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.

Swedish producer and multi-instrumentalist Peter Tägtgren (HYPOCRISY, PAIN) has spoken out against vaccine mandates, saying "when they try to force it on you, I become the opposite."

The 51-year-old Tägtgren, who lives in a small Swedish village called Pärlby, discussed his views on vaccines in a new interview with Tuonela Magazine. He said: "Unfortunately, I'm not a really optimistic guy when it comes to this COVID thing. I think there will be a couple of peaks again and [lockdowns] here and [lockdowns] there. Unfortunately, that's how it is. I don't know when it's ever gonna pan out. I don't know if it ever will pan out. But maybe we can be more immune to it so it's not so deadly — so it doesn't affect you so, so bad, if you get normal immunity to it.

"Everybody knows I'm really skeptical [about] the vaccine and stuff like that, especially when they try to force it on you," he continued. "Because if you start forcing [it on people], then I become the opposite. But the good part with me [is that] I'm not social. I live in the woods, so, for me, I'm not out there breathing on people. The only time I go out is when I go to my studio or if I go to the local grocery store where there's four people maximum every time I'm there shopping. So I'm not there to risk anything. And even people who do get the vaccine, they still spread the disease, so I don't see the difference, unfortunately."

"It scares me when they start going down in ages on kids [who are eligible for the vaccine] and pushing in things that they haven't really tried," he added. "And the only thing they're trying is to get it approved in a very hurry, and that scares me as well. But this is how it is right now, and this is how we're gonna have to take it. As long as I'm not out, I'm not gonna vaccinate myself. But I'm gonna have to because I'm gonna go on tour. So, yeah, that's the way it is nowadays. So I stay away from people until I go on tour… In my village, there's twenty people living, and our houses are very far from each other. So I see no problem not being vaccinated right now."

About 7 million people in Sweden, which has a population of 10 million, have had both COVID-19 shots, according to social affairs minister Lena Hallengren.

"Vaccine hesitancy" — refusing or delaying recommended vaccines — is identified by the World Health Organization as one of the top 10 global health threats.

A study out of Australia found fully vaccinated people are 16 times less likely to become severely ill or die of COVID-19 than unvaccinated people.

For 100 years, vaccine mandates in schools have resulted in decreased childhood mortality and eradication of disease.

According to Healthline, COVID-19 vaccines continue to protect against severe illness but do not entirely block transmission. Fully vaccinated people are less likely to contract the coronavirus than unvaccinated people. If they don't contract an infection, they can't transmit the virus to others. However, when fully vaccinated people do contract the coronavirus, they can still transmit it.

The first taste of brand new music from late MEGADETH drummer Nick Menza's unearthed drum riffs has just premiered via the Menza Nation YouTube channel and can be streamed below. The music is being produced by former MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson, who is enlisting "a handful of different" musicians from around the world to record new riffs and add new parts to Menza's existing riffs — an expected 13 tracks which are being touted as "the heaviest and fastest drum material Nick ever created."

In a video announcing his involvement in the project, Ellefson said: "We're actually recording some new riffs and parts to some existing Nick Menza drum riffs that he has — some parts that are brand new. So posthumously, we're actually forming a new band with Nick. I've got a handful of different people from our industry around the world participating in this. And I'm gonna be writing some new riffs and some new things."

This past September, Screaming Butterfly Entertainment announced a partnership with Ellefson and his Ellefson Films on the upcoming feature-length documentary "This Was My Life: The Story Of Nick Menza". Ellefson has signed on as a co-producer of the film, and also will provide narration to guide the viewer through the exploration of the late MEGADETH drummer's life.

In conjunction with the announcement of Ellefson's attachment to the film, an Indiegogo campaign has been launched to raise funding for the completion of the film. Fans have the opportunity to support the production of the film directly, as well as obtain some rare official Nick Menza memorabilia. These items include various touring laminates personally owned, and authentically signed by Menza himself and Ellefson. In addition to memorabilia, fans can purchase brand new Nick Menza merchandise, including hats, posters, and even Nick Menza skateboard decks. Fans can even have their names and a message added to the end credits of the film.

The campaign can be found at this location.

"This Was My Life" will be the first-ever film to memorialize Menza's legacy and celebrate his life exactly how it was. It is described in a press release as "an unflinching exploration into the life of one of the most successful thrash-metal drummers of all time, authorized by the Menza family. From his childhood all the way through to the end of his life including a true blow-by-blow account of the repeated failed attempts of the classic 'Rust In Peace' lineup."

"This Was My Life" will feature rare and never-before-seen photos and video footage from Nick's archived VHS tape collection, personally filmed by Menza himself from 1988 through 1991. Included will be exclusive content showcasing Nick working at the studio, personal home movies, casual time and party time with his fellow bandmembers, as well as other well-known artists of the era that Nick toured with. A screenshot from the film was recently released that featured an interview with former LAMB OF GOD/MEGADETH drummer Chris Adler.

Late in the evening on May 21, 2016, Nick collapsed after suffering a heart attack during a concert with Chris Poland and Robertino "Pag" Pagliari in their band OHM: at The Baked Potato in Studio City, California and was pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital. The Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner said Menza died of hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.

According to Billboard, Nita Strauss has just become the first solo woman to score a top 10 as a lead artist on the Mainstream Rock Airplay chart in nearly 26 years as her "Dead Inside" single landed at No. 10 on the list.

Previously the last solo woman to reach the top 10 was Melissa Etheridge, whose "Your Little Secret" spent its final week in the top 10 on the chart dated December 23, 1995.

