It was the banger of the year 2021: With their sixteenth record, the self-titled album "Helloween", the legendary metal band returned with a seven-member lineup and caused a global metal earthquake. The album easily cracked the No. 1 chart position in several countries and was celebrated frenetically by fans and journalists alike. The triumphal procession continued live throughout 2022/2023 with 60 emotional concerts in 30 countries, leaving nothing to be desired. Among others at shows in Los Angeles, New York, the Monsters Of Rock festivals in South America, headlining Wacken Open Air as well as the first sold-out gig at the legendary Budokan in Tokyo, tears of joy flowed from over 800,000 fans and the reunited band members — which can be experienced on the live CD/Blu-ray/DVD "Live At Budokan", to be released on December 13, 2024.

With these highlights, HELLOWEEN are heading into their anniversary year, celebrating 40 years of band and metal history. While Andi Deris, Michael Kiske, Michael Weikath, Kai Hansen, Markus Grosskopf, Sascha Gerstner and Dani Löble are working intensively on the follow-up to their sensational reunion album, they are now announcing an anniversary tour of superlatives at the same time, as bassist and founding member Markus Grosskopf explains: "We came up with some great surprises for the fans. Besides the brand new songs to be performed live for the first time, we will also play tracks from the band's history that you haven't heard live for a very long time or even never before. The shows will be a fantastic experience for all of us!"

Frontman Andi Deris adds: "We're having a lot of fun working creatively in the studio and the album promises to become an absolute highlight — but nothing compares to a HELLOWEEN live concert: The energy of our audience is simply indescribable and we can't wait to finally go full throttle with our fans again. The upcoming tour will be bigger, better and more impressive than ever!"

The live dates will start on October 17, 2025 in Luxembourg and take HELLOWEEN all over Europe for six weeks. Besides the brand new songs of their still untitled new longplayer, they will bring along BEAST IN BLACK from Finland as their "very special guests" — and this guarantees a metal party to be out of this world.

2026 will be starting with dates in Asia, South and North America, before Germany's No. 1 metal ambassadors will make it to Europe's biggest festivals in the summer of '26.

"40 Years Anniversary Tour" Europe 2025 with very special guests BEAST IN BLACK:

Oct. 17 - LU Luxembourg - Rockhal
Oct. 18 - NL Tilburg - 013
Oct. 20 - UK London - Eventim Apollo
Oct. 22 - FR Paris - Zénith (Le Villette)
Oct. 24 - CZ Prague - O2 Arena
Oct. 25 - SK Zvolen - Tiposbet Arena
Oct. 26 - HU Budapest - Papp László Sportaréna
Oct. 28 - PL Katowice - Spodek
Oct. 31 - DE Bochum - RuhrCongress
Nov. 01 - DE Hamburg - Barclays Arena
Nov. 03 - NO Oslo - Sentrum Scene
Nov. 04 - NO Oslo - Sentrum Scene
Nov. 06 - FI Helsinki - Helsingin Jäähalli
Nov. 08 - SE Gothenburg - Partille Arena
Nov. 13 - PT Lisbon - Campo Pequeno
Nov. 15 - ES Madrid - La Cubierta de Leganés
Nov. 19 - IT Milan - Forum
Nov. 20 - CH Zurich - The Hall
Nov. 22 - DE Stuttgart - Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle

The reunited expanded classic lineup of German power metallers HELLOWEEN will release a new live album, "Live At Budokan", on December 13, 2024 via Reigning Phoenix Music (RPM). The colossal effort immortalizes HELLOWEEN's September 16, 2023 performance at Tokyo's legendary Nippon Budokan.

"Live At Budokan" will be available in a plethora of formats: 2CD-digipak and 3LP vinyl in trifold with the first print run of both coming as "deluxe edition" including embossed cover artwork, as well as Blu-ray, DVD and digital. Each version is meticulously crafted to suit the metal community's diverse tastes, ensuring every fan can relive the raw, unfiltered energy of HELLOWEEN in their preferred medium.

Earlier this year, HELLOWEEN signed with Reigning Phoenix Music for the release of its next studio album.

In March 2023, Kiske told Canada's The Metal Voice that Kai had already sent him a demo of a song that he was working on that "I was very happy about, because it's not what you would expect; the song was a bit outside of the box, which I am always grateful for," Michael said. "I always thought that was exciting about HELLOWEEN. When you check out the 'Keeper [Of The Seven Keys: Part] I' and 'Keeper [Of The Seven Keys: Part] II' records, now they're classics, but when they came out, it was very different to what the 'Walls Of Jericho' record sounded like. But we had the balls to do it. And I think that's why I'm still here, because those records had an impact because of being pretty fearless. And it is always the benefit of the youth; most of the time, the younger people are very fearless.

"What I like about WeikiandKai, they can't fool themselves. They just write songs. They don't function in any other way but just making the song, and whatever it is, that's what it is. And that song was a bit QUEEN-like. It had a lot of piano parts in it — very operatic, with big choirs. And then it gets rocking again and stuff like that. It's another Kai Hansen sort of symphony. But I really liked it. And I'm glad that he does something like that. I just hope the rest of the band has the balls to do it. I would do it."

Asked if he will be contributing any musical ideas to HELLOWEEN's next effort, since he didn't write anything on "Helloween", Kiske said: "I don't know. I'm not so much of a metal songwriter. I was when I was a teenager. But these days I just don't write metal songs; I just write songs on acoustic guitar somehow. And if I have something where I feel like the band could make a HELLOWEEN song out of it, of course I will present it to them, and then if they get a kick out of it, something's gonna happen. But we have so many songwriters in this band now. And they're all really capable of writing that sort of material that everybody loves, and that's mainly Andi, Sascha, Weiki and Hansen. And I think that's more than enough. If I have an idea, I sneak it in. But I don't really push myself."

As for whether the rest of HELLOWEEN has also begun composing music for the band's next LP, Kiske said: "I know that Andi has songs, and I know that Kai has a whole bunch of songs. He was a bit lazy last time; he only had that one great song, [the 12-minute] 'Skyfall', which was maybe good for three songs, and that's why it's justified, but I would have wished for even more from him. And I think this time he will be presenting a whole bunch of songs more. At least that's my impression, the feeling that I have — there might be more coming from him this time. Andi is always in the game. Andi has this gift; he can just sit down and write 10 songs. He can just do it. I don't know how he does it."

In August 2022, Kiske told Chile's Radio Futuro that the overwhelmingly positive response to "Helloween" "was pretty unexpected. I was expected it to do good, but it was, like, perfect.

"It is very difficult for you, when you're involved in an album, to have an objective view at what you're doing," he explained. "You just do what you do. You always try to make the best out of every song. And obviously the spirit within the band is very good, which helps, but you never know how people hear it. So the best thing you can do is fade it all out, not think about it, and just try to make every song exciting for yourself; that's the best thing you can do. The less you think about success or how critics might see it, the better for the album. It's not easy, but you've gotta have that discipline to kind of fade it out and not let it get to you.

"I was surprised how well it was received, but, of course, it was a very welcome motivation, especially [in 2021]," Kiske added. "We released it right in the middle of the whole pandemic crap, and that was a positive lift, doing the interviews and seeing how people reacted to it."

Regarding how HELLOWEEN had managed to pull off the seemingly impossible by splitting vocals on the album between returning singer Kiske and longtime frontman Deris, with added contributions from Hansen, Michael said: "It was actually great. It was very easy. I was kind of expecting it to be difficult, but it wasn't, because there was no ego fights going on between me and Andi. We were just there on Tenerife meeting up almost every day.

"Before we started recording, we had Dennis Ward making a rough draft of what he thinks could work in terms of splitting: 'This sounds like Andi. This sounds a bit like Michael.' And that was how we approached it. It was some kind of pre-draft of how we could do it, but was nothing written in stone.

"One day I came to the studio and the evening before Andi was recording something, or had recorded something, and he wasn't feeling so happy with it. He came and said, 'I was trying this and that. And maybe you should give it a try too.' And then we figured out what sounds the best for the song.

"There are a whole bunch of songs where you can hear right away, 'That's an Andi Deris song. He should sing that.' Or, 'That's a typical Kiske song. That sounds great [with Kiske vocals].' It's like 'Angels', for instance, it was very clear that that was mostly a Kiske song, and Sascha [Gerstner, guitar] had written it with my voice in his head. But there are other songs, especially when Andi writes his own songs, usually it sounds best when he does it unless he wrote it with my voice in his head, like he did with 'Fear Of The Fallen'. 'Fear Of The Fallen', he was writing it with both singers in his mind, and that works out.

"But it was very easy," Kiske repeated. "Because you just try it out, and you very quickly hear what works best. And I would say, like, 70 percent of the time we knew before that that would be sounding better with him or that would be sounding better with me. Or even with Kai — there were even spots where we thought he should do it."

Upon its release in June 2021, "Helloween" landed in the Top 10 in more than 10 countries, including Germany, Spain, Finland, Sweden, Switzerland and Austria. The cover artwork for the LP was painted by artist Eliran Kantor, who has previously worked with HATEBREED, SOULFLY, TESTAMENT, ICED EARTH and SODOM, among others.

Produced by Charlie Bauerfeind and Dennis Ward, the latest HELLOWEEN LP was recorded in part at the H.O.M.E. Studios in Hamburg (where everything started in 1984). The same recording console used for such HELLOWEEN albums as "Master Of The Rings", "Time Of The Oath" and "Better Than Raw" was utilized to record the band's new material. The effort was mixed at the Valhalla Studios of Ronald Prent (IRON MAIDEN, DEF LEPPARD, RAMMSTEIN).

"Helloween" saw the legendary German power metallers going "back to the roots," with the band recording fully analog and Daniel Löble playing the drum kit previously used by HELLOWEEN's original drummer, the late Ingo Schwichtenberg, on the legendary "Keeper Of The Seven Keys" recordings.

The "Pumpkins United" tour marked the first time Kiske had played live with HELLOWEEN since 1993. Hansen, who departed HELLOWEEN in 1988, had been joining the band onstage on various tours and festival appearances throughout the years. The set featured several duets with Kiske and his replacement, Deris, along with many rarely played songs, including "Kids Of The Century", "Rise And Fall" and "Livin' Ain't No Crime". Hansen — who fronted HELLOWEEN until late 1986 — sang a medley of several early HELLOWEEN classics, including "Ride The Sky", "Judas", "Starlight" and "Heavy Metal (Is The Law)".

