Four decades into his career as a musician, HELLHAMMER, CELTIC FROST and TRIPTYKON founder Tom Gabriel Fischer (a.k.a. Tom Warrior) was among the recipients of the Swiss Music Prize 2021, awarded by the Swiss Federal Office Of Culture in a ceremony on September 17, 2021 at Lugano's Arte e Cultura (LAC) centre. This event marked the first time the Swiss Music Prize formally recognized the genre of heavy metal.

Statement by the Swiss Federal Office Of Culture: "Tom Gabriel Warrior's bands have played a significant role in music history and influenced musicians around the globe. A metal music pioneer, Warrior is an idol not just within the boundaries of the metal scene, and as an advocate for animal rights, he aims to provide a voice to those who don't have one."

Also among the winners of the Swiss Music Prize 2021 was legendary producer Roli Mosimann, Fischer's past collaborator during the recording sessions for CELTIC FROST's "Vanity/Nemesis" album (1990) and APOLLYON SUN's "Sub" album (2000). Unable to attend the ceremony due to health reasons, Mosimann asked Fischer to accept the prize on his behalf.

Edited transcript of Tom Gabriel Fischer's acceptance speech for the Swiss Music Prize 2021: "Although I was very fortunate to be granted a loyal audience already early on in my career, not least in my native country of Switzerland, the local Swiss music industry and cultural institutions either ignored me or expressed derision for my music, and sometimes they even obstructed it. In their perception, it simply didn’t conform and wasn't commercial enough. And indeed, my music was dark, experimental, and obstinate. But exactly due to these qualities, it was noticed abroad.

"I do, of course, understand that receiving this prize is an honor, and I do feel grateful for it. But given that an inconceivable 40 years have passed since I first became a musician, this prize is also quite irrelevant to me by now. I have pursued my path regardless, without subordinating myself to any of the customary inbreeding rituals of the Swiss music scene, and without ever applying for any kind of cultural funding from the Swiss state or the relevant institutions.

"The support granted to me throughout the years by the following individuals was absolutely essential, however, and my gratitude to them is limitless:

Antje Lange

Vanja Slajh

Alois Wendelin

Urs Sprenger

Maya Ghirardello

Martin Eric Ain

Michelle Fischer

H.R. Giger and Carmen Giger

Jörg Michael

Ian Christe

Denise Mathieu

Corinne Kühne

Kathy Lenze

"And there are many more.

"Moreover, I would also like to express gratitude to those who do not kill animals, do not enslave them, and do not mistreat them, but instead respect and protect them. I bow to you.

During an appearance on the "Talking Shred" podcast, former MARILYN MANSON and current ROB ZOMBIE guitarist John 5 reflected on the passing of legendary VAN HALEN axeman Eddie Van Halen almost exactly a year ago. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Me, just like millions of others, he was my favorite. It's strange — I'm so upset too, because it's, like, 'God, couldn't we do anything to save him?'

"Eddie was so special," John 5 continued. "It's really rare to have someone so special. Now, everybody listening to this and watching this can totally agree with me — I mean, the best guitar player, such an amazing inventor, such an amazing songwriter. And he had everything. And he was something special; he was touched by God. And we don't have many Edward Van Halens — not just in music, but in anything. In sports — it's like the Michael Jordan, or in art he's like the Picasso. And we don't have many of these. And I'm just happy we got what we got. I just wish that there was anything like… All the great minds in the world, 'Listen, Eddie Van Halen is sick. Can't we do anything to save him? He's, like, everything.' And it just breaks my heart. But I am so thankful for what we did get and the music and the guitars and the amps — everything. He was a real genius, and I was happy to, and lucky enough, to know him. And he was just a kind soul. It was so devastating. It really messed me up, just like everyone else. It's hard to listen to him, but you listen to him and go, 'Man, he was just something very, very special.' He was the Mozart of our time. It's just awful. It's just a terrible, terrible thing."

John 5 also discussed a hypothetical Eddie Van Halen tribute concert, saying: "If there is a show — which there needs to be, there has to be — if I'm not on stage, I'll be front row. I think it's something that definitely needs to happen with everybody. I think everybody should be there — I think Dave [Lee Roth] should be there, Sammy [Hagar] should be there, Mikey [Anthony] should be there, Wolfie [Van Halen], of course, Alex [Van Halen]; everybody that was a part of this VAN HALEN history — and all the fans all over the world, and just give praise and appreciation and love to the master, Edward. It just needs to happen. I think it would be a wonderful thing."

John 5 previously talked about how he was affected by Eddie Van Halen's death a year ago while appearing on SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk". At the time, he said: "We all knew that Eddie was not well, but he's like our Superman," John 5 said. "[We all thought] 'Eddie's gonna be fine. We saw him at the TOOL concert. He's gonna beat this. Everything's gonna be fine. He's our Superman.' And when that news hit, I was talking to Fred Coury [CINDERELLA], and I said, 'I've gotta go.' I just hung up and I had to pull over on the freeway. I just couldn't believe it. I was just shocked. It's just the worst news — the worst. Because we listened to him every day; we saw his picture every day; he's been a part of our lives since the late '70s, and now he's gone. But he changed the world forever, that's for sure."

John 5, who got his first big break playing on David Lee Roth's solo album, "DLR Band", before landing stints with Manson and now Zombie, said that he first learned of Eddie's declining health from the VAN HALEN singer.

"I talked to Roth a while ago, and he was, like, 'Yeah, Eddie's not doing well,'" John 5 recalled. "And I remember I'm sitting there at his place, and I started to well up, I was starting to tear up. I was, like, 'Okay, get ahold of yourself.' Because that's you hearing it from someone that's close to Ed. I was, like, 'All right. Keep it together.' Because I was shocked. I was, like, 'Oh my God. This can't be.'"

John 5 confirmed that he knew Eddie personally after first meeting the VAN HALEN guitarist nearly three decades ago.

"I didn't really talk about it that much," he said. "But I talked to Ed on the phone quite a bit. We would just sit on the phone for a long time. I don't really talk about this, but we'd sit on the phone and chit-chat for a long time, and tell stories and talk about guitars and talk about bands, and it was always positive."

"I think I met him the first time in '93 through Robert Knight, the photographer. It was kind of nice contact — 'Hello, how are you?' — at events and stuff. But then it got a little closer when I started playing with Dave and Manson and everything. But yeah, he gave me a guitar; I gave him one of mine. We were pretty close — not super, super close like I am with Dave or Mike [Anthony] or something like that. But he knew — I would just always tell him how much he meant to me and how much he meant to a zillion other guitar players."

Elaborating on what made Eddie's guitar playing so special, John said: "The thing about Ed is — which people that don't play guitar don't understand this — he looked at the instrument different, just like [Apple co-founder] Steve Jobs would look at a computer different or anything else; [American inventor Thomas] Edison would look at something different. And that's what was so special, and that's why we have lost such a giant, such an important figure in music.

"I would go down to the VAN HALEN rehearsal and I would pick up his guitar and play through his rig, and I would sound nothing like Eddie Van Halen even if I played a VAN HALEN song," he explained. "And that's the difference, because it's what's inside you. It's those hands; it's that feel. It's like trying to describe the color blue. It's a feeling, and it's something you have. And I don't know if we'll ever have that again — ever."

A video of John 5 performing a cover of VAN HALEN's version of "You Really Got Me", featuring VAN HALEN's Michael Anthony on bass, SLIPKNOT's Corey Taylor on vocals and CINDERELLA's Fred Coury on drums, can be seen below.

Eddie passed away on October 6, 2020 at the age of 65 after a years-long battle with cancer. His death was announced by his son Wolfgang.

Eddie and Alex formed VAN HALEN in 1972 in Pasadena, California, with Roth on lead vocals and Anthony on bass.

VAN HALEN was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2007.

Rolling Stone magazine ranked Eddie Van Halen No. 8 in its list of the 100 greatest guitarists.

After undergoing hip replacement surgery in 1999 due to a chronic joint problem, Eddie was diagnosed with mouth cancer in 2000 and had to have part of his tongue surgically removed. He later battled throat cancer and reportedly had been receiving radiation treatment in Germany.




























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We lost our modern day Mozart today Eddie Van Halen. There’s no one that changed my life or influenced me more than Eddie, he was an inventor an amazing songwriter and the greatest guitar player that ever lived. R.I.P my friend. #eddievanhalen #rip

A post shared by john5official (@john5official) on Oct 6, 2020 at 1:23pm PDT

According to Business Insurance, a Los Angeles state court has refused to dismiss METALLICA's lawsuit against Lloyd's Of London for allegedly failing to cover the band for financial losses suffered when the legendary heavy metal act was forced to postpone six shows in 2020 because of the pandemic.

The California Superior Court said that it could not dismiss the lawsuit at this preliminary stage of the litigation because a "proximate cause" has not been established as to what caused the loss involved.

The lawsuit stems from the cancelation of METALLICA's six-date tour of South America in April 2020. Just weeks prior to the tour's scheduled launch, COVID-19-related travel restrictions were enacted in all parts of the world, giving METALLICA no choice but to postpone the dates.

According to METALLICA's complaint, which was filed in June in Los Angeles Superior Court, the band's standard "cancellation, abandonment and non-appearance insurance" policy with Lloyd's Of London was denied by the insurer, which cited the policy's communicable disease exclusion. The lawsuit calls the move "an unreasonably restrictive interpretation of the policy" and alleges breach of contract. METALLICA argued that Lloyd's "cannot conclusively say that the Pandemic is the efficient proximate cause of the cancellations because there are other adequately alleged causes that are covered under the Policy," the ruling said.

The complaint alleges "that travel restrictions, the duty to mitigate damages, the need to 'flatten the curve' and stay-at-home orders all caused the Shows' cancellations," the ruling said.