A collaboration with DISTURBED singer David Draiman, "Dead Inside" is Nita's first new music since the release of her critically acclaimed debut solo album "Controlled Chaos" in 2018. It kicks off with Nita's inimitably intricate lead guitar work and, as the intro builds, begins to snake its way around the ground-shaking, headbanging lead riff as Josh Villalta's technical and bombastic drums kick in. Then comes the unmistakable vocal prowess of Draiman as he delivers his unique signature brand of enormously catchy vocal melody and a stadium-conquering chorus. The song ebbs and flows through sonic and emotional dynamics and culminates with a brutally heavy beatdown into a final rendition of the chorus, ensuring that the lead hook will be replaying over and over in the listener's head for days.

Speaking about the collaboration, Strauss previously said: "This is my first time releasing my own music with a vocalist, and I am so honored to take this step alongside a legend like David Draiman. David's voice and powerful lyrics took this song to a level I could never have imagined! And we are so excited to unleash this song on the world."

Draiman added: "Serendipity can be really cool. We've been friends for years. Nita sent me the track… I didn't have time to work on it right away… then, in literally a couple of days, while killing time in Santa Monica, the whole thing just came together. Incredibly proud of how it turned out and honored to be a part of it."

When the pandemic hit, being the force of nature that she is, Nita took the adversity of no touring and being at home and turned it in to a positive. During the past 18 months, Nita launched her online guitar learning course, "Rock Guitar Fundamentals", which takes the learner through everything from picking up the guitar for the first time all the way through to learning songs and playing solos. Taking her passion for health and fitness to the next level, Nita also launched her Body Shred Fitness Challenge, a three-month fitness challenge that pairs a love of music with passion for getting healthier in your body and mind! Participants have the chance to win prize packages valued at over $2,500 while becoming a part of a fun, supportive worldwide fitness community.

And, as if that wasn't enough, Nita launched her Patreon which gives fans access to weekly livestreams, lessons, signed photos and behind-the-scenes looks at the album recording process.

On top of these digital initiatives, Nita also became the official in-house guitarist of the Los Angeles Rams, playing every home game at the brand new SoFi Stadium, performed the national anthem at WWE's "NXT Takeover: Stand And Deliver" event, released two new signature Ibanez guitars, JIVA Jr and JIVA X, was featured on the cover of Guitar World's "Guitarists Of The Decade" issue and performed with Cooper at the Fire Fight Australia benefit for the bush fires that ravaged Australia in 2020.

Nita released "Controlled Chaos" in 2018 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.

Fan-filmed video footage of DEEP PURPLE drummer Ian Paice and Neil Murray, a founding member of WHITESNAKE, performing with the DEEP PURPLE tribute band PURPENDICULAR on Friday, November 26 in Cleon, France can be seen below.

PURPENDICULAR was formed in October 2007 by Irish vocalist Robby Thomas Walsh. Walsh was born in Dublin and learned his trade from vocalists such as Ian Gillan, Robert Plant, David Coverdale, with a love for blues, rock n roll, hard rock, classical and soul. With over 25 years experience, he played in several semi pro bands before turning full professional with PURPENDICULAR.

Some consider Paice to be the forefather of today's rock drumming. Such hits as "Space Truckin'", "Hush", "Fireball" and "Smoke On The Water" prove that Ian was helping create a genre that would last many years to come. In fact, throughout DEEP PURPLE's long career, which has seen numerous changes among the other personnel, he is the only drummer the band has ever had. When the group dissolved in 1976, Ian joined PURPLE vocalist David Coverdale to form WHITESNAKE. After a short hiatus, DEEP PURPLE reunited in 1984 for the "Perfect Strangers" release and has not stopped performing since.

Last year, Paice was asked during a question-and-answer session with fans if he has ever felt the need to play double-bass drums. He responded: "Well, not really. The only time I ever really did it was on 'Fireball' because it added something to the track. The way the riff rolled along, it needed that power of two kicks.

"When I was growing up, the only guy who actually used two bass drums that I knew about was the wonderful Louie Bellson," he continued. "And even he had not really what you'd call mastered it. There are some wonderful young drummers around these days who've got the two-bass-drum thing down to an incredibly fine art. But I've always preferred to have to think in patterns.

"Sometimes with the bass drums, it's not where you put the note, it's where you don't put the note, and that makes it work," he explained.

Murray initially shot to fame in the late 1970s and 1980s with WHITESNAKE, where he contributed to hits such as "Here I Go Again", "Fool For Your Loving" and "Still Of The Night". Since that time, he has worked with a number of highly successful recording artists, including BLACK SABBATH, Gary Moore, Brian May and Michael Schenker, to mention a few.

Former MÖTÖRHEAD and current SCORPIONS drummer Mikkey Dee will receive 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 tomorrow' festivities, Mikkey will get his name on his very own tram. He will be driving 40 tons of metal to the Queens Square where he will be 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."

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".


Breaking news!

Tomorrow Saturday Mikkey will receive the honorable title Gothenburger of the year. Mikkey will get his...

Posted by Mikkey Dee on Friday, November 26, 2021

Professionally filmed video of ANTHRAX's entire November 14 performance at the Welcome To Rockville festival 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.

ANTHRAX has been celebrating its 40th anniversary at various festivals this summer and fall. Their current live show backdrop is a collage of their album artwork beginning with "Fistful Of Metal" all the way through "For All Kings".

Featured songs:

00:00 Among The Living

05:20 Got The Time

08:42 Caught In A Mosh

14:36 Madhouse

18:45 Fight 'Em 'Til You Can't

25:17 I Am The Law

31:37 Antisocial

39:33 Indians

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.

Formed by guitarist Scott Ian and bassist Dan Lilker in Queens, New York on July 18, 1981, ANTHRAX was one of the first thrash metal bands to emerge from the East Coast and quickly became regarded as a leader in the genre alongside METALLICA, SLAYER and MEGADETH.

Active over the past five decades, ANTHRAX has released 11 studio albums, been awarded multiple gold and platinum certifications, received six Grammy nominations, toured the world since 1984 playing thousands of shows, including headlining Madison Square Garden and playing Yankee Stadium with the "Big Four".

