Perris Records will release HELIX's new full-length album, "Scrap Metal", on January 23, 2026. This will be the 14th HELIX release on the label.

"Scrap Metal" features five previously unreleased tracks that retain the "classic" 1980s HELIX sound. The remaining five songs were previously made available on other releases such as "Old School", "half-ALIVE" and "B-Sides".

The new LP's first single, "Stuck In The 80s", features Sean Kelly (Gilby Clarke, CONEY HATCH, Lee Aaron) on guitar.

The digital singles release dates are December 12, 2025 for "Stuck In The 80's" and December 19, 2025 for "Fast & Furious".

HELIX just finished playing shows with NAZARETH as part of the "Bending The Rules" tour, the latter band's farewell trek of Canada.

Most iconic 1980s bands only tour on their back catalog, but that is not the case with HELIX, which continues to record new music staying true to the band's 80s rock roots.

HELIX frontman Brian Vollmer comments: "'Scrap Metal' started out as an afterthought and morphed into a full-fledged album.

"During the '80s HELIX had written several very good songs that were never ever released. I decided to finish them, and also add a song I had written with Sean Kelly entitled 'Stuck In The 80's', which, ironically, seemed to sum up the project. I chose Aaron Murray and HELIX bassist Daryl Gray to produce, as they had both worked on previous HELIX projects. Aaron is on the cutting edge of where production is going, being the protégé of Danny Broadbeck (Delores O'Reardon) who was the protégé of Jack Richardson (THE GUESS WHO, Alice Cooper, Bob Seger) so it was a fantastic lineage of producers. As for Daryl, he's not only the music director for HELIX, but he produced 'Old School', which came out just as COVID hit. Sean Kelly, who I've written several albums with over the years, also became heavily involved in the recording of this disc, as did HELIX guitar players Mark Chichkan and Chritopher Julke. We even had former HELIX guitarists Kaleb Duck and Brent 'The Doctor' Doerner to come in and play on a couple of tracks. As the songs started to take shape, we realized we had something very special here. 'Stuck In The 80's' indeed!"

Track listing

01. Stuck In The 80's (3:33)
02. Fast & Furious (3:40)
03. Pretty Poison (3:55)
04. Hot Heavy & Wild (3:50)
05. Money (Goes With Everything) (3:27)
06. Jaws Of The Tiger (3:39)
07. Coming Back With Bigger Gus (3:43)
08. Danger Zone (4:25)
09. Tie Me Down (4:00)
10. Closer (3:48)
11. The Same Room (4:38)
12. The Pusher (4:49)

HELIX was formed in 1974 in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. In 1976, the twin-guitar attack of Brent "The Doctor" Doerner and Paul Hackman joined the band, helping shape the group's signature sound. After releasing two independent albums, HELIX signed with Capitol Records, launching their major-label career with "No Rest For The Wicked" (1983),featuring the breakout hit "Heavy Metal Love". The band gained further international success with "Walkin' The Razor's Edge" (1984),driven by their iconic anthem "Rock You", which received major MTV airplay, along with a controversial X-rated version of the video.

Throughout the 1980s, HELIX continued to release acclaimed albums and tour worldwide, sharing stages with KISS, ALICE COOPER, MOTÖRHEAD and Ian Gillan. Despite the tragic loss of guitarist Paul Hackman in 1992, Brian Vollmer carried the HELIX torch forward, working with various top-tier musicians, including members of BRIGHTON ROCK, KILLER DWARFS, HAREM SCAREM and CRASH KELLY.

HELIX's legacy was further cemented in 2003 when they were humorously featured in an episode of the "Trailer Park Boys" television show sparking renewed interest in their music. In 2005, Vollmer released the book "Gimme An R!", documenting his life on the road and in the studio. In 2010, Vollmer released "Smash Hits…Unplugged", an acoustic reimagining of HELIX classics.

Images courtesy of Michael Brandvold Marketing for HELIX and Perris Records

San Diego hard-rock/nu metal veterans P.O.D. have released the official music video for their cover of THE BEATLES classic "Don't Let Me Down". The clip, which was recorded, mixed and filmed by J.T. Ibanez, can be seen below.

P.O.D. released its rendition of "Don't Let Me Down" as a single in late September. At the time, P.O.D. guitarist Marcos Curiel stated about the band's decision to cover the Fab Four: "As cliché as it may sound, we've always admired THE BEATLES from the very beginning of our songwriting journey. Their melodies, the hooks, and fearless experimentation inspired us to craft our own take on the classic 'Don't Let Me Down', with nothing but the utmost respect. Thank you for helping lay the foundation of what we all know today as rock 'n' roll, pop and metal."

P.O.D.'s fall 2025 North America tour with DAUGHTRY and SEETHER kicked off October 1 in Virginia Beach and ran through mid-November, hitting major cities across the U.S.

P.O.D. joined U.S. hard rockers GODSMACK as special guests on their March/April 2025 European tour. The trek kicked off on March 22 with a sold-out show at the Sofia Arena in Bulgaria and then made stops in Romania (Bucharest),Hungary (Budapest),Poland (Gliwice),Austria (Vienna),Croatia (Zagreb),Czech Republic (Prague),Germany (Munich, Berlin, Offenbach),U.K. (London),Belgium (Brussels),before finishing with two shows in Germany, Hamburg, and finally April 12 at the Turbinenhalle in Oberhausen.

In May last year, P.O.D. released its 11th album, "Veritas", via Mascot Records. The album was a Top 10 hit across the U.S. Billboard Current Hard Rock, Current Rock, and Current Alternative album charts, and has already surpassed 48 million streams.

P.O.D. has released several singles from the album including "Drop", "Afraid To Die", "I Got That" and "I Won't Bow Down".

"Drop" features a vicious vocal feature from LAMB OF GOD singer Randy Blythe, while the equally eruptive single "Afraid To Die" features JINJER vocalist Tatiana Shmayluk.

As well as releasing "Veritas", P.O.D. has toured with SKINDRED, who between them brought the party in a major way to the U.K. They bulldozed through Europe with euphoric festival sets at Graspop Metal Meeting, Summerside and Rock For People. They supported MUDVAYNE, took on their blistering U.S. "I Got That" headline tour with special guests BAD WOLVES and NORMA JEAN, and festival stops at Louder Than Life, Aftershock, Sonic Temple, Welcome To Rockville and made waves on the ShipRocked cruise. They spent October 2024 touring Latin America, playing Knotfest and headline shows in Brazil as well as shows in Chile, Colombia and Mexico.

Image credit: DeadMike.com

Former URIAH HEEP singer Peter Goalby has announced the release of his "long-lost" solo album "Don't Think This Is Over", out now.

Goalby was the lead singer of URIAH HEEP during the band's classic "Abominog" (1982) era and also wrote URIAH HEEP's 1980s hit "Blood Red Roses". He also sang on the band's albums "Head First" (1983) and "Equator" (1985).

In addition to URIAH HEEP, Goalby was the lead singer of TRAPEZE and FABLE but has now retired from the music industry after an illustrious career.

Peter had been living with the knowledge he'd recorded a solo album just after leaving URIAH HEEP but it was only when a poorly labeled DAT was spotted, at a storage facility over 30 years later, that the lost album was found.

The album was finished when his URIAH HEEP bandmates Mick Box (guitar) and John Sinclair (keys) added the final overdubs to the tracks in 2025. The nine-track album was personally overseen (from tape transfer, mastering and artwork) by Goalby.

Goalby explained the background to the release: "In 1987 I was offered a recording and publishing contract with RAK Records just after I'd left URIAH HEEP. I thought these songs would be very commercial in the 1980s and SMOKIE recorded 'Fallin' Apart'. I later found out the master tapes had been lost and I silently carried the disappointment that music I'd put my heart and soul into was gone forever. Never say never!"

The lost album's release follows the successful release of "Easy With The Heartaches" and then "I Will Come Runnin'".

All Peter Goalby solo albums are also available from Cherry Red.

Gene Simmons, legendary bassist, co-founder, and co-lead singer of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame band KISS, will testify before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee's Intellectual Property Subcommittee next Tuesday, December 9, during a hearing on the American Music Fairness Act (S.326/H.R.861),legislation to close the radio loophole and compel radio corporations to pay performers for playing their music.

"Having spent my career in the music and entertainment industry, I understand the vital importance of this issue," said Simmons, who is receiving the Kennedy Center Honors with KISS this Sunday. "The American Music Fairness Act represents sound public policy. Artists must be properly compensated for their creative work. I look forward to meeting with both Republican and Democratic Senators to discuss why this legislation is crucial for thousands of present and future American recording artists."

Simmons will testify next Tuesday alongside Michael Huppe, president and CEO of SoundExchange, the non-profit designated by Congress to collect and distribute digital streaming royalties to artists. Huppe has helped lead the fight in recent years to build support for the American Music Fairness Act, a bipartisan bill that ensures radio corporations play by the same rules as every other music delivery platform that pays performers royalties.

"I'm pleased for the opportunity to testify before the Senate next week," added Huppe. "Recording artists are an essential part of our culture. It's outrageous that, in 2025, they still are not paid fairly for the work they do. I hope that the Senate will remedy this inequity and act swiftly to pass this important legislation."

AM/FM radio remains the only major music delivery platform in the United States that still refuses to pay performers for their work. Apple Music, Spotify, Pandora, SiriusXM, YouTube and TikTok all pay performers, while the corporate radio industry earns billions of dollars each year without paying artists fairly. The United States stands as the world's only democracy that still refuses to pay artists, putting it in the same league as North Korea, Iran, and Cuba. Even Russia and China pay performers royalties.

Simmons, who started his career as a small-venue musician and will be honored at the Kennedy Center on December 7, was one of more than 300 major artists who sent a letter to Congressional leaders earlier this year urging them to pass the American Music Fairness Act. His support has helped breathe new life into this effort — next Tuesday's hearing will mark the first time in more than a decade that the Senate has held a hearing on the American Music Fairness Act.

