Greece's gothic doomsters Daylight Misery have released a standalone single in memory of Dimitris Theodoropoulos, founder and guitar player of the band Rex Mundi, who died on May 31st, 2021. The sales from this release will go to "Floga Parents' Association Of Children With Cancer". The song "Cancerworm" features vocals from Aaron Stainthorpe (My Dying Bride) and Sakis Tolis (Rotting Christ), a guest solo by Gus G., and keyboards by Kostas Panagiotou (Pantheïst).

You can check out the single through the YouTube player below and download it at Daylight Misery's Bandcamp page over here.

Former MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson says that he was recently given the title of baron by Sealand — described as the smallest independent state in the world.

Sealand is a WWII defense platform off the coast of Britain, consisting of a large steel deck sitting atop two concrete towers. It was seized and proclaimed a nation by a pirate broadcaster named Roy Bates in 1967. His grandson Liam Bates currently holds the title of Prince Of Sealand.

To fund Sealand's operational costs — including two full-time security personnel who live on the micronation year-round — Sealand's online store sells t-shirts, stamps and royal titles. A lord, lady, baron or baroness peerage costs $44.99. To receive the title of sir or dame, you will need to cough up $129.99.

Ellefson discussed his Sealand lordship in a new interview with Drew Stone of The New York Hardcore Chronicles Live! he said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Drew [Fortier, musician, filmmaker and actor], one day we were talking, and I was talking about castles across Europe. And he said, 'Dude, you can go to Sealand' — look it up online — 'you can buy like a square foot of land of Sealand.' So I became a lord, 'cause that's what a landowner is, is a lord. And then I upgraded to becoming a baron. And then I even paid another couple of hundred bucks and became a sir. So now I'm Sir Lord Baron David Ellefson, the royal and noble title of the royal family. So I [paid] a few hundred bucks and became a sir as opposed to Paul McCartney and Elton John; they have to pay — I don't know — a million pounds to the Queen or something to become a sir. So you can refer to me now as award-winning [film] producer Sir David Ellefson."

Ellefson was fired from MEGADETH earlier this year after sexually tinged messages and explicit video footage involving the bassist were posted on Twitter.

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

In 2004, Ellefson filed an $18.5-million lawsuit against Dave Mustaine, alleging the MEGADETH 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.

David, a Christian who launched the Mega Life Ministries worship group in 2007, studied for a year at Concordia Lutheran Seminary in St. Louis nearly a decade ago.

Fan-filmed video footage of PRIEST, the synthwave act featuring former members of the Grammy Award-winning Swedish rock act GHOST, performing this past Friday, November 26 at Hus 7 in Stockholm, Sweden can be seen below.

Hailing from the same icy darkness of the Scandinavian inland that birthed GHOST, PRIEST consists of a trio of musicians — vocalist Mercury, who was known as Water when he played bass for GHOST, keyboardist Salt, formerly known as GHOST keyboardist Air, and programmer/ keyboardist Sulfur — who came together in 2017 and started releasing their own unique brew of electronic music that bears little sonic resemblance to their former band yet still shares the same creative DNA. But whereas GHOST borrowed their theatrics from old school horror and '80s rock, PRIEST comes steeped in cyberpunk and industrial music.

PRIEST recently inked a deal with Cleopatra Records. The band's new full-length album, tentatively due in 2022, will be produced by another GHOST alumni, Simon Söderberg (GHOST guitarist and producer/engineer of debut album "Opus Eponymous")

Cleopatra owner Brian Perera stated: "We've been living in this genre since the '90s so we have a pretty good feel for when bands do it right, and as soon as we heard PRIEST, we knew they were something special. We see an extremely bright future ahead for the band and are thrilled to be partnering with them to make that happen."

PRIEST concurred, saying: "Signing with such a legendary label like Cleopatra will probably be the biggest step in our career. With great knowledge of the genre we're in, we can't think of a better match for PRIEST. Our next album is by far the best yet and we can't wait to unleash it to a wider and more diverse audience."

Last year, PRIEST released a new album called "Cyberhead", the follow-up to its debut, "New Flesh". "Cyberhead" was the first album since original singer Tom Åsberg (also known as Ginger Khan) left the band to pursue other projects. PRIEST mastermind Linton Rubino has taken over on vocals, which are performed by a masked character they call Mercury.

Back in 2017, GHOST leader Tobias Forge was sued by four former members of the band after being dismissed by the group's founder the previous December. They accused the singer of cheating them out of their rightful share of the profits from the band's album releases and world tours. The lawsuit was filed in the district court of Linköping, Sweden, where GHOST was originally based. It claimed that a partnership agreement existed between Forge and the four former members, all of whom performed anonymously in the band as Nameless Ghouls. As a result of the lawsuit, Forge was forced to reveal his identity after years of performing in a mask as Papa Emeritus. He has maintained that "no legal partnership" ever existed between him and the other members.

In May 2018, Linton, who played bass live in GHOST from 2013 to 2014 in the role of the Nameless Ghoul Water, blasted the band's latest album, "Prequelle", saying he was "ashamed to have been part of that" and calling the music "a joke" and "mainstream shit."

Drummer Jon Dette (TESTAMENT, SLAYER, ANTHRAX) has uploaded an eight-minute video in which he offers a "small but powerful drumming tip" on what he believes is a staple to the SLAYER drumming sound: the ruff or the diddle or grace notes.

In the clip, which can be seen below, the 51-year-old Dette — who played as a full-time member of SLAYER from 1996 to 1997 and as a touring member in 2013 — says in part (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "A tip for this week is a SLAYER tip, for SLAYER songs. And in my opinion, it's one of the coolest little things that you hear in SLAYER drumming, particularly Dave's [Lombardo, original SLAYER drummer] drumming. And that is what we could either call a ruff or a diddle or grace notes — whatever you wanna call it. It's just one of those little things, almost like you hear it but maybe you don't hear it, if that makes sense. It's just this little thing — it's brilliant; it's amazing; I love it. It's one of my favorite things to do, whether I'm playing a SLAYER song or even ANTHRAX songs or any other songs. But what I wanted to point out is not only what's done but a mistake that I see some people making. I made the same mistake early in my drumming journey as well.

"So I'm going to demonstrate the correct way and what we would call the incorrect way," he added. "Again, there's no right or wrong way to do stuff, but if you wanna learn the right way that we do it, then I'm gonna show you the way that it's done. So with that, then you can roll however you want to at that point."

