EXODUS's Steve "Zetro" Souza talked to The Razor's Edge about his band's decision to postpone the North American leg of its "The Bay Strikes Back Tour" to 2022. The 30-date trek — also featuring TESTAMENT and DEATH ANGEL — was originally scheduled to kick off on October 6 at the Fremont Theater in San Luis Obispo, California and make stops in Austin, New York, and Detroit before concluding on November 27 at The Fox in Oakland.

Speaking about EXODUS's plans to play shows in support of its new album, "Persona Non Grata", which will be released later this month, Zetro said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I think what we're gonna try to do is do regional stuff. There are areas that in the United States especially that are not necessarily playing by the rules that other places are — the South especially. Florida, Alabama — [I] love you, guys. There's places to go play where the restrictions aren't as stringent as, say, here in California. In California, you cannot go — in San Francisco [and] Oakland, you cannot go to a movie, you cannot go to a concert, you cannot go to anything without showing proof of vaccinations. Not just proof of a negative test — proof of vaccination. So, there's a lot of people torn about the Constitution and 'the government tells us what to do' — there's a lot of that going back and forth.

"For now, we're playing it by ear," he continued. "For now, we're just gonna play it by ear and just hopefully something will pop up. But I think the next actual thing other than… We're gonna play [at the end of November] here in Oakland with 'The Bay Strikes Back Tour'; that was the only thing that was safe. And then the next thing will be April 9th with 'The Bay Strikes Back Tour', unless we do something in January, February, March — which I'm told we are. Again, we're playing it by ear. Who knows? It changes every day."

"The Bay Strikes Back Tour" dates have been rebooked beginning in April and will include additional cities not originally scheduled for the tour.

Earlier this month, Souza railed against the federal and local vaccine mandates that have been implemented across the U.S. over the past few weeks, telling Australia's "Scars And Guitars" podcast: "They're forcing you to get a vaccine. Do we live in a socialist society? What happened to 'my body, my choice'? I don't understand it. And it's not about the vaccine not being effective or whatever; it's about the choice that you're telling me to. We're playing a concert with TESTAMENT and DEATH ANGEL in Oakland, California [at the end of November]. You have to show proof of vaccination to even come in. I think that's socialist right there. That's bullshit. What about people that have AIDS? What if people have Hep C? How come they don't have to show [any kind of proof]…? To me, it's like anything else — why is this all of a sudden [something that] the government can mandate you?"

Souza clarified that he is not denying that COVID-19 exists and he is not denying that it's transmissible. "Yes, it's real. Yes, it kills people," he said. "It's no worse than the flu, though. You can't shut the world down. You can't ruin people's businesses that they built. Little mom-and-pop donut shops, how are they supposed to survive? I'm just using that as an example. My take is you cannot run from something. You need to hit it head-on. And once you hit it head-on, you're gonna beat it. You're gonna beat it. [But instead they are, like], 'Let's keep locking it down. Let's not do it anymore. Let's [postpone] the festivals till next year, and then the next year, and then the next year.' Just do it. What are you gonna do? Hide from this thing your whole life? It's been two years now — two years. It's fucking November. The shit hit in fucking December '19. I know 'cause I was in Europe when it went down. I had to fly home in the beginning of March [2020].

"Get it together, people," he concluded. "I just don't think our governments or our officials or the heads of the world really know what they're doing or know what to do with this. I wish they would just say they don't instead of trying to act like they do."

"Persona Non Grata" will be released on November 19 via Nuclear Blast Records.

A year ago, David Lee Roth included five previously unreleased songs in The Roth Project, an online comic narrated by the legendary VAN HALEN singer, with music from John 5 on guitar and bass, Greg Bissonette on drums, Brett Tuggle on keyboards, and Luis Conte on percussion. The tracks "Giddy-Up!", "Somewhere Over The Rainbow Bar And Grill", "Alligator Pants", "Lo-Rez Sunset" and "Manda Bala" were recorded several years ago at Henson Recording Studios in Hollywood, California.

Asked in a new interview with Darren Paltrowitz — host of the "Paltrocast With Darren Paltrowitz" — if he gets a "notice" every time one of the previously unreleased songs from his Roth sessions is officially made available, John 5 said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I don't get a notice, which is funny. I just find out on Blabbermouth or something. But there's a song that I just can't wait for Dave to release. It's called 'Nothing Could Have Stopped Us' and it's about VAN HALEN. It's my favorite song that I've ever done with Dave, and it is beautiful. I don't know why he's not releasing that one yet. And I just can't wait for people to hear that one. 'Cause it's about VAN HALEN. It's just absolutely wonderful. I just am really looking forward to him releasing that one."

John 5 went on to talk about the recording sessions for the unreleased Roth record, saying: "We had a great time. We had a blast — a lot of laughs, a lot of fun. I'm just so happy that I had that cool working vibe with Dave that we can just jump into the studio anytime and knock out some songs. And I'm very lucky 'cause not a lot of people get a chance to do that with Dave.

He added: "We were all in there together — I remember we were just all in there together. And that's how it was. We were all just doing it together — kind of like the old days, and he wanted to do it like that. And it really was a lot of fun. We had so much fun doing it. And it's one of my fondest memories."

This past August, John 5 told AL.com that the rest of the unreleased Roth record is in the same vein as the songs that have come out, which have a singer/songwriter sound. "[Dave] wanted to do this kind of a more California sessions type of thing," the guitarist explained. "And he's such an artist, I was, like, 'Whatever you want to do, I'm there for you.' So it is that kind of vibe. But there's a lot of multi tracks and different acoustic parts that all work together. It's kind of orchestrated, if you will."