"For All Kings"'s arrival followed a five-year period during which the group experienced a rebirth of sorts, beginning with ANTHRAX's inclusion on the "Big Four" tour, and continuing with the 2011 release of comeback LP "Worship Music".

Frontman Joey Belladonna, whose most recent return to ANTHRAX was officially announced in May 2010, was originally the lead singer of ANTHRAX from 1984 to 1992, and was considered part of the band's classic lineup (alongside Dan Spitz, Ian, Frank Bello and Charlie Benante), which reunited and toured during 2005 and 2006. His voice was featured on over 10 albums, which reportedly sold eight million copies worldwide.

Professionally filmed video of METALLICA performing the song "One" 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.

In 2021, Waltari are celebrating their 30th anniversary of their very first space journey in true style.


This means that even though a best-of compilation might be in order on such an occasion, they weren’t themselves if they hadn't cooked up something special. The band noticed it was 30 years since the release of Monk-Punk and are not going to honor the anniversary with a special album.


They revisited material from all creative phases, choosing some of their finest songs (plus one new track) to give them an overhaul with the help of like-minded musicians from every stripe. Be it Sami yoik duo Angelit or electro hip hop stars Bomfunk MC ́s, German industrial pioneer Jürgen Engler from Die Krupps or other countrymen of theirs such as former Nightwish bass player and vocalist Marko Hietala, humppa legends Eläkeläiset as well as Korpiklaani front man Jonne, The 69 Eyes singer Jyrki, German crossover newcomers April Art, Mr. Lordi himself and his band plus members from Skyclad, Amberian Dawn, Hanoi Rocks, Negative and Beast In Black.




On November 26 the special album was released. On the same day they released a video for “So Fine 2021” featuring Kevin Ridley and Youth Choirs Sykkii and n.u.k.u. Check it out below.





Tracklisting:


“Merry Go Round” (feat. Jürgen Engler)
“Below Zero 2021” (feat. Marko Hietala)
“Skyline” (Remix by Bomfunk MC’s)
“Ehtoopuolella” (feat. Eläkeläiset)
“So Fine 2021” (feat. Kevin Ridley and Youth Choirs Sykkii and n.u.k.u.)
“Step Outside” (feat. Angelit)
“In The Cradle 2021” (feat. Jonne Järvelä and Jyrki 69)
“Misty Man 2021” (feat. Niki)
“Lights On 2021” (feat. Lordi)
“The Stage 2021” (feat. Tampere All Stars)
“Helsinki 2021” (feat. April Art)





(Cover photo by Jani Mahkonen / Cover layout by Aino Korpinen)

Self-described as "Death Western", SpiritWorld are also the aural vision quest of Stu Folsom, a Las Vegas native who has taken the intensity of that blasted desert heat and given it a voice on the band's debut, Pagan Rhythms.


Pagan Rhythms was re-released on November 5 and is now available physically for the first time outside of North America. Today, SpiritWorld premier the video for "Unholy Passages".


"'Unholy Passages' is the JAM!," says Folsom. "If I could pick one song off of Pagan Rhythms to show people, this is it. 270 BPM of hella nasty riff vomit!!! Just when you think, 'Okay, this song fucks, I'm diggin' it...,'  it drops another banger riff on you. It's even got the Hellraiser, 'Do I look like I care what God thinks?' breakdown sprinkled with some field recordings of a monsoon season thunderstorm I recorded on my cell phone to top it off!"




He continues, "When I made the visualizer for it, everything was still on lockdown, so a real video was out of the question. I knew I needed something striking to compliment the song, so I pivoted down the rabbit hole of archival footage sourcing old rodeo footage, go-go dancers, and occult rituals. Enjoy!"





Conceived entirely by Folsom and produced by Sam Pura (The Story So Far, Self Defense Family), songs like "Comancheria" or the blast-beat propelled "Unholy Passages," courtesy of drummer Thomas Pridgen (The Mars Volta/Trash Talk) who plays on half the album with ex-Apiary skinsman Adam Elliot playing on the other, are unforgettable.


"It's about trying to write killer songs and craft a classic record," says Folsom, whose love for the likes of George Jones or the legendary L.A. punk band X runs as deep as his metallic roots. "With Pagan Rhythms , I set out to distill my love of thrash, old school death metal, and hardcore into something new that would hit like a tomahawk right in the face. When I first started telling people about this idea I had to merge Western imagery, horror fiction, and heavy metal into an all-out sonic assault, it seemed ridiculous. But I truly believe that if you make great records, people are a lot more willing to embrace your weirdness and come along for the ride."





Tracklisting:


"Pagan Rhythms"
"The Bringer of Light"
"Unholy Passages"
"Night Terrors"
"The Demon Storm"
"Armageddon Honkytonk & Saloon"
"Godless"
"Comancheria"
"Ritual Human Sacrifice"


"The Bringer Of Light" video:





"Comancheria" video:





SpiritWorld is:


Stu Folsom - Vocals
Matt Schrum - Guitar
Randy Moore - Guitar
Justin Fornof - Bass
Nick Brundy - Noise
Preston Harper - Drums


Pagan Rhythms features additional musicians:


Thomas Pridgen - Drums
Adam Elliot - Drums
Sam Pura - Guitar/Bass/Vocals
Ben Verhoek - Back Up Vocals
Reif Barlow - Back Up Vocals


(Photo - Sean Jorg)

Eternity's End have released their third full-length album, Embers Of War, via Prosthetic Records. Accompanying the album release, the European technical power metal five-piece have also shared a full-album visualizer, available to view below.


On Embers Of War, Eternity's End fully embrace the over-the-top elements of power metal and blend them with enough technicality to make an album irresistible to headbangers around the globe. On Embers Of War's release, Christian Muenzner (Guitars & Keyboards) comments: "We are very happy to finally share this album with all our fans around the world. It marks a big step for us, both career-wise with signing to Prosthetic Records, as well as musically further cementing our own sound and niche with an album that we feel is our strongest effort to date.