In a 2013 interview with Metal Rules, Dette revealed that he worked with SLAYER guitarist Kerry King on some of the early ideas for what became the band's final studio album, 2015's "Repentless", before he was replaced by a returning Paul Bostaph. "I actually started working with SLAYER after we had gotten back from Australia [in early 2013]," he said. "We started working for demo and music for their new record. And then obviously what happened with Jeff [Hanneman, guitar] passing away, that changed some things. But it was definitely moving in that direction for me to be working with SLAYER [again]. But as I said there are just some things that changed with that once Jeff passed away, and I think, ultimately, they felt more comfortable with ‎Paul Bostaph, just because Paul had been in the band for longer. I think it was not going to be as much of a shock to their fans, because first Dave is gone, and now Jeff is gone, the band, it's now down to two original members. So if Paul makes them feel more comfortable and at home, then more respect to him and I wish them the best with that."

King confirmed that he worked with Dette early on in the songwriting process for "Repentless" before deciding to re-hire Bostaph instead. "We pursued it," Kerry said in a 2015 interview. "We got back from Australia. I did demos with Jon Dette, I did demos with Paul — the same two songs, under the same circumstances; they each had, like, 24 to 36 hours to learn 'em — and just see where it went. And Tom [Araya, SLAYER bassist/vocalist] and Jeff [Hanneman, SLAYER guitarist] both decided Paul, and in hindsight, that was the right choice."

Dette originally joined SLAYER in 1996 when Paul Bostaph left to work on his side project THE TRUTH ABOUT SEAFOOD. Dette performed with SLAYER at the 1996 Ozzfest to promote the band's covers album, "Undisputed Attitude".

Prior to joining SLAYER, Dette appeared on TESTAMENT's "Live At The Fillmore" album, which came out in 1995.

In recent years, Dette had played sporadic shows with ANTHRAX as a temporary replacement for Charlie Benante, who had been undergoing physical therapy in his continuing battle with carpal tunnel syndrome.

Former MÖTÖRHEAD and current SCORPIONS drummer Mikkey Dee received the honorable title "Gothenburger Of The Year" in his hometown of Gothenburg, Sweden on Saturday, November 27.

"Gothenburger Of The Year" is an honorary title awarded to a resident of the city who has gained special distinction during the year and acted in a praiseworthy manner that has inspired pride and given pleasure to many people.

As part of yesterday's festivities, Mikkey got his name on his very own tram. He drove 40 tons of metal to the Queens Square where he was honored in front of fans and the people of Gothenburg. The award is given by the Gothenburg city council and Gothenburg tram association.

"We, the people of Gothenburg, feel an enormous pride that we have an artist of the world of this caliber in our city," Gothenburg city officials said in a statement. "For over 40 years, Mikkey has performed with an amazing passion in some of the biggest bands in the world. He is true inspiration for all of us as well as young musicians."

Photos and video footage of yesterday's ceremony can be found below.

Dee, who has been a member of SCORPIONS since 2016, played drums for KING DIAMOND from 1985 until 1989. The Swedish-born drummer also played with MOTÖRHEAD from 1991 until the band's dissolution in December 2015.

Dee played on the classic KING DIAMOND albums "Fatal Portrait", "Abigail" and "Them" until he left in 1988 to join Don Dokken. He returned a year later as a session player on KING DIAMOND's "Conspiracy".


I dag har vi varit och firat vår vän och årets GÖTEBORGARE 2020

Posted by Thomas CaleoRex on Saturday, November 27, 2021



Idag gratulerar vi Mikkey Dee som fått stadens kulturpris och sitt namn på en spårvagn.

På plats var även den...

Posted by Magnus Ax on Saturday, November 27, 2021

TESTAMENT, EXODUS and DEATH ANGEL played the sole 2021 date of "The Bay Strikes Back Tour" last night (Saturday, November 27) at the Fox Theater in Oakland, California. Fan-filmed video footage of the concert can be seen below. The gig took place less than two months after the three bands shared the stage at the Aftershock festival in Sacramento.

"The Bay Strikes Back Tour" 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 in Oakland. The tour has since been rescheduled to take place in April and May 2022.

When "The Bay Strikes Back Tour" was postponed from its original time frame, TESTAMENT guitarist Eric Peterson said in a statement: "We were really on the fence with this decision. But seeing other bands make it through with a few mild cases and other bigger bands just canceling their entire tours, we felt it is in our best interest to postpone these shows to '22."

Added TESTAMENT guitarist Alex Skolnick: "It gives none of us any pleasure to be the bearers of bad news yet again, but here we are. Although 'Bay Strikes Back' is a top tour package for theaters, the reality is this: It can’t afford to take the risks that top-grossing larger venue tours have been taking. The type of disruptions KISS and other large outdoor venue tours have experienced could cause our shows to be permanently canceled — a lose/lose for everyone. The fact that a lower budget tour such as ours is limited to indoor venues with tight backstage space only adds to the risk. It should go without saying that calling off these dates was a 'last resort' decision, and everyone involved would much rather this weren't the case. However, this is the new reality we're all in. All we can do is hope for everyone's understanding, which we ask for sincerely."

EXODUS guitarist Gary Holt said: "We are saddened to announce that 'The Bay Strikes Back Tour' is being postponed, but the risk of cancelled shows due to positive tests leading to tour personnel being quarantined and isolated is just too great at this time. We want to feel safe, enjoy the tour and be able to hang out with our close friends. The silver lining in this is that [EXODUS's cancer-stricken drummer] Tom Hunting no longer needs chemo and will have more time to work his way back to doing a full tour."

"Usually when I'm asked to contribute a quote to an announcement, it pertains to something I'm extremely excited about," said DEATH ANGEL vocalist Mark Osegueda. "In this case, I'm gutted… It pains me to announce that 'The Bay Strikes Back' U.S. tour is being postponed. No one was looking forward to this more than me. But, on the brighter side of things, the tour is in fact going to happen — just at a later time. And I can assure you that the already ravenous to play live members of DEATH ANGEL promise to provide a crushing set during a crushing tour. The Bay WILL Strike Back!"

"The Bay Strikes Back Tour" dates:

Apr. 09 - San Luis Obispo, CA - Fremont Theater

Apr. 10 - Anaheim, CA - House of Blues

Apr. 12 - San Diego, CA - House of Blues

Apr. 13 - Las Vegas, NV - House of Blues

Apr. 15 - Tucson, AZ - Rialto Theatre

Apr. 16 - Albuquerque, NM - Sunshine Theater

Apr. 19 - Oklahoma City, OK - Diamond Ballroom

Apr. 20 - Houston, TX - White Oak Music Hall

Apr. 21 - Austin, TX - Emo's

Apr. 22 - Dallas, TX - Amplified Live

Apr. 23 - New Orleans, LA - House of Blues

Apr. 25 - Orlando, FL - Hard Rock Live (new date)

Apr. 26 - Atlanta, GA - The Masquerade

Apr. 27 - Raleigh, NC - The Ritz

Apr. 28 - Chattanooga, TN - The Signal (new date)