In 2022, Deris told the "Metal Command" podcast that he "strongly" hoped the reunited expanded classic lineup of HELLOWEEN would eventually make another album to follow up "Helloween". "I mean, as long as the vibe is great, chemistry is great and everybody's having fun with each other, it would be a crime not to do so and not to plan for a future together," he said.

"'Pumpkins United' is not only the name for the last tour, I think that's something like a brand," he continued. "HELLOWEEN 'Pumpkins United', that's something like a band — a new or something like [that] growing from the old band."

On the topic of how HELLOWEEN has managed to maintain internal harmony with so many members involved, Andi said: "I just can tell you getting along with each other, I think it's rooted in the matter of fact that we're finally too old for the other shit. [Laughs] From a certain age on, you let other people live and you don't take everything personal. Talking for [myself], whenever somebody told me something that could be looked at in a negative way, I took it the negative way. Even though when you look at it from the positive side of you, you could say, 'Well, man, maybe it was even a compliment, because have you seen it from that side?' 'No.' That's what happens when you're getting older — you don't take everything on the negative side: 'Oh, he's attacking me' or 'he's meaning bad' or 'he's meaning to annihilate you or intimidate you' or whatever. Everybody in the band, even together now with seven people, I have to say everybody is old enough to not always look at it from the negative [point of view] but also try to realize who's talking. So I cannot imagine that the boys are meaning bad if they speak about me in a sense that I could take negatively, but because I like everybody, I personally think, 'Well, I don't think they're talking negatively.' So I try to find the sense in a positive way, and most of the time — 99.9 percent [of the time] — it's exactly that. It's nothing negative; it's positive. But back in the day, everything I took was negative — when I was in my 20s and 30s. Then when you get [to] 40, it's getting better. [Laughs] Or maybe it's just you don't give a shit anymore."

German thrash metal veterans DESTRUCTION will release their new album, "Birth Of Malice", in March 2025 via Napalm Records. The cover art for the LP was created by Gyula Havancsák and can be seen below.

Earlier today, DESTRUCTION shared the "Birth Of Malice" cover art on social media and included the following message: "NEW ALBUM – NEW SINGLE – NEW VIDEO!!! Today marks the kick-off to our WEEK OF DESTRUCTION! Yes, you saw it coming, our brand-new album 'Birth Of Malice' will finally drop in March 2025 via Napalm Records! The vicious cover-art was created by master-artist & friend Gyula Havancsák.

"Tomorrow we will have a sneak-peak trailer of our next single for you and Thursday the new video, that we have filmed in Sao Paulo/Brazil , will be released. Pre-order also starts this Thursday November 14th at 4 PM CET!!!

"'Birth Of Malice' sounds like next level DESTRUCTION, it marks a new era of heaviness, virtuosity and feels like an oldschool punch in the gut!

"Stay tuned and be a part of this wild ride!"

This past July, DESTRUCTION released a cover version of ACCEPT's classic song "Fast As A Shark", alongside a new visualizer video. The song was featured on the two-track 12-inch vinyl in the very limited fan edition "No Kings - No Masters".

DESTRUCTION's massive career has seen many successes, with the band hitting stages at the world's biggest festivals around the world like Hellfest, Wacken Open Air, Graspop Metal Meeting and México Metal Fest.

DESTRUCTION, known as one of the "Teutonic Four", alongside KREATOR, SODOM and TANKARD, were reunited with the other three acts at the "Klash Of The Ruhrpott" concert on July 20 in Gelsenkirchen, Germany.

In a January 2023 interview with Felipe Canales of Chile's iRock, DESTRUCTION bassist/vocalist Schmier was asked if he and his DESTRUCTION bandmates have ever considered changing their sound in order to reach a wider audience. He responded: "In Germany, we say, 'Don't change your winning recipe. Stick to the guns. Stick to what you can do best.' And for me, what I can do best is playing thrash metal. Every album we do sounds a little bit different, but it always will sound like DESTRUCTION.

"When you get older, it's very easy to slow down," Schmier explained. "A lot of musicians, when they [get] older, they wanna slow down; they wanna play blues; they wanna play more mellow music. For me, that's never been the case. I think the older you [get], the more you go crazy about it. You wanna still show the young kids how it's done. When we go out there to the festivals, we compete… To all those young bands, I could be [their] father, so I have to be the role model. So that's how I see it. Slowing down and changing something is not what we do."

As for whether it's harder for him to play physically challenging music as he gets older, Schmier said: "It's like in football — the old, experienced player, he has the feel for it. The young player runs more and runs faster. The old player has the eye and the brain. And it's the same in music. Of course I have to train harder to go on stage, but my experience of my age is great because I have better voice control. I know more what I want. I know what I don't want and where the band belongs. So this experience of a certain 40 years in the music business is, of course, a great one."

DESTRUCTION's latest studio album, "Diabolical", came out in April 2022 via Napalm Records.

In August 2021, DESTRUCTION officially parted ways with founding guitarist Michael "Mike" Sifringer and replaced him with Martin Furia. The Argentinian-born, Belgian-based Furia is best known for his work as sound engineer and producer for such bands as NERVOSA and EVIL INVADERS.

Sifringer was the only member of DESTRUCTION to have remained constant throughout the band's career. Schmier appeared on DESTRUCTION's first three albums before exiting the band and being replaced by POLTERGEIST vocalist André Grieder. André's sole recorded appearance with DESTRUCTION was on the "Cracked Brain" album, which came out in 1990. Schmier rejoined DESTRUCTION in 1999.

DESTRUCTION 2024 is:

Schmier - Bass, Vocals
Martin Furia - Guitars
Randy Black - Drums
Damir Eskić - Guitars

Photo credit: Jennifer Gruber

NEW ALBUM – NEW SINGLE – NEW VIDEO!!!

Today marks the kick-off to our WEEK OF DESTRUCTION!
Yes, you saw it coming, our...

Posted by Destruction on Tuesday, November 12, 2024

In a new interview with France's Loud TV, SEPULTURA guitarist Andreas Kisser, whose wife Patricia Perissinoto Kisser passed away in July 2022 after a battle with colon cancer, was asked if the experience of losing his longtime partner accelerated the decision for SEPULTURA to embark on a farewell tour. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Yeah, for sure. Definitely. The death of Patricia, my late wife, was two years and a half ago, [due to] cancer. The process was very painful, very difficult, of course, as we can imagine, but it's been an open experience, to know myself, my family, new opportunities to talk about life because of dying.

"In Brazil is one of the worst places to die," he continued. "A lot of people are forgotten from society, going through the same problems with cancer and very difficult illness and stuff. And I created this movement to inspire and stimulate people in Brazil to talk about dying in many respects, about euthanasia, about suicide, assisted suicide, about palliative care, especially, because in Brazil, we're still growing up on that manner, because my wife, she had the palliative care and stuff. We were privileged to give that, because of health insurance and all that stuff. But most of the people in Brazil, they don't have that. So we started this movement, this campaign, a festival [Patfest], a music festival as well that we did for two years now. I just did the third edition now to raise funds for the people who take and give palliative care to the favelas [impoverished neighborhoods in Brazil] in Rio, for the very poor people that are forgotten for society and stuff, and at the same time stimulate people to talk about dying. I learned that death is my biggest professor. I'm learning so much about life because I respect finitude. We cannot control that. We're all gonna die. You're gonna die. The camera's gonna die. [Laughs] Any electronic [device will eventually stop working]. So it is what it is. We cannot choose. What we can choose is to live the moment. The intensity of the present is much more intense if you respect finitude.

"If you go to a movie and it doesn't have any end, there's no meaning, there's no message," Andreas explained. "A book, anything you do in your life, a job, this interview, we have to finish. The way we think [in] phases — beginning, cause and effect; beginning, middle and conclusion. And that's life. Let's respect that. Let's not try to live forever, AI, robots, and all that stuff. Let's be human and respect finitude, respect dying."

Andreas went on to say that grief is a long and complex process that has its own timetable and that we must keep living while we grieve.

"It's been very amazing for me, the experience I had with my family, my wife, and SEPULTURA now," he said. "It's something very respectful that we give to ourselves, the respect for the present and the life we have. Of course, it's a very difficult situation, very painful, a lot of sadness and sorrow, the grief, but at the same time, there's a beauty around everything. We should talk about dying with our family, the last wishes, how are we gonna do the dividing the money for the people who stay, the documents you need to sign.

"People have this idea if you talk about dying, bad things are gonna happen and stuff. It's totally the opposite. Peace," he continued. "And Patricia, my wife, she used to talk about dying every time. Like very normal. She would say, 'When I die, please don't forget my pillow. Don't forget my blanket. And put my pajamas and socks on my feet because I don't wanna get cold. And we all laughed about that. But when she died, we did that.

"I cannot explain in words the feeling of fulfilling a wish of your loved one. Simple stuff, simple things. And it brings peace to you. It brings understanding. It brings a thankful feeling for life for her to be a part of our life for so many years. I have three kids [with her], and a lot of the Andreas I used to be died with her. But I'm discovering another one that are coming up out of it. It's a very — I don't know how I can describe it — an amazing experience. It is what it is. That's life. Let's live while we are alive. [Living] is taking care of ourselves to the last minute. That's why the palliative care comes into [play]."

Kisser stressed the importance of palliative care in order to ensure the seriously ill receive the right level of care at the right time so they can make the most of each day they have.

"I was shocked to hear from the doctors in Brazil, when everything was happening with my wife, that only a small percentage of the hospitals in Brazil have a palliative crew," he said. "I said, 'What the fuck, man? How do you do it? You improvise or you just let [your patients] die or just [give them] morphine?'

"The palliative care, it's everything," Andreas continued. "Medicine in general should be palliative, taking care of ourselves. We all live with illness in our life, and we have to deal with that. COVID, for instance. We're dealing with it. We're learning how to deal. It's not cured, but we learn how to deal with it. And that's the type of thinking that we need to change, especially in Brazil, and to talk about dying, like I said, euthanasia, assisted suicide and so many different things that most of the Brazilians, they don't even know that it exists, the possibility, while our neighbors in Ecuador, in Chile or Argentina are much more advanced on those matters. Same in the U.S., same in Europe, like Switzerland or Belgium, on different places. I don't know about France, but I believe there's a discussion that went through or is still going… In Portugal recently as well.

