"Happy New Year everyone," begins Orange Goblin vocalist Ben Ward. "It's been a bit quiet in the OG camp recently. Due to (UK Prime Minister) Boris (Johnson)'s tier system and the subsequent lockdown and uncertainty surrounding when it will all end, we are frantically looking at possible dates to reschedule the two live/live-stream shows in London that were originally planned for November and then December, keep checking here for updates on that as all tickets purchased will remain valid once we have new dates sorted. In the meantime Chris (Turner, drummer) and Joe (Hoare, guitarist) were forced to isolate after they and their families tested positive for Covid over Christmas and New Year, thankfully they have all now made a full recovery."

"Don't forget that you can still purchase the digital live album that we released last year Rough & Ready, Live & Loud via our official Bandcamp page and merchandise is also available there or via the shop on the official OG website Stay tuned for more news soon!"

Rough & Ready, Live & Loud artwork and tracklisting:

"Sons Of Salem"
"The Devil's Whip"
"Saruman's Wish"
"Made Of Rats"
"The Wolf Bites Back"
"Mythical Knives"
"The Fog"
"Some You Win, Some You Lose"
"The Filthy & The Few"
"Shine"
"Renegade"
"Time Travelling Blues"
"Your World Will Hate This" (Bandcamp Exclusive Bonus Track)

 

This past November, Halifax, Canada’s Ancient Thrones unleashed their concept album The Veil. The full-length is 57-minute descent into the afterlife telling the story of grief that people can relate to through dark and progressive blackened death.

Ancient Thrones explains:

“The record is a concept record so it’s meant to be listened to in its entirety to get the full experience of the story. Even the songs were written and laid out in a way that they seamlessly transition into each other. Almost as if it was just one long piece of music broken up into separate parts as tracks. We want people to headbang and mosh, but we also want to bring people on a journey through this world of purgatory and grief and understand each phase of grief the record represents through the ten tracks.”

Today, in support of "The Veil", drummer Sean Hickey is sharing his playthrough for the track "The Millionth Grave".

"I'm happy to showcase the drums for this playthrough of The Millionth Grave. It was filmed fittingly in our rehearsal space. The song itself is an eclectic blend of some of my favorite genres of metal, and in particular, I was inspired by bands like Beyond Creation to create the groove in the bridge of the song, which is still one of my proudest moments on the record. In our concept album The Veil, the track lyrically is the introduction to the character of death named Viduus and I wanted to establish that control and godlike power that character has with those crushing bomb blast chorus sections, as he showcasing his capabilities to our deceased character and taking the listener through a frenzy of tense aggression."  

The Veil is a natural evolution in sound, form, and change in style that led the band to become Ancient Thrones. This is unlike anything the members have released before. Recommended for fans of The Red Chord, The Black Dahlia Murder, and Wolves In The Throne Room.

Order The Veil on Bandcamp.

Tracklisting:

“Transient”
“The Sight Of Oblivion”
“The Millionth Grave”
“The Soul To Flesh”
“Viduus (The Veil)”
“Sentient”
“The River Of Rain”
“Divided/Dissolve”
“The Infinite Eyes”
“Permanent”

(Photo by: Matt LeBlanc)

Moonlight Haze have released an “8 bit” video clip for the song “The Rabbit Of The Moon”, taken from their latest record Lunaris (2020).

Guitarist Marco Falanga comments: “Heavy metal and videogames have always been an important part of our lives. Lately the circumstances have forced all of us to spend way much more time at home than usual, so we have been thinking about the good old times and how video games used to be real masterpieces, even though they were designed using only 8 bits. Long story short, we decided to revisit ‘The Rabbit Of The Moon’ and tried to elevate its power with the magnificence that only the ‘8 bit’ world can bring along, bearing the vivid memories of the past times in our minds. This is how ‘The Ra8bit Of The Moon’ was born. So today, more than ever, with tears falling down our faces we want to tell you that... 'All your base are belong to us!'”

Horror Pain Gore Death Productions have signed French female-fronted Gothic doom/death metal act Wintereve. The new album, October Dark, is up now for preorder and will be released February 19 on CD and digital formats. October Dark was mastered by Dan Swanö at Unisound Studio. Preorder the album on Bandcamp.

Hailing from France, Wintereve formed in 2013 and perform female-fronted Gothic doom metal. October Dark presents eight tracks that convey the innermost sense of artistic and poetic beauty through sorrow, darkness and depression. Wintereve showcase haunting melodies, soaring female vocals and growls of despair throughout 55 minutes of doom laden Gothic metal. October Dark was recorded by Didier at Mastercut studio.

Tracklisting:

“Olima”
“Sea Of Suffering”
“The Quiet Desperation”
“October Dark”
“Call Of The Void”
“Forgotten”
“To Die In Your Arms”
“Down The Path To Perdition”

“Call Of The Void”:

It’s been 30 years since four hard rock kids from Bridgeport, CT formed the influential metal outfit, Crossover. And with some new technology and a little help from Connecticut music pros, the band has returned to the spotlight with their original EP, Painkiller, completely remixed and remastered. While much has changed for the members and the entire rock scene, their music has truly stood the test of time. Listen to the title track below:

The re-released and redone EP includes three live bonus tracks, and their 4 original songs, “Painkiller”, “Identity”, “Too Many Fears” and “True Believer”. “It's gritty, raw, and as old school as it gets,” says Jay “Ice” Piccirillo. “If you like Metallica Kill Em' All meets DRI then this is a must listen! Enjoy and thank you all for the great memories!”

Purchase the EP here.

Crossover formed in Bridgeport, CT during the late-‘80s as part of the hardcore and metal scene that was beginning to flourish around New York City. Jay had an idea to put together a metal/hardcore/thrash/punk style band which, at the time, was labeled “crossover” music. Composed of Scott Smith (rhythm guitar/vocals), Bill Smith (drums), Scott Camara (guitar) and Jay “Ice” Piccirillo (bass), the band played everywhere from keg parties to clubs, and quickly gained a loyal following. 

During the fall of 2002, the band reunited for a live benefit show that would feature Crossover, Payback, Sonick Plague, Dresden, Lost Generation, Forced Reality, and 76 percent Uncertain. The band’s lineup that night consisted of Jay, Bill Smith, GB Hammond from Lost Generation, Charlie Taylor from Payback, and Andy Reitano from Blastmat. 

While the band’s lifespan was relatively short, their influence can still be felt today. Hatebreed singer, Jamey Jasta, bought Jay’s Mesa Boogie amp when they were in their beginning stages and told him he had a Crossover sticker on his bedroom door when he was 14 years old. Piccirillo recalls, “It was pretty damn cool hearing that.”
 
It is now 30 years later since the original demo was released and over the years technology has come a long way. Crossover now has the sound and mix they envisioned three decades ago, and are excited to share it with old and new fans alike.

Hard rock band, The Lonely Ones, have signed to Imagen Records.The band will release their first single, "Change The Station", through the label on February 5.

"We’re very excited to partner with Imagen Records in 2021. They put a deal on the table that was very artist friendly and their excitement about the band has been contagious. It’s a great team with Bob Winegard, Shauna O’Donnell, Steven Nathan and Morgan Rose. The music industry is constantly changing and these cats have their ears to the ground. We are looking forward to this new adventure with Imagen on our side," says Marty McCoy, vocalist/guitarist of The Lonely Ones.

"I’ve known Marty and the boys for most of my career. When the opportunity to sign them came up, I jumped at it. This band is stacked with hooks and tons of attitude. I can’t wait for the world to hear what they have to say," adds Morgan Rose, Head of A&R Imagen Records/ drummer for Sevendust.

"I am very excited to have The Lonely Ones on the Imagen Records roster. I knew from the moment I heard their songs that this band was something special. They are hit makers!," says Bob Winegard, President of Imagen Records.

Formed in the summer of 2019, The Lonely Ones are a four piece vocal-oriented hard rock band with an ear for melody and a taste for success. No strangers to the hardships of the music industry, The Lonely Ones know what they want and know how to get it. They released two singles, "Eternal Sadness" and "The Lonely One", independently in March of 2020.

