In a new interview with Australia's Inner-Strength Check, Mille Petrozza of German/Finnish/French thrash metal veterans KREATOR spoke about the band's upcoming sixteenth studio album, "Krushers Of The World", which will arrive on January 16, 2026 via Nuclear Blast Records. The LP was recorded at Fascination Street Studios in Örebro, Sweden with producer Jens Bogren. Bogren previously helmed KREATOR's "Phantom Antichrist" (2012) and "Gods Of Violence" (2017) LPs. The "Krushers Of The World" cover artwork was created by Polish genius Zbigniew Bielak (GHOST).

Regarding his songwriting process, Mille said in part (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "If there's one thing that I don't want, it's to turn into an nostalgia act and just repeat what we've already done in the past. So every time I do an album, it's always, like, I treat it like my first album. I know it sounds absurd because it's my sixteenth album, but that's how I try to approach going into a new songwriting session. And I don't know if it always works, but we try not to repeat ourselves and we try not to do something that we've already done. It's hard because we're playing metal. We are not doing progressive metal. We're playing pretty straightforward metal. So there's a little bit of a limitation. To me, it's all about the songs. To me, it's all about the songwriting. I'm a big fan of songwriters from any genre. I love the art of songwriting, and I'm a nerd when it comes to that."

Mille continued: "To me, I see the whole process of creating new music as a challenge to come up with stuff that I'm getting excited about. And hopefully if that works and I'm excited, I just put it out and hope that other people get excited about it. And that's how we work. That's basically it."

After the interviewer noted that it's "interesting" to see KREATOR working within the confines of being an extreme metal band as opposed to "maybe loosening the reins" and pursuing a more progressive direction, Petrozza said: "Yeah, it's an option. Technically, we could do it, but it's not something that we wanna do. I mean, on [2022's] 'Hate Über Alles' [album], there was a seven-minute song, which was kind of epic, but on this album it just didn't happen. I mean, the songs are four or five minutes long. So whatever comes out. You need to come up with like a selection of songs that makes sense and comes from the heart and kind of reflects and represents what we've been through since the last album and whatever you experience, and it needs to come… As a musician and as a creative person, you can only open the channels. You pick up your guitar and then you try to see what comes out. And whatever comes out is what you hear on the record, really. I mean, it's as simple as that. And it's something that I work on a lot. I'm not the kind of artist that just thinks that anything that I put out is amazing. I mean, we had, like, 12 songs for this record, and only 10 made it on the record. And then I have a couple of ideas, unfinished songs and all that. So I'm constantly writing music. Anything that I think excites me will end up on an album."

Mille previously talked about his songwriting process in November during an interview with "Coffee With Ola". He said at the time: "The thing is, it's like a puzzle. You start coming up with all these riffs that you think maybe it's a little bit above what I am able to play, but if I rehearse and if I get into practice, and if I get into the mindset, I might be able to do this at one point. Which is not when we go into the studio. But it might be when we play the first five shows of a tour. And then everything starts to flow."

Mille continued: "The lyrics, most of the time they're first. And there needs to be an idea. And when I have a lyrical idea… then I come up with the riffs. And the riffs, I don't wanna limit myself. I want them to be a little spectacular or something that not everybody can just play right away. But also harmonically, they need to be nice for my voice, for my mid-rangey kind of voice, in order to work in live situation… But in the end of the day, in my experience, it was always good to play a little bit above your abilities. But at some point, you, it makes you a better musician because you challenge yourself. It doesn't necessarily have to mean that, that there's the. The riffs have to be complicated at any cost. If they're cool and they're very easy to play, they make great songs also. So, I think you always have to find whatever's best for the song. And I think finding the riffs is only 10% or 15% of the whole composition. But it's very important, especially in metal."

After host Ola Englund noted that, for him personally, riffs constitute "90%" of the songwriting process, Petrozza clarified: "There's definitely exceptions to the rule. I don't know how METALLICA write their songs. But I think they also have the riffs first. So every band is different. So there's no formula — there's no certain formula that works for every band. And I think for my band or for my style of songwriting, it always worked quite well to have a lyrical theme or sometimes even just some chorus. I need to have something that people can sing along. I like it when people sing along. And I like it when you can remember the songs. I like catchy stuff. I'm not a 'prog' head. I love RUSH — don't get me wrong — and I love TOOL, early stuff, but I also like songwriting. And I think, for example, a band like TOOL and RUSH, they have this in between — they have great songs, but they have weird rhythms. And so it makes me, as a listener, it makes it enjoyable. But if it's just too [complicated] for the sake of it, it's not my taste."

