EVANESCENCE performed the song "Afterlife" during last night's (Thursday, December 11) Game Awards at Los Angeles's Peacock Theatre. Professionally filmed video of the band's appearance can be seen below.

The original version of "Afterlife" was released in March 2025. The track appeared in Netflix's adult animated urban fantasy action television series "Devil May Cry", which is based on the Japanese video game franchise of the same name by Capcom. Created by Adi Shankar and produced by Studio Mir, "Devil May Cry" was released in April on Netflix.

EVANESCENCE has also teamed up with the British synthwave band GUNSHIP to release a new Spotify Singles version of "Afterlife".

"We've been looking for an excuse to work with GUNSHIP for too long, and I couldn't be more excited about this dark new version of 'Afterlife'," said EVANESCENCE singer Amy Lee. "Being a part of the 'Devil May Cry' series has been an honor and too much fun."

In an interview with Audacy Music, Lee stated about how the original version of "Afterlife" came together: "Netflix, via Mako, who is a guy that did score work on this series, 'Devil May Cry', had this song started and reached out to me and was, like, 'Hey, we'd worked together once before on a Lindsey Stirling track during the pandemic.' So, I made vocals to it, and we were kind of just communicating via e-mail. But he was, like, 'Hey, check it out. Would this be cool? Would you sing on this?' And that just snowballed into finishing the song together and then getting it, like, 'This is an EVANESCENCE song. Let's get the band in here. And let's just take this all the way.' And us getting to go into the studio with [producer] Nick Raskulinecz, who we did our last two albums with and love working with him. He is right here in Nashville, so it's fun and easy for me and I could just keep going over there and annoying him. And it kind of just happened, kind of fast."

Game Awards is an annual awards ceremony for video games which first launched in 2014. This year's event handed out awards to some of the biggest games to take over consoles, including the prestigious "Game Of The Year" award. The winner of the entirely fan-voted "Players' Voice" award was also revealed.

Earlier this month, EVANESCENCE announced a world tour for 2026. The trek will kick off on June 11, 2026 in West Palm Beach, Florida and run through the end of October. EVANESCENCE will perform in North America in June and July, before heading over to Europe, and wrapping things up at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado. Support on the trek will come from SPIRITBOX, Poppy, K. Flay and NOVA TWINS across select dates.

EVANESCENCE recently completed a tour of Australia and New Zealand at, including several shows as the support act for METALLICA.

In 2003, when the rock charts were dominated by predominantly male nü-metal and post-grunge acts, a young female-fronted band from Arkansas stood out from the crowd, offering something entirely new. They were EVANESCENCE — and with their debut album, "Fallen", they transformed the rock landscape. Led by Lee, EVANESCENCE's cinematic blend of metal and symphonic, piano-driven melodies captured a generation, while "Fallen" set the band on a path to global superstardom, earning them multiple Grammys, and becoming one of the highest-selling albums of all time.

Released in the spring of 2003, "Fallen" resonated deeply with fans, selling more than 141,000 copies in its first week and peaking at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, where it spent an astonishing 43 weeks in the Top 10. Within a month, "Fallen" was certified platinum by the RIAA, while it was a Top 10 hit in more than ten countries, reaching No. 1 in the U.K., Canada, Australia, and across Europe. Much of the album's initial success can be attributed to its stratospheric singles, including "Bring Me to Life", which broke the Top 10 in more than 15 countries and topped Billboard's Mainstream Top 40 and Alternative Airplay charts. "My Immortal" was a Top 10 hit in over ten countries, including the U.S., U.K. and Australia.

At the 2004 Grammys, EVANESCENCE received five nominations, including "Album Of The Year", "Best Rock Album", "Best Hard Rock Performance" for "Bring Me To Life", and "Best New Artist", taking home the latter two. The following year, "My Immortal" received a nod for "Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals".

Today, "Fallen" holds steady as the sixth best-selling album of the 21st century (ranking just behind Lady Gaga's "The Fame" and ahead of COLDPLAY's "A Rush Of Blood To The Head") and remains one of the best-selling albums of all time, with more than 17 million copies sold worldwide. In 2022, "Fallen" received a rare diamond certification from the RIAA, which recognizes 10 million units in U.S. album sales. As a testament to the album's enduring appeal, the video for "Bring Me To Life" surpassed 1.6 billion views on YouTube, making it one of the most-watched rock videos of all-time while "My Immortal" follows close behind.

To date, EVANESCENCE has released a total of five studio albums, including the multi-platinum "The Open Door" (2004) and "Evanescence" (2011),both of which topped the Billboard 200. In 2021, the band thrilled fans with their first album of new material in a decade, "The Bitter Truth". Now more than 20 years on, EVANESCENCE continues to scale new heights. Featuring a lineup of Amy Lee (vocals, keyboards),Tim McCord (guitar/bass),Will Hunt (drums),Troy McLawhorn (guitars) and Emma Anzai (bass, backing vocals),the band continues to travel the globe, staging some of the most successful shows of their career, including Allianz Parque, a soccer stadium in Sāo Paulo, Brasil, which was the biggest headline show of EVANESCENCE's career to date, drawing 40,000 fans.

This past Monday (December 8),KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons was asked by CNN's "The Lead With Jake Tapper" if he ever thought he and his bandmates would one day be recognized by the Kennedy Center Honors, the annual celebration of luminaries in American performing arts. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Yes. That, and more."

Gene explained: "When we're all children, we all have delusional notions about ourselves… You had big dreams, and part and parcel between the big dream and reality is just hard work. Hard work is easier, but to have this kind of, imagine this, the will to reach for the stars and all that… I'm getting very emotional about this. But in America, it's big dreams. Reach for the stars. Did I ever imagine? You betcha. Climb Mount Olympus? You betcha. The air up there's thin, but I belong there."

Regarding the fact that original KISS guitarist Ace Frehley didn't live long enough to be honored — alongside Simmons, drummer Peter Criss and guitarist/vocalist Paul Stanley — at the 48th annual Kennedy Center Honors on Sunday, December 7, Gene said: "Well, his daughter Monique and his wife Jeanette were there, and it's heartbreaking. Ace actually found out from the Kennedy Center that we were going to be honored, and he was so thrilled.

"We were four knuckleheads off the streets of New York with no resume, no experience, no manager," Simmons added. "We didn't know. We were like kids playing in the mud. Scientists call that a singularity. It just happened — the right thing at the right place at the right time… And I wanna tell you that I can't explain it, but here we are. And I get very emotional talking about this because I wasn't born in America. I know I don't look Swiss. My mother and I came here as legal immigrants, because there is a difference, and we waited in line for years until we finally came in. And one of the first images I saw on television was a man, and he was flying through the air with no jets or anything and just a cape on his back. And my mind was blown. What kind of country is this? And I'm still amazed by the wonder that's America. And I get flack for that from people saying, 'Well, you're doing soundbites.' No, no. I deeply love, and I'm amazed by this country, no matter all the problems. There's always people [who] always argue about stuff, but the wonder that is America is that I can be here, first-generation legal immigrant, and people who've been here for hundreds of years don't say, 'Go to the back of the line.' I can have access to any position in power I can have, as long as I'm willing to work for it. That's the American dream."

On the red carpet of this year's Kennedy Center Honors, Stanley told People magazine that "the fans carry on [Ace's] legacy" and added that Frehley, who died in October, was there in spirit.

"We are here and simultaneously we can mourn his passing and celebrate our accomplishments. So both things can be true at the same time," Paul said. "He's here in spirit. He was looking very forward to being here and I feel he's here."

