Sebastian Bach joined TESLA on stage last night (September 28) at the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut to perform a part of the SKID ROW classic "Youth Gone Wild" as well as the TESLA song "Signs".

Earlier in the night, Bach played a set with his solo band which ended abruptly during a performance of "Youth Gone Wild", reportedly due to technical difficulties.

In introducing Sebastian back to the stage, TESLA bassist Brian Wheat referenced the technical issues from Bach's set, telling the crowd: "Hey listen, there was a little miscommunication tonight. Things got a little bit messed up, but we're gonna do a little special thing for you, man… We love that guy. That's our buddy, Sebastian… He's gonna come up there and he's gonna finish what he started. And then he's gonna stay and sing a song with us."

Bach is continuing to tour in support of his latest solo album, "Child Within The Man", which came out in May via Reigning Phoenix Music.

Sebastian will embark on a North American tour this fall. The trek will kick off October 4 in Portland, with dates in the U.S., including two shows at the Whisky A Go Go in West Hollywood, plus 16 dates in Bach's native Canada.

"Child Within The Man" was recorded in Orlando, Florida; produced and mixed by Michael "Elvis" Baskette; engineered by Jef Moll, assistant engineered by Josh Saldate and mastered by Robert Ludwig of Gateway Mastering. Bach wrote or co-wrote all the album's 11 tracks and sang all lead and backing vocals.

"Child Within The Man" features guest appearances from John 5 (MÖTLEY CRÜE, ROB ZOMBIE, MARILYN MANSON),Steve Stevens (BILLY IDOL) and Orianthi (ALICE COOPER, MICHAEL JACKSON) — who all co-wrote their respective tracks with Bach — and two tracks co-written with ALTER BRIDGE's Myles Kennedy ("What Do I Got to Lose?" and "To Live Again"). Devin Bronson (guitars),Todd Kerns (bass) and Jeremy Colson (drums) round out the players on the album.

Prior to "Child Within The Man"'s arrival, Bach hadn't released a full-length disc since "Give 'Em Hell", which came out in March 2014.

TESLA is preparing to release a new single called "All About Love". It will be the follow-up to "Cold Blue Steel", which came out in August 2021, and "Time To Rock!", which arrived a year later.

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

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

In September 2021, original TESLA drummer Troy Luccketta announced that he would "take a little time from the road" to spend with family and friends. He has since been replaced at TESLA's gigs by Steve Brown, the younger brother of former DOKKEN drummer Mick Brown.

TESLA's debut album, 1986's "Mechanical Resonance", went platinum on the strength of the hits "Modern Day Cowboy" and "Little Suzi". The 1989 follow-up album, "The Great Radio Controversy", produced five hits, including "Heaven's Trail (No Way Out)" and "Love Song", which hit the pop Top Ten.

DOWN played its rescheduled concert at Inn Of The Mountain Gods Resort And Casino in Mescalero, New Mexico this past Friday, September 27. Fan-filmed video of the performance can be seen below.

The long-running heavy metal supergroup, which features vocalist Philip H. Anselmo, guitarists Pepper Keenan and Kirk Windstein, drummer Jimmy Bower and bassist Pat Bruders, was originally supposed to perform at at Inn Of The Mountain Gods on June 20, but the show was called off due to a pair of rapidly growing wildfires which were converging on a village inside a tribal reservation in the state. Thousands of residents in southern New Mexico were ordered to evacuate their homes and the fires prompted the partial closure of U.S. Highway 70 south of the village of Ruidoso.

As a result of the postponement, DOWN played two pop-up shows in Louisiana — on June 20 at Southport Hall in New Orleans and on June 21 at Varsity Theatre in Baton Rouge.

$5 per ticket from each of the DOWN pop-up shows went to Mescalero Apache Nation - South Fork Fire relief fund.

When DOWN's concert at Inn Of The Mountain Gods Resort And Casino was first announced in April, the band said that Windstein would sit out the show due to his commitments with CROWBAR. Filling in for him at the June gigs was former DOWN guitarist Bobby Landgraf. Windstein was able to rejoin his DOWN bandmates for the rescheduled Inn Of The Mountain Gods Resort And Casino show.

Prior to Southport Hall, DOWN's last concert took place in September 2022 at the Blue Ridge Rock Festival in Alton, Virginia.

DOWN made a handful of rare live appearances in the spring and summer of 2022. The band launched a three-date U.S. run of shows in May 2022 at the Welcome To Rockville festival in Daytona Beach, Florida. After playing in Atlanta and Dallas immediately after Rockville, DOWN took a three-week break before regrouping for three European festival appearances in June. The aforementioned appearance at that year's Blue Ridge Rock Festival followed in September 2022.

In August 2021, DOWN took part in a very special in-person live and virtual experience. "NOLA Town Throwdown" was held at the Fillmore in New Orleans, Louisiana and featured fans attending the show in person as well as watching it in real time from the comfort of their living room.

In August 2020, DOWN celebrated the 25th anniversary of "NOLA" with a special livestreamed event. Dubbed "The Quarter Century Throwdown", the high-production, multi-camera event took place using cutting-edge streaming technology to create a one-of-a-kind virtual concert experience.

A founding member of DOWN, Windstein left the band in 2013 in order to focus on CROWBAR and his family life. He was replaced by Bobby Landgraf, DOWN's former guitar tech who was previously in GAHDZILLA MOTOR COMPANY, a 1990s outfit also featuring Jason McMaster (DANGEROUS TOYS, WATCHTOWER),and HONKY.

Windstein announced his return to DOWN in 2019, with the band confirming a number of festival appearances for 2020 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of "NOLA", all of which were later canceled or postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic which swept the globe.

Prior to the August 2020 livestream, DOWN's last live appearance took place in August 2016 at the Psycho Las Vegas festival in Las Vegas.

The supergroup hasn't issued anything since the arrival of the "Down IV – Part Two" EP in May 2014.

"Down IV – Part Two" sold around 10,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release in May 2014 to debut at position No. 23 on The Billboard 200 chart.