The band released their re-imagined version of Queen's classic song "Flash" in July of 2020. The song/video was met with rave reviews including those of Brian May (Queen) and Sam J Jones (Flash Gordon, The Highwayman).

Brian May was quoted as saying, “What a fantastic cover! I didn’t realize they were going to go into The Hero and the whole reprise ... magnificent!"

Sam J Jones adds, "This is one of the best covers I have ever heard and seen. What a gifted group - The Lonely Ones are for everyone of us, from the 1980’s to right now!"

The video for "Flash/ The Hero" can be seen below:

In September , 2020, The Lonely Ones released another brand new single titled "Real Big Trouble."

The Lonely Ones are:

Marty McCoy - guitar / vocals
Tommy Johnson - drums
Jymmy Tolland - bass / vocals
Jake Earley - guitar / vocals

Metal Blade Records welcomes Kardashev to its worldwide roster.

A self-described "deathgaze" group, Kardashev is for fans of The Contortionist, Rivers Of Nihil, Devin Townsend, Alcest - among others. Their mission statement could be described as: "Attempting to create the most beautiful, heavy music through themes of love, loss and altruism in the metal spectrum."

Much of the band's lyrical content - found on their numerous EPs, singles, plus debut album (2015's Peripety) - is written about science, space and the human condition.

Kardashev comments: "We couldn't be more excited and grateful to be working with Metal Blade. They're the industry leader and life-long dream partnership for us as we've always looked up to their artists for innovation, direction, and image. Now, we get to be who we looked up to when we were young."

After releasing their latest EP, The Baring Of Shadows, last year, Kardashev has been hard at work writing their sophomore album - and Metal Blade Records debut - set to be released in 2022. Stay tuned for more Kardashev news coming soon.

(Photo - Zach Beam)

Ocean City, Maryland's Jarhead Fertilizer will release their debut album, Product Of My Environment, on February 26 via Closed Casket Activities. Pre-order here.

The band just shared the new song "Silence The Narc". It's a minute-long blast that will completely consume your senses. Listen below.

"'Silence the Narc' was the first song written for Product of My Environment," the band says. "Growing up, we've had many personal friends and family deal with the unfortunate act of entrapment. 'Short life for a big mouth.'"

The debut LP from Jarhead Fertilizer is a hot dose in your veins. Our modern dystopian reality meets a brutal mixture of death and grind with primitive groove with blistering low end. On Product of My Environment, Jarhead Fertilizer make a simple statement: Death is easy. Life is hard.

Tracklisting:

"Intro"
"Product Of My Environment"
"Trials And Tribulations"
"Silence The Narc"
"Paranoia Seeping"
"Embedded In Your Mind"
"Baptized By Fire"
"An End To Your Sacred World"
"Drowned In Your Blood"
"Agony Churning"
"Life Is Prison"

"Silence The Narc":

Italian power/progressive metallers, Secret Sphere, are back with a new studio album, Lifeblood, out March 12. The album, aside from the deft musical prowess on display, is also special because of the return of original vocalist Roberto Messina.

Today, the band has released the single and video for the title track, which you can watch below. Pre-order/save Lifeblood here.

Now approaching nearly 25 years of existence, Secret Sphere has been steadily and reliably crafting epic, melodic European metal of the power and progressive variety for their entire careers. With a rejuvenated line-up for their latest album, Lifeblood shows a band breathing new life and enjoying themselves.

"I spent the past two years thinking about the future of Secret Sphere and there was something missing. I needed to rediscover the joy in writing music for this band that has been part of my life for more than 20 years. And I'm pleased to say I found it. Lifeblood is the celebration of the joy to compose music," says founding member and guitarist Aldo Lonobile

The new album also marks the return of vocalist Roberto Messina to the fold, who fronted the band from 1997 – 2012. The reunion with Roberto takes everything back to those glorious early days for the band, with the same joy and will to make music for fun. Lifeblood is the result of this new found power. The album celebrates the classical sound of Secret Sphere with more energy, bombastic arrangements, and memorable choruses. An absolute must hear for not only fans of the band, but European metal fans in general.

Vocalist Roberto Messina says, “Lifeblood is the album that celebrates my return to the band, to my old roots, and “home” where I feel inspired and free. It also marks the return of the band Secret Sphere itself to its early unique style of pure, energetic, creative, and melodic power metal. Ten songs composed by a team of true friends, with a fun and metal attitude, killer production, and performances. We kick things off with the direct and aggressive title track, which includes more structured compositions and dreamy atmospheres, all with the guiding thread of catchy riffs and refrains that will remain etched in your memory. What we started more than twenty years ago is stronger than ever today!"

Tracklisting:

"Shaping Reality"
"Lifeblood"
"The End Of An Ego"
"Life Survivors"
"Alive"
"Against All The Odds"
"Thank You"
"The Violent Ones"
"Solitary Fight"
"Skywards"
"The Lie We Love"

"Lifeblood" video:

Lineup:

Roberto Messina - Voice
Aldo Lonobile - Guitars
Andrea Buratto - Bass
Gabriele Ciaccia - Keyboards
Marco Lazzarini - Drums

Maestros of modern melodic/symphonic metal, Temperance, have released a brand new song off their upcoming acoustic EP, Melodies Of Green And Blue.

Among six acoustic renditions from Viridian, “Evelyn” is one of two brand new songs off the melodic/symphonic metal outfit’s new acoustic EP. After many years of band history and tours with genre giants like Nightwish, Luca Turilli's Rhapsody and Tarja, Temperance will release Melodies Of Green And Blue on February 19 via Napalm Records.

Right from the start of the song, “Evelyn” sets the tone for a one of a kind acoustic ballad. Alessia Scolletti, Marco Pastorino and Michele Guaitoli each show off their powerful vocal abilities before coming together for the final, cathartic chorus, backed by marvelous acoustic soundscapes.

Watch the Music Video for “Evelyn” (Acoustic) below.

Guitarist & singer Marco Pastorino about “Evelyn”: "I‘ve had that song in my mind for a long time, inspired by Evelyn McHale, the protagonist from one of the most famous photos ever, a girl who died jumping from the 86th floor of the Empire State Building in New York. Evelyn is a sort of journey through her life, doubts, questions without answers, guided by a different song, a different style we‘ve never presented before. Close your eyes and begin to relax into this acoustic world..."

Singer Michele Guaitoli comments on the Melodies Of Green And Blue EP: "We’ve been talking about recording some acoustic versions of our tracks for a long time, as we all love the intimate and emotional feeling that this particular style can offer to any tracks. If you think of it, this is how most of our songs are composed: it’s Marco on his guitar or me on the piano. Everything for us begins in acoustic before going metal. This EP is a little dream come true, as we can finally show the heart of our music in its purest version."

Pre-order Melodies Of Green And Blue here.

Tracklisting:

"Paint the World"
"Evelyn"
"Let It Beat"
"I Am the Fire"
"Nanook"
"Start Another Round"
"My Demons Can't Sleep"
"Gaia"

"Start Another Round" (Acoustic) video:

Temperance is:

Alessia Scolletti - Vocals
Michele Guaitoli - Vocals & Piano
Marco Pastorino - Guitar & Vocals
Luca Negro - Bass
Alfonso Mocerino – Drums

(Photo - Ermes Buttolo)

At the beginning of December 2020, Chthonic singer Freddy lim and guitarist Jesse Liu performed with Flesh Juicer at the Roar Now! Bankah! festival in Taiwan. Together they played the song "Turn The Sun Off", which was originally included on Flesh Juicer's album, Fairy Tales Of Ocean Deep, and recently become very popular in the Taiwanese metal scene

The live pro-shot video below shows scenes from Taipei's oldest traditional festival, Chingshan King Pilgrimage and the historic site of Longshan Temple 
It creates a perfect amalgamation of metal music and traditional culture.

