In 2023, Max and Igor Cavalera revisited their earliest SEPULTURA releases, "Morbid Visions" and "Bestial Devastation", and re-recorded them with bone-breaking intensity. Earlier this year, they entered the final chapter of their early-days trilogy by releasing a re-recorded version of SEPULTURA's "Schizophrenia". Asked by Overdrive.ie's Oran O'Beirne if any of the other SEPULTURA albums will also get the re-recording treatment, Max said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Fans have asked us that, and there's both sides of the argument. Some people say we should do the other ones, but I think it's okay. I think those three are the ones that really needed it, because they were done in Brazil. Once [producer] Scott Burns got involved — I don't have a problem with the 'Beneath The Remains' sound. I think it sounds great. It has that Scott Burns sound that is a stamp of the death metal sound of the era. And I wouldn't dare touch 'Chaos A.D.' and 'Roots'."

Max added: "We kind of know our barriers and we know our limitations, which is good. Some bands don't — some people don't; they just keep going. I think we're gonna play a live it, though. I would love to see a 'Chaos A.D.' tour [with Max and Igor's CAVALERA project]… That's totally on the table. That's on the table."

SEPULTURA fell apart in 1996 with the exit of Max after the rest of the Brazilian four-piece split with the vocalist/guitarist's wife Gloria as their manager. Max's brother, drummer Igor stuck around with the group for another ten years before leaving SEPULTURA and re-teaming with Max in CAVALERA CONSPIRACY.

For the new versions of "Morbid Visions", "Bestial Devastation" and "Schizophrenia", the Cavalera brothers enlisted Travis Stone (PIG DESTROYER) on lead guitars. The full lineup would consist of more Cavalera alumni, as Igor Amadeus Cavalera (GO AHEAD AND DIE, HEALING MAGIC) once more brought his talents on bass to the fold.

CAVALERA's version of "Schizophrenia" was recorded from April 15, 2023 to June 5, 2023 at Focusrite Room in Mesa Arizona. Mixing and mastering was handled by Arthur Rizk (SOULFLY, GO AHEAD AND DIE, TURNSTILE). The original "Schizophrenia" cover artwork was restored in hand-painted watercolors by Eliran Kantor.

Although SEPULTURA has maintained a diehard fanbase in all parts of the world throughout the band's nearly four-decade history, Max-era albums "Roots" and "Chaos A.D." were by far SEPULTURA's most commercially successful, having both been certified gold in the U.S. for sales in excess of five hundred thousand copies.

In December 2023, SEPULTURA announced that it would celebrate its 40th anniversary this year by embarking on a "farewell tour" which will cover the entire globe.

SEPULTURA's current lineup comprises guitarist Andreas Kisser, vocalist Derrick Green, bassist Paulo Xisto Pinto Jr. and touring drummer Greyson Nekrutman, who officially replaced SEPULTURA's longtime drummer Eloy Casagrande in February.

Ozzy Osbourne and Billy Morrison recently sat down together for a new episode of "Ozzy Speaks" on SiriusXM's Ozzy's Boneyard. During their conversation, Ozzy recalled when VAN HALEN opened for BLACK SABBATH in 1978 on the European leg of the latter band's "Never Say Die!" tour.

"I just couldn't believe it," Ozzy said. "[Eddie Van Halen] made it look so fucking easy. They outshone us. They blew us off the stage.

"Eddie was a great guy," Ozzy added. "He was always nice with me. He was a lovely man to be around, and Alex [Van Halen]. I took all of them down to my local pub… That was fucking great."

Osbourne previously discussed his memories of touring with VAN HALEN in an October 2022 interview with Revolver. He said at the time: "[Eddie Van Halen] was such a great guy. They came to our local pub and it was good fun. But David Lee Roth, he's lost a couple of nuts and bolts. When you meet him, it's like, 'What's wrong with him?' He's like somewhere else, you know?"

Ozzy also discussed the supposed cross-town rivalry Randy Rhoads, the first guitarist Osbourne worked with after BLACK SABBATH, had with Eddie Van Halen.

"They were arch enemies," Ozzy remembered. "Randy didn't have a lot to say about Eddie. They were very, very similar guitar players. Eddie took that tapping thing to another level. Randy could do that, but he liked people like Leslie West.

"It amazes me that you get Eddie, you get Randy, and you go, 'No one's ever gonna top that.' But there's a new thing round every corner."

Rhoads's pre-Ozzy band QUIET RIOT had been gigging on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, California at the same time as VAN HALEN. Although both Rhoads and Van Halen later became some of the most influential guitarists of the 20th century, playing with a similar flare and incorporating finger-tapping into their fleet-fingered solos, Eddie found commercial success before Rhoads, due in part to the fact that VAN HALEN landed a record deal years before QUIET RIOT did.

The rivalry between Rhoads and Van Halen was explored in the documentary "Randy Rhoads: Reflections Of A Guitar Icon", which was released in May 2022. The film contains archive audio of Van Halen discussing Rhoads, saying, "He was one guitarist who was honest, anyway. Because he said everything he did he learned from me.

"He was good," Van Halen continued. "But I don't really think he did anything that I haven't done. And there ain't nothing wrong with it. I've copied some other people, you know?"

LINKIN PARK has shared professionally filmed video of the band's performance of the song "Heavy Is The Crown" on September 24 at O2 Arena in London, United Kingdom. Check it out below.

LINKIN PARK's setlist for the London concert included two new songs, "The Emptiness Machine" and the aforementioned "Heavy Is The Crown", both of which will appear on the band's upcoming album "From Zero", due on November 15 via Warner. It will mark LINKIN PARK's first full-length effort since 2017's "One More Light", which was the last LINKIN PARK album before the death of lead vocalist Chester Bennington.

London marked the fourth concert of LINKIN PARK's comeback mini-tour, following dates in Los Angeles, New York and Hamburg. All four shows featured LINKIN PARK performing a two-hour set on a high-tech stage shaped like an aircraft carrier, allowing for a unique production as well as a greater-than-usual number of tickets sold at each venue.

As was the case with the Los Angeles, New York and Hamburg shows, the London gig showcased LINKIN PARK's new singer Emily Armstrong and drummer Colin Brittain, who have joined returning members Mike Shinoda, Brad Delson, Dave "Phoenix" Farrell and Joe Hahn in the band's new lineup. Guitarist Alex Feder is filling in for Delson at all LINKIN PARK concerts for the foreseeable future.

"Heavy Is the Crown" is the 2024 League Of Legends World Championship Anthem, marking the band's first collaboration with Riot Games.

Late last month, LINKIN PARK added three November dates to the "From Zero" tour, in Paris, Dallas, and São Paulo.

In an interview with Billboard about LINKIN PARK's comeback, Shinoda explained that drummer Rob Bourdon — who had founded the band with Mike and Brad — had decided to exit LP.

"Rob had said to us at a point, I guess it was a few years ago now, that he wanted to put some distance between himself and the band," Shinoda said. "And we understood that — it was already apparent. He was starting to just show up less, be in less contact, and I know the fans noticed it too. The 'Hybrid Theory' re-release [in 2020] and 'Papercuts' release [this past April], he didn't show up for anything. So for me, as a friend, that was sad, but at the same time, I want him to do whatever makes him happy, and obviously everybody wishes him the best."

According to a press release, Shinoda, Delson, Farrell and Hahn "quietly began meeting up again in recent years" and "rather than 'trying to restart the band,'" they worked with numerous musicians and "found a special kinship with Armstong and Brittain."

Regarding the band's new lineup and future plans, Shinoda said in a statement: "Before LINKIN PARK, our first band name was XERO. This album title refers to both this humble beginning and the journey we’re currently undertaking. Sonically and emotionally, it is about past, present, and future — embracing our signature sound, but new and full of life. It was made with a deep appreciation for our new and longtime bandmates, our friends, our family, and our fans. We are proud of what LINKIN PARK has become over the years, and excited about the journey ahead."

"The Emptiness Machine" is said to "channel the DNA of LINKIN PARK." Shinoda said the band feels "really empowered with this new lineup and the vibrant and energized new music we've made together," adding that they are "weaving together the sonic touchpoints we've been known for and still exploring new ones."

In a new interview with Claudio Pérez of Cuero Y Metal Radio, former ACCEPT bassist Peter Baltes was asked what it has been like to tour and record with his longtime ACCEPT bandmate Udo Dirkschneider as part of the singer's U.D.O. and DIRKSCHNEIDER projects. Peter said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET):  "Well, I think it's almost two years now [since I first played with U.D.O.], and I have to say I'm extremely, extremely happy. I like the players. They're all very good musicians. Udo sounds the best I have heard him in many, many, many years. And we have a lot of exciting things coming. So, it's a lot of fun for me. I just [initially] helped him out two years ago — he just asked me to help [by stepping in for a tour] — and I'm glad I stayed, because I kind of missed touring a little bit. So now I'm back to [performing live]. But we've been friends our whole life, so that's wonderful that we're back together."

