiving, that's when we'll know we're on the right track."

"Bullet For My Valentine" arrived on November 5 via via Spinefarm/Search & Destroy. The LP was written beginning in September 2019 with longtime producer Carl Bown, who co-produced the band's 2015 album, "Venom", and produced and mixed "Gravity".

"Gravity" saw BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE's catalog surpass one billion streams in the U.S. That accomplishment solidified BULLET's status as one of the most elite bands in the hard rock scene.

PRETTY MAIDS singer Ronnie Atkins, who is battling stage four cancer, will release his new studio album, "Make It Count", on March 18 via Frontiers Music Srl. The music video for the LP's first single, "Unsung Heroes", can be seen below.

"Make It Count" will arrive almost one year to the day after the release of Atkins's last solo album, the critically acclaimed "One Shot".

Atkins stated: "Me and my great team of musicians followed exactly the same procedure as we did with 'One Shot', since I still feel a bit like I am racing against time because of my diagnosis. So, I basically sent my songs to Chris [Laney, producer], who would then work on a demo. When we were satisfied with the arrangements, I would then record the vocals and then the individual musicians laid down their tracks. I already had quite a few ideas from when 'One Shot' was released back in March 2021 and continued writing on and off through the spring and summer of 2021. The album was then recorded between April and October 2021

"Let me also state that I felt pretty good during the whole process, at least physically," he continued. "And this time, I had the chance to actually meet with some of the musicians in person because the COVID-19 restrictions were not as tough as they were back in 2020 when we recorded the last album."

As for the songwriting process, Ronnie said: "Once again, it was quite an easygoing process. Some of the songs were written on piano and some of them on guitar. I write the way I write, which means that the melodies and toplines are the first priority. If I feel I got a good song with the right chord structure and a strong melody that sticks in my head, then I know I'm on to something good and from there it can only get better. And that's when I send it on to Chris Laney, who then listens to it with a new set of ears and comes back with his input about the arrangement and additional little bits and pieces. As said, it is an easygoing process since we're on the same page and that's a great way of collaborating. Style-wise, it's basically just melodic pop/rock songs, so to speak, that we turn into something suitable for those who followed me all those years. To me, a good song is a good song and then it's a matter of how you wrap it up."

He continued: "Finally, the great thing about doing this is that I don't have to argue with anyone whether it's too pop or too lightweight, etc. I do what I do 'cause that's what I like and I'm my own boss for these solo albums and therefore also the only one to take responsibility if it doesn't live up to people's expectations. But this is what I wanna do at this stage of my life and I think I'm convinced that 'Make It Count' is a great melodic rock album and I hope the fans won't be disappointed."

As to the lyrical themes on the album, Ronnie said: "The lyrics are always the hardest part of an album from my perspective. It's way easier for me to write a song than a lyric, to be honest. But, of course, it varies. Sometimes you already have the title and the topic when you're writing the song and at other times you're just out of ideas. This time, it was tough at times since my health issues are somehow in my subconsciousness 24/7. No matter what I do, I'm being confronted with it every day one way or the other. So, some of the songs are touching on this issue, of course, can't help it. That said, I'm also trying to give it a positive twist, meaning that we just have to get the best out of life and love the one we're with while we're here. It's just impossible to write about sex, drugs, and rock'n'roll or whatever living with a life-threatening disease and a dagger hangin' above your head. Or it is for me, at least. So, bottom line, I guess the lyrical content on this album is partly about the aforementioned topics, the climate, and in general, topics that make sense to everyone without being political."

Recording lineup:

Ronnie Atkins: Lead And Backing Vocals

Chris Laney: Rhythm And Lead Guitar, Keyboards

Allan Sørensen: Drums

Pontus Egberg: Bass

Morten Sandager: Keyboards

Linnéa Vikström Egg: Backing vocals

John Berg: Guitars

Oliver Hartmann: Guitars

Pontus Norgren: Guitars

Anders Ringman: Acoustic guitars

Track listing:

01. I've Hurt Myself (By Hurting You)

02. Unsung Heroes

03. Rising Tide

04. Remain To Remind Me

05. The Tracks We Leave Behind

06. All I Ask Of You

07. Grace

08. Let Love Lead The Way

09. Blood Cries Out

10. Easier To Leave (Than Being Left Behind)

11. Fallen

12. Make It Count

The 57-year-old Atkins was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2019 and underwent at least 33 radiation and four chemotherapy treatments in the fall of that year before being declared cancer-free. In October 2020, he announced that his cancer had returned.