It was a labour of love for classic heavy metal and living the heavy metal spirit, and our aim is to connect with listeners who have the same passion for that style of music as we do through our songs.




We want to thank Prosthetic Records for believing in our band and their dedicated work, as well as the fans who have been so supportive to us throughout the years from day one. We hope you enjoy an album made by metal fans for metal fans and to be able to celebrate those songs together on stages around the globe in the near future."





Tracklisting:


"Dreadnought (The Voyage Of The Damned)"
"Bane Of The Blacksword"
"Hounds Of Tindalos"
"Call Of The Valkyries"
"Arcturus Prime"
"Shaded Heart"
"Deathrider"
"Embers Of War"


Full album visualizer:





Eternity's End is:


Iuri Sanson – Vocals
Christian Muenzner – Guitars / Keyboards
Justin Hombach – Guitars
Linus Klausenitzer – Bass
Hannes Grossmann – Drums

Arjen Anthony Lucassen (Ayreon) is back with a new Star One album, titled Revel In Time. The new album comes more than 10 years since the previous release and is due out on February 18 via InsideOutMusic.


An update from Arjen, introducing a guest spot by Alessandro Del Vecchio, states: "Alessandro is featured in the track ‘The Year of ‘41’ on CD2 of the new Star One album. Check out this video to see him play the solo and don’t miss his lovely message at the end. We’ve been friends for a long time and it’s fantastic to finally work together with this multi-talented dude, ciao amico!"







Revel In Time will be available for pre-order on December 17 and it will come as Ltd. 2CD Digipak, Ltd. Deluxe 3CD+Blu-Ray Artbook (incl. a poster of the cover artwork), and as 180g Gatefold 2LP (incl. the album on CD & an LP-Booklet).


CD 2 features alternate versions of the same songs as CD 1, but with different vocalists. Also available will be a 5.1 mix, a high-res audio version, and an exclusive, hour-long Behind the Scenes video, on the Blu-ray included in the Artbook.





Revel In Time tracklisting:


CD1:


"Fate Of Man"
"28 Days (Till The End Of Time)"
"Prescient"
"Back From The Past"
"Revel In Time"
"The Year Of ’41"
"Bridge Of Life"
"Today Is Yesterday"
"A Hand On The Clock"
"Beyond The Edge Of It All"
"Lost Children Of The Universe"


CD 2 features the same songs as CD 1, but with different vocalists.


"Fate Of Man" video:





"Lost Children Of The Universe" lyric video:

Swedish melodic hard rock AOR band, Gathering Of Kings, have released a video for "Highway To Paradise" a track from their 2020 album, Discovery (RN Records). Watch below:





The album was produced by Thomas "Plec" Johansson at The Panic Room, Skövde, with Ron Dahlgren, Nina Dahlgren & Victor Olsson as executive producers. Drums was recorded at Nordic Sound Lab by Thomas "Plec" Johansson, Bengan Andersson and Victor Olsson. The cover artwork was created by German artist Markus Vesper.




Gathering Of Kings is created and supervised by Ron Dahlgren and Nina Dahlgren, bringing together top musicians from the current hard rock scene in Sweden. The idea was to create a AOR/Melodic Hard Rock project/band like Tom Galley's Phenomena or even Tobias Sammet's Avantasia, with multiple vocalists and instrumentalists. Victor Olsson is the main songwriter, with Alexander Frisborg co-writing the lyrics.  





Tracklisting:


“Starsleeper”
“Riders Of The Light”
“Heaven On The Run”
“December”
“Highway To Paradise”
“The One That Got Away”
“Lorelei”
“Moonlight”
“Revelation”
“Kiss From Above”
“From A Whisper To A Scream”
“Final Hour”


"From A Whisper To A Scream":





Musicians:
Rick Altzi - lead vocals (3, 12), backing vocals (3, 9, 11, 12)
Jonny Lindkvist - lead vocals (4, 8)
Apollo Papathanasio - lead vocals (2, 9), backing vocals (2, 5, 8, 9)
Tobias Jansson - lead vocals (6, 7, 11), backing vocals (2, 3, 6, 7, 11)
Alexander Frisborg - lead vocals (5, 10), backing vocals (2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11, 12)
Victor Olsson - guitars (2-12), bass (2, 4-7,9-12), keyboards (1-12), backing vocals (2-12)
Efraim Larsson - drums (2-8)
Jonas Källsbäck - drums (9-12)


Special Appearances:
Nalle Påhlsson - bass (3, 8)
Joel Selsfors - keyboard solo (12)
Erik Gafvelin Wiss - keyboard solo (7)
Henrik Sethsson - backing vocals (10)
Theresia Svensson - backing vocals (6, 7, 10)
Ron Dahlgren - backing vocals (10)
Mathias Kihlberg - flute (9)

Bay Area thrash legends, Death Angel, have release their new live record, The Bastard Tracks, via Nuclear Blast.


Recorded live at The Great American Music Hall in their hometown of San Francisco on May 22, 2021, and streamed live soon after, The Bastard Tracks is a deep cuts collection of rarely and never performed songs from the band's celebrated catalog that's available now digitally and on CD, Vinyl and Blu-Ray, and will be released on vinyl on April 29. Order here.


In conjunction with the release, the band has rolled out the live video for "The Absence Of Light".




Commenting on the song, vocalist Mark Osegueda states: “'Absence Of Light' is a song that I have been championing for since the album that it is on called 'Relentless Retribution' was released in 2010. It’s an extremely dark song lyrically that sits on top of this thunderous and driving riff and beat. It is not a fast song by any means. But! It’s HEAVY!! DARK and HEAVY!!! We finally took the time to re-familiarize ourselves with it and we were all surprised how HEAVY it sounded when we all played it together in the room! I’m pretty confident it will rear its DARK and HEAVY head in some future live sets. In front of an actual audience!”





