In a new interview with Radioactive MikeZ, host of the 96.7 KCAL-FM program "Wired In The Empire", TESLA bassist Brian Wheat was asked for some of his earliest recollections of hanging out with METALLICA. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, we've known each other since we both started, 'cause we were from Sacramento; they were from the Bay Area. We had Q Prime management [in common]. Me and Lars [Ulrich, METALLICA drummer] used to always rib each other about who would win in a racquetball match, him being a tennis guy and I used to play a lot of racquetball. We used to get drunk and hang out, and I'd tell him I'd beat his ass in racquetball and he'd tell me I was high.

"I have nothing but the utmost respect for METALLICA and what they've done and what they've built," he continued. "I'm friends with Jason [Newsted, former METALLICA bassist]. He lives here, right in New York where I do. He lives about four miles from here. I knew those guys and used to hang out with them a lot back in the day. I did see James [Hetfield, METALLICA frontman] and got to catch up with James when I was in Chicago a couple weeks ago or whenever it was. And like I told him, I'm, like, 'Dude, I'm so proud of you guys, just what you've done.' 'Cause, listen, I remember when they used to play the Keystone in San Francisco. So, what they've done is phenomenal. God bless 'em. It's great."

Asked what he initially thought of "Enter Sandman" and the "Black Album" after seeing METALLICA during some of the band's earlier years, Brian said: "When I first heard 'Enter Sandman' — you've gotta remember, my favorite METALLICA album is 'Master Of Puppets'. So 'Enter Sandman', and I think 'Enter Sandman' is brilliant, and I see what they did and how they evolved from their first albums to that to where they are now. But let's just say that the 'Black Album' was a real mainstream commercial record for them. And they had to do that. They did it. And they expanded their audience. I mean, the METALLICA that was playing when you'd go see 'em on the '…And Justice For All' tour to the METALLICA you went and saw after the Black Album, it was three-quarter houses in arenas on '…And Justice For All' and three days in arenas after the Black Album. And now you're talking about two days in football stadiums. And you can't say that about many people except for maybe Paul McCartney that's done that. THE ROLLING STONES. METALLICA's in that league. LED ZEPPELIN. You know what I mean? QUEEN. METALLICA, when you probably list the top 10 greatest bands of all time, they're in that top 10. And I'm saying of all time. And not just rock bands. I'm saying you put in THE TEMPTATIONS in there and you put in James Brown and you put THE BEATLES and THE STONES and ZEPPELIN and QUEEN, they're in the top 10 universally, not just rock, not just rock. So, I could never say anything bad about METALLICA, nor would I, nor would I, because I'm a fan. I love METALLICA. So happy with what they're doing. I'm so proud of them. And it tickles me, because I used to see 'em, like I said, at the Keystone in San Francisco, which was 80 miles from Sacramento."

Wheat added: "We all grew up in the same time. We all had dreams of of being the biggest rock band on the planet. They did it. We didn't, but I'm okay with TESLA not being the biggest rock band on the planet because TESLA's in the game. We're still playing in the game. We're still in the major leagues playing. METALLICA has won the World Series lke multiple times. I'm happy to just be in the league. But they're the champions. And to achieve what they achieved, it's just… All the best to everyone involved, from [Q Prime's] Peter [Mensch] and Cliff [Burnstein] to [producer] Bob Rock to the dude that did their first albums and [METALLICA bassists] Cliff [Burton] and Jason and Robert [Trujillo], just the whole thing. It's a thing all in itself."

This past June, Wheat was asked by "Wired In The Empire" which METALLICA album he thinks is better, "Ride The Lightning" or "Master Of Puppets". He responded: "It's 'Master Of Puppets', hands down. It's just more — I think the songs were better, the performances were better. I don't know — it just spoke to me. You know what I mean? I mean, you'd be hard pressed to find a better record than 'Master Of Puppets'. And you can go on about the 'Black Album' and any other record. In their catalog, my favorite record of theirs all time is 'Master Of Puppets'… I mean, '[Welcome Home] (Sanitarium)', [the] 'Master Of Puppets' [title track] — come on. It's tough. But, for me, I'm gonna stick with 'Master Of Puppets'."

Wheat, whose band shared management with METALLICA early in their respective careers, said that he has "nothing but the highest respect for all those guys [in METALLICA]. I'm such an admirer of what they've accomplished and how they've stayed true to what they do. And [I have] nothing but the utmost respect for every one of those guys. And they're all great guys."

Asked to pick a METALLICA song to play as part of the KCAL "Mandatory Metallica" segment, Wheat said: "If you're gonna play anything, play 'Sad But True'. I think it's the greatest groove song they ever did. Just the groove is just so deep and fat and wide."

TESLA will release a new six-song EP, "All About Love", on Friday, November 29. The EP includes four versions of "All About Love" (acoustic, electric, hybrid, live); a live version of "Walk Away", a concert favorite from "Reel To Real, Vol. 1"; and another new song, "From The Heart", an instrumental track by guitarist Frank Hannon.

Some fans criticized TESLA for adopting a 1980s-style polished production for its latest album, 2019's "Shock". The follow-up to June 2014's "Simplicity" was helmed by DEF LEPPARD guitarist Phil Collen, whose own group is no stranger to slicked-up, glossy-sounding recordings.

In September 2023, TESLA released the official music video for its cover of AEROSMITH's "S.O.S. (Too Bad)". The song is a bonus track on TESLA's live album, "Full Throttle Live!", which arrived in May 2023. The LP includes the band's "Time To Rock!" single, plus other songs, all recorded in August 2022 at Full Throttle Saloon in Sturgis, South Dakota.

In a new interview with Rolling Stone, IRON MAIDEN singer Bruce Dickinson, who was diagnosed with throat cancer back in late 2014, spoke about how his battle with the disease changed his outlook on life. He said: "I really appreciate every day, but that means that every day I have to do something, even if it's consciously doing nothing — at least do something consciously. When I did my series of one-man shows around the States almost two years ago, I made up as a T-shirt that said, 'Life is better than all the other options.' And if I had a mantra to live by, that would be it.

"I'm lucky that I can still sing," the 65-year-old British born musician, who is promoting his just-released solo album "The Mandrake Project", added. "So if I can somehow do anything that entertains people, makes people think more, feel more, do more things, then I'm doing something good. I'm big into trying to make people feel things now rather than being impressed with myself and going, 'Oh, look at me.' It's actually, 'No, no. Look at you.' If you can manage to listen to an album during 58 minutes of your life that you'll never get back again, it's a musical and emotional journey. That was really important to me because it's something that I never achieved explicitly ever with any band, including IRON MAIDEN. In IRON MAIDEN, the music does move people, but in a slightly different way. The emotions are slightly different. With this one, I've got a bigger palette to paint from.”

Dickinson, who had a golf gall-size tumor on his tongue and another in the lymph node on the right side of his neck, got the all-clear in May 2015 after 33 radiation sessions and nine weeks of chemotherapy.

Dickinson previously spoke about his recovery during the question-and-answer portion of his January 2022 spoken-word show in Orlando, Florida. Asked what advice he would give to anyone getting ready to start their own battle against cancer, he responded: "Here's the way I dealt with it… And people will deal with it in different ways. I embraced the treatment. So I went along to see the big radiation machine and I said, 'Okay, how does this work then? What does it do? And how much are you giving me and where? And how are you making a difference between this one and this one and this one? And you can do what with it? Wow, that's really cool. That's amazing. It's insane, the technology.'"

He continued: "I would say embrace the treatment and always remember the [likelihood]… I don't know what your cancer is. I don't know the individual circumstances. I'm not a doctor, so I'm not gonna make any predictions. I can't do anything like that, nor would I, 'cause it's very private. But I have to say that the therapies that people are coming up with now are so on the edge and successful that you really do stand a very good chance. 'Cause half of us are gonna get cancer, and it's not a death sentence anymore, and you can deal with it. And the things they have to do to your body to get rid of it are getting better and better and better as we go down the line. They did some nasty things to my body. I'm lucky I'm completely clear of it and everything.

"I only really talk about it when I come to do these shows 'cause people want to know," Bruce added. "I quite enjoy talking about it because you kind of demystify it a little bit for people. It's a scary thing."

Approximately 39.2 percent of men and women will be diagnosed with cancer of any site at some point during their lifetime, based on 2016–2018 data.

According to Healthline, the cancer death rate in the United States dropped by about a third (32 percent) from its peak in 1991 to 2019 — from about 215 deaths for every 100,000 people to about 146. Much of the reduction is due to the progress made against lung cancer, which remains the leading cause of cancer death in the country.

Bruce previously told iNews that he wanted to cover his cancer battle in his 2017 autobiography, "What Does This Button Do?", to raise awareness of the condition, which affects people who often have no or minimal history of tobacco or alcohol abuse. The individuals with HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer who undergo treatment have a disease-free survival rate of 85 to 90 percent over five years.

During an appearance on the Swedish TV show "Malou Efter Tio", Dickinson spoke about how his singing voice has changed following his cancer diagnosis nine years ago.

"[It's] a little bit different," he said. "Two things are slightly different. One is my saliva, which obviously lubricates your throat a little bit, is a bit less than it used to be. Although, back ten years ago, if I had the same cancer, I wouldn't be making any saliva. But now, I'm probably 70 percent, which is great. Thanks very much, everybody upstairs. [Laughs] And the other things is that I think that the shape of possibly the back of my tongue, which forms vowel sounds and things like that, might have changed shape slightly, because, obviously, it had a big lump in it, and the lump's gone. So maybe the surface has changed shape. So I notice a few differences. Funnily enough, the top end of my voice is maybe even a little bit better than it was before. [Laughs]"

Dickinson said that he was given "the all-clear" by his specialists following an MRI scan after a course of chemotherapy and radiology.

"I was amazed," he said. "My cancer was a 3.5-centimeter tumor in my throat and a 2.5-centimeter one in my lymph node, and that was the one that I could feel — that was the secondary one. But I did 33 sessions of radiation and nine weeks of chemo at the same time, which is fairly standard therapy for it. And it was gone. And I said to my oncologist: 'What do you mean it's gone? Where has it gone?' And he said, 'Well, your body just gets rid of it.' A body is an amazing thing."

"The Mandrake Project" is being released today (Friday, March 1) via BMG. Bruce and his long-term co-writer and producer Roy "Z" Ramirez recorded the LP largely at Los Angeles's Doom Room, with Roy Z doubling up as both guitarist and bassist. The recording lineup for "The Mandrake Project" was rounded out by keyboard maestro Mistheria and drummer Dave Moreno, both of whom also featured on Bruce's previous solo studio album, "Tyranny Of Souls", in 2005.