Asked about the controversy that broke out upon the American release of ACCEPT's fifth album, 1983's "Balls To The Wall", due to the record's title and front cover being deemed by some as homoerotic, as well as the lyrics to "London Leatherboys" and "Love Child", Peter said: "Well, yeah, it was controversial back in the day, but it's just because nobody understood it. Later on in life, people understood the lyrics and realized, okay, it's not what it is. And 'Balls To The Wall' is just an iconic album that, for ACCEPT, it will live on forever. It's one of the biggest albums or biggest metal songs in the world."

Referencing the fact that DIRKSCHNEIDER will celebrate the 40th anniversary of "Balls To The Wall" by embarking on a world tour starting with South American dates in November, Peter said: "For us to go out [later this year and] next year and just play 'Balls To The Wall' with DIRKSCHNEIDER — we're gonna play the entire album back to back, and I'm probably gonna sing one of the ballads we never played. Now we can. So it will be a really nice ACCEPT experience. And 'Balls To The Wall' will be the cornerstone of all of that. To celebrate that iconic album, it's just an honor — for me. It's been a long time — it's over 40 years that we recorded it — and here I am again with Udo having the opportunity to play it all over the world. That's pretty special."

This past February, Baltes was asked by Marko Syrjala of Metal Rules about the songwriting process in U.D.O. and how it compares to that of ACCEPT. He said: "Everyone is involved in songwriting in U.D.O. It's great because so many different writing styles come together to create something unique. In ACCEPT, it was always just Wolf [Hoffmann, ACCEPT guitarist] and me. Herman Frank [former ACCEPT guitarist], Udo [Dirkschneider, former ACCEPT and current U.D.O. singer] or Mark Tornillo [current ACCEPT singer] didn't write music, which is why the albums started to sound the same towards the end. I didn't like it anymore and felt like we were always just doing the same album or concept again and again, only with different lyrics. I was thinking, like, 'This is just the same. It's not growing.' In contrast, I still grow as a bass player. I listen to other bass players and other types of music, whatever it is. I practice my bass every day because I want to become better. The growing never stops."

When Syrjala suggested to Baltes that ACCEPT's first album with Tornillo, 2010's "Blood Of The Nations" is "amazing", Peter said: "'Blood Of The Nations' was different because all the material I wrote for the album had accumulated over the years. Once that was gone, we had to write the next album from scratch, and we only had a year, and so on."

Circling back to his involvement with U.D.O., Baltes said: "With U.D.O., we'll see how it goes, but I really hope we can capture the band's essence as it is now. I think it's very different than it was before. I have a completely different style than the bass players they had before. That doesn't mean it's better; I'm just saying my style is different. I try to play the songs how I would play them, so I just do it. Udo said, 'Do whatever you want,' and everyone is extremely happy. My writing gives it a slightly different touch, and we'll see if we can capture that next time."

In October 2023, Peter spoke to Jorge Botas of Portugal's Metal Global about his decision to exit ACCEPT in 2018 after spending more than three decades with the Hoffmann-led outfit. He said: "Everybody knows now. I did a lot of interviews, and I really don't wanna talk about it anymore, but basically we used to go up as a band, as friends and stuff, and then these things change business-wise and music-wise. And then it always seems that somebody wants all the influence. Once you're not involved anymore in the decision making, what's the point? I'm not interested in that. So I left."

He added: "In order to be creative and in a good spirit, you have to feel good about what you're doing. That's the number one reason you're doing it in the first place that you started. If you go back, when you were really little and how you started, it was just a love for music. You had no idea how good you were. If you ever had talent, that all didn't matter because you just worked hard on it, and that's where you ended up.

"I had a lot of fans write, 'Why did he leave the mighty ACCEPT and join the little U.D.O.?' And they just don't get it. It doesn't matter — it really does not matter."

In September 2023, Udo told Robert Cavuoto of Metal Rules that he was "not surprised" to see Peter leave ACCEPT. "I knew what was coming up already a long time before it was official," Udo said. "But Peter did already some interviews [where he talked about it]. I don't wanna make any comments about this."

In June 2023, Baltes discussed his departure from ACCEPT in an interview with Rock And A Hard Place. The now-66-year-old bassist said: "I wasn't the happiest person in ACCEPT before. In my life, every day counts. When you reach my age, I wanna enjoy my life and I don't wanna do anything I don't like. I have that right now."

Asked if Udo's exit from ACCEPT was caused by the singer's disagreements with Wolf and Hoffmann's then-wife Gaby Hoffmann, who also managed ACCEPT for several decades, Peter said: "The problem was always between Wolf and his wife and Udo. I never had a problem with Udo. I guess [Udo] wasn't sophisticated enough. He was a blue-collar guy. He was a singer. It never worked out between them. They just hated each other.

"I said that in another interview a while ago, I said here we made the biggest mistake," he continued. "I was asked, actually, by Metal Hammer [what I thought] the worst ACCEPT album [was], and I said it must have been [1989's] 'Eat The Heat' [which featured David Reece on vocals], because we left our true destiny. The singer, which was the sound of the band, is gone, and we try with an American singer to sound like DEF LEPPARD. What a stupid idea there.

"I think in 2005 we did a reunion tour with Udo. But I kept in touch with Stefan [Kaufmann, former ACCEPT drummer], and through him with Udo. Wolf and Gaby always had their [spats with Udo] back and forth in the media, and I kept out of that."

Peter added: "I told the guys in the [later version of ACCEPT], because they all chimed in, 'Eff Udo,' this and that. And I'm thinking, 'Without Udo, you wouldn't be in this band. You're the singer now and you're drummer. You're all humping on Udo. You never met the man, first of all. You never said a word to him. It is so easy to judge somebody. Without him, you would be nowhere.'"

Asked if he felt like he was stuck in the middle between Hoffmann camp and Dirkschneider, Peter said: "Of course. You grow up together, and you have a band. Fans — people who follow a band — for them it's hard to fathom and understand what you're going through, because you spend half a lifetime together or even longer. And you trust people. And then trust is betrayed. And you think, 'Why? What is there to gain? A little bit more money? Power? Is that it?' And I guess that is what it is. Certain people need control; they can't let go. And if they don't have it, they're not happy."

Baltes also reflected on the Mark Tornillo era of ACCEPT, which began with the aforementioned "Blood Of The Nations" album and has produced five more LPs so far.

"In the end, when you mention ACCEPT albums, yeah, the first one was really good because that was stuff that mostly I had accumulated over the years," Peter said. "So Wolf and I wrote that first album together; that was killer. But after that, it was so predictable — it was the same riff; it's the same thing. So we were very divided. One side just wanted… I'll never forget that — he said, 'We can just do this and ride in the sunset together.' And I said, 'I think I have a different sunset in mind,' because I wanna be relevant with my music. I don't wanna just keep my fans happy and don't go anywhere else and just keep doing this. I wanna evolve; I wanna explore things. I come from a progressive background — EMERSON, LAKE & PALMER, things like this. So I was, like, 'This is the same stupid riff again, the same vocal line. Just another word.' I didn't wanna do it. [There were] too many things that were just bad — financial situations, trust issues, musical [ideas]. Everything was wrong. So that's why I left."

Baltes previously discussed his departure from ACCEPT in an interview with Finland's Chaoszine. At the time he said: "Well, it was… maybe the last two years, it started to go down. I didn't like it anymore. And I found out some things — I don't wanna elaborate — but I found out some things that are really not nice. I'd been together with Wolf my whole life, and that wasn't really necessary. Some people have to have all the control, and when it started going into the artistic control, then it really bothered me more. So I really wasn't into it anymore. And I was glad I did it, because it was 2018, and it was the last tour. And then corona happened anyway, so I got to record a lot of different albums. I played on Mick Mars's [MÖTLEY CRÜE] solo album. I did so many different things. And I was writing music for television and radio anyway, so I had two years of working [on] other stuff that I wasn't used to. And then, on the other hand, sitting at home for two years, when Udo called [and asked me to join U.D.O. and DIRKSCHNEIDER], that's why I took about five minutes to answer."