"People live on through the arts," Paul continued. "That's the beauty of the arts, is that when people are gone, they remain. Their impact remains. The joy that they bring people remains. You know, Beethoven doesn't have to be here today. Picasso doesn't have to be here today. The fact that they existed and contributed something means that we all benefit timelessly."

In a statement about this year's Kennedy Center Honors, KISS said: "From the very beginning, KISS has been about proving that anything is possible with hard work and passion. We're deeply honored to receive the Kennedy Center Honors, and proudly share this recognition with our fans and all those who have been a part of creating this legacy. This honor would not be possible without the irreplaceable contributions of our founding partner, Ace Frehley. knowing how much this award meant to him, we celebrate this milestone as we mourn his loss."

U.S. president Donald Trump praised this year's honorees as "perhaps the most accomplished and renowned class of Kennedy Center honorees ever assembled."

According to Billboard, Ace became only the third person to receive a Kennedy Center Honor posthumously, following two other group members who likewise died after the groups' awards were first announced: Glenn Frey of EAGLES and Phil Lesh of GRATEFUL DEAD.

Throughout its 48-year history, the annual Kennedy Center Honors Gala has become the highlight of the Washington cultural and society calendar.

The Kennedy Center Honors recognizes and celebrates individuals whose unique artistic contributions have shaped our world. Recipients have each had an impact on the rich tapestry of American life and culture through the performing arts. Whether in music, dance, theater, opera, motion pictures, or television, each Kennedy Center honoree has a unique place in the fabric of our nation and their influence has inspired audiences from all walks of life.

The honoree selection process includes solicitation of recommendations from former honorees, the artistic community, the Kennedy Center board of trustees, and the general public. This year's selected honorees were chosen based on the recommendation of the Center's special honors advisory committee.

As in years past, last Sunday night's gala will be turned into a broadcast special that will air on CBS and Paramount+ on December 23.

On the latest episode of "Steve And Rik's POTcast", the podcast hosted by Steve Whiteman of KIX and his friend Rik Parks, Whiteman opened up about KIX's decision to call it quits in 2023 after more than 45 years. Asked how he is enjoying retirement, Steve said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I'm loving it to death. I was so ready to get off the road, I was so ready to stop performing, 'cause my talent level had gone down, my mobility had gone down. I thought I left a hell of a legacy, and I wanted to go out where people would remember me being good and not some used up rock star."

Steve went on to say that the quality of KIX's live performances was always paramount to him and his bandmates.

"We recorde[ed] every single show and we watched 'em in the van on the way back, on the way home," the singer explained. "And in the beginning it was very telling and it was very helpful because it pointed out — like if we did something very cool, like when we dropped to our knees the first time, everybody goes, 'Oh, that was cool. We gotta do that from now on.' And we would just fuck around at soundcheck and do crazy shit, and every once in a while, something, a gem would come up and we'd go, 'Oh, we gotta put that in the show.' And then we'd watch the videos back. And it wasn't just to critique the band; it was to critique the sound, it was the lights, it was the whole damn show. So it wasn't like we were just looking at ourselves, 'Oh, I wasn't good there.' Or, 'Oh, that sucked.' Or, 'Keep that in the show.' It was the whole production that we watched. It helped."

KIX played its final concert in September 2023 at the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland. The show, which was announced four months earlier, featured a special setlist along with appearances from KIX's former guitarists Ronnie Younkins and Brad Divens.

Back in August 2023, Whiteman told SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" about KIX's decision to retire: "Well, if ever the world was shouting at a band to get the hell out, it's us. I announced [in 2022] to the band and to our agent that at the end of 2023, I was done, that my wife was retiring. I've been doing this since I was, like, 13 years old, and I'm sick of all the travel and all the B.S. and the only thing I really enjoy is getting on stage. And to be honest, I'm not as good as I used to be, and I know that, and I don't wanna go out sucking; I wanna go out being pretty good. But age takes its toll. And all the things that happened to Jimmy [ Chalfant, drums] — Jimmy with a heart attack, and then when he just collapsed in Leesburg, Virginia and literally died on stage. And thank God for [KIX bassist] Mark [Schenker] and [guitar tech] Brandon [Dull] who knew how to get him back until the EMTs got there. But I could have stopped right there."

Whiteman also admitted at the time that he was no longer able to deliver KIX's material the way that he was able to earlier in the band's career. "My voice, I used to… I never had a break," he said. "I had a four-octave range and I never struggled hitting anything. I've had to pretty much totally change the way I sing. Luckily, I was a vocal coach, so I knew how to — I don't wanna say 'fake' things, but change things so the fans really wouldn't know that I'm not singing like I used to. And there are nights, out of the past couple of years, where I've come off stage just humiliated because I can't sing 'Don't Close Your Eyes' like I used to, or I can't sing 'Cold Blood', and these are the songs that the fans are out there waiting for. And that's when I started to think I don't wanna do this if I can't do it well anymore."

In May 2023, Whiteman confirmed to Metal Edge that Chalfant's health scare — he collapsed onstage in November 2022 after suffering a cardiac arrest — expedited his decision to stop playing shows. "For sure," he said. "When Jimmy collapsed, that put a whole new perspective on things. It was the sort of thing that got me thinking, 'How much longer do we want to do this?' And if I'm being honest, I was ready to give up and go home then and there. But everybody rallied and pushed me to keep going and finish the dates we had booked. That's when we decided to go until September [2023]. We knew we had these summer dates, and Jimmy — once he felt good enough to get onstage — put his foot down and said, 'September [2023] is it for me.'"

The Baltimore-based act, which formed in 1977, announced its plan to call it quits during an appearance on May 7, 2023 at the M3 Rock Festival at the Merriweather Post Pavilion.

KIX was founded in 1977 and released its first, self-titled album on Atlantic Records more than 40 years ago. Their breakthrough came with 1988's "Blow My Fuse", which sold nearly a million copies, thanks to "Don't Close Your Eyes". The band continued to ride the hard-rock wave until 1995, when KIX took a hiatus. Nearly 10 years later, KIX reunited and started touring regionally. A 2008 performance at the Rocklahoma festival led to more gigs and the release of a live DVD/CD called "Live In Baltimore" in 2012. In 2014, KIX released its seventh full-length album, "Rock Your Face Off", the band's first studio effort since 1995's "Show Business". The album debuted at No. 1 on Amazon's Hard Rock and Metal chart, in the Top 50 on the Billboard 200 chart, No. 5 on the Independent Albums chart, No. 11 on the Top Internet chart, No. 17 on the Top Rock Albums chart, No. 27 on the Indie/Small Chain Core Stores chart and No. 33 on the Physical chart.

KIX released "Can't Stop The Show: The Return Of KIX" in October 2016, a two-disc DVD/CD set that entered the Billboard Top Music Video Sales chart at No. 3 and rose to the No. 1 position, the band's highest-charting debut and first No. 1 ever in their 35-year history. The 71-minute film offered an in-depth look into KIX's decision to record their first new album, in almost 20 years.

In 2018, KIX celebrated the 30th anniversary of their biggest album, "Blow My Fuse", with "Blow My Fuse Re-Blown", a two-disc set with a remixed/remastered version of the album, along with the original demo recordings for all 10 songs. The reunion with longtime collaborator Beau Hill for this remix sparked the initiative to revisit "Midnite Dynamite" and take a similar approach to updating KIX's legacy.

On the 35th anniversary of the release of "Midnite Dynamite", KIX released "Midnite Dynamite Re-Lit" in November 2020. For "Midnite Dynamite Re-Lit", KIX partnered with Hill for a blistering update of the fan-favorite album.