In a 2013 interview with Myglobalmind, Atkins joked that the secret to keeping his voice in shape was "twenty cigarettes a day and little drink now and then."

Formed in early 1982 by Atkins and guitarist Ken Hammer, PRETTY MAIDS' third album, 1987's "Future World", is still today regarded as a "classic."

During the ensuing years, PRETTY MAIDS continued to release albums usually followed by European and Japanese tours.

PRETTY MAIDS' latest album, "Undress Your Madness", came out in November 2019 via Frontiers Music Srl.

Author & Punisher, the alias for visionary San Diego musician-meets-mechanical engineer Tristan Shone, returns with the melody-laden new album, Krüller (February 11, Relapse Records), featuring a suite of upgraded machines, a distilled vocal process and a handful of guest players including Tool’s Danny Carey and Justin Chancellor.


A taste of the  record arrives with today’s release of “Drone Carrying Dread,” and the accompanying, graphically-saturated video. The clip was directed by Monte Legaspi and features illustrations from album cover artist Zlatko Mitev.


“’Drone Carrying Dread’ was the first song I wrote on Krüller,” explains Shone of the album that thematically was inspired by Octavia E. Butler’s Parable series. “I had just gotten home from the final tour of the Beastland album cycle and I spent a couple weeks updating my overall tones with a nice balance of sub, saw/synth and tube amp. This track was basically the one where it all clicked and I had these chords that resonated just right, shaking the entire warehouse. It's a simple but raw progression that was ripe for the addition of synthesizer programming from co-producer Jason Begin (Vytear). Lyrically, it's about escape and survival, as the events that were unfolding in 2020 were prophesied by the books I was reading throughout the year.” 




Shone began work on Krüller after returning from his opening slot with Tool across the U.S., Australia, and New Zealand, before being cut short due to the March 2020 lockdowns. "Melody has been and is still a part of my sound," says Shone. "I've always bathed them in a lot of reverb, delay, and distortion, though. This time around, I was bothered by the wall of distortion I had created. I wanted a little more clarity. I wanted to refine the sound. I wanted to step back from my own show and analyze it a bit. I had all these competing distortions that I wanted to streamline. I like contrast and wanted the vocals to be immediately noticeable. There's something about mixing punishing drones and rumble with a mellow thing on top that I really like on Krüller.” Shone’s digitized snarls rightfully had their place on earlier tracks like “Doppler,” “Terrorbird,” and “Nihil Strength,” but contrasting mellow vocals atop Author & Punisher’s unparalleled heft made dynamic sense. Indeed, with Shone’s singing on songs like “Drone Carrying Dread,” “Maiden Star,” and the exceptional translation of Portishead hit “Glory Box,” Author & Punisher have projected an air of uncertainty around the steely, often slow-motion grind.


Part of the Krüller revamp included refining the machines that have become synonymous with Author & Punisher. As a result, Shone is also launching a bespoke audio gear company called Drone Machines to coincide with the release of Krüller. The gear company launch follows nearly two decades of Author & Punisher honing in on his craft - meticulously inventing, machining, experimenting, and creating custom musical instruments for his incredible live performances and recordings.


Krüller pre-orders are available here with the 8-song, 52 minute collection available on a selection of limited-edition vinyl variants, CD, cassette and digitally.





Tracklisting:


“Drone Carrying Dread”
“Incinerator”
“Centurion”
“Maiden Star”
“Misery”
“Glorybox” (Portishead cover)
“Blacksmith”
“Krüller”


“Drone Carrying Dread” video:





(Photo by: Becky DiGiglio)

Heavy metallers, Spirits Of Fire, have announced their return with new vocalist Fabio Lione (Angra, ex-Rhapsody Of Fire), who joins original members Chris Caffery, Steve DiGiorgio, and Mark Zonder on their second album, Embrace The Unknown. The album will land on February 18.