In a new interview with Nikki Blakk of the San Francisco Bay Area radio station 107.7 The Bone, DISTURBED drummer Mike Wengren spoke about the band's upcoming 34-date "The Sickness 25th Anniversary Tour", which will kick off in Nampa, Idaho on February 25, 2025 and is produced by Live Nation. The tour celebrates 25 years of DISTURBED's seminal debut album which launched the band into public consciousness and is one of the most important and influential heavy metal albums of all time. Each night will feature two sets of music, opening with DISTURBED playing the five times platinum "The Sickness" in full, followed by a full set of greatest hits. The first half of the tour will feature support from special guests THREE DAYS GRACE, featuring the return of original singer Adam Gontier, and opener SEVENDUST, and the second half will feature special guests DAUGHTRY with opener NOTHING MORE.

Asked about the setlist for the upcoming tour, Mike said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We've already announced that basically it's gonna be two acts. The first act's going to be 'The Sickness' front to back, second act's gonna be greatest hits. [There will be] plenty of surprises, especially from a production standpoint. We're planning on producing the biggest tour we've ever done. Lots of fire, lots of lights, lots of toys and a lot of maybe some memorabilia, some stuff from back in the day."

Regarding how DISTURBED decided to bring DAUGHTRY out as one of the support acts on the tour, Mike said: "He [DAUGHTRY frontman Chris Daughtry] was the only one available and said 'yes.' No, no. [Laughs] No, just kidding. We know Chris. He's great. Last year he came out to one of the shows, Nashville or something, he came out onstage, did a song with us. It was fricking awesome. There was plenty of bands that submitted, but we wanted to figure, like, who fits us? Who's gonna bring other fans? Maybe we can win over [some of them]. He has more women in his audience. Maybe we can win some of them over… He brings the women over. Plus I wanna figure out how to get as big as shoulders as he does."

Wengren added: "It's actually also kind of funny. This didn't go into the decision making, but the way that it works out is so back in 2001, DISTURBED went overseas to Europe for one of our first times as main support to MARILYN MANSON and our original bass player at the time had an accident and was injured and couldn't make the trip over. So we had a guy that was a friend of ours back in the day fill in for us. His name is Marty O'Brien. And he currently plays bass for Chris now. He was with Lita Ford for quite a while. And he goes back to the original days of being in a band KILGORE that used to be on Giant Records, which is where we were signed to Giant Records. Yeah, so us and Marty toured Europe together in 2001."

Since "The Sickness" was released in 2000, the album was certified five times platinum by the RIAA, spent a total of 106 weeks on the US Billboard 200 chart, and Revolver named it one of "Top 25 Debut Hard Rock Albums." Billboard said of the title track upon release: "'Down With The Sickness' is, of course, the quintessential DISTURBED song, harnessing all the band's seethe and its now-famous tribal beat and guitar chug into three and a half minutes of alt-metal mayhem. It's menacing, it's rhythmic, it's rebellious."

Emerging out of Chicago at the turn of the century with an insidious, infectious, and inimitable vision without comparison, DISTURBED have quietly dominated hard rock on their own terms. They make the kind of music that pushes you to hold on tighter, fight harder, and persevere forever. It's why they've claimed a place at the forefront of 21st century rock with record-breaking success, sales of over 17 million-plus units, nearly 8 billion streams, and sold out shows around the globe. The band have six RIAA album certifications, and singles from all eight albums have reached the top ten of the Mainstream Rock chart.

The two-time Grammy Award-nominated quartet have notched five consecutive #1 debuts on the Billboard Top 200 for "Believe", "Ten Thousand Fists", "Indestructible" and "Asylum", occupying rarified air alongside METALLICA — the only other hard rock group to accomplish this feat. Since their influential five-times-platinum debut "The Sickness" in 2000, they have built a bulletproof catalog highlighted by a procession of smashes, including the platinum "Stupify", "Inside The Fire" and "Land of Confusion", two-times-platinum "Stricken", six-times-platinum "Down With The Sickness" and seven-times-platinum "The Sound Of Silence", to name a few. The latter notably received a Grammy Award nomination in the category of "Best Rock Performance" as the band earned "Best Rock Artist" at the 2017 iHeartRadioMusic Awards. Still, DISTURBED never stop, and their most recent 2022 album "Divisive" featured their 17th No. 1 at Rock Radio "Hey You", "Unstoppable" and more.

Last night (Friday, October 25),AVENGED SEVENFOLD played a special throwback show featuring a setlist composed of songs from the band's breakout 2003 album, "Waking The Fallen", and its 2005 follow-up, "City Of Evil". Headlining the concert at Santa Ana, California's Observatory venue was the long-running Southern California hardcore punk band DEATH BY STEREO

In the spirit of Halloween, AVENGED SEVENFOLD vocalist M. Shadows appeared in a skeleton jumpsuit and skull makeup for the rarities-packed setlist, which saw the band perform some of the tracks for the first time in at least six years.

The setlist for the show was as follows:

01. To End The Rapture (first time since 2017)
02. Chapter Four (first time since 2018)
03. Burn It Down (first time since 2018)
04. Blinded In Chains
05. Remenissions (first time since 2016)
06. Seize The Day
07. Second Heartbeat (first time since 2018)
08. Desecrate Through Reverence (first time since 2004, first performance with Brooks Wackerman)
09. Unholy Confessions
10. Beast And The Harlot (first time since 2018; fans playing with band)
11. M.I.A. (first time since 2018)

Tickets to the show were made in August exclusively for members of the Deathbats Club, a next-generation fan club and community built around AVENGED SEVENFOLD, priced at $25 each (there was a two-ticket limit on orders).

AVENGED SEVENFOLD and DEATH BY STEREO have a long history together, having toured together two decades ago. In addition, AVENGED SEVENFOLD singer M. Shadows contributed guest vocals to two songs — "Entombed We Collide" and "This Is Not The End" — on DEATH BY STEREO's 2005 album "Death For Life".

This past June, AVENGED SEVENFOLD guitarist Zacky Vengeance told NME that he and his bandmates were making plans to celebrate the anniversaries of their albums "City Of Evil" and "Nightmare", which are turning 20 and 15 in 2025, respectively. He said: "I think those albums are really monumental and fans have grown with them. They've meant a certain thing to people at a certain place in their life, so I think it's important that we do something."

Explaining that he didn't want AVENGED SEVENFOLD to be a "nostalgia act", Vengeance added: "I've always wanted to be as proud of whatever we put out today as I was when we put out those albums." But, he said, "I'm totally cool with celebrating those albums because it was such a great place and time. Plus, it's actually fun to relive and play those songs and get those reactions. To bank our entire career off past successes, we can't do it, but we'll definitely do something to celebrate those albums though. For us, the most exciting thing about looking back is recalling where our heads were at when we were young and writing them. Remembering that they're part of who we are."

"City Of Evil", AVENGED SEVENFOLD's third album, produced the singles "Bat Country" and "Beast And The Harlot", while "Nightmare", the band's fifth studio LP, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in the United States. Both records have since been certified platinum by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) for shipments in excess of a million copies in the U.S. alone.

AVENGED SEVENFOLD has spent much of the past year and a half touring in support of its most recent album, 2023's "Life Is But A Dream…"



Setlist Waking The Fallen & City Of Evil Celebrating 25 years show Avenged Sevenfold at California in The Observatory Orange County 25th October 2024

Posted by A7x Videos on Saturday, October 26, 2024

In an interview with Kati Rausch of Music Interview Corner, vocalist Dani Filth of British extreme metal veterans CRADLE OF FILTH spoke about the band's new single. "Malignant Perfection", which arrived on October 22, just in time for the Halloween season. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It was recorded in the Czech Republic and L.A. [The video] was directed by Vicente Cordero and featured the talents of, amongst others, Missy Munster, who was also responsible for the costumes and stage stuff for KING DIAMOND and SLIPKNOT and ICE NINE KILLS. And yeah, it's the video for the first single from our new album. The new album will be out early next year. It'll be the first of several singles. Yeah, it's like a cinematic visual accompaniment to our first single. I can't really describe it much more; you just have to go and watch it for yourselves."

Detailing the video shoot for "Malignant Perfection", Dani said: "[We filmed it] in the Czech Republic. It was just prior to the first leg of our summer tour. We all live in different parts of the world — America, Scotland, Czech Republic, England — and so this was like the base for us starting off on our tour. And we flew in a crew who were part Australian, part American, and, yeah, basically shot two videos there. The next one will be forthcoming in a few months' time, or I'm not sure when it'll be coming, to be honest. It's in development at the moment. And we also shot some photo shoots for the new album and for likewise press. Yeah, it was great fun. Very hectic, very busy. We worked long hours, 'cause we had to do, obviously, two shoots and photoshoots. And so, yeah, it was a real experience. Our tour bus then came and picked us up from literally where we were in the middle of nowhere, just outside of Brno in the Czech Republic."

When "Malignant Perfection" was first released, Dani said in a statement: "Our new single and video, 'Malignant Perfection', is our horrific homage to All Hallows Eve, as embodied by the female deification of evil. It is a perfect musical accompaniment to the spirit of the witching season; invoking dark, Autumnal splendor and celebrating the time when the thin line between life and death is at its most tenuous and the denizens of the otherworld seek to break the veil into ours.

"The video, directed by the imitable Vicente Cordero and featuring the creative masterstrokes of one Missy Munster, is a playground of seductive darkness rife with malicious monsters and cryptid creations, all vying voraciously for the viewer's eternal soul.

"This comes at a perfect juncture for the Halloween period and our 'By Order Of The Dragon' U.K./European Autumn tour. It also arrives on the back of a sensational collaboration with massive fashion label Vetement and also Blackcraft Clothing, and in the fiery wake of a successful sold-out Australian tour."

In a recent interview with Jorge Botas of Portugal's Metal Global, Dani said that "Malignant Perfection" is "the first of a few singles before the [new CRADLE OF FILTH] album drops at the end of March, beginning of April."

Regarding how he thinks fans will react to the new CRADLE OF FILTH material, Dani said: "I think they're gonna love it. It's just part of the evolution of CRADLE. I mean, people ask me to describe it and it's very hard to describe it. I'm not gonna say, 'You know what? This is our 'Cold Lake'," referencing CELTIC FROST's much-maligned 1988 album. "It's just the next evolutionary step for CRADLE. It's got everything. There's a lot of things that hark back atmospherically and indeed musically in places to early CRADLE stuff. But then there's a lot of very modern CRADLE. It's got everything."