Peter's latest comments are similar to those he made in March 2023 in an interview with Scott Itter of Dr. Music. At the time, he said about his exit from ACCEPT: "The statement that came from the band literally five minutes after I announced that I'm leaving [back in November 2018], that I wanna spend more time with my family, well, that wasn't true. No, no. I was extremely unhappy. And I found out a few things. I'd been in the band forever, and I found out in the end, in this incarnation of ACCEPT, I wasn't even really a member; I was a hired gun. And it's these things that come out where you don't have any input, insight, and you start getting bitter. And there's no reason to, but somebody else's ego is just so big or whatever — two of 'em — that it just takes them there, and they just need to control everything and have everything and you name it. That's what got Udo out back then, and I think in the end it hit everybody. So I was the last one standing, but I couldn't stand it anymore. I needed happiness in my life, and there was no happiness there. It was just a dead horse. So I left after the tour. And in my case, it was the best I ever could have done."

Baltes also talked about what it was like to play bass for U.D.O., on the group's fall 2022 European tour after U.D.O.'s then-bassist Tilen Hudrap was hospitalized after the band's show in Munich, Germany.

"In retrospect, when I stepped on stage in Berlin [in September 2022] with Udo after so many years — the last time was 2005, I think — it was a moment that I can't even describe it," Peter said. "We went on stage first, and then Udo comes, and he starts singing. And the first note brought me back instantly to our days when we played little clubs. The man is such a legend, and his voice… And it's nothing to do with you're short, you're tall, you're fat, you're skinny, none of that — you're in shape or you're not — none of that matters to me, to him and the audience. [What is important is] when something is authentic. And that's what got me at that moment. I was, like, 'Man, this is the real deal.' I wasn't used to that; I wasn't. I totally forgot. And you can into this where you think, 'We've been doing this all our life.' No, we didn't. We played kind of like it, with people that kind of sound like it. But no. He's the real deal, and the power that comes out of his voice is second to none. Sheer power, meaning volume, power. Bruce Dickinson [IRON MAIDEN] has power. When he sings, you can see it — he has power. Some singers, they have power. And Ronnie [James Dio] had power. Udo has power. That's certain power that just captivates you in your ears, in your stomach, and you go with it."

Baltes was replaced in ACCEPT by Martin Motnik.

Three years ago, Hoffmann was asked by SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" if he had had a chance to talk to Peter since his departure from ACCEPT and if he had gotten clarification on why Baltes left the group. Wolf said: "No, man. That's kind of the sad part about it. He kind of made that decision alone, and we never really had a sitdown and a man-to-man talk that I was hoping we'd have. He just announced it to the world, and that was it, and at that point, it was almost too late. I have to respect his decision.

"I miss him very much, and I think he's always gonna be my buddy or whatever," Wolf continued. "But right now, we don't really have much in common. Because when somebody leaves the band, it's usually that we never really see them much again, as sad as it is. I wish we would, and maybe one day we will. But right now, we don't, really. But we didn't have any fights or anything. I can only speculate why he left the band, but I'd rather not."

Hoffmann was also asked if he was surprised to see Baltes working with Udo on some new music in 2020. He responded: "Yeah, I probably shouldn't say much about that. Again, I can only speculate what that was all about. At the end of the day, we do our thing, and everybody has to know for themselves what they wanna do. Yeah, let me not say as much about that as I can, please."

In January 2021, Hoffmann told Australia's Metal Mal that he was "a little bit heartbroken" when Baltes left ACCEPT. "I felt it was not only a sad day for ACCEPT, it was also a sad day for rock and roll, or heavy metal, in general, because I thought we were gonna be doing this until the sun goes down — I don't know; until forever," he said. "But he all of a sudden decided otherwise, and he made that decision, and that was it. And that's sad, but what can you do, man? I decided, along with everybody else, the show must go on, and we continue without him. So this is what we did. And here's the new album — without Peter. But it's still sad. I still miss him sometimes. It's just the way it is."

In November 2019, Hoffmann told Powermetal.cl that he no longer kept in touch with Baltes after the bassist exited the group a year earlier. "Unfortunately, when somebody leaves the band, they're always kind of out of sight, out of mind," Wolf explained. "It's very sad. I wish it wasn't that way, because we've been friends for so long. But the reality is I haven't really heard from him — even though I reached out a couple of times. He's almost like he wants to disappear or he wants to leave the music business altogether. It's sad and I still don't quite understand what really happened. But it is what it is, and we move on."

A new U.D.O. album, "Touchdown", featuring Baltes on bass, was released in August 2023 via Atomic Fire Records.

During an appearance on the October 1 episode of SiriusXM's Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk, THE BLACK CROWES frontman Chris Robinson spoke about AEROSMITH's decision to cancel their farewell tour due to frontman Steven Tyler's larynx injury. THE BLACK CROWES were originally scheduled to support AEROSMITH on that tour, but have since made plans to embark on a headlining run of shows. Chris said: "We love AEROSMITH. They've always been very kind to THE BLACK CROWES, and one of our favorite rock bands. And the tour worked out to where it was really cool to be included in this, and it worked for us on a number of levels. So, when it got cancelled last year, we were, like, 'Okay.' That kind of threw us more for a loop, 'cause we had already started. So this year, we were just — I mean, I'm disappointed more as a fan than anything, because we're cool. We have our own world. We have our own life, THE BLACK [CROWES], we have our own people, and we're taken care of. And we have a lot ahead of us, even after 30 years. Were we bummed? Most definitely. But I'm also, like, I said, I'm bummed because I that band and it was great to see them. But I also get it, man. People say, 'Well, Mick Jagger [THE ROLLING STONES] does it.' I'm, like, well, there's only one Steven Tyler. That's Mick Jagger, dude. Like, of course Mick Jagger still does it. He's like a freak of freaks. He's Mick Jagger. So, I also understand that if, hey, if Steven feels like he just can't do it, it's heartbreaking for him. But I also understand that all the pressure is on the singer. And you listen to him, he's not singing to back-up tapes. When he comes out and does 'Back In The Saddle', 'BAAAACK'!, you're, like, 'Jesus, man.' That last show in Long Island, which was the third show of the tour last year, we all had a suite to go watch the shows. We're in New York, we have lots of friends and family, so we're all… We did our show. We had a great show. We all go up to the suite to watch them. And I'm sitting next to Rich [Robinson, THE BLACK CROWES guitarist], and they sounded incredible. I was, like, 'Wow.' So, I mean, I get it. We love them. We love Steven. I hope that that's not the last, that they get to do something. But I also understand the pressure. I also understand when your body is your instrument. And it's just a fact — you get to be 76 years old."

THE BLACK CROWES' latest album, "Happiness Bastards", was recorded at producer Jay Joyce's Neon Cross Studio in East Nashville in summer 2023 after they spent most of the two previous years on the road celebrating the 30th anniversary of "Shake Your Money Maker", their 1990 quintuple-platinum debut.

THE BLACK CROWES' first full-length LP of new material in 15 years, "Happiness Bastards" arrived on March 15 via the band's own record label, Silver Arrow Records.

"Happiness Bastards" contains 10 tracks, including a guest appearance by Lainey Wilson, a Grammy-nominated country singer and songwriter who rose to prominence after her music was featured on the television drama "Yellowstone". She was named the 2023 CMA Entertainer Of The Year.

THE BLACK CROWES released an acoustic collection called "Croweology" in 2010. An EP, "1972" — a collection of covers — arrived in May 2022.

Joining Chris and Rich in THE BLACK CROWES' current touring lineup are returning bassist Sven Pipien, who played with the band live from 1997 up until the band's hiatus in 2015, along with guitarist Nico Bereciartua, drummer Cully Symington, keyboard player Erik Deutsch and backing vocalists Mackenzie Adams and Lesley Grant.

In celebration of the culmination of their 2021-22 reunion tour, THE BLACK CROWES released "The Black Crowes: Shake Your Money Maker Live", an ode to the band reuniting and following an epic two-year anniversary tour with over 100 dates worldwide.

A deluxe reissue of "The Southern Harmony And Musical Companion" arrived on December 1, 2023. The set included previously unreleased studio recordings, rare B-sides and a live performance from 1993 at Houston's Sam Houston Coliseum.

THE BLACK CROWES' debut album, 1990's "Shake Your Money Maker", was re-released in multi-formats sets in February 2021 through UMe/American Recordings. The album, fueled by singles "Jealous Again", "Twice As Hard", "She Talks To Angels" and a cover of fellow Georgian Otis Redding's "Hard To Handle", has sold over five million copies.

STORACE, Swiss rock legend Marc Storace's eponymous band, will release its second album, "Crossfire", on November 22 via Frontiers Music Srl.

Storace comments: "Tommy Henriksen, in spite of his tight touring schedule with Alice Cooper, HOLLYWOOD VAMPIRES and his work with his CROSSBONE SKULLY, actually 'made time' to produce my 'Crossfire' album! Hell yeah, that’s what I call a good friend! Creating the songs with T felt like magic… And he even got the incredible Olle Romo, Mutt Lange's very own engineer, to mix the album… Unbelievable! It was like a match made in heaven!! Play it loud!!"