During an appearance on the December 10 episode of SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", legendary rock drummer Josh Freese was asked if he has gotten "any clarity" on why he was fired from the FOO FIGHTERS in May 2025, two years after he was recruited to fill the vacancy left by the late Taylor Hawkins. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Not really. I mean, I've got a couple of theories, but I feel like people are so interested in that because they're such a massive band that I'm kind of hesitant to comment at all about it yet because anything I say is gonna be used and thrown around and republished and reposted. But, yeah, I loved my time I spent down there. I had a great couple of years with those guys."

Addressing the fact that FOO FIGHTERS hired now-former NINE INCH NAILS drummer Ilan Rubin to occupy their coveted drumming throne, while Freese returned to take Rubin's place with Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross in NINE INCH NAILS, Josh said: "As far as the drummer swap thing, it's funny because it's just coincidence the way it worked out. It's not like there was a purposeful drum swap. And, actually, if Ilan, who was playing with NINE INCH NAILS, who joined the band after I left in 2009, if he left NINE INCH NAILS to go join — pick a band — MUSE, I don't know, Trent would've called me. It's not like it was an intentional swap. It's like when Trent needed a drummer, when Ilan split, he was, like, 'Well, I'm gonna call Freese.' And he called me and I was, like, 'Hell yeah.' Because I missed working with Trent and I loved working with him the last time I did it back between '05 and '09. And it just so happens to be he needed a drummer because his drummer was going to join the band that I just was let go from. So it was just completely coincidence that that that's the way that that worked. You know what I mean? It wasn't premeditated, it wasn't worked out by anybody. It was just kind of, like, 'Well, I need a drummer. Sure, I'll call Josh. Oh, how funny. I'm calling Josh because I need a drummer, because my drummer just left to work with the band that Josh just left.' [Laughs] So it'was just pure coincidence."

When Freese announced he was fired from FOO FIGHTERS last May, he shared a statement on Instagram in which he said the FOO FIGHTERS called him earlier that week to let him know that they had decided "to go in a different direction with their drummer." Freese added, "No reason was given."

In a light-hearted follow-up post, Freese shared a list of the 10 possible reasons he might have been fired from the band, including "once whistled [the FOO FIGHTERS' hit] 'My Hero' for a week solid on tour" and "never even once tried growing a beard."

FOO FIGHTERS frontman Dave Grohl thanked Freese for his work with the band in an extensive July 2025 letter celebrating FOO FIGHTERS' 30th anniversary, writing that without the "thunderous wizardry of Josh Freese, this story would be incomplete."

Freese released his new album, "Just A Minute, Vol. 2", on November 28, 2025 via PEARL JAM co-founder Stone Gossard's Loosegroove Records. The follow-up to his first installment, released in 2021, once again crammed 25 songs into 25 minutes, with every track landing precisely at the one-minute mark.

Recently profiled in The New York Times, Freese is among the most revered drummers in modern rock music today, keeping time for some of the biggest and most influential rock bands in history, including GUNS N' ROSES, WEEZER, FOO FIGHTERS, A PERFECT CIRCLE and NINE INCH NAILS. He has helped breathe new energy into legendary acts like DEVO and THE REPLACEMENTS and has played on hundreds of studio recordings spanning artists as stylistically wide-ranging as Bruce Springsteen, Katy Perry, THE DWARVES and Lana Del Rey.

In a new interview with Igor Miranda of Rolling Stone Brasil, Matt Tuck, frontman of Welsh metallers BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE, spoke about the progress of the songwriting sessions for the band's upcoming eighth album. He said: "The album is still in the writing and the pre-production phase. I think January 5th, we've got to get back in to finish that, and I think around the 1st of February, we've set aside the time to actually track the album for real."

He continued: "It's taken us a bit longer than we anticipated, but a lot of things have come up very last minute, but that's okay. I've got my guitar here [at the hotel room during BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE's Latin American tour], we've got laptops here, we're cracking on in the hotel and having fun and being creative. Hopefully we'll have new music out around April, May time; that's what we're aiming for."

Regarding the musical direction of the new BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE material, Matt said: "If I had to describe what the album feels like, it's a cross between the last album [2021's 'Bullet For My Valentine'], [2010's] 'Fever' and [2005's] 'The Poison'. It really feels like it's a mash-up of all those really big moments for our band. And it's not something we've tried to do: that's just how this writing process has been. We've just kind of just gone with it. I think genuinely this album is going to appeal to a lot of people. I think it's got all the right ingredients that people have loved about BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE. Could it be the most definitive BULLET record yet? Possibly, yeah. We're excited."

At this year's Download festival at Leicestershire, United Kingdom's Donington Park, BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE guitarist Michael "Padge" Paget spoke to Neil Jones of TotalRock about the band's decision to cut its "The Poisoned Ascendancy" tour with TRIVIUM short in order to focus on making a new album. He said: "Yeah, unfortunately, there's just not enough time. We started writing the [new BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE] album back last year, demos and stuff, which is going really, really well. To finish writing now and record by the end of the year, due to us touring what we've done so far, and then this summer run, to continue writing and finish up all the demos, then record in the studio, then process it to get new music and the album out by next year, we just don't have time. And time seems to be going so fast, so we just had to make our decision to focus on one thing or the other. And the album came first. So we chose the album, and we're gonna get stuck into that now… And hopefully there'll be new music out early next year and the album in the summer sometime."

Regarding the musical direction of the new BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE material, Paget said: "It's gonna be super heavy. We mess around with some crazy tuning on this one, something we haven't done before. So it's gonna be really interesting and fresh for the fans — and us. I think [we have a song in] drop G [tuning]. But, yeah, all of the usual BULLET trademarks are there. It's in our DNA, so hooks, the vocal melodies, the huge choruses, big guitars, all the standard stuff's gonna be there, but definitely different to what we've ever done before."

Michael went on to say that he and his BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE bandmates want to break some new ground on their upcoming eighth album. "We've always said we never wanna make the same album twice," he explained. "One, I think it's cop-out because we've already done it. We'll never do what 'The Poison' did for a debut album. And we like to keep it fresh for ourselves and challenge ourselves, make it interesting for the fans.

"Music changes over time, and there's classic metal, there's metalcore, there's modern metal, there's contemporary metal, this new wave of modern metal as well now coming out," he added. "So we've gotta keep up with the curve and do our thing, but our way. So, so it's gonna be interesting, but I think people are really gonna love it. It's gonna be awesome."

BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE spent the first half of 2025 celebrating the 20th anniversary of its debut album, "The Poison", on tours of Europe and North America.

Released in 2005, "The Poison" propelled BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE to unimaginable heights. That year saw the Welsh metallers graduate from supporting FUNERAL FOR A FRIEND on their U.K. run in the summer, to ending the year headlining the very same venues just months later. Dropping in October 2005, "The Poison" hit number 21 in the U.K. album charts, becoming a late contender in end of year polls, placing at number seven on Kerrang!'s "Albums Of The Year" list, and since achieving gold status.

BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE and TRIVIUM were on the road together earlier this year to celebrate the joint 20th anniversaries of their respective albums "The Poison" and "Ascendancy".

BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE released the deluxe version of its latest, self-titled album in August 2022 via Spinefarm/Search & Destroy. This extended release featured four brand new tracks, plus "Stitches", a song previously only available as a Japanese exclusive. Following the CD and digital releases, a vinyl pressing launched in November 2022.

Thanks to Igor Miranda of Rolling Stone Brasil for providing the original English-language quotes used in this article.

Legendary English rock supergroup ASIA will release a new live album "Asia - Live In England", on March 13, 2026 via Frontiers Music Srl.

To celebrate the announcement, the band has unveiled a live version of the hit song "Heat Of The Moment", along with a live video. Check it out below.