John 5 got his first big break playing on Roth's solo album, "DLR Band", before landing stints with Marilyn Manson and now Rob Zombie. His latest sessions with the iconic VAN HALEN frontman apparently took place at least seven years ago, with John 5 unveiling a snippet of the album during an interview with Masters Of Shred back in May 2019.

Two years ago, Roth was asked by Meltdown of the Detroit radio station WRIF if his LP with John 5 will be made available at some point. He responded: "It will. There's been a revision of things, and I can start making real plans and start marching into the future. And, of course, you'll start hearing that material. This is material that we wrote variously for me solo and for VAN HALEN, and it's quite a bank of stuff."

Roth, who was promoting his Las Vegas residency at the time, didn't offer a possible time frame for the release of the record, explaining that his priority was "getting out on the road first. Let's see the band, let's show ourselves off, let's travel all over the world."

Back in 2015, John 5 told Guitar Player magazine that the sessions for his latest Roth album were remarkably relaxed. "I would just go to his house and I'd write these songs with him, and he would say, 'Let's go into the studio,'" John 5 explained. "So he would go to Henson studio and record these songs. They came out… They're so good. They're so good. And we've got Gregg Bissonette playing drums on it, and I played the bass, and they're really great songs."

The guitarist said that Roth's vocals on the album sound "like nothing you've ever heard. It's old VAN HALEN — sounds like 'Could This Be Magic?' or anything like that. It's just that sound, that tone."

In a 2014 interview, John 5 described the LP as "11 of the greatest songs you'll ever hear, and it's just me and Dave, and we had Gregg Bissonette play drums on it. And it's unbelievable," he said. "You know, just great, great songs."

Chris Holmes says that W.A.S.P. became all about frontman Blackie Lawless in the years after the release of the band's classic debut album.

Holmes joined W.A.S.P. in 1982 and remained with the group until 1990. In 1996, the guitarist returned to W.A.S.P. and stayed with the band until 2001. Chris has not played with W.A.S.P. since.

Holmes discussed his tenure with W.A.S.P. in a brand new interview with TotalRock Radio. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Blackie, while I was in the band, made some really bad decisions — really bad decisions — that killed the band.

"I've known him since I was 18, 17 — when he supposedly got done playing with the [NEW YORK] DOLLS or whatever; I knew him them. And not in my farthest dream could I think in the first album that that would have happened with him. It got so unbearably about him than anything else. It was radical. The band was four people when it started; that's what made us. And then with Tony [Richards, drummer] gone; [Blackie] has to be on the cover [of W.A.S.P.'s second album, 1985's 'The Last Command']. His idol was Muhammad Ali. And that's only one person; it's not a team. That's what he wants. On the road, he's made some bad decisions. And I even would tell him about it, and he wouldn't listen to me.

"W.A.S.P. could have been a good band if he could have kept all the people together. I guess it's a good band now."

Holmes went on to say that he learned "a lot of things" from playing in W.A.S.P. However, he is quick to point out: "If I would have understood what was going on in the beginning, about what happens after a record is done and what happens in between — you record it and it goes out from the label, what they do — if I would have known what goes on there, I would have only done one album. That's it. I would have said, 'Fuck you. I'm not doing it that way.' But I didn't know. And if you're not told there's a meeting, well, you don't go to the meeting, right?"

Earlier this year, Holmes told SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" that W.A.S.P. was "a group, a band" on the first LP. "And after that, the second album, it wasn't a group — it was a one-man show," he said. "And it's been a one-man show after that ever since. It's the way it is. Look at the records. It's the way it is in that band.

"W.A.S.P. never played any shows until I was in the band, so where does a band start — when they record or when they do their first show?" he continued. "I came in before the first show, and it was 'one for all, all for one.' But then when money came into it and fame, people changed — they change real bad. And I never changed. I don't change. I haven't changed the way I think, the way I am. I'm not gonna change. I am what I am.

"During the [making of the] second [album], I was told the manager wants to use Blackie's [Lawless, W.A.S.P. frontman] image [on the cover], which the manager didn't tell me that — Blackie told me that."

According to Chris, he, guitarist Randy Piper, drummer Tony Richards and Blackie were all part of W.A.S.P. initial management contract, but Blackie was the only one signed to the record label. "Everybody thinks we [all] signed to the label, but it wasn't [like that]," Holmes told "Trunk Nation".

"I never learned about the business till about 10 years ago," he explained. "How do you learn about the business? You've gotta be in there with the manager and all that stuff, so I was always kept from that… I put my trust into somebody, and [I found out later that he was] sticking a knife in my back. I didn't find that out until 2010 or '11.

"Once [W.A.S.P.] became [all about] one person, [my attitude was] 'Hey, I'll just do my thing, and leave me alone. I'll play my guitar.'"

Despite the fact that he only got songwriting credit on a a couple of the songs on each of the first four W.A.S.P. records, Holmes was adamant that his input was essential to the band's overall sound.

"If I would have quit after the first album, the way I play guitar, the way I play is really important to writing those songs," he told "Trunk Nation".

"If I hadn't joined in the beginning, it would have never worked. Blackie told me that the first day, when he came and talked to me to play in W.A.S.P. He says, 'I've got this band. It's not gonna work unless you're in it.' He told me that to my face."

In October 2020, Chris said that he would never consider returning to W.A.S.P. unless Lawless agreed to pay him the publishing royalties that he allegedly owes him. He told Canada's The Metal Voice: "A lot of people think I made money from W.A.S.P. I've never gotten my royalties, or even my songwriting. All the stuff that I wrote, I've never gotten paid one penny. And you know whose fault it is? It's my my fault for not knowing the business, how it is. I trusted somebody.