The American Music Fairness Act is sponsored by Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Congressman Darrell Issa (R-CA). The bill takes a balanced approach to ensure artists are fairly compensated when their songs are played on AM/FM radio, require big radio corporations to finally pay their fair share, and help small independent broadcasters thrive. The legislation is supported by a diverse coalition of artists, broadcasters, labels, and music lovers:

Broadcasters, such as the Alliance for Community Media, Common Frequency, Media Alliance, the National Federation of Community Broadcasters (NFCB),Prometheus Radio Project and REC Networks — which represent a broad coalition of community broadcasters — also support AMFA.

Last month, more than a dozen major artists asked Congress not to pass legislation requiring AM radio in new vehicles without also closing the radio loophole for artists.

More than 300 artists sent a letter to Congressional leaders in February urging them to pass the American Music Fairness Act.

Country music icon Randy Travis memorably testified before the House last year urging adoption of the legislation.

For over a decade, NEAL MORSE BAND, now known simply as NMB, has stood as one of progressive rock's most enduring and unified collectives. With their latest studio album "L.I.F.T." set for release on February 27, 2026, Neal Morse, Mike Portnoy, Eric Gillette, Bill Hubauer and Randy George return with a work that embodies vision, passion and inspiration . Written and recorded during a period of major transition, "L.I.F.T." captures the band's creative chemistry at its most instinctive and inspired.

To coincide with this announcement, the band has launched the first single from the album, and you can watch the video for "Fully Alive" below.

Conceptually, "L.I.F.T." stands toe to toe with NMB's greatest works like their much-acclaimed concept album "Similitude Of A Dream", combining emotional depth with the band's trademark progressive rock grandeur.

"In short, 'L.I.F.T.' is a prog concept album that follows the journey of someone seeking to belong to something greater than themselves" Morse explains. "It starts with feeling connected to the world and life, then there is a break in belonging, after which comes the turmoil and desperate cry, leading to a return to that place of profound connection."

The album title came late, though its meaning remains intentionally vague.

"We thought it could stand for different things," says Randy. "It's kind of whatever the listener wants it to be."

True to the band's collaborative spirit, "L.I.F.T." began with the usual whiteboard full of ideas, with columns under each member's name filled with riffs and snippets. However, few of them made it on to the final album.

"We hardly used any of the ideas on the board," says George. "Most of it was written right there in the room, more so than in the past." While Bill Hubauer contributed a few early sketches, and Morse improvised piano pieces that evolved into key themes, much of the music took shape spontaneously.

The sessions were engineered by longtime collaborator Jerry Guidroz, with all drum tracks recorded on-site before each member continued working individually from home studios. For the first time, NMB worked entirely outside their familiar recording environment, at Eric Gillette's studio in Tulsa, adding a layer of uncertainty to the process.

"It was strange not being in the usual studio," George admits. "But hearing the final mixes, it all came together beautifully."

Mixing once again fell to longtime collaborator Rich Mouser, who has been refining NMB's complex sound for years. As George explains, the band sends him the tracks and lets him work independently: "We just let him do his thing." Despite the enormous amount of detail in the arrangements, Mouser once again delivered a mix where "everything lives." The drums, in particular, stand out. Mouser will experiment by removing or combining elements "to see what it sounds like if this isn't there." The result is another brilliant showcase of the band's trademark sound.

With artwork created by longtime collaborator Thomas Ewerhard, the "L.I.F.T." will be available as a limited 2CD digipak (including instrumental versions),standard CD jewelcase, gatefold 2LP and as digital download.

The full track listing is as follows:

01. Beginning (06:48)
02. Fully Alive (05:02)
03. I Still Belong (03:32)
04. Gravity's Grip (02:03)
05. Hurt People (08:05)
06. The Great Withdrawal (05:08)
07. Contemplation (02:20)
08. Shame About My Shame (05:50)
09. Reaching (07:32)
10. Carry You Again (05:02)
11. Shattered Barricade (01:25)
12. Fully Alive Part 2 (06:18)
13. Love All Along (11:18)

AVENGED SEVENFOLD has released the official Black Ops interrogation room VR 360° video for a new song, "Magic", which is included as part of Black Ops 7 Season 1 biggest seasonal content drop in "Call Of Duty" history. The huge update adds new and remastered maps, modes, weapons, scorestreaks, limited time events, perks, gameplay mechanics, skins, bundles and more, with one of the highlights being the new Astra Malorum Zombies map. Completing the main easter egg of Astral Malorum and reaching Mars is necessary if you're looking to unlock the aforementioned track from AVENGED SEVENFOLD.

Says AVENGED SEVENFOLD about the "Magic" video, which was created by Ryan McKinnon using Unreal Engine: "Use the official YouTube VR app and 8K headset for the best viewing experience. You can also explore the full scene interactively on your phone or desktop by dragging your finger or mouse to look around."

"Magic" will be out everywhere December 6.

Back in 2018, AVENGED SEVENFOLD released a new EP containing four songs the band has written and recorded for the "Call Of Duty: Black Ops" franchise.

AVENGED SEVENFOLD frontman M. Shadows told Kerrang! magazine about the decision to make the tracks available on a separate EP: "We just felt these songs needed a place to live, instead of being scattered all over streaming services. We will also be releasing 'Jade Helm', which is the multiplayer score we did for 'Black Ops 3'. Until now, that has only been available on YouTube and in the game."

The EP included a new AVENGED SEVENFOLD song which was teased in a leaked trailer for the "Call Of Duty: Black Ops 4" video game. M. Shadows stated about the track: "The song is dark and brooding. We wanted to capture a difference feeling than a straight-ahead 'zombie killer' track. These songs are good places for us to experiment with our sound. I would put this in the category of 'dark alternative.'"

AVENGED SEVENFOLD contributed music to several previous installments of the game series, and even appeared (virtually) in the second chapter, where they could be seen performing the song "Carry On" in an epilogue after the closing credits.

This past September, AVENGED SEVENFOLD postponed its fall 2025 Latin American tour due to a vocal injury suffered by M. Shadows. The band was scheduled to to kick off the tour on September 25 in Buenos Aires, Argentina but ended up calling off the trek after M. Shadows was diagnosed with vocal fold hematoma, a condition where a blood vessel in the vocal cord ruptures and leaks blood under the lining of the vocal cord.

THE AVETT BROTHERS and Mike Patton played a three-song set on "CBS Saturday Morning" on December 6 as part of the program's "Saturday Sessions" segment. Watch performances of "Received", "Eternal Love" and "Dark Night Of My Soul" below.

"Received", "Eternal Love" and "Dark Night Of My Soul" are all taken from THE AVETT BROTHERS and Mike Patton's new collaborative album, "AVTT/PTTN", which came out on November 14 via Thirty Tigers in association with Ramseur Records and Ipecac Recordings.

"AVTT/PTTN" is composed of eight original songs written by the three artists together (plus one folk traditional) and produced by Mike, Scott Avett and Grammy-winning engineer Dana Nielsen (METALLICA, Rihanna).

For the Avetts, working with the legendary frontman of FAITH NO MORE and MR. BUNGLE was more than just a new collaboration — it was a full-circle moment.

"Mike's part of our DNA, like the fabric of our youth," says Scott. "Literally, we studied him. He's a dear friend now, but when we were younger, I was imitating him."

Patton adds, "My peculiar challenge in this was to become a long distant cousin. A brother that was orphaned. Maybe they kept him in the chicken coop or some shit. They brought him out years and years later."

"AVTT/PTTN" opens with the gentle acoustic guitar of "Dark Night Of My Soul", where Patton's seasoned croon merges with the Avetts' voices for a rich three-part harmony. Elsewhere, the driving fuzz of "Heaven's Breath" and the scuzzy stomp of the folk classic "The Ox Driver's Song" push the Avetts into new sonic terrain, while showcasing Patton's trademark dynamic range. Each track reflects the unusual way the record was built — songs sketched by Scott, reshaped by Patton, and then reimagined again with Seth — a process that gave the music its distinct character and balance.

What emerged from this partnership is a collision of worlds. "AVTT/PTTN" is Scott, Seth and Mike at their most adventurous, writing and singing together without boundaries, and carving out a space that's entirely their own.

"AVTT/PTTN" track listing:

01. Dark Night Of My Soul
02. To Be Known
03. Heaven's Breath
04. Too Awesome
05. Disappearing
06. Eternal Love
07. The Ox Driver's Song
08. The Things I Do
09. Received

Four-time Grammy Award nominees THE AVETT BROTHERS made mainstream waves with their critically acclaimed 2009 major label debut, "I And Love And You". In 2012, "The Carpenter" hit No. 4 on the Billboard 200, followed by "Magpie And The Dandelion" in 2013, which debuted at No. 5 on the Billboard 200. The 2017 documentary "May It Last: A Portrait Of The Avett Brothers" (co-directed by Judd Apatow and Michael Bonfiglio) chronicles the process of writing 2016's "True Sadness", which debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's Top Albums, No. 1 on Rock Albums, No. 3 on the Billboard 200, and scored two Grammy nominations. The film was released theatrically and on HBO to rave reviews and is available on DVD, Blu-ray and VOD. In 2019, the band released their tenth studio album "Closer Than Together" featuring the single "High Steppin'" which reached No. 1 on the Americana Radio Singles chart. "The Third Gleam" came out amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's Americana/Folk Albums, No. 1 Rock Albums, No. 1 Vinyl Albums, and the single "Victory" hit No. 1 on the Americana Radio Singles chart. This year saw the release of "The Avett Brothers", an album that is as much untitled as it is self-titled: a collection of songs that revealed themselves naturally over time. "Swept Away" — a musical inspired by and featuring the music of THE AVETT BROTHERS — recently debuted on Broadway. THE AVETT BROTHERS have been inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall Of Fame and have earned a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Americana Music Association. They are currently on tour throughout the U.S.

Patton is a Renaissance man in the truest sense of the word. From his time spent with genre-defying alternatives acts like FAITH NO MORE and MR. BUNGLE to his multitude of collaborations including the deconstructed-pop of PEEPING TOM, the rock-centric TOMAHAWK, and the Italian language orchestral classics he covered with MONDO CANE, his career has also ventured in film composing for movies such as "Crank: High Voltage" and "A Place Beyond The Pines", voice acting in "I Am Legend" and multiple video games, and starting his own record label, Ipecac Recordings, showing there is no limit to what Patton can do.