Alongside the album announcement, STORACE unveils its latest single, "We All Need The Money", the second release from the upcoming album.

"Crossfire" track listing:

01. Screaming Demon
02. The New Unity
03. Rock This City
04. Adrenaline
05. Love Thing Stealer
06. Let's Get Nuts
07. Thrill And A Kiss
08. We All Need The Money
09. Hell Yeah
10. Millionaire Blues
11. Sirens
12. Only Love Can Hurt Like This

Maltese-born-Swiss musician Marc Storace started his exceptional musical career in 1970, with the Swiss cult progressive band TEA, which became a very successful band and with whom he released five LPs. Marc gained attention for his frontmanship and high-pitched raunchy vocal tone.

In 1979, Marc became the voice of KROKUS, the most successful hard rock band from Switzerland. After their first album with Marc, "Metal Rendez-Vous", KROKUS played several world tours, sold over 15 million records, and won many gold and platinum awards.

After the group disbanded, Marc formed the band BLUE, who released their self-titled album in 1991, including the widely known hit "You Can't Stop The Rainfall".

In the 1990s and 2000s, Marc acted in two feature films ("Anuk" and "Handyman") and reached gold status with various KROKUS formations and three LPs. With many guest appearances such as on "Rock Meets Classic", SWEET 50th anniversary, Ken Hensley live in Switzerland, "Schubert In Rock", and on Manfred Ehlert's albums "Amen" and the rock opera "Test", Marc remained present with his fans.

In 2008, fans were surprised by the news that the original KROKUS formation would be touring again. The success was tremendous: tours in USA, Japan, Europe and South America as well as two new studio LPs, which, in turn, earned platinum status. In December 2019, KROKUS played a farewell concert at the sold-out Hallenstadion in Zurich.

At the beginning of 2021, Marc started working on his solo career as STORACE and at the end of 2021, he released his first solo album "Live And Let Live". In the middle of the pandemic, Marc started his first tour in Switzerland accompanied by the album's studio band. Since May 2022, Marc has been performing with his new band and rocking the stage like never before.

Marc spent 2023 and 2024 writing and producing the new album "Crossfire", a monster piece of hard rock, with songwriting shared between Marc Storace, guitar player Tommy Henriksen (Alice Cooper band) and drummer Pat Aeby (KROKUS, GOTUS).

"Crossfire", produced by Tommy Henriksen and mixed by the award-winning engineer Olle Romo, features a collection of hard rock anthemic songs, with big choruses, great guitars, and an awesome rhythm section.

STORACE is:

Marc Storace - Vocals
Dom Favez - Rhythm Guitar
Serge Christen - Lead Guitar
Patrick Aeby - Drums
Emi Meyer - Bass

KROKUS has been playing sporadic shows in recent years, including the Riverside Aarburg festival in August 2023.

In September 2022, KROKUS played a special concert on the steps of the St. Ursus Cathedral in Solothurn, Switzerland. In addition, Solothurn honored the band with a "Stone Of Honor" on its 2000th anniversary. KROKUS also returned to the "holy ground of rock" in Switzerland, the Hallenstadion in Zürich, on May 6, 2023.

Four years ago, KROKUS postponed what was supposed to be the band's last-ever concerts in USA and Canada due to the coronavirus pandemic that was sweeping the globe.

When KROKUS first announced its decision to embark on a farewell tour in September 2018, the band explained in a statement: "KROKUS shows have always been special and should stay that way. That's why we decided to stop when it's still really good. That's how the fans should remember us."

Formed in 1975, KROKUS has sold over 15 million records, toured the world, and received gold and platinum discs in the USA and Canada. KROKUS was also the first Swiss band to sell out Hallenstadion and has received a diamond disc for selling one million albums in Switzerland alone.

In the course of its career, KROKUS has rocked over 2,000 shows on five continents, countless cities, unique locations, crazy gigs, and loyal fans.

English rock journalist Malcolm Dome quite rightly said: "If you look at the long-term output of this band, KROKUS is clearly one of the best hard rock bands of the last 40 years."

Photo credit: Frank Kollby

Today Buñuel, a literal supergroup of global significance, releases "Class", the new single from their upcoming double album, Mansuetude, out via Skin Graft Records and Italy's Overdrive Records on October 25. Stream the track here, listen below:





Buñuel boasts the singular vocals and razor sharp lyrics of Eugene S. Robinson (ex-Oxbow) and a powerhouse Italian trio comprising guitarist Xabier Iriondo (Afterhours, A Short Apnea), bassist Andrea Lombardini (The Framers) and drummer Franz Valente (Il Teatro Degli Orrori). Mansuetude was produced by Timo Ellis, and features guests including Jacob Bannon (lead singer of Converge), guitarist Duane Denison (The Jesus Lizard, Tomahawk, The Denison Kimball Trio), vocalist Megan Osztrosits (Couch Slut), cellist Andrea Beninati and David Binney on alto saxophone and vocals.




Buñuel have always been led by instinct and the id-like impulse to express unfiltered emotion through song. They form a close musical alliance, with a seemingly innate ability to create music that warps and buckles with complexity, freedom, tenderness and primeval energy all at once.


The title, Mansuetude - meaning “meekness” or “gentleness” - might seem like a juxtaposition. The record is, in Eugene’s words “extreme but articulate.” A double album with three sides. A balancing act performed for and by the unbalanced.


Drummer Franz comments that “Buñuel is a name that embodies a certain cultural and literary reference, which evokes an entire world. Like his films, our Buñuel is surrealism. We take the listeners into a place that's suspended between dream and reality.”


“What we're doing with Buñuel is to carve out a very specific glimpse… partly into hearts of darkness, but more specifically into the depth of our secrets,” says Eugene. “Secrets we keep from each other, ourselves and whatever futures we've imagined for ourselves. We are ultimately trying to communicate something direct and deadly about the human condition.”


Throughout, Buñuel takes every opportunity to stretch their musical tendrils towards discomfort, surrealism and the deconstruction of tradition, as they reach absolute abandon. Mansuetude dives into the eye of the storm and beyond, encompassing many moods, from post-hardcore to avant-noise, hard blues to post-industrial, from symphonic thrash to metal to free-jazz, all played at great cost.


Buñuel makes music for those willing to take a closer, unflinching look at the depths of human instinct, and on Mansuetude the band have created an album that will free the listener of evil spirits and let the malignant influences loose. Mansuetude is a twenty- first century exorcism - right on time for the end time

As the one-year anniversary of their self-titled Mascot Records debut approaches, New York rockers King Falcon are releasing their first piece of new music from their upcoming 2025 release.


The quartet comprised of Michael Rubin [vocals, lead guitar], Joe Conserva [bass], Justin Kosisky [guitar], and Dipayan “Dip” Chakraborty [drums] are back with a cover of Paramore’s classic single, “Crushcrushcrush”. The song comes from Paramore’s 3x Platinum certified sophomore album, Riot!







The King Falcon reimagined version keeps the feel from the original while adding their own style and musical expression. The band’s version is more guitar-driven than the 2007 original and offers a completely different feel thanks to Rubin’s vocals. The song showcases the sound that has helped King Falc

The Mojo Dojo's Ramses Rio has released an animated video for David Lee Roth's cover of American folk duo Brewer & Shipley's "Tarkio Road". Check it out below:





Ramses Rios previously released a video for "Black Sand", featured on the DLR Band album from 1998. Ramses said: "Perhaps one of David Lee Roth’s greatest and most underrated tracks of his solo career, 'Black Sand' from the DLR Album is perfection. Matching the same type of vibe as 'Damn Good', Dave’s smooth voice and lyrical genius paired with Terry Kilgore’s guitar on this track is like combining JD & Coke.




"As you know, I am a die hard DLR fan. To me, DLR is not simply just legendary or my her

vailable On Double Black/Red Splatter Vinyl In November">
Peaceville will issue a special 25th anniversary edition of Opeth's Still Life album, on black/red splatter effect vinyl with an additional 4-page booklet, on November 8.


Long-standing Swedish progressive-metal pioneers and trailblazers Opeth initially burst onto the scene out of relative obscurity with their monumental 1995 debut, Orchid. Showing a clear understanding for dynamics, melody and intricate composition from the offset, word of this little-known but already hotly-tipped group had spread quickly through the underground, with portions of the metal press rightly hailing this bold new combination of progressive metal, death metal, and touches of black metal as a sign of a band destined for great things. Highly revered by fans and extreme metal press alike, Opeth released a further two albums of similar depth & quality, whilst still looking for their big, defining breakthrough moment.