Commenting on the record, Mark Osegueda states: "When we performed and filmed the songs for The Bastard Tracks it was such a crazy time and having missed being able to perform live for so long was taking it’s toll on me to a certain degree as I have been a live performer for the majority of my life. I must say, it was a pretty dark time. I know it was for so many of us... But! Music once again helped to pull us through it. It was a bit odd performing to no crowd. But! It felt great re-learning some deep tracks and getting on stage with the guys and unleashing this pent up aggression! And the response from everyone who tuned into it suggesting that we release it as an album was overwhelming! Well… Thanks to them here it is! I hope you enjoy it!”





Adding to that, guitarist Rob Cavestany says: "Choosing and sequencing the songs for The Bastard Tracks set list was quite a different trip. All of them had rarely (and in some instances never) been played live. We hadn’t performed in front of a live audience for over a year, the longest ever for this band. It was to be filmed live at The Great American Music Hall in San Francisco and then broadcast worldwide on the good ol’ inter-web! I could get into that... From basically re-learning most of these songs to getting them as tight as they should be, we put our energy together and made it happen! I’m thankful for having had this goal to focus on during those (still) crazy earth crisis days. It gave us an important reason to get together at DA Studio and JAM! Literally the only time I’ve felt “normal” since 2020 was while we were jamming! Fortunately we’ve been able to do it a lot. Now, we proudly present the audio and visual recordings of those sessions. Turn it up! P.S. - We cannot wait to exchange live energy with you as soon as possible!!"





Death Angel will perform shows throughout the fall and winter, including their 2022 run on The Bay Area Strikes Back Tour featuring Testament and Exodus. Tickets are on sale here.


Death Angel tour dates:


November
27 - Oakland, CA - Fox Theater





April
9 - San Luis Obispo, CA - Fremont Theater
10 - Anaheim, CA - House of Blues
12 - San Diego, CA - House of Blues
13 - Las Vegas, NV - House of Blues
15 - Tucson, AZ - Rialto Theatre
16 - Albuquerque, NM - Sunshine Theater
19 - Oklahoma City, OK - Diamond Ballroom
20 - Houston, TX - White Oak Music Hall
21 - Austin, TX - Emos Austin
22 - Dallas, TX - Amplified Live
23 - New Orleans, LA - House of Blues
26 - Atlanta, GA - The Masquerade - Heaven
27 - Raleigh, NC - The Ritz
30 - Sayreville, NJ - Starland Ballroom


May
1 - Baltimore, MD - Baltimore Soundstage
2 - Boston, MA - House of Blues
3 - Philadelphia, PA - Theatre of Living Arts
5 - Huntington, NY - The Paramount
6 - Buffalo, NY - Town Ballroom
7 - Covington, KY - Madison Theater
9 - Pittsburgh, PA - Stage AE
10 - Cleveland, OH - Agora Theater & Ballroom
11 - Columbus, OH - Newport Music Hall
12 - Detroit, MI - Majestic Theatre
14 - Joliet, IL - The Forge
17 - Minneapolis, MN - Skyway Theatre
19 - Denver, CO - Summit Music Hall
20 - Salt Lake City, UT - The Depot

Former IRON MAIDEN vocalist Paul Di'Anno will undergo his long-delayed knee surgery later this week.

The 63-year-old musician, who has battled a number of health issues in recent years, traveled to Croatia to have the operation, which will be performed by a doctor who is a fan of Di'Anno's music.

Earlier today, Kastro Pergjoni, operations director of the Cart & Horses pub in Stratford, London, England where IRON MAIDEN made its live debut in 1976, shared a photo of him with Di'Anno and Paul's surgeon at Poliklinika Ribnjak in Zagreb, and he included the following message: "How about this — out of the blue, the doctor here is big Di'Anno fan. Paul you're in safe hands".

Di'Anno reportedly underwent an operation in 2016 to remove a "rugby ball-sized abscess" on his lungs and required a knee-replacement operation on both knees after getting involved in several motorcycle accidents over the years. As a result, Di'Anno was forced to sit down while performing at his most recent shows.

A crowdfunding campaign to help Di'Anno with medical costs associated with his treatment recently raised more than £9,401 (approximately $12,500).

Pergjoni, who has been behind Cart & Horses since 2016, leasing the pub from the building's owners who are converting the beer garden and car park into flats, discussed his fundraising efforts during a 2020 appearance on the "Uncle Steve's Iron Maiden Zone" podcast. Asked if he has approached the members of IRON MAIDEN themselves to contribute in some way to the Di'Anno campaign, Kastro said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Myself, no, I haven't, to be honest, because I don't wanna put things… What's the best way to say it now? It's not up to me to go to them, because I have no connections with IRON MAIDEN themselves. Even when I [need to approach] Steve [Harris, IRON MAIDEN bassist and founder], I go through his friends or his sister sometimes or close friends that he's got to get stuff from him. But to go to MAIDEN for something that is related to MAIDEN, I don't think that it is me personally, or Cart & Horses, the ones to contact them. I'd love if they come forward and just cover whatever is left or say whatever, but I don't think it's down to me to go to MAIDEN. Because [Paul's] got friends and he's got connections with MAIDEN more than I have, so if MAIDEN wanted to, or if somebody else wanted to, they would have done it. But so far, nothing, unfortunately, no."

Di'Anno recorded two classic albums with IRON MAIDEN — a self-titled effort in 1980 and "Killers" in 1981 — before being fired and replaced by Bruce Dickinson. He went on to front a number of other bands, including KILLERS and BATTLEZONE, and released several solo records.