"After every album, when the album is done, how they split up the publishing with the publishing contracts, the publishing companies — that's where the money comes from," he continued. "I was never told about when that meeting was. Because the other guys in the band never wrote — I was the only one [other than Blackie]. So I'm the only one that they have to screw over to get all the publishing. So I was never told. Then when I dug into it in about 2006 or [2007], I went into Sanctuary Music, had a lawyer go in to find out where all my publishing is, and I was written in as a session player into all the records. And if you don't know about it, and you're not told, and you don't see, you don't know. So I trusted Blackie Lawless about that. And when I found out, it really kind of yanked me wrong. It yanks me wrong — it makes me see he was sticking a knife in my back from the first day, from the first album, and not telling me, and being my best friend."

During a November 2017 press conference in Moscow, Russia, Lawless was asked what he would say to those W.A.S.P. fans who continue to call for the band to reunite with Holmes. He responded: "People get divorced for certain reasons, and there's times when the kids want the parents to get back together, but sometimes it never happens. And this is one of those [times]. Sorry."

Open Road Films has acquired worldwide rights to horror comedy "Studio 666", starring Dave Grohl, Taylor Hawkins, Nate Mendel, Pat Smear, Chris Shiflett and Rami Jaffee. The all-star cast also includes Whitney Cummings, Leslie Grossman, Will Forte, Jenna Ortega and Jeff Garlin. The film, directed by BJ McDonnell, is set for a wide domestic theatrical release in more than 2,000 theatres on February 25, 2022. The film's international release date will be announced soon.

The announcement was made by Open Road's Tom Ortenberg and FOO FIGHTERS.

In "Studio 666", the legendary rock band FOO FIGHTERS move into an Encino mansion steeped in grisly rock and roll history to record their much-anticipated 10th album. Once in the house, Dave Grohl finds himself grappling with supernatural forces that threaten both the completion of the album and the lives of the band.

"After decades of ridiculous music videos and numerous music documentaries under our collective belts, it was finally time to take it to the next level… A full-length feature horror comedy film," said Grohl. "Like most things FOO, 'Studio 666' began with a far-fetched idea that blossomed into something bigger than we ever imagined possible. Filmed at the same house where we recorded our latest album 'Medicine At Midnight' (told you that place was haunted!), we wanted to recapture the classic magic that all of our favorite rock and roll movies had, but with a twist: hilarious gore that fucking ROCKS. And now, with the help of Tom Ortenberg and the team at Open Road Films, we can finally let this cat out of the bag after keeping it our best-kept secret for two years. Be ready to laugh, scream, and headbang in your popcorn. 'Studio 666' will fuck you up."

"We couldn't be more excited to team up with FOO FIGHTERS for a movie sure to make audiences scream and laugh," said Ortenberg. "The FOOs bring their comedic chemistry and the musical talent we all love to the big screen in this hysterical horror film."

Commented McDonnell: "'Studio 666' is a perfect combination of all things I love. Rock, horror, and comedy all tied together in a very thrilling motion picture. I am so excited to have teamed up with the FOO FIGHTERS to create an old school 'band' movie. It's been years since we've seen something like THE BEATLES 'Help!', THE MONKEES 'Head', or 'Kiss Meets The Phantom Of The Park'. Take that '60s / '70s old-school band film fun, mix it with horror and 'Studio 666' is born! I am so ecstatic for audiences of film and music to come together and enjoy our film."

"Over the past decade we have had the good fortune to collaborate with FOO FIGHTERS on a variety of great projects," said producers John Ramsay and James A. Rota. "Whether it be documentary films, TV series or music videos, they always bring their great talents and legendary sense of humor. 'Studio 666' takes this to a whole new level and we couldn't be more proud of this movie. We can't wait to share it with the world."

Based on a story by Grohl and screenplay by Jeff Buhler and Rebecca Hughes, "Studio 666" is produced by Roswell Films' and Therapy Studios' John Ramsay and James A. Rota. Executive producers are John Silva, Kristen Welsh, John Cutcliffe, Gaby Skolnek, Dave Grohl, Nate Mendel, Taylor Hawkins, Pat Smear, Chris Shiflett, Rami Jaffee, James Masciello, Matthew Sidari, Mitchell Zhang and Tom Ortenberg.

The deal was negotiated by Tom Ortenberg and Matthew Sidari on behalf of Open Road Films and by WME Independent on behalf of the filmmakers.

For lovers of Candlemass and Black Sabbath, the new video from Arkenstone, entitled “Tree Of Witches,” reanimates souls of a million passed to deliver a skull crushing song of epic proportions - which is the second clip overall issued from their forthcoming EP, Ascension Of The Fallen, out December 3. Watch the video below.





The Australian based band features the incredible talent of singer Louie Gorgievski, guitarist/producer Stu Marshall (Death Dealer, Dungeon,  Night Legion), Mike Lepond (Symphony X, Death Dealer) on bass, and drummer Clay T (Night Legion).




As Marshall explains: "There is no doubt Candlemass has been a huge influence and in turn that must also mean Black Sabbath, right? Well, ‘Tree of Witches’ was one of the first riffs I presented to Louie and he conjured some incredibly powerful vocals that instantly found itself as the first song we wrote together for this band. It's dark, evil, and a headbanger.”


Gorgievski adds: “This is the track that reignited our song writing partnership and essentially is the creation of Arkenstone. ‘Tree of Witches’ is the foundation of the ‘Ascension of the Fallen’ EP. It inspired power, emotion, and delves in the dark realms of witchcraft. Stu Marshall’s musical genius delivers a timeless and riffy classic – ‘Tree of Witches’ presents as the ultimate rock anthem”.


The EP comes with a huge label sampler disc as a special bonus and is available for pre-order here.