ASIA is back and roaring in its new, exhilarating lineup. Recorded live on the first of three unforgettable nights at Trading Boundaries in Sussex, in April 2025, this release captures the band performing their iconic 1982 debut album "Asia" in full, along with a selection of their greatest hits.

Featuring Geoff Downes (keyboards),Virgil Donati (drums; ex-PLANET X),John Mitchell (guitar; ARENA, IT BITES) and Harry Whitley (on bass and vocals),this fresh incarnation of ASIA brings both reverence for the classics and a thrilling new energy to the stage. The setlist includes fan favorites like "Heat Of The Moment", "Only Time Will Tell", "Sole Survivor", "One Step Closer" and "Time Again", alongside video-era and bonus tracks such as "Ride Easy", "Video Killed The Radio Star", "The Heat Goes On" and "Daylight" (video exclusive).

Geoff Downes commented: "'Heat Of The Moment' has an interesting story behind it. It was actually the final track John and I wrote for the ASIA album, and it ended up being the opening track and lead-off single. We threw it together in one afternoon. I had the verse, John had the chorus, although this was a guitar picking country-style piece in 3/4 time. We straightened it all out and bingo, there it was! A couple of days later we wrote the middle 8 section, rehearsed it in the studio and recorded it straight down with band. Ironically, it still remains our most famous track to this day. Without it, I doubt the album would have been as big as it was, so I am very grateful to have been a part of the creation of 'Heat Of The Moment'. It's still a really fun track to play live, and I hope it will bring back memories, and give pleasure to the listeners and fans all over the world for many years to come."

Harry Whitley added: "Playing 'Heat Of The Moment' live is always such an incredible experience. It's always electrifying, and this recording was no different. It was such an exciting night and a thrill to revisit all of ASIA's catalog over the three nights. We're really looking forward to fans hearing this whole live album and the others to follow…"

Virgil Donati said: "This song carries decades of history - every note, every moment - and we hope listeners feel the same passion we pour into it night after night."

John Mitchell also expressed his love for this track: "'Heat Of The Moment' is a very dear song close to my heart. Having performed it a vast number of times over the years both previously with the John Wetton solo band and with John and Geoff in ICON, from the quiet introspective acoustic version at The Borderline to the full band amped up version in front of 12000 strong in St Petersburg, it is both an uplifting anthem and a quiet tonic for the soul which never fails to bring warmth to the many."

With ASIA's legacy spanning over 40 years — from multi-million selling albums like "Asia", "Alpha", and "Astra" to defining the sound of the MTV era — this new lineup proves that the Year Of The Dragon is bringing the legendary songs to life for a whole new generation of fans.

This is just the first of three live releases from Trading Boundaries, each capturing a full classic album from their initial trilogy in concert in audio and video. Experience the magic of ASIA, live, where past and present collide in a spectacular display of musicianship and passion.

Downes said: "Revisiting the entire first ASIA album brought all the great memories flooding back from 43 years ago. In the studio with John, Steve, Carl and, of course, the great Mike Stone at the production helm. I think at the time we knew we'd made a good album but could not have predicted the enormous success that followed, that made the band a household name across the world, and particularly in America. That said, it was a result of much hard work and effort from everyone involved. So, when I had the opportunity to put together the live album with the current and fantastic lineup of ASIA and in collaboration with Frontiers Music, it was really a no-brainer."

He continued: "I was reminded of what a collection of great songs and performances made up the album — variety and musical dynamics to the fore. When we recorded it again earlier this year, I was drawn to some of the less featured tracks and realized how much they played an important part of overall album, in addition of course to the signature tracks such as 'Heat Of The Moment', 'Only Time Will Tell' etc."

Downes added: "We did this for you, the fans, and hope you really enjoy hearing these songs in the live setting performed in their entirety once again and enjoy it as much as we did creating and performing it."

"Asia - Live In England" track listing:

01. Heat Of The Moment
02. Only Time Will Tell
03. Sole Survivor
04. One Step Closer
05. Time Again
06. Wildest Dreams
07. Without You
08. Cutting It Fine
09. Here Comes The Feeling
10. Ride Easy (bonus track)
11. Video Killed The Radio Star (bonus track)
12. The Heat Goes On (bonus track)

OPETH drummer Waltteri Väyrynen has shared the original 2022 "The Devil's Orchard" audition video which eventually landed him the gig with the Swedish progressive metal outfit. The 31-year-old Finnish musician, who had previously played with PARADISE LOST, BLOODBATH and BODOM AFTER MIDNIGHT, replaced OPETH's stand-in drummer Sami Karppinen who had been the temporary replacement for Martin "Axe" Axenrot for several months after the fall of 2021.

In a message accompanying the release of his "The Devil's Orchard" video on YouTube, Waltteri wrote: "I realized I never posted publicly this video that eventually got me the gig in OPETH. Was really fun to revisit this after a few years now.

"The performance is far from perfect but it's interesting for me to see the differences and nuances compared to how I actually play this song live nowadays, not to mention thinking about all the stuff that's happened and we have done as a band ever since recording this!

"I'm playing along to the album track here without a click so the timing is bit slightly off here and there. Anyways, hope you enjoy it!"

In a November 2024 interview with Rock Antenne's David Loebe at Guitar Summit 2024, OPETH guitarist Fredrik Åkesson stated about the September 2022 addition of Väyrynen to the group's ranks: "Yeah, we had a guy that helped us out in between, a guy called Sami, who actually was Axe's drum tech. So he did the two American tours we signed up for, and also the festival summer season. And then we had Waltteri in mind because we saw him play the track 'The Devil's Orchard', which is… He's more of, I would say, an extreme metal drummer, but in OPETH, you need to have a bigger spectra, you need to know the prog, the more calm stuff and tasteful stuff, and he played that track, which is not a death metal track, but he just nailed everything; he really had the entire spectra as a drummer — all the different elements that are required within OPETH, because we kind of switch in between '70s prog rock, hard rock, metal, death metal, progressive metal, blah, blah, blah, etc. Some slightly jazzy stuff as well. But we did three tours with Waltteri before we recorded the [upcoming OPETH] album ['The Last Will And Testament'] with him. So he just nailed everything directly. When we went into the studio, the first track we recorded was one that we released so far, 'Paragraph Three', and he just nailed it on the first take. So, [we went], 'That's it.' But he was, of course, as I would be, 'No. Another one.'"

Axenrot officially joined OPETH nearly two decades ago as the replacement for Martin Lopez, who left the band in May 2006 after being plagued by illness and anxiety attacks, which forced him to miss several of OPETH's tours.

OPETH's latest album, "The Last Will And Testament", came out in November 2024 via Reigning Phoenix Music/Moderbolaget. The LP was written by guitarist/vocalist Mikael Åkerfeldt, with lyrics conferred with Klara Rönnqvist Fors (THE HEARD, ex-CRUCIFIED BARBARA). "The Last Will And Testament" was co-produced by Åkerfeldt and Stefan Boman (GHOST, THE HELLACOPTERS),engineered by Boman, Joe Jones (KILLING JOKE, ROBERT PLANT) and OPETH, with Boman, Åkerfeldt and the rest of OPETH mixing at Atlantis and Hammerthorpe Studios in Stockholm. The strings on "The Last Will And Testament" were arranged by Åkerfeldt and returning prog friend Dave Stewart (EGG, KHAN) and conducted by Stewart at Angel Studios in London. Not one to miss a beat, visual artist Travis Smith returns to the fold, crafting his 11th cover, a haunting "photograph" reminiscent of Stanley Kubrick's infamous "Overlook Hotel" photograph. Miles Showell (ABBA, QUEEN) also revisits mastering and vinyl lacquer cutting at Abbey Road Studios in London.