On the topic of how the songs for "Krushers Of The World" came together, Mille said: "The way I write is I just record demos. I have a friend [Andy Posdziech] that has a great studio. He plays in a band called ANY GIVEN DAY. They're a really good band. And this time when I recorded the demos, the demos almost sounded like the album, because it was so detailed. The drums sounded great. And the way we recorded the riffs, the sonic quality of the demos was really good. So I enjoyed listening to the demos. I listened to the demos for a couple of months, really, before I even played it to anyone. That made me kind of figure out whether or not I enjoyed these songs. And I lived with it for half a year or so and then went to Jens's studio. I went there with the demos, and he would do a pre-production of the pre-production, like coming up with his ideas."

Mille added: "Everybody is different, but I think it can really help if you make a proper recording of a song that you have in mind with electronic drums and all digital stuff, but make it kind of how it's gonna sound in the end of the day and then figure out while you are — whatever — doing the dishes or just cleaning your apartment or whatever, and you listen to it in the background and if you enjoy it, it could be a good song. Like I said, it's just my way of doing things, but it helps me."

Mille previously spoke about the making of "Krushers Of The World" earlier in November in an interview with Sweden's "Rockpodden" podcast. He stated about the LP at the time: " I'm happy. I'm happy with the way it came out. It took me a while to write it, but I think we have a nice variety of interesting music and nice poetry and lyrics. Hopefully people appreciate it."

When the interviewer noted that "Krushers Of The World" sounds sonically "amazing", Mille responded: "Oh, thank you. Yeah, that's the band being very, very prepared. And the chemistry in the band, within the band is very positive. And also we worked with one of the best producers in the world, Jens. He really put his heart and soul into this production this time, and once we got into the studio, he got so involved in everything."

Mille confirmed that all of "Krushers Of The World" was recorded in Sweden. He said: "I think on 'Gods Of Violence', we went also to Örebro to record guitars, vocals and mix. And this time we did everything in [Jens's] studio because he has a nice setup now. He has a drum room, so it wasn't necessary to move studios for the drums. So, we were there for six weeks or seven weeks, and then he would go on a little vacation, and then he came back and took another three or four weeks to mix the album. [He did] really, really nice work this time."

Mille continued: "The way it's set up [at Fascination Street], you have everything under one roof. You have the mastering, the mixing, the recording, and then you have all these people working there all day. They're all metalheads. So it's almost like Disneyland for metalheads. We stayed there the whole time. We all had our rooms there. So it's very convenient, because you get up in the morning. Jens is already there. We start very early. And overall, it was a very, very focused experience, but also a very fun experience. We had a lot of laughs and really enjoyed the process of doing the album, and I think that really shows on the record. It sounds fresh."

Regarding how he and the rest of KREATOR manage to always come up with material that doesn't sound like a rehash of what they have done in the past, Mille said: "What a lot of bands tend to forget is once it turns into a routine and you just record albums in order to go back on tour or to stay relevant or other reasons, it's not natural. You have to question yourself all the time. You have to be very self-critical with your own art. You have to live with the music for a while."

Mille continued: "This time I went into pre-production on a very early stage. I did pre-production for over a year, and I wrote the songs for another year. I mean, I started writing in '22 and up to '25. And it was a process where I had time to have — me and my friend Andy from the band ANY GIVEN DAY, we would do demos that have a great quality already that people, if they would've listened to the demos, they would've already had heard a very good production. So the demos were very nice to listen to and gave me the opportunity to live with the songs for a while and rewrite stuff that I thought was weak or add stuff when I thought there was something missing. And that process really gave the album time to grow. And when I played it to the band, for me it was already old, but I was confident that these songs are great. And then the band came with their ideas and then Jens came with his ideas. So it's a very, very nice pot-pourri of creativity and passion for the music. And everybody involved gave their 150 percent."

Asked how open he is to new ideas, particularly from an outsider like Jens, Mille said: "It depends. Sometimes [Jens] makes suggestions and they're great. Sometimes we don't like his suggestions. Everything we question is for the better. Nobody that's involved wants the songs to suffer or push their ego. Like, 'This is my idea, so it needs to be on the song.' That sometimes can be a problem with producers or musicians that are thinking, 'Oh, no. I need to put this song part in there. Otherwise the song is not good.' And we were very open. And we discussed a lot. We talked a lot. And this is the third album that we did with Jens, so we kind of know each other well enough to know how we can actually take criticism or joke around if an idea's not good. So we don't get butthurt about things where we will go, like, 'Yeah, but I want my idea there.'"