"So we need to stimulate people in Brazil to talk about it, at least to have a discussion, so we can advance as a country and improve our dying process," Kisser added. "We can really improve a lot. We can work and improve a lot this process. But it's growing. The last three years after the festival, I went public with my experience talking about my wife and everything that happened, on interviews and everything, during the festival and et cetera, and we feel it's improving. So we're very happy that we could turn our grief as a family and friends into something alive like that, so positive and so inspired, at least for our family and myself. And it's growing, so let's see."

Asked if he thinks he will spend more time in the future talking about the importance of palliative care and organizing events to raise awareness and funds to support the development of hospice and palliative care, Andreas said: "I hope so. I will have more time, definitely, to put on that, without SEPULTURA, without all the touring. Of course, I'm gonna keep working with music, different bands or whatever, different situations, soundtracks or who knows. I'm still studying music a lot, especially acoustic guitar. I have so many different ideas. But I don't wanna make any decisions now. I wanna enjoy what I'm doing today, hence live in the present. [Laughs] But just [be] aware of the possibilities, [so] when it's time to decide I'll be a little more ready to know what to do. But it's great that we're on this [farewell] tour now and enjoying the moment. It's fantastic."

Patricia had just turned 52 years old one day before her death.

Andreas and the couple's three children, Giulia, Yohan and Enzo, announced Patricia's death in a social media post. They wrote: "It is with deep sadness that we have to share that Patricia Perissinoto Kisser passed away this morning. She will remain in our memories forever."

Andreas and Patricia had been together for 32 years after first getting together in 1990. They married in 1994.

In June 2022, Andreas left SEPULTURA's European tour due to what was described at the time as a "family emergency." He was temporarily replaced on the road by Jean Patton of fellow São Paulo, Brazil-based heavy metal act PROJECT46.

SEPULTURA's current lineup comprises Kisser, vocalist Derrick Green, bassist Paulo Xisto Pinto Jr. and drummer Greyson Nekrutman.

SEPULTURA kicked off its farewell tour on March 1, 2024 at Arena Hall in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. The sold-out show marked the band's debut performance with Nekrutman, who previously played with SUICIDAL TENDENCIES.

AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd made his return to the live stage on November 2, performing the band's classic song "T.N.T." with a local party act in New Zealand. Video of the performance can be seen below (courtesy of Marco's HIGH VOLTAGE Music Channel).

In a November 2023 interview with New Zealand's Stuff, Rudd said that he was unable to join his AC/DC bandmates at the Power Trip festival in California last year, but that he was "look[ing] forward to playing with them again in the future."

Sitting behind the drum kit for AC/DC's appearance at Power Trip in October 2023 and on the spring/summer 2024 European tour was Matt Laug. The 56-year-old Laug is an American drummer who has played with many bands/artists such as Alanis Morissette, Alice Cooper, SLASH'S SNAKEPIT and Vasco Rossi. Matt moved to Los Angeles after graduating from South Florence High School in 1986 and after attending college in L.A., Matt became a sought-after studio drummer. In 2001, Laug supported AC/DC as part of SLASH'S SNAKEPIT on the North American and European legs of the "Stiff Upper Lip" tour.

When AC/DC announced in September 2023 that Laug would play drums for the band at Power Trip, it offered no explanation for the absence of Rudd, who rejoined AC/DC for the recording of the group's comeback album, "Power Up", which came out in November 2020.

Rudd was ousted from AC/DC when he was sentenced to eight months of home detention by a New Zealand court in 2015 after pleading guilty to charges of threatening to kill and drug possession. He was replaced on the band's "Rock Or Bust" tour by Chris Slade, who had previously served as AC/DC's drummer between 1989 and 1994, playing on the album "The Razor's Edge".

Rudd, who appeared on all but three of AC/DC's 18 previous studio albums, toured in support of his 2014 solo debut, "Head Job". It was the release of that album that led indirectly to Rudd's arrest, with the drummer allegedly so angry at a personal assistant over the way the record was promoted that he threatened to have the man and his daughter killed.

During an appearance on a November 2020 episode of Dean Delray's "Let There Be Talk" podcast, Rudd confirmed that the seed for his return to AC/DC was planted at the funeral of AC/DC rhythm guitarist Malcolm Young in 2017. Rudd, singer Brian Johnson and bassist Cliff Williams all attended the ceremony. At the time, the three musicians were considered former members of AC/DC, with Johnson and Williams both having left in 2016 for health reasons, while Rudd was sidelined in 2015 with various legal issues.

"Angus and I had a good chat at Mal's funeral and caught up," Rudd recalled. "[After I played on the 'Rock Or Bust' record] there was crazy shit going on, but since then, I'd got my shit together and put a little band together, I went to Europe and was doing a bit of playing and stuff and did [a solo] album. The guys knew I was still playing, so when I caught up with Angus at the funeral, we were sort of chatting away and somehow, he just sort of [asked me] if I was up for [doing a new AC/DC] album. And he started writing the next day. He went in the studio and started writing straight away."

Angus told Rolling Stone that it was indeed Malcolm's funeral that helped heal old wounds.

"[Phil] was there and in good shape," the guitarist said. "He was keeping himself well together. He was getting therapy and sorting himself out. It was really good."

Johnson added that he and the rest of AC/DC welcomed Rudd with open arms. "I speak for all the boys with Phil," he said. "We defend Phil to the hilt. What happened up there, that's not the Phil we know. That was just something else. He's really looking brilliant now and doing everything great."

Ex-W.A.S.P. guitarist Chris Holmes kicked off his current U.K. tour on Thursday, November 7 at the legendary Cart & Horses pub in London. He played a mix of W.A.S.P. classics and standout tracks from his recent solo albums, and at the end of the night he was joined on stage by Drew Carter of New Zealand metallers DEATHNIR for a run-through of the AC/DC classic "Highway To Hell". A full video of the performance has been shared by the Decibel Shower Facebook page and can be seen below.

In a September 2024 interview with Cassius Morris, W.A.S.P. leader Blackie Lawless was asked if he has seen Holmes's documentary film "Mean Man: The Story Of Chris Holmes", written and directed by French filmmakers Antoine De Montremy and Laurent Hart. The project, which was made available on Blu-ray, DVD and VOD in January 2021, was born in 2014 after De Montremy and Hart had an opportunity to meet and direct Holmes in a music video for the Holmes-penned song "Let It Roar" in Cannes. At that time, the now-66-year-old rocker had more or less disappeared from the music scene, leaving his home in the U.S. to seek a new beginning with his wife Sarah in France.

Blackie said about "Mean Man": "I have no desire to see anything that has to do with that. First of all, you wanna base anything you're gonna do in life on truth. And you know what? It may be his truth, but your truth doesn't necessarily make it fact. Anybody can have their own truth, but that doesn't make it real. And when somebody's spewing a bunch of hate because they can't create on their own… Listen, if the guy had genuine creativity, he wouldn't give two hoots about what I do. So, that's the yardstick on how you judge those things. And if somebody's coming from a perspective where they're not telling the truth, I'm not gonna waste my time on that."

Asked if that was the reason that he didn't participate in the documentary, Blackie said: "Well, I don't recall being invited, but if I would have, I wouldn't have done it. Like I said, I've got no desire to do something… I mean, if it's based on truth, then I might have taken a look at it. But for a guy to do a tutorial for an hour, or however long it was, to sit and give just their side of the story that's not based on truth, why do I wanna be part of that?"

Blackie also once again dismissed the possibility of a reunion of W.A.S.P.'s original lineup — Lawless, Holmes, guitarist Randy Piper and drummer Tony Richards — for the tour celebrating the 40th anniversary of the release of W.A.S.P.'s first album. He said: "Allow me to be unapologetic for just a moment. The band that I have now… Mike Duda is one of the best bass players in the world. Doug Blair is one of the best lead guitar players in the world. Aquiles Priester, his drumming speaks for itself. I'm fortunate enough to be in a band with world-class musicians, the guys that are way better than me. And I look around sometimes during the show at I think to myself, 'Wow, I get to play with these guys.' And I'm being honest here — they're far better than me. So why would I wanna go back to something that would be taking a step backwards?"

Lawless continued: "I understand that the hardcore fanbase likes to romance ideas in their heads. I totally get that. But when we started doing [W.A.S.P.'s fourth studio album, 1989's] '[The] Headless [Children]', I was moving in directions that required musicianship that the original band could not do. I don't mean to be overly hard. It's just, again, these are just facts. If you want to do stuff where the degree of difficulty is up there, then you're gonna have guys that can play it and play it consistently. And then by the time 'Headless' was done and I moved into [1992's] 'The Crimson Idol', forget it. I mean, look at who played on that record. Your average run-of-the-mill musician is not gonna be able to do that. And again, I was privileged to work with guys that were world-class musicians. So if you're gonna get that level of creativity, professionalism, it's almost impossible to duplicate in an original situation. If that band grows together, then yes, you could. But if the band does not grow together, then it's never gonna happen. And it doesn't matter whether it's us or what band it is, that's gonna be the same every time."

Lawless also addressed the perception that W.A.S.P. is essentially his solo project, with hired guns helping him achieve his vision. He said: "No man's an island — no man. And I have gone to great lengths to speak out about the guys that are in this band to make sure that the world knows who they are. At no point have I ever wanted this to be just my situation.

"I grew up playing sports," he explained. "To me, team is everything. And I'm much more happy and comfortable, relaxed, it's a much more enjoyable situation in a team surrounding. So that's always been the thing that I focused on the most. What the world sees is when they look at the records, they see me as the primary songwriter. So I think that that's a lot of where they get that from. But when it comes to making those records, you see that I don't play all those instruments. I do what I do, but those other guys, they're doing their fair share of contributing to making those records what they are."

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

Back in January 2021, Holmes was asked by Cassius Morris if he had approached Lawless about participating in the making of "Mean Man: The Story Of Chris Holmes". Chris said: "I didn't, but Antoine did, and he said [Blackie] didn't have the time to do it."

Explaining that his relationship with Blackie is "over" and calling Lawless a "narcissist," Chris said: "When I left [W.A.S.P. for the final time] — or I really never left. [Blackie] just got another guitar player. They never even told me [I was out]. I found out that they were doing shows [without me]. So, I was, like, 'Wow. I must be out.' He never called me. Since then, I've dug in and found out some shitty stuff, what happened to me, and he knows that I know that, and he probably will never wanna talk to me ever again."