The band's previous EP, "Down IV Part I – The Purple EP", opened with around 12,000 units in September 2012 to land at No. 35.

"Down IV – Part Two" was recorded at Nodferatu's Lair — Anselmo's home studio — and produced by Michael Thompson. It was released via Down Records/ADA Music.

You know it’s DOWN as soon as you hear them! There’s no mistaking those gargantuan riffs, swamp blues leads, crashing...

Posted by Inn of the Mountain Gods on Thursday, July 11, 2024

In a new interview with Benni of Thomann Music, NIGHTWISH keyboardist and main songwriter Tuomas Holopainen spoke about his knack for writing long songs that do not follow the traditional format for radio-friendly singles. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We've been doing things this way for almost 28 years now, so why the hell would we change anything at the moment? But, yeah, it's really tedious to me that you have to do a song like under four minutes all the time — it has to have a chorus, it has to talk about somebody's love life or broken relationships. It's just tedious and boring to me. There is a time and place for those songs as well, but if you have a story you want to tell, and it needs some time to be told in a proper way, you just take your time and the song lasts however [long] it needs to last. As simple as that."

NIGHTWISH's latest album, "Yesterwynde", arrived on September 20 via Nuclear Blast. It marks the band's tenth studio LP, following on from the release of "Human. :II: Nature." in 2020.

Five months ago, Tuomas told Kerrang! magazine about the new album's first single, "Perfume Of The Timeless": "When we had the first meeting with Nuclear Blast, talking about the new album and singles, I told them the first single will be a song called 'Perfume Of The Timeless' and it's eight and a half minutes long and the chorus comes in at 3:30. And they were, like, 'Perfect!' I think that has to do with the fact that we have a long legacy. You know, we can do whatever we want, and I do, but it says something that we can do that, when I heard that for Spotify it's good to have the vocals start after 15 seconds, or people skip it; they don't have the attention span anymore."

Holopainen previously said about the new NIGHTWISH LP: "'Yesterwynde' took more time to make than any previous NIGHTWISH album. The new album was intensively worked on for three and a half years. My ambition and piety really skyrocketed, and I just couldn't let go of the creative process — and didn't want to. Along the way, 'Yesterwynde' became both an exhilarating obsession and a comforting haven for me. All aspects of the making — compositions, lyrics, arrangements, cover art, videos, mixing and so on — were given more attention than ever before."

The lyrics of "Yesterwynde" deal with large-sized universal themes: memories, mortality, humanism, time and much more. "The new album is the conclusion of the trilogy — textually, it follows in the footsteps of its predecessors 'Endless Forms Most Beautiful' and 'Human. :II: Nature.'," Holopainen said. "At the same time, 'Yesterwynde' is the band's most lyrically driven album: our music has never been so 'married' to the lyrics. So here's a tip: if something in the composition puzzles you, the words might clear it up."

"For me, one of the key lines is 'we are because of a million loves' — taken from the song 'Perfume Of The Timeless'," he continued. "Each of us is part of an unbroken chain that stretches back billions of years. If even one of your ancestors had died too young — mauled by a cave bear, for example — during this incredibly long period of time, you would never have been born. In other words: our existence is such an unfathomable privilege."

What does the term "yesterwynde" mean? Tuomas said: "It describes a feeling that cannot be found in any human language. That's why we had to invent a whole new word. The album is supposed to open that feeling to the listener."

Photo credit: Tim Tronckoe (courtesy of Nuclear Blast)

In a new interview with Chasta and Baby Huey of San Francisco Bay Area's 107.7 The Bone radio station, SYSTEM OF A DOWN frontman Serj Tankian, whose 2021 documentary "Truth To Power" charted the impact of his political activity and growth as a musician, both with and without SYSTEM OF A DOWN, was once again asked how he feels about possibly losing some of his fans over his activism. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I think early on you have to decide what role you wanna play within this industry. If you want to maximize your fanbase, be a good musician, write music, and not talk about things that might turn people away, then you're going to probably be an incredible entertainer, and I'm a fan of a large number of entertainers who play music. But if you're going to be an actual artist, whether it's a painter, a musician, an architect, any type of thing, you have to have honesty, and that honesty has to come through your soul and through your work. And you will end up turning people away, you will end up pissing some of your fans off, and so be it. It's something that you have to accept as part of the journey for you to remain intimate with the truth."

Asked where that passion comes from, Serj said: "Well, I guess I was an activist before becoming a musician. So it kind of carried through. And so the truth was always something important for me, in my personal life as well as what's transcendent into my artistic life. And so that's where it really comes from. The varied degrees of job experience or career experience just add to my kind of understanding of the intricacies of the music industry and some of the weird things about it. I don't take a lot of this stuff seriously, as far as the celebrity aspect and all of that stuff. It's nice to get reservations at restaurants, but that's as far as it goes. So I think that's helped me stay a bit grounded, even though I think we've all lost our heads a little, based on the success of the band and of our music and everything. But I try to remain in a world where I can look at people in the eye and see their excitement and thank them for it and be authentic about it. I mean, one of the reasons, when we opened up the [Kavat Coffee] Café [And Eye For Sound] Gallery a few months ago, I drop in any chance I get and see people and take pictures and hang out and have conversations and have coffee with them. And it's fucking amazing. I love the person-to-person [interactions]. I don't get that at shows 'cause shows are huge and there's too many people and it's impossible to connect [on a] one-on-one level with anyone, really. I mean, even backstage, there's hundreds, hundreds of people. So I enjoy that. I'm getting a kick out of that these days."

Tankian previously discussed the impact of his activism on his music career this past May in an interview with NPR. He said at the time: "I'm okay with [potentially alienating some fans] because an artist isn't supposed to please everyone. An artist is supposed to basically try to receive through the collective consciousness whatever truths that we're trying to live by, the truths of our times. If we can't do that as artists, then we're entertainers. From day one, you have to make that choice: Are you an entertainer only or are you going to be an artist? If you're an entertainer, that's cool; there's many entertainers I follow and love. But if you're going to be an artist, then the road is not going to be easy. You're going to have to be honest with yourself and everyone else at all times, and people are going to like you and people are going to hate you, and that's okay."