Photo credit: Crackerfarm

The surviving members of the original lineup of KISS were among the 2025 Kennedy Center honorees who were presented with their medals by U.S. president Donald Trump during a ceremony in the Oval Office on Saturday, December 6.

Other recipients this year are actor Sylvester Stallone, singers Gloria Gaynor and George Strait and actor-singer Michael Crawford.

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

Before presenting KISS members Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley and Peter Criss, along with the late guitarist Ace Frehley's daughter Monique, with their medals, Trump called KISS an "incredible rock band" and acknowledged Ace, "who now is resting in peace", adding that the guitarist's "beautiful daughter is here to accept the award."

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.

The day of Frehley's passing, Ace's former bandmate in KISS, Gene Simmons, shared a touching statement reflecting on the guitarist's impact and the Kennedy Center Honor.

"Our hearts are broken. Ace has passed on," Gene wrote. "No one can touch Ace's legacy. I know he loved the fans. He told me many times. Sadder still, Ace didn't live long enough to be honored at the Kennedy Ctr Honors event in Dec. Ace was the eternal rock soldier. Long may his legacy live on!"

U.S. president Donald Trump announced the honorees in August during a press conference at the performing arts center.

When KISS's Kennedy Center Honor was first announced, Simmons told TMZ: "KISS is the embodiment of the American Dream. We are deeply honored to receive the Kennedy Center Honor."

Stanley added: "From our earliest days, KISS has embodied the American ideal that all things are possible and that hard work pays off. The prestige of the Kennedy Center Honors cannot be overstated and I accept this on behalf of the long legacy of kiss and all of the band members who helped create our iconic band."

Frehley, meanwhile, called the Kennedy Center Honor "a dream come true that I never thought would materialize."

Criss kept his statement simple, saying: "I feel so blessed. This is the greatest honor of our career."

During his first term, Trump seemingly paid no attention to the Kennedy Center, often skipping the honors ceremony. He has since vowed to transform the marquee arts center, first ousting its leadership board, then filling the board of trustees with his loyalists.

In September 2020, Frehley called Trump "the strongest leader that we've got." Two years earlier, the original KISS guitarist also expressed his support for America's 45th president during an appearance on the "Juliet: Unexpected" podcast. At the time, he said about Trump: "Whether you love him or hate him, if you're an American and you're a patriot, you should get behind your president. He was elected. We live under the Constitution of the United States, and you're supposed to support your president. Love him or hate him, you're supposed to support him, or go move to another country.

"Being American, we have the right to free speech, and I'm all for everybody putting their two cents in on everything," he added. "But when musicians or actors get really verbal and jump on a bandwagon against our government, I don't agree with that."

Throughout its 47-year history, the annual Kennedy Center Honors Gala has become the highlight of the Washington cultural and society calendar. On Sunday, December 7, in a star-studded celebration on the Kennedy Center Opera House stage, the 48th class of Kennedy Center honorees will be saluted by today's leading performers from New York, Hollywood and the arts capitals of the world. Seated in the Box Tier of the iconic Kennedy Center Opera House, the honorees will accept the recognition and gratitude of their peers through performances and tributes. The 48th Kennedy Center Honors Gala concludes with a post-performance party in the Grand Foyer.

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.

Video below courtesy of the official The White House channel on YouTube

During an appearance on the December 5 episode of SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", Dave Mustaine spoke about his decision to include his version of "Ride The Lightning", the title track of METALLICA's 1984 album for which he got a co-writing credit following his 1983 departure from the band, on the final MEGADETH album, simply titled "Megadeth". Regarding how the new recording came about, Dave said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We're managed by three men — Danny Nozell, Steve Ross and Justis Mustaine. And we were talking with management, and we were just kind of yacking about what the cover song was gonna be on the record, 'cause we always did cover songs on our records. But this wasn't a cover song, because I wrote it with James [Hetfield, METALLICA frontman]. And it just became clear that I should do this, because if I'm going to ride off into the sunset, I wanna pay tribute to the band that I started in, and I wanted to make mention about what I think about James."

Mustaine continued: "I think [James is] an exceptional guitar player. I remember the day that I saw him play guitar for the first time. We were playing at the Whisky [A Go Go in West Hollywood, California]. And we had a guitar player with us, and his name was Brad Parker. And the night of the show he changed it to Damian Phillips. And he showed up at the Whisky in mid-1980s Rudy Sarzo garb. And I thought, 'Wow, that's not gonna go down.' And I looked at him and he had a giant feather earring. And I thought to myself, 'This guy's not gonna be here very long.' So I go to rehearsal, after the show, the next rehearsal I go and there's no Brad, there's no Damian, nobody. It was just James playing guitar — like a motherfucker. And I thought, 'How did this happen? How did this guy go from singer to a great guitar player like this?' And I was excited for me. I was excited for the band. And we started playing then."

As for how "Ride The Lightning" was chosen as the song for MEGADETH to record this time around, Mustaine said: "With the track, choosing that, I figured it should be something that I had something to do with, but I didn't know it was going to turn out like that. Something off of [METALLICA's debut album] 'Kill 'Em All' would've been obvious, and we already did that [with 'Mechanix']. And so I was thinking about 'Ride The Lightning', and there's only a couple songs on there that I wrote. And I didn't think that 'The Call Of Ktulu' would be the right move, 'cause that's not even how the song was when I was in the band; they changed it so much, so it's not the way that I remember it. So we started doing 'Ride', and it just felt so great, listening to the tracks, listening to James's singing, listening to how the song structure was. It was just great. I loved it. And I've always believed when you do a song from somebody, you've gotta do it as good or better — you've got to. So we sped it up a little bit and we beefed up a couple parts, just to make them a little bit more modern. And there you have it."

Mustaine previously talked about MEGADETH's version of "Ride The Lightning" this past October in an interview with Rolling Stone magazine. He said at the time: "It wasn't really that I wanted to do my version. I think that we all wanted it to turn out a certain way, and for me, this was about something so much more than how a song turns out. It was about respect."

Speaking specifically about Hetfield, Mustaine added: "No one ever talks to me about that. One day he's a singer, the next day he's this fucking powerhouse and I've always respected him as a guitar player. So I wanted to do something to close the circle on my career right now, since it started off with [Mustaine's band before METALLICA] PANIC and several of the songs that ended up in the METALLICA repertoire, I wanted to do something that I felt would be a good song."

Elaborating on his reasons for recording "Ride The Lightning" for MEGADETH's final album, Mustaine said: "Our intentions were pure. I didn't have any reason I was going to say, 'Oh, hey man, this thing that we've had for 40 years where you guys will never tour with me, me doing the song is going to change things.' That wasn't it at all. It was more about: This is my life going forward. I want to do things that are respectable. And I think doing something where we can pay honor to the guy that … I mean, I hate to say this, because it's just so fucking arrogant, but the guitar playing in METALLICA changed the world."

In a separate video message, Mustaine said: "So on the new album we recorded 'Ride The Lightning', and the reason we did that was, obviously, it's a song that I had a lot to do with writing it. And James and I, when we were working on the song, it became clear to me, when James first started playing guitar, how good of a guitar player he was. And I thought it would be really cool to close the circle to show respect, to play the songs that I've written with METALLICA and to honor our friendship, even though it's been strained and ruined from emotions over the years when we were not necessarily friendly. But one thing I've always had is I've always had a tremendous respect for James's guitar playing and [METALLICA drummer] Lars's [Ulrich] songwriting. So, it was cool to do this and add it to the record. We sped it up just a little teeny bit, and we kind of played around a little bit with the solo and Teemu [Mäntysaari, MEGADETH guitarist] and I both tossed it back and forth to each other. So, you might hear a little bit of some differences with the tempos and, of course, I sing different from James too. But once again, it was about completing the circle and just showing what James and I, as guitar players, did to change the world."

"Megadeth" will be released on January 23, 2026 via Mustaine's Tradecraft imprint in partnership with Frontiers Label Group's new BLKIIBLK label.

Mustaine co-wrote the song "Ride The Lightning" with Hetfield, Ulrich and then-METALLICA bassist Cliff Burton.

"Megadeth" track listing:

01. Tipping Point
02. I Don't Care
03. Hey, God?!
04. Let There Be Shred
05. Puppet Parade
06. Another Bad Day
07. Made To Kill
08. Obey The Call
09. I Am War
10. The Last Note
11. Ride The Lightning (bonus track)

This past May, Mustaine gave a three-hour interview to Shawn Ryan, a former Navy SEAL and CIA contractor, and host of the Shawn Ryan Show, in which he spoke about his brief stint as a member of METALLICA in the early 1980s. Asked how he ended up joining METALLICA, Dave responded: "I was done with [my previous band] PANIC and I said, 'I'm gonna find something else to do.' So I got a newspaper called The Recycler, and it's just a rag from Los Angeles, Orange County. It's like a county classified ad magazine. And I'm looking in the classified ad magazine. Go figure. The biggest band in the world would advertise in this newspaper. So I look at it and it says, 'Wanted lead guitar player' and mentioned a couple bands. So I called up and I got Lars [Ulrich, METALLICA drummer] on the phone, and I said, 'Yeah, well, I like MOTÖRHEAD and I like BUDGIE. And he goes, 'You like fucking BUDGIE, man?' And I went, 'Yeah, I do.' And that was the icebreaker because BUDGIE is a Welsh band. It's a three-piece. It's very obscure. And by me listening to them showed that I had credibility in the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal world because of the bands I was listening to. They were not a band like a white metal band or a progressive metal band. They were a three-piece from Wales that kicked ass. They didn't have to have all those silly names in front of it."