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

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

As far as Holmes is concerned, Lawless is solely to blame for him not getting his due from the W.A.S.P. records that he was involved with.

"If it wasn't for me, he wouldn't be where he's at — I guarantee you that," Chris said. "And then he screws me like that. It's all right. It's been a long time. It's something that I will never, never get over. I'll take that to the grave with me. I'm pissed thinking about it.

"Anyway, that's the kind of person he is. Everybody thinks, 'Wow! He's got the greatest…' Yeah, he's got an outrageous voice, Blackie, yeah, but he turns his back on his bandmembers real bad — he screws 'em. I'm the only guy in the band that ever came back to get screwed twice, which I did. I came back for 'Kill.Fuck.Die', and I was promised half publishing on that album. Didn't get crap. Knowing that I couldn't get in to see what was written in the contracts, of course. That's why I wrote the song 'Two Faced Mother Fucker'. It's about him. It's on 'Shitting Bricks'. And I've got one on the new album. It's called 'The Truth'. It says, 'You can't handle the truth.' It's on my new [album]. I'm gonna write a song about him on every album."

Addressing the possibility of his return to W.A.S.P., Holmes said: "Everybody asks me about a W.A.S.P. reunion. Sure, I'd love to play a W.A.S.P. reunion — if he pays me my publishing. If it doesn't, then he can have a reunion with Randy Piper, Johnny Rod and [Steve] Riley and everybody else. I'm not gonna play it. It's not worth it.

"I came back to W.A.S.P. in '95. I got screwed again," he added. "Screw me once, screw me twice — you're not gonna screw me a third time."

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

We are starting the promotion for UK by the first one and what a venue
Cart& Horses in London

Chris Holmes...

Posted by Catherine Holmes on Sunday, September 22, 2024

Alt-rock veterans Smile Empty Soul have unveiled their lyric video for single, "We All Fall Down". The track is a preview of their upcoming EP, Swan Song, which is scheduled for release at the end of the year through TLG|ZOID distributed by Virgin Music Group.





"We all live unique lives, but what we have in common is that life kicks the shit out of us all in various ways. Learning how to overcome that is key to survival and the ability to thrive," says Sean Danielsen.




The song was written and produced by Sean Danielsen, engineered by Brian Scheffer, mixed and mastered by Eddie Wohl.


Smile Empty Soul live:


November
9 – Modesto, CA – Twin Rivers Saloon
10 – Hollywood, CA – The Whiskey
13 – Houston, TX – Warehouse Live Midtown
14 – New Orleans, LA – Southport Music H

To commemorate this year's Veterans Day, LIFE OF AGONY guitarist Joseph Zampella, a.k.a. Joey Z., has released an instrumental solo song called "The Fields".

This past Friday (November 8),Zampella took to his social media to write: "On Monday, November 11th, (Veterans Day),I'll be releasing the first of many Instrument tracks that I've been writing and recording for TV, film and video. Although these compositions are a slight departure from my beloved metal genre, they carry my heart and soul, whether ominous or uplifting. This first track titled, 'The Fields', is my way of honoring all of the brave individuals that have fought for our freedom, and the freedom of others around the world. I'm dedicating it to all those we've ever lost in battle, those who still suffer mentally and physically due to post war traumas, and those who stand proud as our armed forces, the heroes to our families, friends and country. I'm also dedicating it to all the victims, families and brave souls who endured the horrible and tragic events on 9/11/2001.

"The track will be available on all platforms including iTunes, Apple Music, Spotify, etc. on Veterans Day! #veterans #heroes #army #navy #airforce #marines #usa #tribute #thankful #brave #armedforces #veteransday #intstrumentalmusic #joeyzampella #honor @zamplives @catwitchnyc".

As previously reported, LIFE OF AGONY will embark on the "Up Close & Unplugged" European tour in December. The eight-date trek will kick off on December 6 in Kinrooi, Belgium and conclude on December 18 in Wrocław, Poland.

Two months later, LIFE OF AGONY and BIOHAZARD will team up for the first time ever for an international co-headlining tour. The 24-city trek will launch on February 25, 2025 in Nottingham, England, and will hit 10 countries before the tour wraps March 29, 2025 in Amsterdam.

In a recent interview with Ryan of the 97.7 QLZ radio station, Zampella was asked if there are any plans for a follow-up to LIFE OF AGONY's "The Sound Of Scars" album, which came out in 2019. He responded: "Well, this song [the recently released LIFE OF AGONY single 'The Crow (In Memory Of B.L.)'] I feel like gave us a little bit of a boost, which is great. We're a band that we really feel out when that writing magic is happening. We have a lot of plans for 2025, so we'll be together a lot. So I'm sure we'll be talking about some new music or sharing some new music with each other. It happens all the time."

He continued: "When it comes to a full record, for us it's the timing of our lives that really plays a huge role in that. It's just timing, and we have a lot of plans and some big tours being announced soon that we're gonna be doing in 2025. One I could talk about is we're gonna be doing the 'Ugly' album in its entirety. We're gonna do an 'Ugly' 30th-anniversary tour. We did [an anniversary tour for] 'River Runs Red' [LIFE OF AGONY's debut album] last year, in 2023. 'Ugly' is another fan-favorite record; it was our second record. And we've been asked a whole bunch of times by fans and by industry people if we're gonna do a 30-year tour for that album, because the 'River Runs Red' tour was so successful. And it looks like we're gonna do it. So there's some nice, big plans happening in 2025, so we'll get to spend a lot of time together, which is great."

"The Crow (In Memory Of B.L.)" was released in late August. The track's accompanying music video, which was directed by Derek Soto/Sinestra Studios, with motion graphics by The Dor Brothers, can be seen below.

LIFE OF AGONY has a long history of paying homage to the films that helped shape their teenage years. Back in 1995, the band covered SIMPLE MINDS' "Don't You (Forget About Me)" on the group's "Ugly" album; the song was made famous by the movie "The Breakfast Club". In 1997, on their album "Soul Searching Sun", a music video for the song "Desire" incorporated visuals reminiscent of Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining". That tradition continues with "The Crow (In Memory Of B.L.)", which pays tribute to the fallen star Brandon Lee, who tragically lost his life during the filming of the cult classic "The Crow", released 30 years ago.

"The Crow (In Memory Of B.L.)" was recorded in New York City at the legendary Sear Sound studio, best known for hit albums by David Bowie and John Lennon, as well as at The Nest Studio in Long Island, New York. The song was recorded, produced, and mixed by Zampella (who also co-produced the group's last album "The Sound Of Scars"). The song was mastered by Grammy Award winner Howie Weinberg (NIRVANA, SMASHING PUMPKINS, RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS).

With 2024 marking the 30th anniversary of Brandon Lee's "The Crow" film, and all of the controversy surrounding the new Bill Skarsgård remake, LIFE OF AGONY felt inspired to go back and give respect to the '94 film that made such a huge impact on them during their early years.

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A post shared by Joey Zampella (@joeyzampella)

Jason Bonham has addressed his absence from the last few shows of Sammy Hagar's "The Best Of All Worlds" tour due to a family issue. The drummer was replaced at the last several dates of the trek by Kenny Aronoff, who had previously played with Hagar, bassist Michael Anthony and guitarist Joe Satriani in CHICKENFOOT.

Earlier today (Sunday, November 3),Bonham released the following statement via social media: "I wanted to take a moment to explain my absence over the past few weeks. As many of you know, my mother has been facing some serious health issues, and it's been an incredibly challenging time for our family. I'm grateful to share that she's on the mend and has been discharged from the hospital! She's now home and recovering, which brings me immense relief.

"It was truly difficult to step away from 'The Best Of All Worlds' tour with only four shows left. The energy, the connections, and the experiences were nothing short of incredible, but my priority had to be with my mother during her fight for life.

"I'm excited to announce that JBLZE [JASON BONHAM'S LED ZEPPELIN EVENING] will be back on tour starting November 19th! I can't wait to see all of you and share this journey together once more.

"Thank you for your understanding and love. See you soon!

"Much love, JB".

In early September, Hagar told Guy "Favazz" Favazza of the St. Louis, Missouri radio station KSHE 95 about how he hooked up with Kenny: "Well, I've known Kenny for a long time. Kenny has been my backup drummer for about — not just me. You talk to Billy Gibbons, you talk to anybody, they're gonna tell you that he's their backup drummer because he's the only guy that you can hand a setlist of 24 songs and in 24 hours he can play 'em."

Sammy clarified that he didn't know ahead of time that Kenny was going to be stepping in for Jason. "Jason's [family emergency] was a sudden thing," he explained. "His mother had a stroke and went into a coma and it's serious. So [his] whole family went over there [to the United Kingdom]. And he held out for two or three days, and he says, 'I gotta go. I gotta go.' I said, 'You go. Go.' So we told Kenny. He had about 24-hour notice. And he came in the first night. He got there at six in the morning. We played that night in Cincinnati. And he did a 90-percent perfect show. I swear to you, I make more mistakes every night than he did. So that's big hats off to this guy."

Aronoff replaced Chad Smith in CHICKENFOOT's touring lineup from 2011 to 2012. Smith was forced to step away from CHICKENFOOT's touring activities due to his commitments with the RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS.

Jason Bonham spent nearly a decade touring as JASON BONHAM'S LED ZEPPELIN EXPERIENCE before changing the band's name to JASON BONHAM'S LED ZEPPELIN EVENING. Bonham later explained that the switch was prompted by a request from the LED ZEPPELIN camp, who wanted to use the "Experience" name for a project involving the archive of ZEP live recordings.

JASON BONHAM'S LED ZEPPELIN EXPERIENCE was formed in 2009 to pay tribute to Bonham's father, legendary LED ZEPPELIN drummer John Bonham, who died in 1980 at the age of 32.

Jason launched JASON BONHAM'S LED ZEPPELIN EXPERIENCE two years after taking part in LED ZEPPELIN's one-off performance at London's O2 Arena tribute concert for friend and Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun. The rare live set, which saw Jason behind the drums in place of his late father, was released in 2012 as "Celebration Day".