He continued: "I was more of the activist in the band than anyone else. There was always this push and pull between the message and the music. The other guys, rightfully so, didn't want the music to be victimized by the message at all times. I understood that because I loved the music as well, but when there was [a message] that needed to be dispersed, I felt like that was just as important, if not more important, than the music."

In a separate interview with Books On Pod, Tankian touched upon how learning about his grandparents' Armenian background in his early teens prompted him to become an activist.

"When you're in a democracy and you are afraid to speak the truth because of backlash, that's when you feel like that something's really wrong," he said. "And mind you, that, coupled with growing up as an Armenian-American in Los Angeles, paying taxes to a country that is not properly recognizing the genocide of our ancestors, a democracy not recognizing proper history because of political expediency, because of Turkey being a NATO ally, and they didn't want to recognize it, just dirty political fucking geopolitics, that makes you an activist. That made me an activist. That made me someone who fights for truth and justice, not just having to do with Armenians or Armenian issues, but many issues — in the U.S., human rights issues around the world and even animal rights, climate issues. You see the world of injustice and justice, you see that imbalance, and you wanna kind of tip the scales up because you know that that's gonna make the world a better place in every way."

He added: "I've always spoken truth to power, but only because I cared. If I didn't care, I wouldn't speak my mind."

Tankian's autobiography, "Down With The System", was released in May via Hachette Books.

Tankian is best known as the lead singer of the Grammy Award-winning rock band SYSTEM OF A DOWN, but he is also a solo artist, composer, activist, painter, poet, and filmmaker. Since launching on to the rock scene in 1993, he's performed for millions of fans and sold more than 42 million albums worldwide. He's also a proud Armenian-American and a dedicated activist; along with Tom Morello, Tankian co-founded the non-profit organization Axis Of Justice, which strived to bring together musicians, music fans, and grassroots political organizations to fight for social justice. He has composed scores for many films and television series, had his paintings exhibited in galleries in the U.S. and New Zealand, and released two books of his own poetry. He has also been an executive producer on multiple documentaries, including "I Am Not Alone", which tells the story of Armenia's 2018 revolution and which won awards at the Toronto International Film Festival, DOC NYC, American Film Institute Festival, and the Palm Springs International Film Festival, among others. Tankian lives with his wife and his son, splitting their time between Los Angeles and New Zealand.

SYSTEM OF A DOWN has toured intermittently since ending its hiatus in 2011, but has only managed to record two songs in the last 19 years, "Protect The Land" and "Genocidal Humanoidz". Released in November 2020, the tracks were motivated by the conflict between Artsakh and Azerbaijan, with all proceeds supporting humanitarian efforts in SYSTEM OF A DOWN's ancestral homeland of Armenia. Along with other donations from fans on their social pages, they raised over $600,000.

In the year 2025 the German metal institution, Grave Digger, celebrates its 45th anniversary. Founded in 1980 in Gladbeck/Germany, they moved out to conquer the world. Who would have thought that 45 years later Grave Digger would be one of the most important, consistent and influential metal bands from Germany. With the release of the album Heavy Metal Breakdown in 1984, an unprecedented career began that will find its logical continuation with their new album Bone Collector, on January 17.


“Here it is at last, our new studio album, true to the motto: #gravediggeroldschool. With Tobi Kersting in the band, we have focused on the essentials of our sound again after many years with numerous concept albums: Concise straightforward metal songs that burn themselves into your brain stems after the first listen. Bone Collector doesn't sound like off-the-shelf stuff, but highly energetic, fresh and you'll notice that we had a lot of fun with the songs. We're looking forward to your reaction, the release of the album in January and 45 years of Grave Digger live with you,” states band leader Chris Boltendahl.


Today also marks the pre-sale start for Bone Collector, which will be released as a CD digipak, picture vinyl, colored marbled vinyl, RPM exclusive splatter vinyl and digitally. At the RPM & ROAR Mailorder Shop, the limited splatter vinyl and the digipak are also available as a bundle with the exclusive “Old School” shirt.




Bone Collector album

On a recent episode of the "Talk Louder" podcast, hosted by veteran music journalist "Metal Dave" Glessner and lifelong hard rock/metal vocalist Jason McMaster (DANGEROUS TOYS),former MEGADETH guitarist Marty Friedman spoke about his upcoming autobiography, "Dreaming Japanese", which will arrive on December 3 via Permuted Press. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I think there's a lot of unanswered MEGADETH questions and there's a lot of unanswered HAWAII questions and CACOPHONY questions. Not too many people ask the HAWAII questions, though, but they're all answered in there, because I think it's important, in a book like this, to really expose everything about the person — whatever era of my career someone might be interested in, I think it's important to know everything that got you to that point. So there's all the details of my first band, DEUCE, and then the Hawaiian VIXEN and all that stuff and CACOPHONY and, of course, MEGADETH. I think people are gonna be really genuinely surprised at the clarity of detail in the MEGADETH times because it's not something that I've talked about since I left the band. And the stuff that I did talk about while I was in the band was very much kind of promotional, talking about the guitar parts and talking about, 'We're touring this part of the world now.' It was very promotional interviews and stuff like that, but very rarely, if ever — probably never — on a personal level at all. So I think people are gonna enjoy reading that. And then, of course, everything that happened after that. 'Cause my life has just done a complete 180 after that, and all the Japanese stuff. I think it's gonna open up a lot of people's eyes. But back to MEGADETH, I think people, they're gonna really enjoy it. I think it's gonna be a very pleasant read for them, because they're gonna [go], like, 'Oh, I didn't know that, 'Oh, I didn't know this,' Just a lot of things that don't get talked about and that I really never had an opportunity to bring to light. A lot of good things."