Asked if it is still important for him and his CRADLE OF FILTH bandmates to make new music to challenge themselves, Dani said: "I don't think it's about challenging ourselves. It's just finding an outlet for all this pent-up emotion. We're not gonna be stopping with this record. The reason this record and the last record were slightly delayed was obviously because we had that fucking great pandemic happen. We're actually writing new material now. We're trying to speed up the process. So we'll have a new record in '27, beginning of '27, if not sooner. But, obviously, there are events and especially milestones as well. So it's very important not to overcook the pudding and do too much and dilute. And everything we do, we wanna make it as good as possible. We don't release an album until we're happy with it."

Dani continued: "People are gonna love the production on this record. The production is fucking amazing. And it's got everything. It's got some really catchy songs. It's got some really — well, even the songs that are catchy have really fucking heavy parts in them. And catchy doesn't necessarily mean not extreme. So, yeah, it's another CRADLE OF FILTH record, but it's more than just another CRADLE OF FILTH record. It's another milestone."

This past May, Filth told Australia's Heavy about the progress of the recording sessions for the band's follow-up to 2021's "Existence Is Futile" album: "We've already done our [collaborative] track with [pop superstar and noted CRADLE OF FILTH fan] Ed Sheeran, although that'll be probably coming out on the special edition of the new album, but I can't really talk much more about that, all legalities and what have you."

He continued: "The album we started [in] July [2023], and our record company was, like, 'Why are you taking so long?' It's, like, 'Well, because we're on tour.' We started the album [and then] we literally went off on tour for two months. So, yeah, we've been very, very busy."

Asked about the musical direction of the new CRADLE OF FILTH material, Dani said: "It's a step on from the last record. Same production values, same producer, although we always approach it from a different way, so it does sound a lot different. I can't go too much into it because no matter what I say, it's not really gonna justify or do do justice to the tracks on there. It's very hard to explain. It's got [elements of] 'Dusk... And Her Embrace' vibe-wise. Vocally, it's a bit of everything. It's an aggressive record. It's a very catchy record. Yeah, it's just something that's gonna really please our fans. We've worked very hard on it. And the last record was received really well, 'Existence Is Futile'. It's an advancement from that. But it's not because I'm being told, 'Keep it calm. You can't talk about the record yet.' It's very difficult to talk about something that's got so much in it."

Last year, CRADLE OF FILTH released its first live album in over 20 years, "Trouble And Their Double Lives", via Napalm Records. The LP was recorded between 2014 and 2019 at different performances in the USA, Europe, Australia and beyond during the band's "Cryptoriana" world tour and dates following. Produced, mixed and mastered by Scott Atkins at Grindstone Studios, with recording captured by Danny B, the effort not only featured a slew of fan favorites encompassing the band's discography but also two bonus tracks and two entirely brand new songs, "She Is A Fire" and "Demon Prince Regent".

Asked in an interview with Decibel if the two new songs on the record indicate what the next CRADLE OF FILTH album will sound like, Dani said: "Maybe a little bit but no. It's pretty hard to explain, I can't really talk about it. The new album has a 'Dusk… And Her Embrace' vibe to it. But no, we moved on from that. We started writing as a collective after that, these were stopgap songs that originally were intended toward a new album but because of the pandemic, it delayed everything and they found themselves out there. We just thought it was best to put them on the new record."

He added: "A record takes up so much of your time. It's a monument to a band's career, a lot of effort gone into it, a lot of time gone into it. It deserves its own sort of place and each album will have its own unique identity that's in place due to whatever outside due influence is happening at the time. People in the band, when they recorded, there's so many things that determine what an album's about. Of course each and every one is hopefully going to have a very strong and different identity to the previous one and also the future one."

In May 2023, Dani was asked by BLABBERMOUTH.NET if he envisions the next CRADLE OF FILTH studio album staying in the same vein as "Cryptoriana" or "Existence Is Futile". He responded: "It's not going to be a million miles away from that. I've been working on some of the material today. We're putting the finishing touches on the songs we're going to record, whether all of them make the grade or not. It has a 'Dusk… And Her Embrace' vibe to them. Musically, it plays across 'Dusk' and 'Midian', but lyrically, and the vibe of it, it has a 'Dusk… And Her Embrace' feel to it. I don't know why. History repeats itself. Maybe it's because we wrote 'Dusk' around this particular time of year, but it has that vibe. It sounds great, but I would say that, wouldn't I?"

Photo credit: Roberto Diaz

HarperCollins has set a May 13, 2025 release date for "72 Stories" from RUSH bassist/vocalist Geddy Lee. The book was previously gifted as a limited edition to the winning bidders in Geddy's 2023 auction of some of his extensive baseball memorabilia collection.

Lee touched upon the "72 Stories" book last year while speaking to the Illinois Entertainer about his baseball memorabilia auction. He said at the time: "It's a collection of stories from some of my favorite items in my collection. Maybe I'll release it on opening day next year; I don't know. I'm going to include a copy of the book to the winning bidders of those particular items in my sale that are also featured in this book. I'll give them a signed copy.'

He continued: "[The book] came together in a relatively painless way. I wrote it with my co-writer Daniel Richler. Richard Sibbald, who shot the 'Big Beautiful Book Of Bass', took the photographs. They're absolutely stunning… So, there is a book, and I'm really pleased with it. I'm trying to get it printed now, in time for the auction. It's called '72 Stories From The Collection Of Geddy Lee'."

Lee's memoir, "My Effin' Life", was released in November 2023 through HarperCollins. The book includes stories of Geddy's parents' traumatic experiences as teenagers in concentration camps in World War II as well as "intimate stories of his lifelong friendships with bandmates Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart — deeply mourning Peart's recent passing," according to the book's synopsis.

The idea for Lee's memoir came about after he wrote his previous book, 2018's "Geddy Lee's Big Beautiful Book Of Bass". He found the time to write "My Effin' Life" while locked down at home in Toronto during the pandemic.

The now-71-year-old Lee took "My Effin' Life" on the road to venues all over North America in November and December 2023.

Peart died in January 2020 after a three-year battle with glioblastoma.

RUSH waited three days to announce Peart's passing, setting off shockwaves and an outpouring of grief from fans and musicians all over the world.

RUSH's final tour concluded on August 1, 2015 at the Forum in Los Angeles. Peart indicated at the time that he wanted to retire while he was still able to play well, along with a desire to spend more time at home with his young daughter.

Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame inductee Alice Cooper has unveiled a brand new deluxe edition of the 1973 classic "Muscle Of Love". It arrives in multiple configurations, including a 2LP vinyl and a 1CD/Blu-ray. It's available exclusively at Rhino.com and select international WMG stores. A digital deluxe edition will be available on November 20.

The definitive version of the band's seventh and final full-length offering encompasses 11 previously unreleased tracks, spanning recently unearthed early versions and alternate mixes of staple songs. The CD/Blu-ray set features the original 192/24 resolution quadraphonic mixes making their debut on Blu-ray.

Additionally, the liner notes feature an in-depth and immersive track-by-track account of the story behind "Muscle Of Love", as told to renowned music journalist Jaan Uhelszki. She spoke extensively to Cooper, guitarist Michael Bruce, bassist Dennis Dunaway, drummer Neal Smith and additional guitarist Nick Mashbir to compile the most comprehensive discourse on this record ever published thus far.

"Muscle Of Love" saw the band double down on their rock 'n' roll roots, delivering an uncompromising body of work buoyed by impeccable playing, massive hooks, and good old-fashioned Detroit grit. Produced by Jack Richardson and Jack Douglas, it cracked the Top 10 of the Billboard 200 and scored a gold certification from the RIAA. This uncompromising body of work includes the famed title track "Muscle Of Love" as well as "Teenage Lament '74", "Big Apple Dreamin' (Hippo)" and "Hard Hearted Alice". It would also be the final album recorded by the original band, and they definitely went out with a bang, to say the least.

"Muscle Of Love (Deluxe)" track listing:

Disc 1

01. Big Apple Dreamin' (Hippo)
02. Never Been Sold Before
03. Hard Hearted Alice
04. Crazy Little Child
05. Working Up A Sweat
06. Muscle Of Love
07. Man With The Golden Gun
08. Teenage Lament '74
09. Woman Machine

Disc 2

01. Big Apple Dreamin' (Hippo) (Early Version)
02. Never Been Sold Before (Early Version)
03. Hard Hearted Alice (Alternate Mix)
04. Crazy Little Child (Early Version)
05. Working Up A Sweat (Alternate Mix)
06. Muscle Of Love (Alternate Mix)
07. Man With The Golden Gun (Early Version)
08. Teenage Lament '74 (Acoustic Diversion)
09. Woman Machine (Alternate Mix)
10. Teenage Lament '74 (Single Version)
11. Muscle Of Love (Single Version)

Blu-ray Disc

01. Big Apple Dreamin' (Hippo)
02. Never Been Sold Before
03. Hard Hearted Alice
04. Crazy Little Child
05. Working Up A Sweat
06. Muscle Of Love
07. Man With The Golden Gun
08. Teenage Lament '74
09. Woman Machine

Vinyl

LP 1

A1. Big Apple Dreamin' (Hippo)
A2. Never Been Sold Before
A3. Hard Hearted Alice
A4. Crazy Little Child

B1. Working Up A Sweat
B2. Muscle Of Love
B3. Man With The Golden Gun
B4. Teenage Lament '74
B5. Woman Machine

LP 2

C1. Big Apple Dreamin' (Hippo) (Early Version)
C2. Never Been Sold Before (Early Version)
C3. Hard Hearted Alice (Alternate Mix)
C4. Crazy Little Child (Early Version)

D1. Working Up A Sweat (Alternate Mix)
D2. Muscle Of Love (Alternate Mix)
D3. Man With The Golden Gun (Early Version)
D4. Teenage Lament '74 (Acoustic Diversion)
D5. Woman Machine (Alternate Mix)

Danish/Faroese progressive metal collective, Iotunn, are pleased to unveil their video for "Earth To Sky". The track is featured on the band's Kinship full-length, out now on Metal Blade Records.


A monolithic album arising from the primeval sea, Kinship is a mythological journey through eight tracks that span immense spheres both musically and lyrically, exploring the deep roots of human nature, its connection and disconnection with everything and everyone, and how our choices have always defined ourselves and the lives lived.


Comments guitarist Jesper Gräs on "Earth To Sky": "This song is, in many ways, inspired by the tradition of film music. It is progressive and yet simple at its core and presents a sound full of themes, moods, and feelings which truly unfold in the mid-sections but are constantly present throughout. When we were done with the album, we all got hit by this one in a very special way which we had not foreseen, and we found it to be a natural single from the Kinship album. It holds many things which we hold dearly, includes many of the core ingredients which is Iotunn, and it has some of the most brutal metal of the album."