Still Life was Opeth’s fourth career studio release, and first outing for Peaceville. Armed with renewed enthusiasm, the band delivered a flawless gem of an album. Originally released in 1999, the enigmatic Still Life is an ambitious concept album focusing

Riot V vocalist, Todd Michael Hall, will release his sophomore rock album, Off The Rails, via Rat Pak Records on October 18. Aligning himself once again with Metal Church founding member and guitarist Kurdt Vanderhoof, Todd offers the listener 10 new studio tracks and two bonus tracks of straight-forward classic-rock-inspired music.


Check out a music video for the title track below.


As to the inspiration for the album, Todd explains, "Some crazy things have happened over the last few years, so Off The Rails seemed like a great title for a new album. No matter how crazy life gets, music always has the ability to get us back on track and people will find an overall uplifting theme throughout my newest album.”




"Kurdt and I enjoyed working together so much on the first album (Sonic Healing), that we both wanted to create a second album. Off The Rails has the same awesome classic rock energy with great riffs and melodic vocals, b

Acclaimed KING'S X bassist, songwriter and co-vocalist Doug "dUg" Pinnick will release a new solo album, "Thingamajigger", on October 25 via Rat Pak Records. The LP features 11 brand new songs and follows his successful 2021 release "Joy Bomb".

From the opening chords of "Climbing Up the Mountain", which can be streamed below, it is clear that Pinnick's trademark tone lays the bedrock for his latest solo release "Thingamijigger". Doug tackles a wide array of emotions and topics with layered harmonies, hooky rhythmic sensibilities, and the total groove that remains a crucial ingredient to the KING'S X sound.

Pinnick states: "I wrote a new batch of songs, so it's time for another album! 'Thingamajigger' is my new offering to the universe. I hope it feels good in everyone's ear hole!"

The 74-year-old Doug proves that age is nothing to him and provides an album packed with the groove, swagger and soul that he has honed and perfected over his extensive career. Pinnick's ability to combine a multitude of his influences into one seamless offering is on full display. "Climbing Up The Mountain", "Let The Music Play", "The Valley", "Keep On Going" and "More Strings Attached" show why Doug is still one of the best at his craft, while "The Alarm", "Believe It" and "The One Thing" exemplify his ability to think outside the box and expand his range.

"Thingamajigger" track listing:

01. Climbing Up The Mountain
02. Keep On Going
03. More Strings Attached
04. Let The Music Play
05. Love Defines You
06. From The Now
07. The Alarm
08. The One Thing
09. The Valley
10. Working It Out
11. Believe It

For more information, visit ratpakrecordsamerica.com.

KING'S X released its 13th studio album, "Three Sides Of One", in September 2022. The LP was recorded during 2019 at Black Sound Studio in Pasadena, California with Emmy Award-winning producer Michael Parnin.

KING'S X was sidelined by several health scares in recent years, including Pinnick's two hernia operations and two near-fatal heart attacks suffered by drummer Jerry Gaskill.

In October 2019, KING'S X canceled all of its previously announced tour dates for the year so that Gaskill could undergo undisclosed heart "procedures."

2008's "XV" was KING'S X's highest-charting album since 1996's "Ear Candy".

In 2005, VH1 included KING'S X in its list of "100 Greatest Artists In Hard Rock.

METALLICA's All Within My Hands foundation has donated $100,000 for immediate disaster relief in communities affected by Hurricane Helene.

Hurricane Helene made landfall on Thursday, September 26, and has since hit several communities across a 500-mile stretch, leaving in its wake a path of destruction throughout Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Tennessee. It is now the third-deadliest storm to hit the U.S. this century, with over 215 lives lost and hundreds of people still unaccounted for. It is an unmitigated tragedy. Historic water levels and widespread flooding across the Appalachians have left hundreds of roads inaccessible, hindering rescue efforts.

All Within My Hands is donating $50,000 each to World Central Kitchen and Team Rubicon.

World Central Kitchen's response includes vital food and clean water, reaching isolated communities using helicopters and airboats. WCK has partnered with 35 food trucks across Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee, and 16 restaurants across North Carolina and Tennessee, already providing tens of thousands of hot meals and sandwiches to families in need.

More than 140 Team Rubicon volunteers, known as Greyshirts, comprise five recon teams serving more than 35 communities across the affected area. These route clearance teams have already cleared more than 400 dump trucks worth of debris and continue to work diligently across Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas, and Tennessee.

Through All Within My Hands, METALLICA donates a portion of all ticket sales back into the communities visited in each city on the band's "M72" world tour. In partnership with local promoters, the Foundation has been working diligently to find organizations that align with the AWMH mission and actively put funds to use to better the lives of people in need.

All Within My Hands was established in 2017 by METALLICA to invest in the people and places that have supported the band. It also allows METALLICA's fans to engage in philanthropy and volunteerism. The Foundation is dedicated to creating sustainable communities through workforce education, the fight against hunger, and other critical local services. All expenses of the Foundation are covered by the band, the board, and a few special friends so that 100 percent of donations go to the organizations it supports. AWMH is a registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization.

The METALLICA family and the All Within My Hands foundation board members are committed to running an organization of the highest integrity where expenses are kept to a minimum and are paid for entirely by the band, the board, and friends who have worked with the band over many years and are excited to help in this mission. As such, 100% of all donations from fans and third parties go to the organizations AWMH supports.
Our @AWMHFoundation is donating $50,000 each to @WCKitchen and @TeamRubicon to aid in first-response efforts.

Over the past week, Hurricane Helene has left a 500-mile path of destruction throughout Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Tennessee in its wake. It… pic.twitter.com/E6MDXUpkQA

— Metallica (@Metallica) October 4, 2024

JETHRO TULL's relationship with the Christmas season goes all the way back to the legendary band's early days. Now it's to be renewed for modern-day admirers and longtime fans alike, with the release of an expanded and remixed edition of 2003's "The Jethro Tull Christmas Album" via InsideOut Music on December 6, 2024.

Under the title "The Jethro Tull Christmas Album - Fresh Snow At Christmas", the band's 21st studio album has been remixed from the original masters by Bruce Soord (THE PINEAPPLE THIEF),as well as being given the Surround Sound treatment in both Dolby Atmos and 5.1. The limited deluxe 4CD + Blu-ray book-set collection features all-new artwork, as well as live material, and includes the following across its 5 discs.

CD1: Original Album Mixes
CD2: 2024 Remixes by Bruce Soord
CD3: Christmas Live At St. Bride's 2008 (newly remixed by Bruce Soord)
CD4: The Ian Anderson Band Live At St. Bride's 2006 (previously unreleased)
Blu-ray: Dolby Atmos, 5.1 Surround Sound and High-Resolution Stereo Mixes of "The Jethro Tull Christmas Album", as well as High-Resolution Stereo Mixes of both live recordings

As well as this, the album will be released on vinyl for the very first time, as a gatefold 180g 2LP featuring the 2024 remixes.

"The Jethro Tull Christmas Album" was much praised on first release, with Rolling Stone noting admiringly: "The originals simmer with eccentric, eclectic, folky energy, rocking ditties threaded through with Celtic stylings, jazzy undercurrents, Ian Anderson's distinctive flute and wry humor." Allmusic called it "perhaps the most satisfying TULL releases in 25 years." It included new interpretations of no fewer than seven TULL songs, including their first to be inspired by the holiday, 1968's much-loved "A Christmas Song". That Anderson composition, which opened with lyrics interpolated from "Once In Royal David's City", was the B-side of the band's first U.K. chart single "Love Story".

"Some of the tracks are not necessarily Christmas songs; they're more seasonal so that gives a broader window," says Ian. "And then there are a couple of them that I quite often play in the middle of summer and say, 'It'll soon be Christmas — it's in the diary. So let's kick it off now.' And that's part of what I've done over the years since October of 1968 when I went into record 'A Christmas Song'. So, yes — it goes back a long way."

"A Christmas Song" was joined on the album by reworkings of such pieces as TULL's 1976 festive hit "Ring Out Solstice Bells"; "Weathercock", first heard on 1978's "Heavy Horses"; and "Another Christmas Song", from 1989's "Rock Island". Also among the re-recordings was J.S. Bach's "Bourrée", another longtime live favorite, inimitably imagined by Ian.

"Part of the joy of redoing those things," he says, "is that you can...not necessarily recreate, but you can keep all the essential elements of the song and maybe declutter it a little bit and give it a fresh look, but essentially still staying faithful to the original arrangements."

"The Jethro Tull Christmas Album" was their last studio set to feature longtime guitarist Martin Barre, who composed its pretty closing instrumental "A Winter Snowscape". Also featured on the album were keyboard and accordion player Andrew Giddings, bassist Jonathan Noyce and drummers Doane Perry and James Duncan. Anderson compositions making their debut included the opening "Birthday Card At Christmas" and "First Snow On Brooklyn", while traditional pieces such as "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen" and "We Five Kings" were interpreted alongside Fauré's "Pavane".