Friedman went on to say that he is "incredibly proud of all of that time in MEGADETH, what we did. What MEGADETH did for my career, it was absolutely my first step into the real world of the music business and how incredibly grateful I am for that opportunity," he continued. "There's absolutely no sourness related to MEGADETH at all. There's absolutely no negative feelings, and none of that. So there's no kind of bashing; there's no negativity. There's just truth. All the things are exactly from my eyes, how it happened, how I wrote it. I was completely clean and sober the entire time I was in the band. I didn't even drink a beer. When I was, like, 14, 15 and 16, I was a maniac. I lived three lifetimes of doing all the drugs, all the drinking, all the partying, all the rock-star shit in my first band DEUCE. I did so much of that, and there was something that made me just stop cold turkey right there, which is a long story, which I got into. But by the time I was in MEGADETH, I was straight edge way before straight edge was even a term. So I remember all that stuff with clarity and great appreciation."

Marty added: "People read things on the Internet, and I would hate for people to think that I have any negative feelings towards that era, because it's absolutely not true. Some of my favorite music that I've made in my career was done in that period of time, so I really enjoyed outlining exactly the process, how all that music got created, how it got made, how it got put down to tape. It was a definite process, and it was a process that was only — only MEGADETH did this one process. In all the projects and bands and artists I've worked with and all the albums I've made on my own, before and since, MEGADETH had a unique process of making music, and I got into great detail of what that meant to me and how it worked for me and all that stuff."

In a recent interview with George Dionne of KNAC.COM, Friedman was asked if he is "putting it all out there" with the book. The 61-year-old musician, who has lived in Japan since 2003, said: "Yeah. The entire criteria of the book was things that I've never said in the media, things that I couldn't say in the media, private things and all of the inner interpersonal relationships in all of the bands that I've been in, all of the projects I've worked on. And it's almost like a spy-like double-agent look into the Japanese music business and the Japanese entertainment industry, because I came in completely as a foreigner, but I'm working within that industry as someone who is in Japan, lives in Japan, speaks Japanese, works on the Japanese projects. So I can kind of report to the rest of the world what it's really like from an American's perspective, which I think the publishers of the book found quite fascinating and I really drew that to a complete conclusion. But it's basically everything that no one knows about me. So if you're slightly interested, hopefully you will get a lot of very unexpected information out of it."

In May, Friedman was asked by "THAT Rocks!", the YouTube series hosted by Eddie Trunk, Jim Florentine and Don Jamieson, why now is the right time for him to release his book. He responded: "I've always kept my private life completely out of media. Even in the Japan media, where I'm much more visible than in America, I've kept private things to myself and kept everything always about the topic at hand, whatever that be, whatever the program is about or whatever I'm releasing or whatever. So it's never really been terribly personal. But at the same time, every person has a deep personal story behind everything, and I've been working on an autobiography for years. And when it started to take shape and become something real, I started to look for publishers who were interested. And I found an absolutely excellent, excellent publisher that got excited about it. And when we started working on it, it, it just became this monster of a project, way beyond anything I'd imagined it being. And I think a lot of your fans are going to enjoy it because it's got so much deep details about the metal life that I've lived before I went over to Japan and the metal life now, but the real deep private relationship details between myself and all the other bandmembers from all my bands and all of the management things and life things that people don't see when they just see you on stage or they hear the records or they read the interviews. There's serious life stuff that you would only be comfortable talking about in a complete tell-all autobiography. And even then, I'm not even sure if I'm comfortable saying it, but I said, if I'm gonna do this, the main criteria is going to be all of this stuff is not stuff from interviews. And all of this stuff is gonna be stuff that's very private and very true."

He continued: "Of course I have no agenda at this age. The only thing I'm promoting is [my new solo album] 'Drama', which takes up about maybe four sentences of the autobiography. So the whole thing is just very deep and detailed into things that I think that no one really knows, because maybe I haven't really been that vocal about in the past."

After Florentine suggested that he could do the audiobook in English and Japanese all on his own, Marty said: "I could. I'm just so not into the idea of doing that. I dread the day when they say, 'Okay, we want you to do the audiobook.' 'Cause I listen to these books, and it just seems like a ton of work. I've done voiceover stuff for a lot of TV shows in Japan, and just one half-hour show takes friggin' forever. So, I'm just thinking, an entire book of, I think it's like 150,000 words, just dreading that. So I'm hoping that like A.I. can clone my voice and do it for me, 'cause I'm not looking forward to doing that work."

When Marty first announced his autobiography on May 13, he wrote in a social media post: "After an exhaustive and seemingly endless process, I'm beyond excited to let you know that I've just turned in the final manuscript for my autobiography, 'Dreaming Japanese'.

"I've always kept my private life completely out of the media, so with nervous excitement, I am thrilled to share the story about my upbringing, home life and career for the first time. You will enjoy the deepest dive into never before revealed details about my life in MEGADETH and the personal relationships within the band written with alarming clarity. Same goes for all of my other bands, from the very beginning.

"I outline the entire story why — and exactly how — I dropped living the high life in a multi-platinum band to start from scratch in Japan dreaming to play J-Pop, and how that spiraled into eventually exceeding even my loftiest goals, even becoming a government appointed Ambassador. It`s a complete immersion into my daily Japanese life as I guide you through the inner workings of the Japanese television industry and music scene, from my my unique and unprecedented perspective."

Friedman spoke about his autobiography in a recent interview with BLABBERMOUTH.NET. He said: "We're in the last editing stages. All the content is done. It's extremely long. The point that we're at is that 'You got to cut out a lot of this.' We're cutting out things. It's hard because it is extremely long. It's too long. We're cutting out certain things, but what I can say about it is it is by far the most detailed account of anything I've participated in in my life. Any little subject has the deepest details about it. There are little details and very personal details. Of course, a lot of people want to know about MEGADETH. I made it very sure to give the most complete and honest account of all things that were never in any interviews. Interviews are usually where you're talking about a topic and in 'impress mode.' But I wanted to get personal and talk about how things affected me in every little situation. All that is in great detail, as well as the transition into Japanese television and being the only foreigner in a world of completely Japanese people, as well as the pros and cons of that. It has all of the very important details that you can't say in interviews, like private and personal things that don't usually come out. I tried to keep that as the criteria: Did I talk about this in an interview? If so, it got cut. It's all new stuff."