In March 2011, Di'Anno was sentenced to nine months in a U.K. prison after he falsely collected government benefits by claiming he suffered nerve damage to his back that prevented him from working.

Di'Anno completed his first North American tour in early 2010, 17 years after he was deported following a prison term for guns and drug offenses.

In a December 2019 interview with the Spanish web site Mariskalrock.com, Di'Anno said that he was lucky to be alive after developing a deadly infection several years ago. "I nearly died four years ago," Paul revealed. "I had sepsis in Argentina. I was very, very sick. I just about made it home to England and then straight to hospital. I've been in and out of the hospital for four years now. I had operations done on both legs. I [haven't been able to] walk for four years. It's been very, very tough for me at the moment. Because of the sepsis, I keep getting infections, so they can't do the operations on my legs and stuff like that when they want to do them. And it's been very difficult. At the moment, I've only got one knee. The other knee has been taken out, but there's no new knee put in, so it's been a cement thing. But I wanna play, obviously, but I can't do that until I'm fixed. I haven't stopped playing music, and I've got no plans to retire — I wanna keep playing — but I need to get well."

Elaborating on his recovery process, Di'Anno said: "I'm not getting better and better — not yet, until I've had both of my knees operated on. The next operation is gonna be to take my left knee out and then put a replacement straight away, which then I've gotta do rehab to try to stand up on that one leg. And then I can sort of move about on crutches after a while, which would be fantastic. I may have to sit down on the stage, but if I can get up on one leg, it makes it easier for flying and things like that. I still may have to travel around on a wheelchair a bit, but if I'm playing on stage in a wheelchair, at least I can hop about on the crutches and then maybe sit down and sing. But I caught another infection two weeks ago, which they will not operate on you while you've got an infection. Unfortunately, this is gonna be the rest of my life, because of sepsis. I was so lucky. The sepsis really hits you hard, and on the London plane home from Argentina, everyone was saying to me, 'Hello, sir. Are you okay? Are you okay?' And I'm, like, 'Yeah, why don't you fuck off and leave me alone?' sort of thing. I didn't realize I was actually dying. And when I actually got home and I collapsed on the floor, I had my cell phone with me. I was on my own, 'cause my wife and kids were over in America. I got the ambulance people. They came down and they kicked my door in and took me to the hospital. I spent eight months in that hospital... And you've got 45 minutes to pump you full of antibiotics or you'll die. I just about made that. Eight months recovery there, then into a care home for another three months, and then I moved into this new house of mine, which is adapted for wheelchair users at the moment... And then it's been unlucky with the infections; otherwise I would have been up and running by now. But they won't operate on me for two years, with sepsis, because you have to make sure it's completely clear of you. And now I've got this other thing called MRSA, which you get from being in hospital, which is unfortunate. But, anyway, at the moment, I'm clearing out very well, so I'm waiting for the next call I get, which will be for surgery, and get things done".

Pressed about whether he is optimistic that he will be able to return to the stage someday, he told Mariskalrock.com: "Yeah. Fuckin' damn right. If I can't play music, I might as well fuckin' kill myself. So, yeah, I'm fine. As I said, once they have taken the left knee out and then put the replacement one in, I've got rehab to do. And the rehab will be learning to stand up and use crutches and move around with one leg, 'cause the other one, it's a very complicated operation on the right leg... I'm waiting for the surgeons to call me in. This operation will take about three hours to put the knee in, and then it's all rehab, rehab, rehab to strengthen my leg and [be able] to stand up on that one leg, 'cause the other one, I can't put it down on the floor, 'cause it's only got cement inside of it. There's no knee in the right one either, so that will be taken out. That one is a complicated operation — about nine hours. But this first one, if I can stand on crutches and get used to it after… I'll be in hospital for two weeks, and then it's all rehab, rehab — strengthen the left leg up, so I can hop about on the crutches and move around. It makes it easier for me to fly, and then I can go on stage. I may have to sit down on the stage in a chair, but at least I can go back on stage… And then, when they do the right leg, then I'll be all right to do everything. It's gonna take time. Unfortunately, it's two years where they will not operate on anything 'cause of the sepsis. And that's a two-year gap. And now all these infections are fucking me up."

More than a decade and a half ago, Di'Anno told The Jersulam Post that leaving the MAIDEN juggernaut behind was the best thing that ever happened to him, and that he had no bitter feelings toward his former bandmates. "I absolutely have no regrets about leaving MAIDEN — I wasn't right in the head at that time to be in the middle of all that," he said. "I was fed up and disillusioned; it would have been cheating the fans and myself if I had stayed. It was easy to walk away from, and I'm very happy the band got bigger and bigger."

Several years ago, Di'Anno told Metal Thunder Radio that he wasn't as involved with MAIDEN's songwriting as he would have liked. "Steve had most of the words and the lyrics [to the band's first album] all written. That was some of the bones of contention that we had in the band — that I didn't get to write as much as I wanted to. 'Cause I am actually quite a prolific writer, but a lot of my songs were not accepted. 'Cause it's Steve's band, obviously."

He continued: "That first album was a revelation, I've gotta tell you. It was amazing. And the second album, for me, not so much. That's when I started to lose interest a little bit. But [we] still [had] great times — really great times."

At times, Paul has also publicly displayed his anger toward his former bandmates, most notably during a 2009 press conference in Argentina where he was asked about the rumors that his drug use had something to do with his split with MAIDEN. "Where the fuck do you people get this from?" he asked. "I left IRON MAIDEN because they were going too heavy metal, and IRON MAIDEN is a money-making machine, and I don't give a fuck about it. It was not about drugs; it was nothing like that. Me and Steve... I [wrote] the song 'Killers'. Steve had [what he thought] were better songs. I thought his songs were shit. Nothing to do with drugs; nothing whatsoever. Check your facts or otherwise this interview is over... I hate that! I fucking hate that! Because people... You say something but you don't know. Well, I'm telling you. IRON MAIDEN is Steve Harris's band. It doesn't matter about anybody else — whether it's Dave Murray, Clive [Burr], me... it's Steve Harris's band and all it is is money, money, money, money — nobody else counts. And I wrote fuckin' 20-times better songs than his, but I only got one song on the 'Killers' album because it's Steve's — he must have this. Fuckin' Adolf Hitler. I'm not interested. So there you go. But you need to take drugs when you're with IRON MAIDEN because they're so fucking boring. And the only drugs were aspirin, because Steve [making hand gesture as if someone is speaking into his ear]... Fuckin' headache."