Asked if he is "a hundred percent sure" that there will be another KREATOR album after "Krushers Of The World", Mille said: "Yeah. I think yes. But it's a nice trick. We could also do like this whole, 'Okay, it might be our last album.' THE CURE's done it for many years, and now I think MEGADETH is putting out their last album. It's a nice — how do I put this? — if they really feel that way, then it's cool.

"I think that I have at least five more albums in me," Mille explained. "I mean, the end is coming eventually. The physical body will disappear. Seriously, I don't really think in these categories. I think once you get on this journey, it ends when it ends. But I wouldn't be surprised if there's even more than five albums in me still, if I live long enough. Now that I'm getting to a certain age, of course, it's not like when you're 20 years old, you're, like, 'I have, a hundred percent, five more albums in me.' But I do — I think I do. But let's see — let's see what the future brings. You never know. But I'm open for whatever happens. But we'll see."

Petrozza added: "Those cryptic thoughts never come to me. I always think that, and also I think on 'Krushers Of The World', you can hear that I think music can be empowering and should be joyful. And this album, even though it has dark stuff on it, and it has like very heavy stuff on it, but it's a very positive energy that we're spreading."

KREATOR has released three singles so far from "Krushers Of The World": "Seven Serpents", "Tränenpalast" and "Satanic Anarchy".

"Tränenpalast" features vocal coach Britta Görtz of extreme metal band HIRAES on guest vocals.

When "Tränenpalast" was made available in late October, Mille commented: "'Tränenpalast' is our tribute to the great tradition of Italian cinema. We drew inspiration from Dario Argento's classic 'Suspiria' and Luca Guadagnino's epic masterpiece remake. Musically, we bow to the great GOBLIN, in direct conversation with maestro Claudio Simonetti. We hope you enjoy the song as much as we do. Only love to the greats! Hail to the Hordes!"

KREATOR will promote "Krushers Of The World" with a monumental European tour across 20 countries, joining forces with fellow metal powerhouses CARCASS, EXODUS and NAILS. The trek will kick off on March 20, 2026 in Lisbon, Portugal, at MEO Arena and wrap up on April 25, 2026 in Copenhagen, Denmark, at Poolen. Highlights include shows in London, Manchester, Glasgow, Paris, Milan, Berlin, Stockholm, and more.

The "Krushers Of The World" cover sees Zbigniew Bielak, renowned for his work for GHOST, art and design, offer an interesting twist to KREATOR's history. Transforming classic visual trademarks dedicated fans will recognize from "Coma Of Souls" (1990),"Out Of The Dark... Into The Light" (1988) and "Pleasure To Kill" (the font!) into a highly detailed tapestry garnered with occult symbolism, Bielak crafted an outstanding piece paying homage to a band he loves since his teenager days yet with a daring and unique flair. The cover of "Krushers Of The World" rewards everyone willing to analyze the grandiose sleeve design.

KREATOR's upcoming effort will be the follow-up to 2022's "Hate Über Alles", which was recorded at Hansa Tonstudio in Berlin, Germany. Helming the sessions for that LP was Arthur Rizk, who has previously worked with CAVALERA CONSPIRACY, CODE ORANGE, POWER TRIP and SOULFLY, among others.

"Hate Über Alles" marked KREATOR's first album with bassist Frédéric Leclercq, who joined the group in 2019.

The official KREATOR documentary, "Hate & Hope", was shown in July at the 42nd Munich International Film Festival and received a theatrical premiere in September. The 110-minute film was directed by Cordula Kablitz-Post.

Mille's official German-language autobiography, which he wrote with journalist, author and presenter Torsten Groß, "Your Heaven, My Hell - Mein Leben, Heavy Metal Und Wie Das Alles Passieren Konnte", was published on August 28 via Ullstein Verlag.

Photo credit: Robert Eikelpoth

In a new interview with Neil Jones of TotalRock, IRON MAIDEN bassist Steve Harris spoke about the book "Iron Maiden: Infinite Dreams - The Official Visual History" which was released on October 7 via Thames & Hudson. "Iron Maiden: Infinite Dreams - The Official Visual History" is described in a press release as "a magnificent visual celebration of the first 50 years of IRON MAIDEN, chronicl[ing] the evolution of heavy metal's most prestigious band, with unparalleled input from band members and management."