Thank you for all your prayers and heartfelt messages ❤️ @mrjimmylzr @dorianheartsongjblze @jamesdylanjblze @ledzeppelin #life #fight

Posted by Jason Bonham on Sunday, November 3, 2024

During an appearance on a recent episode of the GUNS N' ROSES-centric "Appetite for Distortion" podcast, original FOREIGNER frontman Lou Gramm was asked for his initial opinion of Axl Rose's voice when he first heard GUNS N' ROSES' music. Lou responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I thought the music was very good, just sloppy enough to acknowledge that they were very spontaneous in their playing. And it was very good music, honestly, and I think the songs were good too. Axl's voice — he had a great range, but I could tell, because they toured a lot too, I could tell that he was damaging his vocal cords simply by the way he sang. And I know that when I sing, towards the end of the night, some of my high range starts to go a little bit. You kind of have to acknowledge the characteristics of your voice, and when they're tired, if you keep pushing them at that level, they're damaged and you shouldn't be singing for the next six months. Your nose and throat doctor will tell you that they need rest and time to heal and then get supple again, because a lot of times when you when you sing too often and too hard, there's something called nodes that develop on your vocal cords, and they're like little tiny hard calluses. And when you go to sing a note, air will come out, not the note."

The members of the classic lineup of FOREIGNER finally got inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame on October 19. Lou, keyboardist Al Greenwood and bassist Rick Wills were present to accept the award, while Mick Jones and Dennis Elliott sat out the ceremony. (Jones's daughter, Annabelle Dexter-Jones, was on hand to help accept the award.) Ian McDonald and Ed Gagliardi died in 2022 and 2014, respectively.

The Rock Hall induction ceremony included an all-star performance of FOREIGNER music featuring Sammy Hagar, Slash, Chad Smith, Demi Lovato and Kelly Clarkson. Lovato, Slash, Smith and FOREIGNER's current touring lineup played "Feels Like The First Time", with Hagar joining in for "Hot Blooded". Lovato took over the lead vocal for "Feels Like The First Time", followed by "Hot Blooded" with Hagar singing while being assisted by current FOREIGNER singer Kelly Hansen. Clarkson and Gramm then sang a duet of "I Want To Know What Love Is".

This past February, Jones revealed on social media that he was battling Parkinson's disease, which explained his absence from FOREIGNER's live shows since 2022.

Elliot skipped the Rock Hall induction due to issues with the event schedule. Billboard magazine reported one of those issues was that only band members — and not their wives — would be allowed to walk the red carpet. But Elliot denied that in two Facebook posts on October 19 and October 21. "I DIDN"T SAY ANYTHING ABOUT THE RED CARPET!" he wrote in all caps. "I WAS UNHAPPY WITH THE SCHEDULING."

The induction ceremony was held at the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland, Ohio. It aired live on Disney+. An edited three-hour prime-time special will follow, premiering on New Year's Day on ABC, and become available for streaming the following day on Hulu and Disney+.

The female-fronted metal band AraPacis have announced the release of their latest album, Nucleus Of Chaos, on November 25, 2024, through Bullseye Records of Canada Inc. This will be available on all major streaming services. A CD edition will follow in January 2025, distributed by Bongo Beat Records, Montreal.


AraPacis has been a staple of the Montreal music scene since its formation in 2003 by guitarist Jerry Fielden. The band is known for blending the essence of 1970s Hard Rock and Progressive Rock with the powerful influences of 21st-century prog metal, doom metal, and metalcore. 


Fronted by Scots singer Michelle Macpherson and driven by the superlative keyboards of 13-year-old prodigy Gillan Macpherson-Briggs, son of Michelle and Jerry, who has been mentored by ex-Rainbow man David Stone, AraPacis brings a unique and powerful sound to the music scene.




The band has shared the stage with legendary acts such as Blaze Bayley, Uli Jon Roth, Anvil, Raven, The Agonist, Doro, and others. Over the years, AraPacis has released ten albums and three EPs, carving out a unique space in the metal community.





Nucleus Of Chaos features the following members and esteemed guest artists:


Michelle Macpherson - Lead Vocals
Jerry Fielden - Lead Guitar, Synthesizers, Backing Vocals, Mandolin
Jean Audet - Bass
Scott Haskin - Drums
Gillan Macpherson-Briggs - Backing Vocals, all Keyboards except for "Let In Love ft. Derek Sherinian"
Derek Sherinian - Guest Keyboards on "Let In Love ft. Derek Sherinian"
Phil Mius d'Entremont - Guest Cello on "Epitaph Epiphany"


AraPacis has collaborated with notable musicians such as Guy LeBlanc (RIP) of Camel and Nathan Mahl, Steph Honde of Di'Anno and Hollywood Monsters, Don Airey of Deep Purple, Rainbow, Jethro Tull, Vinny Appice of Black Sabbath and Dio, David Stone of Rainbow and Max Webster, John Gallagher of Raven, Kayla Dixon of Witch Mountain, Derek Sherinian of Dream Theater/Sons of Apollo/Whom Gods Destroy, and Mark Focarile of Mile Marker Zero, among others.


AraPacis is excited to share Nucleus of Chaos with their fans and the world. This album represents a fusion of their musical roots with modern influences, creating a unique and powerful sound. Be sure to catch their new singles and stay tuned for the full album release.


Visit

Endurance Music Group has announced the January 17, 2025 release of the 20th-anniversary deluxe edition of the double-platinum BUCKCHERRY album "15" on physical and digital formats. Released in 2005, the album featured the four-times-platinum single "Crazy Bitch" and the two-times-platinum single "Sorry". The deluxe edition will be released in North America on a two vinyl LP format featuring the album's 11 original songs as well as four bonus tracks recorded in 2005 and three newly recorded acoustic tracks by vocalist Josh Todd and guitarist Stevie Dacanay (a.k.a. Stevie D.)

The album is available for preorder in the U.S. at Amazon and at Real Gone Music.

Outside of North America, the album will be distributed by Earache Records on four exclusive LP colors, black vinyl and deluxe CD formats.

BUCKCHERRY will perform the "15" album in its entirety on all 2025 tour dates which begin in March.

Below is the track listing for the deluxe edition.

LP 1

Side A

01. So Far
02. Next 2 You
03. Out Of Line
04. Everything
05. Carousel

Side B

01. Sorry
02. Crazy Bitch
03. Onset
04. Sunshine
05. Brooklyn
06. Broken Glass

LP 2

Side A

01. Sorry (acoustic)
02. Brooklyn (electric)
03. Pump It Up (Elvis Costello
cover)
04. Back In The Day

Side B

01. Crazy Bitch (newly recorded acoustic)
02. Onset (newly recorded acoustic)
03. Sunshine (newly recorded acoustic)

Earlier this month, BUCKCHERRY entered a Nashville studio with producer Marti Frederiksen to begin recording the band's eleventh album.

On November 4, BUCKCHERRY shared the following message via social media: "Touched down in Nashville and TODAY we begin work on album number 11 with our good friend Marti Frederiksen + start makin' plans for 2025! You ready?! LET'S GOOOOOO!!"

Three months ago, BUCKCHERRY frontman Josh Todd spoke to the "Everblack" podcast about the progress of the songwriting sessions for the follow-up to the band's 2023 album "Vol. 10". He said: "We already got record eleven written. We have a few more songs that we've gotta… We're about three songs short, and we'll get that done. And we're gonna record in November. And we'll have our eleventh record out next year sometime, probably before the summer."

"Vol. 10" came out in June 2023. The 11-song LP featured 10 new BUCKCHERRY originals and, as a bonus track, a cover of the Bryan Adams classic "Summer Of 69". The album was produced by Frederiksen and recorded at Sienna Studios in Nashville. The album was released in North America by Round Hill Records, in Japan by Sony Japan, and by Earache Records for the rest of the world.

Frederiksen previously produced 2021's "Hellbound" as well as BUCKCHERRY's fourth album, "Black Butterfly", and co-wrote "Sorry", among other songs, with the band.

In November 2023, BUCKCHERRY released a new holiday song called "Tell 'Em It's Christmas".

BUCKCHERRY previously released another holiday song, "Christmas Is Here", back in 2010.

In the summer of 2020, BUCKCHERRY recruited JETBOY's Billy Rowe as its new guitarist. He joined the group as the replacement for Kevin Roentgen, who left BUCKCHERRY in July of that year.

In 2019, BUCKCHERRY enlisted Francis Ruiz as its new drummer. He joined the group as the replacement for Sean Winchester, who exited BUCKCHERRY after laying down the drum tracks on "Warpaint".

h studio album, Spirit Of The Wild, in May 1995 via Atlantic Records. Nugent has shared the video below, featuring a performance of the album track, "Lovejacker", filmed that same year at Walnut Creek Amphitheater in Raleigh, NC. Watch below:





Nugent previously dusted off a c

Big Talk has uploaded front-row video of W.A.S.P.'s entire November 10 concert at Royal Oak Music Theatre in Royal Oak, Michigan as part of the band's fall 2024 North American tour, dubbed "Album ONE Alive". Check out the footage below.

W.A.S.P.'s setlist for the show was as follows:

01. I Wanna Be Somebody
02. L.O.V.E. Machine
03. The Flame
04. B.A.D.
05. School Daze
06. Hellion
07. Sleeping (In The Fire)
08. On Your Knees
09. Tormentor
10. The Torture Never Stops

Encore:

11. Inside The Electric Circus / I Don't Need No Doctor / Scream Until You Like It
12. The Real Me (THE WHO cover)
13. Forever Free / The Headless Children
14. Wild Child
15. Blind In Texas

W.A.S.P. kicked off the "Album ONE Alive" tour on October 26 at Fremont Theater in San Luis Obispo, California.

2024 marks the 40th anniversary of the release of W.A.S.P.'s first album. To celebrate this classic metal LP, W.A.S.P. is, for the first time in 40 years, playing the entire effort from top to bottom, start to finish, on the "Album ONE Alive" tour. Support on the trek is coming from ARMORED SAINT.

Along with bassist Mike Duda and lead guitarist Doug Blair, whose tenures in the band are 29 and 26 years respectively, W.A.S.P. is joined by longtime drummer extraordinaire Aquiles Priester.

The 39-city run will make stops across North America in Vancouver, British Columbia; Toronto, Ontario; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Dallas, Texas; New York City; Orlando, Florida; and more before wrapping up on Saturday, December 14 at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles, California.

W.A.S.P. is again offering fans VIP tickets that give fans a chance to meet W.A.S.P. frontman Blackie Lawless, get a personal photo with Blackie, autographs and take part in a very personal question-and-answer session with Blackie. VIP tickets can be purchased at waspnation.myshopify.com.