Shortly after METALLICA filed the lawsuit, a Lloyd's representative clarified via a press statement: "Lloyd's is not an insurance company, it oversees and regulates a market of independent insurers. For that reason, we have no information on any specific policy or lawsuit and in any event are not authorized to comment on matters in litigation."

In its suit, METALLICA acknowledged Lloyd's as "a market in which independent insurance underwriters join together syndicates to sell insurance, mainly through brokers, under the umbrella of the Lloyd's brand name."

METALLICA is seeking unspecified compensatory damages as well as a declaration of the rights and obligations of the parties.

This is not the first time Lloyd's Of London has been involved in a lawsuit related to the cancelation of major rock concerts. Back in 2016, FOO FIGHTERS settled their lawsuit against the world-famous 335-year-old insurance market on claims related to several shows scrapped during the band's 2015 world tour. Because it was dismissed with prejudice, the FOO FIGHTERS were barred from re-filing the case on the same claim. Terms were not disclosed.

Some of the FOO FIGHTERS shows were called off after frontman Dave Grohl broke his leg on June 12, 2015, during a show in Gothenberg, Sweden. The injury resulted in the cancellation of seven shows. Three of those dates were mentioned in the suit. After his leg was treated, Grohl went on to perform 53 concerts, mostly while seated on a makeshift "throne" onstage.

John 5 says that he is grateful to David Lee Roth for the "great music" and "amazing memories."

Earlier this month, the legendary VAN HALEN singer announced that he was ending his career with his upcoming Las Vegas residency during the first weeks of January. "I am throwing in the shoes. I'm retiring," Roth told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. "These are my last five shows."

John 5, who got his first big break playing on Roth's solo album, "DLR Band", before securing stints with Marilyn Manson and Rob Zombie, spoke about David's decision to hang up his mic during a brand new interview with "The Jeremy White Podcast".

"He's been releasing songs that me and David had done every couple of months," John 5 said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). "And then there's a song I really hope he releases. It's called 'Nothing Could Have Stopped Us', and it is absolutely my favorite David Lee Roth. And not just because we worked on it together, but it is so good and so sincere.

"These are our superheroes, and they are human, and a lot of 'em are starting to retire. And I think that's okay. They've given us so much great music and so many amazing memories. And if they wanna retire, they know. And I think it's good for certain artists to say, 'Oh, I'm gonna hang it up,' and things like that. And instead of us being upset and mad about it, I just feel, like, 'Thank you for the music, the memories.'"

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

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

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

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

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

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

Roth's series of shows at Mandalay Bay's House Of Blues in Las Vegas will kick off with a New Year's Eve performance, followed by four concerts in January 2022.

In March 2020, Roth postponed the final six shows of his Las Vegas residency due to the coronavirus pandemic that is spreading across the globe.

In February/March 2020, Roth performed as the opening act for the North American leg of KISS's "End Of The Road" farewell tour.

Former MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson says that he is "super proud" of his contribution to the new MINISTRY album "Moral Hygiene".

Although Ellefson's appearance on the LP wasn't mentioned in any of the press releases from MINISTRY's record label, Nuclear Blast, leading up to the album's arrival, Ellefson says that he is featured on two of "Moral Hygiene"'s tracks, a cover of THE STOOGES' "Search And Destroy" and a song called "Believe Me".

Earlier today, Ellefson took to his social media to share a photo of him with MINISTRY leader Al Jourgensen in the studio, and he included the following message: "Super proud to be a part of the new MINISTRY album, Moral Hygiene, out today via Nuclear Blast! To offer up the bass track on a cover of Iggy Pop's 'Search and Destroy' and to also have a cool collaboration on 'Believe Me' (alongside Billy Morrison) is truly a career highlight for me as a long time MINISTRY fan and friend of the mighty Al Jourgensen. The record kicks ass as you would expect from MINISTRY. Check it out!!"

All of Nuclear Blast's press releases about "Moral Hygiene" have made mention of the LP's other contributors, which include Morrison, Jello Biafra (Jourgensen's cohort in side project LARD), Cesar Soto (MAN THE MUTE), John Bechdel (KILLING JOKE, FEAR FACTORY), Roy Mayorga (STONE SOUR, SOULFLY, NAUSEA), Paul D'Amour (TOOL, FEERSUM ENNJIN), Arabian Prince (N.W.A.) and sitar player Flash.

Ellefson was fired from MEGADETH in May after sexually explicit photos and video of the bassist leaked online along with allegations that he had been grooming a fan, which he vehemently denied. A short time after after the messages and video footage involving him were posted on Twitter, Ellefson filed a report with the police department in Scottsdale, Arizona alleging unlawful distribution of sexually explicit images of him by unknown offenders. In the report, Ellefson admitted that he had been exchanging sexual text messages with a Dutch teenager, who captured a video of several of their virtual "masturbating encounters" without his consent and shared them with friends. (According to Ellefson, the woman was 19 at the time of their first virtual sexual encounter.) Ellefson, who lives in Scottsdale, first became aware of the video on May 9, when the claim "David Ellefson of MEGADETH is a pedophile" appeared on Instagram. Ellefson told police he was notified on May 14 by MEGADETH that the band would be parting ways with him. Three days later, he was fired.

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


Super proud to be a part of the new Ministry album, Moral Hygiene, out today via Nuclear Blast! To offer up the bass...

Posted by David Ellefson on Friday, October 1, 2021

Last week, Swedish heavy rockers GHOST released a new song called "Hunter's Moon". The track, which was produced by Klas Åhlund and mixed by Andy Wallace, is featured in the latest blockbuster installment of the legendary film franchise "Halloween Kills". The "Halloween Kills" soundtrack is set to arrive October 15 via Sacred Bones, with the film hitting theaters (and Peacock) the same day as well.

Speaking to Spotify's Volume Sweden, GHOST mastermind Tobias Forge said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "The background to this song, specifically this song being associated with the film 'Halloween Kills', was that Ryan Turek, who is one of the producers of the film, asked me if I was interested in writing a song for a film and specifically this film. I said that I already have a few songs that might work, and specifically one song that I think could work very well within the concepts of the film.

"The seed for that song that I had in mind was originally [just the] title ['Hunter's Moon']," he explained. "Years ago, I was looking up the meaning of 'Harvest Moon', as in the Neil Young record, and within the context of 'Harvest Moon', which is essentially… It was, I guess, an article about farming and the moon cycles of farming. And in September, there's 'Harvest Moon,' and in October, after Harvest Moon, around Halloween, it's 'Hunter's Moon.' And immediately upon seeing that, I thought that, well, if I were to ever write a song about Halloween, as you must do as a gothic rock band, I'm gonna use that title.

"When I knew that there was gonna be a song called 'Hunter's Moon' in a 'Halloween' film, it was pretty easy to come up with a theme that would simplify the lyrical content," Forge added. "So I wanted the lyrics to be sort of nostalgic, longing back but also semi-romantic and also have a slight sort of 'siblings love', 'friendship love' question mark. So that is what I wrote.

"Sometimes when you write songs, especially if it's meant to be in a bigger, broader sort of album format, sometimes you can get locked into details, and you're writing too much into each song — it has to have too much of a purpose — whereas this was pretty simple; it was gonna go hand in hand with 'Halloween'."

GHOST's "Hunter's Moon" will play as the "Halloween Kills" end credits roll, and will be released January 21, 2022 as a collectible seven-inch single by Loma Vista Recordings. "Hunter's Moon" can be streamed, purchased, and/or pre-ordered in its vinyl incarnation. The retail version of the seven-inch will feature the special B-side "Halloween Kills (Main Title)", performed, produced and engineered by John Carpenter, Cody Carpenter and Daniel Davies.

"Hunter's Moon" features OPETH's Fredrik Åkesson on guitar and THE SOUNDTRACK OF OUR LIVES founder Martin Hederos on the piano. Producer Max Grahn and "A Ghoul Writer" are listed as the song's composers and lyricists.

The official music video for the infectious first new track from GHOST since 2019's "Seven Inches Of Satanic Panic" was directed by Amanda Demme.

Last month, GHOST announced a 26-date co-headlining U.S. arena tour with VOLBEAT and special guests TWIN TEMPLE, coming to cities including Seattle, Denver, Chicago, Houston, and Phoenix.

In March 2020, at final show of GHOST's "Prequelle" tour in Mexico City, Mexico, the band officially introduced Papa Emeritus IV, the new character who will front the act for its next LP phase.

Forge performed as a "new" Papa Emeritus on each of the band's first three LPs, with each version of Papa replacing the one that came before it. Papa Emeritus III was retired in favor of Cardinal Copia before the release of 2018's "Prequelle".

"Prequelle" debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and featured the chart-topping singles "Rats" and "Dance Macabre".

In December 2018, GHOST nabbed two Grammy nominations, "Best Rock Album" for "Prequelle" and "Best Rock Song" for "Rats".

Five years ago, GHOST became the first Swedish rock band ever to win a Grammy — 2016's "Best Metal Performance" for the song "Cirice".

In a recent interview with Anne Erickson of Audio Ink Radio, SEPULTURA guitarist Andreas Kisser spoke about how he and his bandmates have been dealing with the coronavirus pandemic in their home country of Brazil. He said: "Unfortunately, Brazil, it's a mess. We have no leadership that took responsibility for the task. In a way, it was very similar to the States, with Donald Trump with the denying and against the vaccines and all that stuff. But slowly things are moving, because regionally, Brazil is starting to do our own stuff — each state, basically, is trying to make it happen.

"I got my first shot, and hopefully in September I'll get my second shot," he continued. "And hopefully this will work, not only for our health, of course, but for matters of traveling and going places and touring, because we need, basically, open borders. Especially in Europe, when you have a tour in Europe, you go to so many different counties in such a short period of time. But let's see. Things are starting to come back slowly, which is great. It's something that motivates us and creates excitement. We have an album to tour [behind] and we're ready to go on the road. So we're just waiting for things to get better. Brazil is a little late compared to some places, but it's going slowly."