Åkerfeldt rolls out the red carpet for storied flautist and JETHRO TULL mainman Ian Anderson. Not only do Anderson's signature notes fly on "§4" and "§7", he narrates on "§1", "§2", "§4", and "§7". Joining Anderson, EUROPE's Joey Tempest lends a backing vocal hand on "§2", while Åkerfeldt's youngest daughter, Mirjam Åkerfeldt, is the disembodied voice in "§1".

During an appearance on the latest episode of the "100 Songs That Define Heavy Metal" podcast, hosted by Metal Blade Records CEO Brian Slagel, ANTHRAX drummer Charlie Benante spoke about the status of the band's long-awaited follow-up to 2016's "For All Kings" album. The mixing sessions, as well as some of the recording sessions, for the LP took place at Dave Grohl's Studio 606 in Northridge, California. ANTHRAX once again worked with producer Jay Ruston, who previously helmed "For All Kings" and 2011's "Worship Music" albums.

Benante said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET):  "We have a new ANTHRAX record coming out early next year. There's one song left to be mixed on it, and not because it's our record, but God, this record is so good. And I know it took a long time to make, but I think people will really be surprised and they will really grasp this and just be, like, 'Oh my God. This is worth the weight.' At least that's what I think."

Regarding ANTHRAX's working relationship with Ruston, Benante said: "I'll tell you, man, Jay's done the last few ANTHRAX records, and he's become… We talked about [legendary THE BEATLES producer] George Martin before, and Jay has become that [for us]. And him and I have been working very close on this record."

Charlie continued: "I know other bands will understand when I say this — it's, like, you could have three or four songs and it's, like, 'Okay, they're good.' Then you have seven, then you have 10, then the record starts to take shape.

"A couple of months ago, I started to listen to all of [the songs from the new ANTHRAX album] in the order that I think we're gonna put the record in, and it's, like, 'Wow, this is really good,'" Benante added. "It's the best thing when you could put them all together and it just flows. So I'm really excited about it… We pushed the envelope on this record too, so I'm happy about that."

In a recent interview with Thomann's Guitars & Basses, ANTHRAX bassist Frank Bello stated about the band's next LP: "I think it's been almost 10 years since the last ANTHRAX record, which is insane. We all are very, very hungry, 'cause we're in mixing right now. The new ANTHRAX record, I'm proud to say, I'm very psyched about this, that it's mixing, and now we get to hear the whole thing of it. And just to hear them really come to life now after all that, and, really, the parts are all done. Everything's locked in. And to hear what they're gonna sound like for when people hear it, as a fan of the band, it's, like, 'Fuck yeah!' You get hungry and you're ready and you know you have the goods. So we're pretty psyched."

Elaborating on the enthusiasm he and his ANTHRAX bandmates feel about releasing a new album more than 40 years into the group's career, Frank said: "You know what it is, man? I think you never stop being a fan. Never stop being a fan, because that's where the gut is. It comes from your gut, and you are hungry. I'm an ANTHRAX fan, so I wanna hear the best of the best. What do we have? When you hear a bad riff, it's out. Something's gotta work and it's gotta be good enough for us. That's why we know if it's good enough for us, everybody will like it. And that's the way we've always worked."

Bello also talked in more detail about the ANTHRAX songwriting process, explaining: "It's all [about exchanging] demos at this point. It's all digital stuff, so we send each other stuff. Charlie's in Chicago, Scott's [Ian, ANTHRAX guitarist] in L.A., I'm in New York. So imagine traveling like that. The three of us get together after we have a collection that we think are strong enough, and we'll bat them down and really put 'em together and make sure they work."

This past July, Benante told the "Talk Is Jericho" podcast that he and his ANTHRAX bandmates would "release a song at the end of this year, to give people a taste of what's to come. I just finished the album cover, and that is fucking trippy as hell," he said. "I designed it with this artist, who is killer. You know David Blaine, the magician. He did a six-part series recently [National Geographic's 'Do Not Attempt'], and Mark [Stutzman], the artist, he did a lot of the conceptual art for it.

"It's so weird how things happen to me," Charlie continued. "It's, like, I was looking for an artist and I'm watching this David Blaine documentary, and there's this art, which is exactly what I wanted. And I contacted him, and he loved the idea and he was a fan. So it's so crazy how things just turn out that way. So I'm really happy about that."

Earlier in July, Bello told SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" about the progress of the recording sessions for ANTHRAX's new album: "The record's done. It's going into mixing now. Look, I know it's a long time coming, and thank you to the fans that are listening right now, and I know it's been a while. But between COVID, side projects, everything, we've all had different lives, and everybody's very much into what we're doing now with ANTHRAX. So, you'll be hearing something before the end of the year, for sure."

Asked by host Eddie Trunk if that means that ANTHRAX fans will at least get a new song before the end of 2025, Frank said: "That is the plan, Eddie. That is the plan. 'Cause nobody puts out records right away — just a song and then a song, and you tease it out."

Elaborating on the musical direction of the new ANTHRAX material, Frank said: "I can't say the title [of the album yet], but what I can say is people who have liked the last two records, and there's been a lot of you, and thank you for that, I think we took another step from that. And this isn't just a salesmanship thing. I am, as a fan, really proud of the band stepping up like this — musicianship, songwriting. Joey's [Belladonna] vocals — I'm not even joking when I say this about Belladonna, it's one of the best singing he's done on an ANTHRAX record. I'm not even joking with that. So, we made sure the melodies, everything is right with this record. We're ready to go. It's been a long time, but I think we have the goods. I'm really proud of it, and I can't wait to play this stuff. It's gonna be a little challenging, definitely, but I'm looking forward to getting out there again."

Asked if 2026 has been "carved out" as the year when everyone in ANTHRAX will focus on touring with the band in support of the upcoming album, Frank said: "That is carved out, from my manager Mike Monterulo, straight from his mouth. We're concentrating specifically on ANTHRAX. Look, there may be shows here and there for other projects and that's fine when we're off, but it's absolutely focused on ANTHRAX and the record and getting it out there and really making people hear the stuff."

Earlier in July, Belladonna told Chicago's Rebel Radio 92.5 FM as part of the station's 31st-anniversary celebration that he had "finished the vocals" for ANTHRAX's upcoming album. "I'm really happy with what I've done," he said. "And the band sounds great on the record. And as far as I know right now, we're still finishing up a few things. We're not even mixing yet, so at this point I'd be just speculating [about a possible release date]. Obviously, things are going in the right form and the timing is right. So, all good. I'm happy. You're gonna love it."

In September 2024, Ian told Jon Wiederhorn of Guitar World magazine that he and hisANTHRAX bandmates hoped to finally release their new album in 2025.

"We're taking our time and not rushing anything because we want it to be exactly how we want it," Ian said. "We're not in a place in our lives anymore where we could have dropped everything and said, 'All right, we've got two months of studio time. Let's finish writing and then get in there and record it all and do the vocals. Mix, master and we're done — like in the old days.' We have families and commitments now, so it can't work that way anymore and hasn't in a long time."

Regarding the musical direction of the new ANTHRAX material, Ian said: "There are crushing riffs and great, hooky choruses. Even some of the thrashiest songs have great choruses. We're always looking for the hook, and I think we've accomplished that."

He added: "With the songs we've written, we'd be able to put together a nine- or 10-song record that would be thrashier than anything we've done in a long time. But there would also be a way to make it a very different kind of album depending on which songs we choose. And I can tell you, I know which way I'm leaning. And I think we're all on the same page. We want this record to punch people in the face. And then we can use the bonus tracks for other things, but in the context of the record, I really want it to hit hard."