Apr. 30 - Sayreville, NJ - Starland Ballroom

May 01 - Baltimore, MD - Soundstage

May 02 - Boston, MA - House of Blues

May 03 - Philadelphia, PA - Theater of Living Arts

May 05 - Huntington, NY - The Paramount

May 06 - Buffalo, NY - Town Ballroom

May 07 - Cincinnati, OH - Madison Theater

May 09 - Pittsburgh, PA - Stage AE

May 10 - Cleveland, OH - The Agora

May 11 - Columbus, OH - Newport Music Hall

May 12 - Detroit, MI - The Majestic Theatre

May 14 - Joliet, IL - The Forge

May 15 - Joliet, IL - The Forge

May 17 - Minneapolis, MN - Skyway Theatre

May 19 - Denver, CO - Summit

May 20 - Salt Lake City, UT - The Depot

May 22 - Seattle, WA - Showbox (new date)

May 23 - Portland, OR - Roseland (new date)

May 25 - Sacramento, CA - Ace of Spades (new date)

All tickets purchased for the original dates will be honored for the new dates. Refunds will be available at point of purchase.

Last month, TESTAMENT's Chuck Billy and EXODUS's Steve "Zetro" Souza released a 40-minute video in which they went in depth about the two bands' decision to postpone the North American leg of teir "The Bay Strikes Back Tour" to 2022. Speaking about the thought process behind pushing back the tour, Chuck said: "I called Zet and I called Will [Carroll, drums] and Ted [Aguilar, guitar] from DEATH ANGEL and just wanted to hear what everybody's thoughts were. And the most important thing, I think, came back as that when we did the European leg [in February/March 2020], we all had such a great time. It was the first time where you go out and there's not a band that you met that you've gotta get to know and hang out with. Where we came into it as, like, 'Hey, buddy.' We're all pals flying out together. It didn't feel like starting a tour. And at the end of it, we all had a good time. No attitudes, no problems.

"We said, 'This has gotta go to America. This has to go everywhere,'" he continued. "We were saying that. The most key thing was, you know what? Remember how much fun we had? I was talking to Tom [Hunting, EXODUS drummer] about it and Gary [Holt, EXODUS guitarist]. We had a great time. Do we wanna do America and not have fun, not enjoy ourselves?

"'Cause I did talk to other [bands who were recently] on tour, and the consensus was it wasn't fun. And we were, like, do we wanna go do that? We wanna have fun. I think we're bands that like to go out and talk to the fans. We don't hide and run from fans."

Added Zetro: "Then there's the whole cost factor. Buses cost money. Crew cost money. We're not rich rock stars. We live off the business, and we're very fortunate to do so, but we still have to look at it from that angle. And if we go out for three weeks, and we've printed all this merchandise with the dates on the back, and Chuck gets sick. Are you gonna get a new singer for TESTAMENT? You can't do that. You can't replace it. So the tour's now over with. 'Cause DEATH ANGEL and EXODUS are not gonna go, 'Well, TESTAMENT's dropping off. We're just gonna continue.' That's not the package. That's not how it works. Gary gets sick. Over with. Zetro gets sick. Over with. Tom, who's just coming back from his whole ordeal with cancer. Tom gets sick — done, over, tour over.

"And, again, we're talking to our friends on other tours. We're getting the feedback from the crews. And they're telling us what's going on and what a nightmare it is. 'And yes, we're there working, but we're isolated on the bus.'

"I've always said, as soon as it's not fun anymore, I don't wanna fucking do it anymore," Zetro said. "So if we're gonna go out there for five weeks, and you're gonna basically put me in a rolling prison, I can't do that. On days off, we have to be accountable for. I like going to the movies or going to games and stuff on days off. I can't do that, 'cause if I go out and I get exposed and I expose everybody, it's just the way… We have to tour in a bubble, basically."

Continued Chuck: "We really took our time thinking about, 'Do we wanna go and do this?' And I think at the end of the day, after all this talk, it just came down to, 'Let's go out and do this right. Let's go out and have some fun. Let's go out and do it for the fans that got to hang out that we've been doing this for for all this time.' And it just made more sense [to postpone it].

"So many restrictions in venues in different cities are different. You've either gotta have the shot or show proof… So, as time goes by, I think it's all gonna open up better.

"First of all, we've seen the world change. 'Okay, there's daylight. Things are getting normal.' And then the delta variant hits," Chuck added. "We're, like, 'Oh, here we go again.' Things are changing — shutdown, restrictions are coming back. We thought we booked this tour knowing by the time October comes around, it's gonna be free and clear. And it changed on us. So that was the sucky part for us."

Guitarist Oscar Dronjak of Swedish metallers HAMMERFALL has confirmed that the band has completed work on a new studio album, to be released in 2022. The music for the disc was once again recorded with Fredrik Nordström of Studio Fredman at Castle Black Studios, while the vocals were laid down with Jacob Hansen at Hansen Studios in Denmark.

Dronjak discussed the making of the new HAMMERFALL LP in the latest episode of Hammerfall TV, which was uploaded to the group's YouTube channel. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "COVID obviously fucked up life for a lot of us. We have tried to stay as healthy and as happy as possible, and one thing that we could do that by was working on a new album, which is what we have done since March this year, I think. Obviously, we started writing songs a lot sooner than that. I actually started writing songs… Some parts of this album are older, but I started writing songs during the vocal recordings for 'Dominion'; when Joacim [Cans] was recording his vocals for the previous album, 'Dominion', I set up my stuff and I just started… I caught the creativity bug when it happened, basically. A couple of songs were even older than that. Two songs were ready already for 'Dominion', for that session, but I decided to hold them back because we felt that they needed more spotlight than they would have gotten if they came at the tail end of the 'Dominion' recordings. So we pulled them back and we brought them out for this one. And I'm really glad we did. I can tell you guys that you will be really glad we did too, once you hear everything."

More information about the new HAMMERFALL album is expected to be made available on Wednesday, December 1.

"Dominion" was released in August 2019 via Napalm. For the disc, HAMMERFALL re-teamed with James Michael to do vocals at Red Level Three studios, and Nordström for the instruments.

In a 2019 interview with The Metal Observer, Dronjak stated about "Dominion": "I think it follows in the same path as we were going with both '(r)Evolution' and 'Built To Last'. It's pretty much an extension of that. What I do think we managed this time is that we captured a lot of energy on the album: a lot of the live energy that you have when you're performing on stage. We tried to get that in the album recording as much as we could. And we have tried that a lot in the past couple of years, or probably for as long as I can remember, but I don't think we've managed to capture it as much as we did this time. And if you're talking about, like, the music and stuff, I believe this album might be the strongest one that we've ever released. At least up there with it, because it's got a lot of variety and I like that in an album… You don't have any downtime on the album, you know; it's all really good in its own right. Not just in the context of the album, but they can stand alone and I think that's something that we're really proud of that we've managed to achieve this time."