Two months ago, the 53-year-old Kisser, who lives in São Paulo, told Impericon.com that Brazil's far-right president Jair Bolsonaro is "the worst that could happen to any country. Unfortunately, it happened to Brazil. [He's] very ignorant, stupid in a matter of talking to people — disrespectful, whatever you wanna call it.

"When we need a leader in the most needed time, we don't have one. There was no national plan to fight COVID. So we are paying now with delays and vaccines and all those crazy concepts of fake news and conspiracy theories. So he's the worst that could happen."

Bolsonaro has reportedly seen a drop in popularity in recent months for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. He has also been accused of corruption. He later said in a meeting with evangelical leaders that he had "three alternatives for my future: being arrested, killed or victory" in the next election — and he said prison was not an option.

Like former U.S. president Donald Trump, Bolsonaro has tried to sow election doubts to pave the way for him not to accept defeat in 2022.

Formed in 1984 in Brazil, SEPULTURA has gone on to sell over millions of records and solidify its legacy as one of the greatest metal bands of the 1980s, 1990s, and beyond. Today, SEPULTURA is still going strong, 15 albums deep into one of the hardest-hitting discographies in history.

While the pandemic paralyzed the entire world and prevented bands from touring, Latin America's biggest metal export SEPULTURA refused to sit back and feel like animals trapped in a cage. Therefore, in early 2020, the band seized the moment to start its own weekly "SepulQuarta" video podcast in which they invited other famous musicians from all over the world to not only discuss important topics but also perform a track from SEPULTURA's massive catalog together with the group. The resulting full-length compilation was released in August, with the album containing 15 classics featuring internationally renowned guests and friends.

SEPULTURA comprises Kisser, vocalist Derrick Green, bassist Paulo Xisto Pinto Jr., and drummer Eloy Casagrande.

SEPULTURA was formed in Belo Horizonte by brothers Max and Igor Cavalera, who are no longer with the band.

In a new interview with KNAC.COM, former MÖTLEY CRÜE singer John Corabi was asked which song he would be most looking forward to hearing if he went to catch a show on the band's "The Stadium Tour" with DEF LEPPARD next summer. He responded: "I probably wouldn't go. I went to go see MÖTLEY back when my tenure with the band ended. I saw them at the Hollywood Bowl, they were playing with AEROSMITH. It was brutal, because I wound up answering questions from the fans that recognized me. For that reason, I probably wouldn't go. There's multiple reasons why I wouldn't go, but I use that one for this interview.

"I do have to say that, for me, one of my absolute favorite MÖTLEY songs is 'Primal Scream'. I love that tune, I love the riff, I love the drum beat, everything about it. I loved performing that one live."

Corabi joined CRÜE in 1992 as the replacement for the group's original singer, Vince Neil, who was dismissed due to personal differences. With Corabi on vocals, MÖTLEY CRÜE released one critically acclaimed full-length CD, which ended up being a commercial failure in the wake of grunge despite a Top 10 placing on the album chart. When Neil returned to the fold in 1997, Corabi was left on his own and formed the band UNION with ex-KISS guitarist Bruce Kulick.

After a recent article emerged online claiming — falsely — that bassist Nikki Sixx issued an ultimatum to Neil to lose a significant amount of weight for the band's comeback tour or be fired and replaced by Corabi, John posted a statement on social media denying that he had held "secret rehearsals" with CRÜE and shooting down the possibility of him rejoining the band, saying that he was "not even remotely interested in doing that again."

Corabi in 2016 said that he would avoid talking about MÖTLEY CRÜE in the future because he didn't want his comments about Sixx to descend into a feud.

In an interview with Sweden Rock Magazine, Nikki said that writing the "Mötley Crüe" LP with Corabi was a prolonged and difficult experience. He went to call it "a very unfocused record" that was "painful for me, because John Corabi can't write lyrics, and I had to do all that work."

Corabi initially responded to Sixx's comments by saying that he didn't "give a shit" about what his ex-bandmate had to say, but later told an interviewer, when asked about it again, "I have no idea why Nikki feels that I'm the biggest piece of shit to roam the Earth." He then proceeded to take to his Facebook page to claim that he would "officially have nothing to say about any member of MÖTLEY CRÜE ever again," adding that he was "not backing this bullshit stirring that is happening to start a feud."

In February 2018, Corabi released a live album of his performance of MÖTLEY CRÜE's entire 1994 self-titled album, recorded on October 27, 2015 in Nashville, Tennessee. "Live '94: One Night In Nashville" documents the album in its entirety along with the bonus track "10,000 Miles", which was originally released as a bonus track on the Japanese version of the "Quaternary" EP.

Corabi recently completed work on his autobiography. Titled "Horseshoes And Hand Grenades", it was written wih the help of MÖTLEY CRÜE historian/author Paul Miles, and is due on April 12, 2022 via Rare Bird Books

JOURNEY's Neal Schon and Jonathan Cain spoke to Cleveland.com about their legal dispute with the band's former members, drummer Steve Smith and bassist Ross Valory.

On March 3, 2020, Schon and Cain filed a lawsuit against Valory and Smith, who had been members of JOURNEY on and off since the band formed in 1973, claiming the two attempted a "coup" in order to gain control of the JOURNEY trademark. The suit, which sought more than $10 million in damages, accused Smith and Valory of holding an "improper" shareholder and board of directors meetings in February 2020 during which they ousted Cain and Schon from leadership posts at Nightmare Productions under the "incorrect" assumption that the company held the rights to the JOURNEY name. An answer filed by counsel defending Valory against the complaint's allegations and the cross-complaint attempted to dispute and refute these allegations.

"Everybody wanted to own the brand, and I felt there was a takeover going on," Schon told Cleveland.com. "The ship is not going down. No one's stealing the brand. Things took a turn, businesswise, that I didn't like, and that Jonathan didn't like and we decided not to go along with it. There were a lot of unrealistic statements that were being made by different people and us not really talking and just believing what others were saying. Once I actually sat and talked to Jonathan, we cleared everything up and got rid of the divide-and-conquer scenario and realized we had a lot more to say musically together, as brothers."

Cain added: "It was sort of a shocking thing, that brothers had come to that. We had to sort it out. You get lemons, you make lemonade — what else are you gonna do? It's probably not that out of the ordinary for bands to do this kind of stuff, and it's usually based on greed or whatever. I really am glad it's behind us, that's all — and I wish everybody well, really. I have no ill will towards anyone."

In April of this year, Schon and Cain "reached an amicable settlement agreement" with Smith and Valory. JOURNEY now consists of Schon and Cain, longtime singer Arnel Pineda, returning bassist Randy Jackson of "American Idol" fame, as well as drummer Narada Michael Walden and keyboardist Jason Derlatka. Bassist Marco Mendoza is filling in while Jackson recovers from back surgery and drummer Deen Castronovo is also back in the fold, sharing the drum duties with Narada.

Last fall, Schon told "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" about JOURNEY's split with Valory and Smith: "The way things went down was really not that kosher. I mean, what should have happened, rather than them trying to take over at that point, was to call us up and say, 'Hey, let's sit down and talk about this.' Instead it went a different way. And both myself and Jonathan didn't appreciate it."

In June, JOURNEY shared a new single, "The Way We Used To Be". The song was the multi-platinum band's first new music since 2011's album "Eclipse", and the first track released by the band's revamped lineup. "The Way We Used To Be" marks Walden and Derlatka's first studio recordings with the band, and Jackson's first since 1986's "Raised On Radio". The song was produced by Narada Michael Walden at his Tarpan Studios, with co-production by Schon and Cain

Former SKID ROW singer Sebastian Bach has just returned to the stage for a tour celebrating the 30th anniversary of the band's double-platinum, acclaimed album "Slave To The Grind". The trek kicked off on September 25 in Waterloo, New York and will wrap in San Diego, California on December 17.

Fan-filmed video footage of Bach's October 3 performance at Haute Spot in Cedar Park, Texas can be seen below.

During a September 23 appearance on SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", Bach stated about the current tour (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We're doing [the 'Slave To The Grind' album] in its entirety. We've already done it once. We did it at the Whisky [A Go Go in West Hollywood, California] back in 2018 one time. And it was really funny because we did the first SKID ROW album on the first night and 'Slave' on the second. The first night's crowd was wall-to-wall chicks. [Laughs] I'm just being honest. The second night was wall-to-wall dudes. It couldn't have been a more different crowd — dudes with hooks in their noses and long earlobes with weird stuff.

"When I read back-and-forth in the press, which we all do whether we want to admit it or not, Rachel [Bolan, SKID ROW bassist] once had a comment that when we put out 'Slave', we lost half of our female audience," he continued. "And my immediate response to that was, 'Dude, do you not remember the GUNS N' ROSES tour?', because there was a lot of females coming out to that one. But in retrospect, having performed the first album on a full tour, he is right — the appeal on songs like 'Can't Stand The Heartache' and 'Rattlesnake Shake', chicks love those songs. And dudes love 'Monkey Business' and 'Get The Fuck Out' — dudes love it. So, hey, man, me and Rachel just agreed on something."

According to Bach, he is performing the "Slave To The Grind" LP "in sequence except for one song. We are doing half of the song 'Get The Fuck Out' because half of the song, the lyrics are not acceptable in this day and age," he explained. "Even though I argued, when I was recording that song, about the words in that song [being] extreme. But we're doing half of it."

Asked what the most challenging part of performing all of "Slave To The Grind" is for him, Sebastian said: "I'll tell you, honestly — the ending of 'Quicksand Jesus'. That is me pushing my voice and my melodies, my licks, that's pushing it to the max. That's really hard to do.