As for his expectations for the new ANTHRAX album, Scott said: "I'd like to think this record will be a slew of songs that people are going to be very excited about hearing live for the next few years. I generally feel the riffs, the grooves and the breakdowns – we used to call them mosh parts in the old days — I think they're gonna connect with our fans. And a lot of these songs are tailor-made for our live show, so I hope we'll be playing them for a long time."

In August 2024, Benante told Metal Hammer magazine about ANTHRAX's upcoming LP: "There's a song which has the same kind of epic feel as 'In The End' [from 2011's 'Worship Music'] and 'Blood Eagle Wings' [from 'For All Kings']. It revolves around the journey we've been on in the band. And there are three songs that don't sound like anything we've done before. One called 'The Edge Of Perfection' I had way before COVID, and it has just stayed with me — the melody and the chords, but also the aggression."

In January 2024, Bello told Rodney McG about the long delay in getting new ANTHRAX music out: "There wasn't a rush, obviously. I know it's been eight years since our last record, but we wanna make sure it's right, and it is [right]. We are very confident. I'm not worried about how right it is. It's right on exactly where I think, and the rest of the band think, we need to be. I love that it's more complicated for me to play. I love the challenge of that. I think we stepped it up a little bit, the heaviness. Again, everybody's gonna prop their record. Doing this for so long, this is how I feel.

"I don't wanna get complacent," he continued. "I want the challenge, 'cause I'm a fan. I'm a fan, and it has to stimulate me. And it has to get me going on stage."

As for the musical direction of the new ANTHRAX material, Bello said: "On this record, there's stuff that we've never done before. I'm just saying right out — there's stuff, in a heavy way, which I'm very proud of. I like that we went that way with it and just went, 'What the fuck was that?' Some of the things that Charlie Benante does on drums, Scott and I were just, 'What the fuck was that?' And that's great, 'cause you wanna raise your game after that. I think it makes everybody step up a little bit. I'm doing some bass stuff that I had some fun with on this that I would never have done. I think there's a lot of cool stuff that's going on vocally, melody-wise. I'm really happy where the next ANTHRAX record is going."

In October 2023, Ian told "THAT Rocks!" that he and his ANTHRAX bandmates had "only really been working on" their new LP "for a year-ish, I would say… But then once lockdown and all that stuff happened, we just all walked away; nothing creative was happening at all with us through that whole period," he explained. "And then, slowly but surely, when we started playing shows again in '21 and going into '22, that's when we started working again, really. And then in the last year, we really started to put stuff together and Charlie and Frankie and I getting together and having writing sessions and arranging stuff."

In September 2023, Belladonna was asked by Tulsa Music Stream if he is typically presented with finished lyrics to sing or if he gets to contribute a lot lyrically to the content. Joey said: "I love doing lyrics, but there's a lot of lyrics that Scott — he just loves to do it. It's his thing. He just digs into such — these topics that he likes to go and get into, and we all kind of have our own little thoughts on the songs. But I get in there and I really kind of — I dig into the whole thing a lot further. There's a lot of stuff that I have to… When you start singing on something, you really have to find the pockets of what you wanna do, what kind of tone I wanna throw on it and how I wanna go for a certain range for certain things and how I approach it is very important. There are lyrics, but at the end of the day, I have to go in there and still sing as good and catchy and appropriate as I can to make this stuff my thing, my style. Obviously, we're not the hit-oriented type of thing, but I'm always going for something cool to catch you off guard and neat and different. I have my own style, so I just kind of do my thing."

During an August 2023 appearance on SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", Ian said about the musical direction of the new ANTHRAX material: "Certainly of the nine [songs] we've tracked so far, from a riff point of view, it's definitely — I mean it's riffs with all capital letters. Like if you were going to write, you would write 'riffs' in all capitals with an exclamation point. The riffs are killer. It's very riff-centric. There's a lot of faster uptempo material, certainly."

Ian added: "I will say there is a song — I won't say any titles yet, 'cause it's still probably a working title — there's definitely one song, it's the fastest thing we've ever done. There's another song that we haven't recorded yet that's also in the vein, more of a 'Gung-Ho' or a 'Caught In A Mosh'. Because Charlie and I talk all the time. I said, 'We still need something that's like a three-and-a-half-minute just ripper. You know, something like that.' And then we come up with something like that and I'm, like, 'Hey, I forgot I'm 60 now, and now I have to play this song for the next three years.' Just make my life harder."

Earlier in 2023, Benante was asked by Robert Cavuoto of Metal Rules why it has taken so long for ANTHRAX to complete the writing process for a new LP. Charlie said: "If we didn't get hit with this whole global pandemic thing, it would have been out probably two years ago, three years ago. But we all know what happened. But now, being that some of the songs were [written] before the pandemic hit, they're old to me. So now there's a bunch of new songs that kind of came in the mix. So that's a good thing. You can never have enough… We're still working on the older ones because we really like a lot of those."

ANTHRAX celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2021 with a number of special activities and events. Formed by Ian and bassist Dan Lilker in Queens, New York on July 18, 1981, ANTHRAX was one of the first thrash metal bands to emerge from the East Coast and quickly became regarded as a leader in the genre alongside METALLICA, SLAYER and MEGADETH.

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

"For All Kings" was called by some critics ANTHRAX's strongest album to date. Its arrival followed a five-year period during which the group experienced a rebirth of sorts, beginning with ANTHRAX's inclusion on the "Big Four" tour, and continuing with the release of comeback LP "Worship Music".

During an appearance on the December 9 episode of SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", legendary Canadian rockers TRIUMPH spoke about their decision to reunite for their first tour in more than 30 years. The North American run of shows will celebrate the band's 50th anniversary, and feature support from APRIL WINE.

The 2026 trek will kick off with a series of dates in Canada, beginning April 22 in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, and running through a May 8 show in Calgary, Alberta. From there, the band will hit the U.S. starting May 13 in Rosemont, Illinois, and wrapping up June 6 in Boston. In all, 10 Canadian and 14 American cities are included on the tour.

For the 2026 tour, TRIUMPH's classic lineup consisting of Rik Emmett (guitar, vocals),Mike Levine (bass, keyboards),and Gil Moore (drums, vocals) will be joined by guitarist Phil X, drummer and keyboardist Brent Fitz and bassist Todd Kerns. Phil X, whose real name is Theofilos Xenidis, is a member of BON JOVI and a former member of TRIUMPH, while Fitz and Kerns are both members of SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY & THE CONSPIRATORS.

Asked how Phil, Brent and Todd will be involved in "filling out the sound" and "filling in" where Rik, Gil and Mike are no longer able to reproduce the original material, Emmett said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "That's an ongoing thing. And every day I sit down with the script and I look at the tunes and I think about it. And the big thing is, first of all, they're incredibly skilled and talented and experienced musicians in their own right. And they deserve to end up feeling like they're as much a part of this as Gil and Mike and I are. I want them to feel that sense of sort of ownership and pride in what's going on, because — and this goes back to the songs again and the way that we present them, those songs have a life of their own. But I think this hunger that everybody is understanding is out there now for TRIUMPH to come back and play these songs, I think that hunger will be sustained by those guys, even if we get old and infirm and we can't necessarily do it. I think the songs are still gonna be there, and if those younger guys wanna start carrying a bigger workload, I think they could in."