Adds guitarist Jens Nicolai, "This song is built on two connected ideas except a couple of minor detours, so it's a way of writing that we've done before - to see how many colors we can paint within very limited settings. As it turned out, the frame got bigger and bigger and rich on motifs, and it's got lots of cool transitions."





Kinship unfolds the story of a prehistoric tribesman. It tells the story of life's manyfold conditions as themes of unity/disunity, light/dark, body/mind, nature/culture, good/evil, creation/destruction, and human/inhuman appear throughout the album. The album also shows Iotunn reveal their musical worlds to their fullest scales to date which has been the dream achievement in composing the offering.


"The creation of Kinship has been the most extensive and wild journey we've ever been part of," says Jesper Gräs, "Like trekking up the Galdhøpiggen mountain in Norway, we have crossed peak after peak and seen things continuously brighter and wider until we reached the top, the end. Never have we been prouder and more pleased, and we hope our fans - old and new - will take this album into their hearts and let it unfold from there."


The artwork and art pieces of Kinship were created by the ink and graphite illustrator and artist, Saprophial (Hammers Of Misfortune), with the design and layout created by art director Brian Ames at Metal Blade Records. Kinship was mixed and mastered by Jacob Hansen at Hansen Studios Denmark (Arch Enemy, Katatonia, The Black Dahlia Murder, Volbeat, Týr).


Order here.





Kinship tracklisting:


"Kinship Elegiac"
"Mistland"
"Twilight"
"I Feel The Night"
"The Coming End"
"Iridescent Way"
"Earth To Sky"
"The Anguished Ethereal"


"Iridescent Way" video:

Toronto-based Monster Voodoo Machine formed in 1991, releasing two studio albums and three studio EPs in '90s. They disbanded in 1998, but reformed in 2007 for sporadic live shows.


Frontman Adam Sewell has shared the following message on the behalf of the band:


"This week marks the official 30th anniversary of the release of the Monster Voodoo Machine debut album, Suffersystem. I want to apologize for the month-long overkill / overload / abundance of posts about the album, and to let you all know that we (the band) appreciate you all humouring us old guys with all of your extremely nice comments and memories that you have shared with us about this unique collection of songs, tour dates, press clippings, and videos from the 1994 - 1995 album cycle.




Truth be told, Suffersystem really was the ONLY real full-length Monster Voodoo Machine album to ever be released. It was a fantastic representation of who we were (as a band) at that time, and it gave us young kids some life changing experiences. And over the many decades since the album’s release its reach has allowed us to connect with so many great people and music fans from all over the world.





To everyone who listened to, and supported both the album and our band, the fans, the booking agents, the promoters, the clubs, the DJs, the VJs, the programmers, the bands we toured with, our road crew, and all those who hustled on our behalf… thank you all.


We want to use this post to say a special THANK YOU to the people in our lives who were directly responsible for making that album happen at that moment in time: Critter, Howie Beno, George Marino, Reid and everyone at Chicago Trax, Michael Toorock, Jill Heath, Scott Bernstein, Bill Dern, Terry O’Brien, Jana Cleland and everyone at BMG Music Publishing, Tom Derr, Bennett Kaufman and everyone at RCA Records, the very small number of supporters at BMG Canada, Roddy Bottum, Wesley Willis, Leslie Rankine, Martin Atkins, Pushead, all of the artists and producers who worked on remixes, Bob, Steve, Lauren and everyone at Concrete, Felix Sebacious and everyone at Blue Grape Merchandise, Kristian, Chris, Dawn and Don, aaaaaaand of course… our families. 


But most importantly, it’s worth noti

In Episode 8 of Def Leppard's Behind The Summer Stadium Tour, the guys adapt the show to new stage setups, Phil has a shoe problem, Extreme stop by for a visit, Joe plays a round of "hide the rockstar",  and they say our goodbyes to Journey and Cheap Trick.





Def Leppard’s 2024 summer stadium tour kick started with the release of a brand new standalone single, "Just Like 73". Watch the band “live from the 2024 Summer Stadium Tour" below:







Returning to the road on a massive North American summer stadium tour, the electrifying single, "Just Like 73" featuring Tom Morello, made its debut for the first time reaching #1 on various charts across the globe.


Speaking about the track, Joe Elliott shares, “It encapsulates a time that burned deep into our DNA. We wanted to celebrate that very important and glorious time.”


“When I saw David Bowie on TV between 1972 and 1973, everything I thought I knew about music went from black and white to vivid technicolor,” Phil Collen adds. “Our song ‘Just Like 73’ represents that awakening.”

Guitarist Kiko Loureiro (ex-Megadeth) has released a playthrough video of his new single, "Blindfolded". Check it out below.


The track features Loureiro (guitars and keyboards), Felipe Andreoli (bass), Bruno Valverde (drums) and Maria Ilmoniemi (keyboards).







Loureiro previously released the single, "Mind Rise". Stream the track here, and listen below.


Says Kiko: "After years of playing in massive arenas and headlining festivals, there's something refreshing about focusing on the fundamentals. The new song taps into that, where catchy, straightforward guitar riffs take center stage, using a deep, lower-register pentatonic scale to immediately engage the listener.


"In my mind, the verse goes: Carlos Santana meets Jeff Beck, with sinuous, curvy lines where slight variations in playing the same note make a huge impact on the theme. As the saying goes, "The devil is in the details," and here, those details shape the entire vibe of the track.


"The song kicks off in E minor, one of the most commonly used keys in rock guitar. But just when it feels familiar, it shifts into G major, its relative key, lifting the track and creating a sense of elevation. The dynamics between these two bring energy and keep the listener's attention without overcomplicating the composition. In this way, the song avoids relying only on a traditional chorus. Instead, it uses a strong, recurring guitar riff as its focal point.


"And then there’s the suspense. The kind that lingers in the air like a shadow in the corner of a smoky bar, where a figure waits, watching, cal

Wardruna, the Norwegian group known for blending traditional Norse music with modern post-rock and folk influences, has released “Hibjørnen”, a new song and video from their recently announced forthcoming album, Birna (Sony Music/By Norse Music). The 10-track collection explores the natural world, with the bear as a central symbol.


“The rhythm of the bear embodies the very circle of life: When winter approaches, it goes to sleep in its den – back to the womb; its pulse slowing, its body encapsulated in an intermediate death,” Selvik explains. “Like a lullaby, ‘Hibjørnen’ takes on the perspective of the hibernating bear and its dormant dreams from inside the den. The listener returns from the den of the bear more attuned, aware and contemplative of nature’s wonders, just in time for the freshly sprung buds.” This cyclical process, so embedded both in nature and the worldview of older cultures, drives Selvik’s every creative work.


“Hibjørnen” (The Hibernator) is a notable contrast to Wardruna’s recently released song “Himinndotter,” offering a simpler and more direct approach, with a focus on voice, poetry and the lyre, creating a contemporary take on Norse oral traditions.







Birna was written and recorded over a three year period with music by Selvik and longtime collaborator/vocalist Linda-Fay Hella, and lyrics solely written by Selvik. Performers on the album, in addition to Hella and Selvik, include Eilif Gundersen (bukkehorn, lur, flute, backing vocals), HC Dalgaard (drums, percussion, backing vocals), Sondre Veland (percussion, backing vocals), John Stenersen (mora-harp) and Arne Sandvoll (percussion, backing vocals).


Wardruna will simultaneously release Live At The Acropolis on DVD/Blu-Ray. Featuring a September 2023 performance from the UNESCO World Heritage Site, the film includes the full show with additional interviews and behind-the-scenes footage.


Birna and Live At The Acropolis pre-orders are available here, with the new album available on limited-edition vinyl, CD and digitally.


Birna cover, photo by Tuukka Koski with artwork by Øivind A. Myksvoll.





Birna tracklisting:


"Hertan"
"Birna"
"Ljos til Jord"
"Dvaledraumar"
"Jord til Ljos"
"Himinndotter"
"Hibjørnen"
"Skuggehesten"
"Tretale"
"Lyfjaberg"


“Himinndotter” video:





"Hertan" video:





"Lyfjaberg" video:





From the Runaljod album trilogy (2009, 2013, 2016), exploring old Norse myths, traditions,

In a new interview with Ruben Mosqueda of We Go To 11, MR. BIG bassist Billy Sheehan was asked if the group's recently completed "The BIG Finish" farewell tour was just the end of extensive touring for him and his bandmates, with plans to make special appearances from time to time, or if MR. BIG is going to become a studio-only project going forward. Billy responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "The end is the end. It's finished. If some extenuating circumstances come up, we might do a show or two, maybe, but touring and recording… We kind of wanted to put a period at the end of the sentence. And as I've said many times, we wanted to run over the finish line, not crawl over it. And for us, a fully functional band is on tour playing live and doing the thing and writing recording, and then go out on after the record and do another tour, to do that, we've done that for 34 years, and it's been an amazing run. We have friends all over planet earth. It's fantastic. And it's probably our greatest asset, personally, for me, the amazing people that we've touched around the world. But we decided to really, 'Let's do it the right way,' and not to have some continual farewell thing that goes on for an eternity."

He continued: "Our last show was in Romania. Unusual. That's where the roulette ball fell into that as we spun the wheel. And we had a great time. And our last shows in Europe, we did a bunch of shows in Germany. Amazing. We have a lot of friends in Germany. We had big hits in Germany as well. And all over Europe and England. We got to play Ireland — Belfast and Dublin. And I'm an Irishman, so that was very nice. We played Liverpool, the Holy Ground. It was quite amazing. I had to put one little BEATLES melody in my solo at the end. Pretty cool. So it was a nice way to go out. I'm glad we did it. We did it with as much class as we're capable of. We did the final tour, and I'm very, very pleased about it."

In a recent interview with George Dionne of KNAC.COM, MR. BIG frontman Eric Martin once again admitted that he was second guessing the group's decision to stop touring after the completion of "The BIG Finish" farewell tour. Asked what "The BIG Finish" means to him, he said: "Yeah, I'm not pulling the wool over anybody's eyes. It means the touring is over. Which kind of bums me out, because I was there in the meeting a year and change ago going, 'Yep. I agree. It's time that we call it quits.'