In a June 2024 interview with Ultimate Classic Rock, Lawless once again spoke about complaints from some of the band's fans about the use of backing tracks during the group's live performances. Asked about some fans' belief that none of W.A.S.P. concerts are actually live, he responded: "Well, if they're crazy enough to believe it, that's their business. But if they genuinely feel like that, then don't go.

"Listen, God blessed me with this foghorn in my throat. Like anybody who's got one, we like showing 'em off — and I'm no different.

"I'm sorry if this sounds arrogant, but there will be times where I'm up there and I hear what's coming out of me, when I'm sustaining a note or something. I'm thinking to myself, 'Wow, that's pretty cool,'" he continued. "I'm not sure most people would have the opportunity to experience something like that in their lives. So from my perspective, I'm pretty appreciative of it. As I said, when you've got this thing that really not a lot of people can do, you like to show it. [Laughs]

"Let me add one more thing. I grew up listening to 'Live At Leeds' [by THE WHO]. Even though I didn't realize it at the time, there are overdubs on it. But it's pretty raw. It sounds like it was done by a three-piece band. For the most part, it's pretty realistic. But they don't do it like that anymore. What they were doing was giving you a reflection of 1970. They were giving you a snapshot of that timeframe. And that's what bands did. But when technology changed and we had the ability to make it sound bigger and better, who's not going to do that? I mean, you can do the 'Live At Leeds' version. We used to. Was it good? It was okay for what it was. But you know, if I'm going to see a show — and this is my personal opinion — I want that thing to sound like the record. I don't care what QUEEN says, or any of these other bands, 'Oh, we're doing that live.' No, you don't have 20 guys behind that stage singing. [Laughs] You just don't. They're all getting help out there. The bottom line is to give the audience a good show. Who cares how it gets there?"

Lawless added: "There's the argument that some of these girl singers out here now, they don't sing a note and they probably don't. Hey, listen, if I'm going to go see Yngwie [Malmsteen], I want to see Yngwie play. But there are some guys in some rock bands that if they didn't play and it was recorded, it wouldn't bother me one iota. Because I'm not going there to see that. I would be going to see the songs. But if somebody's got a dangerous instrument that they're really good at and can do something that few people can do? Yeah, I wanna hear 'em do it. So in my opinion, I'm giving them that, but I'm also giving them the best of both worlds."

This past June, Lawless was asked by Chris Akin Presents… if he would be open to any of the former W.A.S.P. members who played on the "W.A.S.P." album — guitarist Chris Holmes, guitarist Randy Piper and drummer Tony Richards — making guest appearances at any of the shows on the current tour. Blackie said: "I remember specifically having this conversation with someone who had been through the same thing. And he had basically lost his original band and had to rebuild it with studio musicians. And I remember him telling me at that point, he goes, 'These guys are ringers. They're killers, these musicians.' And it wasn't until years went by that I began to understand what he was saying and would compare his original band to what he had built later on with really ringers, musicians. And he was right.

"Here's what happened to us," Blackie continued. "When we started, and this goes back to what we were saying earlier on in the conversation about crafting your skill as a songwriter, getting better as a musician, learning how to use the studio as a tool, all those things you learn, the records get better, but the records get more complex. You reach a point where the musicianship starts to grow. Not everybody in the original incarnation of a band grows together, or do they grow in the same direction.

"Everybody's heard the age-old adage about, 'Well, we broke up because of musical differences,' and as corny as that may sound, a lot of times there is truth to that. And you really find people either growing in different directions or some guys can't keep up with the rest of the class. And so, for one reason or another, if nothing else, just attrition will start to weed guys out, especially when you start getting into more complicated material.

"You can't really compare the band… As much as whatever the first record that we did, the magic that is on that, and I recognize that not as a fan, but as the person who created it," Lawless added. "Again, you're never gonna see it like the average audience member does, because you can't — you're in a bubble. You cannot see it the way they see it. And you have to really open your ears and listen to them when they talk. Whether you agree or not, you have to listen and you have to try to take what they're saying into consideration. But when you reach a point where that band grows — in our particular case, you go from the first record to [1989's fourth album] '[The] Headless [Children]', the band that created that first record could not create 'Headless'. It was impossible. The musicianship that was required to make 'Headless' was vastly different than what created that first album. That first album was done with attitude and snot and spit. That was an angry record made by an angry band. But it kind of reminds me of… In the movie 'Rocky 3', where Rocky wants to fight Mr. T and Burgess Meredith, who plays his manager Mickey, he tells him, he goes, 'You can't,' he goes, 'You can't fight Mr. T. You can't win.' And Rocky goes, 'Yeah, I can. Yeah, I can.' He goes, 'Listen, kid.' He goes, 'Every fighter thinks they got one more good one in 'em.' He goes, 'The worst thing that could ever happen to a fighter happened to you. You got civilized.' That happens to rock bands.

"You mentioned early on in this conversation about the first five years of bands together. If you go back and you look at most bands that you like, their bones were made the first five years they were together," Blackie explained. "Almost every band fits that description. There are a few exceptions. And that doesn't mean that they cannot go on to make great records after that five-year period, but their bones are made those first five years they're together, and then they start moving and growing in different directions and it changes and it morphs.

"I appreciate the energy level that came out of that first [W.A.S.P.] record — I really do. But how do I go back to guys I've been playing with for 25 years and say, 'Your tenure in this band has been five times as long as the guys that I worked with originally, but you can't play on this tour.' I cannot do that. And secondly, we're gonna do the show in two halves. The first half is the first record in its entirety. The second half is like a best-of set. The band that's gonna play that first set has to be able to play that second set as well.

"Listen, I totally get the idea of the romance that people have in people's heads about what an original lineup could be, but me as the person who's on stage has to understand that no matter how much the audience may want that to be the way it was, my responsibility to them as ticket buyers, I have to give you the best show possible. I have that responsibility to you. No matter what you think it is you may want, I know I have to deliver for you. And again, especially when people have been out of the game for a long time, for us to do what is being suggested, that the original band do it, I would think that that would be pretty much an impossibility. Forget the marriage/divorce scenario that you first suggested [about reuniting the original lineup being akin to going on a family vacation with an ex-wife to make the kids happy], which is not altogether untrue, because there is a lot to be said for that, but as time goes on, unless you stay in this game and you stay active, you start to lose it. And we've all seen situations of something we thought would be great and then when you see it, you realize, no, it can never be what it once was. Unless you're working with people who have stayed constant, who stayed in shape, that have done whatever it is they need to do to keep that edge, they're gonna go out there and it's not gonna be very good. And I cannot do that to our fanbase."

Because of the extensive back injuries Lawless suffered during the European leg of W.A.S.P.'s 40th-anniversary tour, the band's previously announced 2023 U.S. tour was canceled.

W.A.S.P.'s massive European leg of the 40th-anniversary world tour wrapped on May 18, 2023 in Sofia, Bulgaria at Universidada Sports Hall.

W.A.S.P. completed its first U.S. tour in 10 years with a sold-out show on December 11, 2022 at The Wiltern in Los Angeles. This marked the 18th sold-out shows for the U.S. tour, which kicked off in late October 2022. W.A.S.P.'s performances included the return of the band's classic song "Animal (Fuck Like a Beast)", which hadn't been played live in over 15 years.

W.A.S.P.'s latest release was "ReIdolized (The Soundtrack To The Crimson Idol)", which came out in February 2018. It was a new version of the band's classic 1992 album "The Crimson Idol", which was re-recorded to accompany the movie of the same name to mark the 25th anniversary of the original LP's release. The re-recorded version also features four songs missing from the original album.

W.A.S.P.'s most recent studio album of all-new original material was 2015's "Golgotha".

SOULFLY headlined the "Max Cavalera Dynasty Show" on November 9 at the Marquee Theatre in Tempe, Arizona. Also appearing at the event was Max's long-running project NAILBOMB, with three guitarists, Max, Max's son Igor Amadeus Cavalera and Travis Stone. The three previously took part in the CAVALERA "Third World Trilogy" tour in Europe. Travis is also the guitarist of PIG DESTROYER. Johny Chow, formerly of STONE SOUR, FIREBALL MINISTRY and CAVALERA CONSPIRACY, handled the bass duties for NAILBOMB. Alex Cha, of PIG DESTROYER, was on sampler and Adam Jarvis, of MISERY INDEX and PIG DESTROYER, bashed the drums. Max and Igor Amadeus Cavalera were also seen playing with their other bands, GO AHEAD AND DIE and SOULFLY, as well as HEALING MAGIC. Richie Cavalera brought the raw power of thrash to the stage with his band INCITE. The phenomenal bass player Jackie Cruz of GO AHEAD AND DIE, who captivated everyone in America earlier this year on the GO AHEAD AND DIE debut tour, appeared with her band JADE HELM.

According to Setlist.fm, the setlist for the NAILBOMB portion of the show was as follows:

01. Wasting Away
02. Vai Toma No Cú
03. 24 Hour Bullshit
04. Guerrillas
05. Blind And Lost
06. Sum Of Your Achievements
07. Cockroaches
08. World Of Shit
09. Religious Cancer
10. Sick Life

Fan-filmed video can be seen below.

Earlier this month, it was announced that NAILBOMB will perform at next year's Alcatraz festival in August 2025 in Kortrijk, Belgium.

When the Tempe show was first announced in August, Max said in a statement: "I'm looking forward to playing with SOULFLY on the LAMB OF GOD Headbangers Boat, going to the Dominican Republic and back. We will be crossing the Southern-most moshpits of America to reach the cruise! The tour wraps with the 'Dynasty' show.

"Super excited to present the 'Max Cavalera Dynasty Show' in our hometown! This is a family steeped in the legacy of metal! Making this night unforgettable will be the special rare appearance of NAILBOMB! Maybe in the future, I'll even be able to bring this package to the tribe and other parts of the world!"

The sonic love child of Max and FUDGE TUNNEL's Alex Newport, this 1994 one-off album from their NAILBOMB union showcased dense, industrialized heaviness, seething with all-out punk aggression. In 13 tracks, the revered duo — crediting SEPULTURA alumni Andreas Kisser and Igor Cavalera, as well as FEAR FACTORY's Dino Cazares as players on the final product — managed to make an angry masterpiece that meets in the middle of what both SEPULTURA and FUDGE TUNNEL were doing at the time. But as for the visual representation of "Point Blank", the war-time photo of a Viet Cong woman with a gun to her head proves just as striking as the devastatingly heavy music within its sleeve.