In a new interview with Joshua Toomey of Talk Toomey, SALIVA vocalist Bobby Amaru and bassist Brad Stewart were asked if there has been any "confusion in the marketplace" over the fact that original SALIVA singer Josey Scott (a.k.a. Joseph Sappington) has been performing with his solo band in recent months under various names, including JOSEY SCOTT – THE ORIGINAL VOICE OF SALIVA and JOSEY SCOTT'S SALIVA. Brad replied (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "There is, actually." Bobby concurred, saying: "Yeah, I think he's just kind of made it confusing. Josey's just being Josey, what he always was. He always thought he was like a one-man thing, and he's doing what he's gonna do. I think for us, though, we spent a lot of time, I spent a lot of time, too, when I got in the band just hearing a lot of 'noes' from radio stations and from managers and a lot of damage control, and that stuff that just kind of really… I'm not talking shit; I'm just being real. This is what it was. I got in the band, and there was a lot of roadblocks — a lot of roadblocks — and everything always led back to one person causing those roadblocks. I think it's just another roadblock.

Continued Brad: "And bridges burned into the ground that you're trying to sort of rebuild, in a lot of ways, at radio and places that there was a lot of self-sabotage that was going on there that was unfortunate. And for a lot of the times that [Bobby] spent in the band before I joined in 2015, it was all about sort of rebuilding bridges, man. And, 'Hey, this is not the SALIVA, though, that did or whatever happened with you guys at the station or somewhere else. We're sorry, but this is not the same band, and we're here now to rock and we're ready to do it. And then we're gonna kick some ass.' And so it was a lot of that — it still is, even in some places."

Added Bobby: "Even for someone like [Josey], you go away for so long and you come back, he's gotta be humbled at this point with some of the shows he's doing. 'Cause we hear about it and stuff. We're just kind of, like, whatever, let him do what he wants to do. But you're not gonna use the [SALIVA] name — don't use the name — because then all it does is it just steps on everything that I and we've worked hard for the last 13 years."

This past May, Scott was asked by Tulsa Music Stream if it is his hope and desire that he and the members of his new band — — his stepson Dylan Edney on guitar, Ben Hosterman on lead guitar, Brian "9" Kirk on bass and Justin Barber on drums — can eventually perform under the SALIVA name. He responded: "Of course that's my hope, because I've always wanted the name to sort of go full circle and come back home. Whether that happens remains to be seen. I think there's things that I think are fair and things that the other camp thinks are fair. And we'll see. We'll see how it all shakes out."

Asked if he is in communication with the band which is continuing to perform under the SALIVA name, consisting of Amaru and Stewart, about coming to a resolution on the usage of the SALIVA name, Josey said: "Uh, yes," before adding, "Basically, all I've been trying to do this whole time is appease the other side. I'll leave it at that."

He continued: "At the end of the day, as I've always said, this business is not about band names and it's not about personalities, it's not about Josey Scott and it's not about Bobby Amaru. It's about songs, songs, songs, songs. At the end of the day, when we all put our head on the pillow at night, it's always going to be all about songs."

Josey Scott's new band plays all of SALIVA's hits — "the ones that people, of course, expect to hear," he told LehighValleyNews.com. "And then I take 'em sort of down the road of music that has affected my life — like, I do an ALICE IN CHAINS song, and I do a RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE song, just to show them who some of my influences are, and then we do a beautiful tribute to [the late FOO FIGHTERS drummer] Taylor Hawkins, and we play [that band's song] 'My Hero'." The group also plays "some deep cuts that only true SALIVA fans would know ... things that I never played with SALIVA when I was in the band from 1996 till 2010. Like, 'Greater Than Less Than', a song that was on the first record that we never played live," Scott said.

In September 2023, Stewart and Amaru spoke to Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station about the fact that Scott embarked on a tour under the JOSEY SCOTT'S SALIVA banner which saw him performing a lot of the band's classic songs without any of the other original SALIVA members. Brad said: "It's an interesting thing because we've been doing this version of the band [with Bobby on vocals] since Josey originally left 11, 12 years ago. So we've kind of kept the fires burning and put out new records and new music and stuff. So it's an interesting situation that we're in now, to be quite honest, so we're just trying to figure out how to make it work for both parts of it — both versions of it, I should say."

Bobby commented: "I think it's good that [Josey's] trying to connect with fans and tour and play music. I think it's an awesome thing. He should have been doing it long ago."

Referencing SALIVA's founding guitarist Wayne Swinny, who died in March 2023 while on tour with the group, Amaru added: "I think what we're doing here [with the current SALIVA touring lineup] is we're just trying to do what Wayne would have wanted and we're honoring Wayne. This [latest SALIVA] record ['Revelation', which came out in early September 2023], I know how important it was to him and I think the world should hear it. We're going out every night, we're playing songs from it. And this tour has been great. The fans have been awesome, man."

In May 2023, Josey weighed in on the announcement that SALIVA's surviving members would carry on following the death of the group's last remaining original member, the aforementioned Swinny. Josey told Rock 100.5 The KATT's Cameron Buchholtz: "I'm very close with Bobby and I know in my heart and in my soul that Bobby will do the honorable thing. He never hasn't done the honorable thing. And I just trust in his steering the ship at this point, and I know he's gonna do the right thing. And I know it's all gonna work out; it's all gonna be great."

Josey will headline the 2025 installment of the "Nu Metal Revival Tour". The trek, which will launch on February 22 in Pittsburg, Kansas and conclude on March 26 in Houston, Texas, will feature support from (HED) P.E., ADEMA, FLAW and CORE.

In a new interview with Radioactive MikeZ, host of the 96.7 KCAL-FM program "Wired In The Empire", founding DROWNING POOL guitarist C.J. Pierce spoke about the band's new single, "Revolution (The Final Amen)". The track was made available late last month via SBG Records. It marks the first piece of music Pierce and his longtime bandmates — drummer Mike Luce and bassist Stevie Benton — have completed with singer Ryan McCombs in 13 years. Asked if DROWNING POOL began working on new music right away after McCombs rejoined the group in early 2023, Pierce said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "He came in and we started writing stuff before we even talked about the first show, man. We sat out here. I have a big gazebo in my backyard, and I have the house set up… My house looks like Guitar Center out there, man. It's a home studio, if you will, and it's just a place of creativity, man. We just started working on stuff. There was one or two riffs and songs that we had worked on that we touched on that we were working on right before we took the hiatus, which is pretty cool. I'd like to finish those. But we've been through so much the last 13 years, so we have a lot of things to share and write about, especially what's going on nowadays. So we're that kind of band that writes what you feel at the time. So a lot of ideas on the plate.'

Regarding DROWNING POOL's plans to release a new full-length album, C.J. said: "We plan on finish up a couple more tracks in the next two weeks before we go out on this next tour. And then we have a little bit of break at the end of the year, and I wanna get back in there and try to finish up some more songs. So we do plan on putting out a record here at some point next year, and then leading into the 25th anniversary of [DROWNING POOL's debut album] 'Sinner' the year after that [in 2026], man. It's pretty wild. We have a lot of stuff coming up."

Asked if "Revolution (The Final Amen)" was the first new song he and McCombs worked on, Pierce said: "It's the first thing that came up right away, man. I started jamming that riff literally out on my gazebo, and then Ryan started singing along to it. And then we went in the room, just rehearsing for the shows that were coming up with Ryan, and we just started jamming that riff like we do, man. We get a lot of stuff done. We're still an organic band. We love to get in that rehearsal room and just hash it out together. Sometimes I'll come up with ideas here at my house or Steve will come up ideas at his house, and once we bring them all together in a room, it really makes it a DROWNING POOL song. But that song, we spent a lot of time on it as well because we wanna come out with every song that sounds strong. We didn't wanna just, 'Oh, Ryan's back,' and just shit out some song, man. We mean what we said. We put a lot of time and effort into our art and what we wanna say with the song, and I'm glad that we did that. It took a little longer just because we started touring so much… So it was just us getting into the studio to get it down. And here it is, man. Finally."

The "Revolution (The Final Amen)" video was filmed at El Paso, Texas's Speaking Rock Entertainment Center and can be seen below.

In a separate interview with iHeart Radio personality Debbie Sexxton, Pierce stated about "Revolution (The Final Amen)": "Yeah, it was great working on the song together. It's the first one with all of us back with Ryan, and we spent a lot of time on it. We started on it, actually, beginning of last year. And just between touring and stuff like that, we weren't able to get it down yet. But the whole process, all of us working together, I mean, we literally sat down at a table and we all had different ideas and every one of us kind of approached the song in a different way. And then we came together as a band. It was just amazing. That sounds like a DROWNING POOL song. That's what we want it to sound like. It sounds like us with Ryan."