Referencing the fact that Phil X, Fitz and Kerns previously played with Gil and Rik on June 6, 2025 at the Rogers Festival At The Final, a free outdoor concert in the ICE District ahead of Game 2 of the 2025 Stanley Cup final between the Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, Emmett continued: "In the short term, I'm gonna tell you this: I know that they can all sing fantastic. And there was a moment in Edmonton, and it actually made it on social media, where Gil and I and those three guys, in the trailer, we were just singing 'Lay It On The Line' background vocals to warm up. And I thought, 'Okay.' This was a great moment — it was one of my favorite moments in that experience out there — and I thought that should be part of the show. We should have moments where the band should cut out in 'Lay It On The Line' and we should just sing the harmonies. And we can do that in 'Fight The Good Fight'. We can do that in songs that we never did it originally. It's like another arrow in my quiver, it's another tool. I go, 'Okay.' There's things I wanna try and take advantage of. And they're all incredibly skilled. Fitzy can play keyboard parts, and Todd is as good a guitar player as he is a bass player. There's so many playing cards that are on the table now, I go, 'Oh…' Those people that are only listening on radio, I'm rubbing my hands in glee. That's what's happening. This is gonna be a really fun thing to get to play with over the next little while. And then those weeks that Gil was talking about, those dress rehearsals and stuff, man, I think there's gonna be an opportunity to build some things. And never mind the [stage] production that Gil's talking about and where this whole thing started, just musically, artistically, there's gonna be something here that's gonna be quite something."

Regarding how Fitz and Kerns were chosen to take part in the TRIUMPH 2026 tour, Gil said: "When I convinced Phil that this was something [that was gonna happen] — and at first I think he thought, 'Oh, this is fanciful. It's not gonna happen.' And then he realized, 'No, no, it's serious. It's gonna happen.' So when it came to filling the other spots in and stuff, and he said, like, 'Who do you want me to get?' And he was kind of going through this, this, this and this. And I said, 'It's really simple. We've gotta find some people that have great hearts.' All these guys we're talking about, they're really good players, but we want people that are gonna be good in the dressing room. So we wanna get good people. And immediately he goes right to Todd and Brent. And he says, 'That settles it. I got the guys.' And it's because of how they are as people, in addition to all their talent. They're very, very talented, as Rik said, tremendously talented people, but it's who they are. That's why they were picked. And Phil picked them."

Noting that Phil X already replaced Rik in TRIUMPH once before, host Eddie Trunk asked Emmett if he was "worried" that he would have to take a step back and give the spotlight to the younger musician on the upcoming tour. "No, no, no. The total opposite," Rik said. "If somebody had said, 'Well, it's just gonna be the original three guys,' I would've been far more reluctant than when they came to me and said, 'And guess who else we've got?' And in my mind I'm thinking, 'Phil X.' I definitely wanna give this guy so much rope that he hangs himself, because he's such an incredible player and he's a different kind of a player than I am. Tahat whole world of sort of the Eddie Van Halen, Randy Rhoads — he's got a virtuosity that it's not a part of my playing at all. But he has all this experience. He's been out on the road with BON JOVI and that. And I think, well, I think maybe he's gonna get an opportunity to stretch himself a little bit more and maybe have a little bit more leeway.

"TRIUMPH is a band that doesn't really have a musical leader," Emmett explained. "Gil's kind of the leader in certain ways. When we first started in the early days, Mike was kind of the guy that was the producer in the studio and was a leader in that respect. But I think all of these guys that we've got, and Phil in particular, they have leadership capability in certain ways, and I want Phil's star to shine. I'm happy to kind of take a backseat, move back upstage a little bit and let him have some room."

Formed in Mississauga in 1975, TRIUMPH rose from playing high school auditoriums and rock 'n' roll bars to selling out iconic arenas, from Toronto's famed Maple Leaf Gardens to Reunion Arena in Dallas, Texas. Their virtuosic musicianship, soaring vocals, and dazzling, high-production live shows helped define an era of arena rock. Blending hard rock power with progressive ambition, TRIUMPH has sold over 15 million albums worldwide and earned multiple gold and platinum certifications, building a global following through headline tours and landmark festival performances, including the 1983 US Festival before 500,000 fans. With hits like "Lay It on The Line", "Magic Power" and "Fight The Good Fight" — combined with pioneering stage productions featuring pyrotechnics, laser lighting, and theatrical flair — TRIUMPH became arena rock legends, securing a permanent place in Canadian and international rock history.

The band's return to the road follows a defining year honoring TRIUMPH's impact across generations. In June 2025, the band was celebrated with "Magic Power: All-Star Tribute To Triumph" (Round Hill Records, June 6, 2025),a 15-track tribute album featuring rock luminaries such as Phil X, Sebastian Bach, Slash, Nancy Wilson, Joey Belladonna, Dee Snider, Lawrence Gowan, Deen Castronovo, Alex Lifeson, Jeff Keith, Mickey Thomas and produced by the world-renowned Mike Clink (GUNS N' ROSES, MÖTLEY CRÜE, WHITESNAKE).

Further solidifying their celebrated status, TRIUMPH was inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall Of Fame in October, a prestigious honor recognizing their enduring influence, masterful songwriting, and contributions to Canada's cultural legacy. This induction adds to their long list of accolades, which includes membership in the Canadian Music Industry Hall Of Fame (2007),the Canadian Music Hall Of Fame (2008),and Canada's Walk Of Fame (2019).

2026 "Triumph 50th Anniversary" North American tour dates:

Canada

April 22 - Sault Ste. Marie, ON - GFL Memorial Gardens
April 24 - Toronto, ON - Scotiabank Arena
April 25 - Hamilton, ON - TD Coliseum
April 28 - Halifax, NS - Scotiabank Centre
April 29 - Moncton, NB - Avenir Centre
May 1 - Laval, QC - Place Bell (Montreal)
May 2 - Ottawa, ON - Canadian Tire Centre
May 5 - Winnipeg, MB - Canada Life Centre
May 7 - Edmonton, AB - Rogers Place
May 8 - Calgary, AB - Scotiabank Saddledome

United States

May 13 - Rosemont, IL - Rosemont Theatre (Chicago)
May 14 - Milwaukee, WI - Miller High Life Theatre
May 16 - Kansas City, MO - Starlight Theatre
May 17 - St. Louis, MO - Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
May 20 - Irving, TX - The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory (Dallas)
May 21 - San Antonio, TX - Frost Bank Center
May 22 - Houston, TX - Smart Financial Center at Sugar Land
May 24 - Tampa, FL - MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre
May 26 - Atlanta, GA - Synovus Bank Amphitheater at Chastain Park
May 28 - Camden, NJ - Freedom Mortgage Pavilion (Philadelphia)
May 30 - Sterling Heights, MI - Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre at Freedom Hill (Detroit)
June 3 - Darien Center, NY - Darien Lake Amphitheater
June 5 - Wantagh, NY - Northwell at Jones Beach Theater (New York)
June 6 - Boston, MA - Leader Bank Pavilion

Regarding why now was the right time for TRIUMPH to reunite for a tour, Rik told Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station in a separate interview: "I think we all had to sort of bow to the ambition and desire of Gil Moore, who wanted to get the rock and roll machine back up on the road so that he could mount some sort of show thing that only he can imagine. And that Mike and I just go, 'Oh, God, what are we getting ourselves into?'"

Asked by Meltdown if it's correct to say that Gil was "the mastermind behind all the TRIUMPH stagecraft" back in the day, Moore replied: "I'll take one for the team for that, yeah. I always felt better behind the scenes, to be honest. I always liked the technology and the big spectacle and all that. But I think we tried to use the stage in a way that we really enhanced the music. And what I see now in a lot of tours, I'm seeing a lot of flashing, kind of gratuitous flotsam and jetsam of effects and stuff. And that's not the intent here. What we're really trying to do is tell the story of TRIUMPH from the early days to the present and really trace the interest that our fans have had that's gone on for years and now decades to become what they tell us, so how they own the songs, how they have been impacted by the lyrics. And we've noticed that in that feedback that it's all about kind of the positivity in some of our songs, the uplifting messages within the 'never surrender' and the 'hold on to your dreams' kind of content that was in the lyrics. So hopefully the show will add another dimension to that, I'll say, and not just be a bunch of flashing nonsense. It's gonna be something that's very, very well crafted. I've been working on it for about six years with our back-in-the-day lighting director Paul Dexter, who's really a kind of a genius in this area. So we're gonna try to bring that to the stage and really have a show that people will never forget. That's what we're trying to do."