Photos courtesy of Cart & Horses

Swedish-born multi-instrumentalist Tim Sköld, the creative force behind his namesake industrial metal project, has been one of few lasting Swedish music exports since the 1980s as frontman for one of that country's earliest and more successful metal bands, SHOTGUN MESSIAH. After the suspension of that outfit in the mid-90s, Sköld struck out on his own and released the debut album for his industrial metal project, the self-titled SKOLD album, in 1996. The album was hailed as a triumph with songs such as "Chaos" and "Hail Mary" landing in major motion pictures as well as mainstream video games. Since then, Sköld has gone on to work in a numerous other major bands, becoming a member of KMFDM and MARILYN MANSON as well as playing live with Taime Downe's THE NEWLYDEADS and Nivek Ogre's OHGR, all the while composing, performing, and producing for other artist, for example MOTIONLESS IN WHITE, as well as several SKOLD albums.

Now, hot on the heels of 2016's "The Undoing", SKOLD is teaming up with powerhouse indie label Cleopatra Reords to release the much-anticipated brand new studio album, "Never Is Now". The effort contains 15 all-new tracks of driving rhythms, vicious guitar riffs, and scintillating synths to create a thrilling listening experience perfect for fans of industrial and electronic-tinged metal. The album will be available on CD in a digipak and on a special limited-edition clear double vinyl package everywhere starting April 5.

Track listing:

01. Never Is Now

02. Small World

03. Pharmaceuticals

04. Roses

05. Please Remain Calm

06. Ravenous

07. In Another Life

08. This Is The End

09. Idle Hands

10. Temple Of Rage

11. Be Brave

12. American Bluff

13. This Is What You Get

14. Insatiable

15. And So

There's no dawn for Midnight, and Metal Blade Records is proud to announce the reissue pressings of the thrashers three classic albums - No Mercy For Mayhem (2014), Sweet Death And Ecstasy (2017) - both available today - and Satanic Royalty (2011) - available December 10*.





Each album comes in a variety of limited -edition colored vinyl and can be found at the links below, and at the band's store.




* availability will vary by store


- North America
- Europe
- Band Store



No Mercy for Mayhem:


- Jewel case CD
- 180g black vinyl (EU exclusive)
- Red / black marbled vinyl (EU exclusive - limited to 500 copies)
- Gold w/ black splatter vinyl (EU exclusive - limited to 300 copies)
- Clear w/ red and black splatter vinyl (Band exclusive - limited to 200 copies)
- Transparent royal blue / black color in color vinyl (US exclusive)
- Transparent blood red w/ black splatter vinyl (US exclusive)
- Vinyl bundle with t-shirt


No Mercy for Mayhem is an intensification of everything its predecessor seemingly perfected: the hooks even more anthemic, the power more piledriving, the dirt dirtier, the sum effect being absolute blackout.





Sweet Death and Ecstasy:


- Jewel case CD
- 180g black vinyl (EU exclusive)
- Transparent violet vinyl (EU exclusive - limited to 500 copies)
- Clear w/ red and black splatter vinyl (EU exclusive - limited to 300 copies)
- Transparent halloween orange w/ black and purple splatter vinyl (Band exclusive - limited to 200 copies)
- Hot pink / doublemint melt vinyl (US exclusive)
- Oxblood / cyan melt vinyl (US exclusive)
- Vinyl bundle with t-shirt


Continuing their underground dominance with their massively anticipated third album, Sweet Death and Ecstasy, Athenar and co. return with their darkest and most daring effort yet.





Satanic Royalty (10th Anniversary reissue):
Release Date: December 10


To celebrate the 10th Anniversary of Satanic Royalty, this special limited edition will include demos of each album track for a bonus disc (included on all formats). Additionally, the CD Digipak will come with a bonus DVD featuring a 10-year album anniversary documentary and three live shows (Defenders of the Faith, Now That's Class, and Hell's Pleasure).


- 2CD+DVD Digipak
- 180g black vinyl (EU exclusive)
- White/black "burst" vinyl (EU exclusive - limited to 500 copies)
- Gold w/ black splatter vinyl (EU exclusive - limited to 300 copies)
- Transparent red w/ black and white splatter vinyl (Band exclusive - limited to 200 copies)
- Vinyl bundle with t-shirt


Satanic Royalty is both a distillation of first-wave black metal magic and an extension into harder-rocking territories rampant with lust, filth, and sleaze.

In a recent interview with Vikram Chandrasekar of Tales From The Road, DEEP PURPLE singer Ian Gillan was asked if he was good friends with legendary heavy metal frontman Ronnie James Dio. "Yeah, we were close. We were very close," he said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). "It was Ronnie Dio, Klaus Meine [SCORPIONS] and myself; we were on a tour together. And, of course, as you probably know, Klaus and Ronnie are diminutive figures — they're not very tall — and I'm just over six foot. And so we had a photograph taken together with me in the middle and the two little ones on either side of me. And it was hilarious. And we got the picture pinned up in the dressing room, and it was called 'the three fivers' as opposed to 'the three tenners.' It's an English joke.