Regarding the lyrical themes covered in the new DROWNING POOL single, Pierce said: "We spent a lot of time trying different things out to make sure all the bases were covered and we came across with the message lyric-wise too. We had a couple of different rewrites and redrafts just to make sure the flow is right to get the point across. It's more of a general thing about what's going on now. We definitely need a big change — not specific to any country or government or religion as much as just as a whole. It's more [about] planet earth."

In August, Pierce told the "Thunder Underground" podcast about the musical direction of the new DROWNING POOL song: "I'm so excited, man. It just came out naturally. We never tried to write like a 'Bodies Part Two' or a 'Tear Away Part Two'. We just write what we feel at the time, and the excitement that we had and the energy we have with Ryan being back in the band, the song definitely has that vibe to it. It's in drop C [tuning], and I got a new wah pedal in the studio when I was doing the song. So I'm wah-pedaling all over just like on [DROWNING POOL's] 'Sinner' record. So it has that old-school vibe to it. The people that have heard it so far, that's what they relate it to. It's got that same type of energy. It's its own song and entity. But yeah, it's intense, man. It's a banger."

In July, McCombs was asked by 94 Rocks KFML's "The Dark" rock music program if the sound of the new DROWNING POOL material harkens back to what Ryan did with the band in the past, McCombs said: "It's C.J. It's Stevie. It's Mike. It's myself. We did a couple of really — not to toot our own horn — I think we did a couple really good albums back in the day. And we pick up right where we left off.

"I think the coolest thing about DROWNING POOL is it's really easy with DROWNING POOL to separate things with the singers, as far as eras go, but there's always been the DROWNING POOL sound," Ryan continued. "There's always been a certain aspect of just the tones and everything. So it's still just like it always has been — DROWNING POOL."

In June, Pierce told Scott Penfold of Loaded Radio that he and his DROWNING POOL bandmates are once again working with producer Shawn McGhee. "He has his own studio," C.J. explained. "We did the last record with him as well. We did [2022's] 'Strike A Nerve' [with him]. And he's just a great guy to work with. He's on the same page as us and a great friend and a great musician and a killer producer and mixer. So, we love working with Shawn. He really knows how to capture what we're trying to do, man. That's the kind of producer you want. We put him in a driver's seat and somebody you can trust to have that outside ear to take what we have already and elevate it."

McCombs played his first shows back with DROWNING POOL in March 2023 at Club L.A. in Destin, Florida and at the inaugural Throwdown At The Campground festival in Fruitland Park, Florida.

The longtime SOIL frontman, who has lived in Swindon, England since 2018, originally joined DROWNING POOL in 2005 and appeared on two of the band's studio albums, "Full Circle" (2007) and "Drowning Pool" (2010),as well as a live album, 2009's "Loudest Common Denominator". He rejoined SOIL after exiting DROWNING POOL in 2011.

McCombs is continuing to front SOIL and will carry on recording and performing with both bands.

DROWNING POOL's debut album, "Sinner", was certified platinum within six weeks of its release in 2001, while the CD's first single, "Bodies", was one of the most frequently aired videos on MTV by a new band. DROWNING POOL reached out to an ever-greater audience with dynamic performances at Wrestlemania XVIII and Ozzfest during the summers of 2001 and 2002. Unfortunately, their streak of success was not to last. Shortly after rousing the crowd at Ozzfest in Indianapolis, Indiana, on August 3, 2002, vocalist Dave "Stage" Williams was found dead of natural causes on the tour bus.

Photo courtesy of O'Donnell Media Group

Forty-six years after its release in 1978, former KISS guitarist Ace Frehley recently joined Ken Sharp of Goldmine for a conversation detailing the back story of his self-titled solo album. An excerpt follows:


Goldmine: Having a hit single off of your solo album with “New York Groove”, did that plant a seed for you to leave the group, or did it give you more confidence in yourself as an artist, songwriter and record maker?


Ace Frehley: "Well, after the success of my solo album, the writing was on the wall for me. I realized I was more creative away from those guys because they’re control freaks, and they like things the way they like them. I don’t like recording the way they record because sometimes they would do 20-25 takes and I’d say, 'We’re beating a dead horse here on this song.' That happened with Bob Ezrin working on the Destroyer album. When I’m recording, if I’m working with a drummer, it’s just me and the drummer. If I can’t get it in three, four, five takes at the most, I’ll just say, 'Let’s try something else' because after five, six, seven takes, you start losing spontaneity and you start getting bored, actually. Doing 25 takes of a song is completely absurd."




Ace Fr

George Kollias, drummer for American death metal icons Nile, is celebrating 20 years with the band today.


George shared the social media post below, writing: "Today is a very special day for me, marking my 20 YEARS behind Nile Drumkit. 20 fucking years... wow.


"When I first flew to the US to join Nile, I knew I was going to stay, but if someone told me about this journey I wouldn’t believe it. Great times, difficult times, going through pain, injuries, success and joy, creating some of the best Metal out there and we’re still here serving this genre without any fucking shortcuts. I’m pretty proud actually, very proud!




"Big thanks to all of you for supporting what i do all these years, as well to all current and ex members that together we achieved our dream and helped Nile to get to new levels. Most of all, thanks to Karl Sanders for making that phone call back in July 2004... and look what you have done Karl! 😂😂😂


"Also a huge thank you to all my Drum companies for their tremendous support through the years and for trusting me playing the best gear out there!


"THANK YOU ALL!"


Nile are also celebrating George today, writing in their post, "It's George's 20 year milestone in Nile! 20 years of Metal - Blood, sweat, and tears - 7 killer Nile albums, uncountable tours, and constantly raising the bar in metal drumming. Cheers George!"








Nile unleashed their 10th album, The Underworld Awaits Us All, back in August 23 via Napalm Records.


Once again produced and recorded at Karl Sanders’ own Serpent Headed Studios in Greenville, South Carolina, the band returned to Vile Nilotic Rites engineer Mark Lewis (Cannibal Corpse, Dying Fetus, Whitechapel) for mixing and mastering.


The Underworld Awaits Us All’s mind-bending art was once again envisioned and created by Michał 'Xaay' Loranc, with reference to the cycle of life and judgment at its end.


Order the album here.





The Underworld Awaits Us All tracklisting:


"Stelae of Vultures
"Chapter For Not Being Hung Upside Down On A Stake In The Underworld And Made To Eat Feces By The Four Apes"
"To Strike With Secret Fang"
"Naqada II Enter The Golden Age"
"The Pentagrammathion Of Nephren-Ka"
"Overlords Of The Black Earth"
"Under The Curse Of The One God"
"Doctrine Of Last Things"
"True Gods Of The Desert"
"The Underworld Awaits Us All"
"Lament For The Destruction Of Time"


"Under The Curse Of The One God" lyric video:





"To Strike with Secret Fang" lyric video:





"Chapter For Not Being Hung Upside Down On A Stake" video:





Nile have tour dates lined up in Japan, Thailand, Australia and New Zealand this year. Nile also recently announced their upcoming 2025 US co-headline tour with death metal greats Six Feet Under, featuring support from Psycroptic and Embryonic Autopsy. Visit nile-official.com for more information on all dates.


Japan Tour 2024:


October
8 - Tokyo, Japan - Space Odd
9 - Tokyo, Japan - Space Odd
10 - Osaka, Japan - Varon


Nile in Bangkok:


October
12 - Bangkok, Thailand - Mr. Fox Live House


Nile Australia & New Zealand Tour 2024:


October
15 - Perth, Australia - Milk Bar / Civic Hotel  
16 - Adelaide, Australia - The Gov
17 - Brisbane, Australia - The Brightside
18 - Melbourne, Australia - Max Watts
19 - Hobart, Australia - Uni Bar
20 - Sydney, Australia - Crowbar
22 - Auckland, New Zealand - Whammy


Revenge Of The Underworld Tour with Six Feet Under:


January
7 - Nashville, TN - Basement

Black Sabbath legend, Tony Iommi, has reissued the two albums he recorded with Glenn Hughes - The 1996 The Dep Sessions and Fused, out today via BMG. This is the first time the albums are available on vinyl.


You can order the titles here, and listen to the official audio for The 1996 Dep Sessions track, "From Another World", below.










The 1996 Dep Sessions tracklisting:


"Gone"
"From Another World"
"Don’t You Tell Me"
"Don’t Drag The River"
"Fine"
"Time Is the Healer"
"I’m Not the Same Man"
"It Falls Through Me"


"From Another World":

Chicago death metal trio, Primal Code, have signed to Relapse Records, and have announced their debut full-length, Opaque Fixation.