Produced by Aldo Lonobile (Secret Sphere, Archon Angel, Sweet Oblivion), Embrace The Unknown sees Spirits Of Fire picking up where they left off on their debut, with Caffery's skillful songwriting and fiery fretwork leading the charge. A new single and video, "A Second Chance" is out today.


Watch the video below, and pre-order/save Embrace The Unknown on CD/LP/Digital here.




Heavy metal supergroup Spirits of Fire first formed in 2017, released their first single in late 2018, and unleashed their debut album in February 2019. Originally formed by Chris Caffery (Savatage, Trans-Siberian Orchestra), Steve DiGiorgio (Testament, Death, etc.), Mark Zonder (ex-Fates Warning, Warlord) and Tim "Ripper" Owens (ex-Judas Priest), the band's self-titled debut was met with fan and critical praise upon its release. As it approaches two years since the release of their debut, Spirits of Fire are now set to return with a new album, Embrace The Unknown that sees renowned Italian metal vocalist Fabio Lione taking over frontman duties for the band. Production this time comes courtesy of Aldo Lonobile, whose recent work on releases by Archon Angel featuring Zak Stevens, Sweet Oblivion featuring Geoff Tate, and his own band, Secret Sphere, makes him the perfect fit for the band.


Once again, the band worked on a set of songs that were primarily put together by Caffery, with Lione and Lonobile adding their own touches to Caffery's stellar songs. The final result sees a killer musical output that continues in the vein of “classic Priest meets Savatage” sound that the band has pursued since their formation. With Caffery's renowned guitar playing, the undeniable power of the rhythm section of Di Giorgio and Zonder, and the world class vocals of Lione, Embrace The Unknown sees Spirits Of Fire pushing their sonic stamp further and further. From the biting riffage of the charging "Embrace The Unknown", the band is firing on all cylinders and prepared to appease the heavy metal gods.


Spirits Of Fire are built to deliver classic in-your-face heavy metal and they have accomplished that goal on every level on Embrace The Unknown. From Lione's soaring vocals, to Caffery’s guitar pyrotechnics, to the propulsive and crushing rhythms of Di Giorgio and Zonder, the performances are stellar from beginning to end. There is no shortage of memorable, metal hymns to raise your fist and bang your head to on this all killer, no filler metal journey.





Tracklisting:


"A Second Chance"
"Resurrection"
"Wildest Dreams"
"Into The Mirror"
"Embrace The Unknown"
"My Confession"
"Sea Of Change"
"Shapes Of A Fragile Mind"
"Hearts In The Sand"
"House Of Pain"
"Remember My Name"
"Out In The Rain"


"A Second Chance" video:





Lineup:


Fabio Lione - Vocals
Christopher Caffery - Guitars
Steve Di Giorgio - Bass
Mark Zonder - Drums

Finnish heavy metal band Midnight Bullet is set to release their fourth studio album, Hostile Resistance, on March 4th 2022 via Inverse Records. "Rain On Me" is a first track from the upcoming album and sets the pace right from the first hits. The song represents exactly the straightforward energy that band wanted to bring back to the new record as well.


Check out the official video below.







Frontman Tuomas Lahti: "So awesome to put out new song for our friends out there! This song is about social media and how people are desperately trying to reach attention. Sometimes this kind of acting isn’t healthy and this can detach you from reality. Social media can be very useful tool for marketing and reaching out fans or friends, but unfortunately sometimes it’s very easy to see how people are posting pictures only because they want to have some attention. People sometimes use social media just because they want to pose or beg attention."