"I didn't wanna quit for the longest time," he admitted. "I mean, this was brought up, like, five years ago. 'Should we do a farewell tour?' We've got other projects going, and it's kind of hard to keep the MR. BIG thing alive. And I was, like, 'No,' cheerleading, 'Please, no. We've gotta keep it going.' But yeah, a year and a few months ago, I was totally in agreement with everybody going, 'Yeah, this is it.' I even thought of the name 'BIG Finish'. So I put the nail in the coffin. But now I'm, like, oh, I wish I had a nice big hammer to unclog that nail. 'Cause the band's so good and so tight. The crowd's coming out. New album came out. The momentum is there. And the band just sounds so tight on stage.

Circling back to what "The BIG Finish" means as far as the possibility of future MR. BIG live shows, Eric said: "What I mean by 'The BIG Finish' is there's no touring anymore. I would hope that we still leave the door open. I mean, I brought this up many times online. Even Nick D'Virgilio, our drummer, he goes, 'Man, we should do a residency in Indonesia or Japan or just anywhere,' like do a residency. And I go, 'Man, I just hope we can play in a few years, play four or five shows here and there, maybe play a festival with bands in our ilk.' It'd be great to keep that door open. And no response. I think also, a whole year and almost a half of touring, everybody just kind of wants to take a break. But I'm, like, 'Let's ride this wave, brother. Let's do this.' But yeah, no more touring. No more multiple dates. It's over. The big lady has sung."

This past August, Eric told Roppongi Rocks's Stefan Nilsson that there is no chance of him and his MR. BIG bandmates going back on their word that they would not tour ever again. "We're not the kind of band — when we say that we're gonna quit and it's over and we're not touring anymore… We may do a one-off here and there every couple of years or whatever, but we're not going to be like the MÖTLEY CRÜEs and the KISSes," he explained." And no offense to them, because the crowds keep coming to see 'em, but we're not gonna do it. We just maybe have too much pride in it."

Asked if there is a chance of MR. BIG making more studio albums in the future, Eric said: "I did an interview the other day with Billy, and… I'm not my brother's keeper. I don't know what he thinks. I know what I think, that I'd like to do albums. If we're not gonna tour anymore for different reasons — I mean, I just don't wanna tour lengthy…. This has been a year. I just can't do it. I'm too old to… Everybody goes, 'Oh, what about THE ROLLING STONES?' Yeah. What about THE ROLLING STONES? Flying in, playing one show and two weeks later playing another show. Yeah, this is back-to-back touring. Hardly any hotels. I mean, the bus will suffice, but it's like a big camping trip for older men. So, I would like to do other albums. But the interview went like this. The guy goes, 'You gonna do another album?' And I'm, like, 'I'd like to.' And Billy goes, 'No, that's it.' I'm, like, 'All right.' But he's the guy that always says, 'Never say never.'"

MR. BIG played the last show of its "The BIG Finish" farewell tour on August 23 at the Way Too Far Rock Festival 2024 in Bistrița, Romania.

After the concert, Sheehan took to his social media to share a picture from the gig and he included the following message: "Romania!!! Crowd was a little bit light, but they made up for it in enthusiasm! The last MR. BIG show (not MY last show, goddammit!!).

"What a great run we've had since 1988. We made Great memories and millions (literally) of friends all around the world. My unlimited love and respect to all who listened, watched, purchased records, tickets and T -shirts. — without you we would have been nothing. Fact. Moving on now to other adventures, but never forgetting this amazing experience."

Guitarist Paul Gilbert added: "What an adventure! MR. BIG wraps up over a year of touring! Many thanks to ALL! I'll get home just in time for my son's 10th birthday. I hope he remembers who I am!"

D'Virgilio, who joined MR. BIG in 2023 as the replacement for the late Pat Torpey, commented: "It has been an amazing run with @billysheehanonbass @paulgilbert_official and @iamericmartin I've been able to rock n roll all over the world with the guys and I will be forever thankful. Big Love for MR. BIG!"

MR. BIG's tenth studio album, "Ten", was released on July 12 via Frontiers Music Srl. The LP features 11 new original tracks written by Martin and Gilbert, along with André Pessis and Tony Fanucchi. "Ten" was produced by Jay Ruston and MR. BIG.

D'Virgilio missed most of the final European leg of MR. BIG's "The BIG Finish" tour due to his commitments with his band BIG BIG TRAIN. He was temporarily replaced on the trek by Edu Cominato, an experienced drummer from São Paulo, Brazil who has previously played with Sheehan and Martin, Jeff Scott Soto and Geoff Tate (QUEENSRŸCHE),among others.

When MR. BIG announced "The BIG Finish" tour last year, the bandmembers said that it was "time to mark the end of this chapter of their legacy" after drummer Pat Torpey lost his battle with Parkinson's disease in 2018. The first leg kicked off in Japan and Southeast Asia in July and August 2023, where the band performed for hundreds of thousands of loyal fans at 11 sold-out shows including Budokan in Tokyo, Japan.

MR. BIG's last-ever live album release was "The BIG Finish Live", which came out on September 6 via the Evolution Music Group.

"The BIG Finish Live" is a brand-new live album and concert film of MR. BIG's "The BIG Finish" farewell tour, where the band played their million-selling "Lean Into It" album in its entirety, plus additional MR. BIG classics.

THE WHO guitarist Pete Townshend has confirmed that the band will be reactivated in 2025. In a new interview with The Standard, he said: "I met with Roger [Daltrey, THE WHO singer] for lunch a couple of weeks ago. We're in good form. We love each other. We're both getting a bit creaky, but we will definitely do something next year."

Asked if that involve a tour or an album, Pete said: "The album side of it… Roger's not keen. But I would love to do another album and I may try to bully him on that."

According to Townshend, any future THE WHO live performances would likely take on a more stripped-down format.

"The last big tours that we've done have been with a full orchestra, which was glorious, but we're now eager to make a noise and make a mess and make mistakes," he said.

This past June, Pete was asked by NME if he thinks there will be a new THE WHO album to follow up 2019's "Who" effort. The 79-year-old THE WHO guitarist said: "I don't think there [will be]. If there was a need or a place for a WHO album, could I write the songs for it within six weeks? Of course I fucking could; it's a piece of cake. The problem is I don't think Roger wants to do it again. For me it would be a joy because I love writing songs, I love writing to a brief, I love having a commission, I love having a deadline and I love the feedback.

"I was so pleased that the critical response to the last WHO album was so positive," he continued. "I wasn't expecting that and I was grateful for it and inspired by it. So where I am at the moment is I'm thinking, well, I might write the songs and then say to Roger, 'Either you sing on them or I'm gonna put them out as a solo album,' and WHO fans will love me for it."

Asked if it makes financial sense anymore for major established acts to make new albums, Pete said: "[Laughs] It's never been about the money. THE WHO never made any money from fucking records anyway. Our managers were criminals. I'd never seen a WHO royalty statement prior to our first audit, which we did while we were making 'Quadrophenia'. It emerged that [our former manager] had stolen all of my Italian publishing royalties to buy himself a palace in Venice. There are black swans in our business, and they're the ones that always mop up all the money.

"Look at the legendary Jimi Hendrix," he added. "I saw him in L.A. in the last two weeks of his life. He was happy, he was really nice to me, and he hadn't been always in the past. I said, 'How you doing?' and he said, 'Pete, I'm broke'. He was huge, and he was broke. [But] we didn't give a fuck about the money. I lived in a little house in Twickenham by the Thames. I was happy to be by the water. I had one car. I had a tiny little studio, I was really happy. I had a beautiful wife, lovely kids, great friends and never wanted for anything really, except some time to myself and some time to have with my family. So today I've got a sense that I'm lucky to be here and be fit enough to walk around the block and to work with younger musicians, to do some producing and mentoring."

This past January, Daltrey was asked by The Times if there will be more from THE WHO. The 80-year-old singer, who most recently played with Townshend in the summer of 2023, responded: "I can't answer that. I don't write the songs. I never did. We [Pete and I] need to sit down and have a meeting, but at the moment I'm happy saying that part of my life is over."

Regarding the fact that THE WHO sold its back catalog for a reported £100 million more than a decade ago, Roger said: "I found it hard to do. It was like selling the family silver, but then they made such a good offer. I'm a wealthy man, but I'm no good to society because I don't want anything. Still to this day I have that wartime mentality. I find it hard to throw anything away. My Merc is 20 years old and my jeans have holes in them."

Daltrey also discussed how the music business has changed over the last five decades, particularly as it relates to how artists are being compensated for their songs.

"Money doesn't make you happy," he said. "But I do think the industry has been stolen from young artists. There's no money in streaming, even if you write a great song. You can write a hit for Taylor Swift and, even if it gets a billion streams, you'll receive a check for about £3,000."

In October 2022, THE WHO released a new version of the "Who" album featuring an updated version of "Beads On One String" newly remixed by Pete Townshend and acoustic tracks from the band's only live shows of 2020.

The songs on the deluxe version of "Who" were recorded in Kingston on Valentine's Day this year exactly 50 years to the day since THE WHO's seminal show at Leeds which became the infamous live album "Live At Leeds".

The Eclipse YouTube channel has uploaded video of Yngwie Malmsteen's October 27 performance at the House Of Blues in Anaheim, California during his "40th Anniversary Tour". You can now check out the clips below.

Yngwie's 40th-anniversary tour kicked off on September 26 in Fort Myers, Florida and will conclude on November 22 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Support on the trek is coming from singer-songwriter Kurt Deimer.

For more information, visit www.yngwiemalmsteen.com/tour.

Yngwie's latest album, "Parabellum", was released in July 2021 via Music Theories Recordings/Mascot Label Group. Only four of the songs on the LP feature vocals. The album title is Latin, translating as "Prepare For War".

After working with some of the top hard singers of the past four decades, Yngwie now handles much of the lead vocals himself in his own band, backed by a lineup that includes keyboardist Nick Marino, bassist Emilio Martinez and drummer Kevin Klingenschmid.

Last month, Yngwie dismissed the notion that playing guitar is a "competition", explaining that "music and guitar playing comes from within". The 61-year-old Swedish-born guitarist, who made a name for himself by recreating the spirit of celebrated composer/musician Niccolò Paganini, but within the realm of heavy metal guitar, took to his social media on September 1 to write: "So I see a lot of these comments where people are saying I can't be as good as you or I gave up playing the guitar after I saw you.

"Music and playing the guitar is not a competition even though since the beginning of my career, that is what they wanted to portray. That's why they have all these best guitarist that guitars blah blah blah. Music and guitar playing comes from within and it's to be enjoyed at any level, no matter where you are in your life. Even if you are making a career out of it if you play with the thought that I'm going to compete with another guitar player or another musician, you will be miserable. Competition is for sports and athletes, not for guitar playing, period. It's not a competition. The instrument of the guitar is to be played and enjoyed at any level. Now go pick up that guitar".