Mustaine continued: " So, [Lars and I] were on the phone, and he made that comment that I know them, and I said, 'Yeah.' So we talked about meeting face to face. And I drove down from Huntington Beach to Newport Beach where he lived in a place called — I think it was called Park Newport. And the funny thing was my mom was a maid and she had actually worked a event for catering in his complex he was in. And I'm thinking, 'Go figure. My mom was a maid here and your mom has a place here. What a story that is, two different sides of the same coin.' And so I went into his place and started talking to him. And he played this song called 'Hit The Lights' that was written by a guy named Lloyd Grant. METALLICA didn't write that song. Lloyd Grant wrote it, and then he was friends with Lars, and then Lars introduced him to James [Hetfield, METALLICA guitarist/vocalist] and then they started playing 'Hit The Lights'. That's a song that I heard from them first and I said, 'Wow, this song needs way more lead solos in it.' It was just me being cocky, being me: 'It needs more lead solos in it.' And he was trying to figure out if I was for real. And so we went to rehearsal. He said, 'We're gonna try you out.' I said, okay. I mean, I knew how good I played. I have been gifted, and I know it's not by my own doing, so I don't try to take any credit for it. So I don't care how good I am or not, or what people say or anything like that. So I just knew what I knew, what I knew. And I went to [then-METALLICA bassist] Ron McGovney's parents' fourplex. They had this place that James was living with Ron. And I went up there with Lars and I set up my amps and I plugged my guitar in and I just started warming up. [And] they wouldn't come in. They wouldn't come into the rehearsal room. So I put my guitar down and I thought, 'This is really strange.' And I walked out and I said, 'Guys, are we gonna do the audition?' They said, 'You got the gig.'"

Mustaine went on to say that he "knew" he would get the METALLICA gig when he first went to audition for the band. "'Cause I could play that stuff," he explained. "I mean, there weren't very many guitar players like me around at the time. Who were they? Randy Rhoads. There were people like that. The guy from RATT — Warren DeMartini was really great. But real shredders? There wasn't a lot of us around at the time."

Asked what it felt like being in METALLICA in those early days, Mustaine said: "Well, again, it's kind of like it seemed like this was what my destiny was. And when it came time for us to do our first concert, we played at a high school, or maybe it was a junior high school Lars might've gone to. I know he went to it, but I can't remember if it was elementary or junior or high school, whatever. And from that point on, it was just clear that whenever there was any kind of altercation that was going down, I would be the one that would take care of it. James was very peaceful, and Lars, he was a little bit of a devil; he liked to have fun. But, yeah, if there was ever any stuff going down, I had to take care of it. When we went up to San Francisco and did our first couple shows up there at a place called The Stone, I was the one who had to go and collect the money. And there's a million ways to embezzle or to be corrupt when it comes down to running a club or a bar when it involves a band getting paid. They can say all kinds of stuff. And if you don't know, you don't know. And most kids my age at that time don't know. And they try and get money and they'll say, 'Well, you sold 200 tickets and you have a bar tab here, and so we're gonna give you 150 bucks.' And you know that they made a killing on their booze. You know that they made money on the food and snacks that they have there and the ticket prices. Plus they take a giant whack of your merchandise. And that was my gig. I would go do that."

Reflecting on METALLICA's ill-fated cross-country trip in the spring of 1983 that resulted in his firing from the band, Mustaine said: "When we decided we were gonna move out to New York, that was because Lars had found somebody he wanted to manage us, this guy Jonny Zazula, who had Megaforce Records. And [Jonny] heard our demo tape, the 'No Life 'Til Leather' demo tape. And he lost his mind, just like everybody else in the world. And they wanted to get the band to come out and record a record. And while we were on the way out there, we got in a car crash. We were driving through the snow. None of us knew how to drive through snow except for Lars, because he was from Denmark. And I'm driving this Ryder truck. It's a 24-foot truck, and it had a tow bar and it had James's pickup on the back. So when we were driving, we hit black ice and the whole thing spun around while I was driving. And I managed to keep it upright in the middle of the freeway, but the truck stopped and oncoming traffic was coming towards us. And the events that happened at that location… The guy that had produced — I think he produced the first [METALLICA] record; his name's Mark Whitaker. He was the guy that was doing our sound and stuff. He almost died. I had to push him out of the way, and a truck was to the right or right where he was standing. So if I wouldn't have seen that truck coming and saved his life, he'd be dead right now. And when we went to the U-Haul place to get our truck, we placed and moved all of our gear into the new truck. James and Lars had made a decision to replace me because they tried to pin that driving thing on me as the last straw."

Addressing the allegations that his excessive drinking was the main reason he was fired from METALLICA, Mustaine said: "We all drank. That's why they called it ALCOHOLICA. I mean, they didn't call it DAVE-ALCOHOLICA. We all drank. And they continued to drink like that even after I was gone. But that was, I think, the beginning of the end. And when we got out to New York, I had a reel of tape, this quarter-inch tape, that had probably two days' worth of guitar riffs on it, just me playing and playing and playing. And we took that tape player and the reel of tape with us out to New York. We did two shows out there, and after those two shows, they woke me up one morning and said, 'Look, you're out of the band.' And I said, 'What are you talking about?' 'You're out of the band.' I said, 'No warning? No second chance? You're not gonna give me a warning? You're just gonna kick me out?' And I thought that was unfair. And it showed a grotesque lack of character. And so that pissed me off and was a huge part of the fuel. But at the time, I was really mad and I didn't wanna forgive them for what they did. And I told them when I left, 'Do not use my music. And of course they used it. [The] 'Ride The Lightning' [title track] I wrote. 'The Call Of Ktulu' I wrote. Let's see, what else? There's 'Phantom Lord', 'Metal Militia', 'Jump In The Fire', 'The Four Horsemen'. And I wrote a bunch of 'Leper Messiah' [on METALLICA's third album, 'Master Of Puppets'] too. They didn't give me credit on that. You listen to the riffs, you know they're my riffs. It's, like, you think I'm gonna all of a sudden hear my riff and say, 'That's not me.' So, yeah, I wrote a lot of their music that made them, and all the solos on that first record were mine — the best Kirk [Hammett, Mustaine's replacement in METALLICA] could try and copy them."

Asked why he was singled out and fired from METALLICA when everybody in the band drank heavily at that point, Dave said: "Because when I got drunk, I got violent. James and I had gone out to a club one time. It was the old Mabuhay [Gardens in San Francisco]. It was across the street from The Stone. And we were out front, and some guy came out of the alleyway and he said, 'There's a guy beating some girl up in the alleyway.' And, of course, I being the champion for justice, did not want to hear that and not do anything. So I went down the alleyway with James, and, of course, James not being a fighter, started yelling out, 'Kill him, kill him, kill him.' And the guy comes out from behind a van and he was much bigger than James, and he said, 'Who's gonna kill me?' And James goes — points to me. So I immediately grabbed a guy and put him down in a submission and started rabbit punching him until he stopped moving. And then we ran out of the alleyway and we stood out front until the paramedics came. And that was it. So I imagine he saw that and he figured, 'I don't wanna be part of this. Dave's already beat me up back down in Los Angeles, and he's just too violent.' 'Cause James did get a punch in the mouth from me. He kicked my puppy."

Elaborating on the punch-up that occurred between him and Hetfield, Mustaine said: "I was selling pot for a living, so one time I did a concert and people knew I was on stage, so they just shimmied the window. There was nobody there. They took all my pot, and I was pissed. So I got two dogs. My nephew took one and I took the other one, and I had taken her up with me to rehearsal. And she was playing and she's looking up at me. I'm standing over here. Ron McGovney's got this really nice GTO and she leans up against the car and puts her paws on the front quarter panel and [James] goes bang and kicked the dog. And I went, 'What did you just do? What did you just do?' And it went from the front yard into the house, and there was still stuff being said. And I said, 'You better shut up or I'm gonna punch you in the mouth. And then Ron McGovney says, 'If you hit him, you're gonna have to hit me first.' And I said, 'You stay out of it.' And then James said the same thing: 'If you hit him, you're gonna have to hit me first.' And I said, 'Okay, you win.' And bang, I hit James in the mouth, and then I hip-tossed Ron into his television set-up. And that was it. Two strikes and it was over. And Lars was pulling his hair going, 'I don't want it to end this way.' And I thought, 'You know what? I've already told you, it's either me or James.' And we did that a bunch of times, 'cause James was doing stupid stuff. And I told James the same thing. I said, 'Man, it's either me or Lars, 'cause Lars sucks.' And I got the ax in the end. So it's good. Fine."

Asked what he did after he got "axed" from METALLICA, Mustaine said: "I went home and I contacted a friend of mine and I said, 'I quit.' She said, 'No, you didn't. You got fired.' And I said, 'Yeah, I got fired. I quit. I got fired, whatever. I'm back home. Wrong word. [it's] not changing the outcome.' And I made sure not to ever say that I quit, 'cause I wanted people to know that I was unfairly dismissed and that I didn't give a shit. 'Cause we [MEGADETH] may not be as big as they [METALLICA] are. Hell, their biggest song, 'Enter Sandman', go look up the band EXCEL right now. Look up their song — I think it's something 'Into The Unknown'. [Editor's note: The track is actually called 'Tapping Into The Emotional Void'.] Pretty similar."

A decade ago, Grant told the "Rockzone Legends" show that he first heard "Hit The Lights" when Ulrich played it for him before their first rehearsal with Hetfield. "James was playing bass and I was playing guitar and Lars was playing drums," Lloyd recalled. "And we rehearsed that 'Hit The Lights' song. But way before that, Lars let me hear that song. We were hanging out watching soccer, and he says, 'Hey, I met this guy,' blah blah blah, 'and he's exactly what we wanna jam with.' And he played this one song, and it was great, and that's how I first was introduced to 'Hit The Lights'. And after that, I went over and jammed a few times. Then he called me and said they were gonna be on this compilation album ['Metal Massacre'] and he brought over a tape of 'Hit The Lights' recorded on a four-track and asked me to make some solos for that, and they were gonna bring the four-track down and they were just gonna put it out an dump it on the compilation album."

In a November 2022 interview with Greg Prato of Songfacts, Mustaine was asked to elaborate on his comment that he would like to collaborate again with Hetfield. Asked if he actually discussed that with James, Dave said: "The last time we talked it didn't end very well because we have some memory of a couple of things that took place when I was in the band. I remember it one way and he is saying that it happened another. But it's about somebody else — it's not even him. He's talking to me on behalf of 'you know who'," apparently referring to Ulrich. "They wanted to release 'No Life 'Til Leather' [the early METALLICA demo Mustaine was on] — 27 songs, posters, flyers, pictures, everything. I said I would love to do this thing, and James said, 'Look, we fucked up. The last three things we've done failed abysmally.' He said it was 'Lulu' [METALLICA's collaboration with Lou Reed, released in 2011], something called Orion [a festival called Orion Music + More that took place in 2012 and 2013], and there was one other thing... I think it was a film about a fan or something [the 2013 film 'Metallica: Through The Never']. I don't know. I don't see them as a failure. But I had said, 'Yeah, I'd be interested.' And he said, 'We'd like to get everything right with all the history, the publishing and stuff.' And I said, 'Good.' Because part of the reason why we haven't been able to really reconcile is because I had songs that when I left I didn't want them to record, and they went ahead and recorded them but they didn't pay me what my share of the songs were.