The day's performance was featured in French magazine Le Point, which showcased Taiwan's experience in epidemic prevention. With this remarkable achievement, released digitally worldwide, Freddy Lim - a member of Taiwanese partiament - hopes she can help the world learn more about Taiwan's metal scene and appreciate the traditional culture of Old Taipei.

"Taiwan's performance in epidemic prevention this year has made us better known. In the future, when the borders are open, please experience Taiwan, fall in love with Taiwan."

CATTLE DECAPITATION's music video for the song "Finish Them" can be seen below. Directed by Nicholas Vidler, the clip features live footage from the band's sold-out shows in Melbourne, Australia in early 2020. The track is taken from CATTLE DECAPITATION's latest album, "Death Atlas", which was released in November 2019 via Metal Blade Records.

Vocalist Travis Ryan comments: "When traveling to Australia to embark on our Australia/New Zealand/Japan tour in early 2020, we wondered what would await us on their soil as bushfires were raging, claiming the lives of millions of wild animals, altering the lives of many of our fans and citizens of Australia. What we didn't expect was record turnouts with serious rabid fans that I think just wanted to take their minds off the current state of affairs and do their best to have a good time given the utterly shit circumstances they were experiencing. We quickly organized meet-and-greets at the last minute and were able to raise well over $25,000AUD for the Cobargo Wildlife Sanctuary, who had pretty much lost everything in the fires.

"Thanks to the incredible support from our fans Down Under and through other folks ready to help, they were able to rebuild. We really felt like we had been given a gift by the fans, so we wanted to give back to these people who came out and raged with us by releasing our final music video for 'Death Atlas', which showcases how sick the shows were and how truly amazing our fans are. Look close, maybe you'll find yourself in the crowd!

"Looking forward to returning to the stage one day, hopefully soon!"

Produced once again by Dave Otero, "Death Atlas" features a number of guests: Laure Le Prunenec (IGORRR, RICINN), Riccardo Conforti (VOID OF SILENCE), Dis Pater (MIDNIGHT ODYSSEY), Jon Fishman (PHISH) — plus, brass instrumentalists from Ottone Pesante.

Ryan told New Noise about the making of "Death Atlas": "It’s morphed from one or two people writing most of it to the process including everyone, even myself. I might not write any riffs, but arrangements change big time when I bring lyrics into play, and we've all adapted to writing catchier songs. They keep me in mind when writing choruses, and I keep in mind things I could be doing when they're writing, and it all ends up coming together, mostly in the studio. We're making honest-to-god albums now instead of collections of songs. Not to take anything away from the previous albums; it's just different. We're more experienced now."

Few bands can claim to have an identity and sound as remarkable as Nine Treasures. Forming in 2010, one of the original Mongolian folk metal bands have one simple goal: to take Mongolian heavy metal worldwide.

Now, a decade on; three albums, millions of streams and several European tours and festival shows (Wacken Open Air, Woodstock Poland) later, Nine Treasures are well on their way, having led a Mongolian metal revolution. 

The band are celebrating their journey so far with their new Best Of record, Awakening From Dukkha, to be released March 19th. Collecting songs from their 3 album catalogue, Awakening From Dukkha is both a stellar introduction to a seminal band for the new listener, and a significant recognition of the group’s achievements so far.

Pre-order the album here.

Tracklist:

"Black Heart"
"Arvan Ald Guulin Honshoor"
"Fable of Mangas"
"Nomin Dalai"
"Tes River's Hymn" 
"Ten Years" 
"The Dream About Ancient City" 
"Praise For Fine Horse" 
"The End Of The World" 
"Wisdom Eyes" 
"The Stubborn" 
"Three Years Old Warrior" 

“We re-recorded and remastered everything, and added ton of details to make those songs as great as possible. Our fans deserve to hear us at our best, which is why we were so motivated to make this album. Now we’ve done that, we just want to keep Nine Treasures going as long as possible, make music that we’re proud of and spread a little positivity… and tour the world again!”

A celebration of the past it may be, but for vocalist/guitarist Askhan and his bandmates, this decade-spanning collection is also a rebirth for Nine Treasures:

“Our fans deserve to hear us at our best, which is why we were so motivated to make this album. Now we’ve done that, we just want to keep Nine Treasures going as long as possible, make music that we’re proud of and spread a little positivity… and tour the world again!”

“It’s always been about the music with us,” he says. “When I started this band I had no idea how things worked, and I thought it was all about marketing, promotion and fancy videos, but after 10 years of doing this, I’ve realised that everything revolves around the music itself. That’s why our focus is on making our music as great as it can be – we’re constantly progressing.”

The music Askhan speaks of is a unique combination of old school heavy metal and traditional Mongolian folk, which sees Nine Treasures utilise both conventional vocals and Mongolian throat singing. Likewise, guitars, bass and drums collide with traditional string instruments such as the balalaika and the morin khuur, resulting in a sonic kaleidoscope that follows no set template. Unlike much of contemporary rock and metal, there are no rules when it comes to Nine Treasures, and that makes the quality of the band’s output all the more impressive.

“It’s not as simple as just putting a guitar chord behind some Mongolian melodies,” Askhan explains. “Our music is so much deeper than that. We don’t follow a model, and we work to ensure the two distinct facets of our sound complement one another. I’ve changed the way I play the guitar in order to accommodate the Mongolian elements, and vice-versa. To do this takes a lot of analysis and experimentation.”

Named after a group of objects referenced in ancient Mongolian poems, Nine Treasures' music touches on the mythology and fairy tales of their homeland, but the band’s songs contain more universal references, too. Having recently begun practicing Buddhism – “It changed my life,” Askhan says – Nine Treasures' frontman is now intent on using their music to bring comfort and ease the suffering of others. 

“I want to share the teachings I’ve learned with others like me who have experienced anxiety,” Askhan continues. “We want Nine Treasures to bring some positive energy into the world – the greatest thing we can do with this is to help people.”

For more information go to the band's official Facebook page here.

Legendary rock band MÖTLEY CRÜE is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year.

It was January 17, 1981 when Nikki Sixx first jammed with Tommy Lee and vocalist/guitarist Greg Leon. Leon left, Mick Mars and Vince Neil were recruited. The rest, as they say, is history…

Commented Sixx: "In 'Kickstart My Heart', the lyrics say, 'When we started this band / All we needed, needed was a laugh / Years gone by, I'd say we've kicked some ass.'

"It's always been about great songs and over-the-top live shows for us. The fans were always right by our side. I don't know where all of the years went. It went by in a flash. What I can't forget are the four decades of fans who have counted themselves as Crüeheads from day one, supporting us through thick and thin. To them we are in debt and thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

He added: "40 years ago today in 1981 we started @motleycrue outta Hollywood California.

"I am beyond grateful to of [sic] done this journey with my brothers @thevinceneil @mr.mickmars and @tommylee. The places we've travelled to around the world together, the songs we've written, the ÖVER the top live shows and of course 4 generations of fans.

"Wherever I may be in the world when a possible non rock fan asks me 'Are you in a band?' and I tell them MÖTLEY CRÜE they always light up and say 'Oh, I know your music.'

"Beyond everything else those words mean the most. The SONGS.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my brothers and to all the fans. And to so many many people along the way that kept this old warhorse rocking. MORE TO COME........."

Lee said: "Happy 40th my dudes.... what a fucking ride hey!?! Like a rollercoaster we been up down and all around this damn world touching hearts and many other parts hahah of people all around the globe! Cheers to touching more!!!!"

Neil said: "Happy Birthday to my brothers! 40 years!! A lifetime of memories!!"

Sunday, January 17, 2021 marks the 40th anniversary of this momentous occasion in the history of rock and roll and marks the beginning of a year of celebration of the World's Most Notorious Rock Band. Today is also the perfect time for music and movie fans alike to watch the band's hit movie "The Dirt" on Netflix and stream "The Dirt" soundtrack, as well as the band's iconic debut album "Too Fast For Love", which will celebrate its 40th birthday later this year, on November 10, 2021.