"When I was buying some socks in Munich airport, [Ronnie and I] were on the same charter plane together, and Ronnie was opening for DEEP PURPLE, I think. And I was in the shop going, 'I've gotta buy some socks.' And they had packs of three pairs of socks hanging on the rack. So I was just looking through them, seeing which ones I want. And Ronnie's head appeared through the socks, and he said, 'Ah, socks, drugs and rock and roll.' [Laughs]

"Yeah, we were lovely mates," Gillan added. "We were good mates."

Ronnie James Dio passed away of stomach cancer on May 16, 2010 at the age of 67.

Dio was renowned throughout the world as one of the greatest and most influential vocalists in heavy metal history. The singer, who was recording and touring with BLACK SABBATH offshoot HEAVEN & HELL prior to his illness, was diagnosed with stomach cancer in late 2009. He underwent chemotherapy and made what is now his final public appearance in April 2010 at the Revolver Golden Gods Awards in Los Angeles.

Dio's long-awaited autobiography, titled "Rainbow In The Dark: The Autobiography", was released in July via Permuted Press. It was written with longtime friend of 30 years and esteemed music writer Mick Wall, who took up the mantle after Ronnie's passing.

Mitch Malloy, who auditioned to replace Sammy Hagar in VAN HALEN in the summer of 1996, celebrated Eddie Van Halen's musical legacy with MITCH MALLOY'S VH EXPERIENCE on October 9 at Mattie Kelly Arts Village in Destin, Florida. Mitch was backed by a band featuring Pete Thorn (Chris Cornell, Don Henley, Melissa Etheridge) on guitar, Daniel Spriewald (Phil X of BON JOVI) on bass, and Wayne Killius (Keith Urban, BIG & RICH, Luke Bryan) on drums.

Multi-camera video footage of MITCH MALLOY'S VH EXPERIENCE performing the VAN HALEN classic "Jump" at the Destin concert can be seen below.

Malloy told the story of his day at Eddie Van Halen's 5150 studios to Melodic Rock: "A guy who worked for their management at the time used to be my road manager and he kept calling me and telling me they were going to fire Sammy and that I was going to be the next singer in VAN HALEN. And he was calling and calling and finally I got annoyed by this and told him to stop and that I didn't think I was a good fit in VAN HALEN and that if he was serious, he should have Ed call me. A week later, Desmond Child calls me and says he has just left Ed's house and was writing with them and that they were talking about me and that they were watching my 'Anything At All' video, and that he told them that I was perfect for them, and that they would be lucky to get me. And before I knew it, I was on a plane to L.A. Ed did call, a bunch of times. He was great."

According to Malloy, Eddie told him he was in the band on his third day in the studio. But when Eddie, Michael Anthony and Alex Van Halen stepped onstage with their estranged singer David Lee Roth for the first time in 12 years at the 1996 MTV Video Music Awards, Mitch knew that his dream gig had fallen apart.

"I'm sitting, watching TV there by myself," Mitch told Rolling Stone. "It wasn't good. I think literally, my jaw dropped. So in that moment, I was shocked. And you know how sometimes as humans we just know some things? You just know it. You don't have to say it. Nobody has to say anything. People just know things. And that moment that Roth walked out behind them, I knew it was over. I am not going to be in VAN HALEN. I just knew somehow. And so that was it for me. I was just like, 'That's it. This can't happen now.' I just knew it. It was just … a wall came down. But it just felt like it was over, somehow. It was like, 'This can't work now.' Not because people won't accept me. But there's just something else going on that I didn't even fully understand at the time. You know what I mean? It was like a knife sliced through and just, it was over. I think it's the only time it's ever happened to me in my life, where it was that definitive. And I had a lot going on at the time, aside from VAN HALEN. Real promise with my career moving forward. So it wasn't, for me, my only thing. I wasn't like, 'Oh, my God! This has got to happen,' kind of thing. Of course, I really did want it to happen. But who wouldn't?"

VAN HALEN's next singer ended up being Gary Cherone, former frontman for the band EXTREME. His only album with the group was "Van Halen III", which was a critical and commercial disappointment. Hagar and Roth both rejoined VAN HALEN at various points since 2003, with the latter appearing on VAN HALEN's final album, 2012's "A Different Kind Of Truth".

Malloy's involvement with VAN HALEN is the focus of a short documentary, "Mitch Malloy: Van Halen's Lost Boy", which was uploaded to YouTube in 2013.

In 2018, Malloy joined GREAT WHITE as the replacement for Terry Ilous.

Mitch relocated to Destin, Florida from Nashville, Tennessee in 2019.
















pic.twitter.com/J1xXWm3faT

— Mitch Malloy (@mitchmalloy) September 9, 2021

On November 20th, Y&T performed the second of two shows at the Mystic Theatre in Petaluma, California. Fan-filmed video is available below.


The setlist on the night was as follows:


"Hang 'Em High"
"Lucy"
"Lipstick and Leather"
"Eyes of a Stranger"
"Midnight in Tokyo"
"Mean Streak"
"I'll Keep On Believin' (Do You Know)"
"Struck Down"
"Winds of Change"
"Contagious"
"Dirty Girl"
"Go for the Throat"
"Summertime Girls"
"I'm Coming Home"
"Rescue Me"
"Black Tiger"




Encore:
"Sail On By"
"Open Fire"
"Hell or High Water"
"Forever"














Y&T's tour schedule is currently as follows:


January
14 - Count's Vamp'd - Las Vegas, NV 
15 - Count's Vamp'd - Las Vegas, NV 
16 - Crescent Ballroom - Phoenix, AZ


February 
9 - Monster Of Rock Cruise 2022 - Miami, FL


April
1 - Whisky A Go Go - West Hollywood, CA
2 - Coach House Concert Hall - San Juan Capistrano, CA


For details and ticket information go to YandTRocks.com.


Chris Akin spoke with Y&T bassist Aaron Leigh for Aftershocks TV, and addressed why there hasn't been any new music released from Y&T since 2010's Facemelter.