"James and I wrote 'Metal Militia' and 'Phantom Lord' — every note," Dave continued. "And somehow, on the record ['Kill 'Em All'] it says Lars gets 10%. And on 'Metal Militia' that Kirk gets some of it, and he wasn't even in the band.

"So I've come to terms with it, and when he said, 'We'd like to get this right,' I said, 'Great. Let's do it. I have no problem.' And when I said, 'This is what it is,' he said, 'No. It's kind of what it was, and that's how it is.' And I thought to myself, you know what? When you guys did that to me before, it was not cool. I said, 'Don't use my stuff' and you did it, and then didn't give me my fair share. So why would I want to willingly enter into something like that? I wouldn't. So that's where we stand right now.

"I would love to work with James. I'd like to work with Lars again, too, but I think the real talent in METALLICA has always been around the guitar — everybody makes fun of the drums.

"Lars is a really great song arranger. And believe it or not, I watched him on a piece-of-shit acoustic guitar write the opening riff to 'Master Of Puppets'. You know what that was? It was a guy with a guitar that doesn't know how to play, and he's going [mimics playing a chromatic run] on the neck. It wasn't anything really mind-blowing by any means. The way James played it made it mind-blowing."

Seven years ago, Mustaine said that he didn't want to "perpetuate false information" by giving Ulrich songwriting credit on the previously announced expanded version of "No Life 'Til Leather".

"No Life 'Til Leather" was released as a limited-edition cassette for Record Store Day in April 2015, available exclusively in independent record stores. It featured artwork copies from drummer Ulrich's own personal copy of the original demo, as well as his handwriting. At the time, the band also promised that expanded editions of the demo, which had never before been commercially available, would arrive on CD, vinyl and in a collector's set.

The seven-song tape was recorded with the first lineup of the band that appeared live as METALLICA, including Ulrich, Hetfield, lead guitarist Mustaine and bassist Ron McGovney. The original recordings were paid for by High Velocity record label owner Kenny Kane, with a view of making them available as an EP in 1982.

Mustaine discussed the proposed expanded edition of "No Life 'Til Leather" during a June 2018 interview with U.K.'s Kerrang! magazine. Saying that the last time he spoke to Hetfield was when the METALLICA guitarist/vocalist called him to talk about the "No Life 'Til Leather" re-release, Mustaine recalled: "He was trying to get me to give publishing over to Lars, despite James and I being the sole songwriters. Lars wanted a percentage and I just said no. I love James, he's a terrific guitar player, but yeah, I can't do that. The songs are already out there. I'm not going to release something just to have a product to sell — especially if they are perpetuating false information. Lars did not write the songs. It was just me and James. Period."

Ulrich told Metal Forces in 2016 that "some unexpected difficulties on the legal side… prevented the 'No Life 'Til Leather' box set and our vision for how we were going to kick this whole reissue series off. We spent some time doing that dance, but then James and I decided that it wasn't worth it getting bogged down in all the unpleasantries, because this was supposed to be a celebration and not end up being a tug of war, so we thought, 'You know what? Fuck it. We'll just move on to 'Kill 'Em All'," he said.

Ulrich did not want to get into the details of the exact issues that were preventing the demo tape from being released. "It's a little more complicated than that," he said. "There's no reason to go deeper into it. It was just something that we hadn't expected."

Back in November 2017, Mustaine tweeted that he was contacted by Hetfield two years earlier about "officially" releasing "No Life Till Leather" with "27 tracks, pics, the whole enchilada," but, he said, "the talks broke down because Lars wanted credit on two songs I wrote every note and word to. I have the texts. I passed."

When Ulrich spoke to Metal Forces in 2016, he made it clear that METALLICA was still hopeful that the expanded version "No Life 'Til Leather" would arrive at a later date. "As you know, I am the eternal optimist, and I am the eternal 'glass is well fucking half full,' so who knows?" he said. "I think some of those parties have circled back around now that they've seen that this is real and so we'll have to see. It would be great to share 'No Life 'Til Leather' in a year or two with our fans and with the people that care. We haven't shut the door on it."

"No Life 'Til Leather" was recorded on July 6, 1982 at Chateau East Studio in Tustin, California. All the songs on the tape later appeared on the band's 1983 debut album, "Kill 'Em All", including "Hit The Lights", "Motorbreath", "Jump In The Fire", "Seek And Destroy", "Metal Militia", "Phantom Lord" and "The Mechanix", which was renamed "The Four Horsemen" on the album.

Mustaine was a member of METALLICA for less than two years, from 1981 to 1983, before being dismissed and replaced by Hammett.

Mustaine was not inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame with METALLICA during the April 2009 ceremony at Cleveland, Ohio's Public Auditorium. Ulrich later explained to The Plain Dealer that Mustaine "never played on any METALLICA records. No disrespect to him. But there [were] half a dozen other people that were in the lineup in the early days. We thought... the fair thing to do would be to include anybody that played on a METALLICA record." He added: "Dave Mustaine was in the band for eleven months, predominantly in 1982... I'm not trying to play it down. I have nothing but respect and admiration for his accomplishments since."

In a new interview with Dustin Grove, a news anchor and reporter at WTHR-TV, Channel 13, in Indianapolis, Indiana, MÖTLEY CRÜE bassist Nikki Sixx spoke about how his creative process has changed over the course of the band's four-and-a-half-decade existence. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "You evolve as a person, as a lyricist. My evolution as a lyricist, it goes from the rawest of the raw to the most heartfelt. And that's just as I grew as a man and my interests evolved. That changes the lyrics, but then that changes the idea of the song. The lyrics to 'Home Sweet Home' is way different than the lyrics to 'Shout At The Devil'. And so as we go, we just keep evolving. And you might stumble upon some different ways of writing. I guess you just keep kind of chipping away at the stone, so to speak."

When it comes to making music and hitting the road, "We're not in a rush ever," Sixx said. "We don't have to be in a rush. In my case, I've got a six-and-a-half-year-old [daughter] who's amazing. And so I wanna not be in a rush to work constantly so I can enjoy that part of it and then go out there and play for the fans. It's about balance.

"Life changes, man," Nikki continued. "It's cool that it changes. The thing that I don't like is when I see artists that are still trying to act 25 and they're 65. I don't think that's cool for the fans. Evolution is evolution. We all age, we all change, we have different interests, and MÖTLEY CRÜE seems to have ridden that wave pretty good, just letting it be real.

"Like us or hate us, one thing about MÖTLEY CRÜE is we have so many people that we just really piss them off, and other people that they say we've changed their lives," Sixx added. "So I guess if you're gonna operate the way we operate and say it and do it the way you wanna do it, not like anybody else, you're gonna probably draw both extremes of types of reactions. And that's kind of also been accidentally the magic of MÖTLEY CRÜE. We put out 'Shout At The Devil' and it was, like, 'I keep saying, 'But it said 'Shout At The Devil', not 'With The Devil'.' [There were] Christian groups outside the concerts, [accusing us of being] devil worshipers. And at the same time, the arenas were full. So there are bands out there like that, that are polarizing. And I think that's kind of exciting. All genres have that — we've got our hip-hop guys, our country guys, our rock guys. So it's about being authentic and being able to take some bricks in the face if you have to."

MÖTLEY CRÜE's upcoming "The Return Of Carnival Of Sins" tour will celebrate the 20th anniversary of CRÜE's groundbreaking 2005-2006 "Carnival Of Sins" tour and the 45th anniversary of the band. The 33-city Live Nation-produced trek will kick off on July 17, 2026 in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania at the Pavilion at Star Lake and will feature support acts EXTREME and TESLA.

MÖTLEY CRÜE said that $1 from every ticket sold for "The Return Of Carnival Of Sins" tour will be donated to ASAP! (After School Arts Program) through the Mötley Crüe Giveback Initiative to fund hands-on arts programs for young people.

MÖTLEY CRÜE's Las Vegas residency launched on September 12 and at Dolby Live at Park MGM and ran through October 3. The shows had initially been set for spring but were rescheduled after frontman Vince Neil revealed he had suffered a stroke last Christmas.

In September, Vince revealed that he had actually had a series of strokes before he suffered the "big one" in his sleep last Christmas night, rendering him unable to get out of bed when he woke up the next day.

When MÖTLEY CRÜE originally postponed the Las Vegas residency, the band said it was because Neil needed a "medical procedure," but offered no further details.

Kris Schwartz, an ESPN feature producer, has filed a six-minute video report for "ACC Huddle" on how METALLICA's "Enter Sandman" became the Virginia Tech Hokies football team's entrance song more than a quarter century ago.

Regarded among college football's most powerful entrances, "Enter Sandman" is a tradition that dates to August 27, 2000 when Virginia Tech installed its first video scoreboard in Lane Stadium and needed a new walkout song.

After testing a few contenders — like GUNS N' ROSES' "Welcome To The Jungle" and THE ALAN PARSONS PROJECT's "Sirius" — the Hokies landed on "Enter Sandman". The heavy riff hit, the crowd roared, and a tradition was born.

Brian Walls, senior associate athletics director at Virginia Tech, explained: "1999 was obviously a magical year for Virginia Tech. We went 11 and 0 in the regular season, and Michael Vick was our quarterback. We fell just a little bit short of the national championship, but that afforded us the opportunity to buy a video board for the very first time. And so in 2000, we got our first video board here in Blacksburg [Virginia]."

He continued: "We were throwing out ideas of just buildup songs, pump-you-up songs. [Other contenders were] AC/DC's 'Thunderstruck', GUNS N ROSES' 'Welcome To The Jungle'. But, obviously, there was only one choice for us to make."