"I have to say this, that sometimes fans lose sight of the fact that making a record is not playing a show," he continued. "Making a record, you're standing completely still. You're in an air-conditioned studio, and you can try as many times as you want to get the ultimate take that you want. That's not the same thing as going out there and you get one shot, and that's it. And if you're not using tapes, too bad for you. If you mess up, everyone's gonna know it.

"I'm not interested in going to a karaoke show; that doesn't have any interest to me. So that's just the way it is.

"I use effects sometimes, but I don't use Auto-Tune or nothing."

Last summer, Bolan told SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" that he and his SKID ROW bandmates would embark on a "Slave To The Grind" 30th-anniversary tour in 2021. "We'll do the album in its entirety, and then we're gonna do a bunch of stuff to coincide with it," he said. "We're pretty psyched, and the shows are booked. We're keeping our fingers crossed that everything is gonna come to pass… It'll be cool, to go out there and do 'Slave To The Grind' top to the bottom. That'll be fun."

According to Bolan, SKID ROW didn't celebrate the 30th anniversary of the band's self-titled debut album in 2019 because "the timing didn't really work out. We had so much other stuff planned, and then all of a sudden, boom, it was here," he explained. "Maybe down the road [we'll celebrate it]. Maybe [for the] 40th [anniversary]. [Laughs]"

Bach fronted SKID ROW until 1996, when he was fired. Instead of throwing in the towel, the remaining members took a hiatus and went on to play briefly in a band called OZONE MONDAY.

In 1999, SKID ROW reformed and, after a bit of shuffling over the years, featured a lineup consisting of Bolan and guitarists Sabo and Scotti Hill, alongside Hammersmith and singer Johnny Solinger.

SKID ROW fired Solinger over the phone in April 2015, a few hours before announcing ex-TNT vocalist Tony Harnell as his replacement. Eight months later, Harnell exited the band and was replaced by South African-born, British-based singer ZP Theart, who previously fronted DRAGONFORCE, TANK and I AM I.

It’s obvious that the upcoming longplayer ‘Chaos’ (to be released November 5th) will sharpen the profile of SCHATTENMANN, refined their musical and thematic standards even further and given the songs something very special courtesy of their unusual instrumentation.
With their third album, the band SCHATTENMANN, helmed by vocalist Frank Herzig, unmistakably prove: the content of their music is getting tougher, more metal-oriented, more multi-faceted and more uncompromising. Herzig: “‘Chaos’ has us deliberately expand our sound to include modern and more original elements. We don't want to limit ourselves musically, but have included metal and industrial influences in our new material.

Considering the fact that the band is trying to push their own limits with this new record, it makes sense that their recent single ‘Spring’ features a collaboration with J.B.O.’s Vito C. and Hannes “G.Laber” Holzmann. A novelty for SCHATTENMANN! Says Herzig: “Musicians know each other, and nobody got past J.B.O. when we were younger. So we asked them to guest on our single. I think their voices give ‘Spring’ amazing power.”

The result of this special collaboration can be seen below.

‘Chaos’ will be the decisive third step in SCHATTENMANN’s career, moving with unyielding consistency the essence of the new material into the focus of their uncompromising sound. Herzig: “Due to the fact that almost all new songs were composed on the guitar, the material sounds more metal-oriented, heavier, you could say: it’s more crash, bang, wallop!” The SCHATTENMANN frontman is referring to numbers such as ‘Spring’ or ‘Alles auf Anfang’, but also to ‘Abschaum’ and ‘Chaos’ with their unmistakable metal roots, which contrast with a pop-oriented number like ‘Cosima’ and Schattenmann-typical tracks such as ‘Amnestie’ and ‘Extrem’.

It’s obvious that the band is paving it’s way into the higher league of rock and metal with a strong album like this and it shows the honorable high standards they set for themselves. This has been recognized by band before as it is being recognized by established acts today. Therefore SCHATTENMANN have already been on tour with bands like Megaherz and Feuerschwanz and they will also catch on the support slot on the Eisbrecher Tour that has been postponed to 2022. In addition they will play their very own headliner tour in February/March 2022 to promote ‘Chaos’ in Germany.

‘Chaos’ is available for pre-order here: https://afm.fanlink.to/SchattenmannChaos

The time has finally come, the last single, before the big album showdown arrived, is out now: LETZTE INSTANZ released their latest single “Du Bist Nicht Verloren” today. The new and 14th album of the band’s history “Ehrenwort” will be out October 29, 2021.

The latest piece by the sextet is a rousing, powerful work that makes the heart of every “Brachialromantiker” beat faster. Above all, it focuses on support, trust and unconditional love in the usual LETZTE INSTANZ charm.
The six guys from Germany combine emotional depth with intense sound experiences and so create their very own world, in which it is easy to get lost. The video for “Du Bist Nicht Verloren” also impresses with its minimalism. It gives sound and lyrics the necessary space to fully develop.

“Du Bist Nicht Verloren” is not only the band's newest masterpiece, but also announces the final sprint for their new album “Ehrenwort”.

"Ehrenwort" is brutally and socially critical as usual. The incomparable facets of the band are revealed to the listener on 13 powerful and sensitive songs. Holly: "For ‘Ehrenwort’ it was our premise to go back to the roots. At the same time, we wanted to stay true to our credo 'Brachialromantik' - I think we succeeded and did that pretty well.”

Apart from this new approach, “Ehrenwort” is bursting with hits. After all, the band knows like no other how to make their trademarks shine through catchy song structures: The record is bursting with emotion, as it proves, for example, in “In Deiner Spur”. In addition, powerful elements that have been woven together with a lot of depth and sophistication into very intense tracks.
Never before the band was so on point, never before did those unparalleled vocals put the listener in such an intense grip. Because in contrast to their previous output, LETZTE INSTANZ has tried to match each song’s attitude vocally, which leads to a fantastic listening experience.

Now, after more than two decades of exciting band history, LETZTE INSTANZ is on the verge of the climax of their work. With an album that gives courage and hope in uncertain and troubling times. After all, this is “the most hopeful album the band has ever produced.” They promise this. They give us their “Ehrenwort”.

‘Ehrenwort’ is available for pre-order here: https://afm.fanlink.to/LetzteInstanzEhrenwort

During last month's chat with Apple Music's Zane Lowe, METALLICA's James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich opened up about bassist Jason Newsted decision to leave the band 20 years ago.

"My theory now is I could love anybody, really, at the end of the day," Hetfield said. You get to know them, you get to know where they've come from, you understand where their parents came from — all of that. How are you you? I can accept that. I can really accept that. There was more to be revealed. I mean, really.

"He was at a point where he was at; we were at a point where we were at," James continued. "It happened because it happened. If it was like that right now — say, Robert [Trujillo, METALLICA's current bassist] comes and says, 'Hey, I'm done here.' We would fight. We would fight, or I would fight for him. I didn't know about the fight back then."

Ulrich added: "If you think about it, Jason is the only member of METALLICA who's ever left willingly, and that in itself is a statistic. And the resentment from James and I was just so... [We felt like] you can't do that. You can only leave if we want you to leave. And then we weren't equipped at the time to do a deep dive into why he was leaving. And so, of course, now you can see 20 years later, it makes complete sense.

"We write the songs; we make the decisions; we do all of it," Lars continued. "You have no creative outlet in this band; you have no creative voice. And then when you go and do something that gives you satisfaction and a way for you to express yourself to the rest of the world, then we get fucking pissed at you. And then that resentment then goes to you leaving the band. I mean, that's kind of Psychiatry 101 here. But we weren't equipped to see that side of it. Twenty years later, so now it makes complete sense."

Ulrich added: "Jason gave 14 years — every day, every performance, he was there always... I mean, we always used to joke. It's, like, 'He's so fired up. Come on, dude. Slow down.' He was the fucking first guy in and the last guy out. He was signing autographs when we were driving by waving on the way out of the buildings. I mean, he really was. And I now [am] finally equipped to appreciate every moment that he gave. And we have, I think, so much respect for each other now, so much appreciation. Ten years ago, when we did the 30th anniversaries, when he came up and played four nights with us at the four Fillmore shows, played two nights with us, seeing Rob and him together up there, that felt like it was the beginning of the thawing of where we are now. But he's been a very integral part of the [Black Album] reissue and the re-release and has done interviews and been very, very helpful. He did the unboxing of the box for the cameras and the whole thing. I mean, he's been so gracious."

Apple Music's entire one-hour METALLICA 40th-anniversary special can be viewed below.

Newsted was METALLICA's third bassist, following Ron McGovney and the late Cliff Burton. Trujillo took over in 2003 after Newsted's exit.

Newsted's exit from METALLICA was documented in the band's 2004 documentary, "Metallica: Some Kind Of Monster", which followed the members of the group through the three most turbulent years of their long career, during which they battled through addiction, lineup changes, fan backlash, personal turmoil and the near-disintegration of the group while making their "St. Anger" album.

While initially helping METALLICA towards restoring band harmony, the film shows the band's "performance coach" Phil Towle, a former psychotherapist who was brought into the picture in January 2001 to help Hetfield, Ulrich and Kirk Hammett repair their relationship with Newsted, attempting to increasingly insert himself into the band's creative process, submitting lyrics for the album and even attempting to join them on the road.

"Some Kind Of Monster" also documented Hetfield's spiral into alcoholism and decision to check himself into a rehab facility. Hetfield's re-emergence from rehab is when the film really gets into gear, with the chief worry in his mind whether or not he could do METALLICA sober.

In a 2004 interview with The Kansas City Star, Towle spoke about being present when Newsted told the band he was leaving, though that scene isn't in "Some Kind of Monster". Asked how that went down, Towle said: "We'd been sitting around talking for about a half-hour when Jason says to me, 'I want to talk to the guys. Will you excuse me?' So I went into the other room in the suite. I could hear all this pain resonating from the room they were in, and after about 10 minutes, I went back in. Jason says, 'I don't want you in here.' I said, 'I was hired to be here, to work with you guys and your issues, and I can't in good faith stay in the other room.' There was silence. Then Lars says, 'Let him stay.'