In a 2006 interview with Australia's X-Press Online, Yngwie stated about where the idea to combine classical music and rock guitar came from: "I was the youngest member of my family. I have an older brother and sister and my mother, my father, my uncles, my aunts — everybody is a musician. My grandfather was a drummer. It's like music, music, music everywhere… and art, a lot of art and music. I had a very artistic kind of upbringing.

"As a little kid, I wasn't really into being a musician. My mother gave me a guitar on my fifth birthday and a trumpet on my sixth birthday, and so on, but when I was seven, I saw a TV news special about Jimi Hendrix. It showed him burning his guitar and you didn't even hear the music, just saw him burning a guitar, and I thought that was so cool. I already had a guitar, so I started playing that same day — September 18, 1970. I was only a little kid. One year later, my older sister Lulu gave me DEEP PURPLE's 'Fireball', which is a really hard rock album, and I went out and bought 'In Rock' the next day. I was listening to songs like 'Fireball', 'Flight Of The Rat' — just so heavy — so I learned how to play all these solos and stuff and, contrary to most people's opinion or theory, is that DEEP PURPLE, along with all other rock 'n' roll bands were all blues-based. Pentatonic scales and my classical influence did not come from them. A lot of people seem to think so, but no, no, no, no. I love these guys… my favorite band ever. My classical music didn't come from there, but my love for hard rock was definitely from PURPLE.

"What I wanted to do was try and take this whole thing with the double-bass drums and the Marshalls all the way up and all that shit, and play with counterpoints and pedal notes, inverted chords, Phrygian modes, inverted scales, diminished scales… all that shit. Then I saw a TV program: it was a guy playing violin. They said it was music from Niccolò Paganini. When I heard that, I said, 'Fuck, that's what I want to go for on the guitar.' So my guitar playing is 99.9 percent influenced by classical violin, mainly Paganini, Vivaldi and Tchaikovsky, and my songwriting is very Bach in the structuring, because I've always loved the counterpoint and the harmonic minor kind of things. But I love the sound of the metal ensemble. That's how it all started."

HarperCollins has set a November 21 release date for the English version of former SKID ROW and H.E.A.T. singer Erik Grönwall's autobiography, "Power – Music, Death, Life".

Grönwall shot to stardom overnight after winning the Swedish edition of Idol. In "Power – Music, Death, Life", we follow Erik's journey from his upbringing to the present day: his struggles to make it as an artist, his devastating leukemia diagnosis at the height of the pandemic and his miraculous recovery. The book also delves into how he became the lead singer of the legendary metal band SKID ROW, his time with the band, and the reasons behind his decision to later part ways.

This is not just a story about life in the limelight and being a rockstar — it's about staying true to your values, holding onto your dreams, and standing your ground, even when you're not the obvious choice.

"I never thought I would write an autobiography, let alone at the age of 36," Erik said. "But sometimes it feels like I've lived two lifetimes in just a fraction of one. I believe I have something to share that might give hope and inspiration to others who are struggling. Life after illness can actually turn out to be better than ever."

Erik went from auditioning for the competition show "Swedish Idol" back in 2009 by singing a cover of SKID ROW's "18 And Life" to fronting the band 13 years later.

Grönwall announced his decision to leave SKID ROW on March 27, 2024, saying that he wanted to "prioritize [his] health and full recovery."
⠀⠀
SKID ROW's longtime friend Lzzy Hale (HALESTORM) handled lead vocals for the band's four concerts in late May and early June.

The SKID ROW members said in a statement that they are "proud of what they have created and accomplished with Erik over the past two years" and "wish nothing but the best to him and his health."

Grönwall, who was a member of the Swedish hard rock band H.E.A.T. for nearly a decade before exiting the group in October 2020, announced in September 2021 that he was cancer free after receiving a bone marrow transplant one month earlier.

Grönwall sang on four H.E.A.T. studio albums — "Address The Nation" (2012),"Tearing Down The Walls" (2014),"Into The Great Unknown" (2017) and "H.E.A.T II" (2020).

In September 2021, just four months before joining SKID ROW, Grönwall released his new cover version of "18 And Life" via all streaming platforms.

In 2018, Grönwall debuted in the U.S. for 10 million viewers in NBC's live broadcast of Andrew Lloyd Webber's and Tim Rice's musical "Jesus Christ Superstar". Along with John Legend, Alice Cooper, Sara Bareilles and others, Erik played the key role of Simon Zealotes.

In late March 2022, SKID ROW released its first single with Grönwall, "The Gang's All Here". The song is the title track of the band's latest album, which arrived in October 2022 via earMUSIC.

SKID ROW played its first show with Grönwall on March 26, 2022 at Zappos Theater at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada as the support act on the rescheduled dates for SCORPIONS' "Sin City Nights" residency.

Grönwall lives in Knivsta, a city in Uppsala County in east central Sweden, with his wife and their five-year-old son.

Fan-filmed video of DREAM THEATER's October 23 concert at Palladium in Cologne, Germany can be seen below.

The progressive metal legends played their first concert with Mike Portnoy in 14 years on October 20 at the O2 Arena in London, United Kingdom.

The drummer co-founded DREAM THEATER in 1985 with guitarist John Petrucci and bassist John Myung. Mike played on 10 DREAM THEATER albums over a 20-year period, from 1989's "When Dream And Day Unite" through 2009's "Black Clouds & Silver Linings", before exiting the group in 2010. Portnoy returned to DREAM THEATER in October 2023 after being replaced by Mike Mangini, who played with DREAM THEATER across five studio albums and accompanying world tours.

London marked the kick-off concert of DREAM THEATER's 2024-2025 40th-anniversary tour. The European leg of the trek — presented as "An Evening With Dream Theater" — will run through November 24 in Amsterdam, hitting cities in numerous countries along the way.

The setlist for the London, Berlin and Cologne shows was as follows, according to Setlist.fm:

Act I

01. Metropolis Pt. 1: The Miracle And The Sleeper (first time since 2017)
02. Act I: Scene Two: I. Overture 1928
03. Act I: Scene Two: II. Strange Déjà Vu
04. The Mirror (first time since 2014, with "Lie" outro)
05. Panic Attack (first time since 2015)
06. Barstool Warrior (first time with Mike Portnoy)
07. Hollow Years (first time since 2010; demo version)
08. Constant Motion (first time since 2015)
09. As I Am (first time since 2019)

Act II

10. Night Terror (live debut)
11. This Is The Life (first time since 2012, first time with Mike Portnoy)
12. Under A Glass Moon (first time since 2017)
13. Vacant (first time since 2006)
14. Stream Of Consciousness (first time since 2004)
15. Octavarium (first time in full since 2006)

Encore:

16. Act II: Scene Six: Home
17. Act II: Scene Eight: The Spirit Carries On
18. Pull Me Under

In a new interview with Jorge Botas of Portugal's Metal Global, DREAM THEATER drummer Mike Portnoy spoke about what it was like to perform live again with the band after 14 years. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I said it to the guys right after the [first] show [of the tour in London on October 20], it's, like, 'We can all take a deep breath now and now we can start to have fun.' The first show was just so intense that even during the show, it just was a lot of concentration and there was so much expectations. And so now with that out of the way, we can actually take a deep breath and now start to enjoy it."

Asked if he was nervous before taking the stage in London, Mike said: "I'll admit — I was. I never, ever get nervous before a show, but it was nerve-racking. My first time back with the guys in, I guess, 14 years live, plus such a massive venue and so much expectations and focus on us that we knew we'd be under the microscope. So, yeah, it was actually nerve-racking."

Regarding whether the setlist for DREAM THEATER's 40th-anniversary tour will change as the tour progresses, Portnoy said: "Back in in my first tenure, I used to love changing the setlist every single night — not only to keep it interesting for the fans, but to keep it interesting for us as well, having been doing it for 25 years at that point before I left. So, that is something that I know is very special for the band and for the fans. But with me coming back now, we wanna get our tour legs back first. So the setlist will be what it is now for a little while. And then once everybody's comfortable, then we'll start to experiment and then I'll start to really get creative and start fucking with it. For the moment and for the the next little while, this is the setlist."

As for his mindset in picking the songs for the 40th-anniversary-tour setlist, Mike said: "I wanted to have a setlist that almost felt like a greatest-hits show. Not that we have a lot of hits, but ones that you know are popular, ones that you know that are always crowd pleasers. You always know which ones get the most energy, and we wanted to have a show that kind of represented the whole career of the band. It's impossible to cover every album, so that was never gonna be possible. We did that on the 20th-anniversary tour, but that was 20 years; there was eight albums to choose from. Now it's 16. So we can't possibly cover every album, but at least wanted to cover all of the different eras and throw in some surprises in there as well, a combination of both."

Portnoy co-founded DREAM THEATER in 1985 with guitarist John Petrucci and bassist John Myung. Mike played on 10 DREAM THEATER albums over a 20-year period, from 1989's "When Dream And Day Unite" through 2009's "Black Clouds & Silver Linings", before exiting the group in 2010. Portnoy returned to DREAM THEATER in October 2023 after being replaced by Mike Mangini, who played with DREAM THEATER across five studio albums and accompanying world tours.

London marked the kick-off concert of DREAM THEATER's 2024-2025 40th-anniversary tour. The European leg of the trek — presented as "An Evening With Dream Theater" — will run through November 24 in Amsterdam, hitting cities in numerous countries along the way.

The setlist for both the London and Berlin shows was as follows, according to Setlist.fm:

Act I

01. Metropolis Pt. 1: The Miracle And The Sleeper (first time since 2017)
02. Act I: Scene Two: I. Overture 1928
03. Act I: Scene Two: II. Strange Déjà Vu
04. The Mirror (first time since 2014, with "Lie" outro)
05. Panic Attack (first time since 2015)
06. Barstool Warrior (first time with Mike Portnoy)
07. Hollow Years (first time since 2010; demo version)
08. Constant Motion (first time since 2015)
09. As I Am (first time since 2019)

Act II

10. Night Terror (live debut)
11. This Is The Life (first time since 2012, first time with Mike Portnoy)
12. Under A Glass Moon (first time since 2017)
13. Vacant (first time since 2006)
14. Stream Of Consciousness (first time since 2004)
15. Octavarium (first time in full since 2006)

Encore:

16. Act II: Scene Six: Home
17. Act II: Scene Eight: The Spirit Carries On
18. Pull Me Under

In an interview with Chile's Sonar FM, Portnoy was asked if he missed playing with DREAM THEATER during his time away from the group. He responded: "Well, of course, I always missed DREAM THEATER and the music and the guys and the fans. Not all DREAM THEATER fans went on the ride with me with all of my other bands. So, every time I would tour with SONS OF APOLLO or WINERY DOGS or SHATTERED FORTRESS or NEAL MORSE BAND, I would see someDREAM THEATER fans, but there's a big portion of the fanbase that wasn't with me for all those years. So yeah, I missed them and I missed the guys and I missed the music. We were always a family first and foremost."