Any posts about the band are invited to add the hashtag #HappyBirthdayToCrüe.

Neil, Sixx, Mars and Lee are firmly ingrained in the fabric of rock history. MÖTLEY CRÜE has sold over 100 million albums worldwide, achieving seven USA platinum and multi-platinum albums, 22 Top 40 mainstream rock hits, six Top 20 pop singles and three Grammy nominations.

The band has had 1.6 billion streams across digital providers and has over 8 million social media followers. In 2006, the band was inducted into the Hollywood Walk Of Fame.

A stunning live act, MÖTLEY CRÜE has taken its incendiary show across the world, selling over 100 million tickets globally.

The band's biography "The Dirt: Confessions Of The World's Most Notorious Rock Band", first published in 2001, became a New York Times best-seller and has sold over one million copies worldwide. In addition, the band members have authored three other New York Times best-sellers.

2019 saw "The Dirt" released as a feature-length biopic. The film became one of the biggest releases of that year and scored a 94% positive audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.

The band remains a huge global draw. MÖTLEY CRÜE is set to co-headline a nearly sold out North American stadium tour with DEF LEPPARD, POISON and Joan Jett in June, July, August and September 2021.

MÖTLEY CRÜE's legacy and influence in the global music scene cannot be underestimated. 2021 is the year to celebrate the achievements of this extraordinary band.

Ted Nugent has once again praised President Donald Trump, saying that the billionaire real estate mogul represents "the heart and soul of the best American families out there."

The outspoken conservative rocker, who is a staunch proponent of gun ownership, discussed America's 45th president in an interview on Thursday (October 29) with InfoWars' "The Alex Jones Show", hosted by noted conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.

Speaking about his admiration for Trump, Nugent said: "I genuflect at the altar of this great man. He is just pulling off miracle after miracle. He's really touching the heart and soul and representing the heart and soul of the best American families out there. Just praise God for that. This is one of those divine intervention moments, like the founding fathers. Believe me when I tell you that.

"I've been so honored and humbled to spend time with the great man," Ted continued. "There's something very spiritual about this crazy guy. I say 'crazy' — he's crazy like you; he's crazy like me; he's crazy like this welder I know down the road that, no matter what welding job you have, he shows up early and he welds something that will never break, and then he goes to his next welding job, and he leaves a vapor trail of high energy, of positive spirit.

"The energy from this president… Like the founding fathers defined the history of slavery and tyranny and kings and emperors and despots, that was divine intervention, Alex. And I've witnessed this great commander-in-chief Donald J. Trump, and he goes from rally and rally, and he gets up there with piss and vinegar and vim and vigor… You should see the sparkle in this man's eye."

Nugent went on to say that Trump's appeal lies in his image as the bold, no-B.S. boss who tells it like it is and cuts a fair deal.

"Here's the bottom line: the most admirable attribute of a human being is believability," Ted said. "If you believe this man, you believe he believes in what he says and that he represents your beliefs, that identifies President Donald J. Trump. This man just wants to renegotiate global contracts to benefit the United States. He wants the United States to be the winner. He wants to have fair deals, and he wants to have fair trade. He wants to benefit the United States Of America, because this is the last best place. If we turn it over to the freaks like [Nancy] Pelosi and [Joe] Biden and [Kamala] Harris, if we turn it over to them, we are Venezuela overnight."

Nugent added: "[Trump] sees the threats to the American Dream. He sees the oath violating by elected employees who have turned the corner into criminality, from [Barack] Obama to [Eric] Holder to [Loretta] Lynch to Lois Lerner to Adam Schiff, Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton — we go right down the list of these gang bangers. I mean, it's MS-13, Black Lives Matter, Antifa in the Democrat party… [Trump] sees the threats to America and he's gonna use every maneuver, every trick, every law he can to stop the Marxists. He's saving his family from the wolves. That's his motivation."

A board member of the National Rifle Association, Nugent has drawn intense criticism for his controversial past remarks, including telling then-president Barack Obama to "suck on my machine gun." He also made inflammatory remarks about Hillary Clinton, calling her a "devilbitch" who "hates everything good about America."

In a lengthy Facebook post in 2016, Nugent said Obama and Clinton should be tried for treason and hanged over their handling of the terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya.

Last year, Nugent defended Donald Trump after the U.S. president was accused of making racist remarks about Democratic congresswomen from black and minority ethnic backgrounds.


See you all on Alex Jones radio live right now celebrating truth logic commonsense we the shitkicker people of America drenched in freedom!

Posted by Ted Nugent on Thursday, October 29, 2020

During an appearance on the "Jeremy White Podcast", Wolf Hoffmann clarified his recent comment that ACCEPT, and not the SCORPIONS, was the first heavy metal band to come out of Germany. He said (see video below): "I would say we were always heavier than the SCORPIONS. I mean, SCORPIONS were huge and successful. I didn't say we were the biggest band there; I just said we were the first heavier band to come out of [Germany]. Just around the time that heavy metal was really born and the term came into existence, I would say we were right there. I mean, there was the New Wave Of British [Heavy] Metal — all those bands — and there was ACCEPT in Germany, around the same time, releasing 'Breaker' [1981] and 'Restless And Wild' [1982]. And that was right in the middle when it all started. And the SCORPIONS were over in America doing their radio-rock-whatever mega shows — all good — but they weren't really part of that scene."

ACCEPT's new album, "Too Mean To Die", will be released on January 29 via Nuclear Blast. The LP will be the group's first without bassist Peter Baltes, who exited ACCEPT in November 2018. He has since been replaced by Martin Motnik. ACCEPT's lineup has also been expanded with the addition of a third guitarist, Philip Shouse, who originally filled in for Uwe Lulis during 2019's "Symphonic Terror" tour, before being asked to join the band permanently.

"Too Mean To Die" was recorded in Nashville, Tennessee with British producer Andy Sneap (JUDAS PRIEST, MEGADETH), who has been responsible for the magnificent studio sound of ACCEPT since 2010.

ACCEPT's last album, 2017's "The Rise Of Chaos", marked the band's first release with Lulis and drummer Christopher Williams, replacing Herman Frank and Stefan Schwarzmann, respectively.

According to Jiu-Jitsu Times, MEGADETH leader Dave Mustaine now a purple belt in jiu-jitsu.

The 59-year-old musician was promoted to the new rank almost two years after earning the first stripe on his blue belt. He was promoted by Reggie Almeida, who leads Gracie Barra Spring Hill in Tennessee, near Mustaine's hometown of Franklin.

Almeida shared the good news on the gym's social media, writing last Thursday (January 14): "After 2 years as a blue belt and hard training and lots of ups and downs today I had the honor to promote Mr @davemustaine to his well deserved purple belt ! Congratulations kid !!!"

As the middle belt, purple is when a jiu jitsu player begins to form his or her identity within the grand scheme of the sport.

In a 2007 interview, Mustaine said he started training taekwondo in 1999 in Arizona and then moved to California, where he lived until a few yeas ago. "Before taking up taekwondo, I practiced kung fu and other martial arts," he said.

Mustaine told The Quietus in 2010 that he had "a first degree in Ukidokan karate. My sensei — Benny 'The Jet' Urquidez — has the style of karate, kung-fu, aikido, judo, ju-jitsu, taekwondo, Greco-Roman wrestling, Muay Thai boxing and American boxing," he said. "So it's all those things rolled into one. It's a nine-style discipline. My second black belt is in Songham taekwondo and I was an assistant instructor in that style, and then I taught it privately for a while."

Mustaine and his family moved to a suburn of Nashville in October 2014 after living in Fallbrook, California for a couple of years.




After 2 years as a blue belt and hard training and lots of ups and downs today I had the honor to promote Mr @...

Posted by Gracie Barra Spring Hill Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu & Self Defense on Thursday, January 14, 2021

In a new interview with DEATH ANGEL's Ted Aguilar as part of the "Alive & Streaming" YouTube series, Dino Cazares revealed that the new FEAR FACTORY album will arrive in the next "two or three months." A single will precede the full-length effort "soon."