Tracklist:


"Rain on Me"
"Hostile Resistance"
"Paranoia Obsession"
"Wait and See"
"Rise and Fall"
"Dead Redemption"
"Take Me Away"
"Enemy Number One"
"Last Escape"
"Angel of Babylon"


Photo by Kristian Pekkala

DEEP PURPLE singer Ian Gillan spoke to the Radio Rock 106.6 radio station about his love affair with Portugal where he has lived part time for more than a decade. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, I have a few places in my heart that I call my spiritual homes. And that all started with Beirut, with Lebanon, back in the '60s. And I would since include then Japan, Poland, Italy, Brazil, for sure, and Portugal. These are very close to me.

"Between the tours, going all my life, really, you take a break… It's a strange situation, if you're a traveling musician, because you go away for a long tour and you don't see your family and when you get home, you wanna put your feet up and watch some sport on TV, and your family has all got their suitcases packed and say, 'Right, let's go on holiday,'" he explained. "I'd just come back from being from the road. And so, of course, I have to go on holiday because it's a wonderful time to share with your family. But it means you're never really home and you're constantly traveling.

"We had some fantastic times, when we were younger, in the Caribbean; I used to go there regularly — two or three times a year — between tours," Gillan added. "My wife and daughter used to fly out and we used to go scuba diving and have a great time. Then, of course, we were thinking about buying a place there, but it's a long way for relatives and friends to go for a weekend. So we started looking at Spain, and then we came to Portugal. A friend of mine lent me a house here, and then I started renting and I fell in love with the place. It's very similar to home. The Portuguese have a very similar sense of humor; they like to laugh a lot. And the beer is really good. The bread is really good. I can buy a loaf of bread for 70, 80 cents. I can get a beer for 80 cents. And in England, a beer is… it's five pounds, six euros for a beer. It's a no-brainer. And, of course, then there's the weather; the weather's pretty good too. So long story short, about 15 years ago, I stopped renting and I bought a house here. So I spend half my free time in Portugal and half my free time at my family home in England."

Gillan is best known, of course, as the lead singer and lyricist for the truly legendary DEEP PURPLE but his musical career takes in other avenues too. Upon leaving PURPLE in 1973, Gillan subsequently formed THE IAN GILLAN BAND (around late 1975/early '76) and the band simply called GILLAN in 1978. After a spell fronting BLACK SABBATH, Gillan rejoined a reunited DEEP PURPLE IN 1984. He left the band briefly in 1989 but rejoined a couple of years later and he performs with them still today across the world.

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

Phill Rocker has released a new video for “Keep On Riding” featuring Richard Fortus on lead and rhythm guitars, James Lomenzo on bass, Brian Tichy on drums, and Alessandro Del Vecchio on piano and keyboards. The track was produced by Phill Rocker with pre-production and lead vocals recorded at Dynamix Studio by Ricardo Fernandes, mixed and mastered by Ronnie Björnström.





Phill Rocker is a singer/ songwriter/ musician and solo artist.




His debut album Hard To Bleed was released on January 29, 2015. The album is full of great musicians and hard rock references, featuring the following special guest musicians:


Guitarist Doug Aldrich, bassist James Lomenzo, drummer Brian Tichy, guitarist Richard Fortus, keyboardist, pianist and percussionist Dizzy Reed, singer Tim "Ripper" Owens, drummer Dusty Watson, Ricardo Fernandes, Gonçalo Pereira, Rui Rocha, Nuno Correia, Mario Percudani, Miguel Aguiar and João Paulo Aça.


The album was written and produced by Phill Rocker, co-produced by Ricardo Fernandes and Swedish producer Tobias Lindell. Mixed by Tobias Lindell and mastered by Thomas Plec Johansson.

Belgium’s Wiegedood release their new track and music video for “FN SCAR 16” today via Century Media Records. Watch the video, which was created by Jaak De Digitale, below.





“The SCAR (Special Operations Forces Combat Assault Rifle) is a family of gas-operated (short-stroke gas piston) automatic rifles developed by Belgian manufacturer FN Herstal (FN) in 2004. This family of rifles consist of two main types. The SCAR-L, for "light", is chambered in 5.56×45mm NATO cartridge and the SCAR-H, for "heavy", is chambered in 7.62×51mm NATO. Both are available in Close Quarters Combat (CQC), Standard (STD), and Long Barrel (LB) variants,” states Wiegedood.