Tracklisting:


"Ascension Of The Fallen"
"Tree Of Witches"
"Lord Impaler"
"The Arkenstone"


"Tree Of Witches" lyric video:





"Ascension Of The Fallen" lyric video:

After THE CULT recorded 2001's "Beyond Good And Evil" album, the band broke up and singer Ian Astbury performed with Ray Manzarek and Robby Krieger in THE DOORS OF THE 21ST CENTURY, which was later renamed RIDERS ON THE STORM. Asked in a new interview with Tigman of the WPDH radio station in Poughkeepsie, New York if there is a chance he might work with Astbury again, Krieger said: "I'd like to. I've actually recorded some stuff with him, and we haven't put it out yet, but we're thinking about it.

"[Ian] was really great to work with — except every night, we're at the show, we're ready to go on, and there's Ian ironing his clothes before the show," Robby added. "He was late every show. 'Wait, I have to iron my shirt.'"

In a 2016 interview with Newsweek, Astbury stated about his collaboration with THE DOORS: "Working with them was huge. Ray Manzarek is grounded in classically trained piano and jazz. With them, you see the influence of jazz and space. They weren't really working for a radio format [in THE DOORS]. A lot of artists coming up write the work for the format available. They were free to express themselves on a much broader canvas, and space is very important for that. I think when you create space, you create more dynamics, more awareness."

Two years ago, THE DOORS drummer John Densmore told Daily Camera that balked at Krieger and Manzarek touring with Astbury and THE POLICE drummer Stewart Copeland as THE DOORS OF THE 21ST CENTURY and using late DOORS singer Jim Morrison's image to promote shows.

"That's when," Densmore said, "I made the very difficult decision to sue my bandmates for running off with the name. My premise was, THE DOORS without Jim is ludicrous, just as ludicrous as THE POLICE without Sting, THE [ROLLING] STONES without Mick [Jagger]."

The court eventually sided with Densmore, and Manzarek and Krieger adopted the name D21C.

Densmore's case against his fellow surviving members of THE DOORS — and their $40-million counter-suit against him — was the basis of Densmore's 2013 book "The Doors Unhinged: Jim Morrison's Legacy Goes On Trial".

Last month, Krieger published his memoir, "Set The Night On Fire: Living, Dying, And Playing Guitar With The Doors". It follows two previous tomes from Densmore (1991's "Riders On The Storm" and the aforementioned "The Doors Unhinged") and another by Manzarek (1998's "Light My Fire").

Manzarek died in 2013 of cancer of the bile duct. Densmore later revealed that he and the iconic keyboard player had a chance to reconcile before his death. Since Manzarek's passing, Densmore and Krieger have also reconciled, and they've even performed together.

Threads Of Fate, featuring Redemption keyboardist Vikram Shankar, will release their first full-length album, The Cold Embrace Of The Light, which is to be released on March 11th 2022 via Layered Reality Productions. The first single and music video for the title track of the album was released on October 31st. 


The band has checked in with the following update:


"Our lead single,'The Cold Embrace Of The Light' has been out for one week now! Let us know what you think of the song in the comments, and make sure to listen if you haven't already on YouTube and Bandcamp. Check out the beautiful lyric video created by our friends at Layered Reality Productions and pre-order our upcoming album and donate to help make The Cold Embrace Of The Light" possible! Many thanks to all who have shown us love so far, and more music to come soon.




Below you will find the link to our brand new website and webstore, where you may pre-order the album as well as other merchandise. Pre-orders go directly towards the manufacturing and production costs of the album and merchandise, so pre-order now!


There will also be a donation option in the webstore. All who donate, please contact Jon Pyres via Facebook to receive other cool stuff from the band as a thank you!"


- US pre-order
- Europe pre-order





Tracklist:


"Beneath A Starless Sky"
"Moonrise"
"A Ghostly Portrait" 
"The Horrors Within" 
"Against The Shores of Le Monde" 
"The Cold Embrace of The Light"
"Love Held Hands With Hatred" 
"Ashes"


"The Cold Embrace Of The Light"





Photo by Kyle Finlan Photography

The Haunted guitarist Ola Englund has shared a new video to his Youtube channel, this time featuring himself learning how to play Behemoth's "Ov Fire And The Void". Check it out below.





Englund released his second solo album, Starzinger, earlier this year. Mixed and mastered by Clawfinger’s Jocke Skog, Starzinger follows-up Englund’s debut solo album, Master Of The Universe, released in early 2018 and features Delta Empire on drums along with a number of guest appearances, including guitar virtuoso Jeff Loomis (Arch Enemy, Nevermore).




Check out a playthrough video of "Balegmah" from the album featuring Loomis in action.





Portraying the artwork of Costin Chioreanu (Paradise Lost, At The Gates, Emperor), Starzinger sees Englund merging influences of prog with '80s rock and metal.





Tracklist:


"Stars & Ponies"
"Cringy AF"<
"Space Invaders"
"Demon(etized)"
"Bane of Skeletor"
"Bluesy McBluesface"
"Balegmah"
"Sun & The Moon"
"A Bid Farewell"


Stream Starzinger in full below:





"I’m extremely excited to see the release of my second solo album Starzinger, this album being a little bit more metal oriented than my first Master Of The Universe album. It’s a weird feeling because it’s basically just showing the current state of me and where I am in life. Hoping that the people that follow what I do can see the parallels. This one is for you," says Englund about this new effort.


With over 300K subscribers on his tech/music Youtube channel, over the last few years, Ola Englund has also built a strong reputation in the music scene by playing in several bands, most prominently in Feared and The Haunted. Just recently Englund also founded his own guitar company called Solar Guitars, which was meet with great success and currently sponsors artists like Exhorder, The Haunted and At The Gates.

SHINEDOWN has completed recording and mixing its seventh studio album for an early 2022 release. The follow-up to 2018's "Attention Attention" was recorded in part at a new studio in Charleston, South Carolina spearheaded by the group's bassist and producer Eric Bass.