Last September, singer Burton C. Bell issued a statement officially announcing his departure from FEAR FACTORY, saying that he "cannot align" himself with someone whom he does not trust or respect.

Bell's exit from FEAR FACTORY came more than two weeks after Cazares launched a GoFundMe campaign to assist him with the production costs associated with the release of FEAR FACTORY's long-awaited new album.

Bell later told Kerrang! magazine that his split with FEAR FACTORY was a long time coming. "It's been on my mind for a while. These lawsuits [over the rights to the FEAR FACTORY name] just drained me. The egos. The greed. Not just from bandmembers, but from the attorneys involved. I just lost my love for it.

"With FEAR FACTORY, it's just constantly been, like, 'What?!' You can only take so much. I felt like 30 years was a good run. Those albums I've done with FEAR FACTORY will always be out there. I'll always be part of that. I just felt like it was time to move forward."

Pressed about whether there is any chance of a reconciliation with FEAR FACTORY down the line, Burton said: "I'm done. I haven't spoken to Dino in three years. I haven't spoken to Raymond [Herrera, drums] and Christian [Olde Wolbers, bass] in longer than that, and I have no intention to. I'm just moving forward with my life."

In October, Dino issued a statement in which he said that the door for Burton to come back to FEAR FACTORY wouldn't "stay open forever." The guitarist also revealed that Burton "lost his legal rights" to the FEAR FACTORY name "after a long court battle" with Herrera and Olde Wolbers. "I had the opportunity to do something right, and I felt that obtaining the name in full was the right thing to do for the both of us, so after nearly four years we can continue as FEAR FACTORY, to make more records and to tour," he said. "That is why it is sad to hear that he decided to quit and, in my opinion, for whatever issues he has it seems like it could've been worked out."

In explaining his reasons for starting a fundraising campaign, Cazares said that all donations will go toward covering newly incurred production costs involved with the making of the new FEAR FACTORY LP, including re-recording the drums, guitars, bass and keyboards, as well as mixing and mastering by Andy Sneap. Burton's original lead vocals, which were recorded in full in 2017, will remain on the new version of the album.

FEAR FACTORY's fundraising campaign marked the first public activity from the band since it completed a 2016 U.S. headlining tour on which it performed its classic second album, "Demanufacture", in its entirety.

Bell's ASCENSION OF THE WATCHERS project released its second full-length album, "Apocrypha", last October via Dissonance Productions.

Greek guitar virtuoso Gus G., well known in rock and metal circles for his work as Ozzy Osbourne's guitarist and as leader of his own band FIREWIND, has paid tribute to former CHILDREN OF BODOM frontman Alexi Laiho, who died last month at the age of only 41.

In an eight-minute video posted to his YouTube channel, Gus said in part (see below): "It was a shock for me to read the news [of Alexi's passing]. I knew Alexi. I wouldn't say that we were close friends or anything, but we were definitely acquaintances through the years. We did a photo shoot together. We hung out a bunch of times at the NAMM shows or the Frankfurt [Musik]messe.

"It's really sad that he passed," Gus continued. "He was a very important figure in the metal world — a very influential guitar player of his generation. So I think he will be missed by many people, by many fans. I mean, he has left us a great musical legacy, and that will, of course, live on.

"It was very sad for me to hear about Alexi's passing, not only because he will be missed by, of course, his loved ones and his family, and he was so young. The guy was so young — I mean, he was only one year older than me, so we were the same generation. So it's a little bit of a shock when you hear somebody your age leaving this world.

"I think he had a lot more to give still — musically, he had a lot more stuff he could have given us," Gus added. "And I just kind of felt like at some point, our paths crossed there for a moment. At that time, [when I first met him] 15 or 17 years ago, I felt we were kind of part of this European new movement of metal guitar players, so I kind of connected with him on that level.

"Anyways, he was a great guy. He always treated me nice. He was always very cool.

"So, rest in peace, Alexi. And my condolences to his family, to his friends, to his loved ones. I'm grateful for the times that we got to hang out, and thank you for the music that you've given to the world."

Laiho died in his home in Helsinki. He had suffered from long-term health issues leading up to his death.

Laiho and drummer Jaska Raatikainen founded CHILDREN OF BODOM in 1993, and the band was one of the most internationally acclaimed metal acts in Finland up until their very last farewell concert in December of 2019. Last year, Alexi put together BODOM AFTER MIDNIGHT, which recorded three songs and shot one music video, to be released posthumously.

Besides CHILDREN OF BODOM, Laiho had played in such acts as WARMEN, SINERGY, KYLÄHULLUT and THE LOCAL BAND. Awarded with a Metal Hammer Golden God and several other international prizes, the guitarist was also the main star, leading a group of one hundred guitar players at the Helsinki Festival in 2015 in "100 Guitars From Hel" — a massive concert piece he composed.

BODOM AFTER MIDNIGHT made its live debut last October at Rytmikorjaamo in Seinäjoki, Finland. The 17-song show consisted entirely of CHILDREN OF BODOM material.

During a recent appearance on "Vox&Hops", the podcast hosted by Matt McGachy, frontman of extreme metal band CRYPTOPSY, Peter Iwers, who runs a brewery called Odd Island Brewing with his ex-IN FLAMES bandmate Daniel Svensson and owns the Gothenburg restaurant 2112 with IN FLAMES guitarist Björn Gelotte, was asked if he ever misses being on the road. The bassist replied (see video below): "Yeah, absolutely. Well, 'miss' is kind of the wrong word. I loved being on the road for most of the years that I was with [IN FLAMES], and I miss the good times. I have no regrets as far as leaving, but, of course, sometimes I really miss just being free and out and playing shows and traveling to new places every day. But I have plans. Maybe this will happen again in the future — not with IN FLAMES, though, but, yeah, we'll see."

He continued: "I'm kind of not missing spending time thinking about stuff like that. I'm kind of more living where I am now, where I'm actually free to do whatever I can with my own time. I own my own time, as I like to say; I can plan it however I like it. And I'm kind of focusing on enjoying that rather than missing the past.

"It's fun to reminisce, but at the same time, it can take you down a dangerous road as well," Peter added.

Iwers left IN FLAMES in November 2016, saying in a statement that he was exiting the group "to pursue other endeavors."

In a 2017 interview with Ireland's Overdrive, Björn said that he wasn't surprised by Peter's departure from IN FLAMES. "It wasn't a 'shock,' so to speak, as we kind of knew that it was coming," he said. "I think he was just done with it all and not happy. No, 'happy' is the wrong word. He just wanted to pursue other things. Peter is a very, very busy guy. He has his own brewery with Daniel called Odd Island Brewing and he's also got four or five different musical projects happening, so he's really got his hands full at the moment."

Shortly after leaving IN FLAMES, Iwers joined CYHRA, the band featuring vocalist Jake E (ex-AMARANTHE) and guitarist Jesper Strömblad (ex-IN FLAMES). He announced his departure from that band in May 2018.

IN FLAMES' current lineup features American bassist Bryce Paul Newman, who has been playing most of the shows with the group since Iwers's exit.

David Lee Roth has shared a new piece of original artwork which was apparently inspired by the U.S. Capitol riot earlier this month. Check it out below.

For most of the last year, the VAN HALEN singer has been posting paintings on his Twitter account that reflect the times and channel the mass anxiety around the novel coronavirus.

This is not the first time Roth has shared some of his visual art with the public. Back in 2009, Roth released dozens of his own drawings and artwork, which he called at the time "authentic originals and incompetent imitations." He offered them up as "an official answer to the question 'what do you do in your spare time?'"

According to the Van Halen News Desk, the VAN HALEN frontman always been into art. Throughout his whole life, while touring the world, you could find him doodling on just about anything — setlists, tour riders, female body parts, etc. He was always a major part of the visual side of VAN HALEN, and always tried to make the stage show "look like the music sounds." He designed stage clothes, orchestrated photo shoots, came up with the stage choreography, etc. He also had a hand in designing VAN HALEN's early tourbooks and a few of their t-shirts.