Official "Dreaming Japanese" description: The rollicking autobiography of the iconic guitarist who took thrash metal behemoths MEGADETH from the edge of collapse to their highest peak before departing to Japan for the joy of J-Pop.

Marty Friedman's upbringing was as atypical as his career. Growing up in a Jewish household in Maryland, the son of an NSA executive, he lacked motivation until he accidentally discovered the guitar and immediately found his calling. Enjoying a hazy adolescence overflowing with partying, music, and teen antics, he achieved local stardom in DEUCE, then burst on to the national scene by pioneering a radically new style of playing, bringing attention to the guitar aficionado label, Shrapnel Records. Acclaim didn't breed success or money, but undeterred, Friedman moved to California, and after attempts to join Madonna, KISS, and Ozzy Osbourne, finally scored a gig in MEGADETH at a time when the band members were just recovering from the verge of self-destruction, and Marty was in and out of homelessness.

Friedman is the most revered guitarist to play in any MEGADETH lineup. During his ten years, his exotic, innovating style helped define the sound of their biggest albums, and while it elevated him to guitar hero status with all the accompanying perks, it came at a significant cost. As the only clean and sober member, Friedman vividly recalls the triumphs and trials of each album cycle and more, bringing to light previously undisclosed personal feelings surrounding the circumstances that forced the band into hiding in the midst of the "Countdown To Extinction" tour and the brutal effort it took to get the band back up and running. His profound and complicated relationship with frontman Dave Mustaine was symbolic of the band's insane dynamic, and Marty poignantly and generously shares his experiences within the band's inner sanctum during the highs, lows, and daily routines.

But "Dreaming Japanese" is far more than a memoir about Friedman's multi-platinum years in MEGADETH. The riveting narrative captures his relentless perseverance as he struggles to start again from nothing. Spontaneously leaving his home in the U.S. and feeling lost in the middle of Tokyo, with few connections or concrete plans, the story traces his journey to acclimate and assimilate into the inner core of an alien society, language and culture, almost like a double agent spy. In fascinating detail and clarity, Marty shares how he gradually made inroads into the Japanese entertainment industry, becoming a household name and fixture on mainstream television and earning respect as a highly influential solo artist. "Dreaming Japanese" follows the wildly entertaining, inspiring, and above all, unprecedented path of a rock and roll guitar player who took the biggest risk, leaving worldwide success to start over from scratch in a country, culture and society far from his own, ultimately becoming an official ambassador of Japan.

During an appearance on The Chuck Shute Podcast, SKILLET frontman John Cooper was asked for his opinion on LINKIN PARK's decision to recruit DEAD SARA's Emily Armstrong as that band's new co-vocalist. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "You know what? I will be honest and say I don't really have an opinion. Probably the reason is because LINKIN PARK, it's one of my favorite bands of all time. 'Hybrid Theory' is in my top 10 favorite rock albums ever, probably top seven. And I thought it was genius.

"This might sound silly to people. I never met Chester, so we weren't friends. I never met him. As dumb as it sounds, I always thought me and Chester are gonna eventually be good friends, 'cause we have so much of the same influences and fanbase," John continued. "We sing about the same things. I think me and him are cut from the same cloth. I just thought we're gonna be buddies. And I'm still not over his death. It still grieves me to this day.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is I'm just being honest with you. I don't care who they got for their lead singer," Cooper added. "I'm not ready to move on yet. But I am happy for them that they are. They're doing something new and they're trying something new, and I think that's cool. I think trying something out of the box, it could be a really good thing, but I don't really have an opinion on the route that they went yet. And I hope that that's not a copout. That's just my honest answer."

When Shute noted that a lot of people have been critical of LINKIN PARK's decision to carry on with a new vocalist, Cooper said: "Replacing a singer is really hard. There have been a few amazing times where it's happened and it's been brilliant — VAN HALEN probably is the first thing that comes to mind. Every once in a while you strike gold, and I'm not saying that they haven't; I've got no opinion on that. It's very difficult to do, because if you're the singer, even if you're not writing the songs — now, of course, Chester did take part in writing the songs, as far as I understand — but even if you don't write the songs, all the people listening to those songs identify with the singer 'cause he's the one singing the lyrics. And so you've got hundreds of millions of people all over the world who, when they think of LINKIN PARK, they think of 'Chester gets me. Chester understands where I'm at. Chester, he would be my friend. If he only knew me, he'd be my friend.' That sounds cheesy, but I'm telling you, I've met these people. That's what it's like when you're a fan. I thought Chester would like me. I thought we were gonna be friends. So it's very hard. And what we have to wait and see is if they create a new identity that when people start hearing new LINKIN PARK music, do they hear Emily and go, 'Emily gets me. She knows who I am and I'm on her page.' That's a very hard thing for a singer to do. But when people do, it's amazing. I'll tell you who does that, funny enough, is the singer for SEETHER. We're touring with SEETHER. SEETHER's lyrics are like that. People connect with Shaun [Morgan]. They go, 'He gets me.' They did the same with THREE DAYS GRACE, BREAKING BENJAMIN, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH. People, they connect with those singers. That's a hard person to replace, man. It's hard."

LINKIN PARK introduced its new lineup during a September 5 live performance event, with Armstrong and Colin Brittain, a songwriter and producer for G FLIP, ILLENIUM and ONE OK ROCK, joining Mike Shinoda, Brad Delson, Dave "Phoenix" Farrell and Joe Hahn. LINKIN PARK also released a new single, "The Emptiness Machine", and announced an upcoming album "From Zero", which will arrive 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 Bennington's death.