HAMMERFALL released a new live set, "Live! Against The World", in October 2020 via Napalm.




Breaking news: new studio album coming early next year!

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If the journey is challenging the result can be...

Posted by HammerFall on Saturday, November 27, 2021



Breaking news: new studio album coming early next year!

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Riffing made easy with @sandbergguitars! The Gibson was...

Posted by HammerFall on Friday, November 26, 2021

CHILDREN OF BODOM frontman Alexi Laiho was honored with a posthumous lifetime achievement award by the Finnish radio station SuomiRock. Accepting the award on Alexi's behalf was his sister Anna, who said in her speech: "Thank you very much, both from Alexi and from the whole family. It's really great that Alexi's precious musical heritage is being honored in such a wonderful way."

The Finnish metal musician passed away in December 2020 in his home in Helsinki, Finland. He died of alcohol-induced degeneration of the liver and pancreas connective tissue. Furthermore, Laiho had a cocktail of painkillers, opioids and insomnia medication in his system. The 41-year-old had suffered from long-term health issues leading up to his death.

Alexi and drummer Jaska Raatikainen founded CHILDREN OF BODOM in 1993, and the band was one of the most internationally acclaimed metal acts in Finland up until their very last farewell concert in December of 2019. Last year, Alexi put together BODOM AFTER MIDNIGHT, which recorded three songs and shot one music video, all of which were released posthumously.

Besides CHILDREN OF BODOM, Laiho had played in such acts as WARMEN, SINERGY, KYLÄHULLUT and THE LOCAL BAND. Awarded with a Metal Hammer Golden God and several other international prizes, the guitarist was also the main star, leading a group of one hundred guitar players at the Helsinki Festival in 2015 in "100 Guitars From Hel" — a massive concert piece he composed.

At the time of his death, Alexi was still legally married to his former SINERGY bandmate Kimberly Goss. In January 2021, Finnish tabloid Ilta-Sanomat reported that Laiho tied the knot with Goss in February 2002, and the couple never officially divorced. Although Laiho filed for divorce in November 2002, he quickly withdrew the petition and never filed another.

Three years before his passing, Alexi reportedly married Australian-born music publicist Kelli Wright. However, according to Finnish law, Laiho and Wright would not have been able to wed, as Laiho and Goss had never terminated their marriage.


Alexi Laiho toi soittotyylillään uusia tuulia metalliin. Soitossa kuuluivat vaikutteet aina klassisesta musiikista black...

Posted by SuomiRock on Friday, November 26, 2021

This past Thursday (November 25), BLACK SABBATH guitarist Tony Iommi released "Scent Of Dark", his first musical composition since writing a classical piece for the Birmingham Cathedral in 2017 and his first rock song since SABBATH's "13" album in 2013. To coincide with "Scent Of Dark"'s arrival, Iommi announced that he would also release a fragrance, designed in collaboration with luxury Italian perfume house Xerjoff and Sergio Momo.

In the six-minute video below, Iommi and Momo discuss the collaboration, with Tony saying: "Sergio's idea was maybe to have a tune to go with it, some music to go with the perfume, to create more of a vibe for it. And I had some ideas that Sergio heard and he liked the idea. So it allowed me then to elaborate from what we've got into more of what it was meaning towards the perfume… It was very mystical, which I think the perfume is — it's a mystical sort of smell. It comes from within. It just all seemed to fit well; it just seemed to be the right thing for it. And I'm very pleased with it. And, of course, Sergio is playing on it as well — he's playing guitar on it as well as I am. And the whole combination — with Jimmy Crutchley playing bass and Ash [Sheehan] on drums, it was a new, different direction for us. And then I felt it was nice to have some strings added to it, 'cause it gives it that more dramatic sort of sound and it emphasizes the whole thing, really."

While the realm of high-end fragrancies and the uncompromising heavy music that Iommi is known for might not at first seem to make viable bedfellows, the guitarist's interests in fragrances actually stretches far back to the early days of BLACK SABBATH. "It's something I've always been interested in, ever since the early days of products like Brut and Old Spice, which I'd always get given for Christmas," remembers Tony. "Once I started touring the world with SABBATH though, I started discovering different sorts of fragrancies from other countries and began collecting them on tour.

"I met Sergio through another friend of mine Jimmy Crutchley (who plays bass on 'Scent Of Dark') and Sergio kindly sent me a box of his fragrances and asked if I'd be interested in creating my own, which I certainly wasn't expecting," laughs Iommi. "I had no idea how that would work, but Sergio suggested I come up with a list of things I like the smell of, which I did. He developed some different samples made up from my suggestions and I picked the one I liked; the project moved forward from there."

Tony brought in the aromatic reminiscence of rock in the 1960s and 1970s, festivals and gatherings, amber and patchouli. The final result harmoniously characterizes the dark sound of Iommi's original famous '64 Monkey Special guitar with the spicy and seductive scents.

"Sergio is a really creative chap, he plays great guitar on 'Scent Of Dark' and has one of my collectable models, the 64 Gibson with the cartoon monkey image," Tony says. "He said it would be great to incorporate that, and he's even managed to get it onto one of the bottles."

From the start, Tony has been instrumental in creating the "Scent Of Dark" fragrance. "I wouldn't put my name to something that I haven't been involved in and didn't personally like or use," he explains. "That's been the same with all of the projects I've done from guitars onwards, this is no different."

Made with the finest materials, handpicked rare ingredients and exquisite packaging, this exclusive edition Xerjoff blends for Tony Iommi is the world's first multisensory experience between sound, scent, and spirit. Tony wanted to encapsulate in a bottle the evocation of emotions, alongside a new music track and video, and even a bespoke cocktail.

The various aspects of this multi-sensory experience successfully inspired the musical visualization of "Scent Of Dark", developed at Iommi's home studio with longtime collaborator and producer Mike Exeter, and recorded at Gospel Oak and Pig Music Studios.

"I've had the riff for 'Scent Of Dark' for quite a while and I'd never done anything with it, but it gave us a base to start from," explains Tony. "We built up the track with programmed drums at first and then Mike Exeter demoed bass and keyboards on it, and I added my guitar solos, just to give us an idea of how it was going to sound. Eventually Jimmy [Crutchley] added his bass. Jimmy knew drummer Ash Sheehan and he fitted in perfectly, adding the final real drum track on top of our work. Then we added the strings. I'd worked with string sections on SABBATH albums before, but this was a whole new experience."

The blend of the beautifully played cello and violins and Iommi's colossal guitar tones elevate "Scent Of Dark" into a whole new realm that incorporates and complements every taste, smell and sound of this exciting new union. The video for 'Scent Of Dark' captures the musicians at work in the studio, crafting the music, alongside footage of Tony and Sergio sampling the fragrance, shot at the grand Sudley Castle in Winchcombe, near to Cheltenham in Gloucestershire. The film conveys the mood of the music and tells the story of the project perfectly.