Wiegedood about the new album: "There’s Always Blood At The End Of The Road focuses on the filthiest and most disgusting parts of human nature and society. It steers clear from the typical Black Metal themes and concepts, instead zoning in on the struggle we lead within, trying to overcome the fact we are all made from that same filth. Exploring places the previous trilogy didn’t even scratch the surface of, both lyrically and musically. A first-hand look into pure disgust, a psychotic ride with synths, tape-recorders, hot club jazz and distressing samples. A definite switch from our previous work, a dark turn into something unexpected and unwelcome.”





Being dedicated road dogs, the band will embark on a European tour following the release of the album. The first part will be supported by Portrayal Of Guilt.





Wiegedood is:


Gilles Demolder (guitars)
Wim Coppers (drums)
Levy Seynaeve (guitars & vocals)

After releasing The Dark Delight album in 2020, the Swedes Dynazty now return with their next full length announcement. Titled Final Advent, the new offering is slated for release on April 8th, 2022 (AFM Records). Recorded by Dynazty in Stockholm, Sweden and by Jacob Hansen at Hansen Studios, Denmark. Mixed and mastered by Jacob Hansen. Cover art created by Gustavo Sazes.

Singer Nils Molin says about the album: "When the Covid-pandemic stopped us from touring on The Dark Delight, we decided to shift our focus and instead set out to make the most cohesive and definitive album and version of ourselves yet. Game plan: No filler, all killer. And in my opinion we hit home and knocked it out of the park with this one. It’s our most intense album thus far and is without doubt carrying some of the strongest songs we’ve ever written. And to top things off, the performances from the whole band is next level. Couldn't be happier about the work done! Final Advent is the ultimate form, the ultimate version of Dynazty."

Legendary heavy metal drummer Vinny Appice spoke to the "All Access Live! With Kevin Rankin" podcast about his unique and powerful drumming style which has anchored the rhythm and power live and in the studio for the music of DIO, BLACK SABBATH, HEAVEN & HELL, LAST IN LINE, AXIS, Rick Derringer, John Lennon and more. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I always say 'I go where no man has gone before' where some of these fills start. See, I play in the song. Whatever I do, I get into the song. I don't play on top of the song. I hear a lot of drummers can play on top of the song and they're just playing the song. I'm inside of that song, and that's the way I hear the stuff. It's kind of like an artist painting pictures, and I'm in there putting the colors in it. And I just hear it like that — fills that could go over the bar, maybe a bar and a half. And they start in an odd place. And luckily, that worked for me with SABBATH. SABBATH, I didn't do quite as much because SABBATH was so legendary, you had to keep that in your mind that this is BLACK SABBATH and there's a certain way to play fills that are a little darker maybe — not so much snare drum; more dark stuff. And then with DIO, anything went. And Ronnie [James Dio] never had a problem with me playing… nor did SABBATH; they never said 'don't play a fill there' or anything like that. And Ronnie, I'd play over his vocal line. We kicked each other in the ass. When I hear him starting to go, I go, 'Woah, dude.' Now something comes out of me that got inspired; he inspired me. We fed off each other, absolutely."

Appice went on to say that his recorded parts change and evolve when he is performing the songs live. "Like one night, [DIO] played 'The Last In Line', and at the third verse, [Ronnie] goes, 'And you never, never, never come home.' And then one night, he kept it going. He went, 'Never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never…' He kept it going. And I just heard that and I followed him," Vinny said. "And we went, 'That was cool, dude.' And we still do that. I'm playing with LAST IN LINE now with Vivian [Campbell, former DIO guitarist]. And we do that. Andy Freeman [LAST IN LINE singer] and I, we worked it out so that part's in there.

"See, I'm always listening," Appice continued. "Drummers, you've gotta listen to what's going on on stage. I don't close my eyes and space out. I look around. I'm scanning the stage. If I'm hearing somebody playing something, maybe I'll jump on it. And that keeps it really exciting. That's why I don't play the same stuff every night. Certain fills are the same. But then I go kick in the ass as much as I could."