Walls added: "The first 10 years that we edited this video, we would get to the crescendo of 'Enter Sandman'. The team runs out, and we would fade out the music, and the [Virginia Tech] band would start in with our fight song, 'Tech Triumph'. And we got so many complaints about that. The fans were, like, 'We don't wanna hear that stuff. We just wanna hear METALLICA.'"

For 25 years, Hokie Nation has jumped, screamed, and shaken Lane Stadium to the sound of "Enter Sandman". On May 7, 2025, METALLICA finally returned the favor.

Under the lights of Blacksburg, METALLICA brought its "M72" world tour, alongside SUICIDAL TENDENCIES and PANTERA, to a packed Lane Stadium. The setup started days in advance, the buzz building with each passing hour. By showtime, more than 66,000 fans filled the stands, ready for a moment decades in the making.

When those unmistakable opening notes of "Enter Sandman" ripped through the night, the dream became real. The crowd erupted, jumping in unison for the band itself, live on the very turf that made the song a Hokie legend. The Virginia Tech Seismological Observatory, located a mile away, detected tremors during the set and later confirmed that the crowd had, quite literally, shaken the earth. The low but prolonged METALLICA quake — which didn't even register a 1 on the Richter scale — wasn't dangerous for concertgoers, according to the local Fox News station and made for a memorable encore.

"The magnitude would have been less than 1.0," said Virginia Tech Seismological Observatory research associate Martin Chapman. "Too small to be felt even a mile away."

METALLICA has spent the last two and a half years touring in support of its latest album, "72 Seasons", which entered the Billboard 200 chart at No. 2 upon its release in April 2023. The set debuted with 146,000 units earned. It marked METALLICA's 12th Top 10-charting album, of which nine have reached the Top 2.

A new documentary on the influential New Jersey metal band GOD FORBID, "20 Years Of Treason", has been made available on YouTube and can be seen below.

During its 2025 tour, GOD FORBID celebrated the band's seminal album "IV: Constitution Of Treason" by performing it in its entirety. Through new interviews with band members Doc Coyle, Byron Davis, John Outcalt and Corey Pierce, along with backstage footage and unseen photographs, this documentary provides an intimate look at the band in 2005 as well as 2025, including their experience of touring as part of Ozzfest in 2004, how writing and recording this album was a leveling up for them, their 2022 resurrection and what it feels like to return to New Jersey in this new phase.

"20 Years Of Treason" was directed, produced, shot, and edited by filmmaker Chris Aballo ("The Out").

In other news, GOD FORBID has added New England legends OVERCAST (featuring vocalist Brian Fair of SHADOWS FALL and bassist Mike Mike D'Antonio of KILLSWITCH ENGAGE),to two of its upcoming Northeast U.S. tour dates with co-headliners DARKEST HOUR and BLEEDING THROUGH. NORA had to drop off the shows due to unforeseen circumstances.

GOD FORBID remaining 2025 shows:

Dec. 12 - Silver Spring, MD @ The Fillmore
Dec. 13 - Hampton Beach, NH @ Wally's *
Dec. 14 - Brooklyn, NY @ The Monarch *

* with OVERCAST opening

Almost a year ago, GOD FORBID frontman Byron Davis was asked by DJ Ramo (a.k.a. Omar Rodriguez) of The Metal Mixtape if there have been any conversations between him and his bandmates about new music. He responded at the time: "We've had an initial conversation like that. And I'm trying to bring back those conversations.

"We all live separate lives," he explained. "Two members have full functioning families, so if we're gonna do something, it has to make sense. Unfortunately, we're not at a stage where we have a stockpile of money to make these things happen, so we have to be fiscally responsible every time we decide to do this, to see if it financially makes sense to do it. It's not like a band that dissolved and everybody still lives in the same area. We're scattered across the U.S. now. So all that comes into play.

"As long as people really want to come see us, I'm more than happy to get out there, but it has to make sense. Because I'm not gonna jeopardize the future of my personal [life] that I had to rebuild. And I don't expect anyone or know that anyone else in the band to do the same for themselves. We have to be smart about it, and it needs to make sense.

"I think that until we get new music, anything more is just playing… It's not really playing ourselves out. It's just… Dude, I want new music," Byron added. "The dudes in the band want new music. I'd rather spend the time writing music than playing shows at this point, to be honest. I wanna get out there and have something new. Yeah, we have a couple of B-sides that no one's ever heard, but I wanna have new current music. So, we'll see what happens. Everyone has schedules. And then GOD FORBID is not one of those bands that just throws anything together. When we write, we take our time and we write. Luckily for us, everyone in our band is about integrity, so they're not just gonna throw out some slop. So, it's gonna have to go through the gauntlet a couple of times before parts get cemented as the parts. And then from there, then we'll put it together, run some demos. I already started speaking to my man that produced a lot of the material that we did, on the vocal tip. So when we do some material, it's gonna be a record worthy of being called a GOD FORBID record; it's not just gonna be thrown together. So if it takes a little bit longer, it's worth it. Nah, man, we can't be coming in with that bullshit. We've gotta stamp it with the GOD FORBID. It can't be less than; it's gotta be greater than. We've got a we got a back catalog that stands the test of time, and the new shit needs to stand the test of time as well. So that's how we go into the writing process."

GOD FORBID, a New Jersey-based band which helped pioneer the metalcore and New Wave Of American Heavy Metal sound in the late '90s and early '00s along with acts like LAMB OF GOD, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE and SHADOWS FALL, broke up in 2013. The band reunited in 2022 for the Blue Ridge Rock Festival in Virginia and has played sporadic shows ever since.

GOD FORBID's performance at the Blue Ridge Rock Festival in September 2022 at the Virginia International Raceway in Alton, Virginia marked the band's first live appearance in over nine years.

GOD FORBID's lineup for its recent concerts has included Doc Coyle (guitar),Byron Davis (vocals),Corey Pierce (drums) and John "Beeker" Outcalt (bass),along with Nick Hipa (guitar; ex-AS I LAY DYING),who joined the group in July 2022.

GOD FORBID officially called it quits in August 2013 following Doc's departure.

GOD FORBID's latest album, "Equilibrium", was released in March 2012 via Victory Records. The bulk of the CD was recorded by Mark Lewis (THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, WHITECHAPEL, DEVILDRIVER, TRIVIUM),with Jason Suecof (TRIVIUM, ALL THAT REMAINS, THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, CHIMAIRA, DEVILDRIVER) stepping in during the the vocal-tracking stage. The effort was mixed by acclaimed Swedish producer Jens Bogren, who previously worked with such acts as KATATONIA, OPETH, PARADISE LOST and AMON AMARTH.

"Equilibrium" sold 3,400 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 156 on The Billboard 200 chart. The effort landed at No. 7 on the Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) chart, which lists the best-selling albums by new and developing artists, defined as those who have never appeared in the Top 100 of The Billboard 200.

In a new interview with the Vulgar Display Of Podcast, MISS MAY I frontman Levi Benton spoke about the band's upcoming follow-up to 2022's "Curse Of Existence" album. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, the funny thing is we have taken two years doing this album, just 'cause our schedules are crazy. And since it's a new lineup, we're making sure it's perfect. So it's taking a long time. I have five more songs of vocals to do. That's why I'm going in a couple weeks to finish it. So the album's not done yet, so until it's done, we don't really have a date, but because we have a lot of singles and a lot of stuff… We have the art and everything ready, so I think we're gonna start rolling it out sort of with no end date."

He continued: "It's gonna be a little experiment for us. But it's been fun because I think our fans will like it. Yeah, we're just not gonna approach it normally of, like, 'Hey, here's the pre-order. Here's two music videos from the album.' Since we've worked so hard on it, we're gonna really try to make each song special and just really work on it. And [the recently released new single] 'Pray For Silence' is as light as the album gets. So I try to tell everybody, like, that's the ballad of the album."

Referencing the fact that founding MISS MAY I guitarists B.J. Stead and Justin Aufdemkampe left the band in 2024 and guitarist Elisha Mullins was welcomed into the MISS MAY I family in their place, Benton stated about the group's mindset while writing "Pray For Silence": "We knew the lineup was changing, we knew we were doing everything, but it was sort of traumatizing to us, 'cause, obviously, we didn't want the original lineup to change. So that whole thing was just sort of a mess. And Elisha was amazing. He was a fill-in before he became part of the band. And we [went] into the studio and then we worked with Elisha for the first time and we were dumbfounded, because we've been with the original lineup since high school. And B.J. and Justin, the original guitar players, always started the songs. So we got into a room, and he's, like, 'Okay, where do we go?' And we're, like, 'Oh, shoot. Those guys aren't here.' We're, like, 'We don't even know where to start.' Which was cool, 'cause Elisha was that for all his projects. And being from Missouri and the same age, we're all cut from the same cloth, which was really cool, 'cause we had the same upbringing and same inspiration, just 500 miles over. So we were doing the same thing just east, which was cool. And then now being a four-piece, and writing with Elisha and not having a full five-piece — and I think people can really tell in 'Pray For Silence' and we lean into it more in further songs. But we'd sort of take rhythm out, the rhythm guitar, and we're playing with soundscapes because we're a four-piece, but we've never got to play with those sounds. So that's why there's a lot of crazy sounds that we were screwing around with, because we're down a person. But we didn't wanna just have a guitar playing on a speaker somewhere, so we've been playing with a lot of sounds. And I think not only 'Pray For Silence', but it gets crazier further in the album of just crazy soundscapes that we're doing. And that's new for MISS MAY I. So that's why I think it sort of sounds like old MISS MAY I, but the new thing — if somebody's really paying attention, dissecting it, we've never had soundscapes until now. Which is so fun, to open up a keyboard and just, like, have 3,000 sounds to be, like, 'Okay, guys, let's figure out what the rhythm's gonna sound like.'"

Benton went on to say that "the secret member" of MISS MAY I "that's behind the scenes that I guess only diehards or people looking at the credits will see is, we've had this guy Nick Sampson, who's sort of been with us since our second album. He was like a young padawan to Joey Sturgis, engineering on when we did 'Monument' at Joey's house," he explained. "And then he's worked on all our albums since. And he does POLYPHIA, he was in I AM ABOMINATION. He's like a guitar shredder, and he's up in Michigan. So he actually comes to Cape Girardeau and he's like our consistent piece instrumentally, on guitar from second album on. So he's sort of like our judge, like, 'No, we wouldn't do that.' Or 'this is that or 'let's do that.' So he's like our boundary to keep it consistent, which has been great."