Asked if it was "weird" for him to have to "look backward" while putting together the book after previously stating that he always looks forward and rarely gets nostalgic, Harris said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, it wasn't weird, but it was difficult because I was the only one who could really do it because I was the one that had all the archive stuff and could comment about it and stuff like that, really. I suppose David [Murray, IRON MAIDEN guitarist] could comment on a few things, but I suppose back in the day I was the only sensible one at the time, because I had to be, 'cause I pulled the bull by the horns and did a lot of the driving, so I didn't get sort of too drunk back in them days. And some people working [with us back in] them days can't remember a lot because they were sort of inebriated a lot of the time — people like Dave Murray or [our old] drum road or whatever. So, yeah, it was down to me to sort of pull it all together, I suppose. And obviously I had a lot of help from Ben Smallwood, [MAIDEN's longtime manager] Rod's [Smallwood] son, and so that was great. But, yeah, it's all good stuff, really. But it's nice to get it out there, really. It's almost a relief in a way to get it out there because it's stuff that's been lying around for a long time. It needed to be sorted out and then put into some sort of perspective and some sort of formulated form so that people can just hopefully enjoy it."

Asked if he always was "a bit of a scrapbook keeper" who deliberately hung on to stuff, Steve said: "Well, I've always been sort of a bit of a hoarder, I suppose, with stuff like that, but it's come in handy in later life, I think. There's so much stuff that I've kept. And, yeah, it's just an archive of this historical stuff. And in fact I suppose these days I wish I'd kept more, even more stuff. I wish I'd kept a diary for longer as well, because I only kept a diary in the first place just because to log, really, how much we were getting paid or how much we weren't getting paid in [some] cases. And then I used to make a few notes on what the gig was like and stuff like that. But I wish I'd carried it on, really."

"Iron Maiden: Infinite Dreams" was described in a press release as "a truly spectacular and beautiful book, featuring never-before-seen items and photographs, which have been curated with enormous attention to detail over a number of years."

Organized chronologically, "Iron Maiden: Infinite Dreams" tells the story of the band from their first pub gigs in 1975 and their first record deal in 1979, through the recording and reception of groundbreaking albums, including their self-titled debut, 1982's global breakthrough "The Number Of The Beast" and the stadium-conquering "Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son", to 2021's hugely acclaimed double-album "Senjutsu" and the ongoing "Run For Your Lives" world tour.

The book traces the evolution of IRON MAIDEN's iconic Eddie mascot, alongside exclusive comments from his creator Derek Riggs, and documents the band's spectacular and complex stage productions and extensive live tours, including the "Somewhere Back In Time" world tour of 2008, which made international headlines as Bruce Dickinson piloted the band's very own Ed Force One 757.

Presenting iconic album and single artworks, photographs of the band's instruments past and present, stage props, hand-written lyrics and artefacts from the archive and the band's personal collections, as well as landmark photographs by Ross Halfin, John McMurtrie and more, "Iron Maiden: Infinite Dreams" is rife with revelatory stories and intriguing insights from pivotal band members and management. It is bookended by a foreword from Harris and an afterword by vocalist Bruce Dickinson.

Tristan de Lancey, creative director at Thames & Hudson, commented: "IRON MAIDEN is an institution. Hailed as pioneers of British heavy metal in the 1980s, the band has come to embody a spirit of fearless creative independence and ferocious dedication to their fans that has won them a huge following around the world and across generations. With astonishing archival access and more meticulous, hands-on participation from the band than I ever thought possible, we have been gifted the tools to create something beautiful, comprehensive and unique which, I have no doubt, raises the bar for illustrated books in this music genre. Every page will surprise and delight its audience — just don't expect metal fans to be the only ones who buy it…!"

"Iron Maiden: Infinite Dreams - The Official Visual History" has been curated by Ben Smallwood and co-edited by Alexander Milas and Terry Burrows, incorporating contributions by band members and creatives past and present.

Tristan de Lancey acquired world all languages rights for Thames & Hudson from Oliver Stanton at Global Merchandising Services. Thames & Hudson has sold rights in six countries thus far: in France to Editions du Chêne (Hachette Livre); in Germany to Prestel Verlag (Penguin Random House); in Japan to Kawade Shobo Shinsha; in Spain to Libros Cúpula (Grupo Planeta); in Brazil to Belas Letras; and in Italy to Rizzoli Lizard (Gruppo Mondadori). The book will be published by Thames & Hudson in the U.K., U.S. and Australia.