Featuring former members of Indian, Primal Code's ethos is firmly rooted in no-frills, no nonsense death metal. From the opening moments of Opaque Fixation, the band's intent is clear: every second counts, and every second has to be packed with the most aggressive and disgusting riffs possible.


Today, Primal Code shares their new music video for “Anapsid”, directed by Ed Titus. Watch the clip below. Opaque Fixation is out November 15 on LP/CD/Digital. Pre-order via Relapse.com here,  listen to “Anapsid” on all streaming services here.







Tracklisting:


"Intro"
"Anapsid"
"Totem"
"Derelict"
"Hive"
"IWL"
"Extinction"
"Terminal"
"Angler"
"Stuck"


"Anapsid" video:





More about Primal Code:


It starts with a rumble and ends with devastation. Primal Code are a death metal bulldozer on a mission to level the world.


Formed in 2021 in Chicago, Illinois, this trio of dogged diehards have swiftly mutated into one of the heaviest and most distinctive bands in the modern death metal scene. Poised to release their debut album, vocalist/guitarist Gene Marino, bassist Will Lindsay (ex-Indian/Middian) and drummer James Farn were always determined to forge their own path through the underground.


“It really started with our obsession with Bolt Thrower and how a lot of bands didn’t have that same vibe. ‘Low-speed whiplash’ was the term that was kicked around at first that we stuck to a lot. Being a three-piece has also really become a big part of what we are aiming for. Less is more, always.”


For those that crave the arcane magic of old school death metal, Primal Code are alrea

Danish hard rock act, D-A-D, have released a lyric video for "Speed Of Darkness", the title track of their thirteenth album, out today via AFM Records. Watch below:





Earlier this year, D-A-D turned 40 years and even got their own museum exhibition. But this is by no means the end of everything. The quartet is brimming with energy, and they have written 40 songs since their last album, A Prayer for the Loud, that was released in 2019. Out of these songs, the band has selected 14 of the best ones for their new double album Speed Of Darkness. Many bands never get to stick together and celebrate their 40-year anniversary without any breaks, but the fact this is currently happening to one of Denmark’s best and most popular rock band, with an even greater audience beyond the country’s borders, is remarkable. It’s in fact more than that, according to bassist Stig Pedersen: ”Turning 40 as a band is in and of itself totally crazy. We are a social experiment!”, he states.




While this year started with a trip back in time for D-A-D, now, they look into the future with their brand new studio offering, without a doubt a remarkably strong collection of songs. Some would call this a clear understatement; the four band members have not been in so much agreement about the quality of new songs for an album in many years as they are today. As Jesper Binzer says: ”I am totally stoked about this new collection of songs – I can’t wait for the fans to hear this album. It is so much D-A-D – and so much better!”


Drummer Laust Sonne agrees: "I think that we have taken a collective step up, on many parameters, with "Speed of Darkness": We have never played better than we do on this album. Our songwriting is on top notch, and this collection of songs is our strongest in many years. Sound- and production-wise, we have cared deeply for every little detail. It has both power and finesse. All of this makes us sleep soundly at night and just look forward to presenting Speed Of Darkness in its entirety to all of our fans."


Speed Of Darkness was produced with Nick Foss and was mastered by Jacob Hansen (Volbeat, Amaranthe, Powerwolf). Jacob Binzer adds: ”Although you can’t really judge albums before one to two years after their release, I think that this is a strong pool. Some of these songs have surprised me positively while we recorded them, and that is very promising.”


Jesper Binzer agrees with his brother: ”For the first time in three to four albums, I am totally excited about our material, and I was looking forward to go into the studio every single day. We have an excess of both songs and ideas, and this is a place that I have wanted to reach with the last three to four D-A-D albums. It’s crazy how things are circular that way. I thought that everything was done, and I thought that we were just old guys who were doing whatever we could, but a new necessity has arisen.”


After a major festival summer run with 24 concerts, D-A-D will soon embark on a tour with numerous shows in Norway, Sweden, Finland, Germany and Switzerland, as well as a completely sold-out show in Royal Arena in Denmark on November 1. And if you want even more D-A-D, the National Museum, Copenhagen exhibit will run all the way to late October.


Order the album here.





Tracklisting:


"God Prays To Man"
"1st, 2nd & 3rd"
"The Ghost"
"Speed Of Darkness"
"Head Over Heels"
"Live By Fire"
"Crazy Wings"
"Keep That MF Down"
"Strange Terrain"
"In My Hands"
"Everything Is Gone Now"
"Automatic Survival"
"Waiting Is The Way"
"I’m Still Here"


"Head Over Heels" lyric video:





"Keep That Mother Down" lyric video:





"The Ghost" lyric video:

The Troops Of Doom, the Brazilian death metal supergroup led by Jairo "Tormentor" Guedz, former guitarist of the original Sepultura lineup, have shared video footage from their performance at Portugal's Milagre Metaleiro Open Air 2024, held over three days in August. Watch below:





The Troops Of Doom released their new studio album, A Mass To The Grotesque, back in May via Alma Mater Records, the Portuguese label run by Moonspell singer, Fernando Ribeiro.




The Troops Of Doom was formed in 2020, during the pandemic, by the original Sepultura guitarist Jairo “Tormentor” Guedz. He recorded the albums Bestial Devastation (1985) and Morbid Visions (1986). Jairo left the band in 1987, making way for Andreas Kisser, who continues with the band to this day. The Troops Of Doom’s lineup also includes other significant figures from the Brazilian metal scene, such as guitarist Marcelo Vasco (Patria, Mysteriis), a globally renowned graphic artist known for his work with bands like Slayer, Dee Snider, Kreator, Machine Head, Soulfly, and many others. The vocalist and bassist Alex Kafer, former live guitarist for Matanza, and drummer Alexandre Oliveira, a former member of the band Tianastácia, complete the lineup.


Acclaimed by specialized media as a supergroup, The Troops Of Doom emerged to revive the classic death metal of the 80s, inspired by Sepultura’s early era with Jairo and other influential bands such as Slayer, Celtic Frost, Kreator, and Possessed. It serves as a time machine for those nostalgic for the golden age of death metal. In just two years since its formation, the band has released three EPs: The Rise of Heresy (2020), The Absence of Light (2021), and Prelude to Blasphemy (2023), along with their debut album, Antichrist Reborn, that was released in 2022 on CD, LP, and Cassette by Alma Mater Records and lauded by both fans and music press alike.


A Mass To The Grotesque was produced by André Moraes, a multi-talented musician known for his work on Sepultura’s Dante XXI and the soundtrack of the film “Lisbela e o Prisioneiro,” at Audio Porto studio in Porto Alegre/RS. The mixing and mastering of the album were done by Jim Morris at the legendary Morrisound Recording in Tampa, Florida, known for producing some of the greatest death metal classics of the 80s and 90s.


The cover art was painted by the acclaimed artist Dan Seagrave, responsible for numerous classic death metal album covers. Guedz reveals: "The title A Mass To The Grotesque carries the symbolism of a true ode to the ugly, the evil, the feared. It encompasses everything and everyone that doesn't fit into the molds of a so-called 'evolved' society, choosing to live in the shadows. A dark liturgy to the rejected and their followers, who find shelter and comfort in the absence of light and in the supposed dictatorship of the divine word, whatever it may be. The grotesque is resistance, where nothing is sacred!"


Order the album here.





Tracklisting:


"Solve Et Coagula" - Introduction
"Chapels Of The Unholy"
"Dawn Of Mephisto"
"Denied Divinity"
"The Impostor King"
"Faithless Requiem"
"Psal

One of Melbourne's most intriguing progressive metal bands, Teramaze, have released a visualizer for "Blood Of Fools" (Acoustic Version), featured on their new release, Teracoustic Sessions / Volume 1. Watch the clip below.





Announcing Teracoustic Sessions / Volume 1, the band stated: "Introducing Teracoustic Sessions Volume 1, the brand-new acoustic album from Teramaze that promises a fresh and intimate listening experience. In this special release, Dean and Nathan have carefully selected nine standout tracks from our extensive catalogue and reimagined them in their purest form. Stripped down to just acoustic guitar and vocals, this collection offers a raw and unembellished take on our music—no frills, no effects, just the essence of Teramaze.




"The result is a collection that’s not only a testament to the strength of our songwriting but also something you can enjoy with family and friends who may not be familiar with our usual sound. We're thrilled with how these tracks have come together, and we believe you will be too. Teracoustic Sessions Volume 1 invites you to experience Teramaze like never before, in an intimate and personal way that highlights the beauty and emotion of our music."


You can order Teracoustic Sessions / Volume 1 here.