Last March, Roth postponed the final six shows of his Las Vegas residency due to the coronavirus pandemic.

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

VAN HALEN guitarist Eddie Van Halen died of cancer in October at age 65.

Roth, who performed with VAN HALEN for the last time in 2015, tweeted shortly after Eddie's death: "What a long great trip it's been."




#SoggyBottom #DLR #DavidLeeRoth #DiamondDave pic.twitter.com/wwQPcvojYk

— David Lee Roth (@DavidLeeRoth) January 18, 2021

TIMES OF GRACE, the collaborative project featuring KILLSWITCH ENGAGE members Jesse Leach (vocals) and Adam Dutkiewicz (guitar), will release its long-awaited second album this spring. The timetable for the LP's arrival was revealed in a new video message (see below) and graphic on the band's social media.

Last month, Leach said that he and Dutkiewicz were "finalizing" things for the new record's release. He also blamed the album's delay on the fact that 2020 was "a shitshow," in part due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. "We just wanna make sure it comes out properly — the way that we want it to be presented, and have some good visual ideas and some good artwork," he explained. "And we found a good home at a label. So all of that is wrapping up."

Back in August, Dutkiewicz told the Metal Blade Live Series that he was "really excited" about the new TIMES OF GRACE material. "There's some pretty mellow vibes on that record, for sure," he said. "It's definitely one of the darkest things I've ever written topically."

In July, Leach told the "BREWtally Speaking Podcast" that the new TIMES OF GRACE album is "leaps and bounds better [than 2011's 'The Hymn Of A Broken Man']. It's more creative, it's more genuine, I feel," he said. "I feel like there was definitely a bleed-in of KILLSWITCH influence on that first record, and how could there not be, with me and Adam working together. And I feel like this new record sort of pulls away from that and really sort of defines us and our sound as TIMES OF GRACE, where I listen back to 'Live In Love' [from the first TIMES OF GRACE album] and certain songs like that, and you can hear the KILLSWITCH influence. And that's cool, and fans, I'm sure, appreciated that, but I'm very happy to pull away from that and do something different for this new record."

Leach went on to speak in more detail about TIMES OF GRACE's musical progression and the band's plans to release a full-length album and a separate EP.

"It's a mixed bag [of musical styles]," he told "BREWtally Speaking Podcast". "There's definitely some of that sort of bluesy [stuff] — definitely a lot of blues, I should say. But it comes in different forms. I'd say there's a mixture of a touch of some stoner vibes going on there. There's definitely a touch of, like, I guess the term would be 'post metal,' atmospheric metal — guitars with a lot of delay and space with big, heavy bass and slow-moving stuff. There's more rock and roll, more indie rock. And there's still traces of the metal that we're known for here and there."

He continued: "I think with the direction we're heading in, and why there's gonna be two releases, this first release we wanted to make sure it sort of didn't really have any of that heavy KILLSWITCH-y vibe to it. So the first record is going to be what I feel is our signature sound that we've sort of embraced, and it just kind of happened through Adam's writing. And then the EP will be a little bit more of the metal that you have come to know and reflect on the first record. So it's a real mixed bag. And I'm glad to say I don't think you can really put a genre on us because of that. We'll see. I'm sure people are gonna still call it metalcore. I don't even know what the fuck that term means anymore. But I'm happy to say that I think that we are no longer going to be called that style of music, because I think we're more of a heavy metal/rock band, if you will."

TIMES OF GRACE entered Signature Sound studio in San Diego, California in late 2017 to begin recording material for its new LP. Sitting behind the drum kit during the sessions was Dan Gluszak, who previously played drums for TIMES OF GRACE on tour and has since been named an official member of the band.

"The Hymn Of A Broken Man" was released in January 2011 via Roadrunner Records. The CD sold around 10,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 44 on The Billboard 200 chart.

Dutkiewicz and Leach originally worked together on KILLSWITCH ENGAGE's benchmark album, 2002's "Alive Or Just Breathing". That record has become definitive for an entire generation of American metal, with Leach's voice and uplifting lyrics serving as one of the key elements that propelled the album to "modern classic" status. Leach left KILLSWITCH ENGAGE shortly after "Alive Or Just Breathing"'s release but rejoined the group in early 2012 following the departure of his replacement, Howard Jones.

Ripple Music, one of the world's leading purveyors of doom and stoner rock, has names OZZY OSBOURNE bassist Rob "Blasko" Nicholson as its new executive vice president of A&R and special projects. A longtime connoisseur of the psych, stoner, doom, and heavy rock genres championed by the acclaimed Ripple Music roster and catalog, Blasko brings his extensive experience as a musician, manager, and curator to the California based label.

Blasko will work directly alongside Ripple Music cofounder and CEO Todd Severin to sign new artists and executive produce special projects with established acts in the newly created position. Concurrently, he continues his roles as bassist for the OZZY OSBOURNE band and manager for his roster of artists.

"I am thrilled to welcome Blasko to the Ripple Music team," says Ripple Music owner Todd Severin. "His impressive track record, experience, and knowledge reflect a deep commitment to artist development, a passion we share."

"Todd is a true innovator in the underground, and I hope to honor the Ripple Music legacy and contribute to its promising and ever-expanding future," adds Blasko. "I am privileged to participate."

Nicholson became a recording and touring musician at just 16 years old, first as bassist for seminal crossover thrash band CRYPTIC SLAUGHTER, which released three albums with Metal Blade Records from 1986 to 1988. After stints in a handful of major label projects and a short time with DANZIG, Blasko became the first bassist for ROB ZOMBIE following the dissolution of WHITE ZOMBIE. He recorded and toured behind "Hellbilly Deluxe" (three times platinum), "The Sinister Urge" (platinum), and the Billboard Top 5 album "Educated Horses".

Ozzy invited Blasko to join his band in 2005, where he's remained ever since. Around the same time, he laid the foundation for a boutique management firm whose roster now includes Zakk Wylde, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY and ZAKK SABBATH alongside CLUTCH, Grammy Award winners HIGH ON FIRE and gold-certified BLACK VEIL BRIDES. Blasko offers consulting and marketing work to a select number of businesses related to heavy music culture. He's also worked as a host and personality for music news outlets, radio stations, podcasts, and blogs.

Celebrating its tenth year in 2020, Ripple Music is the passion-driven imprint that leading heavy metal magazine, Decibel magazine declared "has made a splash in heavy rock and metal," and Alternative Control labeled "powerhouse taste maker". Metal Injection went so far as to predict, "they may very well be the future of rock and roll." Heavy hitters associated with Ripple Music include genre legend Scott "Wino" Weinrich, MOTHERSHIP, WO FAT, FREEDOM HAWK, MOS GENERATOR, desert rock progenitors YAWNING MAN, and many more.

In addition to the label, Severin oversees The Ripple Effect blog, Heavy Ripples Distro and Ripplefest events around the world. Ripple Music is headquartered in California's Bay Area. Blasko continues to live and work in Los Ange

QUEENSRŸCHE singer Todd La Torre has confirmed to "The Signals Of Intuition" that he and his bandmates have commenced the songwriting process for the follow-up to 2019's "The Verdict" album. The group's next disc will apparently mark the QUEENSRŸCHE recording debut of Casey Grillo who replaced original drummer Scott Rockenfield in 2017.

Todd said (hear audio below): "Right now, Michael Wilton [guitar] is at my house [in St. Petersburg, Florida]; he's in the other room, actually, And Zeuss [producer Chris Harris] is here. And Casey lives about 35 minutes away, so he'll be here this afternoon. So we're doing just songwriting sessions and coming up with new ideas for the next QUEENSRŸCHE album.

"Michael had a little gap," La Torre explained. "He was able to break away and come down here to Florida. I said, 'Yeah, come on down.' And Zeuss was, like, 'Dude, I should come down too.' And I said, 'Yeah, just come hang here, and we can work on music. And Casey can come over and get on my drums, and we can just jam ideas.'