Asked if the success of the 2021 TRIUMPH documentary "Triumph: Rock & Roll Machine" and the recent TRIUMPH tribute album "Magic Power: All Star Tribute To Triumph" was partly the impetus for the 2026 reunion tour, Mike said: 'The doc and the tribute record certainly were, I guess, slight impetuses, if that's a word, for us to do more things. I think the strongest impetus was the fact that that Rogers Communications, which owns the Maple Leafs and the Blue Jays and the cable networks and stuff, used 'Lay It On The Line' in a TV commercial throughout all the Stanley Cup playoffs. It was like a hit record, and people discover were rediscovering TRIUMPH, including brand new fans. And you couldn't go anywhere without somebody singing the song behind you. They'd go, 'Oh, there's a guy from TRIUMPH. Yeah, yeah, yeah. 'Lay It On The Line', man.' And so that kind of had some influence. And Live Nation started to talk to us about maybe doing something. And as far as [fellow Canadian rock legends] RUSH [reuniting for a tour] was concerned, they contemplated their return a long time ago, and we didn't even know about it while we were talking about what we were gonna do. So, we sat down and talked it out and said, 'Okay, let's toss the coin and do it.'"

Referencing the fact that TRIUMPH's reunion tour will also include Phil X, Fitz and Kerns, Emmett said: "We're not just going do this on our own, first of all. We're gonna have three other musicians join us. And I think that that's gonna make it so that it's not just the good old TRIUMPH that's trying to see if they can survive this thing. It's gonna be a new thing, and there's an energy to that that excites me and makes me wanna be involved and make it happen. I mean, Gil pretty much touched on it, that there's these folks that it was the soundtrack of their lives, and now they're bringing their kids, and there's grandkids involved in this now. So yes, we're old. I think there's going to be a level of curiosity. 'Are they gonna drop dead when they're trying to actually make this happen? Will the flash pots go off and scare them that they're just gonna keel over?' But I feel safe."

Rik continued: "We played out in Edmonton. Gil and I went out there [and played with Phil X, Brent and Todd]. Mike didn't make it, but we went out there and it felt like it was fun. And I think at the bottom of it, all of this stuff that we're talking about, the songs and the big show and all the nostalgia of the three of us getting back together, really the bottom line has to be, well, yeah, but is it gonna be fun? And I think that's something that translates to the audience. I think they get a sense of, 'Look at these guys. They're just having the time of their lives. Yes, they're very old lives. They're in their seventh decade, eighth decade of life. Wow.' But if we're not gonna have fun with that, what's the point?"

Elaborating on what fans can expect from the upcoming TRIUMPH show, Rik said: "Yeah, well, we made it through three songs out there in Edmonton. So there's a little bit of a spine to build from. Of course, that wasn't with any production. We were just playing out — it was all these people that were outside the arena. It looked like a holding pen. And they were going crazy and it was fun, but it was like an outdoor show. What we're planning here is a much more intense, multi-leveled multimedia… There's going to be screens that are doing things at the same time that we're playing… Anyhow, we've got a lot of work ahead of us because there will be an intense period of trying to figure out what the script is for this thing. Then you get to the point where it's, like, well, now we're gonna have to go into the studio and the six of us are gonna have to be bashing away for a while. Then we're gonna have to go into an arena somewhere and set this thing up because it's a massive thing."

Asked if this will be the final set of shows TRIUMPH will ever play, Rik said: "Here's what's gonna happen. If the tickets go on sale and it's kind of stiffin', then we may not even make it up for these shows. If they go on sale and it does pretty good, obviously there's gonna be people like Live Nation and folks that'll be going, 'Hey, you wanna do some more?' At which point there will be discussions between the three of us as to how long this might infringe upon my desire to wanna be going on holidays. I will say this though — last night I was practicing guitar, and I looked at my watch and it was 12:30 at night. I usually go to bed by, like, 10:30, at that time. So I thought, 'Well, this is not so bad, really, is it?' Sitting up and playing guitar until all hours. So, I think that is a harbinger of that there might be a future here. I don't know how it'll compartmentalize and work out, but, yeah, I think it could extend. It seems like it's fun so far."

Emmett, who quit TRIUMPH — acrimoniously, in 1988 — over music and business disputes, went on to pursue a solo career, while TRIUMPH carried on with future BON JOVI guitarist Phil X for one more album, 1992's "Edge Of Excess", before calling it a day the following year.

Emmett was estranged, both personally and professionally, from the two other members of the legendary Canadian classic rock power trio for 18 years before they repaired their relationship.

Rik's memoir, "Lay It On The Line - A Backstage Pass To Rock Star Adventure, Conflict And Triumph", came out in October 2023 via ECW Press.

Moore, Levine, and Emmett formed TRIUMPH in 1975, and their blend of heavy riff-rockers with progressive odysseys, peppered with thoughtful, inspiring lyrics and virtuosic guitar playing quickly made them a household name in Canada. Anthems like "Lay It On The Line", "Magic Power" and "Fight The Good Fight" broke them in the USA, and they amassed a legion of fiercely passionate fans. But, as a band that suddenly split at the zenith of their popularity, TRIUMPH missed out on an opportunity to say thank you to those loyal and devoted fans, a base that is still active today, three decades later.

After 20 years apart, Emmett, Levine and Moore played at the 2008 editions of the Sweden Rock Festival and Rocklahoma. A DVD of the historic Sweden performance was made available four years later.



Excited to rock Edmonton today with Gil Moore, Todd Kerns, Brent Fitz, Phil X & Rik Emmett. You can watch us on the...

Posted by Triumph on Friday, June 6, 2025

Anita Dobson, wife of QUEEN guitarist Brian May, has told U.K.'s Mirror that there won't be any world tours in the band's future.

"They will do little bits and bobs, but they won't do those big tours," she said. "We are all getting old."

Dobson's comments came after QUEEN drummer Roger Taylor told Rolling Stone magazine that he, May and singer Adam Lambert had no plans to stage a final farewell tour.

"I don't think we're done," he said. "And I don't think we're going to say a final farewell tour. Because it never is, is it?

When pressed if QUEEN will be "resting forever," he replied: "At one point we will be."

Last year Brian revealed that he suffered a minor stroke. Although the episode initially left the now-78-year-old rock legend unable to use his left arm, he has since regained enough movement to be able to play music again.

May's stroke came four years after he had a "small" heart attack. At the time, he said was shocked to realize he wasn't as healthy as he thought, and he was "very near death". He discovered three arteries were "congested and in danger of blocking the supply of blood to my heart", and subsequently had surgery to fit three stents — tiny tubes to hold open blocked arteries.

Five and a half years ago, May had to be hospitalized after he tore his buttocks "to shreds" while gardening. As a result, he developed severe sciatica and suffered what he later described as a "small heart attack" from the medication. May then had a bad reaction to his heart attack medication and nearly died. More recently, Brian underwent cataract eye surgery.

He later said that he believed that coronavirus may have played a role in his heart attack because of the way the virus thickened the blood. As a result, he said he was living a "ridiculously careful" life with Dobson — whom he credited with saving his life.

"She was incredible," he told the Daily Express back in 2020. "I couldn't do anything and she just kind of nursed me, so I will forever be in her debt; she did an incredible job on me."