"They were all jarred so much that a family member for 14 years was leaving for various reasons. They said, 'We gotta do something about this.' Here's what I offered: Rather than invest energy in being pissed at Jason, use this thing to explore the underlying issues of discomfort and conflict that led to his leaving.

"In a very dysfunctional family, Jason had the courage to stand up. He was the one who set in motion this process of calling everyone out. I'd read an old interview with METALLICA in Playboy in which the band members separately trashed each other. So now the conflict had come to a head."

Jason spoke in detail about the reason he left METALLICA in a 2013 interview with Scuzz TV. Newsted said that his eventual split with the group was over the way his then-side band, ECHOBRAIN, was handled. Newsted explained: "The management of METALLICA was very, very excited about ECHOBRAIN, wanted to take it out for me, wanted me to do ECHOBRAIN also, with METALLICA. They felt ECHOBRAIN was that good, the singer was that good, and it didn't affect METALLICA because it was a totally different kind of thing, and I was in METALLICA; that would give it its pedigree already."

Newsted continued: "They had told me, pretty convincingly, 'This is a great record, we've been playing it around the office, that's all I’ve been hearing, it's fantastic, this kid has a great voice. Let's do something with this.' That's what they told me, and then James heard about it and was not happy. He was, I think, pretty much out to put the kibosh on the whole thing because it would somehow affect METALLICA in his eyes, because now the managers were interested in something I was doing that had nothing to do with him."

Newsted told The Pulse Of Radio a while back that he never saw how ECHOBRAIN could have interfered with METALLICA. "I never felt that it was going to affect METALLICA in any way," he said. "There was no way that it could. The monster and the integrity and the legend that METALLICA's built, it would take a lot more than that to ever affect it."

Newsted added, "The people that I had counted on for 15 years to help me with my career, help METALLICA, take care of my money, do all of those things, told me, 'Your new project is fantastic, we'd like to help you with it.' James heard about it, the manager calls me back a couple of days later — 'Sorry we're not going to be able to help you with that ECHOBRAIN thing.'"

Former QUIET RIOT and current ROUGH CUTT singer Paul Shortino has railed against the federal and local vaccine mandates that have been implemented across the U.S. over the past few weeks.

The 68-year-old Shortino, who frequently "likes" tweets that amplify Republican talking points and that are derogatory to Democrats, discussed his stance on the issue during an October 5 appearance on Robby Lochner's YouTube livestream.

He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "What's interesting to me is that when you have to bribe people to take something, you kind of wanna question it. Maybe it would be a good idea [to find out] why they want me to take this so bad.

"People have had different reactions from both sides of it," he continued. "People that have taken it have been cool. Some people have taken it — the jab or whatever. I won't call it a vaccine because you have to take a booster, and then you might have to take another booster. So it's kind of like a flu shot to me.

"I just found out I'm allergic to the flu shot, so every time I took the flu shot, I got deadly sick. I had to freakin' sing for eight and a half weeks [as part of the Las Vegas production] 'Raiding The Rock Vault' six nights a week. And I had walking pneumonia from the flu shot.

"I'm not in a hurry to get the COVID thing," Shortino added. "It might kill me. If the flu shot is doing this to me, who knows? I should probably be a little bit more informative in what's going with what they're giving people and stuff.

"But it's messed with a lot of people's lives. It's insane — it really is. With restaurants, bars, music…

"If they're telling us what to teach our kids, maybe the next thing they'll be telling us what kind of music we can play.

"Is it right for the party? It's almost like we're kind of swinging that pendulum so close to Marxism to where they're in control of everything. It's pretty crazy. It's happening so fast.

"I'm 68," Paul said. "I never thought that at 68 I would see this stuff going on. And they're just testing the waters to see how many people will comply to whatever they want to do. And I think Americans need to stand up and start saying, 'Hey, wait a minute.'

"Doctor [Anthony] Fauci [the country's top infectious-disease expert] is actually selling candles. They made him almost like a God. And it's really kind of crazy.

"But who knows what's gonna happen?

"People need to speak up and say what's on their mind, if they can. They're trying to shut down those avenues for people to do [it]."

Two months ago, Shortino claimed that he beat COVID-19 by taking ivermectin, a cheap, widely available, anti-parasitic drug that has been touted by some on social media as a COVID-19 "miracle cure."

While there are approved uses for ivermectin in people, including for the treatment of some parasitic worms, it is not approved by the FDA for the prevention or treatment of COVID-19. The FDA says that you should not take any medicine to treat or prevent COVID-19 unless it has been prescribed to you by your health care provider and acquired from a legitimate source. Ivermectin is prescribed at very specific doses for some parasitic worms. It is not an antiviral drug.

This past February, before he got infected with the coronavirus, Shortino told the "Ouch, You're On My Hair" podcast and radio show that he was not concerned about contracting COVID-19. He said: "I'm not really afraid of it. I think [other] people are more afraid of it. I'm such a believer in the law of attraction that if you're not afraid of it, and you put out there that you're not afraid of it, I don't think you're gonna contract it. I know people that have contracted it who were so afraid of getting it. And then they just put it out there."

The singer continued: "Everything begins with a thought, and everything's on a frequency, so if you put out something there, you're gonna get it back. So you should only think about what you want, not what you don't want. [Don't think] 'I don't wanna get this. I don't wanna get the COVID.'"

A Fox News poll released last month showed clear majorities of Americans back mask and COVID-19 vaccination mandates. 54 percent of people favor proof of vaccination in indoor spaces like restaurants and gyms while 66 percent said they favor businesses requiring masks for customers and employees. 67 percent said they support mandating that students and teachers wear masks in schools. According to the poll, which included interviews with more than 1,000 registered voters conducted between September 12 and 15, 56 percent of voters supported President Joe Biden's directive to companies with more than 100 employees to require proof of vaccination or regular testing.

Dr. Arturo Casadevall, chair of molecular microbiology and immunology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, told CNBC that COVID-19 vaccines "are extremely safe," noting that the risks of the side effects from the vaccines are significantly lower than the health risks posed by the virus. "COVID, on the other hand, is deadly, unpredictable."

COVID-19 vaccines have been studied in humans for more than a year now, and more than 182 million people have been fully vaccinated in the United States alone. There are several robust safety monitoring systems in place for these vaccines that can detect the very rare adverse events.

With the original strain of the virus, the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines were about 90% to 95% effective in preventing symptomatic disease. As a result of the delta variant, that efficacy rate has dropped to 66%. Still, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that unvaccinated people are almost five times more likely to contract symptomatic COVID compared to a fully vaccinated person.

Fully vaccinated people are 29 times less likely to be hospitalized because of the virus compared to those are unvaccinated, according to a study released by the CDC.

Research shows that fully vaccinated people experience milder symptoms and are half as likely to develop several symptoms in the first week of illness compared to unvaccinated people.

Various polls have consistently found that Democrats are much more likely to report having been vaccinated than Republicans, and Republicans are much more likely to say that they definitely do not want to get vaccinated.

QUIET RIOT's fourth album, 1988's "QR", was the band's only LP to feature Shortino. Prior to joining QUIET RIOT, Paul sang on two acclaimed studio albums from ROUGH CUTT, 1985's self-titled effort and 1986's "Wants You!"

Image courtesy of Raiding The Rock Vault

Original BLACK SABBATH drummer Bill Ward has told U.K.'s Metro in a new interview that he is "in contact" with the other members of the band, nearly five years after they completed their final tour without him. "I talked to Ozzy [Osbourne, SABBATH singer] two nights ago," he said. "A lot of things have crossed between us and there's new boundaries that I've had to build, but I don't think any less of them. I've been working with Tony [Iommi, SABBATH guitarist] since 1964 when I was 16 years old. They're my brothers and I love them."

As for the possibility of him reuniting with SABBATH again at some point in the near future, Ward said: "As far as I'm concerned, the book's never closed with SABBATH. I'm writing like a demon, I'm living life.

"My biggest contention has been, 'Let's make another album,'" the 73-year-old added. "Nothing live necessarily, because I'm looking at what I can realistically do. The way I play the drums, it's becoming tougher as I get older. I haven't spoken to the guys about it, but I have talked to a couple of people in management about the possibility of making a recording. Which I can do safely, even with COVID around. I can lay track at my studio in Los Angeles. I'm very open-minded about doing something like that."

Bill was on board for the SABBATH reunion when it was first announced 10 years ago, but backed out soon after. The drummer later claimed that he sat out the recording and touring sessions because of unfair contractual terms, although the members of SABBATH have hinted in other interviews that he wasn't physically up to the task.

All four original members of SABBATH were present when the band announced its reunion in late 2011. But Ward split from the group in 2012, citing an "unsignable" contract, and Ozzy, Tony and bassist Geezer Butler carried on with their Rick Rubin–produced "13" LP and extensive international touring without him.

This past March, Bill admitted to SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" that he no longer had the "chops" and the "ability" to perform with BLACK SABBATH. "I have to be back to 60 years old to be able to do that," he said.

"I would love to do a studio album with SABBATH, with all the original members," he continued. "I'm just saying that — I'm just floating that out there. But I'm not done. So, the other three might be done, and I respect that, but no, I'm not done. I think as long as we all exist [laughs] and we're still breathing in air, I think we have every possibility of making some great music together."

Ozzy told The Pulse Of Radio during SABBATH's last tour that Ward was not in shape to participate. "Bill Ward has got the most physically demanding job of the lot of us, 'cause he's the timekeeper," he said. "I don't think personally he had the chops to pull it off, you know. The saddest thing is that he needed to own up to that, and we could have worked around it, whether we had a drummer on the side with him or something."