"It's been a really interesting project for me that has combined many of my different interests and a direction I'm really enjoying gong in," concludes Tony. "I've got so many riffs; it would be great to do more instrumental and soundtrack work."

Tony Iommi Signed Crystal by Xerjoff Blends with a limited edition of 200 flacons, will be available from November 29 in selected retails and at Xerjoffuniverse.com. Tony Iommi Monkey Special by Xerjoff Blends will be available from November 29 in selected retails and at Xerjoffuniverse.com

"Scent Of Dark" features the following musicians.

Tony Iommi - Guitar

Sergio Momo - Guitar

Jimmy Crutchley - Bass

Ash Sheehan - Drums

Rebecca Rose - Cello

Julianne Bourne - Violin

Mike Exeter - Keyboards & Producer

Recorded at Gospel Oak and Pig Music Studios

Track written by Tony Iommi

Iommi + Momo photo credit: Max Sticca

In a new interview with Marci Wiser of the 95.5 KLOS radio station, Nita Strauss, the guitar shredder for the ALICE COOPER band, was asked if she is okay with using sexuality to promote her music. She responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I think it's important to embrace who you are as a woman, especially in this industry, but in any industry. And I spent a long time trying to figure out where my role was in all that. And I've gone down both sides of the spectrum. I've done stuff that I was, like, 'You know what? I feel like I don't need to put myself out there that much.' And then I've gone the opposite direction and, like, 'I need to be more covered up and be taken more seriously and not wear makeup and not feel pretty and wear a men's size large shirt and just go and be known as a guitar player.' And that's not who I am either.

"I think you just have to be true to yourself," she continued. "I think it's important to be a woman and embrace your femininity. And some women are ready to go out there and be sexy — be a sexy woman out there, badass, doing what you love to do — and there are some that don't wanna embrace that part and don't wanna have that, and that's fine too. I think the most important thing is to be authentic."

Last month, Nita shared "Dead Inside", her first new music since the release of her critically acclaimed debut solo album "Controlled Chaos" in 2018. The track is her first-ever solo collaboration with a vocalist, David Draiman, frontman of Grammy-nominated rock icons DISTURBED.

Strauss has been playing with Cooper since 2014 when she replaced Australian musician and former Michael Jackson player Orianthi. She joined Alice in time for a mammoth MÖTLEY CRÜE tour. She was recommended to Cooper by the legendary rocker's former bass player and WINGER frontman Kip Winger.

Nita released "Controlled Chaos" to mass acclaim from fans and media alike, with Metal Injection calling it "a great debut that — as its creator intended — leaves no doubt", and Guitar World stating "'Controlled Chaos' is a panoramic view of Nita Strauss's many strengths". To date the album has clocked up 6.7 million streams worldwide, with music videos for singles "Our Most Desperate Hour", "Pandemonium", "Alegria" and "Mariana Trench" generating over 3 million YouTube views.

As well as performing with Cooper, Nita has also played with R&B star Jermaine Jackson, early MTV darlings FEMME FATALE, video game supergroup CRITICAL HIT and popular tribute band THE IRON MAIDENS.

MASTODON singer/bassist Troy Sanders spoke to Rapture Radio about the band's recently launched North American tour with OPETH and ZEAL & ARDOR. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We're at the beginning of it. The first couple of shows have been fantastic. And it's that reminder, after a couple of years break, that being in front of actual people performing live music that most of them seem to be enjoying is what I like to call the magic about that live experience. So, it's fantastic, and I just hope it continues. We're just kind of going day by day and trying to do the right thing and keep it moving. So far so good."

Asked what he and his bandmates have to do differently this time around in order to stay safe while touring during the pandemic, Troy said: "To take the right steps, you do what you can, which is all the touring personnel, all the crew guys, the band guys, the drivers, you're just gonna have to kind of scale back your extracurricular activities. On days off, it's fun to walk around malls and go visit record shops and music stores and whatever any person wants to do. So if you can, scale that back and just do outdoor stuff. Basically, we're just trying to not have someone catch this thing and spread it throughout the tour and then we cancel and we go home and we lose thousands of dollars. So if you can kind of curb your personal stuff… It's a little less fun, but in the grand scheme here, we're just trying to have successful rock shows. So we're just gonna try to scale back the fun time — the hanging out with the friends and families in each state and going to bars and having a good time, stuff like that. You have to kind of scale back in order to reduce the risk, I guess. But I don't think this is gonna last forever."

MASTODON's latest album, "Hushed And Grim", came out on October 29. The follow-up to 2017's "Emperor Of Sand" was recorded at West End Sound, which is located inside of Ember City, the rehearsal facility that members of MASTODON manage in Atlanta. Helming the effort was Grammy-winning producer/mixer/engineer David Bottrill, who has previously worked with MUSE, DREAM THEATER and TOOL, among many others.

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

"Hushed And Grim"'s lead single, "Pushing The Tides", is one of five songs which were nominated for a "Best Metal Performance" Grammy Award. The winner will be announced during the 64th Grammy ceremony on January 31, 2022 at the Crypto.com Arena (formerly the Staples Center) in Los Angeles, California.

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

In a recent interview with RadioactiveMike Z, host of the 96.7 KCAL-FM radio program "Wired In The Empire", L.A. GUNS guitarist Tracii Guns said that he has had a number of pleasant run-ins with the members of METALLICA over the years. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "When we released our first album at the police academy here in L.A., everybody showed up but Jason [Newsted, bass], I think. They were all there. And they've always been really cool guys. And every time I see any of those guys, it's always, like, 'Hey, man. What's going on?' Super-friendly, down-to-earth guys. I really like the METALLICA guys."

Guns also recalled the time three decades ago he spent an evening at a bar in New York City with a particularly inebriated James Hetfield.

"Let me tell you a fast story," he said. "I'm in New York City getting ready to do press for 'Cocked & Loaded' [L.A. GUNS' 1989 album], and I had an advance copy of [METALLICA's] 'Black Album.' And I walk into the Scrap Bar. The only other person in there that night was James Hetfield alone in the Scrap Bar. And I walk up to him. And he was loaded, and I wasn't. He's all, 'Tracii Guns.' [I asked him] 'Doing press?' 'Yeah, why do you care?' 'That's why I'm here. That's the only reason why we're here at this bar alone, 'cause there's nothing going on.' He's, like, 'Yeah, I guess so.' I go, 'I have your new record and I listened to it a lot. I really like it.' He goes, 'You always pretend like you like METALLICA. You don't like METALLICA.' He goes, 'Yeah, I don't know, man. I don't know if you do. You're, like, fancy.' I'll never forget [him calling me] 'fancy.' I'm fancy? 'You play with guys like Michael Schenker.' [I'm], like, 'James, it's me, man.' And he was so, so drunk. Anyways, I established to him, and that was the only thing I did that night, was convince him that I liked his band. And I still don't think he believed me. But the next time I saw him, I go, 'You remember we were at the Scrap Bar together?' He goes, 'Nope.' I go, 'You don't?' He goes, 'Nope.' I go, 'We were doing press.' He goes, 'Nope.' He just completely denies the existence of that evening."