SHINEDOWN frontman Brent Smith offered an update on the new LP's recording sessions in an interview with Rock Titan TV. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I can tell everybody right now, 'cause people have been asking about it. So SHINEDOWN 7 is completed. We're finishing up a couple of things as far as the mastering is concerned with our boy Ted Jensen, who's a mastering engineer in Nashville. So we've got a couple of tweaks here and there, but you're gonna get a new SHINEDOWN record [in] early 2022.

This past August, Smith said that the first single from SHINEDOWN's seventh studio album would arrive in January 2022.

In September 2020, Smith told the KLOS radio show "Whiplash" that he and Bass were looking to make a more organic-sounding album this time around. "We've kind of proven that we can make these very large records, these very cinematic, orchestrated records with this wall of sound," he said. "What we wanna try to do with this album is we do want to hone it back down to drums, bass, guitar and vocals and the best songs that we can write and the freshest songs we can write with the most tenacity and the most ferociousness that we can express. So I don't think this time around we're going to necessarily look at the handbook of, 'Let's layer this record like we've layered other records, and let's keep adding to it so that it grows.' I think more the idea of big mono on this album, it's more about stereo and putting all of the sonics down the middle. But you don't have a hundred tracks on a song; you don't take a 22-piece orchestra and bring it in there. We've done that, and we've done those kinds of records, and we love those records, and we love that sound, but I think what we wanna do with this next record is we really want to focus on being a four-piece band, and let's see if we can peel the paint off of the walls with just the fury of the four of us in a room."

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

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

Fan-filmed video footage of STONE TEMPLE PILOTS' November 7 performance at Penn's Peak in Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania can be seen below.

STONE TEMPLE PILOTS features three original members — guitarist Dean DeLeo, bassist Robert DeLeo and drummer Eric Kretz.

Singer Jeff Gutt, a 45-year-old Michigan native who spent time in the early-2000s nu-metal act DRY CELL, among other bands, and was a contestant on "The X Factor", joined STONE TEMPLE PILOTS after beating out roughly 15,000 hopefuls during an extended search that began more than a year earlier.

Original STONE TEMPLE PILOTS singer Scott Weiland, who reunited with the group in 2010 after an eight-year hiatus but was dismissed in 2013, died in December 2015 of a drug overdose.

Chester Bennington, who joined STP in early 2013, departed nearly three years later to spend more time with his main band LINKIN PARK. Bennington committed suicide in July 2017.

STONE TEMPLE PILOTS released their first all-acoustic album, titled "Perdida", in February 2020. The disc was Gutt's second with STP. His recording debut with the group was on its self-titled seventh album, which arrived in March 2018.

THE HALO EFFECT, the new project featuring five former members of the Swedish metal band IN FLAMES — Jesper Strömblad (guitar), Daniel Svensson (drums), Peter Iwers (bass), Niclas Engelin (guitar) and Mikael Stanne (vocals) — has released its debut single, "Shadowminds". The track, which can be streamed below, will appear on THE HALO EFFECT's first album, due in 2022 via Nuclear Blast.

THE HALO EFFECT said in a statement: "Having grown up alongside Nuclear Blast in the early days of extreme metal, it just makes perfect sense for THE HALO EFFECT to partner with this prestigous label. Our music holds true to our roots and what made us who we are today while trusting our shared experiences to move forward. Joining our old and new friends at Nuclear Blast Records is an honour and a privilege and we look forward to to releasing this labor of love for metal together!"

Jens Prüter, head of A&R at Nuclear Blast Europe, adds: "In 2009, I was going to Gothenburg to produce the 'Where Death Is Most Alive' documentary for a DARK TRANQUILLITY DVD. Getting deeper into the Gothenburg scene, going through hours of archive footage and listening to all the interviews, I though it was a jungle of incest. In the early '90s, a bunch of guys moved between IN FLAMES, DARK TRANQUILLITY, CEREMONIAL OATH, HAMMERFALL and many more. We shouldn't forget that most of the protagonists were still teenagers when they released their first 'Desecrator' or 'Septic Broiler' demo tapes. What looked like incest was just a group of friends who shared a deep passion for metal. You could call it an all-star band but it's basically just an all-family band. Listening to THE HALO EFFECT is like going to a New Year's dinner enjoying the best food and drinks of the year. And it's a pleasure to be invited and share the joy with the rest of the world. Cheers!"

The initial thought behind THE HALO EFFECT was to go back to the roots and explore the classic Gothenburg Sound. The band delivers the goods in a brutally efficient display of heart pounding beats, melodic mayhem and furious growling at its best and the result is an exceptional sound to fans of melodeath, where the echoes of the Gothenburg Sound are evident.

To celebrate the signing, THE HALO EFFECT has also announced its first-ever tour, accompanying the Swedish death metal giants AMON AMARTH and U.S. metallers MACHINE HEAD on 31 dates throughout Europe.

The band comments: "We could not be more excited to partner with Cobra Agency for our first tour of Europe together with metal giants AMON AMARTH and MACHINE HEAD. Working together with people who are passionate about the road, the crews, the bands and the fans means a lot to us and doing this together is something we very much look forward to. See you in September/October!"

A founding member of IN FLAMES, Strömblad quit the band in February 2010 in order to continue receiving treatment for his alcohol addiction.

Five years ago, Jesper slammed his former bandmates, calling the group a "sinking ship" and saying IN FLAMES singer Anders Fridén has "never been a songwriter."

Svensson, who joined IN FLAMES in 1998, announced in 2015 that he was leaving the group to focus on his family life.

A member of IN FLAMES since 1997, Iwers issued a statement in November 2016 saying that he was exiting the band "to pursue other endeavors."