Speaking to Audacy's KROQ, Shinoda discussed the scrutiny Emily will encounter as the replacement for an iconic singer like Chester. He said: "We've all talked about it with each other and with her a million times, and we're still talking about it. One difficult thing that people are experiencing is just that they've heard LINKIN PARK for so long with Chester's voice and the idea of somebody else being in that role, it feels really different. I know that in the context of the music that's not released yet, I know that I love it. I think her voice is incredible. And the best thing for people who have such a strong connection to Chester to know, just to know about me, is that Chester was a one-of-a-kind person and a one-of-a-kind voice, and Emily is also a one-of-a-kind person and a one-of-a-kind voice. She's not trying to be him. She's trying to be her. And it so happens that I think she singing on these songs sounds like LINKIN PARK."

Chester Bennington photo credit: Tom Preston (courtesy of Speakeasy PR)

In the mist-shrouded hills of Scotland, where legends whisper through ancient stones, there emerged a band as enigmatic as the land itself: Vukovi.


On January 24, Vukovi will unleash their latest creation, My God Has Got A Gun, via SharpTone Records, a provocative title that hints at the explosive content within. The album, produced by the legendary Machine at the fabled The Machine Shop Recording Studio in Austin, is the result of several intense weeks spent in the heart of Texas, where the band channelled the heat, the dust, and the raw, untamed energy of the landscape into their music. The album's artwork, a haunting and vivid creation, was painted by the band's Janine herself.


To usher in this new era, Vukovi have bestowed upon the world their latest single "Gungho" and it's accompanying visuals. Watch the video below




When asked for comment on the dawn of this imminent new age, Janine offers, simply: "A new chapter of sound is about to unfold. These songs will speak to places we've all been, but few have heard."





My God Has Got A Gun is available in the following formats:


- Red, Black and White Splatter LP (Limited to 500 – Exclusively on the Band’s Store)
- Black & White Half & Half LP (Limited to 500 – Exclusively at Sharptone US)
- Black LP (Available via artist stores, label store and EU retail)
- Jewelcase CD (Available via artist stores, label store and worldwide retail)


Pre-order and pre-save My God Has Got A Gun here.





My God Has Got A Gun tracklisting:


 "This Is My Life And My Trauma"
"Gungho"
"My God Has Got A Gun"
"Fallen Beyond"
"Fuc Kit Up"
"Misty Ecstasy"
"Sno"
"Cowboy"
"Peel"
"Kitty"
"Bladed"
"Fire Kingdom"*


* Bonus track, LP only


"Gungho" video:





About Vukovi:


As the world waited with bated breath for new material, Vukovi embarked on their first co-headlining tour across the Unite

f Witches, on November 29. A music video for the new single, "We, The Witches", can be found below.


Regarding the new album, a message state: "Land Of Witches was invoked using the powerful magick of the black arts evoked by the disturbed minds of Oscar Rilo, Mou Trashno, Markos Villar and Julio G. Valladares. Among the dark arts used in the album are demon invokations by different kind of chants, high noises by creepy distortions, low frequencies by dead heartbeats and pagan rhythms from hellish beating skins."


Pre-order the album, produced by Chris Clancy (Machine Head, Kataklysm, Evile),

Former WHITESNAKE and DIO and current THE DEAD DAISIES guitarist Doug Aldrich has thanked fans for their support while he underwent a "very successful" surgery being after diagnosed with a treatable throat cancer.

On Saturday (September 28),Aldrich took to his Instagram to share a photo of him lying on a hospital bed, and he included the following message: "Quick update… Hi guys, just wanted to reach out and say thank you so much for the prayers and well wishes. It really helped more than I can say. I got surgery on my neck and tonsil and surgery was very successful. The Doctor is a Superstar and team here is amazing…I feel good and hopefully get to go home today to my family. Am so grateful for you guys. Thank you so much."

On Friday (September 27),Doug's wife Daniela "Danni" Aldrich shared an update on her husband's condition, writing on her personal Facebook page: "I just want to take a moment to thank each and every one of you who sent prayers, texts, and love for Doug. It truly meant the world to him to feel the outpouring of support. Your messages really lifted his spirits, and it made such a difference knowing how many people care about him.

"All your prayers were heard!" she continued. "The surgery went incredibly well—five long hours of multiple steps—but Doug pushed through like the fighter he is. Even the nurse called him a superhero for his strength and determination right after! He is the strongest person I know.

"It's going to be a long road ahead, but Doug is strong, and he is so loved. We are beyond grateful for all of you standing by his side through this.

"Thank you again, from the bottom of our hearts!

"Also to everyone who cared about the kids and me. Thank you so much".

As a result of Doug's surgery, he will not be able to take part in THE DEAD DAISIES' upcoming European tour and will be temporarily replaced by Reb Beach (WHITESNAKE, WINGER).

Aldrich played with DIO for a short period between 2002 and 2006. He was also a member of WHITESNAKE from 2002 to 2014 before leaving to spend more time with his family. The guitarist played on two WHITESNAKE studio albums, 2008's "Good To Be Bad" and 2011's "Forevermore", and appeared on several live releases, including 2013's "Made In Japan" and "Made In Britain/The World Records".

Aldrich left WHITESNAKE 10 years ago, saying in a statement that he "had several recording and live commitments," so he "needed a more flexible schedule to conclude these before going full force as normal." He added: "Unfortunately, my schedule was not workable."

Having also played with LION, HOUSE OF LORDS, BAD MOON RISING, HURRICANE and Glenn Hughes, Aldrich joined THE DEAD DAISIES in 2016 and can be heard on that band's last five albums, 2016's "Make Some Noise", 2018's "Burn It Down", 2021's "Holy Ground", 2022's "Radiance" and 2024's "Light 'Em Up".

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A post shared by Doug Aldrich (@douglasaldrichguitar)

Conquer Divide and Mascot Records have announced the release of a new digital deluxe version of Slow Burn. This week, alongside a new visualizer for “80 Proof” that captures Kia solo performing on an acoustic guitar, two recordings are having wide success at the Active Rock format. First, a new version of the band’s hit “Paralyzed” (featuring Attack Attack!); and a new 10 Years re-release of their hit “The Optimist” which features Conquer Divide.