When he was asked to pick a METALLICA song so that it could be played on "Wired In The Empire" after the interview, Tracii said: "Oh, man. 'For Whom The Bell Tolls' is always the one, but let's just do 'Whiplash'. It just doesn't get any gnarlier. There's something about that song. It's so young. Unbelievable… It has this thing… It's what I like about the early L.A. GUNS and even some of the newer stuff, is that incorporation of… When the metal hits a certain tempo, and it's not necessarily the speed of the tempo, it's the way the tempo is played, it's mistaken for kind of a punk edge. And I think MAIDEN had it too on the early records. And I always loved that song more than other METALLICA songs, 'Whiplash'."

Guns is promoting L.A. GUNS' latest album, "Checkered Past", which was released on November 12 via Frontiers Music Srl.

Former ANTHRAX guitarist Dan Spitz, who became a world-renowned, prize-winning watchmaker after leaving the band for the first time, spoke to the Beyond Time YouTube channel about the passion and dedication that he puts into everything he does, whether it's playing music or making watches.

"Now you see what's called slamdancing everywhere," Dan said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). "You see it at a Britney Spears concert. It's pretty sickening. If you know what that is, you know it comes from the punk era — it was dancing for the punk era. But eventually we brought that into heavy metal; it made its way in there. And you saw people at the beginning of the 'Big Four', which is METALLICA, MEGADETH, SLAYER and ANTHRAX, you saw the crowd try to get onstage. And it wasn't, 'It's the pop star. We wanna touch him. He's so cute.' It's the opposite. We're like these disgusting metal dudes. So why would you wanna be onstage? It's because we're all one big family. It's almost like THE GRATEFUL DEAD — it's the same kind of thing. They're not fans of what I do; they're in the band. Every single person is in the band. It's like they're there, [and] they're almost writing the songs, if you follow what I'm saying. It's that kind of human connection and love. And to give love is the most important thing. God gives us… and fills is with love. What we're supposed to do is transcend that love into the next person. And that's what I try to do with whatever I do. So even if it's a nontangible piece of metal that gets strapped to your wrist — we don't need to tell the time anymore on our wrist, do we? It really is a tangible piece of my love getting to you. So that better represents every fiber that God has made me to be."

In 1995, Spitz left ANTHRAX to pursue a career in luxury Swiss watchmaking, attending the Swiss watchmaking school WOSTEP on a full scholarship. He was certified a Mechanical Complications Specialist, earning Swiss degrees in micro-mechanical engineering, and opened his own luxury watch service. In 2012 Spitz was voted the number 1 interview of the year for the watchmaking magazine Hodinkee. In 2016, the production company Great Big Story produced a documentary on Spitz's work as a watchmaker.

Spitz, who currently resides in Gun Barrel City, Texas, about an hour's drive southeast of Dallas, recently told The New York Times that his carpal tunnel syndrome inhibits him from playing guitar for long periods of time. However, it hasn't stopped him from designing and building about three custom wristwatches a year, with prices starting at $128,000.

"When you want to become one of the best guitar players on the planet, you lock yourself up in your room for years and you play and you play and you play — you have to figure it out," Spitz said. "It's the same in watchmaking."

Four and a half years ago, Spitz, a born-again Christian and Messianic Jew who frequently cites his faith as an influential component to his life, told the "Talking Bollocks" podcast about his decision to leave ANTHRAX for the second time after taking part in the reunion of the band's classic lineup in 2005 and 2006: "We were all in at that point in time. We did, like, two, three years [of touring], and we wanted to make new music [with the classic lineup]. And it was difficult. In the very end, we decided to stop touring, and it was difficult to get Joey to commit [to making a new album]. Me and Charlie [Benante, ANTHRAX drummer] were going back and forth talking to Joey, and I'd call Charlie afterwards and say, 'Did you get an answer? Did you get a 'yes'?' And he'd say, 'Did you get a 'yes'?' And I'm, like, 'I don't know what I got. I just got talked to for an hour.' We couldn't get Joey to commit for a very long time, and they couldn't stand still for very long. Obviously, it's a business; you can't just not do anything — you have to know: are we continuing, or are we not? So I was in to make another album as the real ANTHRAX. And we just [could not come to an agreement with] Joey. And you saw what happened thereafter. So I decided to just go back and chill. They continued on, and whatever they did, they did."

Photo courtesy of Dan Spitz's Instagram page

In a new interview with V13, CANDLEBOX frontman Kevin Martin spoke about how our "pack mentality/lone wolf mentality" as human beings served as an inspiration for the title of the band's latest album, "Wolves". He said: "I came up with this title for this record prior to the pandemic. Watching the previous [presidential] administration, for somebody like myself, was very disturbing. The amount of disassociative behavior that seems to be taking hold in the world is kind of where I came up with the concept. And when you have somebody like Donald Trump in office that's constantly stirring up shit and there being this boiling pot of stupidity — and I shouldn't even say that because it's really unfair because these people may not be stupid; maybe they really are intelligent. But how the fuck can you allow this person to separate an entire group of people? I mean, like 300 million people, and it literally was just drawing a line in the sand and saying that if you cross this line, you're the worst person ever. It's just a very strange emotion. And for me, I constantly think back to what happened in 2001, September 11th, where that year, afterwards, this country of ours was united in ways that I'd never seen and never experienced, and, of course, it made me very proud to be an American — that we could take that time with one another and say, 'I feel for you. Let's make things different. Let's change.' And we've lost that — we've lost that again."

Asked what side of the fence he sits on — if he prefers being in a pack or if he is a "lone wolf" kind of person, Kevin said: "I'm a pack mentality. What I love about wolves is when they work towards the betterment of the pack. Of course, they're a violent animal, but they're also very caring and gentle at the same time. I mean, the alpha male doesn't lead the pack; he follows the pack to make sure that the pack is doing what it needs to do. And I think there's beauty in that. So I guess, for me, I'm a liberal. I believe that everybody deserves the best of everything. And it's unfortunate that there are situations that — I mean, welfare and Medicaid and all that stuff that we have to deal with over here. We don't need to. We're a very wealthy country, but you can't change the mentality of that lone wolf that says, 'No, man. To hell with you. Hooray for me.' That's the downside of it. But I do believe that people can change. And I think that they can find greatness in anything. I just want people to look for it sometimes in themselves."