Max told TeamRock in 2016 about "Point Blank": "It's just such a pissed-off album. Me and Alex were pissed at everything and decided to make a real fuck-the-world 'hate project.' It is one of the most 'fuck-you' albums of all time; it aims at everything, and destroys everything. So, that'd be cool — to be remembered as a person who came here to fuck shit up, NAILBOMB's perfect!"

NAILBOMB🤘🤘🤘👉👌

Posted by Jason Williams on Saturday, November 9, 2024

First announced show at Dark River Festival in July, Amoral, one of the leading technical death metal bands of the early 2000's in Finland, will reunite for a handful of shows next summer to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their second album, Decrowning. These will be Amoral's first shows together since disbanding in 2017.


Released in 2005, Decrowning is considered by many as the crown jewel of the band's discography. Decrowning saw the band take a huge leap in both technical as well as songwriting skills after their promising debut a year earlier.


“Our drive was quite something during that time”, guitarist Ben Varon remembers. “The band was pretty much our whole life, and the amount of practicing we were doing was intense, to say the least. We really wanted to show the world what we were all about, and to find our own place in the metal scene. Whereas on the debut I can still hear clearly the influences behind every riff, I feel like on Decrowning we were starting to find our own sound and writing more unique material.”




Amoral went on to expand its musical styles in multiple directions in the following years and with multiple lineups, but next summer's special shows are all about the early, death metal Amoral, performed by Varon, Niko Kalliojärvi (vocals), Silver Ots (guitar) and Erkki Silvennoinen (bass), who all played on Decrowning back in the day.


“It's so great to get to play some Techno-Thrash (as we like to call our style back then) again," guitarist Silver Ots says. Decrowning has been a benchmark in my musical career, and it has become clear during these 20 years how much the album has meant to quite a few people. Decrowning helped crystallize our vision, and pointed us towards many a great adventure. We played a lot of shows in support of that album, and our reputation as a ferocious live band wil

In a new interview with Greg Prato of Ultimate Guitar, EXODUS guitarist Gary Holt, who began filling in for Jeff Hanneman at SLAYER's live shows in 2011, and became the band's full-time co-guitarist as of 2013, while remaining a member of EXODUS, was asked what he remembers about his first show playing for SLAYER, and whether he felt any pressure. He responded: "The first show was Soundwave Festival in Australia, and I didn't really feel any pressure. I was super-prepared. I just went out and did my thing and had a great show. It was awesome. I mean, maybe in the back of your head, you feel a little pressure over whose shoes you're attempting to fill. Whose seat you're keeping warm, I should say. But I was ready. I was 100% ready for it."

Asked if SLAYER fans are really as ruthless as some people say they are, Gary said: "In all the countless shows I did, I've only had two hecklers. Two hecklers that I noticed. Most people looked at my participation like this: 'Get well soon, Jeff, ' which is how I looked at it, too. 'But while this is available to me, this is cool. I've watched SLAYER and Gary Holt play together. Let's check this out. This is going to be awesome.' And I had two genuine hecklers, one in Germany, this guy with this awful skullet. He was down there, like, flipping me off the whole show. And usually, I'm super thick-skinned — this doesn't bother me. But I sent a production manager down, and he was on the radio, and they were about to throw the guy out because he was starting to fuck up my show. And then the guy realized that, and he booked. But you know, dude, you know this wasn't a surprise fill-in. You knew before tickets went on sale, you still bought the fuckin' ticket. So, why are you here if it's that bad?"

"And then we played a show in Milan [Italy], and they had a guy front row, dead center stage, just screaming 'Fuck you!' at me, the whole show. And at that one, I jumped down on the subwoofers at the end of the show, like a foot from his face, and asked if he had anything to say now. And he didn't. He was pissing me off. Younger me might have thrown a punch. [Laughs] He was stuck. There was nowhere he could have gone. You know, 5,000 people behind him. But he had to get front row to make his thoughts known."

He added: "You paid for the ticket. You're a fuckin' moron if you hate it that much. But two people out of, like, countless shows. That's a pretty good track record, I guess."

Hanneman contracted necrotizing fasciitis, also known as flesh-eating disease, in January 2011 from a spider bite in his backyard. The infection ravaged the flesh and tissues of Hanneman's arm, leading to numerous surgeries, skin grafts and intense periods of rehab that forced him into semi-retirement and left him near death at several points.

Hanneman eventually died in May 2013 from alcohol-related cirrhosis of the liver. He is credited for writing many of SLAYER's classic songs, including "Angel Of Death" and "South Of Heaven".

Holt joined EXODUS in 1981, shortly after the band's formation, and has been the group's main songwriter ever since. Holt has performed on every EXODUS album, and is considered highly influential in the world of thrash metal.

KINGS OF THRASH, the band featuring former MEGADETH members David Ellefson (bass) and Jeff Young (guitar),performed at Principal Club in Thessaloniki, Greece on November 10 as part of KINGS OF THRASH's European tour. Fan-filmed video of the entire concert is available below.

Featured songs:

01. Orange Light (opening) 0:01
02. Into The Lungs Of Hell 0:10
03. Mary Jane 4:00
04. Train Of Consequences 8:44
05. Victory 13:11
06. Skull Beneath The Skin 17:53
07. 502 22:55
08. Drum Solo 26:20
09. In My Darkest Hour 31:04
10. Black Friday 37:53
11. Guitar Solo 44:11
12. Drum Solo 45:50
13. Bass Solo 46:12
14. These Boots Are Made For Walkin' (short version) 47:09

Encore

15. Wake Up Dead 50:19
16. Peace Sells 54:07

KINGS OF THRASH recently completed a couple of tours during which it performed MEGADETH's classic albums "Killing Is My Business… And Business Is Good!" and "So Far, So Good… So What!" A live CD/DVD package called "Best Of The West…Live At The Whisky A Go Go" was recorded and filmed live at the legendary Whisky A Go Go in West Hollywood, California on October 15, 2022 and was released in March 2023 via Cleopatra Records. The DVD, which was directed by Michael Sarna for Inmotion Entertainment, includes an appearance by another former MEGADETH member, guitarist Chris Poland.

"Let me put it this way: What's happening now is a win for all of us — Dave [Mustaine, MEGADETH leader] included," Young told Metal Edge in August 2023. "He gets to make money off the publishing from the MEGADETH songs we play. Dave knows that, so he's very aware of us."

Young continued: "He hates what KINGS OF THRASH is doing. But it doesn't matter because, eventually, we'll delete a lot of the MEGADETH from our set, and we'll keep writing new stuff. But Dave is feeling the heat because we're getting attention, and the KINGS OF THRASH album will be better than anything MEGADETH has done recently. And we're playing all the MEGADETH songs better than he has in years. It's not just me saying that — read the reviews."

In January 2023, Young told Ultimate Guitar that he and Ellefson had not received any feedback from Mustaine about their new band or their recent live shows. "We couldn't care less… and it's a win-win for him," Jeff said. "Because all the publishing, for example, on the 'Best Of The West', he's getting all that money. We're making him money and he doesn't have to do anything. So, we're performing the songs because they're part of our history and the fans want to hear them and we will benefit from that, and so will he, so it's a win-win. How much cooler can anything be than that? So, if he has something to say about it… I wouldn't imagine it would be very objective… not that anything he's ever said has been objective."

Jeff's recent comments were similar to those he made in 2022 when he told Thomas S. Orwat, Jr. of the Rock Interview Series that he and Ellefson were "really not concerned" about Mustaine's reaction to KINGS OF THRASH. "I don't pay attention," he said. "I haven't really paid attention or followed MEGADETH since, I think, I heard the 'Rust In Peace' album a couple of times, and then what you might hear on the radio or in the press.

"For us, this isn't about any spite or retaliation; it's a celebration of the music that we were all a part of, that we helped create," he explained. "And it's fun for us to do this.

"People said, 'You should do this.' And we said, 'Hey, yeah, you're right. We should do this.' It's a win-win — it's a win for us, and it's a win for [Mustaine], because any performance royalties, anything… If we did include live tracks, he would make money off that. It's promoting albums that hopefully fans will go back and buy, which is putting money right in his pocket. Especially 'Killing Is My Business', I think a lot of people are gonna go back and wanna rediscover that album after this tour.

"For us, it's all about positivity," Young added. "We're all in this moment — we're living in the moment, and we're not looking beyond. We're not reading any of the comments on Blabbermouth or any of the stuff. Because we know what our intent is, and intent is everything. And our intent's positive. We like playing together. We know we're crafting original music. We're not relying on this; we don't need to ride the coattails of this. This is just something that the fans wanted, and you wanna give fans what they want."

Ellefson told Yes! You CAN Play Guitar! that the intention behind KINGS OF THRASH is not to stick it to his former bandmates. "This is a celebration, not a retaliation," he explained. "This is a good moment. This is a happy moment, to celebrate these songs and these tracks and these records. So we go at it with just fun… It's, like, 'Wow. Wouldn't it be fun if we went out and played these records?' And we're doing it. So it's meant to be this celebration and bringing people together. And honestly, that was kind of always my role in MEGADETH. Dave [Mustaine] always called me 'The Ambassador', and I was always that guy, and I am that guy. So it's, like, let me just continue that role in our community and have one of good will."

Ellefson was fired from MEGADETH more than three years ago 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 Mustaine, alleging the MEGADETH leader 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.

Young's entire career with MEGADETH was spent recording and touring in support of the band's 1988 platinum-selling album "So Far, So Good...So What!"

Jeff made headlines in December 2009 for accusing Mustaine of, among other things, "dissing, exaggerating and just plain lying on some level about nearly every talented musician that has passed through his dysfunctional little ensemble." He also disputed Mustaine's claim in an interview that Young's drug problem led to MEGADETH's 1988 Australian tour being called off and the group being "banned" from performing in the country.

In some recent interviews, Ellefson suggested that the upcoming original material from KINGS OF THRASH, which also includes drummer Fred Aching as well as guitarist/vocalist Chaz Leon, may be released under a different moniker. "Because, look, it doesn't have to be thrash," he told KNAC.COM. "It doesn't even have to be from a MEGADETH origin, really. Even though that was kind of the origin story, it doesn't have to sound like that. It should be us, who we are now today, I think. So, we've decided KINGS OF THRASH, for sure, is this [touring project] playing the music of yesterday. And then we're just deciding now, okay, this new music, to fit within that, should it be Jeff Young and David Ellefson doing something together? You know — ELLEFSON-YOUNG."