"Parker [Lundgren, guitar] is super busy right now in Seattle with his guitar shop, and Eddie [Jackson, bass], he's at home doing songwriting too. So instead of having a million people at my house, it was just, like, okay, Michael will come down, Zeuss will come down. If Casey wants to stop by a few days during that time period, or every day — whatever he wants to do. So he's been really awesome, contributing to all these ideas in real time."

According to Todd, the coronavirus crisis has provided him and his bandmates the perfect opportunity to work on new music while planning their return to the road once the pandemic has subsided.

"We're still shut down, so it's not like there's any touring happening right now," he explained. "So this is really kind of the ideal time to get the creativity going. For a long time, everyone was just kind of, like, 'What the hell's going on in the world?' You've gotta mask up everywhere, you can't do this, you can't do that, and just trying to understand life during that whole initial shutdown. And I think after 10 months of being bottled up, it was just, like, 'Okay, I need to see my buddies.' And when Michael decided to come down, I saw his face and I was, like, 'Oh, man. It's so good to see you. I haven't seen you in 10 months.'"

Earlier this month, Rockenfield shot down suggestions that he quit QUEENSRŸCHE or retired from playing music. The drummer, who hasn't performed with QUEENSRŸCHE in four years, took to his Facebook page to say that fans "have not been given the facts by any means" and implied that he would offer more details at a later date.

Scott's comments marked the first time he has publicly addressed his status with QUEENSRŸCHE, which has used former KAMELOT drummer Grillo for touring purposes since April 2017.

When Rockenfield's absence from QUEENSRŸCHE was first announced, it was reported that he was taking time off from the band's touring activities to spend time with his young son, who was born in early 2017.

The drum tracks on "The Verdict", were laid down by La Torre.

Last year, former QUEENSRŸCHE singer Geoff Tate expressed his doubt that Rockenfield will ever play drums again, telling Metal Rules that Scott "has a lot of medical problems and things like that now." In 2019, Tate told 88.1FM WESU's weekly syndicated radio show "Noize In The Attic" that he was "pretty sure" Scott "didn't leave" QUEENSRŸCHE of his own accord. "I can tell you that there's lawsuits involved; I know that," he said. "He's in kind of a really dark place, and I hope he gets some help, 'cause he's really unraveled, you know? In my opinion. It's too bad — he's an incredibly talented drummer, and unfortunately, he never was happy with that. It wasn't good enough for him."

La Torre will release his debut solo album, "Rejoice In The Suffering", on February 5 via Rat Pak Records.

During an appearance on the "No Guitar Is Safe" podcast, former GUNS N' ROSES guitarist Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal was asked to name one of the solos that he enjoyed playing the most during his time with the band. He responded (hear audio below): "There was a lot of stuff on [the] 'Chinese Democracy' [album] — just being able to play my own parts with the band, it felt good. There is something to be said about that — when you get to play something that you came up with, that you wrote, that you recorded."

He continued: "As much as I loved playing the other songs, which everybody loves, and you're there to please the audience; you wanna make them happy and you wanna deliver those songs the way they love them and not rewrite anything… I'm not gonna rewrite the solo to 'Sweet Child O' Mine' — that kind of stuff. Give them what they came there to hear. But when it came to the spots where there's a little bit of freedom, or if I got to play my own things…

"I think 'Shackler's Revenge' was the song on 'Chinese' that I loved playing the most, because I feel like I added the most to that song," Thal added. "I mean, there were a bunch. There was 'Scraped', there was 'Shackler's', there was 'Catcher In The Rye' — certain songs where I was doing a lot of the leads."

Ron never officially announced his departure from the GN'R, but a source confirmed to Detroit music writer Gary Graff back in 2015 that the guitarist had been out since the end of the band's second Las Vegas residency in 2014.

Thal later revealed that he was focusing on his solo career and other projects after spending eight years playing in GUNS.

Ron joined GUNS N' ROSES in 2006 and played on 2008's "Chinese Democracy", an album which contained music that had been written before he came into the group. He has also released a number of solo CDs.

Thal is currently a member of SONS OF APOLLO, which also features drummer Mike Portnoy, keyboardist Derek Sherinian and bassist Billy Sheehan. SONS OF APOLLO released its second studio album, "MMXX" (pronounced: 20/20), in January 2020 via InsideOut Music/Sony.

Joe Lynn Turner has blasted Frontiers Music Srl for continuing SUNSTORM without him, claiming that the Italian record label "never informed" him that he would be replaced in a project whose "legacy" he dedicated 14 years of his life creating.

Last week, Frontiers announced that going forward, SUNSTORM will now be a vehicle for "one of the most impressive vocal talents to emerge in recent years" in the form of RAINBOW singer Ronnie Romero. Romero's debut album with SUNSTORM, "Afterlife", will arrive on March 12. The first taste of the LP came this week with the release of the single and video for the track "Swan Song".

Earlier today (Sunday, January 17), Turner, who recorded five albums with SUNSTORM between 2006 and 2018, took to his social media to dismiss Frontiers' claim that he left the project to work on heavier music styles and to assure his fans that he has "absolutely no intention" of leaving behind his melodic rock/AOR roots.

The former RAINBOW and DEEP PURPLE singer wrote: "Dear Fans, Thank you for your attention and concern, as I felt it is necessary to release this second statement to further clarify and explain my position… I believe, the true facts of my personal decisions must be stated more directly.

"I made an original statement in December where I kindly and respectfully to all parties involved, tried to explain the reasons for my departure from the SUNSTORM Project. My statement was very clear, however, with the Frontiers official media release of the new SUNSTORM and the accompanying statements, in my opinion, I see a definite attempt to twist my words to justify the effort to promote this new release of SUNSTORM, show their autonomous power for any and all creative and business endeavours and prove the fact that no moral or ethical considerations exist as long as the corporation holds the legal trademark…

"In my view, what Frontiers is claiming about Me in their official statement has nothing to do with real cause and events. I am very agitated with my professional brand, name and likeness being used by them in the media as an excuse to validate their narrative and agenda of continuing the Project's title with a replacement singer. Trying to convince the loyal fans that I 'moved away from the original melodic rock direction of the early SUNSTORM albums' of which I was the main vocalist and imply that I did not want to continue due to my 'desire to work on heavier music styles' is ABSOLUTELY NOT TRUE! FAKE NEWS!

"Judging by the outpour of questions from fans on social media, I am very concerned with Frontiers false claims of which they have absolutely NO first-hand knowledge of. For the record, I still have so many more AOR demo songs and could easily do an AOR style record tomorrow, so, I guess, I will take my songs to another record label and continue my AOR discography… As I must now specify again and again, I have absolutely NO INTENTION TO STOP my AOR original roots!

"[Frontiers president and A&R director Serafino] Perugino states that he brought this 6th album 'back towards the original musical style that was established with the early albums' with 'outstanding results'. In my humble opinion, after listening to the first released single from the new album, it could not be further from the truth. There seems to be a great deal of hypocrisy in this situation. I personally see absolutely no 'original musical style' about it.… No original: producer, vocalist, band members, song writers… Nothing. So, the main issue here is, why continue calling it SUNSTORM? Who do they think they are kidding?... After all, only fans can be the judge.

"To me it resembles the majority of releases on Frontiers Label as they often seem to be written, performed and produced by the same source. This being the exact reason why I was not going to continue…

"'With Alessandro Del Vecchio as usual handling the songwriting and Perugino overseeing the A&R and creative direction', as they point out in their official statement, I believe, the purpose of the original classic AOR project ceased to exist therefore, I was extremely reluctant to offer any more of my original songs due to the lack of negotiation, promotion, poor business tactics and general lack of respect for Me on their part. And I tried to express these concerns 3 years ago while recording the 5th album 'The Road to Hell' but they were never heard, acknowledged or address by Frontiers. Completely frustrating!