CANDLEBOX's seventh studio album, "Wolves" dropped worldwide on September 17 on Pavement Entertainment. Produced by Dean Dichoso at the legendary Henson Studios in Los Angeles, California, it is the Seattle-based rockers' follow-up to 2016's "Disappearing In Airports".

Most of the "Wolves" recordings were finished in August 2019, and Martin completed his vocals in January 2020.

GODSMACK frontman Sully Erna has taken a swipe at celebrities, including fellow musicians, who have used their high-profile voices to encourage medical behaviors, saying they should "shut up and let people live their lives."

Erna, who recently confirmed that politics played a part in his decision to relocate GODSMACK's headquarters to Florida — which leans Republican in presidential elections — on a part-time basis while maintaining a home in New Hampshire, discussed his views on celebrity health campaigns in a new interview with Mindy Novotny of the Milwaukee radio station 102.9 The Hog. Speaking about the fact that star-studded vaccine endorsements have become a major part of public health messaging in the pandemic era, the 53-year-old singer/guitarist said: "I get paid to be an entertainer. That's the position I've chosen. So I'll focus on entertaining, making people smile, healing people through music. And anybody else that's out there in a celebrity status that's pushing people one way or the other when you have no experience as a medical expert or a politician, my advice is shut up and let people live their lives because you don't know the consequences when you push them one way or the other. So why don't you just do what you're great at and entertain, because that's what you are. That's the position I've taken and that's the position I'm gonna stand with. I'm gonna write my music, I'm gonna put on great live shows, and I'm gonna help people escape a lot of their daily problems, hopefully, that they have to face regardless."

This past March, Erna told "The Mistress Carrie Podcast" about his move to Florida. "I'd been looking at an alternate home area for a while now. And California was kind of on my radar, just because I have a lot of friends there, my business is there, [and] I love the weather. But when all this political shit went down, it really turned me off to just the thought process and ways of being for a lot of the liberals and people that I just can't connect with on that wavelength. So it kind of bummed me out to a point where I'm, like, well, I don't really wanna go three thousand miles across the country to pay triple the amount of money to live in that kind of nonsense and be locked down."

He continued: "So, yeah, corona and politics played a piece of my decision to divert to Florida. And I honestly just went down there to buy a property with a little bit of room and a decent little house, and I wanted horses. And I knew that Shannon [Larkin, GODSMACK drummer] was kind of in horse country, 'cause it's in North Fort Myers. So I just came across this really great deal with this lady who had a 20-acre horse ranch, but she also owned a 30-acre pasture next door to it, which is just an open pasture that some guy leases to pasteurize his cows on. And it gives me a tax break 'cause it's agricultural. And I get a half a cow a year. [Laughs] So, yeah, I'm a meat eater too. Not only am I not a liberal, I'm a fucking meat eater."

With governor Ron DeSantis at the helm, Florida is considered to have the most lax COVID-19 restrictions in North America.

Erna has been more vocal about his political opinions in recent years, saying in a July 2020 episode of his Internet show "Hometown Sessions" that if "Trump stays in [office], COVID's gonna be a big, messy pain in the ass, and there's gonna be more people burning down Wendy's fucking restaurants. If Trump fucking is gone, all of a sudden they're gonna have this miracle vaccine that those fucking liars have been holding on to."

In February 2020, Erna came under fire for sharing a post that was flagged as part of Facebook's efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its news feed. The post in question criticized then-Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders's plan to raise the minimum wage and provide universal health care to all Americans. It also cited Sanders's Medicare For All plan, a single, national health insurance program that would cover everyone who lives in the United States.

Back in 2004, Erna revealed that he was not in favor of the Democratic candidate for president in that year's election, telling Launch Radio Networks: "I'm a Republican. I want Republican. I don't necessarily want [incumbent Republican president George W.] Bush to win. I don't like that choice, but I gotta tell you, I don't truly believe in the Democrats either, man. I don't like the way they think. I don't like, I don't love Bush, I'll tell you that, but I want a Republican in office."

In a new interview with Canada's The Metal Voice, veteran bassist Bob Daisley (OZZY OSBOURNE, RAINBOW, URIAH HEEP, Gary Moore) recalled how he convinced MÖTLEY CRÜE not to fire guitarist Mick Mars when the CRÜE was on tour in the U.S. as the support act for Ozzy in 1984. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "That night, after the show, Mick went on our [Osbourne's] bus [to be] with Ozzy [and the rest of his band] and I went on on their [CRÜE's] bus, so I was the only one of our lot that went on their bus. And they were having a meeting. What they were planning on doing was getting rid of Mick and getting another guitarist in. And they asked me for my opinion. So I said, 'Well, if you want my opinion, for what it's worth, I would say do not try to fix something that's not broken.' I said, 'I 've seen it before, with Lee Kerslake in the BLIZZARD OF OZZ.' I said, 'You've got a chemistry there, you've got a functioning unit. Mick Mars is part of that. Don't fuck it up. That's my opinion. Just don't do it.' And I think I saved Mick's neck that night 'cause they were getting serious about getting someone else."

Daisley continued: "Mick was good for the band — he was part of the sound, part of the delivery of what they did. It would be like sort of trying to replace Ringo [Starr] in THE BEATLES with John Bonham or Ginger Baker or somebody really, really technically brilliant. But it just wouldn't work. So I said, 'Leave it as it is. It's not broken. Stop trying to fix it.' So they left it alone and it worked out.

"Mick, I think he was a few years older than them," Bob added. "And you wouldn't call Mick a virtuoso, a guitar hero, but he was great for the band."

Three years ago, Mars told Ernie Ball's "String Theory" web series that he originally joined MÖTLEY CRÜE through an ad he placed in the Southern California magazine Recycler, saying "loud, rude, and aggressive guitarist available."

"MÖTLEY started in L.A.," he said. "Nikki [Sixx, bass] and Tommy [Lee, drums] were already playing together. I put an ad in a paper. They were looking for a guitar player and they found my ad. I actually auditioned them; they don't know it. But anyway, we went over there and it clicked."

Mick also said that he started playing guitar at age seven. "[It was] one of those little wind-up Mickey Mouse guitars," he revealed. "I learned how to tune it and started picking out whatever was popular at the time — Frankie Avalon and Elvis Presley."

Daisley previously mentioned the fact that CRÜE had considered firing Mars in his memoir, "For Facts Sake", which came out in 2014.