Vinny has recorded and co-written songs on several dozen albums and CDs, including many multi-platinum records. Vinny's drumming can also be heard on numerous movie soundtracks, including "Wayne's World 2", "Heavy Metal", "Iron Eagle" and "Bedazzled". Vinny, the author of drum instruction book "Rock Steady" and DVD "Hard Rock Drumming Techniques", has performed incredible powerhouse drum clinics around the globe. Numerous books have been written about BLACK SABBATH and DIO with the authors always mentioned Vinny's drumming style.

Swedish/Canadian/American melodic death metallers ARCH ENEMY have released another new song, "House Of Mirrors". Mixed and mastered by Jacob Hansen, an accompanying music video for the track — directed by Grupa13 — will premiere at 9:00 a.m. PT / 12:00 p.m. (noon) ET today.

Guitarist Michael Amott comments: "Musically, this is an idea that has been bouncing around in my head for a while, and finally it got finished. It all started with the guitar motif that kicks off the track, which naturally leads to the galloping '80s-metal feel of the verses. As is always the case with us, we had quite a few different arrangements and demos of this song until it was, dare I say, fuckin' perfect!"

Frontwoman Alissa White-Gluz adds: "'House Of Mirrors' is a song that twists its way into the human psyche. I wrote the lyrics during a dark time of strict, dystopian lockdown, and I think people will be able to relate to that feeling of being totally alone — but never truly alone — when you are surrounded only by past and future versions of yourself as company."

"House Of Mirrors" marks the second new ARCH ENEMY track to be made available in four years, following the October 21 arrival of "Deceiver, Deceiver".

In the fall of 2018, Amott revealed that he had commenced the songwriting process for the follow-up to the "Will To Power" album. Released in 2017, that disc marked the second ARCH ENEMY LP since the departure of longtime singer Angela Gossow and addition of ex-THE AGONIST frontwoman White-Gluz. It was also the first ARCH ENEMY disc to feature former NEVERMORE guitarist Jeff Loomis, who joined the band in late 2014.

Jeff, who was the main songwriter in his previous group, NEVERMORE, was not involved in the writing for "Will To Power".

In a 2018 interview with All That Shreds, Jeff said that he had "a lot of musical ideas" that he was hoping to contribute to ARCH ENEMY in the future. "I did write three or four songs for ['Will To Power'], but they didn't make it, only because it wasn't in the style that they were looking for," he said. "Fortunately enough, I was able to play guitar solos on the latest album, so that makes me happy."

Four years ago, Amott said that Loomis is "a strong songwriter" in his own right, "but not in the style of ARCH ENEMY, I feel. He's always writing and recording with his own stuff," he explained. "He has a project called CONQUERING DYSTOPIA, he has his solo stuff, [and] he obviously wrote most of the NEVERMORE stuff. I've always respected him, and continue to respect him, as a guitar player — he's amazing and an amazing human being; he fits in perfectly. [There's] a great chemistry [between us]. But, you know, I've always written most of the music, so it's difficult to… I don't really wanna change the sound of the band too much. The band sort of started around my songwriting and my ideas, and those continue to be the most dominant ones, I guess. But, you know, who knows [what can happen] in the future?"

In January 2019, ARCH ENEMY released a compilation, "Covered In Blood", of all cover songs the band has recorded throughout its career.

Federal Prisoner commemorates the one-year anniversary of the release of Greg Puciato’s solo debut album, Child Soldier: Creator of God, and the soundtrack to his livestream performance, Fuck Content, with the free release of the livestream event.





Federal Prisoner, the label Puciato co-founded with artist Jesse Draxler, reissues both the studio album and the livestream’s soundtrack with new limited-edition vinyl variants. The pair of vinyl releases mark the first time the two albums have been available on the format since selling out of their initial pressing. Each album will be a 2LP release, with Child Soldier: Creator of God available on metallic swirl, and Fuck Content on clear vinyl with a new Draxler-designed gatefold layout. Pre-orders for the 500 hand-numbered online variants are available now via the Federal Prisoner webstore with an additional two unique 500-count variants going to both North American and European retail in the spring.