It was rumored that SABBATH wanted to bring a second drummer on the road to share duties with Ward, something that Iommi confirmed in 2017 during a question-and-answer session about SABBATH's "Ten Year War" box set.

In February 2017, SABBATH finished "The End" tour in Birmingham, closing out the quartet's groundbreaking 49-year career.

"The End" was SABBATH's last tour because Iommi — who was diagnosed with lymphoma in late 2011 — can no longer travel for extended amounts of time.

In 2015, Ward released his first solo album in 18 years. Titled "Accountable Beasts", the record can be purchased on iTunes.

In November 2017, Ward's band DAY OF ERRORS released its first two songs, "Day Of Errors" and "Blaspheming At Creation", via iTunes, Spotify, Amazon MP3 and Google Play. Two more tracks, "Dark" and "Ghost Train", followed in 2

Former IRON MAIDEN frontman Blaze Bayley has offered a tantalizing glimpse into the band's recording process in the 1990s, explaining that the British heavy metal legends made a conscious decision to drop one of the key elements of their distinctive sound ahead of his vocal debut on 1995's "The X Factor".

Speaking to Eonmusic about his recent shows which have seen him playing a "MAIDEN years" set, Blaze said: The anniversary set was kind of my favorites and the ones I really enjoy doing — the ones that feel like old friends. And there's a lot of great music on those albums, but I do everything in my own style."

Going on to explain that he and his bandmates have changed the way that they approach the tracks, the singer said: "I don't do the studio version of 'Virus'; I do a version that has evolved over the years that Chris Appleton [guitarist], and me and the rest of the guys have bent into our own shape, to do our own way, and that feels really good."

It was then that Blaze revealed that IRON MAIDEN had made a conscious decision to remove its signature harmony-guitar style from its sound during preparations for what became the band's tenth album. Bayley said: "On 'The X Factor', there's no guitar harmonies, there's unison guitars, and I put those back in [when playing the songs with my solo band]. We go, 'How do you feel about putting in harmonies?' And I go, 'Yeah, we'll do it,' and so my set has those touches in it."

When asked to clarify that it was a very deliberate move by MAIDEN to not include harmonies on "The X Factor", he confirmed: "Yeah, that was a conscious decision by the band. I wasn't involved in that decision."

Pressed about why they would make such a move away from the traditional MAIDEN sound, the singer said: "I don't know. I can't really comment. You'd have to talk to Dave [Murray] and Steve [Harris] about that, really. But that was then; that was where it was. That's a period of time. Bands go through transitions and do different things, and then the next version of MAIDEN has got three guitars. So, you wouldn't have predicted that. 'Oh, we're having a reunion, except it's not quite a reunion. It's actually a lot more than a reunion — we're having a massive reinvention of ourselves.' And, of course, it's fantastic; it's absolutely wonderful."

Elsewhere, the WOLFSBANE frontman commented on working with Harris and Janick Gers in 1998 for the "Virtual XI" album, specifically on the track "Como Estais Amigos". Blaze said: "We took it to rehearsal, showed it to Steve and said, 'What do you think of this?' And he goes, 'I love it, but it doesn't do that there. It does this there, and it does that there.' I go, 'Oh no. You're joking me.' And I said, 'I thought it was finished.' And he goes: 'No, Blaze. It's not finished.' He sprinkles his magic on it and does a bit of rearranging, and there it is, of course, and it makes complete sense."

Read the interview at Eonmusic

Dave Lombardo says that he misses the "energy" and the drumming "style" of SLAYER.

The 56-year-old drummer discussed his former band while commemorating the 35th anniversary of arguably the greatest and most influential thrash album of all time, "Reign In Blood".

Reflecting on the classic effort, Lombardo told Metal Injection: "I look at that album as a masterpiece. And it's one of those albums that will stand the test of time. It's brilliant. The fire, the energy that that album has. I don't hear that in other records. I don't know if it's because I'm listening to a band that I was part of that I have this perspective that's objective. But you know, it's brilliant and I'm very appreciative … I think that album will forever be like the epitome of thrash music and part of a historic time in music history.

"You know, that energy, I miss that and I miss that style of playing," he continued.

"SLAYER is different. SLAYER is different from MR. BUNGLE and the other thrash bands I played with. SLAYER had a certain energy that's unlike anything else. And so that definitely is for me one of the greatest metal records ever made."

"Reign In Blood" was released on October 7, 1986 through Def Jam Recordings. The album was the band's first collaboration with record producer Rick Rubin, whose input helped the band's sound evolve. Kerrang! magazine described the record as "the heaviest album of all time," and a breakthrough in thrash metal and speed metal.

"Reign In Blood"'s release was delayed because of concerns regarding its graphic artwork and lyrical subject matter. The opening track, "Angel Of Death", which refers to Josef Mengele and describes acts such as human experimentation that Mengele committed at the Auschwitz concentration camp, provoked allegations of Nazism. However, the bandmembers stated numerous times they do not condone Nazism, and are merely interested in the subject.

On the topic the controversy surrounding "Reign In Blood"'s lyrical content, SLAYER guitarist Jeff Hanneman previously said, "'Angel Of Death' was a big problem. I remember getting a phone call after the album was done: Sony wasn't going to release it. I remember being at home, pissed, throwing things. What the fuck? I didn't think anything was wrong with 'Angel Of Death' or anything else we did, it's a documentary! There's no 'Heil Hitler' or 'white people rule,' it's a documentary; grow up, people. It took months before they picked it up again. Finally, we got signed by a distributor."

"Reign In Blood" was SLAYER's first album to enter The Billboard 200 chart (at No. 94). The LP was certified gold by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association Of America) on November 20, 1992 for sales in excess of 500,000 copies.

In a 2009 interview with Filter magazine, SLAYER frontman Tom Araya stated about "Reign In Blood", "On that first album [together], Rubin made sure that he recorded. He wanted to duplicate what he was hearing." Guitarist Kerry King added, "It was the first time you actually heard SLAYER in its pure ferocity, and it made a big difference. One funny thing about that album is if it came out today, no one would give a shit. They'd say, 'That's cool.' But at the time it came out it made such a difference. People still reflect on that as a poignant time, where shit changed."

Lombardo, who splits most of his time between crossover pioneers SUICIDAL TENDENCIES, horror-punk icons MISFITS, hardcore supergroup DEAD CROSS and the aforementioned MR. BUNGLE, was effectively fired from SLAYER after sitting out the group's Australian tour in February/March 2013 due to a contract dispute with the other bandmembers. He has since been replaced by Paul Bostaph, who was previously SLAYER's drummer from 1992 until 2001.

Shortly after his dismissal, Lombardo said that he discovered that 90 percent of SLAYER's tour income was being deducted as expenses, including fees to management, costing the band millions and leaving them with about 10 percent to split four ways. While he and Araya hired auditors to figure out what had happened, Lombardo said he was never allowed to see any of the information obtained.

A few years ago, King said that "when Dave was in [SLAYER] this last time, I figured I'd be on the stage with him until one of us fell off the stage, dead. Things change. He got some bad advice and listened to some bad advice, gave us an ultimatum ten days before we went to Australia [to do the Soundwave festival tour]. And I said, 'I can't have this over my head.' And I feel bad for Dave to this day; I really feel bad for him because he shot himself in the foot. Maybe he thought he had the upper hand, but you ain't gonna get me."

SLAYER played its last-ever show on November 30, 2019 at The Forum in Los Ange

Frontiers Music Srl announced the signing of Kandia, an alternative metal band from Portugal, to a multi-album deal in late 2020. The band has released a new single, "The Flood", and an official lyric video can be viewed below.


 


Kandia is one of the first bands signed through the Frontiers & Beyond initiative, which was launched by the label with the intent to sign bands who will be part of the next generation of hard rock and metal.


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“We are excited and very eager to work with Frontiers," says the band. "The label is passionate about music and we are proud to be part of the family. Our new album will definitely have our identity, but we always like to experiment with new things. These hard times that we are going through are giving us much inspiration, so this record will be filled with different emotions."


Kandia started in November 2007, founded by singer Nya Cruz and guitarist André Da Cruz. They decided to name the band Kandia - to obfuscate, to blind by light - as they felt it would represent the positivity they wanted to radiate. Influenced by progressive rock bands such as A Perfect Circle, Tool, Porcupine Tree, Pink Floyd, and metal giants like Metallica and Pantera, the band was able to find a unique sound joining all these influences in their songwriting. Musically, Kandia create raw, melodic, and sensual music that delivers positive messages while not leaving the aggressiveness out of the music.


Kandia has released two full length album

Fresh on the heels of the release of the video for “Step Aside” – the first song from their upcoming release See Where The Night Goes, rockers Goodbye June are releasing a director’s cut of the video that embellishes on the original story.


Set in classic western style, the video follows a group of outlaws that steal a chest of loot only to have their good fortune tested when the rightful owner comes to collect it back. The video is shot in black and white and is the brainchild of director Tyler Dunning Evans. The “Step Aside” (Director’s Cut) can be seen below.


Goodbye June will be releasing their third full-length album, See Where The Night Goes, on February 18 via Earache Records. The record was born during the recent global pandemic and was also influenced by the destruction from tornado that hit Nashville in 2020.


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From the ear-catching riffs of album opener “Step Aside” to the anthemic outro of “Black,” Goodbye June showcase their southern rock roots. Tracks like “See Where The Night Goes,” “Stand And Deliver” and “Baby I’m Back” pay homage to their influences while infusing their own unique style to each song.


The official first single “Three Chords” will be released in the coming months as the perfect lead-in to the album’s release date. See Where The Night Goes was produced and mixed by five-time Grammy-nominated producer Paul Moak (Mat Kearney, Ashley Monroe, Marc Broussard, Relient K).