Regarding the fact that he is once again in charge of coming up with the setlists for DREAM THEATER's live shows, Mike said: "Yeah, it's an area that was always my department and my passion. I always wrote all the setlists for DREAM THEATER, as well as any of my bands or projects. That's an area that's very important to me. And yeah, when I came back to DREAM THEATER, a lot of the things we have to figure out who's gonna be in charge of what. There's a lot of areas that I used to be in charge of, which now John [Petrucci, DREAM THEATER guitarist] may do, or maybe the band makes band decisions. So I have to kind of find my place within the band's chemistry now. But yeah, one of the things that they did give back to me was the setlist and writing the setlist. So yeah, it was something that was a lot of fun and exciting — a great open palette to work with, really. 40 years of music, and I haven't played any of this music with the guys in almost 15 years. So it's all so fresh. Back in 2010, I might have been bored with it, but now in 2024, I'm just as excited to play those songs as any of 'em."

On the topic of how different it is to play with DREAM THEATER in 2024 compared to how it was 14 years ago, Mike said: "There's two sides to that question. The first I'll say, personally, I think we're just all older and wiser, more mellow. I am not as much of a control freak as I used to be; I'm a lot more easygoing, a lot more mellow. So, yeah, there's the one side of the natural age of everybody just — we're now in our fifties and sixties, and I think we're just more mature and experienced. But the other side to that question is, like I just mentioned, finding my place within this new chemistry and overseeing every area. And then when I left the band, they needed to take some of these areas and divide them up amongst themselves and have different people overseeing different areas. And now that I'm coming back, I have to kind of see what's comfortable. I have to very much respect that they've had 13 years without me and they may do things a certain way differently now. So it's up to me to really be very respectful to that and not try to force myself in any of the areas. So anytime something comes up, whether we're talking about a setlist or the merchandise or how they wanna record in the studio, no matter what the subject is, it's always now, like, 'Okay, well, how do you guys do it now? How do you want me involved? Do you want me to oversee it? Do you want me to stay out of it? That's fine too.' And it's kind of like a learning process to find myself comfortable with the way that the band works now."

Portnoy recently told the "So...You Want To Be A Musician?" podcast about his mindset when rejoining DREAM THEATER: "At our ages, we realized when we decided to reunite and get back together, I'd be lying if I didn't say we didn't start to look in the mirror and look at the clock and say, who knows how much time we have left? The clock is ticking, and we realize we're not gonna be here forever. And we wanna spend whatever time we have left together making music with the people that we grew up with and the people that we love. So, yeah, that's kind of where we're at at this stage."

Portnoy admitted to Mariskal Rock that he "needed to get used to was being the 'new guy'" after rejoining DREAM THEATER, "being the new guy in a band that I helped form when I was a teenager. So it's a bit of a transition for me to go from being a bit of the leader, as I was back when I left the band, now I have to kind of find my way back into the chemistry and I need to respect the fact that they've been doing this for 13 years without me and they have maybe new ways of doing things, new ways of making decisions," he explained. "So … I have had to be very respectful for my role as the new guy and finding my way back into the chemistry of the band."

DREAM THEATER will release its sixteenth studio album, "Parasomnia", on February 7, 2025 via InsideOut Music. The LP marks the band's first release with Portnoy since 2009's "Black Clouds & Silver Linings".

"Parasomnia" was produced by guitarist John Petrucci, engineered by James "Jimmy T" Meslin, and mixed by Andy Sneap. Hugh Syme returns once again to lend his creative vision to the cover art.

The first single, "Night Terror", is a musical thrill ride captured in the just shy of ten minutes listening experience. A music video for the song — directed by Mike Leonard — is now available.

ICED EARTH's founding guitarist Jon Schaffer has released his first statement since being sentenced to three years of probation and 120 hours of community service in connection with his involvement in the January 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol. He will also have to pay $1,000 in restitution and a $200 financial assessment.

Earlier today (Friday, October 25),Jon issued the following statement via his attorneys Marc J. Victor and Andrew Marcantel of the Attorneys For Freedom Law Firm: "To my family, friends, and fans worldwide:

"I profoundly regret my actions on January 6th, 2021. I haven't been a perfect man, but for the majority of my life, I've been a very productive man, and have tried to live my life with integrity and a disciplined work ethic. I deeply love our country and the founding principles that have inspired people from all over the world to look at the USA as a beacon of hope for all of humanity. Having traveled the world for over 30 years and having performed in approximately 100 countries, it was always a great feeling and relief when the airplane would safely land at home on US soil.

"When the global pandemic came upon us, and chaos ensued all around the US in 2020, I was very concerned about what seemed to be a collapse of our country and the rule of law. When the 2020 election took place and I saw many public officials and media outlets reporting that the election was stolen, my concern deepened. This led to my decision to go to D.C. and have my voice heard. I'm not excusing my impulsive behavior. I was wrong, and I take ownership of my actions. I own the fact that I made a huge mistake, and I wish I never would have gone there. In fact, the consequences have been devastating on my life, family, friends, business, colleagues and business partners.

"I knew immediately that I had let my emotions get the best of me and made a terrible mistake. I drove home to Indiana the following morning on Thursday, January 7th, 2021. On the 8th I found my attorneys, and at my request they immediately reached out to the authorities. I willingly surrendered and cooperated with authorities. Initially, I was charged with multiple serious federal felony offenses and feared I may spend the rest of my life in prison. I spent several months in custody following my self-surrender. I was placed in solitary confinement with horrendous conditions, which was an extremely traumatic experience. I became the first person of the hundreds of co-defendants to enter a guilty plea, and have now been sentenced to probation.

"Until now, I have resisted the strong urge to issue a public statement due to my ongoing cooperation and the wishes of federal authorities. This extended period of silence has added additional challenges to my life as a public person. Since the beginning, I wanted to express my remorse for my actions and address the legitimate concerns of my fans worldwide. I watched as one media outlet after the next dragged my reputation through the mud and condemned me for not making any statement. However, I tried to be as productive as possible in lieu of my very damaged reputation and career.

"This whole situation has been extremely difficult. However, I know that I have become a better man because of it. I used to stay so busy that I didn't have much time for self-reflection. In the last three and a half years that's mostly what I've done. I have become a member of a wonderful church and improved myself spiritually, mentally, and physically. This personal revival has inspired me to continue writing and recording music. I'm certain there will be a very positive outlook in my future artistic creations.

"To my fans who have continued to support me throughout this deeply embarrassing ordeal, I want to apologize for letting you down and thank you for keeping me going. To those fans who I have lost due to my decisions that day, I certainly understand. I humbly ask everyone to allow me to demonstrate through my actions how far I've come. I wish to continue to use my art to unite people, and never to divide.

"Sincerely, Jon Schaffer".

"It says a lot about who you are in how quickly you came forward to accept responsibility," U.S. District judge Amit Mehta told Schaffer during today's sentencing hearing.

Schaffer apologized to his fans and said he deeply regrets the "pain and embarrassment" his actions have caused. "I'm sorry I let you down and I will work hard to rebuild your trust. You have my word: I will not let you down," Schaffer told the judge.

Schaffer's attorney Marc Victor told the judge the musician believed the 2020 election was fraudulent and that the country was "on the verge of a takeover" when he entered the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.

"He was wrong but that's what he believed," Victor said. "He was misled by people in the executive branch."

Earlier this month, the U.S. government requested that Schaffer be sentenced to three years of supervised probation, as well as an order that he pay $2,000 in restitution and the mandatory $200 special assessment. According to the government's October 14 sentencing memorandum, which was obtained by BLABBERMOUTH.NET, "Such a sentence would be sufficient to reflect the seriousness of this offense while also accounting for the three months defendant was detained following his arrest, the defendant's early acceptance of responsibility, and the substantial assistance he has provided to law enforcement pursuant to his cooperation plea agreement."

The memorandum went on to describe the extent of Schaffer's involvement in the events of January 6, 2021.

"The defendant was one of the first six people to breach the Capitol through the doors on the northwest side of the building near the Senate Parliamentarian's office," the document reads. "Schaffer wore a tactical vest and a hat that read, 'Oath Keepers Lifetime Member,' and he was carrying a can of bear spray. The menacing conduct of Schaffer and the others at the front of the line forced officers to retreat and allowed the mob to start pouring into the Capitol through this entrance.

"The defendant’s participation in the attack on the Capitol was not random; it was the culmination of weeks, if not months of increasingly violent calls by Elmer Stewart Rhodes III, the leader of the Oath Keepers, to oppose the lawful transfer of power from Donald Trump to Joseph Biden. Schaffer was privy to some of these communications, as an Oath Keepers member, and he marched with the Oath Keepers during an event in D.C. in November 2020 to oppose the results of the election. At the same time, Schaffer did not participate in the Oath Keepers' planning and coordination for the attack on the Capitol (he was not part of any of the group's encrypted chats for the January 6 operation),and he did not enter the Capitol with them on January 6. For this reason, Schaffer was not charged with participating in a conspiracy with other Oath Keepers. Furthermore, Schaffer was inside the Capitol for less than ten minutes and did not directly harm or seek to harm any officers or property during this offense. Schaffer also has been cooperative with law enforcement since he turned himself in eleven days after the attack, proffering several times with law enforcement and providing fulsome, credible, and relevant information.

"On April 16, 2021, the defendant fully accepted responsibility and pled guilty, pursuant to a cooperation plea agreement, to one count of Obstruction of an Official Proceeding, and one count of entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon. The defendant was the first person to plead guilty to participating in the January 6 attack, and he agreed to permit the details of his cooperation plea agreement to be made public."

Last month, a federal judge agreed to push back Schaffer's sentencing hearing for the fifth time, this time to October 25 from the previously announced September 13.

Schaffer was initially scheduled to be sentenced on February 20, but his sentencing hearing has been delayed five times — first to April, then July, August, September and eventually late October.

The latest decision to postpone Schaffer's sentencing came less than three months after the Supreme Court sided with a January 6 Capitol riot defendant in a ruling that could affect hundreds of prosecutions, including the criminal case against Schaffer. U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves asked the judge to delay's Schaffer's hearing in light of the Supreme Court decision.