The Deluxe Edition of Slow Burn digitally in support of their US touring presents an additional six recordings. Three of these are from Sirius XM Octane’s Next Wave Concert Series, which are “Bad Guy,” “Atonement,” and “Paralyzed.” Alongside “Paralyzed (Featuring “Attack Attack!),” “Only Girl” (Acoustic), and “80 Proof.”


Conquer Divide shares, “We've been friends with Attack Attack! for years and toured together a few times, so when the opportunity came up to re-release one of our favorite tracks with a feature, we thought Chris' voice would be a perfect complement.”







In reference to the new version of the 10 Years song “The Optimist” with guest vocals by the band’s Kia Taylor, who skillfully trades off lines with 10 Years singer Jesse Hasek, the chemistry between the two singers and the bands more broadly was there from the start. 10 Years Brian Vodinh recalls, “We talked about touring and recording and basically nerded out and hit it off really well. Then, we mentioned the idea of a collaboration, which is where everything started.” 


Singer Jesse Hasek adds, “She had the right vibe and a great attitude and she really went for it. It was a fun; painless process and it came out even better than I expected it to.”  


The band will stage a tour together this fall from October 11-26.


The five-piece band hailing from the U.S., U.K. and Canada have made a steady progression from their melodic metalcore inspired roots, maturing into a formidable hard rock act, nearing the end of their first decade together. In 2020, featuring a re-tooled all female lineup consisting of Kiarely Taylor (vocals) Janel Duarte (vocals, Bass) Kristen Sturgis (guitar), Izzy Johnson (guitar) and Sam Landa (drums), they returned to the studio with 2x Grammy nominated producer Tyler Smyth (Falling in Reverse, I Prevail) and 4x RIAA certified gold record producer Joey Sturgis (Asking Alexandria, The Devil Wears Prada, Of Mice & Men).


The band’s emerging global fan base emanates from their power as a band. It is not defined by gender, but a body of work that is connecting with males and females alike. It’s this groundswell that led to Masc

KINGS NEVER DIE release “Bigger They Come, Harder They Fall”, the first pre-single taken from the upcoming studio album “The Life & Times”, out on October 25th on Metalville Records.

Dan Nastasi about the song: “Personal story about someone I know really well. Tried the Tough Guy Bullshit and realized he wasn’t all that. I’d always tell him.. The Bigger They Come, The Harder They Fall. Can’t fake tough. You either are or you aren’t.”


Following the release of their debut LP ‘All The Rats’ in 2023 and their European tour together with ‘Dog Eat Dog’, ‘Kings Never Die’ began work on their follow-up album. After drummer Danny Schuler left to return to ‘Bioharzard’, Dan Nastasi asked his long-time friend John ‘Booge’ Milnes (Mucky Pup) to help with the recordings.

Nastasi says, ‘The writing and recording process has been very different for us from the first EPs to “All The Rats” to now. And this album was no different. We basically had 10-15 new songs in the works. After we got home from tour at the end of November, we decided it was best to start working on a new album right away. I basically locked myself in my home studio for 4 weeks and got into the writing process, writing new songs and working on ideas we already had. After that me, Evan and John Milnes rehearsed with the rhythm section for 4 weeks and then immediately went to Shore Fire Studios in Long Branch NJ to start recording. 3 days later we headed to PA to Rock Hard Studios and finished the rest of the guitars and vocals. We drove back to NJ and mixed the album.’

The result is „The Life & Times“. And although it is not a concept album, the album is exactly what the title suggests. Side A, the life side, with the title track ‘The Life & Times’ and other songs based on personal stories. Side B, the time side, really reflects on the times we live in and takes a good look at the youth or younger generations and the struggles they may face in the future.

Nastasi said. „One thing I’ve learnt from working with Danny Schuler is that every word you write or every lyric in a song has to have a meaning to you or something that people can relate to. I feel like it really helped me tell a story through the lyrics that I wrote on our last album, but especially on „The Life & Times.“

Arguably the most important songs on ‘Life & Times’ are without a doubt ‘Bigger They Come, Harder They Fall’, which was originally intended for the previous album. The title track and ‘Empathy’ are also anthem-like tracks with catchy vocals and bounce. ‘Underdog’ was written by Nastasi as a thank you to his late father for his life experiences and in recognition of the drive and ambition he instilled in him.

„Most people think that this album is a return to our original hardcore and punk rock style“, says the band, and it’s obvious that vocally they have returned to a two-singer style, with Gadino and Nastasi sharing vocals.

KINGS NEVER DIE is 100% authentic and it’s obvious that the music comes from the heart, both lyrically and emotionally. ‘The Life & Times’ is clearly the band’s greatest achievement to date.


TRACK LISTING

01 The Life & Times
02 Bigger They Come, Harder They Fall
03 Never Let Go
04 Empathy
05 Can I Get A Witness
06 Underdog
07 Kill The Cowards
08 War & Youth
09 The Rights
10 Slow Crawl
11 If God Is Dead

MUSICIANS
Dan Nastasi – Guitar/Vocals (original Mucky Pup/Dog Eat Dog)
Dylan Gadino – Vocals
Evan Ivkovich – Bass (Wisdom in Chains)
Larry “The Hunter” Nieroda – Guitar
Dougie Beans – Drums (originally Murphys Law)

As The Laser’s Edge prepares for the November release of Hiding In Plain Sight, the debut from Herin – the progressive/post-rock solo venture of Tiles/Discipline guitarist Chris Herin – the cavalcade of notable special guests continues as recent Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame inductee and legendary guitarist Peter Frampton contributes his emotive melodicism to the album’s third video/single, “The Heart of You.”


A conceptual work recounting Chris Herin’s difficult walk alongside his father’s ten-year struggle with Alzheimer’s disease, Herin’s Hiding In Plain Sight combines distinctive prog and art rock influences that alternate from sophisticated orchestral arrangements and polyrhythmic complexity to contrasting cinematic soundscapes and ambitious guitar workouts.