Last year, MISS MAY I joined the Solid State Records roster and released "Apologies Are For The Weak (Re-Recorded 15th Anniversary Edition)", the awesomely ambitious 15th-anniversary edition of the band's classic, beloved debut album "Apologies Are For The Weak". The LP was entirely re-recorded and featured cameos on every single song, including from Jake Luhrs of AUGUST BURNS RED, Brandan Schieppati of BLEEDING THROUGH and Scott Lewis of CARNIFEX. Asked what MISS MAY I's relationship with Solid State is like, Levi said: "It's unreal. I wish I started a band like this 15 years ago. Not that everyone's always cracking the whip, but we were just so busy all the time and there was such hard deadlines all the time, which I get, but it's also, like, who knows if that's gonna be the best album? Or who knows if you worked hard enough? And when we were shopping around and we had kids and we were parents, we talked to all the labels and a bunch of managers too; our management team changed at the same time. 'Cause we're just a different band. We are doing things on our own time. We're not just a poster boy metal band that they could just throw out there anymore, 'cause we don't say 'yes' all the time, as much as we used to. And they're still totally cool with it. It's so weird to get off a call and they're just, like, 'Take your time. It'll be done when it's done.' And I'm, like, 'I don't understand.' I'm, like, 'That's crazy.' And they're, like, 'Turn it in when you guys are ready.' And I'm, like, 'This is so nice.' We've always been, and I think you guys have probably seen it a million times in band interviews, but it's always the vocalist's last day, like, 'Yeah, I had to finish three songs before the next band was coming in, 'cause that was the last day of the studio.' I'm, like, we've always done albums like that, and this is just, like, 'Hmm, I could do better. I'll go back in in a month and do different lyrics and try to make it perfect.' 'Cause we know we wanna sit on this one and really make it… I think it's a pivot point for our career. When it comes out, it's gonna be different. I think it's gonna be really awesome."

When it was first released in August, "Pray For Silence" was described in a press release as "a vocally dynamic anthem, with a chorus that will instantly embed in your brain, heavy artillery riffing, and floor-shaking breakdowns. It's ultimately classic metalcore that swells with modern flourishes, ushering MISS MAY I into their next exciting era."

Benton previously told Rolling Stone Australia about Mullins: "He comes from being a producer. All this new music we're doing, it's stuff we've never had before, because we've never written with someone like this."

On a personal level, Benton said Mullins and the rest of MISS MAY I are "all cut from the same cloth. Elisha's from the Midwest, he's the same age [as us]. We listen to the same local bands. It's a natural fit. It's very cool."

Regarding what it was like working on new MISS MAY I material without their main songwriters, Benton said: "The funny thing was, it was a total lost thought. We weren't even thinking about it. We went into the studio and the rest of the guys were, like, 'Oh my God. Justin and B.J. were the main writers — we've got to change something up.' We went back to the drawing board, and that's when the anxiety hit. After years of touring, we didn't even think about writing [like that]. We spent a whole month with Elisha in the studio, just doing one song to get the vibe of how we write together. It was a mock-up of sorts, just a practice run; we ironed everything out."

Image credit: Rock & Metal From The Front Row

In an interview with Brian Lacy of Audioeclectica.com, new SNOT singer Andy Knapp spoke about his addition to the reactivated Santa Barbara-based metal/punk rock hybrid, more than 25 years after the death of the band's original frontman Lynn Strait.

SNOT's first gig with Knapp took place on January 17 at the Parish room at the House Of Blues in Anaheim, California. The performance was also livestreamed via the band's Instagram. SNOT's current lineup is rounded out by guitarists Mikey Doling and Doc Coyle, bassist John "Tumor" Fahnestock and drummer Jamie Miller.

Knapp said  (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I tell my wife all the time, I'm, like, I'm not the only SNOT fan out there that loves this band so much that they wanna do something like this. I'm probably not the best person that can sing these songs, but I always tell her, I'm, like, I'm not the best at it, but I'm the luckiest one."

After Lacy noted that most SNOT fans think that Andy is "the perfect replacement for Lynn", Knapp said: "Awesome. It's so cool to hear that the fans say that kind of stuff. Especially the old-school guys that got to see Lynn, and even some of the people that I've met that actually knew Lynn, to hear it come from those guys, it's special. It feels really good. It's overwhelming, to be honest with you. It kind of just makes me… I don't know. It's a trip."

He added: "This whole thing, I still don't have the right words to express what it means to me and what this band means to me and what Lynn Strait was to me growing up, wanting to play music."

Regarding how he first discovered SNOT's music, Andy said:  "I kind of dabbled in everything, but I think, the high school years and all that stuff, I was more of a hip-hop kid than I was punk rock and stuff like that. I grew up in Oxnard, and mostly everybody was listening to MISFITS and DEAD KENNEDYS and all that real old-school punk stuff, and I was more into like N.W.A. and LL Cool J and BEASTIE BOYS and stuff like that. And then when I moved to Ventura, I met a group of friends and that's what really kind of got me into listening to more metal nd and more rock music. And that was my freshman or sophomore year. That's when NIRVANA hit, and that just fucking changed the whole game. Loving hip-hop and getting introduced to NIRVANA and stuff like that, I was just kind of dabbling into that side, and then — boom — RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE comes out and just kind of puts it all together… And then me and my brother, we really started getting into sound systems in our cars and stuff. And then that's when KORN came out and it was bumping, so it was, like, 'Oh, shit, this music hits hard.' And it had that kind of hip-hop feel. It was just all kind of a progression."

Knapp continued: "I was the prime audience for nu metal, man. All those bands — LINKIN PARK, DEFTONES, PAPA ROACH, any of those bands. And then SNOT was just the band that kind of just stood off by itself."

Asked what it was was about SNOT that drew him to the band's music, Andy said: "Around that time, my late teens, all my friends started getting into bands. I moved away for a little bit and I came back. So I'm, like, 21, 22, and everybody's now playing music. And I wanted to be a drummer, dude. I went out. I bought a drum set. All my friends, they were already in a band, but there was a bunch of us, so we kind of formed two bands… So I bought a drum set. There was always a better drummer in the house, so I was always sitting back watching somebody play my drums, and my boy was, like, 'We don't have a singer, dude. Why don't you grab the mic?' And I was, like, 'I can't grab the mic.' But anyway, this whole time I can kind of sum it all in. I can remember exactly where I was when I first heard SNOT. My boy was, like, 'Dude, you gotta check out this band.' And he threw on SNOT and the first song he played was 'Snooze'. And I was listening to it and I heard Jamie's snare and I was just into that snare sound. It kind of had that HELMET crack to it, that piccolo kind of feel. And I was just jamming to it. And then Lynn comes in, all loungey and just kind of loose. And I'm, like, 'Oh, that's pretty cool. It's different.' It was different from what was going on. And then when he came in with, 'Well, here's your motherfuckin' wake-up call,' it was just, like, 'Who the fuck is this guy?' And I just got wrapped into that record hard. So I caught the record, like, summertime of '98, and I remember going, like, 'Oh, I really wanna go see this band,' blah, blah, and I was waiting for my opportunity to see this band, and he passed away that year. The record had been out for a while. But anyway, that's what kind of leaned me into going back to my boy saying, like, 'Why don't you try to sing?' And I was, like, 'Well, if I'm gonna fucking sing, I'm gonna try to do it like that guy [Lynn] does it. 'Cause he doesn't give a fuck, and he's just doing his own thing. And that was my approach."

Knapp added: "I tried to explain it to Mikey and Tumor and Jamie — that was what I learned from Lynn, was just, like, just do you. Be real. That's just kind of what I felt coming from him. And he was so relatable. He was from our area. I tattooed my stomach like him, I pierced my eyebrow like him. I was just enthralled with this kid, the way he dressed and the way he carried himself. I'm not trying to say that I'm anything like that guy. That guy, he was a crazy dude. He was very relatable as far as just — I guess his appearance, the way he dressed, and that's what I was attracted to. I was just, like, 'Oh, I'm gonna pierce my eyebrow. I'm gonna bleach my hair.' It wasn't an obsession or anything like that. It was just I thought he was fucking cool."

This past September, Fahnestock told Two Dudes Talk Music about SNOT return to the live stage: "Honestly, now it's a whole different ball game with Andy Knapp. We finally felt we found our singer. In the past it was more of a, like, 'Hey, let's get out and play these songs 'cause we wanna jam them again.' Mikey and Jamie and myself, we love playing these songs. And it wasn't about, like, 'We're back.' But now SNOT is back. We finally found a singer [who is] exactly what we've been looking for. And what he's pulling now is just mind-blowing. The response, how people are embracing him on social networking, coming out to see the band, was totally unexpected. Yeah, we wouldn't be back if it wasn't for Andy Knapp. So I just wanna say that there's no other 'after Andy.' This is one and all, this is the final hurrah. And if we're gonna break and we're gonna go again, this is why we're back right now."

Asked if that means that there will be more touring and new music coming from SNOT next year, John said: "Well, we're already booked into 2026. We've already got two [new] songs that we knocked out with [producer] Chris Collier, who works with KORN. In November, we finalize the vocals, and then we hope to drop something in the beginning of the year. That's what's going down. And it's from the heart. It sounds just like fucking SNOT. 'Cause the way Mikey writes and the way I write and the way everything jells… And Jamie just finished the drums. He took a break from BAD RELIGION, and we instantly got him in the studio. So everything's laid down. We're just working on the vocals now."

Earlier in September, Doling told Ore Bihovsky of TotalRock's "Louder" radio show about SNOT's return to the live stage: "I'm really excited, first of all. Just having SNOT back — [I] never expected it. We found a new singer who's amazing, and he made it all possible. And we put some tickets on sale and they're all selling out, all the shows, and we're pretty blown away. We're very grateful to be doing it and super stoked."

Asked how it feels to have Knapp fronting SNOT, three decades after the band's formation and 27 years after the passing of the group's original vocalist Lynn Strait, Doling said: "Honestly, it feels kind of like it used to, with Andy. Andy brought energy to the band that we haven't seen or had since Lynn Strait… Having Andy in the band, he's brought that energy again to us. The shows are full of energy. It's wild, man."