U.S. District Judge Amit P. Mehta had previously moved Schaffer's initial sentencing date from February 20, as the now-56-year-old ICED EARTH guitarist was scheduled to undergo an undisclosed medical procedure "with the need for a recovery afterwards."

In January 2022, Mehta granted the U.S. government's request to share sealed materials from the case involving Schaffer's role in the U.S. Capitol riot case as discovery to the three main Oath Keepers cases.

In May 2023, Mehta handed down an 18-year prison sentence for the leader of the Oath Keepers, Stewart Rhodes, for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election that ended with the violent attack on the U.S. Capitol.

As part of his April 2021 plea deal, Jon entered into a cooperation agreement with the government.

The government agreed not to oppose Schaffer's release during the sentencing phase.

Although Schaffer was initially charged with six crimes, including engaging in an act of physical violence and targeting police with bear spray, he pleaded guilty to only two charges: obstruction of an official proceeding of Congress; and trespassing on restricted grounds of the Capitol while armed with a deadly or dangerous weapon. The first charge is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, while the second carries up to a 10-year prison term. Each of the charges carry fines of up to $250,000.

In his plea agreement, Schaffer acknowledged that on January 6, 2021 he was in Washington to attend the "Stop The Steal" rally at the Ellipse in Washington, D.C. to protest the results of the presidential election, which he believed were fraudulent. Schaffer wore a tactical vest and carried bear spray, a dangerous weapon and chemical irritant used to ward off bears. When the rally finished, Schaffer joined a large crowd that marched from the Ellipse to the Capitol, where a joint session of Congress, presided over by Vice President Michael Pence, was in session to certify the electoral college vote results. Shortly after 2:00 p.m., members of the mob forced entry into the Capitol building, disrupting the joint session and causing members of Congress and the Vice President to be evacuated from the House and Senate chambers.

In his plea agreement, Schaffer admitted that after arriving on Capitol grounds, he walked past barriers intended to restrict access to the public and to a set of locked doors on the Capitol's west side. At approximately 2:40 p.m., Schaffer positioned himself at the front of a crowd that broke open a set of doors being guarded by four U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) officers wearing riot gear. Schaffer admitted to being among the first individuals to push past the damaged doors and into the Capitol building, forcing officers to retreat. Schaffer and others advanced toward five or six backpedaling USCP officers while members of the mob swelled inside of the Capitol and overwhelmed the officers. The officers ultimately deployed a chemical irritant to disperse the mob. Schaffer was among the people who were sprayed in the face, after which he exited while holding his own bear spray in his hands.

As part of the plea deal, Schaffer agreed to cooperate with investigators and potentially testify in related criminal cases, according to CNN. In return for Schaffer's assistance, the Justice Department might later urge the judge to show leniency during his sentencing.

Also as part of the agreement, the Justice Department has offered to sponsor Schaffer for the witness protection program.

The Indiana chapter of the Oath Keepers distanced itself from Schaffer after his arrest, claiming he was not a member of the local group. But the national organization, which sold lifetime memberships for $1,200, had not commented on his alleged affiliation with the group.

At a November 2020 Donald Trump rally in Washington, D.C., Schaffer was videotaped walking behind a Florida couple, Kelly Meggs and Connie Meggs, who were accused of being among 10 members of the Oath Keepers to have played a leading role in the Capitol assault. In May 2023, Kelly Meggs was convicted of seditious conspiracy for his participation in the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol and was sentenced to spend 12 years in prison.

Following the initial reports that Schaffer was involved in the riot, his ICED EARTH bandmates distanced themselves from his actions. Singer Stu Block and bassist Luke Appleton later posted separate statements on social media announcing their resignations. BLIND GUARDIAN frontman Hansi Kürsch also quit DEMONS & WIZARDS, his long-running project with Schaffer. The allegations also apparently affected Schaffer's relationship with his longtime record label Century Media, which had released albums from both ICED EARTH and DEMONS & WIZARDS. As of mid-January 2021, the Century Media artist roster page did not list either band.

British rock icons MAGNUM have announced the release of the band's final live album with founder Tony Clarkin. Recorded December 10, 2022, "Live At KK's Steel Mill" was the memorable night when they played the final show of their European tour at KK's Steel Mill in Wolverhampton and, as they had done on all previous nights, wowed their fans from the first to the last note.

The concert was recorded by state-of-the-art audio equipment, which later turned out to be a real blessing because it was — as we now know — the last official live recording starring Tony Clarkin. The guitarist and main songwriter died unexpectedly on January 7, 2024, just a few days before the release of MAGNUM's latest studio album, "Here Comes The Rain".

The album presents MAGNUM as an enthusiastically celebrated act whose repertoire of hits, classics, and newer material could hardly be more varied. "It was the perfect evening," recalls singer Bob Catley. "We finished our 'The Monster Roars' tour in Wolverhampton, KK's Steel Mill was packed out and the promoter was a passionate MAGNUM fan. I couldn't imagine a more worthy farewell to Tony than those recordings."

Due to the huge demand and to mark the first anniversary of Clarkin's passing, "Live At KK's Steel Mill" will be available via Steamhammer/SPV starting January 10, 2025, for the first time on double CD, triple LP, and for digital download.

"Live At KK's Steel Mill" track listing:

CD1

01. Days Of No Trust
02. Lost On The Road To Eternity
03. The Monster Roars
04. The Archway Of Tears
05. Dance Of The Black Tattoo
06. Where Are You Eden?
07. The Flood
08. The Day After The Night Before

CD2

01. Wild Swan
02. Les Morts Dansant
03. Rocking Chair
04. All England's Eyes
05. Vigilante
06. Kingdom Of Madness
07. On A Storyteller's Night
08. Sacred Hour

To pay tribute to their late bandleader, MAGNUM are set to play an exclusive series of "Tribute To Tony" shows in the U.K. in January 2025. As a special gesture, Clarkin's daughter Dionne will showcase two of her father's favorite instruments to the concerts — his red Telecaster and his white custom guitar, hoping that Clarkin will be watching from heaven.

Dionne says: "My father was an extremely modest and humble man who would probably be surprised at how much the large MAGNUM community continues to love him to this day. He always believed that few people would really care if one day he would no longer be with us. As it turns out, the exact opposite is the case: We all miss him, his huge artistic achievement, and his great empathy as a father, friend and musician!"

MAGNUM live 2025:

Jan. 21 - UK - London - O2 Kentish Town Forum
Jan. 22 - UK - Manchester - Academy 1
Jan. 24 - UK - Glasgow - The Garage
Jan. 25 - UK - Wolverhampton - KK's Steel Mill
Jan. 26 - UK - Wolverhampton - KK's Steel Mill

Clarkin died in early January at the age of 77. The news of his death came just weeks after it was announced that he had been diagnosed with a rare and incurable spinal condition. As a result of his diagnosis, MAGNUM canceled its previously announced spring 2024 tour.

Formed in Birmingham over 50 years ago by Catley and Clarkin, MAGNUM have cemented themselves as one of the U.K.'s finest hard rock exports, a largely American-dominated genre.

With their unique melodic skill and tasteful instrumentation, the group have released 23 studio albums over the years, with their most recent, "Here Comes The Rain", arriving in January.

Photo credit: Rob Barrow

Vicky Psarakis, former vocalist for The Agonist and now fronting SickSense, has shared a new cover via YouTube. This time she is celebrationg Halloween with the Saw movie theme music, "Hello Zepp", done acapella. Check it out below.










Rap metal sensation Sicksense - featuring vocalists Vicky Psarakis (ex-The Agonist) and Robby J. Fonts (Stuck Mojo) - have released their new single, "On Repeat". Check out the official video below.


The band's Earache Records debut, Cross Me Twice, will be released on February 14, 2025. I

Idle Heirs, the new band featuring vocalist Sean Ingram of Coalesce and producer Josh Barber sign to Relapse Records and prepare to release their debut full-length in 2025. 


Stay tuned for more updates as music and live performances are on the horizon.


For over a decade Sean Ingram’s focus had been elsewhere; due to the prolonged hiatus of Coalesce, music was no longer at the forefront of his artistic endeavors. When events - on both a global and personal level, and specifically, where the two intersect - conspired to bring Ingram & Barber to a place where music once again became essential, the seed for Idle Heirs was planted. Rather than the conditions being right for a musical reprise, the conditions had to be all wrong, leaving only one way forward. 




Together with producer and engineer Josh Barber, whose recording credits include Norma Jean, The Devil Wears Prada, Tech N9ne, and more, the two piece band from the Kansas City area is a tight knit unit that hums with creativity, and revels in the freedom of creating exactly what their hearts desire. Originally conceived as a private endeavor with the sole aim of articulating unresolved damage, Idle Heirs has bloomed into a fully realized project, with a blistering debut album on the horizon. 


There’s a leftfield turn for anyone expecting only to hear Ingram’s familiar throat-shredding vocals; within Idle Heirs he utilizes a broader range of vocal styles, a development of his craft that required considerable

Phil Lesh, bassist and founding member of the legendary Grateful Dead, has passed away at age 84 years olg. The sad news was shared via his official Instagram page with the following statement:


"Phil Lesh, bassist and founding member of The Grateful Dead, passed peacefully this morning. He was surrounded by his family and full of love. Phil brought immense joy to everyone around him and leaves behind a legacy of music and love. We request that you respect the Lesh family’s privacy at this time."




 

 
 

 


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A post shared by Phil Lesh (@phillesh)

Virginia thrash titans Enforced are back with a vengeance, announcing their latest EP A Leap Into The Dark, released today. The six-song EP features three brand-new Enforced tracks alongside three explosive B-sides, including the fan-favorite "Casket" and blistering covers of English Dogs' "The Chase Is On" and Obituary's "Deadly Intentions". A visualizer for "Betting On The End" is streaming below.





A Leap Into The Dark is produced and mixed by the renowned Arthur Rizk (Blood Incantation, Power Trip, Kreator, Code Orange), capturing Enforced’s unrelenting ferocity in its purest form. Building on the hardcore thrash foundation laid by their precious albums War Remains (2023) and Kill-Grid (2021), the new EP serves as a harbinger of more to come. 







Tracklisting:


"Betting On The End"
"A Leap Into The Dark"
"Deafening Heartbeats"
"Casket" (2024 Remaster)
"Deadly Intentions" (Obituary Cover)
"The Chase is On" (English Dogs Cover)





Enforced will be hitting the road this October / November for a massive European tour alongside Gatecreeper and 200 Stab Wounds. The tour will kick off in Dublin, Ireland on October 30, 2024, and will make stops across The UK, Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Denm