Fans that pre-order the album via digital retailers will receive an instant download of “Step Aside.” See Where The Night Goes is available for pre-order in various CD and vinyl configurations here.





See Where The Night Goes tracklisting:

In a new interview with Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada's rock station 104.9 The Wolf, BUCKCHERRY frontman Josh Todd spoke about what it has been like for him and his bandmates to play live shows during the pandemic. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I feel a lot of energy. There's all kinds of things going on. I think people are struggling, honestly. They're tired of being corralled.

"I just read that it's the biggest pandemic in world history now; it's surpassed 1918 flu pandemic," he continued. "It's brutal. And we're still gonna have to be very careful and stay on top of this for some time to come. And I know that's just a drag for people to hear.

"So, yeah, when we finally hit the stage and it's on, people, their enthusiasm is at a different level."

When The Wolf's Travis Stewart said that the BUCKCHERRY members must also be excited to be able to perform again, Josh replied: "We've always been super grateful to do this for a living. We know the odds and how many bands really get to stay around as long as we have. And so we're grateful. We get together as a band every night before we walk on. We pray, and we get into gratitude. And as far as my process goes, I'm backstage, and one thing I always tell myself, 'If this is it, this could be the very last show that you do. What are you gonna do? What are you gonna do?' Play it like it's your last one. And that seems to really work for me."

This past July, BUCKCHERRY postponed a couple of weeks' worth of tour dates after two members of the band tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

BUCKCHERRY's latest album, "Hellbound", was released in June via Round Hill Records. The follow-up to 2019's "Warpaint" was recorded last fall in Nashville, Tennessee with producer and songwriter-for-hire Marti Frederiksen, who has previously collaborated with AEROSMITH, DEF LEPPARD, Jonny Lang and Sheryl Crow, among many others.

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 last year.

In 2019, BUCKCHERRY recruited 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".

Denver-based black metal outfit, Wayfarer, has announced that they've signed with Century Media Records. The band brings together trappings of black metal with the Americana stylings of the rugged West.


In celebration of the signing, Century Media has re-released the band's two albums, A Romance With Violence and World's Blood on all major digital platforms, with physical re-releases scheduled for next summer (2022).


Speaking on their signing with CM, Wayfarer remarks: "We are deeply excited to have Wayfarer joining forces with Century Media. As fans of music as well as musicians, all of us came up from a formative age listening to so many seminal releases from artists in their stable. We are honored to have a chance to contribute back to this well, and for this next chapter exploring the furthest frontiers of our own sound - Black Metal of the American West."


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In a new interview with Landry.Audio, Swedish multi-instrumentalist Peter Tägtgren addressed his decision to quit LINDEMANN, his collaborative project with vocalist Till Lindemann of German industrial metallers RAMMSTEIN. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I can just tell you this: it was great when it was, and it wasn't great when it wasn't — put it that way."

He continued: "[Till and I] had a dynamite chemistry. We just had to look at each other and then we started writing music. It was that easy. The easiest part was the studio work. We could have spit out hundreds of songs every year because we had so many ideas, and we really clicked.

"So, yeah, it's sad," Peter added. "We could have been one of the biggest bands in the world if we kept on going, I tell you that. It was insane.

"I was taking care of the music, and he was taking care of the image. And in between there, we helped each other, kind of."

This past July, Peter told the "I Ask No One" video podcast that the final tour he played with LINDEMANN "was not really my cup of tea at all, to be honest. And that's why we're not playing anymore together. So [Till] can go on with his stuff; I go on with my stuff. To keep it very simple."

Last November, Tägtgren and Lindemann confirmed that they were ending their collaboration on the LINDEMANN project.

LINDEMANN's second album, "F & M", was released in November 2019. The follow-up to 2015's "Skills In Pills" was once again produced and mixed by Tägtgren.

"Skills In Pills" reached gold status in Germany and was entirely in English. On the second opus, Lindemann went back to singing exclusively in German.

LINDEMANN had received some criticism due to its use of pornography during its second album cycle, with the music video for "Platz Eins" described by one site as "full-on art porn — slick and stylish, weird and experimental, and definitely X-rated."

LINDEMANN released a concert film, "Live In Moscow", in May on Blu-ray. The set included professionally filmed video footage of LINDEMANN's March 15, 2020 performance at Moscow, Russia's VTB Arena.

STRYPER's Michael Sweet has taken issue with Ted Nugent's characterization of vaccinated people as "stupid".

Last Friday (October 1), Nugent appeared on "Off The Record" where he once again said that he won't take the COVID-19 vaccine because the shots that are available in the United States were developed in less than a year are probably fake.

"It's not a vaccine," he said. "It's an experimental shot. Now the FDA was forced to authorize it recently, but they were jabbing people with an experimental shot right up until that fake authorization.

"I don't believe it's a vaccine," he reiterated. "Most of America doesn't believe it's a vaccine. The only ones that are taking it are either gullible or being forced because they're gonna lose their job, lose their life and lose their livelihood."

Asked what he would say to the people who believe it's a worthwhile vaccine and it's saving lives, Ted — who spoke openly about his battle with COVID-19 six months ago — said: "I appreciate the opportunity to speak to the people that went ahead and got the jab. I speak their language. I will speak to them thusly: Baaaaaah," he said, imitating a sheep. "Baaaaaah. Baaaaaah. Baaaaaah. They understand that."

When senior Capitol correspondent Tim Skubick asked Nugent point blank if he believes that the millions of people who got the shot are "just stupid," Ted replied: "Yup."

After BLABBERMOUTH.NET published a story about Nugent's comments, Sweet took to social media to share a link to the article, and he included the following message: "Well, I'm vaccinated and for those of you who know me, I'm no 'sheep' ;-) I got vaccinated because I wanted to, NOT because someone told me to or convinced me to do it.

"I've said it before and I'll say it again - more middle ground folks. Stop with the far left and far right mentality," he continued. "There's right and wrong on both sides. There's ignorance and brilliance on both sides. There's also nothing wrong with people trying to do the right thing to make this world a safer place. That's honorable.

"How do you continue to have any fan base when you're calling the majority of them 'stupid'? Something that I'll never understand…"

More than 55% of the nation's population are currently fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, while more than 64% have received at least one shot, according to data from the CDC.

More than 700,000 people have died from the coronavirus in the U.S.

In April, Nugent talked about the darkest days of his battle with COVID-19, saying that he had "never been so scared" in his entire life. The 72-year-old pro-gun activist, who had previously claimed the virus was "not a real pandemic," said: "It was really scary. I didn't think I was gonna make it. I literally couldn't function for about 20 hours, and then they came and they rescued me… The six-foot-two, 225-pound headache [this time] was like nothing I have ever experienced. I mean, from my tip of my toes to the top of my hair, I literally was dizzy and weak and struggled to get up to go to the bathroom. And I would lay in the bathtub a couple of times a day with the water as hot as I could take it just to divert."

Ted also said that he was being treated for COVID-19 by a group of doctors who made a video last year calling for the use of hydroxychloroquine to battle the novel coronavirus, despite warnings from public health experts. Nugent went on to detail his clinical management of COVID-19, saying he was taking hydroxychloroquine, "a proven drug for 65 years," as well as ivermectin, "another proven drug."

In the past, Nugent, a staunch Donald Trump supporter, had referred to the virus as a "leftist scam to destroy" America's 45th president. He had also repeated a narrative pushed by conservative media and disputed by health experts that suggests the official death count from the coronavirus is inflated.


We’ll, I’m vaccinated and for those of you who know me, I’m no “sheep”;-) I got vaccinated because I wanted to, NOT...

Posted by Michael Sweet on Tuesday, October 5, 2021

Former GUNS N' ROSES and current SIXX:A.M. guitarist DJ Ashba will release a new single, "Bella Ciao", on Friday, October 29. Produced by Ashba, the reimagined track gives a modern day EDM-driven makeover to the Italian folk classic, complemented by DJ's signature guitar work, creating a dance/rock hybrid called GDM (Guitar Dance Music). The new single marks Ashba's first release of 2021 and follows a series of tracks that released in late 2020 through Edgeout Records/UMG/UMe, including "Hypnotic", "Let's Dance" and "A Christmas Storm".

"After becoming completely obsessed with 'Money Heist', I became so inspired by 'Bella Ciao' and the history of the song," stated Ashba. "I couldn't wait to get into the studio and make my own GDM version. I wanted it to be epic and dramatic, with big bass, bone-crushing guitar, and an infectious beat that I know the fans will go crazy for. After it was complete, I was telling my friend, famous Disney artist Craig Fraser, about my new version of this classic song, and him being a fan of the show as well, got inspired, and created me this one-of-a-kind painting of the iconic mask from 'Money Heist'. I was so blown away; I thought it would make the perfect cover for this single."

Ashba will support the single with his first headlining show scheduled for November 12 at the Epic Event Center in Green Bay, Wisconsin. All ticket and meet-and-greet packages will be announced soon and will be available on www.ashba.us.

Last December, Ashba told "The Mark And HooGie Show" that he isn't concerned about getting any pushback from his rock fans over the musical direction of his new venture: "Honestly, I'm at a point in my career where I could give two fucks," he said. "I could care less. If people don't like it, kiss my ass. Go listen to SIXX:A.M. If what I'm doing right now isn't rock enough, I've got a rock band. They can go listen to that then.

"My fanbase, thank God, has been, throughout my whole career, just very, very accepting," he continued. "They know me — they know I'm always trying to really push myself as an artist outside the box.

"If I had to live within this box, I'd rather honestly not play music. Playing music is a form of art, and if I can't truly be an artist and be true to what it is inside — whatever that is that keeps me going… I have to stay inspired. You can only write so many three-chord rock songs. So, to me, this is something that I'm kind of more doing for myself, and I feel like I kind of have earned that at this point in my career. And I'm just having fun.