Teaming up with Herin are renowned producer Terry Brown (Rush) and Grammy award winning mastering engineer Peter Moore (Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell) who give Hiding In Plain Sight a luxurious and dynamic sonic landscape. For the attentive and patient music enthusiast each listen gradually reveals the album’s cache of nuanced and subtle details. Complementing the reflective and occasionally disquieting lyrics is Hugh Syme’s (Rush) whimsical and engaging imagery, the artwork capturing the album’s sensibilities of time and place for a compelling and enigmatic visual counterpart.




Hiding In Plain Sight is a collection of thoughtful observations and somber meditations while Herin sidestepped through the debris field and collateral damage of the growing Alzheimer’s storm. Eleven watershed moments that echo the fragile impermanence of life and encourage the listener to turn inward in sympathetic introspection. Musical adventure abounds as sprawling vocal hooks glide over angular riffs, richly textured instrumentation, and brooding ambient orchestrations.


Lending their exceptional talents to Hiding In Plain Sight is an impressive cast of nearly thirty musicians, including Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame members Peter Frampton and Alex Lifeson (Rush), plus Martin Barre, John O’Hara, and Doane Perry (Jethro Tull), Michael Sadler (Saga), Kim Mitchell (Max Webster), Cody Bowles and Kevin Comeau (Crown Lands), Jeff Kollman and Shane Gaalaas (Cosmosquad), Tim Bowness (No-Man), Colin Edwin (Porcupine Tree), Randy McStine (Porcupine Tree), Kevin Chown (Tarja, Chad Smith), Matthew Parmenter (Discipline), Hugh Syme, Johnathan Blake (Kenny Barron), Ben Riley (Mohsen Namjoo), Gary Craig (Bruce Cockburn), and many more.





Embracing a prog rock spirit that appeals to both the heart and mind, Hiding In Plain Sight is a bold and adventurous fusion of musical palettes as the distinguished roster of guest artists propels Herin's songs into inspired and expansive directions. A portion of this album’s proceeds will be donated to Alzheimer’s charities.


The third video from Hiding In Plain Sight is the buoyant and infectious “The Heart Of You” – a slight departure from the previous singles that veers ever-so-slightly into pop rock territory. Featuring the instantly recognizable tone and touch of Peter Frampton on lead guitar, the song is a collaboration between Herin and his old college chum turned professional songwriter Terry Sampson. Frampton shared a deep personal connection with Sampson’s poignant lyrics lamenting the loss of his dementia-stricken mother while still celebrating her enduring place in his heart. Throughout the song, Frampton’s spirited melodies lend an extra voice to the music’s undercurrent of emotional tension – culminating in a bittersweet homecoming as his guitar jubilantly soars during the song’s final solo.


Chris Herin states of the song, “Many years ago, I tagged along with Terry as he played coffee houses and dorm lounges at Central Michigan University (CMU). After graduating he moved to LA and became a staff writer for Warner Brothers and enjoyed a successful songwriting career. We lost touch, but a few years ago I noticed the songwriting credits on my daughter’s Winnie The Pooh CD and thought, 'Could that be the Terry Sampson I know?' Yes, it was, and thanks to social media I was able to easily get in touch with him. It was quite a pleasure to work with a professional songwriter as I turned him loose to work his magic writing lyrics and vocal melodies to my musical framework. The good fortune of Terry Brown bringing Peter Frampton on board made the song and whole experience even more special!”


The video for “The Heart Of You” was directed by Mathew Kennedy. Watch below.


Hiding In Plain Sight will be presented in a limited full-color digipack CD including a 8-page booklet and digitally on November 1.


Pre-orders are available at The Laser’s Edge webshop here and Bandcamp – the standard digital

(0) is a Danish band that breaks down the boundaries between black, progressive, drone, and post-metal, completing its unique sound with Danish lyrics and growl vocals. All of this comes to life when (0) in a dark sphere fuses intense, raw sound with a massive use of lighting and impressive visual elements to create a spectacle of a live performance.

After a four-year release hiatus, (0) is now back with its second full-length album,
KNÆK.MØRKE.MOD.LYS (Danish for BREAK.DARKNESS.AGAINST.LIGHT), adding further dimensions to the enigmatic band’s artistic work. Today sees the release of the album’s first single ‘Det Sortner’ (‘It Blackens’ in Danish), which is accompanied by a lyric video conveying the song’s dark theme, which according to the band is “..about hating yourself so much, that you don’t want to exist, and about how long time and how much strength is takes to move on from there.”

KNÆK.MØRKE.MOD.LYS will be released on vinyl and digital formats, and both are now available for pre-orders. The vinyl version comes in two editions with one being black version limited to 200 copies, which can be pre-ordered HERE, and a Green Marble version limited to 100 copies which can be pre-ordered HERE. The album can be pre-saved and pre-ordered on digital formats HERE. Also, (0) will be announcing forthcoming shows in near future.

Metallica have shared the official video below, featuring the band's live performance of "King Nothing", filmed at Estadio GNP Seguros in Mexico City, Mexico, on September 20.





"We’re kicking off year three of M72 with 21 North American shows across April, May, and June of next year," begins a recent M72 2025 update from Metallica. "This leg will stop in 14 cities with 18 shows in the round, plus two festival stops, seven No Repeat Weekends, and seven one-night-only stops.




"We’re continuing the M72 tradition of unique support acts - a mix of Pantera, Limp Bizkit, Suicidal Tendencies, and Ice Nine Kills - and setlists for each No Repeat Weekend show. The Snake Pit will remain in the center of the stage for all in the round (non-festival) stops. And we’ll be sure to have plenty of extracurricular events planned for the Metallica Family to stay busy around the shows.


"Enhanced Experiences ranging from access to a meet and greet, production and stage tour, food and beverage in the “Black Box” lounge to early entry into the venue and the aforementioned Snake Pit will be available. The I Disappear Ticket is back for the fan who wants to run away with us for all the shows. And new to M72, travel packages, including hotel, ticket, and shuttle options, will be available for most locations.


"North America is not our only stop in 2025, as this year, we will return to Australia and New Zealand after far too long away!!! Stay tuned for the full announcement coming VERY soon."





Tour dates:


April
12 - Las Vegas, NV - Sick