Engelin has been sitting out IN FLAMES' tour dates for the past two and a half years but has never officially confirmed his departure from the band. Engelin's replacement for IN FLAMES' live shows for most of 2019 and early 2020 has been former MEGADETH and current ACT OF DEFIANCE guitarist Chris Broderick.

When Engelin was asked in an August 2020 interview with the "MetalBreak" podcast what his "future" with IN FLAMES was, he responded, "I choose to pass on that [question]," before quickly adding, "I'm still in the band."

As of last year, Engelin was not listed as a member of IN FLAMES on the band's Facebook page (Broderick was), and he is not featured in any of IN FLAMES' current promotional photos from the group's record label, Nuclear Blast.

Shortly after leaving IN FLAMES, Iwers joined CYHRA, the band featuring vocalist Jake E (ex-AMARANTHE) and Strömblad. He announced his departure from that band in May 2018.

During a January 2021 appearance on the "Vox&Hops" podcast, Iwers was asked if he ever misses being on the road. The bassist replied: "Yeah, absolutely. Well, 'miss' is kind of the wrong word. I loved being on the road for most of the years that I was with [IN FLAMES], and I miss the good times. I have no regrets as far as leaving, but, of course, sometimes I really miss just being free and out and playing shows and traveling to new places every day. But I have plans. Maybe this will happen again in the future — not with IN FLAMES, though, but, yeah, we'll see."

He continued: "I'm kind of not missing spending time thinking about stuff like that. I'm kind of more living where I am now, where I'm actually free to do whatever I can with my own time. I own my own time, as I like to say; I can plan it however I like it. And I'm kind of focusing on enjoying that rather than missing the past.

"It's fun to reminisce, but at the same time, it can take you down a dangerous road as well," Peter added.

In a 2017 interview with Ireland's Overdrive, IN FLAMES guitarist Björn Gelotte said that he wasn't surprised by Peter's departure from the band. "It wasn't a 'shock,' so to speak, as we kind of knew that it was coming," he said. "I think he was just done with it all and not happy. No, 'happy' is the wrong word. He just wanted to pursue other things. Peter is a very, very busy guy. He has his own brewery with Daniel called Odd Island Brewing and he's also got four or five different musical projects happening, so he's really got his hands full at the moment."

A year ago, DARK TRANQUILITY vocalist Mikael Stanne, who sang on IN FLAMES' debut album, 1994's "Lunar Strain", dismissed comparisons between the two bands, telling the "BREWtally Speaking Podcast": "We are kind of forever linked, just because of our connection early on. I sang on the first IN FLAMES album, and Anders sang on the first DARK TRANQUILLITY album, and this is still a cause of great confusion for some reason. But, yeah, we toured together, we are friends and we grew up together in the same area outside of town [in Gothenburg, Sweden]. So, of course, it's obvious. And I'm okay with that — that's fine. It just becomes a little bit old, because there's not much to say about it anymore, because we've gone in very different directions. So it's not relevant, but, of course, you do make comparisons — that's how people work, how you go, 'I like this band better than that band.' And if there is a link somehow, and there are many between the two of us, then you use that as some kind of reference or, 'This is better than that,' or, 'The guitar player is better in that band' — that kind of stuff. So I'm okay with it. It doesn't change anything. And sometimes questions about it tend to be uninspired. It's just like, 'Oh, what do you think of the other band's albums?' It's, like, 'It doesn't matter, but I'm a huge fan. I love it.' And it's the same with, of course, AT THE GATES as well, even though we haven't shared any members together, but we still kind of grew up together, so, obviously, there's a huge connection there as well. And I don't mind talking about my friends and the awesome bands that are from this town — it's fine — but sometimes the direct comparisons seem… Maybe they meant something in the '90s, but they really don't anymore."

THE HALO EFFECT 2022 European tour supporting AMON AMARTH and MACHINE HEAD:

Sep. 08 - UK - Nottingham - Arena

Sep. 09 - UK - Cardiff - Arena

Sep. 10 - UK - London - Wembley Arena

Sep. 12 - UK - Manchester - Arena

Sep. 13 - IE - Dublin - 3 Arena -

Sep. 16 - CH - Zurich - Hallenstadion

Sep. 17 - AT - Vienna - Stadthalle

Sep. 18 - PL - Krakow - Tauron Arena

Sep. 20 - EST - Tallinn - Saku Arena

Sep. 21 - FIN - Helsinki - Ice Hall

Sep. 23 - N - Oslo - Spektrum

Sep. 24 - S - Stockholm - Hovet

Sep. 26 - DK - Copenhagen - Forum Black Box

Sep. 27 - DE - Hamburg - Barclays Arena

Sep. 28 - DE - Frankfurt - Festhalle

Sep. 30 - DE - Oberhausen - König Pilsener Arena

Oct. 01 - DE - Berlin - Velodrom

Oct. 02 - NL - Amsterdam - Afas Live

Oct. 04 - IT - Milano - Lorenzini District

Oct. 06 - ES - Barcelona - Sant Jordi

Oct. 07 - ES - Madrid - Vistalegre

Oct. 08 - ES - La Coruna - Coliseum

Oct. 09 - P - Lisbon - Campo Pequeno

Oct. 12 - FR - Paris - Zenith

Oct. 14 - DE - Munich - Olympiahalle

Oct. 15 - DE - Leipzig - Arena

Oct. 16 - CZ - Prague - Tipsport Arena

Oct. 18 - HU - Budapest - Barba Negra

Oct. 20 - LUX - Esch zur Alzette - Rockhal

Oct. 21 - BE - Brussels - Forest National

Oct. 22 - DE - Stuttgart - Schleyerhalle

In a new interview with "The Jeremy White Podcast", David Ellefson once again opened up about his dismissal from MEGADETH six months ago, just days after sexually tinged messages and explicit video footage involving the bassist were posted on Twitter. At the time, Ellefson released a statement on Instagram denying all social media chatter that he "groomed" an underage fan. He also filed a report with the police department in Scottsdale, Arizona alleging unlawful distribution of sexually explicit images of him by unknown offenders. In the report, Ellefson admitted that he had been exchanging sexual text messages with a Dutch teenager, who captured a video of several of their virtual "masturbating encounters" without his consent and shared them with friends. (According to Ellefson, the woman was 19 at the time of their first virtual sexual encounter.) Ellefson, who lives in Scottsdale, first became aware of the video on May 9, when the claim "David Ellefson of MEGADETH is a pedophile" appeared on Instagram. Ellefson told police he was notified on May 14 by MEGADETH that the band would be parting ways with him. Three days later, he was fired.

Speaking about the fact that he wanted to immediately come clean about the aforementioned virtual encounters and shoot down any inaccuracies about the exact nature of his relationship with the woman in question, Ellefson said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "That's why I addressed it the night it came out. Even though one side said not to," apparently referring to the MEGADETH camp, "my legal said, 'I think you should. I think you should just run toward the bullets, take the sword, deal with it, just address it,' which I did. And it was done and it was over. And then the next day when the other side started putting their announcements out, that's when it fanned the flames… The very thing they didn't want to happen is exactly what happened. And then I paid the penalty. Now I'm not in the band. So, go figure."

After host Jeremy White said that he blames MEGADETH leader Dave Mustaine for giving the story "legs" in the media by releasing a statement in which he said "there are clearly aspects of David's private life that he has kept to himself," Ellefson concurred, saying: "A hundred percent. It was all based on fear. It wasn't based on reality. They said all sides would be heard, and, quite honestly, no sides were heard. Because within two weeks, I went through the process that I told them I was gonna go through, to just walk through it and say, 'Hey, this is a bunch of bullshit,' and I did — I did my part. And I confessed my… [Laughs] Look, I was caught on 'Candid Camera'; there was no hiding from it. So you just address it. You take the sword. You deal with it. It was embarrassing. Sorry about that. Move on. And that's it. I pushed back against [the accusations]. [I said] 'This is bullshit.' And that's when I said [to the MEGADETH camp], 'Look, they threw a Molotov cocktail — proverbial — at my house and burned my house down. Would you please help me? Would you please support me? I could use some help right now.' And quite honestly, I was just kicked to the side of the road to just deal with it on my own. So it's, like, all right. Well, then now we know where the loyalties lie. And now we move on."

Asked why he thinks the MEGADETH camp did that to him, Ellefson replied: "I don't know for sure 'cause I've had no further conversations with anyone since then. But I can only go back to maybe the lawsuit I filed [against Mustaine] 20 years ago, me not being agreeable to just remix the catalog — those things, for sure. I'm sure this was a longstanding resentment toward me, and this was an opportunity to settle the score. And it is what it is.

"The truth of it is when you're in a band, when you're in any relationship — brotherhood, marriages, whatever — you have to agree to disagree, 'cause you're not always gonna agree on anything. And I think when things were reset 20 years ago — this was no longer gonna be a band; it was no longer a partnership; it was his [Dave's] way or no way. That was very clear. That's why I wasn't in the band 20 years ago when this happened. [Mustaine basically said] 'This is the way we're doing it. There is no negotiation. It's my way or the highway.'"

Pressed about whether he was "Mustaine's employee in a way" in the decade after he rejoined MEGADETH, Ellefson said: "For the last 10 years, I was an employee. And it's funny — to say that I was fired… I mean, I hadn't picked up a paycheck from MEGADETH since September 2020 when we did the photo shoot for the [new MEGADETH] album. So to say I was fired, I think, is a bit… Again, it's not like on the payroll getting a paycheck every week. Not rehired for the tour? Yeah, sure. I'll go with that. 'We're not rehiring you for the tour.' Okay. Fair enough. I wasn't getting a weekly paycheck from the group. When we worked, I got paid. When we didn't, I didn't. And then hence why I did a coffee company and a record company and all the other things to fill in the blanks and support myself and build up my own legacy for my family and to have things like that. Certainly those things, I think, were supported by management; I think they saw that if I wasn't gonna be… You can't expect for someone to be beholden to a company when you're not getting paid by that company in the 'off' time. I don't think Dave liked it. But it's, like, royalties buy loyalties, man. When you're all in and you're getting paid for everything, then, hey…"

He continued: "Look, for the first 20 years of the band, I never did anything [on the side]. I wrote a book and I co-wrote one song on a FLOTSAM AND JETSAM record. I didn't do anything 'cause when you're all in, you're all in. But when the group disbanded, and it disbanded in 2002 — it was not a hiatus; it was not taking time off; it was very clearly a disbanding — and when that happened, we were all left to our own. And it's that way to this day. It's kind of, everybody fends for themselves. When I came back 10 years ago, I was glad to be there, agreeable to be there, happy to be there for the fans, play the songs, to be part of the legacy. And look, clearly I put in another 10 years of gas in the tank. So it was a good thing. And that was always my attitude: do it for the love of the music, the love of just being there for all of it. And I was looking forward to that continuing, obviously. But I guess it's not what they want now."

Ellefson also addressed the fact that most fans incorrectly assume that hired musicians in bands at MEGADETH's level of popularity collect a paycheck even when they are not actively touring or recording.

"In Nashville, it's common when tours end, people file unemployment; it's just common," he said. "And over in rock and roll, that's not the common thing. Look, on some level, you're kind of like the handyman — you're called in to fix the pipe and clean the sink, and then when the job is done, you're out. For the last 10 years, when I worked, I got paid. When I didn't, I didn't. That's why, again, you see why I was so busy doing other things."