Iron Maiden: Infinite Dreams – The Official Visual History lands globally in autumn 2025. This epic hardback chronicles...

Posted by Iron Maiden on Monday, March 10, 2025

Mike Ness, singer and guitarist for the legendary SoCal punk group SOCIAL DISTORTION, has confirmed that the band's long-awaited new studio album will arrive next spring.

Ness briefly touched upon the band's upcoming LP during a backstage chat on December 13 with Kevin Ryder at the annual KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas 2025 at Kia Forum in Los Angeles, California.

After Ryder asked Ness if it's true that SOCIAL DISTORTION has a new album coming out in early 2026, Mike said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "May." In a separate social media post, Ness announced that the LP's first single will arrive in January.

Ness, who revealed a diagnosis of tonsil cancer in June 2023, also offered an update on his recovery, saying: "I was afraid I was gonna not gonna live. I've been through some hard things in my life in some dangerous situations, as you can imagine, but nothing like that."

Asked if he had to learn to talk and sing again, Mike said: "I had to learn to eat, swallow — everything. I mean, they went in there — they sent a robot. I call him Ike, the robot. He went down and cut out my tonsil and the tumor. And then the second part of the surgery was, they slit my neck and cut the lymph nodes out. So I could not eat food. I mean, I came out of surgery with a drain and a feeding tube."

After Ryder noted that he is "glad" that Ness could sing again after his cancer battle, Mike said: "My voice is stronger than it's ever been. I think I'm singing like there's no tomorrow. So every show is great because I'm singing like there's no tomorrow."

Ness started SOCIAL DISTORTION as a teenager in 1979. Over the course of the next decade, Ness battled drug and alcohol addiction, spending stints in jail and rehab.

Formed as rebellious teenage punks in the working-class suburb of Fullerton, California, SOCIAL DISTORTION survived their tumultuous youth to pioneer an undeniably honest and fiery brand of rock 'n' roll that would incorporate outlaw country, classic seventies punk and primal blues. Seven studio albums and countless electrifying live shows have earned the band a dedicated worldwide fanbase and catalog of timeless anthems, including "Story Of My Life", "Ball And Chain", "Prison Bound" and more. The band's last release, 2011's "Hard Times And Nursery Rhymes", entered the Billboard 200 at No. 4, and in 2019 SOCIAL DISTORTION celebrated 40 years as a band.

In a new interview with Spain's Made In Metal, bassist and vocalist Ray Haller of Belfast metal pioneers SWEET SAVAGE spoke about how his band gained wide recognition after METALLICA covered their track "Killing Time" — co-written by SWEET SAVAGE co-founder and future DIO/DEF LEPPARD guitarist Vivian Campbell — and released it as the B-side of METALLICA's multi-platinum single "The Unforgiven". Ray said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I speak very openly and honestly. I know where SWEET SAVAGE is and I know our place. SWEET SAVAGE was near enough gone [before METALLICA recorded our song]. I mean, the gigs were getting less, they were getting smaller, the tours were getting shorter, the money was getting less. And then METALLICA brought out 'Killing Time'. They asked our permission to do it, and they put out 'Killing Time', and all of a sudden it was like, whoa. The tours got bigger, the festivals got bigger, the money got more. That had a massive [impact]. It allowed us to go and record a record, the fact that METALLICA did that one song. And then with agents and promoters, [they approached us], 'Hi, would you like to come and do a show?' 'Would you like to do a festival?' 'Would you like to do this?' That's all because of METALLICA. If that hadn't happened, if METALLICA hadn't recorded 'Killing Time', you and I wouldn't be having this conversation. I owe so much to METALLICA for taking that one song. And to this day, when they come to town, they give me a call. 'Do you wanna come to the show?' So I go down and I see them. All being well, I'm gonna see them next year."

Haller added: "So, I can't thank METALLICA enough. I don't think they'll ever take another song, but they've really helped SWEET SAVAGE out so much by that one song."

Ray also reflected on SWEET SAVAGE's early days while Vivian was still a member of the band and before Campbell got an offer to join DIO. He said: "Well, Viv and I go back a long way, to school days. And working with Viv was great. We were beneficial to each other, because when Viv and I formed the band, the band was just a covers band. We were just playing DEEP PURPLE covers, BLACK SABBATH, THIN LIZZY, LED ZEPPELIN — we were just a covers band, and we decided we would write a song. So the two of us wrote a song, along with the other guy who was in the band with us, [founding SWEET SAVAGE guitarist] Trevor Fleming, who's now since passed. Trevor died. So we just started out like every other bunch of kids playing our heroes' songs. So we had a good influence on each other."