Puciato is currently in the studio wrapping up work on the follow-up to Child Soldier: Creator of God. Titled Mirrorcell, it is expected to see a late spring 2022 release via Federal Prisoner, with more details to come in January.


(Photo - Stephen Odom)

In a brand new interview with Metal Edge magazine's "Another FN Podcast With Izzy Presley", founding JUDAS PRIEST guitarist K.K. Downing, who is promoting the debut album from his KK'S PRIEST project, spoke about the circumstances that led to his departure from PRIEST more than a decade ago. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "In 2010, we were all going to retire, we were all going to finish the band. That was the plan. We had decided, and we were putting together the press statements and everything announcing [the final tour]. And they asked us to pick a title for the farewell tour, hence 'Epitaph', which was there. I decided I wasn't gonna do that farewell tour because I really didn't know if I was gonna enjoy it. And after a lifetime of success and my whole legacy, I didn't wanna do a tour that I really felt I wasn't gonna enjoy. And so I opted out of that last tour, And then, a few months later, I changed my mind. I was talking to Ian [Hill, PRIEST bassist] about doing [the tour] and [asked him] to send the setlist over, but they sent the press release out [to the media announcing my departure]. And that made me really angry then. So I sent a sharp letter in to Glenn [Tipton, PRIEST guitarist] and Jayne [Andrews, PRIEST manager] — very sharp letter — because I felt that they had made their decision anyway. They'd found somebody new. And I thought that was the wrong thing to do because it's changing the course of history."

Downing also talked about the fact that PRIEST didn't approach him to rejoin the band when Tipton — who was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease seven years ago after being stricken by the condition at least half a decade earlier — announced in early 2018 he was going to sit out touring activities in support of the band's latest album, "Firepower". He was replaced by "Firepower" producer Andy Sneap, who is also known for his work in NWOBHM revivalists HELL and cult thrash outfit SABBAT.

"I was shocked and stunned when they didn't give me a call, because I was sitting there waiting for an opportunity," K.K. said. "Okay, they got Richie [Faulkner] in [to replace me in 2011] — they wanted him — but at some point, I felt that there would be an opportunity, whenever that may be. So when Glenn handed the guitar over to Andy, I was in disbelief. I consider Andy a friend — I'd been to his studio and worked up there, and we talk. And he will admit himself — even in his own band HELL, he wasn't a lead guitar in that band 'cause Kevin [Bower] was the lead guitar player. So I thought that was extremely odd because it has changed the course of history for the band, really. But I kept asking them, 'Are you sure the door [is closed]?' Because Andy always said that he would step down any time for me to [go] back [to the band], and he said in the press that he would do it as long as they asked him to do it. And they've since said that Andy is just their touring guitarist, so they only have one guitarist, it seems to me. But anyway, [it was] not to be. They set their lawyers on me and didn't want any part of me, so I just [decided to] move on."

Downing left PRIEST amid claims of band conflict, shoddy management and declining quality of performance.

In 2019, Downing said that he reached out to JUDAS PRIEST about taking part in the band's 50th-anniversary tour but that their response was that they were not interested in including him in the celebrations.

In 2018, Downing revealed that he sent two resignation letters to his bandmates when he decided to quit JUDAS PRIEST. The first was described as "a graceful exit note, implying a smooth retirement from music," while the second was "angrier, laying out all of his frustrations with specific parties."

Downing later said that he believed the second letter was "a key reason" he wasn't invited to rejoin PRIEST after Tipton's decision to retire from touring.

In his 2018 autobiography "Heavy Duty: Days And Nights In Judas Priest", Downing wrote that he told Tipton and Andrews that he had "hated" them both "since 1985." Earlier this year, he explained his outburst to Classic Rock magazine: "I was angry. Glenn had formed a relationship with Jayne from day one, and it felt a bit like a John-and-Yoko situation. I didn't like that."