🤘🏼🤩 enjoy this, Thrashers‼️

Posted by Kings of Thrash on Monday, November 11, 2024

In a new interview with China's SKYline, former MEGADETH guitarist Marty Friedman was asked what he thinks about younger players focusing too much on developing their techniques and possibly lacking emotional expression and creativity in their playing. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, technique is important. You have to be able to play the instrument. So, of course, practice of anything is good. But what I always say is you must create opportunities to play in front of other people. It doesn't matter if you're kind of a beginner, middle, super pro. When you play in front of people, your body says, 'I must play my best because I don't wanna mess up in front of people.' It's a pressure. That pressure makes what you play much more effective. If you're by yourself and you make a mistake or you play badly, there's no pressure, no one cares, nothing happens, but when you're playing in front of people, your body forces you to work harder. [It's] more [about] connection and your own personal fear of looking like an idiot. You don't wanna look like an idiot. So when you do that, you get much more effective practice time. So that means practice in front of your sister, your brother, your family, your friends. Say, 'Look, I'm trying to play this new song now. Listen.' That's much better than playing in your room. So even if you're in a very beginner's band, try to make little shows. Play in the park or play at a small club or restaurant because then what you do is gonna stick to your body."

Back in October 2023, Friedman spoke to Sweetwater's Nick Bowcott about the importance of establishing your own creative voice when playing guitar. He said in part: "That's the way to have an identity, really. It's one thing to practice, and practice, obviously, is extremely important. But at the same time, thinking of your own, 'Why am I doing this? What am I making music for? What do I have to say? What do I wanna say? What is my expression gonna be?' And it doesn't have to be all figured out at once. You learn it as you go. It changes as you go. But I think a lot of young people would benefit to know that you don't have to be as technically accurate as the latest TikTok guy who's just unbelievable. What you have to be is exactly yourself, what you want to represent yourself as. And I think a lot of people see the guy who practiced with the metronome for months and years and plays these flawless 16th notes at 200 beats per minute, and they say, 'That's what I wanna do.' And if that's your goal, that's absolutely fine, but you're not gonna get really good advice from me from that because it's very simple to do that — very, very simple to do that: take anything and practice it. What you and I are talking about today is how to somewhat develop your own voice over the same chords everybody has. Everybody has A, everybody has F, everybody has E and all these chords. And how do you do that? You just try a lot of different things, and you have to decide for yourself, 'I like this.'"

He added: "There's only one of you. Every single person is an individual. Every single person has something inside of them that's different from the next person. You think a lot of these guitar players, they sound the same. Well, it's because they're learning the same way. They're just learning these theories, and they're learning from lazy guitar teachers, and they're learning these techniques and tricks and sweep picking and tapping and all this. It's the same shit everybody's learning. So, at some point, you have to decide in very small detail which of these things that you really wanna represent yourself with. And I think I probably said that a thousand times."

Friedman's autobiography, "Dreaming Japanese", will arrive on December 3 via Permuted Press.

In July, Friedman announced 2025 U.S. tour dates in support of his latest solo album, "Drama", out now on Frontiers Music Srl. The trek will kick off on January 25 in Las Vegas and wrap up on February 22 in Los Angeles.

Marty's presence in the world of music, the world of guitar and Japanese pop culture is mystifying, bizarre, and nothing short of inspiring. His first major impact in music was in the game-changing guitar duo CACOPHONY, which he founded with equally enigmatic and now-legendary guitarist Jason Becker. He then spent 10 years as lead guitarist in the genre-defining thrash metal act MEGADETH before moving to Tokyo due to his love for Japanese music, language, and culture.

Pollstar, the leading trade publication for the live entertainment industry, is excited to unveil the nominees for its 36th Annual Pollstar Awards. A highlight of the three-day Pollstar Live! Conference, the world’s largest gathering of industry professionals, these awards recognize and celebrate the most innovative and successful artists, tours, companies, venues, and executives.


Winners will be announced at the awards ceremony at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles on February 19, 2025. Past celebrity hosts and attending winners include Dave Chappelle, Dave Grohl, Sir Elton John, Don Henley, Sebastian Maniscalco, Lars Ulrich, and more.


36th Annual Pollstar Awards Nominees in the "Rock Tour Of The Year" category include:




Blink-182’s “The More Time Tour”
Bruce Springsteen And The E Street Band’s “2024 World Tour”
Coldplay’s “Music Of The Spheres World Tour”
Foo Fighters’

In October 1994, MEGADETH and their label took a chance with a new venture. To celebrate the release of the "Youthanasia" album, the pioneering band established Megadeth, Arizona. It was the first-ever band web site on the Internet.

The web site — as Billboard (October 31, 2024) noted in a story celebrating its anniversary — was "based on the location of the band's new studio in Phoenix," and "was the concept for the first-ever artist web site. In addition to the chat room, called the Megadiner, the site featured an art and digital-postcard repository, Vic's Cactus Hut and Souvenir Shop, a newspaper titled Horrorscopes and links to videos and online-radio tracks."

"When the internet came into our lives, we really didn't understand it, just like anyone else," MEGADETH founder Dave Mustaine explains. "But we had the greatest opportunity because we were the ones chosen to be the guinea pig. When the people over at Capitol had shown us what this was, the basic layout and some of the artwork, the images were all cool. The woman that had done the images had done a bunch of great images and made it really look cool like the stickers that are on the back of campers and shit like that, so I thought it was really great and exciting. Again, no one really knew what it was, so once we clicked on the launch button and it started all whizzing and banging and all that kind of stuff, it was remarkable. There's been no looking back since."

Meanwhile, the multi-platinum-selling and Grammy Award-winning rockers just wrapped their U.S. tour which followed successful runs in Latin America (Peru, Chile, Argentina, Brazil and México) and Europe (Sweden, Italy, France, Germany, and more) and garnered stellar reviews (see below). Next up, MEGADETH will head into the studio to record new music, and look for additional dates to be announced for 2025.

Dave Mustaine interview:

Q: Without a model, how did you know what would be appealing to fans?

Mustaine: "You know, we didn't have a model to do that so the only way that I knew that this was going to be appealing to the fans was my experience as a tape trader in the very beginning. When I was in my first band PANIC, and then freshly into METALLICA, we would trade tapes with people around the world and people would write letters, if you could believe that — Jeez, snail mail back in the day — but we also had really cool other magazines that would tell us stuff that was happening. This cut that down from weeks to get a reply from one of your friends to just a couple of seconds. With the way that the web site was set up, we didn't really know much about it with the layout or anything like that because when you think about the normal blueprint of stuff and when they say that there is a room here and a room there, you think about a two-dimensional drawing and the overview, looking down into a floor plan. So for me, thinking about what all these different rooms are, it was, I don't know, maybe a misnomer. It didn't work for my mind's eye to see what the layout of what this Internet and this web site and this chat room would be, but I figured out that that stuff didn't matter, it was just a word. As we clicked on other stuff like photos and mp3s and then we got into more of the advanced stuff--the chat room and so on — that was something that just blew everybody's mind."

Q: There's a funny story about a call with Gene Simmons. Can you recount it?

Mustaine: "When Megadeth, Arizona was launched, a lot of people went there because they couldn't understand, the same way that I couldn't, what all of these rooms were on the internet and having a chat room and so on. So it was really exciting one by one as we would hear people that noticed it and I was blown away when I heard from one of my favorite musicians and rock stars, Gene Simmons. Legend has it, he said, 'I want a web site just like Mustaine's,' and you can imagine how stoked I was to hear that. And I had asked his manager, Doc McGhee, and I had gotten a video sent back to me of Gene repeating what he had said. So hats off to you, Gene. Love you guys!"

Q: Media and the internet has changed so drastically since the launch of the site. What/how as a band are you continuing to engage your audience?

Mustaine: "When we first started out, we were stuck having to write to our fans, whether it was typing letters out on typewriters if you can believe that, or getting a handwritten letter, and I used to do that a lot, in fact I got something that was a photocopy just the other day from one of my friends of a letter that I had sent them and it was really nostalgic and cool. But you're trying to conduct business and when you want to be an international band, it sucked. When we started playing, a lot of the bands we knew in town, they really didn't look at things like it was going to be an international thing. They were just worried about being popular in their hometown, which for me, never crossed my mind, I wanted to be the biggest band in the world, so we would write, write, write. We would trade tapes with people around the world. Every once in a while, I would pick up the phone and make a long-distance phone call and have to deal with the shock of seeing the phone bill later. But once the Megadeth, Arizona site started, that was great. We were able to push the launch button on this site and go into the Megadiner and like I said before, anyone that was a member of Megadiner in the beginning are definitely IT. They have tremendous street credibility. Now, with the chats and stuff that had happened with the launch of Megadiner, people have chat rooms everywhere. We were just in a chat room the other day getting tech support. You gotta remember that a chat room is a chat room. It was really neat to be able to develop all of this stuff together with the fans that we have become friends with. Megadeth.com was born out of Megadeth, Arizona and that has led to some really long lasting friendships. I'm looking forward to the party tonight."

Q: Will you be doing anything on the current site to honor the anniversary? Should fans be looking for any easter eggs?

Mustaine: "In honor of the 30th anniversary for 'Youthanasia' and Megadeth, Arizona, I participated in a chat room on the MEGADETH Discord server. Fans were able to ask questions and chat with me directly, in real time, just like back in the day. Before the chat started, everyone watched a stream of our old documentary 'Evolver', which was cool. We are also adding something special to Megadeth.com to pay tribute to Megadeth, Arizona and some of the rooms from the past like Megadiner, Vic's Cactus Hut, and the Digital Drive in if you haven't seen it already. There will be some easter eggs you can find if you play around with the page and search hard enough."

Q: The web site launch was tied to the release of "Youthanasia", which means that album is also celebrating an anniversary. The album was recorded in Arizona. How was the recording process different than in a studio in Los Angeles, New York or another big city?

Mustaine: "'Youthanasia' was recorded in Arizona, but it could've been the moon for all I care. We built the different sound enclosures for each artist, and we built a control room for Max Norman to work in, and we had to get this gigantic console and get that moved out to Arizona and into this control room we had built. That was cool if you were taking a shop class in high school or something, but having to go build a studio you have to build a record in... I don't know. I liked it, but it was unnecessary."

Photo credit: Ryan Chang (courtesy of Gibson)