"I must make it very clear, I do not speak for other Artists on the Frontiers Label and never would, I have absolutely no intention to attack or malign anyone, but this is my experience and personal point of view after so many years of association… In my 50-year carrier, I have been with a lot bigger record companies and was never treated and discounted like I was with Frontiers Label.

"I have spent 14 dedicated years to create SUNSTORM's legacy… Only to be unfairly replaced… Again, I was never informed that the Label will continue the SUNSTORM brand with the replacement singer…

"In closing, I'd like to take this opportunity and thank all the incredibly loyal fans that have supported Me and SUNSTORM through out all these years… Right up to this present moment your dedication is the exact reason why I as an Artist needed to take this stand and uphold the quality and purpose of what we all love and treasure about the Music! I would never cheat You or Myself by being compromised by any dominating corporate forces! The Artists together with the Fans must preserve the integrity of the Art. For what we choose now, echoes in Eternity…

"Love and Respect… JLT".

In a statement announcing his involvement with SUNSTORM, Romero said: "For me, it's very special to join and take part in the new SUNSTORM album since it always was one of my all time favorite Frontiers projects. To accept the huge task and responsibility of replacing JLT is a challenge I just couldn't pass on. To work with Alessandro was fantastic. We have very melodic and strong songs throughout the album and I'm pretty sure the SUNSTORM fans are gonna love every track, as I do. Especially the singles, but 'Swan Song' is probably my favorite. A very melodic song, a lot of backing vocals (something that I always wanted to do, a special and different approach on the vocal production side for me), the band sounds fantastic and it will be one of the highlights on the album, guaranteed! Can't wait for the fans to listen to the album!! At this point, it's cranking in my car every day."


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Dear Fans,

Thank you for your attention and concern, as I felt it is necessary to release...

Posted by Joe Lynn Turner on Sunday, January 17, 2021

During a recent appearance on the "Hardcore Humanism With Dr. Mike" podcast, ex-STYX vocalist and keyboardist Dennis DeYoung spoke about what motivated him to keep going in his early years as a professional musician. He said: "Fear of failure. That's what drives us all. That's it. You can dress it up and be romantic about it: 'I had a quest, I had a vocation.' You were afraid to fail. That's a good motivator.

"I said in [the STYX song] 'The Grand Illusion': 'America spells competition. Join us in our blind ambition. Get yourself a brand-new motor car. But someday soon we'll stop to ponder, what on Earth's this spell we're under. We made the grade and still we wonder who the hell we are.'

"So, my philosophy has always been that what drives us, fear, as much as anything else, is a great motivator," he continued.

"When there's a crowd of people standing there and you jump up and down and wave your arms and demand attention and ask everybody to look at you, you'd better have something going.

"For me, our fourth album, we were going up to [the] WLS [radio station] to promote our fourth album, which was 'Man Of Miracles'. After that album was over with, we were out of business. Nobody else was gonna sign us; we had no record success. And this guy, this programmer director, Jim Smith, goes and picks 'Lady' out of thin air.

"So, for me, I always knew how close we were to complete failure. It made a big impression on me. But for me, I would have had to go back to being a school teacher; I would have been done in music if 'Lady' hadn't been a hit. I look at it and I think, 'Wow! What a pivotal moment that that happened to me.' It's unbelievable to me, when I look back on it, how close we were to failure."

Asked whether success leads to happiness, Dennis said: "Talk to any real successful person, and if they're honest, they'll tell you, you were trying to fill up a hole, a void, a need for approval. And then when you got there, despite the fact that you got the approval, it didn't feel like it was enough. It didn't feel like it did its job. Anybody who tells the truth, that has been successful, will tell you that."

Pressed about why he kept going with his music career even though his commercial success didn't give him the emotional fullfillment he was seeking, DeYoung said: "It's all you know, but [secondly], it does become who you are."

DeYoung co-founded STYX as a teenager alongside his neighbors Chuck and John Panozzo in the early 1970s. James Young joined shortly after that, with Tommy Shaw coming on board in 1975.

The voice behind such STYX classics as "Come Sail Away", "Best Of Times", "Pieces Of Eight" and "Babe", Dennis released his latest original solo album, "26 East, Vol. 1", in May 2020 via Frontiers Music Srl. The LP was originally supposed to be his last album, but he had so much material he split it up into two volumes.

"26 East" was the address where DeYoung grew up in Roseland, Illinois on the far south side of Chicago. This is where the band was formed in his basement in 1962. Across the street lived the Panozzo twins, John and Chuck, who along with DeYoung would go on to form the nucleus of STYX. The cover artwork features three locomotives traveling through space, representing the original members leaving Chicago on their journey to the stars.

Dave Lombardo was recently interviewed on "Speak N' Destroy", a podcast about all things METALLICA, hosted by longtime journalist and METALLICA fan Ryan J. Downey. During the lengthy chat, the former SLAYER drummer reflected on famously filling in for Lars Ulrich during METALLICA's performance at Download festival in England in June 2004.

He said (hear audio below): "I remember being approached by SLAYER's manager, and he just basically said, 'Hey, Dave, we have a bit of a crisis. Lars can't make the show.' And I was, like, 'Okay, what's going on?' And they asked if I'd be interested. I don't know if he said if I'm interested in doing the [full] set or a few songs — whatever — but I took one look at the setlist, and I wasn't very familiar with their later material, so I agreed to the two opening songs.

"I met up with the guys, and we hung out in their little rehearsal room, dressing room, and we jammed the two songs that I was familiar with, and then shortly after that, we went on stage," he continued. "We had a great time in the room. I love those guys. I've never had any beef with them or anything. It's always been amicable and kind. They've always been great towards me, and I have likewise. So we had a great time.

"And I've known [METALLICA bassist] Robert Trujillo since the SUICIDAL [TENDENCIES] days. And I actually performed with Trujillo on a cover of 'Battery' [for the 2001 album 'Metallic Assault: A Tribute To Metallica']. Yeah, that's out there. So we played that [at Download], and then, of course, 'The Four Horsemen' — we did that as well.

"It was a lot of fun," Dave added. "It was a moment in history, a moment in time, and I loved it — it was amazing. Especially when I went into the double-bass section in 'Battery', at the end, and James [Hetfield, METALLICA frontman] was, like, 'Fuck!'"

Back in 2014, Lombardo was asked during a clinic in Italy to comment on the fact that Ulrich's drumming skills are constantly questioned. He replied: "I think Lars is a good drummer. He's a good arranger. He arranges… Without Lars, there wouldn't be a METALLICA. So you have to give him credit for what he does for the band."

Lombardo continued: "It's very important... When you have a chemistry within a band. There's four members of the band. When there's chemistry, like a special interaction between musicians, if you take one musician out, it's not the same. If you take Lars out of the equation, it won't be the same."

While speaking with UK's Rhythm magazine back in 2009, Lombardo was a bit more critical of Lars's drumming abilities, saying that playing with METALLICA at Download in 2004 was a great experience, but adding that it was good to "show 'em how it's done!" Dave continued. "No disrespect to Lars, because Lars is great and he's a very nice guy, but he needs to spend a week at my house and we need to sit down and play. I could show him — 'No, Lars, like this!'… 'Let's chill, let's relax, have some coffee and let's play!' [Laughs]"

A few months later, Lombardo was asked by Noisecreep if Ulrich had ever accepted his offer of drum lessons. "Oh man, no, he hasn't," Lombardo said laughing. "Yeah, but that was all done as a joke. It's just me having fun."

Lombardo added: "Of course someone ask[ed] me about Download festival. It's like, 'Yeah, show him how it's done.' [But] I don't need to show him, he's amazing, but there's always that kind of rivalry, that fun rivalry."

Ulrich blamed his non-appearance at the 2004 Download on exhaustion, caused by an unrelenting tour schedule and the break-up of his seven-year marriage to Skylar Satenstein. He said in 2005 interview: "It was the first-ever METALLICA gig I'd ever missed."

He continued: "You wanna try laying in a hospital in Germany while Dave Lombardo — the greatest drummer on the planet — is playing with your band. That's not easy."