"Surprisingly… It was weird. I was totally expecting for all my fanbase just to hate it — not get it," Ashba added. "'Cause I really, really go deep down in EDM — I stayed very, very true to the EDM sound — and I really thought they were gonna hate it, and I was okay with that. 'Cause in my mind, I'm writing this for the EDM, the young kids that go to those festivals. This is full-on festival music. And surprisingly, I got no pushback. My rock fans really, really were freaking out on it, which kind of freaked me out. I was expecting them to really not get it or maybe push it aside. But they've been nothing but supportive. I'm very thankful that they gave it a chance."

ASHBA's "Let's Dance" single featured a guest appearance by James Michael, co-founder and lead singer of SIXX:A.M., which he and DJ formed with Nikki Sixx (MÖTLEY CRÜE).

Ashba told the Las Vegas Review-Journal about the musical approach of his new effort: "I would go to a lot of EDM concerts, and their shows are so over the top and, you know, all these young kids just losing their minds, right? And the one thing that I've noticed is … it lacks guitar, you know, and I saw an opportunity, like five years ago, going, 'If I could take what I do and somehow inject it into this world.' A lot of kids are not being exposed to a lot of guitar in that world."

Although Ashba initially started work on the project as a collaboration with Michael — under the band name PYROMANTIC — it has since evolved into an Ashba solo venture, with Michael announcing in 2018 that he was stepping away from the group.

METALLICA has shared professionally filmed video of the "Cyanide" performance from the band's September 20 "pop-up concert" at Metro in Chicago. You can check it out below.

The venue made the announcement about the gig at 1:30 p.m. that same day, and within an hour, the show was completely sold out. Tickets sold for just $19.83, a reference to the year 1983, which is when the band last appeared at Metro.

METALLICA's Chicago concert took place just four days after the group played a "surprise" gig at The Independent in San Francisco.

Just a few hours prior to taking the stage in Chicago, METALLICA announced the show on social media, writing: "THAT was way too much fun last week as we finally played in front of real live fans for the first time in over two years in our hometown of San Francisco. So why not do it again. This time we're in Chicago and we'll be hitting the stage at the storied Metro on Clark Street tonight... our first time back there since 1983!!"

Metro didn't reveal how many tickets were sold, but the venue holds about 1,000 people.

METALLICA's setlist was as follows:

01. Whiplash

02. Ride The Lightning

03. Harvester Of Sorrow

04. Cyanide

05. Through The Never

06. One

07. Sad But True

08. Moth Into Flame

09. Welcome Home (Sanitarium)

10. For Whom The Bell Tolls

11. Whiskey In The Jar

12. Fade To Black

13. Master Of Puppets

Encore:

14. Hardwired

15. Fuel

16. Seek & Destroy

METALLICA returned to the festival stage last Friday, September 24 and Sunday, September 26, when they played a pair of unique sets in Louisville, Kentucky at Louder Than Life, the first of three U.S. festivals the band is scheduled to perform this fall in partnership with promoter Danny Wimmer Presents.

During its headline set last night, METALLICA played its classic self-titled album, commonly known as "The Black Album," in its entirety.

To commemorate its 30th anniversary, the Grammy-winning, 16-times-platinum-certified Black Album received its definitive re-release on September 10 via the band's own Blackened Recordings.

METALLICA previously performed The Black Album in its entirety at a number of European festivals in 2012.

Italian progressive death metal band, Sadist, has signed a record deal with Agonia Records. The group's ninth studio album, whose title has been revealed in late 2020 as Firescorched, is currently a work in progress, expected to be released in 2022.


Sadist had this to say through composer, guitarist and keyboardist Tommy Talamanca, who co-founded the band in 1991: "Partnering with Agonia Records feels like the start of a new chapter for Sadist and we’re very much looking forward to a great collaboration." 


Reflecting on the new album, he added: "Firescorched is probably the most extreme, fast, and yet, experimental album in Sadist's career. Being privileged to have a great team by our side, definitely makes us extremely happy."


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Sadist started out in the early nineties, having emerged from Genoa in Italy. The band went ahead of its time, with an adventurous take on the then-developing progressive death metal subgenre. Its presence was firmly established through an unmistakable style, detectable since the debut installment Above The Light from 1993, as well as following albums: Tribe (1995) and Crust (1997). After the release of Lego (2000), which brought about a temporary shift towards the avagrade/core spectrum of the genre, Sadist went on a hiatus. The band returned to its proven sonic formula in 2005, having put out four studio albums since, and continues to maintain its epic take on death metal, featuring jazz and Middle-Eastern influences.


While Sadist never stood foot outside of Europe in terms of touring, deeming the band an avid performer would be an understatement. Sadist played before huge crowds as a support act and opener for such iconic bands as Iron Maiden, Megadeath, Slayer or Motorhead, guesting at Olympic stadiums and gaining exposure at high-profile metal festivals as Wacken Open Air (1998), Gods Of Metal (2006 & 2010) or Hellfest (2010). The most recent trek took place in 2019, when the band toured Europe with I Am Morbid, Vital Remains and Atrocity.


With Talamanca being the only original member to persist through a 30 year existence, Sadist's personnel also includes long-running vocalist Trevor Sadist (with the band since 199

Annihilator frontman / founder Jeff Waters has posted a message to social media asking fans to chime in on what he call a "dream metal idea." See below.


Waters: "How would you feel about this dream metal idea? Wouldn't it be cool to do three nights in a row of the Alice In Hell, Never Neverland, and Set The World On Fire records at selected cities around the world? 


We could perform each of our first three CDs there (one per night + all the "hits!). Do you think Coburn Pharr (Never, Neverland singer), Aaron Randall (Set The World On Fire singer) and maybe our good friend from Canada, Stu Block (singing in place of the legendary Randy Rampage for Alice In Hell) might wanna join us in celebrating the 30th Anniversaries of these legendary records?


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Reunited thrashers Mantic Ritual have unveiled their new single, “Crusader”, The first new music in 12 years from the group – featuring original members Dan Wetmore (vocals / guitars), Jeff Potts (guitars), and Ben Mottsman (bass), alongside new drummer Carlos Cruz (Warbringer, Exmortus, Power Trip) – is on all streaming and download platforms now. Pre-orders for a limited-edition (300) 7-inch vinyl with “Crusader” as the A-side and the band’s cover of the Mercyful Fate classic “Black Funeral” is set to be released in early 2022 and available now at this location.





Says vocalist / guitarist Dan Wetmore, “What’s up, metal wackos, death stare daddies and thrash ragers? I’m pleased to announce the first Mantic Ritual release since our 2009 debut on Nuclear Blast. Though it has been a while, the metal flame never died. We aren’t dropping an album at this time, but rather putting out a few smaller releases in anticipation. It’s been a while and we’re stoking the fire, revvin’ up, getting our shit together. Via M-Theory Audio, this 7-inch is just a small taste of what’s to come, and paves the way for a worthy successor to Executioner, condensing our thrash, death and punk influences into something competent and pointed.


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When I was 18, the thrash revival seemed like a nice jumping point for the pissed-off, metal-head prick I was. I'm still pissed-off, might still be a prick, but shit has landed and it's way more concise, and I think, way better. Whatever furious adjective-filled heavy metal tagline you choose, I promise the new Mantic Ritual will deliver. Sure, a 7-inch isn’t a big release, but I’m sure it’s bigger than most of you... stay tuned, mates!”





The early beginnings of Mantic Ritual were birthed in the band's hometown of Pittsburgh in 2005. Performing initially under the name Meltdown, the group began building a buzz with Northeast heavy metal fans over the next two years with their combination of boundless thrash enthusiasm and superb songsmanship. The band moved across the country to Los Angeles in 2007, where performances alongside leaders of the budding Southern California thrash revival such as Warbringer, Fueled By Fire, and Merciless Death earned them attention from discerning metal audiences, and a record deal with

Frontiers Music Srl welcomes Vypera to the label family. Vypera is another excellent young, up-and-coming hard rock band from the ever fruitful Swedish rock scene. The band is currently working on their debut album, which the label plans to release in 2022.


"We are head over heels thrilled that we have been given this chance and opportunity to show you all what we've been up to musically," says Vypera. "Frontiers Records have always had these amazing bands that we love to death, and now we have a place there?! It's sick... but we are so up for it!! Musically, our sound is supposed to be a mix between W.A.S.P., Triumph, Rainbow and our own minds. Guess that's what happens when all of us are into that old damn good stuff! Again, we are more than excited! See you out there!”


Vypera formed as Madhouse in Sandviken, Sweden in 2016 as a covers band, but soon began to hunger for making their own music. They changed their name to Vypera and began writing music that they felt traveled on the same good ol' road where their influences like Rainbow, Icon, King Kobra, London, Triumph, W.A.S.P. had originally started. Their signature is that classic hard rock style played with immense pride… and joy.

Earlier this year, Phil Campbell And The Bastard Sons announced they were parting ways with vocalist Neil Starr. Now, the band has issued the following update:


"After listening to hundreds of audition tapes, Phil Campbell And The Bastard Sons are proud to welcome Bootyard Bandits vocalist Joel Peters to the fold for their upcoming UK tour.


The band comments, 'Joel stood out from the very start. Rehearsals have gone well and we were extremely happy with Joel’s performance at Headbanger’s Balls Fest in Belgium last weekend, so we've decided to give him the role for the upcoming UK tour in November.'


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In response to getting the gig for the upcoming tour, Joel says, 'I’m stoked that the guys have asked me along to do the Phil Campbell And The Bastard Sons UK tour this November. It’s an honour to have been given the opportunity to play alongside these absolute legends whose music I’ve loved listening to over the last few years. Can’t wait to do the band and fans proud. See you all out on the road this November!'


The band would like to thank everyone who sent in audition ta