After Ore noted that this is the first time that he has heard the members of SNOT say that the band is officially "back", Doling clarified: "Well, before, when we [played gigs with other vocalists], it was more like we wanted to fucking just get together and play. We weren't really focused on new music or promotion or selling shows. We didn't give a shit. We just wanted to go out and play. This time, we feel like we found the right singer. Also, that it's the right time to actually bring it back full blown. So we're getting in the studio, we're recording new music, we're booking tours. We've got the booking agent. And we're just going full-on, man, and it's great."

Asked about new SNOT music and whether the band is working with a record label at the moment, Mikey said: "I think what's going on is that… There's been a couple of labels that reached out, but they were not the ones that we'd be interested in working with. And I wanted to wait till we started thinking about that kind of stuff until we recorded a couple songs and see where we are. Well, we have recorded a couple of new songs, and we're working with Chris Collier, the producer — a fantastic producer. He just did the last couple of KORN records, he's done the last few PRONG records. He's amazing, and he and I click musically. So, we're working together on some new songs. It's going very well. It's funky. It's punk. It's got attitude. It's cool. It sounds like old SNOT. And we're trying to keep it like that. We don't wanna change the sound. We wanna keep it like 1996, '97 — lots of wah pedal, lots of grooves, some heavy punk influences. It's cool."

Regarding when fans can expect to hear some new SNOT music, Doling said: "I'm hoping by the end of the year or maybe the beginning of the year 2026. I think we're going to drop a single, and maybe a couple months after that drop something another one. It'd be cool to have two songs out next year. And during the next year, we're gonna try to complete an entire album. So I've got — I don't know — seven or eight new songs written. We've recorded two. It's just a matter of having the time to get in the studio. We're playing so much, we're out on the road, and getting everybody in the same room, it's a little hard. It is challenging, but, we're making it happen."

This past July, SNOT entered Dead End Studios in Palm Desert, California with Collier to lay down tracks for two brand new songs.

SNOT recruited former GODSMACK drummer Shannon Larkin to sit behind the kit for the band's performance in May at the Welcome To Rockville festival at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Due to Miller's touring commitments with BAD RELIGION, he was unable to make the date.

In April, SNOT recruited Doc Coyle (GOD FORBID, ex-BAD WOLVES) as the band's touring guitarist after the group's recent split with Sonny Mayo.

The news of Mayo's departure was broken by Doling, who stated in a video message at the time:  "Sonny Mayo has decided to quit SNOT. SNOT doesn't fit into his life right now, and he just wants to focus on himself and his life. And SNOT's just too busy for him to be able to continue.

"So I'd like to wish Sonny Mayo the best of luck in his future, and I wanna thank him for all he's contributed to SNOT over the years. We love you, brother," Mikey continued.

"That being said, our very, very good friend from GOD FORBID, formerly BAD WOLVES, Doc Coyle, is going to be filling in on guitar for the upcoming shows. And we're excited to have him on board. And thank you very much, Doc Coyle."

SNOT disbanded in 1998 following Strait's death, putting an end to a career that generated considerable promise but only one studio album, "Get Some". The band had been writing material for its sophomore CD and had completed 10 songs at the time of Strait's tragic passing. As a memorial to Strait, SNOT eventually decided to release those tracks, with lyrics and guest vocals provided by a host of stars from the alt-metal community. The resulting album, "Strait Up", was a fitting tribute from Strait's peers and friends, featuring members of LIMP BIZKIT, KORN, SLIPKNOT, SEVENDUST, (HED) P.E., COAL CHAMBER, SUGAR RAY, SYSTEM OF A DOWN, SOULFLY, and more.

SNOT in 2014 recruited Carl Bensley (VITIATE, CONSUME THE FIRE) to sing for the band following the departure of Tommy "Vext" Cummings (ex-DIVINE HERESY, BAD WOLVES).

According to the Los Angeles Times, Lynn died in died in a car accident in December 1998 as he attempted to drive across Highway 101 in Mussel Shoals, California. The 30-year-old singer died instantly after his 1992 Ford Tempo was broadsided by a southbound full-size pickup truck about noon. Also killed was Strait's small bulldog, SNOT's mascot Dobbs, who adorned the cover of the band's debut album, the 1997 Geffen Records release "Get Some". Strait, a Santa Barbara resident, was crossing the highway after visiting his girlfriend in the community. Lynn apparently pulled into the path of the truck, which was going about 65 mph. The impact sent Strait's car spinning into the center divider where it stopped, a California Highway Patrol officer told the Los Angeles Times at the time.

Cummings fronted SNOT in 2008-2009 before he and Mayo exited the group amid "strained relationships."

During a recent appearance on Billy Corgan's podcast "The Magnificent Others", LIVING COLOUR guitarist Vernon Reid weighed in on artificial intelligence's (A.I.) explosive growth and attempts to rein in A.I.'s rapid expansion without stifling innovation. He said in part (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, we've created an entity. I mean, we've wanted the alien to enter into our lives for the longest time. We've been begging for it. We've been entertaining ourselves with the science-fiction scenario, and now we've achieved it. Now we have achieved what we've been begging for. We've been entertaining ourselves.

"I'm not a Luddite and I'm not anti-A.I.," he explained. "But the problem, just like zombies in [the American post-apocalyptic horror drama television series] 'The Walking Dead', the problem is what humans do. The zombies never change. The problem is who we are and how we weaponize it. The fact that people are having A.I.-induced psychosis, because part of the thing is people are jumping to the A.I. to fulfill things because we've become so acrimonious and contemptuous of each other in relationships. So now people are forming relationships with their telephone. The thing of 'Her' [the 2013 science-fiction romantic comedy drama chronicling the life of a man who develops a relationship with an intelligent computer operating system that has a female voice and personality], that is happening with a much less advanced version of the thing in the movie. This is an actual thing that is going on. And the anthropomorphism that's already in effect is not going to be less complicated. Now the imaginary friend is real, and children are gonna have companions that they tell their secrets to."

After Corgan suggested that by creating artificial general intelligence (AGI) — the hypothetical intelligence of a machine that possesses the ability to understand or learn any intellectual task that a human being can — humanity may very well find itself staring down an apocalypse brought forth by godlike machines, Reid said: "Well, I'm surprised that there hasn't been, up to this point, a fatwa or religious edicts aimed at A.I. When they're talking about super intelligence, what else are they talking about? What else are we talking about? If we're talking about super intelligence, what else is God but a super intelligence? When you're on your knees praying to the God of the Bible, or God of the Torah or the Bhagavad Gita or the Quran, that dialogue is happening. Now we've created, or we're in the process of creating, an entity that will answer you, that will speak to you, that could quote any of the great sage books and make it personal for you and give you your blessing customized for you."

Reid's new solo album "Hoodoo Telemetry", was released in October via Artone / The Players Club Records.

LIVING COLOUR disbanded in 1995 but reunited in 2000. (Original bassist Muzz Skillings left the group in 1992 and was replaced by Doug Wimbish.)

LIVING COLOUR's latest album, "Shade", was released in September 2017 via Megaforce Records.

GRATEFUL DEAD has officially claimed the Guinness World Records title for the most Top 40 albums charted on the U.S. Billboard 200.

After previously making history with their 59th Top 40 entry in February 2024, severing a shortly held tie with Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley, the group has since extended their own record to 66 Top 40 albums, up to and including the No. 25 debut of "Dave's Picks Vol. 56: Rainbow Theatre, London, England - 3/20/81 & 3/21/81" this past November. Arriving at the culmination of the band's 60th anniversary this year, the achievement further cements the GRATEFUL DEAD's legacy as one of the world's most treasured musical and social phenomenons — a tangible testament to the enduring connection between the DEAD and their ever-growing, generation-spanning fandom.

David Lemieux, GRATEFUL DEAD legacy manager and archivist, and producer and curator of the long-running "Dave's Picks" series, said: "This Guinness World Records title is something that no one could have anticipated 60 years ago when the GRATEFUL DEAD began, but the record demonstrates the dedication, passion, and loyalty of the massive legion of Dead Heads, as well as the consistent quality of the GRATEFUL DEAD's recorded output and archival activities over the past six decades."

Mark Pinkus, president of Rhino Records, added: "We're excited to see the GRATEFUL DEAD reach another milestone with this Guinness World Records title. Rhino has been committed to preserving and honoring the GRATEFUL DEAD's legacy through quality archival releases. What a wonderful way to close out their 60th-anniversary celebrations."

The newly certified Guinness World Records title marks the latest in a series of celebrations that have honored the GRATEFUL DEAD's 60th anniversary throughout 2025, following their commemorations in the 47th class of the Kennedy Center Honorees, as well as the 2025 MusiCares Persons Of The Year during this past year's Grammy Awards. Earlier this fall, the band partnered with Pantone to create "Grateful Red" and "Stealie Blue," immortalizing two colors that have been synonymous with the DEAD and their iconography for the past six decades, while Rhino released the GRATEFUL DEAD's first official greatest-hits compilation, "Gratest Hits", as well as a 60-CD collection, "Enjoying The Ride", a 6LP/3CD collection, "The Music Never Stopped", and more.

GRATEFUL DEAD is a social and musical phenomenon that grew into a genuine American treasure. In 1965, an entire generation was linked together by common ideals, gathering by the hundreds and thousands. This movement created a seamless connection between the band and its fans. As the band toured, Dead Heads would follow. Not because it was a part of popular culture but because it is a true counterculture that exists to this very day — one that earnestly believes in the value of its beliefs. By 1995, the GRATEFUL DEAD had attracted the most concertgoers in the history of the music business, and today remains one of the all-time leaders in concert ticket sales. Eventually, the caravan evolved into a community with various artists, craftsmen and entrepreneurs supplying a growing demand for merchandise that connected them to the music with their final tally being 2,318 total concerts. The band was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 1994 and received a Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007. GRATEFUL DEAD celebrated their 66th Top 40 album on the Billboard chart, a feat no other artist has achieved, and was commemorated in the 47th class of the Kennedy Center Honorees as well as the 2025 MusiCares Persons Of The Year honored at the 67th annual Grammy Awards.