Two days after Mustaine announced Ellefson's latest departure from MEGADETH, the bassist released a follow-up statement in which he vowed to file a "defamation lawsuit" against the person who "illegally posted a very private video" of the bassist and made "false allegations" against him. He also said he was working with the police in Scottsdale "in their investigation into charges regarding revenge pornography to be filed against the person who posted the video. This person will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," Ellefson wrote. He went on to say that he was "taking this time to be with my family" and wished his "bandmates" the best with their tour.

Ellefson laid down his bass tracks on MEGADETH's sixteenth LP in May 2020 at a studio in Nashville, Tennessee.

In July, Mustaine announced during an episode of his Gimme Radio program "The Dave Mustaine Show" that Ellefson's bass tracks would not be used on the new MEGADETH LP.

In 2004, Ellefson filed an $18.5-million lawsuit against Mustaine, alleging the frontman shortchanged him on profits and backed out of a deal to turn Megadeth Inc. over to him when the band broke up in 2002. The lawsuit was eventually dismissed and Ellefson rejoined MEGADETH in 2010.

Ellefson was in MEGADETH from the band's inception in 1983 to 2002, and again from 2010 until his latest exit.

In a brand new interview with Brazil's Heavy Culture, former EXODUS guitarist Rick Hunolt was asked about the band's decision to re-record its classic 1985 debut album, "Bonded By Blood", in 2008 and release the new version under the title "Let There Be Blood".

"To be completely honest, I think it sounds all right, but I think it was an absolute waste of time and I don't know why they did it," Rick, who played on "Bonded By Blood" but did not appear on the re-recorded version, said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). "I just don't know. I never really talked to Gary [Holt, EXODUS guitarist and main songwriter] about it because, to me, it's kind of, like, why? A lot of people like it. It's not bad. [Then-EXODUS singer] Rob Dukes is badass — I love Rob Dukes. And it was interesting hearing him sing those songs, that's for sure."

"Let There Be Blood" was recorded by the then-EXODUS lineup of Dukes, Holt, guitarist Lee Altus, bassist Jack Gibson and drummer Tom Hunting.

Back in 2014, Dukes was asked by the "Talking Metal" podcast if, looking back, he thought it was the right decision to re-record "Bonded By Blood". "I mean, not really," he responded, "but I thought that… Our original plan was to do it live — record a live concert and have it as kind of just a live concert and have those songs part of it. 'Cause Gary was, like, 'Well, we play [the songs] differently. I want the fans to hear how we play them now.' And whatever. But it's always about money, dude. You know what I mean?! They were gonna make money, so they re-did it. So that's the way it went."

Shortly after the "Let There Be Blood" release, Holt told About.com Heavy Metal about EXODUS' decision to make the album: "It's something we've talked about for a long time. Ever since we did the first live album ['Another Lesson In Violence'], we always thought how cool it would be to give the album the benefits of modern technology. 'Bonded By Blood' is a classic, it's always going to be the greatest album we do, but we just wanted to record these songs, put this out on our own and share how relevant these songs still sound today. If you listen to the re-recording, they sound as up to date and current as anything anybody is putting out there now. That's a testament to how great the songs are."

Asked if EXODUS was pretty faithful to the original arrangements of the songs on the re-recording, Holt said: "Yes. I went off subject on the leads a little bit, but we recorded the songs the way we play them now. Arrangement-wise, everything's the same. We didn't change anything. We tune lower now, but we have since 1993. Everything's faithful to the original, it's just updated in the production."

In a separate interview with Metal-Rules.com, Holt stated about "Let There Be Blood": "We talked about it a long time ago. Paul [Baloff, EXODUS' singer at the time of the 'Bonded By Blood' recording] even wanted to go in a redo some of the songs he wasn't on. He's like, 'We should do 'Pleasures Of The Flesh' and 'Seeds Of Hate' and 'Brain Dead' too.'

"I think it all started when we worked on the live album, which was our first time with Andy as well, Mr. Sneap. It sounded so huge, even for, like, a one-gig live record. Paul was like the bandwagon leader of doing that [re-recording 'Bonded By Blood']; he would be, like, 'Oh we could make it so much heavier now!'

"We weren't out to reinvent the wheel on this and we did not want to do like a disservice to the original. I love the original, that's why I'm doing this.

"There is always going to be purists that will be like, 'Oh you can't do that.' But it's funny, a lot of the people who say that are, like, 19, and weren't even around when the original came out. But I don't look at it as a bad thing when people get defensive about it. That means they love the original, and they love it so much that they don't think we should touch it. But I always tell them 'Look, this doesn't make your copy of 'Bonded By Blood' burst into flames and disappear; it's always going to be there.' I hope it's always going to be there. This here is a companion record and homage record and it's a tribute to the times.

"I love 'Bonded By Blood' and will always listen to it. It's, like, one of the only albums of ours I listen to, because I am, like, the king of once something is done I put it behind me. I'll listen to 'Bonded' and listen to Paul because there is, you know, a lifelong connection there."

EXODUS parted ways with Dukes in June 2014 and replaced him with his predecessor, Steve "Zetro" Souza, who previously fronted EXODUS from 1986 to 1993 and from 2002 to 2004.

Dukes joined EXODUS in January 2005 and appeared on four of the band's studio albums — "Shovel Headed Kill Machine" (2005), "The Atrocity Exhibition... Exhibit A" (2007), "Let There Be Blood" (2008, a re-recording of EXODUS' classic 1985 LP, "Bonded By Blood") and "Exhibit B: The Human Condition" (2010).

EXODUS will release its new album, "Persona Non Grata", on November 19 via Nuclear Blast.