Ray continued: "It was great to work with [Vivian] because he's an exceptional guitar player as well and he did have a big impact on the band. But I like to feel as if I had a good impact on Viv, because my philosophy was we are as good as anyone. We can write a song. Our songs can be as good as anybody's. So it was my idea that we have a go with writing our own material, and Trevor, Viv and myself wrote the songs. And I think we all gave each other confidence. Viv gave me confidence 'cause he was a brilliant musician. He gave me confidence that I was good enough to play with him. I gave him confidence that his riffs were as good as DEEP PURPLE's or THIN LIZZY's. So we all gave each other confidence. I mean, it was a brilliant band. It was just unfortunate that it was in Northern Ireland in the height of our conflict. And we couldn't get a record deal. We couldn't get record companies to come and look at us because they were frightened. On the news, there's car bombs, there's shootings, there's killings… The biggest and best hotel in the city where the record companies would've came to stay, if they had to come, was the most bombed hotel in the world. So nobody would come. We couldn't get anyone to look at us, to listen to us. We didn't have the money. I had to borrow the money off my parents for my share of the first demo. Viv had to do the same. Trevor had to do the same, and Dave [David Bates], the drummer, had to… We had all to go to our parents and borrow money to go and do a four-song demo. The record labels were very interested in the band. They always wanted to hear more material. We couldn't afford to do it. We couldn't get them to come to us, and we couldn't afford to… There was only two recording studios in Northern Ireland, and we couldn't afford to go in. We knew we were a good band and we were a great influence on each other."

Speaking about his current relationship with Campbell, Haller said: "I'd seen Viv on Monday. He's just flown back to the States. So Viv was over here in Belfast for a week. So I'd seen Viv. I spoke to Viv yesterday. He's back home. I'll be speaking to Viv over the weekend. I've been speaking to Viv at least once, twice a month since he left SWEET SAVAGE back in the '80s, his whole time through DIO, WHITESNAKE and in DEF LEPPARD. We're still very, very, very close friends. So we were all a good influence on each other. And it didn't surprise me that Viv got asked to join DIO. He was such a brilliant guitar player. If we'd have got a record deal, he wouldn't have joined DIO. We'd have been well on the way to do our own thing, but, unfortunately, we didn't get the opportunity."

SWEET SAVAGE released a new album, "Bang", in September through earMUSIC.

Formed in Belfast in 1979 by Haller and Campbell, SWEET SAVAGE was part of the first wave of the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal. But unlike their peers, SWEET SAVAGE never released a full album during their first run. Instead, they became underground legends, gaining wide recognition after METALLICA covered "Killing Time".

On "Bang", Haller is backed by longtime drummer Marty McCloskey and guitar force Phil Edgar. The album features guitar work by former band member Simon McBride, who toured and recorded with the band before launching his solo career and joining DEEP PURPLE.

METALLICA frontman James Hetfield joined SWEET SAVAGE on stage at an August 20, 2008 concert at Marlay Park in Dublin, Ireland (where SWEET SAVAGE supported METALLICA) to perform "Killing Time".

Campbell was a member of SWEET SAVAGE from 1979 until 1982, when he joined DIO.

Vivian joined SWEET SAVAGE on stage for the first time in 30 years when the band supported THIN LIZZY in February 2011 in Belfast and Dublin to perform the classic track "Killing Time".

In a 2018 interview with Riccardo Ball of "The Metal Bar", Campbell stated about METALLICA covering "Killing Time" as the B-side to "The Unforgiven" single (the song was also included on METALLICA's "Garage Inc." covers album): "Yeah, that was incredibly flattering when that happened. I do think that there were very, very strong similarities between SWEET SAVAGE and METALLICA. I formed SWEET SAVAGE with a friend of mine who's, unfortunately, long since passed away — Trevor Fleming — back when I was 15. And we were in Belfast, Northern Ireland in the '70s, and it was a very tough environment, but we kind of put our heads down and got into music. And we sound a lot like METALLICA, so in a lot of ways, I'm really not that surprised. But it was tremendous for them to do that. It's funny when you're 15 or 16 years of age and you write a riff and you get together with your mates and it becomes a song, and then, 25 years later, you get a royalty check for it. It's funny how life works sometimes."

Photo: Mark Hylands (courtesy of earMUSIC)