Back in 2009, Sixx showed his admiration and appreciation for Mars by getting a huge portrait of him tattooed on his leg. The bassist's then-girlfriend Kat Von D did the tattoo, and video footage shot during the process is available on YouTube. At the time, Sixx stated about his decision to get the tattoo: "Mick Mars is my guitar player. I've known him for almost 30 years. We have traveled the world together. We sold millions of records together, me, him, Tommy, and Vince [Neil, vocals]. We have done things as a band that we only dreamed about as kids, and they all came true. Mick is a very special person, and I wanted to honor him with this portrait tattoo. We all look up to him so much, and Mick doesn't get enough credit 'cause he doesn't stand up and say, 'Look at me!' Tommy, Vince, and I, we're big personalities. We're showmen. We're outrageous, loud, getting in trouble. Mick is always the wise one; he's always the one that sits back. Because of that, he sort of stands out for all of us. We sort of look up to him in that way."

Former EXODUS guitarist Rick Hunolt says that getting fired from the band "damn near took [him] out."

Hunolt — the other half of the famed EXODUS "H-Team" who is on every studio recording from 1985 through 2004 and co-wrote some of the band's best-known songs such as "A Lesson In Violence" and "Deliver Us To Evil" — left EXODUS after the band's highly acclaimed 2004 reunion album, "Tempo Of The Damned". Following his departure, Hunolt was replaced by HEATHEN guitarist Lee Altus.

Rick discussed his exit from EXODUS during an appearance on "Put Up Your Dukes", the new podcast hosted by ex-EXODUS singer Rob Dukes. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "During the recording of 'Tempo', Gary [Holt, EXODUS guitarist] had just gotten clean a little while prior to that, and I was still using. But I've gotta say, Gary Holt — my hat's off to the man for… He never sweated me. Not once did Gary say, 'Dude, you're a piece of shit. I'm gonna fire you from the band if you don't get your shit together.' He never said nothing. He let it take its course, you know what I mean?

"I was a mess," Rick continued. "We all were, but everybody got better, and I didn't. I fell down the rabbit hole even worse, I think, because I was just so depressed. I couldn't stop. I don't know what was up… To the point where I was gonna lose my position in the band I'd been in for over 20 years — my best friends, my life. Yeah, it was dark as fuck.

"One day, after spending my life, giving everything that I had and the whole world to EXODUS, one day I woke up and I wasn't in EXODUS anymore," Hunolt added. "And that morning was, like… Dude, I can't even describe the emotions that I [was feeling]. I woke up and I wasn't in EXODUS anymore, dude. It damn near took me out, bro."

Rick revealed that he went through a particularly difficult period after splitting with EXODUS. "I had to reinvent myself at 40-plus years old, [with] two little kids," he said. "I ended up moving out of Oakland. I had to get the fuck out of there, 'cause we were living at the studio; it was bad. And then we moved in with my wife's mom and I got a job at the [discount chain] Dollar Tree and I ended up working there for, like, two or three years. I mean, I can go on and on and on. But long story short, I met a guy who knew who I was and offered me a job on his ranch. And the rest is history. He taught me how to live my life and make money."

Hunolt makes a guest appearance on EXODUS's new studio album, "Persona Non Grata", which was released on November 19 via Nuclear Blast Records.

The San Francisco Bay Area thrashers' new disc is the follow-up to 2014's "Blood In Blood Out", which was their first release since the departure of Dukes, the group's lead singer of nine years, and the return of Steve "Zetro" Souza, who previously fronted EXODUS from 1986 to 1993 and from 2002 to 2004.

Back in April 2019, Hunolt rejoined Holt and other EXODUS members Tom Hunting (drums) and Souza to perform several of the group's classic songs during a METAL ALLEGIANCE concert in San Francisco, California. More recently, Hunolt joined EXODUS on stage in August at Psycho Las Vegas in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The original lineup of EXODUS consisted of guitarists Kirk Hammett (now in METALLICA) and Tim Agnello, Hunting and vocalist Keith Stewart. Holt joined the band in 1981, while Kirk left two years before EXODUS's debut album, "Bonded By Blood", saw the light of day.

In a brand new interview with the "Breaking Absolutes With Peter Orullian" podcast, ALTER BRIDGE guitarist Mark Tremonti reflected on the making of the band's third album, 2010's "AB III", which was previously described as a loose concept effort dealing with darker lyrical themes of struggling with faith. Mark said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "That was ALTER BRIDGE's darkest record. That was when Myles [Kennedy, ALTER BRIDGE singer] and I were kind of having those conversations about… Myles is about the best guy in the world, nicest guy in the world, but when it comes to God and faith in general, he jokes about it but he kind of throws away… he doesn't believe anything and thinks it's all kind of silly. But he says that on the outside but then he writes these songs like 'Show Me A Sign' — that's a dark song about the thoughts of faith and whatnot. And if you look at 'Words Darker Than Their Wings' — that's a direct conversation between me and Myles about how we both feel about God and about life beyond our lives."

Tremonti continued: "I'm just like anybody else — I don't know if God exists, but I hope he does. I hope there's some bigger purpose for all of us. And Myles is just, like, 'There is no bigger purpose. Just be a good person while you're alive,' kind of thing. It's just a conversation between two people with different views. That record kind of dealt with that kind of issue."

Prior to the making of "AB III", Tremonti, who writes ALTER BRIDGE's music with Kennedy, found out Myles's father was a Christian Scientist, who because of his faith had refused to see a doctor and subsequently died.

Several years ago, Tremonti's former CREED bandmate Scott Stapp said that his faith-based lyrics led many to believe CREED was a Christian band. CREED wasn't and Scott's bandmates resented it, eventually contributing to the group's initial breakup.

Tremonti recently confirmed that ALTER BRIDGE will reconvene in 2022 to record a new album.

ALTER BRIDGE released a seven-song EP, "Walk The Sky 2.0", in November 2020 via Napalm Records. The effort contained live versions of a few of the band's favorites from the group's latest LP, "Walk The Sky" — "Wouldn't You Rather", "Pay No Mind", "Native Son", "Godspeed", "In The Deep" and "Dying Light" — as well as one new studio track, "Last Rites", which was written, recorded and completed entirely during the COVID-19 lockdown.

"Walk The Sky" came out in October 2019 via Napalm Records.

Professionally filmed video of METALLICA performing the song "Fight Fire With Fire" live during the band's first headlining set at the Welcome To Rockville festival on Friday, November 12 at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida can be seen below.

Welcome To Rockville, a four-day rock festival, kicked off its 10th edition on November 11 at a new home in Daytona Beach.

METALLICA played another show at Welcome To Rockville with a different setlist on Sunday, November 14.

Along with two nights of METALLICA, this year's Welcome To Rockville featured DISTURBED, SLIPKNOT, A DAY TO REMEMBER, LYNYRD SKYNYRD, LAMB OF GOD, SOCIAL DISTORTION, MASTODON and many others. The event was also livestreamed on Danny Wimmer Presents's Twitch channel, featuring select performances, interviews and behind-the-scenes content at twitch.tv/DWPresents.

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.